Random Reading Selection January 15

I finished the 500 page book, Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty. It’s pretty much a beach read. I enjoyed it but the ending was different than what I expected . It might be a good book to travel with but the book itself is very heavy.

Now the random reading book is to be selected. I have decided to do what Karen at Booker Talk does and randomly select three books then choose the one to read. I had a trial run with the Book Buddy random selector on the app and it chose a couple of reference books that you wouldn’t read as a novel. So I decided to choose three and then pick one.

Here are the picks:

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway’s memories of his life as an unknown writer living in Paris in the twenties are deeply personal, warmly affectionate and full of wit. Looking back not only at his own much younger self, but also at the other writers who shared Paris with him – James Joyce, Wyndham Lewis, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald – he recalls the time when, poor, happy and writing in cafes, he discovered his vocation. Written during the last years of Hemingway’s life, his memoir is a lively and powerful reflection of his genius that scintillates with the romance of the city.

Femme Fatale by Guy de Maupassant

Madame Berthe d’Avancelles had rejected the advances of her admirer Baron Joseph de Croissard to such an extent that he was now in despair. He had pursued her relentlessly throughout the winter in Paris, and now at his château at Carville in Normandy he was holding a series of hunting parties in her honour.

The husband, Monsieur d’Avancelles, turned a blind eye to all this. It was rumoured that they lived separate lives on account of a physical shortcoming of his which Madame could not overlook. He was a fat little man with short arms, short legs, a short neck, short nose, short everything in fact. Madame d’Avancelles, in contrast, was a tall, chestnut-haired, determined-looking young woman. She laughed openly at old Pipe and Slippers as she called him to his face but looked with tender indulgence on her admirer, the titled Baron Joseph de Croissard, with his broad shoulders, his sturdy neck and his fair, drooping moustache.

The Outlaw Bible of American Literature

The Outlaw Bible of American Literature will serve as a primer for generational revolt and an enduring document of the visionary tradition of authenticity and nonconformity in literature. This exuberant manifesto includes lives of the writers, on-the-scene testimony, seminal underground articles never before collected, photographs, cartoons, drawings, interviews, and, above all, the writings. Beat, Punk, Noir, Prison, Porn, Cyber, Queer, Anarchist, Blue Collar, Pulp, Sci-Fi, Utopian, Mobster, Political—all are represented. The Bible includes fiction, essays, letters, memoirs, journalism, lyrics, diaries, manifestoes, and selections from seminal film scripts, including Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, and Taxi Driver. The editors have brought together an extravagant, eclectic, searing, and unforgettable body of work, showcasing Hustlers, Mavericks, Contrarians, Rockers, Barbarians, Gangsters, Hedonists, Provocateurs, Hipsters, and Revolutionaries—all in one raucous cauldron of rebellion and otherness. This prose companion to the best-selling award-winning Outlaw Bible of American Poetry features selections from Hunter S. Thompson, Exene Cervenka, Patti Smith, Dennis Cooper, Malcolm X, Sonny Barger, Maggie Estep, Lenny Bruce, Henry Miller, R. Crumb, Philip K. Dick, Iceberg Slim, Gil Scott-Heron, Kathy Acker, Jim Carroll, Charles Mingus, Norman Mailer, and many others.

As you can see this a reference book. I have dipped into this many times over the course of years I have owned it. I was going to choose again but thought if you weren’t familiar with this book you might enjoy seeing what it is about. Published in 2004.

DRUM ROLL-

The book I will begin reading today is Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. I like his writing and no matter what one thinks of the man, his books have stood the test of time. People seem to either love him or hate him but I think that has a lot to do with the kind of man he was. I am inly interested in the book.

LIFE EVENTS OF THE WEEK

It has been a quiet week as I pulled a muscle in my lower back and have had to do exercises so I can get in and out of chairs, then walk. Pilates classes are in hold as I slowly move again. I did swim yesterday and sat in a very hot Jacuzzi which did wonders. Today I took the bus into town , had a good walk, looked at a dress I saw in a newsletter I receive that I loved, but the photo is much better than the real thing. Not that I was going to buy it. After all we all need to cut back on fashion now because of the serious overflow in landfill and let’s face it, clothes just aren’t made as well as they used to be.

Met up with a couple of friends who were having lunch and beginning their Wednesday Scrabble game at Mathers House in Hobart. Used to be called the 50’s and Over where people drop in for lunch, catch ups and scrabble. Had a quick chat then got the bus home. It was quite humid today until the temperature broke and we got a drizzle of rain. I sat outdoors and had a milkshake for sustenance 😉😉😉 then got the bus home. Although no formal exercise, I got my walk in and my back is feeling better. Just muscle woes.

I just heard the yellow tailed black cockatoos in the neighbourhood. They have come down from the mountain as the weather has changed and we are expecting rain later today. I love them. They are such beautiful, large birds.

There you have it. Now, I’ll leave you all in peace and go find Mr Hemingway on the shelf.

Until next time…