If you think you want to get to know me

[arisbe]

Here's a reading list...

This one has been making its rounds lately. The first version was, name five books that define you. Well, not define, exactly, but you know what I mean. Soon people expanded this by listing five fiction and five nonfiction. So I will begin with five fictions, with more other things later.

Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
George Santayana, The Last Puritan
Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain
Thomas Love Peacock, Nightmare Abbey
John Cowper Powys, Wolf Solent

These are the ones that come first to mind; let me post this before I have second thoughts.

Comments

[canonfire.livejournal.com]

I love Mann! I held a German copy of The Magic Mountain in my hot little hand when we were at the Neue Museum this weekend. I still have Kafka to read im Deutsch first.

my fictions

[seraphimsigrist.livejournal.com]

thats a lot of fiction reading, Ill be lazy and stay
with same authors substituting confidence man for
moby dick, glastonbury romance for wold solent,
tonio kruger for magic mountain
crottchet castle for nighmare abbey
and make mine a different author than
santayana and let it be steppenwolf
(the novel not the rocker)
cheers +Seraphim.

Re: my fictions

[arisbe.livejournal.com]

Crotchet Castle was a tossup for TLP. Then again, so was Headlong Hall.

yes

[seraphimsigrist.livejournal.com]

and the tossup quality is what makes
it fine...I would not have started myself
with Mann or Powys I imagine, just got
into game of proposing alternate readings
which could itself be a variant survey maybe
Which Melville book are you?
which Peacock or which Wodehouse or God
help us which Lovecraft will not work at
all will it, or which Trollope, perhaps
which Graham Greene would wouldnt it?
make mine our man in havana..

[peacheater77.livejournal.com]

So you read "Der Zauberberg"? That's a really great book and I love anything written by Thomas Mann. Thanks for sharing the list with me, Frank. I think I'll make up one of my own.

Alex

[st-sardonicist.livejournal.com]

Peacock!

The books you mention always bring a smile to my face.

Uh oh

[arisbe.livejournal.com]

What kind of simle?

Re: Uh oh

[st-sardonicist.livejournal.com]

The "I should reread that" kind.

Re: Uh oh

[arisbe.livejournal.com]

That's good, then.

Some of my other lists, when I get around to posting them, may make for other kinds of smiles.

Re: Uh oh

[st-sardonicist.livejournal.com]

Oh pshaw! You've already mentioned Richard Weaver and Peacock--I expect nothing but the best.