Sunny Los Angeles
I’m just back from a lovely vacation. I spent last week in Los Angeles catching up with some old friends and wandering around the town with a side trip to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park. The weather could not have been any nicer and I am well rested and ready for the fall. Of course I checked in on my much missed predecessor Joe Murphy.
I am happy to report that Hollywood Joe is doing very well, loves his job, and has a swanky apartment in the Hollywood Hills. Ok, ok, the carpet is plush and baby blue, but the view is fantastic! Of course we talked books half the time I was there. Joe’s currently reading John Julius Norwich’s first volume on the history of Byzantium. He’s completely enthralled by Norwich’s writing and read many a passage out loud. He is pacing himself reading Byzantium: The Early Centuries so he doesn’t wear himself out on the Apogee and makes it all the way to the Decline and Fall.
We toured many a fine eating establishment together including The Apple Pan, a U-shaped lunch counter that specializes in burgers, fries, and pies. The Banana Cream Pie was worth my flight. Joe also took me around to a slew of fantastic bookstores in LA. And I ventured off on my own and visited even more. Some of the highlights were Hennessey and Ingalls, Skylight Books, and Vroman’s Bookstore.
I read a few short novels starting with Dan Rhodes’ newest work Gold. This was a charming story that ended on a strange note that I haven’t quite reconciled. But his writing is as always clever and funny and very enjoyable. The first book of his I read was Anthropology: And a Hundred Other Stories. This is a fantastic collection of very short stories, each, in fact, are 101 words. But it’s not just a clever notion; Rhodes backs it up with some strange, poignant, and funny musings.
I also read Georges Bernanos’ Mouchette. This was quite a contrast to the light-hearted nature of Rhodes work. This stark and unforgiving novel tells the story of the 14 year old Mouchette, she is the "little savage" to the townspeople and she believes it too. It is a tragic and lonely story. Bernanos’ intensity in this short novel made me want to get a copy of his Diary of a Country Priest right away. Robert Bresson made movies of both of these titles and they are part of the Criterion Collection.
I am happy to report that Hollywood Joe is doing very well, loves his job, and has a swanky apartment in the Hollywood Hills. Ok, ok, the carpet is plush and baby blue, but the view is fantastic! Of course we talked books half the time I was there. Joe’s currently reading John Julius Norwich’s first volume on the history of Byzantium. He’s completely enthralled by Norwich’s writing and read many a passage out loud. He is pacing himself reading Byzantium: The Early Centuries so he doesn’t wear himself out on the Apogee and makes it all the way to the Decline and Fall.
We toured many a fine eating establishment together including The Apple Pan, a U-shaped lunch counter that specializes in burgers, fries, and pies. The Banana Cream Pie was worth my flight. Joe also took me around to a slew of fantastic bookstores in LA. And I ventured off on my own and visited even more. Some of the highlights were Hennessey and Ingalls, Skylight Books, and Vroman’s Bookstore.
I read a few short novels starting with Dan Rhodes’ newest work Gold. This was a charming story that ended on a strange note that I haven’t quite reconciled. But his writing is as always clever and funny and very enjoyable. The first book of his I read was Anthropology: And a Hundred Other Stories. This is a fantastic collection of very short stories, each, in fact, are 101 words. But it’s not just a clever notion; Rhodes backs it up with some strange, poignant, and funny musings.I also read Georges Bernanos’ Mouchette. This was quite a contrast to the light-hearted nature of Rhodes work. This stark and unforgiving novel tells the story of the 14 year old Mouchette, she is the "little savage" to the townspeople and she believes it too. It is a tragic and lonely story. Bernanos’ intensity in this short novel made me want to get a copy of his Diary of a Country Priest right away. Robert Bresson made movies of both of these titles and they are part of the Criterion Collection.
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