Was delighted to find that my library had gotten me In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson; I know quite a few people who love that book. Was also thrilled to see that Started Early, Took My Dog, by Kate Atkinson, had arrived.
First of all, what a great title! Secondly, Atkinson is the author of Case Histories on which the PBS Masterpiece Theatre series was based (which I really enjoyed).
I decided to scam a look at the books my friend is reading: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt (he also published Will of the World, about our friend Bill Shakespeare, a year or two ago). I can see that this is kind of an anecdotal, creative nonfiction book in which Poggio Bracciolino and the Lucretius' On the Nature of Things play large roles.
Still working my way through the Happiness Project, however. May was a good month; I think I'm somewhere in June or July.
12.15.11 Just picked up Andre Dubus' Townie and started reading in the middle. I thought it was so well written. It just pulled me along -- I had to pry myself away from it. Dubus is the author of House of Sand and Fog, an Oprah book (it was also made into a movie).
Dubus' book is a memoir about his youth and his memories of his father, an accomplished writer and professor, albeit not very "tweedy." In his youth, Dubus goes through a long period in which he becomes passionate about lifting weights and gets into a number of fights. At the same time, he's beginning to write. To me, it's a strange mixture: a combination of academe, PBR, fistfights and a lovely descriptive prose.
First of all, what a great title! Secondly, Atkinson is the author of Case Histories on which the PBS Masterpiece Theatre series was based (which I really enjoyed).
I decided to scam a look at the books my friend is reading: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt (he also published Will of the World, about our friend Bill Shakespeare, a year or two ago). I can see that this is kind of an anecdotal, creative nonfiction book in which Poggio Bracciolino and the Lucretius' On the Nature of Things play large roles.
Still working my way through the Happiness Project, however. May was a good month; I think I'm somewhere in June or July.
12.15.11 Just picked up Andre Dubus' Townie and started reading in the middle. I thought it was so well written. It just pulled me along -- I had to pry myself away from it. Dubus is the author of House of Sand and Fog, an Oprah book (it was also made into a movie).
Dubus' book is a memoir about his youth and his memories of his father, an accomplished writer and professor, albeit not very "tweedy." In his youth, Dubus goes through a long period in which he becomes passionate about lifting weights and gets into a number of fights. At the same time, he's beginning to write. To me, it's a strange mixture: a combination of academe, PBR, fistfights and a lovely descriptive prose.
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