haiku for ___:
he reminded me
of the twitchy tip of a
purring cat’s tail
Paula came over yesterday and helped me begin sorting my things. Now everything’s a precarious mess, there’s paper piled on every surface, slippery memories tangled underfoot, stacked CD’s of old music, and violently coloured stuffed cats curled up to calligraphy kits next to antique instruments and gold framed mirrors. To orate the list would make for a glorious message on an answering machine, much in the style of a baroque-gypsy version of the semi-infamous monologue from Trainspotting:
The truth is that I’m a bad person. But, that’s gonna change – I’m going to change. This is the last of that sort of thing. Now I’m cleaning up and I’m moving on, going straight and choosing life. I’m looking forward to it already. I’m gonna be just like you. The job, the family, the fucking big television. The washing machine, the car, the compact disc and electric tin opener, good health, low cholesterol, dental insurance, mortgage, starter home, leisure wear, luggage, three piece suite, DIY, game shows, junk food, children, walks in the park, nine to five, good at golf, washing the car, choice of sweaters, family Christmas, indexed pension, tax exemption clearing gutters, getting by, looking ahead, the day you die.
Now that Wayne and I have picked up boxes, things have been going quicker. It’s beginning to make sense outside of my head. Already the detritus of my life is beginning to classify. Speculations correspond with a basic duality: Things I Appreciate / Things I Will Never Miss.
These links are not to MY BOOKS SPECIFICALLY, but for informative purposes. I have linked to the same printing when possible.
SCI-FI / FANTASTIC:
Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream with an introduction by Theodore Sturgen.
Bruce Sterling’s A Good Old-Fashioned Future The only book I have ever actually thrown across a room was written by Bruce Sterling. Take that as you will.
Patricia A. McKillip’s Riddle Master of Hed & Harpist in the Wind One and three of a trilogy.
Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea
Flying Sorcerers, being More Comic Tales of Fantasy from Terry Pratchett, Roald Dahl, Arthur C. Clark, Kurt Vonnegut, Angela Carter, Michael Moorcock, Mervyn Peake, John Wyndham, Stephen Leacock, Robert Bloch, C.S. Lewis, William Nolan, P.G. Wodehouse, & various.
Roger Zelazny & Robert Sheckley’s A Farce to Be Reckoned With. It’s amazing what you’ll buy on a family road trip when you’re out of reading material.
Lisa Goldstein’s The Red Magician. (1982) Don’t let the name fool you, this is actually quite a striking piece of work. I’m only letting it free because I essentially have it memorized.
Robert Chamber’s The King In Yellow. My copy has a charming typographical error, stating the copyright printing date as 1895.
Warren Beath’s excruciatingly bad Bloodletter (hardcover, thankfully missing the dustjacket)
The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy edited by Mike Ashley, concerning such authors as Neil Gaimen, Terry Jones, Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, Tom Holt, etc.
Ghost Stories illustrated by Walt Sturrock, featuring Bram Stoker, Washington Irving, M.R. James, Guy De Maupassant, Robert Luois Stevenson, Henry James, and Elizabeth Gaskell.
DEFINITION, FICTION:
Charlie Boxer’s The Cloud Of Dust (Hardcover)
Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose (1984, sans postscript) & Foucault’s Pendulum
Joseph Conrad’s Youth: A Narrative a tiny Penguin printing, (1995), with only the one story.
Lawrence Durrell’s The Black Book (1961) As much as I like him and Henry Miller, I am simply not middle-aged enough. It’s sort of like when I was reading Steppenwolf when I was thirteen. I could grasp that it was good, but found it difficult to access.
Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano (1971) see above.
Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1970) (Abridged)
Romilla Thapar’s Indian Tales, illustrated by Abu Abraham.
John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Irvine Welsh’s Filth, same guy as did Trainspotting and The Acid House.
Gail Anderson-Darga’s Recipe For Bees. Not a tenth as satisfying for A Cure For Death By Lightning, but until whosoever took my copy returns it…
Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke, same guy as did Fight Club.
Astro Teller’s exegesis. I wasn’t sure which was the name and which was the title when I first picked this up. It’s a little dated, but remains interesting.
David Odhiambo’s diss/banded nation Sticklers of proper language beware.
NON-FICTION:
Bert Archer’s The End of Gay (And the Death of Heterosexuality) (with a far, far better cover.)
Irmgard Woldering’s The Art of Egypt; the Time of the Pharaohs Why are over half my books from the 60’s and 70’s?
MISCELLANY:
Reader’s Digest Condensed Books: Volume 50 – Summer 1962 First Edition, containing; The Tuntsa – Teppo Turen w/Elizabeth Maddox McCabe, Youngblood Hawke by Herman Wouk, “Carol” by Peter DeVries, Since You Ask Me by Ann Landers, and Star-Raker by Donald Gordon.
Monty Python’s Life Of Brian Screenplay
MirrorMask: The Illustrated Film Script of the Motion Picture from the Jim Henson Company (Hardcover) I was given this over the holidays, and as much as I like it, I suspect there’s people here who would like it more. The price inside suggests $45can.
Online Education: Perspectives on a New Environment (Hardcover) Edited by Linda Harasin. Groundbreaking in 1990, I can’t explain how delightfully strange it is to read today.
Aubrey Beardsley, being a collection of prints curated by Andrew Lambirth.
TRASH: The Graphic Genius of Xploitation Movie Posters Coffee table book to the stars.