I won't argue the merits of On the Road but I can see how it fits on the list... kinda maybe.

He's thinking about cutting it considering it has the least relevance, apparently.

Seriously?

I've always enjoyed your tastes in music and literature, so I'm baffled why you would consider On the Road a throwaway?

It was probably the most spontaneous novel of its generation and ignited scores of teens to seek out new experiences and turned a nation of youths to rebel, enlighten, and blow out their minds. It inspired a generation to write, to start rock bands, to travel the world, listen to jazz, and to really know what it means to appreciate the beauty of simplicity.

Not to mention, the entire novel is filled with creative youthful ramblings:

"I woke up as the sun was reddening; and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, when I didn't know who I was — I was far away from home, haunted and tired with travel, in a cheap hotel room I'd never seen, hearing the hiss of steam outside, and the creak of the old wood of the hotel, and footsteps upstairs, and all the sad sounds, and I looked at the cracked high ceiling and really didn't know who I was for about fifteen strange seconds."

Of course, there is his most famous paragraph from the novel:

"They danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn..."

I'm not sure about you, but I remember the electric joy of reading it for the first time and how I couldn't put it down. It's not for everyone, but it is without a doubt, the undeniable tome of the Beat Generation. It's a must read for any literature class. That is how I discovered it- from a teacher. And because of that, I rediscovered a love for reading a very long time ago.

"So in America when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the West Coast, and all that road going, and all the people dreaming in the immensity of it... and tonight the stars'll be out, and don't you know that God is Pooh Bear?"

As did I. It didn't seem in the same vein as the previous two. So hollywoodized.




Someone mentioned Room earlier, anyone read it? THe cover design got me to read about it. Sounds interesting.

Cosmic: I like the book, and I agree that it's an important work from a cultural standpoint. It doesn't really match the craft of the other works though. It's not that it's inferior: it's that it is a different type of work. I'm on my phone or I'd try to be more verbose in my explanation.

I think he was just saying it didn't fit the theme. Well shit I dunno, guess he would be best qualified to speak for himself. I'll shut up.

This.

In that case, I would agree with you. I'm just defending the fact the novel should be included in every high school's English curriculum.

About to start reading Connie Willis' Blackout and All Clear. Not usually a fan of historical (science) fiction, but I really loved Doomsday Book.

That's pretty awesome right there...

I agree on Watchmen, Slaughterhouse 5, and Dr. Strangelove. Haven't read the rest, but you seriously like "the Wasteland?"

Actually i can't say I've read that. Bad?

That depends on whether or not you feel that making repeated, and often obscure, cultural references so often that even Family Guy thinks it's over the top would make for a bad 400+ line poem.

Im reading this novel called the "Hanging of Angelique" I don't reccommend anybody to read it. It's based on a true story. If you could handle depression, go right ahead and read it then. But the title of novel speaks high volumes on what kind of a read it is.

As always, I'm juggling a ****ton of readings. Most prominently this week it has been:

Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner
Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey - Robert V. Camuto

I was supposed to read that for a class last semester, and might have gotten 30 pages into it before quitting.

I'm looking forward to reading The Kennedy Detail when it comes out in a couple of weeks.

Not sure if this book has been mentioned anywhere on this site but my current reading material is a book called "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis who also wrote "The Blind Side"

"The Big Short" is the story of the financial meltdown we recently experienced. It really is an eye opener. I highly recommend it to those who are interested in these type things.

Lewis' Liar's Poker was the last thing I read for pleasure. I suggest you pick it up if you haven't.

I almost bought The Big Short for my nook but held off after reading it was largely a character study of some of the major players involved. I did read "The Big Takeover" and "The Great American Bubble Machine", both by Matt Taibbi, which were on the same topic and extremely incendiary.

I'm currently reading Uranium, which is about the history of the discovery and then the production and mining of the element.

This week, I had my students read "Hugh Selwyn Mauberly", "The Hollow Men", and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" in the American Lit class I teach.

Oh, and on the poetry front: I recently read Sabrina Orah Mark's 2009 collection, Tsim Tsum, which is ****ing great. Here's a poem from the book:

Fairly succinct. Not ****ing great. Good enough though. My aunt writes better poetry. I am not without familial bias.

You should read The Big Short. Or, if you're crunched for time, find the podcast of Fresh Air with Michael Lewis. You'll get a condensed version. The book is very, very good.


Are those Taibbis articles or did he write books on the subject?

For me the characters are actually what makes it an easy read. I tend to get disinterested if it all technical and dry.

To be fair, all the prose poems in that collection from Orah Mark share characters and tell a larger narrative, so one can't make a complete judgment w/o having read the whole collection.

Who is your aunt?

Ah, I was just being mouthy. The poem you posted was very nice.

My aunt just dabbles in poetry, she is really more of a visual artist. She had an anthology published by a very small press years ago. If I can find her stuff online I'll post a link.

By the way, where ya going to school?

He's teaching somewhere, I believe (in the southeast?). He's a noob though so the longtime literature teachers probably raz him all the time.

I just started the Piano Lesson by August Wilson.

The University of Alabama.

Hell yes. August Wilson's "century cycle" is one of the greatest literary achievements of all time, IMO. Tremendous work.

I had sworn off Stephen King, but bought Under the Dome anyway, kind of as a last chance thing. I'm probably about 1/10th of the way through, and it has been thoroughly enjoyable thus far. Lots o' grisly death, with a fair amount of humor thrown in.

Right on. A buddy of mine is getting piled higher and deeper at Temple. Hard to imagine he is left in charge of a class.

I thought you were at UAB or somewhere? I didn't realize you were truly sucking on the Crimson Teat.

Clearly a sell-out. ;)

I feel the same way. It is hard to imagine that I am in charge of part of the education of people's sons and daughters.

UAB? **** no. I'm in a serious ****ing program. Prestige and shit.

Also, hogs are for eating, not cheering on.

I didn't know you were actually teaching, Reaper. I thought you were just in a MFA program. Or do they let a lot of them actually teach?

Teaching is how we earn our funding. At big state schools there are a lot of freshmen that need to take required Freshmen-level Composition classes. As far as teaching goes, 'Bama allows its MFAs to teach all sorts of classes during their time in the program. I will eventually be able to teach honors comp, intro to creative writing, more advanced creative writing classes, etc.

I bet you're not actually reading it. :sulk:

Yeah, I guess one of the things about going to small--medium sized schools is that you don't get taught by grad students, which is something most people would probably figure is an advantage in default.

Are you still focused more on the travel/food writing?

As an MA, I was always stuck teaching Freshman Composition. It's what got me into teaching, though. I always thought I wanted to be a professor, and I entered graduate school with that goal in mind. Turns out that I enjoyed my hours teaching much more than my hours researching.

This is not true.

Define "small--medium sized schools." I did my undergrad at Northwest Missouri State University (enrollment in the 7,000s) because I wanted an undergrad experience where I wasn't taught by grad students.

As for what I write: I'd say half of what I write about is about culture and foodways. The other half can be wide-ranging. The two pieces I'm working on now that are closest to being ready to send out for publication are about a specific wall & the way high school friends drift apart, and about addiction rehab programs in America.

"Man and His Symbols" edited & introduced by Carl Jung

Jitney is one of my favorite plays. I like the way he moves from different times of day, and how he can get you to sense the lives of the characters outside the stage. When I read it I can see the city outside the stage, which is just so skilled on his part.
I'm also about to start a book called Kaufman & Co., which has plays George Kaufman wrote with Edna Ferber, Moss Hart, Ring Lardner, and Morrie Ryskind.
It has a couple of musicals, though, which I'll skip. I don't really like reading musicals. I'm planning to start with June Moon because he wrote it with Ring Lardner, and Lardner's book "You Know Me Al" is a personal favorite of mine.

The girl who played with fire
and
NFL Unplugged

I was damn good as Herman Glogauer in a production of Hart & Kaufman's Once In a Lifetime a few years back.

Meltdown

and

Hamilton's curse.

UNI, about 12-13K, does not have grad students teaching their History, Political Science or English classes. Neither does a school like Coe, private, 2K.

What is untrue about it, Hamas? There are many grad students teaching classes at small--medium sized schools?

Just checked out A Glorious Cause from the library. In large print version of course. Just finished A Rise to Rebellion by the same author, Jeff Shaara. Highly recommend him. Easy and compelling reading. Historically accurate.

Depending on the college, yes. It's not just something that happens at large state schools. I went to a liberal arts school of about 6K and took my freshman comp class from a grad student.

It all depends on the university, though. Schools w/ doctoral programs will often have their students teaching both freshman and sophomore level classes in a variety of disciplines.

I'm currently reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

Your credentials for joining the high brow crowd aren't very high BNK. :D

Just finished the entire "Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures" series by Dewey Lambdin.
If Horatio Hornblower liked to get drunk and do hookers, he would of hung out with Alan Lewrie.

lol..well you made a good choice.

Today's Amazon delivery includes:

Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

I'll have the latest Wheel of Time book on November 2nd.

I'm still waiting for a low brow reading thread so that I can contribute. :)

I just picked up Towers of Midnight on the way in to work. 13 down, 1 to go.

Today: Cane - Jean Toomer

Tomorrow: Darkroom - Jill Christman

Amazon's 'release day delivery' failed so far. UPS had better be en route with my ****ing WOT fix.
Posted via Mobile Device

I went to pre-order it, er, Friday maybe, and they didn't offer that release day delivery any more (I'd seen it earlier in the month), so I decided I'd just pick it up at a real world store. Luckily it's on the way to work, so no fuss, no muss.

I re-read The Gathering Storm last week, and it wasn't quite as bad as I remember (although I never thought it 'bad' so much as slightly off). The last chapter with Rand still bothers me though. It just doesn't work somehow.

My next two months, as far as books go:

The Made-Up Self: Impersonation in the Personal Essay - Carl H. Klaus
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic - Alison Bechdel
Barbecue: The History of an American Institution - Robert F. Moss
Savage Barbecue: Race, Culture, and the Invention of America's First Food - Andrew Warnes
Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food - Wendell Berry
Conversations with M.F.K. Fisher - ed. David Lazar
Fatheralong - John Edgar Wideman
Vanishing Point: Not A Memoir - Ander Monson
Unclean Stories for Women and Girls - Alissa Nutting

reading the lonesome dove series(again). Really love that series!

With the end of classes in sight, I'm looking forward to getting some leisure reading during Christmas break.

What to read in December:

- Aristotle's Ethics
- Boethius' Consolation
- Dickens' Christmas Carol

Certainly not high brow, but I started the Hungry City Chronicles by Philip Reeve.


Post-apocalyptic steampunk? Yes please. I'm really enjoying it so far, and I can see this being a very, very solid movie franchise.

"the immortal life of henrietta lacks."

great nonfiction book about biomedical research and the story behind the first 'immortal' cell-culture line. also known as 'HeLa' around the world in virtually every single lab that conducts biomedical research, her cells (the lineage of, technically) have been alive longer than she was and the sheer biomass of which is absolutely astounding.

We just covered a case in Property on cell-lines: Moore v. Regents of California. Very, very interesting. The doctor took Moore's spleen out, and instead of discarding it, he did research on it, and patented the cell-line. Without telling Moore about this. Was the line Moore's property or not? Should Moore get a percentage of profit? Or did he abandon it? A lot of questions there.

Just finished The Big Short, by Michael Lewis, about the housing crisis and the collapse of 2008. F'n disgusting. Very good, readable book.

Now on to the new George Washington book by Ron Chernow, my favorite biographer.

One of the things I admire and like about you here is that I know Ron Chernow is your favorite biographer. I know how much his Hamilton and Rockefeller books impacted you. It shows so much when the topics come up and your intelligence and education shines through, enlightening the discussion to a much higher degree than before. I love these accessible books and the history in them, and its energizing when someone's passion for it reaches and surpasses my own.

I hope you enjoy the (considerably long) time you'll have with it. By all indications, it seems a sure bet.

I very rarely re-read anything but I have started Foundation Trilogy again. Gotta be 20 years but still one of my all time favorite si-fi's.

Halfway through the first Harry Potter. Bought the complete set. I've seen all of the movies so far, but I have never read the books.

Do you like the book better, so far?

Even though I'm only halfway through, I can already tell parts that were left out. A lot more detail. So, yes, I've enjoyed the book better so far.

"The Prow Beast" by Robert Low. Good historical fiction

Amazon just delivered my Winter Break reading material. A friend on campus recommended Mark Bowden, so I ran with it.

Doctor Dealer - Mark Bowden

Killing Pablo - Mark Bowden

Blackhawk Down - Mark Bowden

War - Sebastian Junger

I probably will not do reading for my AfricanAmerican lit class for next semester, but today I picked up Joseph Heller's Closing Time.

**** you. You're missing out.

Started reading "The Pacific" yesterday. I started a new job as a jailer and have a lot of downtime. Its a good read thus far. I'm thinking on picking up "With the Old Breed" I think that's what it is called. Worth the $10?

Whoops, I meant over break I probably won't get ahead on reading.

Here's the list:

Vintage Book of AA Poetry
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Sula by Toni Morrison
Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate
Erasure by Percival Everett.

And you gotta be a little bit more creative when insulting me. When I shittalked Norton Anthologies Hamas called me a foot shuffling porter.

"nature via nurture" by matt ridley. great science writer, fwiw.