At the end of April I came across an essay by Rebecca Solnit that made me so very excited. Woolf’s Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable made me say wow! And then I saw it was going to be in a soon to be published new book by Solnit so I immediately ordered the book because I had to have this essay!
The book has arrived. I have not reread the essay or begun reading the book yet. I am buried beneath no-renewal wait-listed library books at the moment and I have been given another Library Journal review assignment. But the book is on my reading table and at the earliest opportunity I am looking forward to diving in. I especially want to reread the Woolf essay with a pencil in hand. It sparked all sorts of thoughts when I read it online and I hope it does so again when I read it on paper.
I am very close to being done with Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers which is good since it is due Friday. And I have begun reading The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon. I’m enjoying it very much so far. It is Graedon’s first book and the narrative is charging along. I will be curious to see if she can keep up the pace.
So I know you’ll understand when I say, gonna go read now.
Hope all of you are in the midst of a good book or two or three!
I was also impressed with Solnit’s long piece on the Page Turner. You don’t often see such a moving piece online.
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Richard, I’m so glad you read and enjoyed the piece too! Yes, moving is a good description. And you are right, it is rare to find such a piece online. At first I worried that the essay was so affecting because I read over a break at work during a particularly busy day, but I think it will hold up to a closer reading and then I will also have time to pursue some of the ideas she discusses.
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Oh I do wish I was in the midst of a good book or two. After finishing The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter and The Buddha In The Attic, I needed something light and fun (they were both so dark) but good, and I haven’t had any luck. I’ll pick something up and say, “Blah.” Any suggestions? Okay. Off to read the essay (I really think I should renew my subscription to The New Yorker.”
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Grad, I do believe you found your good book in Solnit? 🙂
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This really happened! Yesterday afternoon I read an article about ‘Emergent Change and Negative Capability’. After finishing I went looking for more information and found that poet John Keats used the idea of Negative Capability in a letter once. That was all. I felt slightly disappointed yet decided to let it rest and take a look again this morning. And then this morning I read your blogpost, followed the link to the essay and there it was again: Negative Capability. So you guided me to my next read!
And it’s a very good one too. I’ll send you a copy of the article I read yesterday just for fun.
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Cath, I love when things like that happen! I think you will really like the Woolf article 🙂
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Do you like The Flamethrowers? Latest news is that Jane Campion will direct the movie adaptation. Campion, who won the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for The Piano (1993), is one highly acclaimed female director. Trust she’ll do a wonderful job but I don’t even know what the book is about. Looking forward to your review. 😉
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Arti, yes, I do like The Flamethrowers. I think Campion will be able to turn it into a good movie!
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Yes, you could say I am in the midst of a few….good books! I have long wanted to read something by Rebecca Solnit, so I look forward to hearing about her new book when you get around to it. It’s always nice having a book on the night table you are anticipating reading!
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Danielle, heh, I know you are in the midst of a few good books! 😀 It’s very fun to anticipate reading a book though it makes it just a little harder to focus on the books already in progress!
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Unusual for me, I’m in the midst of a few good books too … these days I try to keep it to two but I’m currently reading 3 with a fourth hovering. One is an Australian classic (on the kindle), another a book of short stories (review copy received), and the third a very interesting juvenilia work. So, like you, I should head off now and read.
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whisperinggums, oh you are getting wild and crazy! 🙂
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That’s me .. whooping it up on my sofa with my books. It’s a wild wild world I live in!
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I’ve often been meaning to read Rebecca Solnit, having heard you praise her before. Now, finally, I am going to because The Faraway Nearby is out in paperback soon and so I’m reviewing it for SNB. Looking forward to it!
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Litlove, I have not read The Faraway Nearby but I hope it’s good and I hope you enjoy it!
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