Read this when it came out and wasn't especially enthused, despite the positive reviews. But in terms of topic, it seems like it's worth revisiting for possible use in a class, so I'm re-reading.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Posted: 13 Aug 2019, 5:54am
by Silent Majority
46) De Profundis - Oscar Wilde. Audiobook, read by the great actor (but always villainous sounding) Simon Russell Beale, who I mostly associate with a part he never played (Pitt the Younger in Blackadder III) and Beria in Death of Stalin. This is a beautifully written paean to pain, to suffering. Wilde's ever certain of his genius, of his contribution to mankind, and the reasons for his downfall. I usually recoil from that level of self-belief, but in this case, it's at the center of what made this man a great writer. What comes through, stronger than anything else, is the emotional truth of a toxic relationship that would wreck Wilde's life and hasten him onto an early death. For anyone not familiar, this is a long form letter written from Reading Gaol, to Bosie, Sir Alfred Douglas, the young man who's father chased Oscar behind bars. I checked out his wikipedia entry to see if he wised up any further in life, but he seemed to remain the same callow pretty boy until he died in 1945, with a few flirtations into fascism along the way. Wilde, with a vivid and artistic articulacy, plumbs the depths of emotion and it's a piece that lifts you from the darkness even as it explains that absence of light. Bonus points for his approval of Kropotkin - Wilde calls the anarchist one of only two truly happy men that he ever met.
46) De Profundis - Oscar Wilde. Audiobook, read by the great actor (but always villainous sounding) Simon Russell Beale, who I mostly associate with a part he never played (Pitt the Younger in Blackadder III) and Beria in Death of Stalin. This is a beautifully written paean to pain, to suffering. Wilde's ever certain of his genius, of his contribution to mankind, and the reasons for his downfall. I usually recoil from that level of self-belief, but in this case, it's at the center of what made this man a great writer. What comes through, stronger than anything else, is the emotional truth of a toxic relationship that would wreck Wilde's life and hasten him onto an early death. For anyone not familiar, this is a long form letter written from Reading Gaol, to Bosie, Sir Alfred Douglas, the young man who's father chased Oscar behind bars. I checked out his wikipedia entry to see if he wised up any further in life, but he seemed to remain the same callow pretty boy until he died in 1945, with a few flirtations into fascism along the way. Wilde, with a vivid and artistic articulacy, plumbs the depths of emotion and it's a piece that lifts you from the darkness even as it explains that absence of light. Bonus points for his approval of Kropotkin - Wilde calls the anarchist one of only two truly happy men that he ever met.
I've always been intrigued by Wilde's story, but haven't read anything by him. I hear his letters are better than his official works.
46) De Profundis - Oscar Wilde. Audiobook, read by the great actor (but always villainous sounding) Simon Russell Beale, who I mostly associate with a part he never played (Pitt the Younger in Blackadder III) and Beria in Death of Stalin. This is a beautifully written paean to pain, to suffering. Wilde's ever certain of his genius, of his contribution to mankind, and the reasons for his downfall. I usually recoil from that level of self-belief, but in this case, it's at the center of what made this man a great writer. What comes through, stronger than anything else, is the emotional truth of a toxic relationship that would wreck Wilde's life and hasten him onto an early death. For anyone not familiar, this is a long form letter written from Reading Gaol, to Bosie, Sir Alfred Douglas, the young man who's father chased Oscar behind bars. I checked out his wikipedia entry to see if he wised up any further in life, but he seemed to remain the same callow pretty boy until he died in 1945, with a few flirtations into fascism along the way. Wilde, with a vivid and artistic articulacy, plumbs the depths of emotion and it's a piece that lifts you from the darkness even as it explains that absence of light. Bonus points for his approval of Kropotkin - Wilde calls the anarchist one of only two truly happy men that he ever met.
I've always been intrigued by Wilde's story, but haven't read anything by him. I hear his letters are better than his official works.
46) De Profundis - Oscar Wilde. Audiobook, read by the great actor (but always villainous sounding) Simon Russell Beale, who I mostly associate with a part he never played (Pitt the Younger in Blackadder III) and Beria in Death of Stalin. This is a beautifully written paean to pain, to suffering. Wilde's ever certain of his genius, of his contribution to mankind, and the reasons for his downfall. I usually recoil from that level of self-belief, but in this case, it's at the center of what made this man a great writer. What comes through, stronger than anything else, is the emotional truth of a toxic relationship that would wreck Wilde's life and hasten him onto an early death. For anyone not familiar, this is a long form letter written from Reading Gaol, to Bosie, Sir Alfred Douglas, the young man who's father chased Oscar behind bars. I checked out his wikipedia entry to see if he wised up any further in life, but he seemed to remain the same callow pretty boy until he died in 1945, with a few flirtations into fascism along the way. Wilde, with a vivid and artistic articulacy, plumbs the depths of emotion and it's a piece that lifts you from the darkness even as it explains that absence of light. Bonus points for his approval of Kropotkin - Wilde calls the anarchist one of only two truly happy men that he ever met.
I've always been intrigued by Wilde's story, but haven't read anything by him. I hear his letters are better than his official works.
Give this one a try, I say.
It sounds really good. I think I will.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Posted: 15 Aug 2019, 4:53pm
by Silent Majority
47) Surprising Down to Earth and Very Funny - Limmy. Audiobook, read in beautiful thick Glaswegian by the author. I like LImmy, the ex-alky, ex druggie, comedian with suicidal tendencies and a weird sketch show. He tells his life story in little bursts, like short stories, slowly taking him from getting pissed and sleeping in offices to meetings with posh English BBC executives with a sense of inferiority, to (least interestingly) fatherhood. I really enjoyed this book, I blasted through its eight hours in about two or three days. I recommend it.
47) Surprising Down to Earth and Very Funny - Limmy. Audiobook, read in beautiful thick Glaswegian by the author. I like LImmy, the ex-alky, ex druggie, comedian with suicidal tendencies and a weird sketch show. He tells his life story in little bursts, like short stories, slowly taking him from getting pissed and sleeping in offices to meetings with posh English BBC executives with a sense of inferiority, to (least interestingly) fatherhood. I really enjoyed this book, I blasted through its eight hours in about two or three days. I recommend it.
Here's his sketch show.
I am definitely reading this. The man is hilarious and sketch show sublime.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Posted: 19 Aug 2019, 10:13am
by Dr. Medulla
Current bedtime book:
Warm fuzzies as the 2019 team circles the drain.
Still plugging away, listening to Tim Alberta's Trump/Republican fiasco book. Just got to a passage where Trump, between the primaries and convention, meets with Rove about the upcoming campaign. Trump figures he'll win Oregon, California, and New York, because he won the Republican primaries there. No, Rove says, you have no chance because there are so many more Democrats in the state. You need to focus on places like Iowa. But I lost the caucuses in Iowa, Trump said. This stuff shouldn't be a surprise, but when you come across these things, it's still breathtaking the depth of his ignorance.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Posted: 21 Aug 2019, 8:16am
by Dr. Medulla
Gave up re-reading Hermes. It's thorough, I'll give him that, but it's seemingly guided more by covering everything imaginable than providing a reason for a person to care. So Philip Glass, the New York Dolls, and Brooooooose are all doing their thing at the same time in the same place. And? Same reason I didn't like it the first time.
Switching tub books to this:
I know I read this when it came out, but of course it's lost from my memory.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Posted: 21 Aug 2019, 12:42pm
by Kory
Finally jumping into this. Only about 50 pages in and it's already way better than Horace's book. I still don't know why Horace thought his life was interesting.
Finally jumping into this. Only about 50 pages in and it's already way better than Horace's book. I still don't know why Horace thought his life was interesting.
Finally jumping into this. Only about 50 pages in and it's already way better than Horace's book. I still don't know why Horace thought his life was interesting.
Got that one a great read.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Posted: 23 Aug 2019, 12:22pm
by Silent Majority
48) Call for the Dead - John Le Carre. Audiobook. The first George Smiley novel (published in 1961) finds that grey man at the book's center. Le Carre's misanthropy and disgust for all that he found in the world is so overblown in his that it's almost funny, almost camp. He's also funny on purpose, which Ian Fleming never is. But it's still an interesting and intriguing world that he draws, a murder mystery with East German spies. Was considering following this up with the Ipcress File by Len Deighton, but the reviews are shit.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Posted: 27 Aug 2019, 11:45am
by Silent Majority
49) The Three Dimensions of Freedoms - Billy Bragg. Audiobook Read by the author. Mostly patriotic and pro-capitalist ("capitalism is like a fire. If you keep it under control, it can sustain you. If you let it burn unchecked, it can be a terrible thing") bilge, but he did just pronounce Rush Limbaugh's surname as Limbarrr, so you've got to take the crunchy with the smooth, I suppose. Billy's likable and good company and this is short as hell and utterly inessential.
Re: Whatcha reading?
Posted: 28 Aug 2019, 8:22pm
by Dr. Medulla
Bedtime resding
If the subtitle is accurate, this could be wonderfully batshit. A friend knows David J a little bit and says he's a well-grounded and decent dude. Hmm, something must give.
