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Recently Noted
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January 23, 2012
The scene where Volpone tries to seduce, and then force, Celia, is really a marvel, especially his litany of ways in which he will have her. It's a steady progression, with a great rhythm, moving from sweetness and flowers to classical allusions, then modern exotic women and straight on to prostitution. The sense of menace as his speech progresses is really striking, and builds a real sense of drama leading up to the attempted rape.
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January 23, 2012
Although he's a part of the canon of English literature, I've never been exposed to Ben Jonson. I'd read so many references to him, I decided it was time to look him up. Jonson was an English playwright, a younger contemporary of Shakespeare, and this play, at least, reads like low-rent Shakes. It's bawdier, broader, and funny - but with some moments of clarity and great writing that make it obvious why he's so well-regarded.
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January 23, 2012
Best parts of the book are etymological:
"First came the pantler with the bread and butter, followed by the butler and his assistants with the wine and beer."
So, I learned that the Pantler was in charge of the 'pantry', which is where bread and other food was stored. The Butler was in charge of the 'buttery' (where drinks were kept) ,which is a corruption of the French term boterie - a place for bottles. Fascinating!
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January 23, 2012
A dry read, but full of interesting information about the daily life in, yes, a medieval castle. Turns out they were warmer, cleaner, and more civilized than you were led to believe. A castle was at times a place where master ate at the same table with his servant, where hand-washing was common and a crucial part of good manners, and where toilets included indoor plumbing (of a sort).
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January 23, 2012
I picked up Cooper's book - part of the Dark is Rising Sequence - after loaning it to a friend and remembering how much I enjoyed this one. It's one of the best in the series, and I like really enjoy its desolate description of Wales.
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January 23, 2012
It's grammar-school X-Men without the adventure or sex appeal, but with found photos. Fun, quick, forgettable. Fans of the magic schoolkids genre will dig it.
You'd be better off subscribing to Super Mutant Magic Academy, anyway.
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January 02, 2012
A totally satisfying addition to Gibson's 'Bigend' series, or whatever he's working on here. Like the two sort-of-connected books before it (the great Pattern Recognition and so-so Spook Country), the most exciting tidbits are where Gibson describes something that exists today and makes it feel like sci-fi.
He's got an attention to detail in interior design and fashion that are thrilling, and the writing is full of fun little bons mots. It's piled with little bons mots, small compressed ideas that stick around and pass into currency. Zero History is a book that really makes me love William Gibson.
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January 02, 2012
Meh. My first exposure to Christopher Reid was seeing the BBC production of his long poem, 'The Song of Lunch,' - which was terrific. But these poems are just boring, and I think I need someone to explain to me why they might be good. Really, any takers?
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January 02, 2012
Who Will Comfort Toffle was my introduction to a whole series of apparently-famous Swedish books, called the Moomin series. It's is a gorgeous kids book, beautifully illustrated. The translation from Sophie Hannah is really fluid, and a delight to read out loud.
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December 09, 2011
Imagine you're sharing a long car ride with your friend's dad, who is a super fan of Moby Dick. This is pretty much how your conversation is going to go.
Obviously, I'm already a convert - Moby Dick is one of my absolute favorite books - but I think Philbrick does a pretty convincing job talking about what makes the book special, and why it's still readable today.
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