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How's the wicker man book, Mr Joshua?
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After finishing the superb Michael O'Donoghue biography....
you are sick!
How so?
How could you miss such an obvious joke?????
I sure as hell are not gonna 'splain it to you, Lucy.
bruce
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One of the most "bookwormy" summers I've had in quite a while.
My main interest has been reading about classical music which I haven't in explored in depth for awhile. Among the 20 plus books I've taken off the library shelves during the past month, my favorites have been David Hurwitz's "owner manual" guides to the works of Shostakovich and Sibelius, Robert Reilly's "Surprised by Beauty," a look at the recovery of beauty and spiritual values in music post-serialism, Ethan Mordden's two opera histories (which inspired me to finally listen to Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos," Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress," Reimann's "Lear," et al), and Norman Lebrecht's highly provocative "The Life and Death of Classical Music" which contains a "100 best classical recordings" which has taken me to YouTube frequently these past weeks.
I've also been reading some of John McPhee's essay books (I've especially liked "The Pine Barrens," a 1960s in-depth look at the history and culture of the New Jersey "piney" region), as well as a couple of works on astonomy. I've never been keen on reading about science, so I've been trying to broaden my knowledge.
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Posted: |
Jul 18, 2016 - 9:47 PM
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By: |
Essankay
(Member)
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One of the most "bookwormy" summers I've had in quite a while.
My main interest has been reading about classical music which I haven't in explored in depth for awhile. Among the 20 plus books I've taken off the library shelves during the past month, my favorites have been David Hurwitz's "owner manual" guides to the works of Shostakovich and Sibelius, Robert Reilly's "Surprised by Beauty," a look at the recovery of beauty and spiritual values in music post-serialism, Ethan Mordden's two opera histories (which inspired me to finally listen to Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos," Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress," Reimann's "Lear," et al), and Norman Lebrecht's highly provocative "The Life and Death of Classical Music" which contains a "100 best classical recordings" which has taken me to YouTube frequently these past weeks.
That's interesting - I've just finished "The Musical Companion" by A.L. Bacharach & J.R. Pearce, which offers an historical overview of western music and also individual essays on repertoire for various instruments and combinations. I recently finished "The Twisted Muse: Musicians and Their Music in the Third Reich".
I've also been reading some of John McPhee's essay books (I've especially liked "The Pine Barrens," a 1960s in-depth look at the history and culture of the New Jersey "piney" region), as well as a couple of works on astonomy. I've never been keen on reading about science, so I've been trying to broaden my knowledge.
John McPhee is a great writer, IMO. Back in the olden days when I still read the New Yorker, I would devour each issue, leaving the McPhee article for last because I would think "I'm not interested in reading anything on this arcane subject (whatever it was)". But, having read everything else, I'd finally, grudgingly, start it and find (once again) that McPhee could make even the most unpromising material fascinating.
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That's interesting - I've just finished "The Musical Companion" by A.L. Bacharach & J.R. Pearce, which offers an historical overview of western music and also individual essays on repertoire for various instruments and combinations. I recently finished "The Twisted Muse: Musicians and Their Music in the Third Reich".
Cool. I'll look into those two.
John McPhee is a great writer, IMO. Back in the olden days when I still read the New Yorker, I would devour each issue, leaving the McPhee article for last because I would think "I'm not interested in reading anything on this arcane subject (whatever it was)". But, having read everything else, I'd finally, grudgingly, start it and find (once again) that McPhee could make even the most unpromising material fascinating.
Exactly. His Basin and Range is almost literally the driest of subjects - the formation of plate tectonics in the Utah-Nevada region - yet it turned out to be very readable.
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After finishing the superb Michael O'Donoghue biography....
you are sick!
How so?
How could you miss such an obvious joke?????
I sure as hell aint gonna 'splain it to you, Lucy.
bruce
Next time, quote the line correctly!
what line?
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People Live Still in Cashtown Corners by Tony Burgess
A man living in a small Canadian Town starts killing everyone who annoys him. Narrated by the chap himself, it feels a bit sub-American Psycho-like, but rattles along fairly quick and has some humour in it. It's much better than his almost unreadable Pontypool Changes Everything (which he turned into a film i actually love).
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UBIK by Philip K Dick
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