Monthly Archives: July 2011
Spurious
To give you a sense of what Lars Iyer’s novel Spurious is like, here is the opening paragraph: I’m a terrible influence on W., everyone says that. Why does he hang out with me? What’s in it for him? The … Continue reading
The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth
The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth by Frances Wilson is not exactly a traditional biography. It does tell Dorothy’s life story, but it doesn’t try to include all the details or treat all the times in her life equally. Instead, it … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Nonfiction
A list!
It’s been a while since I’ve done a listy, meme-type thing, and maybe the depths of July when I’m lazy and tired are good for that. I found this at Musings from the Sofa and My Porch (the sofa and … Continue reading
New books!
It’s library sale season here in Connecticut, and today Hobgoblin and I checked out one of the local ones. There are many more that we could go to, if we wanted to, as every library in the area seems to … Continue reading
Dorothy Wordsworth
I happened to pick up a copy of Dorothy Wordsworth’s selected letters while in London — I have her journals and a biography, so it seemed appropriate to get some letters as well — and on a whim I began … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Nonfiction
Our Tragic Universe, continued
So, what is Our Tragic Universe about? (By the way, I first wrote about this book here.) It tells the story of Meg, a thirty-something writer living in a small English town in Devonshire. She makes a living, or sort … Continue reading
Our Tragic Universe
I don’t know what to make of Scarlett Thomas’s writing. I liked, but also felt ambivalent about, but at the same time have fond memories of, her novel PopCo. Our Tragic Universe is evoking much the same response, although I … Continue reading
Stephanie Staal’s Reading Women
I picked up Stephanie Staal’s book Reading Women: How the Great Books of Feminism Changed My Life on a whim at the library and read it relatively quickly over the July 4th weekend. It was a good book, an enjoyable … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Nonfiction
Updates
I spent last weekend in Vermont visiting some friends; they have a house in the mountains near Manchester, and we’ve visited them a few times in the last couple years. I love staying with them because we lead such quiet … Continue reading
