BOOKS AND MEMORY

Lorna Pollock: Federico Mompou: Musica callada III

 HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS BLOG; OR, GOOD LUCK!

PRAELUDIUM; OR, HOW I GOT FROM THERE TO HERE, AND WHERE IS HERE ANYWAY?

HOW I NEVER FINISHED MOBY DICK, BUT PLAN TO THIS TIME

OTHER GREAT BOOKS I’VE (SOMETIMES ACTIVELY) AVOIDED LIKE THE PLAGUE 

THE FIRST BOOKS I REMEMBER; OR, MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, THE FIVE CHINESE BROTHERS AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN F. L. BAUM’S AND RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON’S OZ 

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Hersch plays Monk

THE CLAW; OR, TRAPPED INSIDE THE WORLD OF THE COMICS

NOT MUCH; OR WHAT I’D READ BY JUNIOR HIGH

MY QUEST FOR CHULTHU; OR, HOW I LEARNED TO LOVE THE LIBRARY

SCI FI AND ME; OR, LIFE BEFORE GIRLS 

OH, BRAVE NEW WORLD!; OR, LIFE AFTER FORD 

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

A SCIENTIST IN OVO; OR, READING MY WAY INTO BIOLOGY 

”SO OKAY, I’LL READ SOME DUMB ASS SCIENCE FICTION BOOK AND REPORT ON IT SO IT WON’T BOTHER ANYONE”; OR, GROWING UP LIBERAL IN A MOLTO CONSERVATIVE ENVIRONMENT

EPIPHANY: OR, DISCOVERING RALPH ELLISON 

BUTTING HEADS AND LOSING; OR, READING WILLIAM JAMES IN RELIGION 101

THE GARDEN OF FORKING PATHS; OR, READING BORGES IN SPANISH

APPENDICITIS ISN’T ALL THAT BAD: OR, READING TOLKIEN IN MY HOSPITAL BED

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: CLIFTON CHENIER: JOSEPHINE PAR SE MA FEMME

MY YEAR IN AN AUTO FOUNDRY; OR, HARVEY SWADOS AND “THE MYTH OF THE HAPPY WORKER”

THINKING ABOUT TEACHING: OR, READING PAUL GOODMAN AND A. S. NEILL 

LOOKING FOR THE LONGEST BOOKS I COULD FIND; OR, SUMMER ON AN ORE BOAT

A FLUBBED OPPORTUNITY; OR, READING FRIEDAN WHEN I WASN’T READY FOR IT YET

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: John Ogdon: Kaikoshru Sorabji: “Cadenza” from Opus Clavicembalum

CRAZY FOR THE ABSURD (I): FICTION

CRAZY FOR THE ABSURD (II): EXISTENTIALISTS 

CRAZY FOR THE ABSURD (III): PLAYS 

READING PLAYS AND ACTING AND DIRECTING: OR, LEARNING THE TRADE

SCATTERED READING ACROSS MANY FIELDS: OR, FRANK,  ME, AND HAPPY DAYS

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Don Pullen and the African-Brazilian Connection: Aseeko (Get Up and Dance!)

THE PROFANE AND THE SUBLIME; Or BUYING WEDDING GIFTS FOR MY USHERS  

THE RESURGENCE OF SMUT; OR, THE INTERESTING HISTORY OF THE STORY OF O 

GRAD SCHOOL AT LAST; OR, DISCOVERING CASSIRER AND PANOFSKY

FINDING A MENTOR; OR, READING HEXTER

READING HISTORY AT YALE; OR, STROLLING THROUGH KANTOROWICZ, BRAUDEL AND MANY DAUNTING OTHERS

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Ray Charles: I  Got a Woman

“ARMA VIRUMQUE CANO“; OR,  READING VERGIL IN THE ORIGINAL

HUNTING FOR THE MAGIC BULLET; OR, STALKING THE STACKS OF STERLING  LIBRARY

MY STUFF; OR, THE CASTILIAN CHRONICLERS AND ERASMUS,  COMMYNES, MACHIAVELLI AND GUICCIARDINI 

Lester Bowie: The Great Pretender

DECOMPRESSING:OR, THE PLEASURES OF  L&B’S GOLDEN AGE COLLECTION

STARVING FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE; OR, MY RESEARCH YEAR

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Gary Burton: The Green Mountains

DISCOVERING MY CHILDHOOD AGAIN; OR, READING TO A YOUNG JEREMY

EMBRACING FEMINISM; OR, WHAT MY WIFE, TEACHING AT A WOMEN’S COLLEGE, AND A SENSE OF BASIC FAIRNESS TAUGHT ME ABOUT WOMEN’S RIGHTS

TEACHING AT WELLS  (I): SURVEYS 

TEACHING AT WELLS (II): METHOD

OVERKILL; OR, WINTER TERM: WITH  BRAUDEL AND POCOCK

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH  THE RAW AND THE COOKED; OR TWO WEEKS ON A COUCH

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Renee Fleming: In Trutina

ON THE FLY: OR, TEACHING THE AMERICAN PRAGMATISTS WITHOUT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, AND MY COURSE ON THE HISTORY OF THE DETECTIVE STORY 

MY GREEK SUMMER; OR, READING PLATO AND ARISTOTLE

WHEN YOUR SON GOES TO COLLEGE; OR, LEARNING TO APPRECIATE POETRY AGAIN

A LOOPED WORLD; OR, WHY READING DOUGLAS HOFSTADTER IS A GOOD THING 

RECONNECTING WITH SCIENCE; OR, WHY DID I LOSE THE CONNECTION? 

WHEN WORDS ARE MUSIC; OR, PLAYS WHOSE WORDS ARE MAGICAL

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Kronos Quartet: Harry Partch: Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales

CARRYING COALS TO NEWCASTLE; OR, FINDING ENGLISH LANGUAGE BOOKS IN DUBAI 

HURRAH FOR JUNK FICTION; OR, THE PREDICTABLE  PLEASURES OF FORMULA FICTION

THE DISCOVERY OF THE HUMAN: OR, ONE ODD LITTLE BOOK AND ONE BIG FAT ONE 

AUTHORS WHO SHOULD HAVE WON THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE BUT DIDN’T; OR A BELATED RECOGNITION  OF JORGE LUIS BORGES, IVY COMPTON BURNETT, VLADIMIR NABOKOV,  KOBO ABE, IRIS MURDOCH, MILAN KUNDERA, WILLIAM TREVOR, JOHN UPDIKE, AND PHILIP ROTH — IF THEY’D LIVED LONGER, MAYBE  ITALO CALVINO AND PRIMO LEVI AS WELL

THE JOY OF COOKING: OR, IN THE KITCHEN WITH COOKBOOKS AND THEIR AUTHORS

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson: Handel: As With Rosy

APPRECIATIONS: TWO PAPERBACKS SERIES; PHILIP ROTH’S EASTERN EUROPE AND NEW LATIN AMERICAN AUTHORS

APPRECIATIONS: WEIRD WORLDS:  ITALO CALVINO, STANISLAW LEM, IAIN M. BANKS, URSULA K. LEGUIN

APPRECIATIONS: THE CHATTY WORLD OF IRIS MURDOCH

APPRECIATIONS: THE GREATEST TALKER IN THE  WORLD; OR APPROACHING ISAIAH BERLIN

APPRECIATIONS: THINKING AND  FEELING BUT ALWAYS  OUTSIDE; OR, DIDEROT, KUNDERA, PRIMO LEVI

APPRECIATIONS: AMERICAN AUTHORS; OR, THOUGHTS ON UPDIKE, ROTH, SINGER AND DE LILLO

APPRECIATIONS: AN AMERICAN SKEPTIC  OR, READING PAUL FUSSELL 

APPRECIATIONS: A MENSCH; OR, COMING TO GRIPS WITH SAUL BELLOW

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Gerry Mulligan: Debussy: La Plus Que Lente

HOW WELL DO BOOKS CAPTURE MUSIC? 

THE CRAFT OF REVIEWING:  OR, WHY I STARTED, WHY I DO IT AND HOW I DO IT

A RECENT MONTH’S READING, JUST FOR KICKS

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Charles Mingus: Jelly Roll Soul

I HAD A DREAM

A FINE HISTORICAL NOVELIST; OR, REVIEWS OF THREE BOOKS BY HILARY MANTEL

Phoebe

Philip Pullman, Daemons and Peach, My Cat

Next>