false 1099934 33 male Houston, TX 04/2008 12/2009 43 37 34 true 5716150 read 2 true 2272862 currently-reading 1 true 2272861 to-read Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It) by Sanford Levinson]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81714161 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177958060s/745516.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:09:03 -0800 Netherland (Hardcover) by Joseph O'Neill]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81714117 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255793924s/2615008.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:08:28 -0800 In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic (Hardcover) by David Wessel]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80631110 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255577670s/6569694.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:01:21 -0800 more...]]> The Myth of the Rational Market: Wall Street's Impossible Quest for Predictable Markets (Hardcover) by Justin Fox]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80067130 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255675940s/4749235.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:05:32 -0800 more...]]> Black No More : A Novel (Modern Library Paperbacks) by George S. Schuyler]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78117858 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178732859s/827686.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:15:29 -0800
It's a 1931 satire -- a doctor invents a procedure that makes black people white. But he uses this premise to launch a number of different satirical points (class, race, politics, etc.). It's very modern, and hilariou...more...]]> Their Eyes Were Watching God (Paperback) by Zora Neale Hurston]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78117962 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168914994s/37415.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:07:30 -0800 The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century (Hardcover) by Alex Ross]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73920654 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174414660s/392563.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:33:19 -0800
But that said, I knew very little about 20th century classical music, and it's an outstanding overview and introduction. Learning about Stravinsky ...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62872766 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165367089s/3867.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:04:45 -0700
in the end, there were too many stories going on for my feeble mind]]> The History of Love (Paperback) by Nicole Krauss]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62872766 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165367089s/3867.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:59:33 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55221909 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1218672960s/4671.jpg 1099934 John http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258528775p2/1099934.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1099934-john Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:45:15 -0700 Jeff wrote: "cat, in what universe is any hemingway novel better than _gatsby_?

it doesn't take the eyes of dr. t.j. eckleburg to see that fitzgerald is the superior modern novelist."

First, let me repeat that they are both very good. Like Andrea said, I picked up on a lot more since I last read in high school.

The good parts are obvious, so this is what bothered me. First, I thought the characters other than Gatsby were fairly two-dimensional -- particularly the Buchanans.

Second, I think the message (in 2009) is probably a bit dated. The look at the moral rot of the wealthy classes is great - but it was probably a more profound observation in the 1920s than today in a post-60s environment where we've spent decades criticizing the focus on wealth (that's not Fitzgerald's fault of course)

Third, to the extent his critique is not just of the wealthy but of the "american dream" more generally, I completely disagree with it. in fact, the critique itself is a product of the class bias Fitzgerald criticizes. Criticizing the desire to be rich and to focus on more authentic morals, etc. is all well and good when you're already rich. But money makes life easier -- and I disagree with the implicit critique of working class people who want to do (and have done) well.

As for Sun Also Rises, there are many great things about it -- but the key is to realize that the post-WW1 context makes it truly great. The old values, romanticism, etc. has been completely discredited and abandoned. Instead, there is a retreat into pure hedonism, an unsuccessful wandering for new structures.

What's interesting though is that, even in the new world, everyone is still haunted by the old values. Jake gets infuriated at cohn's romantic idealization of Brett, but he's also in love and can't completely shake it. he's also still enthralled with the young bullfigher, who performs an old classic style.

Second, Hemingway's message is much less heavy-handed. He "shows" rather than "tells." Rather than saying "everybody after ww1 was lonely and lost." He shows it. After the fiesta is over, you viscerally *feel* the loneliness. Fitzgerald does this too but his symbols are more obvious

Third, the characters are better. There's nothing esp. complex about Daisy Buchanan -- she just sucks. Brett is far more interesting -- particularly at the end when she abandons the bullfighter for his own sake b/c she recognizes how horrible she is. there's still a remnant of a moral core

All that said, I really like both books. the authors both do a good job of being part of a world they simultaneously love and hate. and on a more personal note, i like the way they represent drunk people]]>