this is a work in progress, so bear with me.
i`m not a physically violent person, i may look like a huge, intimidating man, but if you get to know me i`m a teddy bear, well at least with the people i love and even then, there are some that would question that.
i discovered very early on that words have power.
“sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
bullshit, i`m still carrying the scars of my first three years of high school. i`ve moved on, i may be a better person now, but they`re there and it`s the reason i worry about my children`s popularity.
i was the short, fat, non-physical-sport playing, sensitive child in an all boys` high school. in any herd, i was the one most likely to get singled out and devoured by the predators and it took four years, a growth spurt and an incredibly violent outburst to break the predators of the concept of me as easy prey. it didn`t stop completely but i was no longer the most helpless. during those `formative` years i learned to bottle my anger and hurt and disappointment and channel its release in the most powerful weapon i know; words.
i`ve always been an avid reader, books were and still are a form of escape for me. the first book i ever owned was Tootles the Taxi. i devoured it, literally, i was old enough to read and when i was finished i ate from hard back cover to hard back cover. i don`t know if it`s because i`m listening to American Gods now or if it`s something i`ve read somewhere but it seems somewhat mythical and powerful. my mother is still an avid reader and encouraged my reading by allowing me to read the paper every morning with a dictionary at my side; i can`t remember a time when i`ve never owned a dictionary; and by buying me a book a month on the anniversary of my birthday. even that wasn`t enough, i joined the children`s section of the public library at 6, and by the time i`d finished my primary education at 10, i`d read everything they had. i knew all the librarians by name and they got me a dispensation to join the adult library at 11. words brought me comfort and joy and there was a time when i wouldn`t leave home with something to read, my mother would take me on her jaunts and as long as i had a book, i would just completely zone the adults out. my books didn`t defend me in high school but the provided a temporary reprieve.
as i got older, i hid my hurtful words behind the guise of absolute truth if you were a friend, if you weren`t a friend then there was no hiding, i was just nasty and cruel. my barbs were calculated to cause the most harm. with family and friends, it was easier because i knew the weaknesses and had bottled hurts real and imagined and distilled into something truly venomous. one of the reasons my ex-wife and i are such good friends now is that we`ve said every hurtful thing two people can say to each other. i`ve always said if they verbal arguments we had in the last two months of our marriage had been physical neither of us would be here today. everything we said to each other at that time was meant to cut to the quick and simultaneously salt the wound while we were at it. and in retrospect, she was just reacting to me, i started it, i was pushing her buttons and she responded.
i still have pretty sharp tongue but i don`t bottle, well not as much and i`ve learned temperance. this isn`t where i`d intended to go with this, but i`m pretty happy with it anyway.
Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. the top list is the original bbc list, the list below is the one that’s circulating on facebook.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an ‘x’ after those you have read.
2) Add a ‘+’ to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien [X]+
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen [X]
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman [X]+
4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams [X]+
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling [X]+
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee [X]+
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne [X]
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell [X]+
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis [X]+
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë [X]
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller [X]+
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë [X]
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier x
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger [X]
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame [X]
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens [X]
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott [X]
19. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy [X]
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, JK Rowling [X]
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling [X]+
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling [X]+
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien [X]+
26. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck [X]
30. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll [X]+
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez [X]+
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl [X]+
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson [X]
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert [X]+
40. Emma, Jane Austen [X]
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams [X]
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald [X]+
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas [X]
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell [X]+
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens [X]
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett [X]
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck [X]
53. The Stand, Stephen King [X]
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth [X]
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl [X]
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell [X]
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer [X]
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden [X]
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens [X]
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough [X]
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett [X]+
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton [X]+
67. The Magus, John Fowles *
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman [X]+
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett [X]+
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding [X]
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind *
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett [X]+
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl [X]+
75. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding [X]
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins *
78. Ulysses, James Joyce *
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl [X]
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake *
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy [X]
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley [X]
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo [X]
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel [X]
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett [X]+
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer [X]
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez [X]+
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot [X]
100. Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie [X]+
1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen [X]
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien [X] +
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte [X]
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling [X] +
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee [X] +
6 The Bible- [X]
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte [X]
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell [X] +
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman [X] +
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens[X]
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott [X]
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller [X]
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien [X]
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger [X]
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald [X]
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy [X]
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy [X] +
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck [X]
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll [X]
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame [X]
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy [X]
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens [X]
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis [X]
34 Emma – Jane Austen [X]
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen [X]
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis [X]
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini *
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden [X]
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne [X]
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell [X] +
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown [X]
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez [X] +
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy *
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood [X]
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding [X]
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel *
52 Dune – Frank Herbert [X] +
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen [X]
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth [X]
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens [X]
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley [X]
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez [X]
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck [X]
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov [X]
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas [X]
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding [X]
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie [X]
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville [X]
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens [X]
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker [X]
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett [X]
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce *
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray *
80 Possession – AS Byatt [X]
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens [X]
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker [X]
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert [X]
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White [X]
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [X]
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton [X]
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad *
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery [X]
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams [X]
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole *
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas [X] +
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare [X]
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl [X]
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo [X]
the nice thing about bed rest is you get to catch up on your reading in the last two days i`ve devoured Nick Hornby`s Songbook; which has inspired tomorrow`s post and Hunter S. Thompson`s Hey Rube from which this gem was found:
Politics is the Art of Controlling your Environment
That is one of the key things I learned in these years, and I learned it the hard way. Anybody who thinks that “it doesn`t matter who`s President” has never been Drafted and sent off to fight and die in a vicious, stupid War on the other side of the World–or been beaten and gassed by the Police for trespassing on public property–or been hounded by the IRS for purely political reasons–or locked up in the Cook County Jail with a broken nose and no phone access and twelve perverts wanting to stomp your ass in the shower. That is when it matters who is President or Governor or Police Chief. That is when you will wish you had voted.
sorry there are no links for those of you that are so inclined but i`m really not up to it at the moment, if you`re really interested you can find it yourself.
since i got here vic has been trying to get me to read the Jasper Fforde novels. i didn`t get to the first one until recently, not because i didn`t trust her judgement, but i tend to go off on a binge and the libraries in Nashville encourage me; although after three attempts, i`ve decided to wait for Neal Stephenson`s Quicksilver on paperback. I want to read the book but it`s entirely too cumbersome as a hardback.
in the interim, i`ve gone off on a Neil Gaiman binge, from the Sandman graphic novels to Neverwhere and Good Omens; which was co-authored by another one of my favourite authors, Terry Pratchett, who i`ve since introduced vic too; if the Nashville public library has it, i`m reading it, i still have Smoke and Mirrors and American Gods on the little table next to get to after The Eyre Affair.
Jasper Fforde has a writing style that`s similar to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett; light, easy to read, somewhat silly but an intelligent silliness, if that makes any sense. it`s hysterically funny, but only if your sense of humour generally involves word play and literary devices.
Neil Gaiman is part of my holy triumvirate of comicdom for me. the other two being Alan Moore and Frank Miller and in one of those amazing coincidences Salon, has an interview with Alan Moore today. [if you`re not a member you can just click through the very short ad and give it a read.]
edit: i`ve just finished reading the Alan Moore interview, stop reading this and go read it, the stupid ad to get a day pass is worth it. go. what are you waiting for.
had a wonderful night, actually went to bed at a reasonable hour, i’ve written some outlines for the screenplay (yay, me) and i realised i have been lax in keeping you abreast of my reading habits, since i finished the binding chair, i’m still reading the brautigan (i have to take that in stages), i’ve also (re)stared zadie smith’s the autograph man, how to be good – nick hornby and cecilia tan’s black feathers, i finished auqa erotica which was lovely. i also read two pulp novels.
i feel good this morning. rested, ready to take on the world. i have a good deal of work to, i have a poster to design, another campaign for presentation plus i also need to find a junior artist this week, so all told, i think my time online is going to be somewhat limited.
i’m even going to get off the machine and go bathe and get to work on time.
before i go here are some links to get you through the morning or possibly the day:
jane’s sex guide (a nice comprehensive reference)
time to get going. adieu.
