All Consuming : c. libre

Why I gave up consuming "Ulysses (Gabler Edition) (Vintage)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 16:44:26 GMT

by James Joyce

I gave up on reading my used copy of the Gabler Ulysses not because I don’t want to read the book or have any strong opinion on the scandals swirling around the various editions, but because the entire first third of my Gabler is covered in distracting (though lovely) marginalia. So I picked up a pristine Modern Library edition and I’m ploughing through it more easily, though I do miss the notes from time to time.

A review of "Room"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 17:58:13 GMT

Room

by Kyle Henry

There are certain books or movies ~~- for example, the recent noirs Match Point and Brick -~~ that reward your expectations of genre and which might frustrate you if you choose not to read them using that model; Room is exactly this in reverse. It reminded me in this way of Adolfo Bioy Casares’s novel The Adventures of a Photographer in La Plata. Both have the appearance of a Hitchcockian thriller but end with you wondering if both you and the protagonist have misread all of the clues.

Of course, I saw this at the Alamo Drafthouse, an Austin theater with waiter service, and it’s possible that I simply missed some crucial detail while I was signing the check for my meal.

A story about "Paradise (American Literature Series)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 18:13:35 GMT

Paradise (American Literature Series)

by Donald Barthelme

In this very readable and relatively straightforward Barthelme novel, a 53-year old divorcee shares a New York apartment with three lingerie models half his age, living in “hog heaven,” as the models call it. The back cover blurb tells us that it’s a gentle satire of the mid-life crisis, which it is, but I’m inclined more to read it as a gentle parody of the beer commercial.

A story about "Match Point"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 23:49:05 GMT

Match Point

by Woody Allen

My girlfriend and I wondered after the movie if we would have liked it more if we had approached it from the outset as a film noir.

A story about "The Cyberiad"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 20:26:20 GMT

The Cyberiad

by Stanislaw Lem

I just reread this, and I’m glad I did. The story (stories) of the three storytelling machines is a particular favorite.

A story about "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 02:47:39 GMT

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

by Philip K. Dick

Okay, I finally read the book. The writing is clumsy ~~- I think Dick’s ability is often outstripped by his ideas -~~ but it’s still a captivating and sometimes funny read. It’s cute how the holy trinity of Mercer is manifested in Jesus Christ, Camus’s Sisyphus, and Alfred Jarry.

A story about "The Big Heat"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 17:51:55 GMT

The Big Heat

by Fritz Lang

Keep the coffee warm!

A story about "The French Connection (Five Star Collection)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:38:08 GMT

The French Connection (Five Star Collection)

This must be the sort of movie that people mean when they talk about gritty, cynical Vietnam War-era cinema. “Popeye” Doyle is obviously not meant to be a sympathetic character, and I nearly turned the movie off because my threshold for watching asshole cops isn’t too high, but the chase scene really is as good as they say.

A story about "Junebug"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:35:08 GMT

Junebug

by Phil Morrison (II)

This movie rings true for me. I’m surprised to see a movie get this sort of thing right.

A story about "The Constant Gardener"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 22:42:21 GMT

The Constant Gardener

by Fernando Meirelles

There’s much to like about this movie, but the structure of the story left something to be desired—all of its major questions are answered halfway through the movie, making the second half merely perfunctory. And the script is regrettably heavyhanded, not trusting enough of its audience to allow us to draw our own lessons from the story.

A story about "The Land of Laughs: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 05:56:12 GMT

The Land of Laughs: A Novel

by Jonathan Carroll

And I never liked bull terriers anyway.

A story about "Broken Flowers"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 16:43:33 GMT

Broken Flowers

by Jim Jarmusch

I enjoyed this, though I’m not really ready to commit to saying anything else about it, except that this is exactly the sort of movie that you’d expect to end up with if you paired Jim Jarmusch and Bill Murray. Which, in a way, is disappointing.

A story about "Ubik"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 16:17:25 GMT

Ubik

by Philip K. Dick

I’m glad that I finally read this.

A story about "The Mechanic Muse"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Sat, 06 Aug 2005 06:46:43 GMT

The Mechanic Muse

by Hugh Kenner

A great series of related essays about how the works of Joyce, Eliot, Pound, and Beckett were shaped by the technology of their day. Wonderful.

A story about "Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning an M.A. or a Ph.D."

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:53:08 GMT

Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning an M.A. or a Ph.D.

by Robert Peters

I read this in conjunction with its companion volume, Franz Kafka’s “The Castle.”

A story about "V for Vendetta"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:51:01 GMT

V for Vendetta

by Alan Moore

I first read this about a decade ago, and thought I’d give it another read. It hasn’t aged well.

A story about "Introducing Kafka"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 06:42:19 GMT

Introducing Kafka

by David Zane Mairowitz

Worth it mainly for Crumb’s art. Mairowitz’s text is primarily biographical, and though he deals with Kafka’s texts, he just doesn’t have the space to give them the attention they deserve, and the book suffers for it. He also seems to have an axe to grind against every other reader of Kafka besides himself, which is outright obnoxious. Again, Crumb’s art is delightful.

A story about "Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the Sith"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 25 May 2005 14:07:48 GMT

Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the Sith

by George Lucas

Noooooooo!

A story about "Enrages and Situationists in the Occupation Movement, France, May '68"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 25 May 2005 04:38:50 GMT

Enrages and Situationists in the Occupation Movement, France, May '68

by Rene Vienet

I never would’ve ventured into Desert Books, deep in the basement of the Guadalupe Street BankOne building, and I never would’ve bought this book ~~- stirring sloganeering or no -~~ if I had known that the proprietor would turn up years later to mercilessly grill my friend Chris during an interview for a software company. I’d like to return the Bakunin tract I didn’t steal from him, too.

A story about "The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 25 May 2005 04:38:49 GMT

The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic

by Alberto Manguel

A perfect book in every regard, with something for fans of such writers as Tolkien, Borges, Calvino, Bunyan, Rowling, Swift, Chesterton, Alexander, etc.

A story about "Borges: Collected Fictions"

nobody@allconsuming.net (c. libre) — Wed, 25 May 2005 04:38:49 GMT

Borges: Collected Fictions

by Jorge Luis Borges

One of the joys of this recent anthology is the opportunity it affords to compare the plain, laconic style of Andrew Hurley’s new translation with the perhaps more florid style of prior English translations. I don’t find that I consistently prefer one set of translations to another; rather, I find that each translation highlights different aspects of each story, deepening my appreciation for Borges’ prose while making my ignorance of Spanish all the more upsetting.