An Ancient Gesture

Long List for the Man Booker Prize

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:20:44 -0400

Thrilled that Skippy Dies by Paul Murray is longlisted. Heartbroken that Ghost Light by Joseph O’Connor didn’t make it. It’s just plain wrong.

“Cherry Blossoms” by VitaminInMotion

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:14:00 -0400

“Cherry Blossoms” by VitaminInMotion

Leon Neyfakh on Reader's Despair Syndrome

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:04:00 -0400

Leon Neyfakh on Reader's Despair Syndrome:

From The New York Observer.

Follow-up post

"Look At Me!" by Maureen Tkacik

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:28:00 -0400

"Look At Me!" by Maureen Tkacik:

From the Columbia Journalism Review.

Critical Library: Lorin Stein

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:19:00 -0400

Critical Library: Lorin Stein:

Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag

Axel’s Castle: The Imaginative Literature of 1870-1930 by Edmund Wilson

Studies in Classic American Literature by Harold Bloom

The End of the Novel of Love by Vivian Gornick

"If you have to ask someone to change, to tell you they love you, to bring wine to dinner, to call..."

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:07:50 -0400

“If you have to ask someone to change, to tell you they love you, to bring wine to dinner, to call you when they land, you can’t afford to be with them. It’s not worth the price, even though, just like the Tiffany catalog, no one tells you what that price is. You set it yourself, and if you’re lucky it’s reasonable. You have a sense of when you’re about to go bankrupt. Your own sense of self-worth takes the wheel and says, ‘Enough of this shit. Stop making excuses. No one’s that busy at work. No one’s allergic to whipped cream. There are too cell phones in Sweden.’ But most people don’t get lucky. They get human. They get crushes. This means you irrationally mortgage what little logic you own to pay for this one thing. This relationship is an impulse buy, and you’ll figure out if it’s worth it later.”

- How Did You Get This Number? by Sloane Crosley, p. 228-229

Because I can’t stop running a google image search of I Am...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:58:44 -0400

Because I can’t stop running a google image search of I Am Love.

I Am Love

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:26:33 -0400

I just got home from Cobble Hill Cinemas, where I saw I Am Love, an Italian film by Luca Guadagnino, starring Tilda Swinton. I walked out feeling like I’d been through a whirlwind, the sensory elements were so powerful. The cinematography and score were such that this film must be seen in the theater. Gasps were audible throughout the film as plot undulations and climaxes occurred. On several occasions, my mother, who went with me, tightly grasped my arm and emitted noises of genuine emotion and shock.

I don’t want to give away too much, but I will say that I found Tilda Swinton to be breathtaking as a Emma, a Russian émigré living in Italy, an alien in her own villa in Milano among her regal, beautiful family. Brilliant too was Alba Rohrwacher, who played the daughter, Betta. Only at times was it a bit too over-wrought for my taste, and even at those moments I understood that these were essential in fulfilling the aesthetic aims of the movie. It had the aura and tone of a film made in another era of filmmaking, but simultaneously was one of the oddest and most innovative films I’ve seen recently. It’s difficult to maintain that nostalgia while producing such cacophonous, unsettling, but perfectly appropriate effects that send the viewer out of their comfort zone.

An exceptional cinematic experience.

Also, did you know that admission is $7 on Tuesdays (all day long) at Cobble Hill? I may have to make the excursion a weekly ritual if that deal endures.

Also note Anthony Lane’s fantastic review in The New Yorker, that made me want to see it in the first place.

Tonight at Cobble Hill Cinemas

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:02:00 -0400

Tonight at Cobble Hill Cinemas

The Bee’s Knees, on a sailboat in Clearlake, CA, July 3,...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:18:00 -0400

The Bee’s Knees, on a sailboat in Clearlake, CA, July 3, 2010.

Currently reading How Did You Get This Number? by Sloane...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:28:42 -0400

Currently reading How Did You Get This Number? by Sloane Crosley, the follow-up to one of my favorites, I Was Told There’d Be Cake. My enjoyment level is on the high side of the spectrum.

“Greenaway” by a bout de souffle

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:04:09 -0400

“Greenaway” by a bout de souffle

Flips, stripes, and all that jazz

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:08:00 -0400

Imagine my delight when I heard that the New York Review of Books was going to publish another Elaine Dundy novel, following The Dud Avocado. I stumbled upon it at Three Lives, the fantastic West Village bookshop that has quickly become my favorite in the city. I finished it this morning on the C train on my way to work.

I had a few problems with The Dud Avocado. I was bothered by the silly plot twist that occurs towards the end of the novel. It seemed a little overdone and implausible. This didn’t stop me from loving the book, quite the contrary, but it certainly made me take it a bit less seriously. The Old Man and Me comes dangerously close to making similar mistakes. The circumstances that drive the plot, the protagonist, Honey Flood’s impetus for going to live in London and pursue a man 3 times her age, are at times in danger of leading the novel down this path. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find the writing, plot, and character development to be quite sophisticated on the whole.

This is due partly to a fearless expression of sexuality, and a bluntness when in portraying the sexual relationship between a 20-something and 58 year old man, as well as Honey’s diverse feelings on the subject. Additionally, Honey Flood is a fantastic character; mischievious, at times evil, stylish, and displaying a charming point of view to experience the novel through. All in all, The Old Man and Me was a delight.

:) RT @GraywolfPress @chapmanchapman @MaudNewton @robspill Free books on the NYC subway:...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:33:43 -0400

:) RT @GraywolfPress @chapmanchapman @MaudNewton @robspill Free books on the NYC subway: http://bit.ly/FKfOu

Times Online reports on disclosures of William Golding’s violence in unpublished autobiography...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:33:43 -0400

Times Online reports on disclosures of William Golding’s violence in unpublished autobiography http://tinyurl.com/kkyusx via @cteicher

Far superior to The Dud Avocado, and just as much, if not more, fun to read.

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:22:20 -0400

Far superior to The Dud Avocado, and just as much, if not more, fun to read.

Nearly finished with The Old Man and Me, the latest Elaine Dundy resurrected by NY Review of Books.

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:22:20 -0400

Nearly finished with The Old Man and Me, the latest Elaine Dundy resurrected by NY Review of Books.

I enjoy letter writing so much! Wish I did it more often. Maybe my hand wouldn’t get quite so...

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:22:20 -0400

I enjoy letter writing so much! Wish I did it more often. Maybe my hand wouldn’t get quite so sore if I did.

The cable company is holding me hostage tomorrow. My appointment is anywhere from 10am to 8pm. Going...

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:20:34 -0400

The cable company is holding me hostage tomorrow. My appointment is anywhere from 10am to 8pm. Going to be the worst day ever.

Just had an epic day of work, yoga, sushi, Much Ado About Nothing, & ginger cookies…too...

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:57:37 -0400

Just had an epic day of work, yoga, sushi, Much Ado About Nothing, & ginger cookies…too many ginger cookies…cream-filled.