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August 18
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Tara
marked as to-read:
Dangerous Emotions (Paperback)
by Alphonso Lingis
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Tara
marked as to-read:
The Philosophy of Freedom: The Basis for a Modern World Conception (Paperback)
by Rudolf Steiner
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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August 13
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Tara
gave
to:
The Last Novel (Paperback)
by David Markson
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in August, 2008
Tara said:
"what i learned from this book: 1.popular conceptions of great "masterworks" of art are continually evolving. 2.concerning other artists' work, one can hear the singing of highest praises or the most brutally gleeful dirges by other artists,...more
what i learned from this book: 1.popular conceptions of great "masterworks" of art are continually evolving. 2.concerning other artists' work, one can hear the singing of highest praises or the most brutally gleeful dirges by other artists, judgements determined by the strongest tastes and jealousies imaginable...
the novelist's constant effort to size up his career through comparison to the "greats," saturates every page, paying considerable attn. to how it is that so many artists completed enviable oeuvres in their youth, while others only began in their 70's. many artists' demonstrable conviction to their work appears as footnotes throughout the novel by way of smattered quotes and scaffolded historical semi-fiction blurbages. here are some randomly generated quotes and blurbages:
"People are exasperated by poetry which they do not understand and contemptuous of poetry which they understand without effort.
Said Elliot" (Markson, 2007,p.55).
"If you are going to make a book end badly, Robert Louis Stevenson once pointed out, it must end badly from the beginning--Such as by mentioning an eighth-story roof in its very first paragraphs.
And which should presumably call to mind Chekhov's admonition that if a pistol is displayed in a first act, it had damned well better be fired by the last" (Markson, 2007, p.92).
"Auden's notion that one could readily imagine a young Tolstoy or Stendhal or Dostoievsky in a bar fight.
But Henry James, never" (Markson, 2007, p.156).
"Let me alone. Good day.
Said Tom Paine--to the two clergymen who had contrived to make their way to his bedside when hey lay dying.
How long the days for the wretched, how swift for the favored.
Said Publilius Syrus" (Markson, 2007, p. 176).
enjoyed best at a leisurely pace....less
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August 18
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Tara
is currently reading:
VALIS (Paperback)
by Philip K. Dick
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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July 26
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Tara
marked as to-read:
Status Anxiety (Hardcover)
by Alain De Botton
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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July 24
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Tara
gave
to:
Ragtime: A Novel (Paperback)
by Edgar Lawrence Doctorow
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Tara said:
"what i learned from this book: historical fiction is a worthless genre, regardless of writing quality and despite praises from prominent art theorists. i vow never to attempt it again. nevertheless, doctorow paints a semi-convincing picture of ragtim...more
what i learned from this book: historical fiction is a worthless genre, regardless of writing quality and despite praises from prominent art theorists. i vow never to attempt it again. nevertheless, doctorow paints a semi-convincing picture of ragtime ""amerika," which would have been more appreciated by me if he had not presumed the narrative voice of actual historical persons. the central characters were fictional or nameless, while the ancillary characters were mostly historically/socially well-known figures. how was this a more effective trope to comment on the theme of social class?...
doctorow could have come up with more convincing fictional characters instead of relying on jp morgan, emma goldman, stanford white (et al), and houdini or substitute convincing caricatures with a few name changes to protect the innocent. i may still attempt loonlake, but i am undecided. should i happen upon a familiar name, its over....less
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July 29
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Tara
gave
to:
The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War (Paperback)
by Lynn H. Nicholas
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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August 18
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Tara
gave
to:
The Museum at Purgatory (Byzantium Book)
by Nick Bantock
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Tara said:
"what i learned from this book: while the shape-shifting museum at purgatory seems interesting enough, i probably wouldnt go out of my way to visit unless i was already in the area. the premise of the book was interesting but the book left me wanting ...more
what i learned from this book: while the shape-shifting museum at purgatory seems interesting enough, i probably wouldnt go out of my way to visit unless i was already in the area. the premise of the book was interesting but the book left me wanting more imaginative description, less moralizing and less cheese. color illustrations raised my rating by a star....less
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July 22
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Tara
took the never-ending book quiz.
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July 21
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Tara
marked as to-read:
Gravity's Rainbow (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
by Thomas Pynchon
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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