Literary Quandry

[flwyd]

I'm writing 'bout the
Book I read
I have to sing about the
Book I read
I'm embarassed to admit it hit the soft spot in my heart
When I found out you wrote the
Book I read so

Take my shoulders as they touch your arms I've
Got little cold chills but I feel alright The
Book I Read was in your eyes oh oh

Oh...I'm living in the future.
I feel wonderful.
I'm tipping over backwards
I'm so ambitious
I'm looking back I'm
Running a race and you're the book I read so

Feel my fingers as they
touch your arms
I'm spinning around but I feel alright
The book I read was in your eyes

Na na na na...na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na
Na na na na na...na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na
Na na na na...oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oooooh...I'm living in the future
I feel wonderful
I'm tipping over backwards
I'm so ambitious
I'm looking back I'm
Running a race and you're the books I read so

Feel my fingers as they touch you arms I'm
Spinning around and I feel alright
The book I read was in your eyes

Na na na na na...na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na na
Na na na na...na na na na na na na na
Na na na na...oh oh oh oh oh oh oooh...

-- Talking Heads, "The Book I Read"

Someone should draw a Salvador Dali Llama.

The nonverbal OFM went exquisitely. Thanks for asking. I'll write about it anon.

Why do LJ clients insist you log in before writing your entry? In the land of dialup, I like to write and then post. I must therefore either leave XJournal open or select options like picture, mood, community, and even music-fetching right before I post, even though it purports to support offline composition. Is it that hard to cache that info?

I just went through several Mac catalogs, Mac Users, and MacWorlds from late '94/early '95. I originally saved them for humor value, since at the time I'd uncovered some rather humorous computer magazines of the early '80s. Perhaps the fact that I was aware of the scene at the time reduced the humor value. The biggest chuckle was the fact that 32MB of RAM would set you back $1200. Go-go-gadget SIMM! I read Andy Ihnatko's old columns. He's more entertaining in person than on the page. At least, than on the page 10 years ago. I did enjoy his complaints against Microsoft Word 6.0, many of which ring even clearer today. I did have a little nostalgia for the time when System 7.5 was full of exciting new features, duplicated shortly thereafter by Windows 95. I do fondly recall the time when small size was a strong software selling point.

Since I read The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, and Foucault's Pendulum in recent summers, I feel I ought to continue the tradition and dig into a lengthy and impressive piece of literary work. I have at my feet several novels I've picked up in the last year or so, and am thus forced to choose among wonderful and disparate options. Don Quixote is the most imposing-looking, followed perhaps by Crime and Punishment and a few sagas. On a modern and less colossal front I have Interview With a Vampire, Foundation, as well as Dune and Dune Messiah. I had all intentions of reading the latter when I was in middle school, but for some reason was utterly soured by the ending of the former. I think that I would enjoy the second after a reread of the first, but with so many other options, I'm not sure if it's worthy. I even got 30 pages or so into Ulyses a few years ago. Not sure I'm quite that ambitious this summer, though. It does belong to my parents, though, so perhaps I ought to read it before I leave home... I also have The Man in the Iron Mask, but attempts to find Twenty Years After, or the first two parts of the third book, in well-worn paperback editions have not proved rewarding. Do lots of people read the first and then skip to the end of the trilogy? Is Iron Mask better than the stuff in the middle? Should I give Dumas a rest, and explore the wonders of non-French literature?

I seek the opinions and advocacy of my learnèd friends.

This list says nothing of the volumes of short stories. I've got the works of Lewis Carroll, Franz Kafka (save three novels), Arabian Nights, and this year's Colorado Shakespeare Festival offerings, notably Cymbaline. Reading these doesn't require the dedication of novels, though, and can be undertaken on a whim. I also have several books for my scholarly interests, including the newly-acquired Design Patterns and An Existentialist Ethics, as well as several textbooks I should have used more in the past few years. My motivation for these is different, however, and I can get to them in reasonable timeframes and with the attention of a researcher.

Comments

[altamira16.livejournal.com]

I read Foucault's Pendulum last summer. It was definitely an achievement to have successfully finished the book, but I think there would be more to it if I read it again.

I also think that Ulysses and Gravity's Rainbow are two things that will always be beyond me.

I was at the Barnes and Noble and looking through two copies of the Count of Monte Cristo. One looked very lengthy, and the other looked rather short. Was one abridged? It was not labeled as such.

[teal-cuttlefish.livejournal.com]

Back in the day of BBSes and nothing but dial up, the fellow at www.trygve.com had the alias of Salvador Dalai Llama . Don't know if he ever drew it, though. A llama with a saffron robe and a melting clock on its head?

Sorry I missed the OFM -- I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I was in no shape to be in public that night, something I may also post about eventually.