tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19106928.post5897399192545506265..comments2024-02-29T02:37:34.896-06:00Comments on Ivebeenreadinglately: "Great poets / foretell their own deaths in a single line"; I, instead, use up several on triflesLevi Stahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11094919454842047688noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19106928.post-12550014319669893082009-02-02T11:34:00.000-06:002009-02-02T11:34:00.000-06:00I agree with you about the prose--in my mind, Bola...I agree with you about the prose--in my mind, Bolano's prose at its best function perfectly for the tasks he assigns i: flat when it should be flat, uncanny in its associations when that's appropriate, hectic and propulsive at other times. <BR/><BR/>What I do think is of great value, however, in Sacks's review is his serious attempt to grapple with the <I>ideas</I> of the book, something that most of the printed mainstream reviews more or less elided, as if they were too complicated or uncertain. Yet by skipping the meaning, they were left with little but vagueness and superlatives. <BR/><BR/>So even as I found myself disagreeing with significant aspects of Sacks's assessment, I found it quite valuable--in a sense, the idea of keeping it in mind during an eventual rereading <I>is</I> my way of thinking about rebutting it.Levi Stahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11094919454842047688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19106928.post-41576710246291193152009-02-02T10:59:00.000-06:002009-02-02T10:59:00.000-06:00Sam Sacks's review of 2666 made me want to write a...Sam Sacks's review of 2666 made me want to write a rebuttal--if I only had time! I'm baffled by his dismissal of the prose, though--maybe it's just me, but I think it represents just the kind of simplicity it takes a lifetime to purge literary impulses down to.The All-Seeing Eye, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13830337758736267524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19106928.post-38431454431536376542009-01-30T20:55:00.000-06:002009-01-30T20:55:00.000-06:00Rocketlass—Indeed, Invisible late fees work the ot...Rocketlass—<BR/><BR/>Indeed, Invisible late fees work the other way around — we pay *you*. Enjoy!Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16017371953361964015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19106928.post-77894245042777854222009-01-30T20:12:00.000-06:002009-01-30T20:12:00.000-06:00I've been very, very pleased with Burney's journal...I've been very, very pleased with Burney's journals: they're amused and amusing, full of anecdotes and conversations, and rich with the eighteenth-century characters I love, including the Thrales, Dr. Johnson, and David Garrick. I've only read about 150 pages so far, a bit here and there over the course of weeks, but it's already been great fun.Levi Stahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11094919454842047688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19106928.post-1051045506859921082009-01-30T06:02:00.000-06:002009-01-30T06:02:00.000-06:00I've been curious about Fanny Burney's journals fo...I've been curious about Fanny Burney's journals for a while now, debating whether or not to read them (I do need to read "Cecelia", though, it's been sitting on my shelf forever). Worth it?<BR/><BR/>I once checked out a book that wasn't registered in the system (I didn't notice the check-out machine didn't register it) and when I checked to make sure I had all my books to return to the library, found I had one extra. Strangely, the panic was about the same as that of one book missing.Meytal Radzinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19106928.post-30416470694637337042009-01-29T08:31:00.000-06:002009-01-29T08:31:00.000-06:00Levi & Ed, as Invisible Librarians, how can yo...Levi & Ed, as Invisible Librarians, how can you even consider late fees? Invisible Books are infinite!rocketlasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08091336681115875312noreply@blogger.com