tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post2209846953496348873..comments2023-10-30T20:33:13.380+10:30Comments on the paper drunkards: Through the Children's Gate, Adam Gopnikthe paper drunkardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282542514339651070noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-91084985768804064042007-12-07T01:25:00.000+10:302007-12-07T01:25:00.000+10:30I dutifully (okay, pleasurably) cadged the freebie...I dutifully (okay, pleasurably) cadged the freebie and devoured the book over the past couple of days. LOVED it. Thank you! And yep, Luke reminds me a lot of F, too. I'm going to cherish that comparison of yours, because I loved his style. And I have to admit, it's exactly the kind of thing I'd love to have written myself.Arielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17570339715916432947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-74385194589769009302007-12-03T10:24:00.000+10:302007-12-03T10:24:00.000+10:30After buying 200 secondhand books in the last two ...After buying 200 secondhand books in the last two years the other day I thought maybe I should read one. Just by fluke I opened Lillian Hellman (by William Wright) somewhere in the middle, and found it so interesting I went back to the start. Hellman had a thirty-year affair with Dashiell Hammet who they say turned crime writing into literature. She herself is famous for two popular stage plays -which I suspect Hammet wrote for her or had a big part in. Hammet published The Thin Man around the same time Hellman's Children's Hour appeared, and then nothing at all for 27 years, dying at the age of 67. Anyway it's very good value, this biography, giving a peep into the publishing industry of the time, and lots more besides. <BR/>I'm always astonished at the energy of biographers (all that detail), it's much harder than fiction. Thank goodness they bother.<BR/>Yes, and another good review here (redcap), well done. Newspaper reviews aren't much good: all ego, no love.R.H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04639593801088008224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-38447078001879697492007-12-01T16:50:00.001+10:302007-12-01T16:50:00.001+10:30God. Now I can't make my tenses agree. His writing...God. Now I can't make my tenses agree. His writing style reminded me of you.redcaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01916750858980883634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-39520605284964052332007-12-01T16:50:00.000+10:302007-12-01T16:50:00.000+10:30Thanks davey :) I think everyone's channelled Henr...Thanks davey :) I think everyone's channelled Henry James and been guilty of long sentences at some stage. Well, everyone but Hemingway and Kathy Reichs.<BR/><BR/>rosanna, possibly not plane material - it's a very thinky read and I find I can neither think nor read on planes.<BR/><BR/>ariel, you should! His writing style actually reminds me of you and Luke made me think of F.redcaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01916750858980883634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-47323775586185274102007-11-28T22:54:00.000+10:302007-11-28T22:54:00.000+10:30Thanks for that! Have been mooching over that book...Thanks for that! Have been mooching over that book in shops for ages now but never quite buying it. You have convinced me to do so. Or, at least, make a concerted effort to cadge a freebie! (No, really, I would pay for it.) I love your reviews.Arielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17570339715916432947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-54640257661052124252007-11-28T08:58:00.000+10:302007-11-28T08:58:00.000+10:30Redcap I have never read this book, but I am stock...Redcap I have never read this book, but I am stocking up for my very long-haul plane flight next week - so I shall have to buy it. <BR/><BR/>It sounds stunning (except the introduction. Why do authors decide to play a tennis match of wacky dialogue?)Rosannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06087927276996432786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363999539728413766.post-37361484853070810742007-11-27T09:15:00.000+10:302007-11-27T09:15:00.000+10:30Lovely review, thanks redcap. The book looks reall...Lovely review, thanks redcap. The book looks really interesting, I'll keep my eyes open for it.<BR/><BR/>I felt an empathetic embarrassment at the mention of the 'convoluted sentence competition'. It's something that I've been trying to avoid recently as well. Perhaps I should also try to heed the advice of sometime football coach Kurt Varnedoe.daveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17776102795991089823noreply@blogger.com