What are you currently reading?

[Bu]

Last book I read was a collection of short stories by Hammet; the last piece included was an original version of The Thin Man, about 10 chapters (about 60 pages) or so and written in his classic style (ie, dry, terse, and unemotional).  Typical of Hammet, it was engrossing and entertaining, so.........decided to read the finished novel published about three years later and written in a completely different style for Dashiell. 'Tis a very good book, of course, but honestly, I prefer the original version/style. 

[Solitary Wanderer]

Things have a habit of bumping into each other and sticking together. Having been listening to a lot of Handel cantatas recently, my head has been full of things Arcadian - so much so that when I went to a book fair recently I was looking for something to complement that. This jumped off the shelf at me - a sumptuous catalogue of a recent exhibition in New York that will very nicely make a start to filling an important gap in my knowledge of art history. Poussin has never been high on my list of artists to investigate, but now is exactly the time to do so. And the nice thing about these kind of publications is that even if the essays disappoint, this big, fat hardback is bursting with superb pictures to explore.

That book looks excellent - I'll see if my library has it 

[Elgarian]

That book looks excellent - I'll see if my library has it  

I've made a bit of progress with it - not reading from start to finish, but dipping in here and there - and I must say it's a delight. The pictures are ravishing. (I didn't know that Poussin had painted so many compositions where the landscape - rather than the figures - dominates the picture space.) I find also that it's making me realise that I've never properly understood the way in which classical mythology was so completely absorbed into the culture of the 17th and 18th centuries. I knew that it was, of course; but I don't think I've been 'seeing' it correctly. The knowledge, yes, but not the perception. I hadn't previously caught the numinous quality of these works by Poussin, where the mythology is integrated into the natural world as a kind of commentary on it, and the natural world is constructed as a commentary on the myth. And it does provide a lovely visual accompaniment to Handel's Arcadian cantatas. Definitely worth a few hours of your time, if you're inclined this way and can lay your hands on a copy.

[Brünnhilde ewig]

War in Italy 1943 - 1945, A Brutal Story. Richard Lamb, an Italian-speaking officer in the British Eighth Army during WW II researched the history of those two important years of WW II, about people like Mussolini, Pope Pius XII and very important, the activities of the Squadro Garibaldi Partisan group.

[Bogey]

I have read a decent handful of books on this time period, but not one that focuses mainly on the battles.  Started it a while back, got too busy to give it the appropriate concentration, but now have hit the first 100 pages running. (Trying to average 50 pages per day, hence less time having been spent here.)

[SonicMan46]

I have read a decent handful of books on this time period, but not one that focuses mainly on the battles.  Started it a while back, got too busy to give it the appropriate concentration, but now have hit the first 100 pages running. (Trying to average 50 pages per day, hence less time having been spent here.)

Bill - you & I seem to enjoy many of the same books! 

This one is sitting in my PILE of to be read books!  Guess I had already read too many from this era and needed a 'change of pace' - but will get to that one soon - thanks for the reminder!  Dave 

[SonicMan46]

Every couple of years (often when I buy a new computer), I order a bunch of books related to my computer/digital/audio/video (or whatever 'technical' combo you might desire) needs, just to get 'updated' and ready for my next purchases! 

Well, a couple of recent acquisitions which I've started to read:

David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual (2009) by David Pogue, a NY Times columnist - he has written a number of these 'missing manual' books, many of which I've read - although I own two digital cameras, I'm still debating on buying a digital SLR, so wanted to see what David had to say; but this is pretty much a nice introductory book to the subject (experienced photographers will find the read somewhat familiar, but 'newbies' might feel the opposite); basically divided into two sections, the first concerning 'picture taking' and the features of various types of digital cameras (from 'pocket types' to SLRs); the second portion concerns transferring and manipulating images on your computer - I would recommend this book to those with beginning-intermediate experience; advanced semi-pros may already know much of this material - but Pogue is an excellent & enjoyable writer!

Organize Your Digital Life: How to Store Your Photographs, Music, Videos, and Personal Documents in a Digital World (2009) by Aimee Baldridge - just took a chance on this one after looking at reviews on Amazon (CHECK HERE); this book covers all aspects of the digital world, and is a great introduction to managing, storing, and preserving your digital media & records - 

 

[bhodges]

The Listen (Christopher Jon Honett and Peter Gilbert, Caminantes Press) - Just ordered it today...below are two excerpts from a good review by Trevor Hunter on New Music Box (entire article here).

"[The] authors have selected nine pieces to evaluate for prospective listeners: Worker's Union by Louis Andriessen; Tre Notturni Brillanti by Salvatore Sciarrino; Synchronisms No. 10 by Mario Davidovsky; Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich; La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura by Luigi Nono; Musica Ricercata by György Ligeti; Black Angels by George Crumb; Anahit by Giacinto Scelsi; and Sinfonia III. In ruhig fliessender Bewegung by Luciano Berio."

This is what sold me:

"But past the straightforward (and Italianate) veneer, what Honett and Gilbert are really engaging in here is a new type of criticism. And it's actually kind of subversive. They've removed from the discussion the analytic conceits that usually surround these works, while completely avoiding turning the book into some sort of New Music for Dummies. The book outright doesn't accept the rarely spoken but widely held assumption that a high-ish level of musical training is needed to appreciate these works. But why it's subversive is that this completely undercuts the just-as-widely held and far-more-frequently spoken accusations that new music is abstrusely elitist, forever trapped in some sort of academic iron lung. Not that (one assumes) Honett and Gilbert see no value in the academic institutions that are, after all, the authors' own progenitors—but they understand the importance of de-institutionalizing and democratizing the listening process."

Will report later on whether they have succeeded in their mission.

--Bruce

[Dr. Dread]

I've been reading this. Not bad, considering...

[Lethevich]

I've been reading this. Not bad, considering...

Those naughty drow!

[jwinter]

Moved on from Washington Irving, and have started Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature.  First time reading this, I'm ashamed to admit.  Very engaging so far.

[Dr. Dread]

Those naughty drow!

Indeed. It's interesting in that all the characters in the book are evil to some degree. And this is only the first of six! 

[Lethevich]

I should probably give them a shot sometime. My only D&D experience is from PC RPGs, but I quite liked those.

Atm:



Re. the latter, the fans who diss Pratchett's later books should probably seek out other horizons - they are evidently bored of the series. As a newcomer, I prefer them to the older ones.

[Dr. Dread]

I should probably give them a shot sometime. My only D&D experience is from PC RPGs, but I quite liked those.

I played in ye olden days, with the pencil, the paper and the dice... 

[CD]

I've always felt ambivalent about what little I knew of Matisse already, and an acquaintance with his full oeuvre hasn't changed that. The back-and-forth between new styles and already-covered territory makes his work list almost impossible to divide into "periods". It sometimes seems that at certain points he felt he had gone "too far", and backed off into more comfortable areas, which is somewhat dissapointing and gives the feeling that he painted the same work over and over, but there are however some beautiful exceptions. As for the late paper-cutouts, I'm not sure what he was trying to do at all.

[DavidRoss]

http://www.abcgallery.com/M/matisse/matisse.html

click on thumbnails to open larger images

[Elgarian]

Atm:

Tim Hilton's book is a classic, and I bet you're enjoying it (he's a smashing writer), though he gives some of the poor old Pre-Rs a hard time. Holman Hunt gets a bit of a hammering for 'robbing paint of its power to please'; and so does poor old William Morris's poetry ('so very like wallpaer that there's no reason for it ever to stop').

Hunt deserves it, I think - at least, his later large pictures really do have horribly overworked paint surfaces, but I think Hilton hasn't quite understood how best to read Morris's poetry. You need a warm, sunny day, a bottle of wine, a comfortable chair in the garden with somewhere to prop your feet up, and a nice old C19th edition of The Earthly Paradise on your lap, preferably in the binding that Morris designed himself. And then you read at a steady canter - not lingeringly, chewing on each word; but long and fast, mentally chanting the rhythm of the verse, not worrying about subtlety, but just getting on with the tale, as you would have done with a bard of old. Then it's nothing like wallpaper; it becomes an ancient, captivating tale of adventures undertaken and heroic deeds done.

[Lethevich]

Tim Hilton's book is a classic, and I bet you're enjoying it (he's a smashing writer), though he gives some of the poor old Pre-Rs a hard time. Holman Hunt gets a bit of a hammering for 'robbing paint of its power to please'; and so does poor old William Morris's poetry ('so very like wallpaer that there's no reason for it ever to stop').

Hunt deserves it, I think - at least, his later large pictures really do have horribly overworked paint surfaces, but I think Hilton hasn't quite understood how best to read Morris's poetry. You need a warm, sunny day, a bottle of wine, a comfortable chair in the garden with somewhere to prop your feet up, and a nice old C19th edition of The Earthly Paradise on your lap, preferably in the binding that Morris designed himself. And then you read at a steady canter - not lingeringly, chewing on each word; but long and fast, mentally chanting the rhythm of the verse, not worrying about subtlety, but just getting on with the tale, as you would have done with a bard of old. Then it's nothing like wallpaper; it becomes an ancient, captivating tale of adventures undertaken and heroic deeds done.

Thanks! I must admit that I somewhat dislike the Pre-Raps at the moment (although enjoy much of the work they react against even less), but can always find much to admire about them as well. I am hoping that the book makes some small step toward appreciation.

One example of my problem is in the following painting:



It features what is actually a very striking and naturalistic pose, beautifully painted and framed. But then it couples it with slightly mawkish Pugin-influenced kitsch which at the moment I cannot allow myself to warm to the aesthetic (I've seen too many church interiors mangled in this style).

Edit: And indeed, the writing is compelling. I've found that a lot of these Thames & Hudson books are additionally valuble due to the relative age of the texts they present (although this one is more recent than most). Previous generations of art writers seem to have more passion about the subject, even if they are often heavy-handed in dismissing the "rivals" to the art they champion.

[Elgarian]

I've always felt ambivalent about what little I knew of Matisse already, and an acquaintance with his full oeuvre hasn't changed that. ... As for the late paper-cutouts, I'm not sure what he was trying to do at all.

I sympathise with this. For me, he tends to suffer from standing in Cezanne's shadow, as it were - not that he can help having been born when he was, nor can I fairly ask him to answer for the fact that Cezanne was such a towering giant - but when I look at Matisse (particularly those characteristically decorative works) I often find myself thinking how insubstantial he seems by comparison with Cezanne, and end up longing for something more solid even when he's captivating. The fault is mine, I'm sure - after all, art doesn't have to be weighty all the time - but with Matisse I often feel as if a strong wind might blow him clean away.

[DavidRoss]

Few save Bonnard were his equal as a colorist, and I know no other such master of the lyrical line.