tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post341118995117798440..comments2024-02-11T19:28:27.997+11:00Comments on Personal Reflections: Monday Forum - Gatsby, Brideshead Revisited and more!Jim Belshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-4652887076207063832013-05-09T06:21:12.976+10:002013-05-09T06:21:12.976+10:00Yes, they are very different writers.
I agree re ...Yes, they are very different writers.<br /><br />I agree re non- fiction and esp. Regarding academic writingEvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13355215688351759230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-21883682527479941122013-05-09T06:11:19.747+10:002013-05-09T06:11:19.747+10:00Evan, your comment on Simenon captures a whole way...Evan, your comment on Simenon captures a whole way of writing that then contrasts with the other two. I was never very keen on Vonnegut.<br /><br />Re the other two, it's interesting, at least to me, that some of the best writing is non-fiction. And some of the worst(!) especially in academic writing. Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-30527078786117725642013-05-07T21:19:12.461+10:002013-05-07T21:19:12.461+10:00These things are, of course, matters of taste Evan...These things are, of course, matters of taste Evan. But I really liked this comment. I am trying to catch up on emails and other things tonight, I am just so far behind, but will respond properly tomorrow. Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-31081532974656417842013-05-07T20:48:33.825+10:002013-05-07T20:48:33.825+10:00Simenon manages to conjour a whole world in simple...Simenon manages to conjour a whole world in simple sentences and small vocabulary.<br /><br />Vonnegut, in Jailbird, wrote a scene set in an elevator where you knew when reading it that something was being communicated but you didn't know what. And he managed similar remarkable things in other books.<br /><br />John Fowles is either tricksy or extraordinary depending on your taste. In The Collector he did it in 3 parts. The first part tells the story of a British clerk who kidnaps a women from his point of view. The second part is from her point of view - that of an art student. The language is far more vivid and alive than the first part. The third part in his voice again is almost unbearable to read - it is so dull, ordinary and tawdry, limited and lifeless. And yet you read on.<br /><br />Ellul was a French social critic. He wrote the single best description of our culture in my view The Technological Society. And he became a very good writer, even in translation his prose sings (in the original I'm told it's just extraordinary). Reading him I have the sense of his engagement and dealing with something vital and real. He wrote a lot so it isn't all equally good. Like the greats he always has something to say.<br /><br />Goodman was semi-famous in the US for a little while in the 60's (he got seriously disillusioned with the youth). His writing is in touch with the topic and has a way of seeing the topic whole. And his writing is vivid and compressed - he manages to say a lot in a few words. His Compulsory Miseducation is still insightful 50 years after it was written.Evanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13355215688351759230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-81355440521076044932013-05-07T20:33:47.486+10:002013-05-07T20:33:47.486+10:00Why do you like those books, Evan? Don't (blus...Why do you like those books, Evan? Don't (blush!) actually know Ellul or Goodman. Like you last sentence!Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-30679517691875207712013-05-07T20:32:33.433+10:002013-05-07T20:32:33.433+10:00Nice flow chart, kvd, by the way!
Nice flow chart, kvd, by the way!<br />Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-38694451092513584372013-05-07T09:09:44.050+10:002013-05-07T09:09:44.050+10:00I'm afraid that is difficult.
In fiction Sime...I'm afraid that is difficult.<br /><br />In fiction Simenon, Vonnegut and John Fowles are all remarkably good and very different.<br /><br />In non-fiction Ellul and Paul Goodman are both superb. In non-fiction I look for the sense that the person is genuinely engaging with the topic. Not pfaffing about with words, definitions, showing off their erudition and so on.Evanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13355215688351759230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-67654001413951294832013-05-07T07:10:02.337+10:002013-05-07T07:10:02.337+10:00kvd, I love mordant! More later!kvd, I love mordant! More later!Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-84480566967839003472013-05-07T07:04:47.248+10:002013-05-07T07:04:47.248+10:00Hi Jim
In my younger and more vulnerable years my...Hi Jim<br /><br />In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since:<br /><br />1. avoid plagiarism.<br />2. avoid any author who initialises his or her name.<br /><br />I will think more on your own questions, but in the meantime leave you with a flowchart which might assist in your own time-poor selection process:<br /><br />http://teach.com/great-educational-resources/summer-reading-flowchart<br /><br />kvd<br />ps avoid books which include the word 'mordant'. But if used by a reviewer, the book might have promise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com