12 posts tagged “non-fiction”
Book: Show us a great non-fiction book.
Book: Show us a great biography or memoir.
I really enjoyed this book. Although, it's been a few years since I read it so I can't remember if the author is one of the people who thinks Courtney Love killed Kurt Cobain. I would have put up one of the biographies I read about Henry VIII but I can't remember any of the titles. :-(
From "Of Studies" which can be found in Essays by Sir Francis Bacon:
Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.... Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.
So now that our internet problems are over with (hopefully) I figured I'd finally write a review for "Capote". I'll probably suck at it but whatever.
I think the most interesting thing I got out of the entire book was that this was a writer who, at his peak, had fame almost equivalent to movie stars/singers today. A writer. It seriously boggles the mind. Sure there are famous writers today but, to me at least, their level of fame just doesn't compare to that of Truman Capote's.
I also found it interesting how many people he knew, the influence he had over so many of them, and just everything he did. At times it was confusing keeping track of who was who - especially when some of them had similar names, had nicknames, etc - but I just focused on the stories being told rather than who was involved in the story. The final part of the book, which was about the last few years of his life, was fascinating to read. Just all the stuff he did/had happen to him as he slid further and further into his addictions.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I recommend it if you like biographies, Truman Capote, and/or the movie "Capote".
Ok. Well, that didn't suck - too bad. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to hone my skills before I write my next one.
One final post from the Reduced Shakespeare book. In the book, they review all of Shakespeare's plays. At the end of each review, they have an essay question. The following is a sample of some of those essay questions.
From Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Reader's Guide for the Attention-Impaired [abridged] by Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor:
"As You Like It": In this comedy, Oliver asks a wrestler to break his brother's neck. Explain why this is funny.
"The Comedy of Errors": Jose Canseco actually has an identical twin brother, Ozzie, who also allegedly used steroids, but only played briefly in the major leagues. What does this tell us about the actual benefits of steroid use for baseball players?
"Hamlet": Are people from Denmark Dutch or Danish? Can you ever keep that straight? How?
"Henry IV, Part 1": As a young man, Prince Hal shirks responsibility and drinks too much, while his father runs a powerful nation. Hal grows up, cleans up his act, and ends up ruling the country himself. Can you draw any parallels between Prince Hal, King Henry, and a recent American presidential dynasty? Why not? What's wrong with you?
"Henry IV, Part 2": Does the sequel Henry IV, Part 2 have more in common with Godfather II or Rocky II? Why?
"Henry V": Of Shakespeare's ten history plays, seven have a King Henry in the title. Could this possibly be more confusing? How?
"Henry VI, Part 1": Why can't the English and French just get along?
"Henry VI, Part 2": George Lucas' Star Wars prequels were clearly inspired by Henry VI, Part 1 because they're of such similar quality. Discuss.
"Henry VIII": The Globe Theater burned to the ground on June 29, 1613. Henry VIII was performed in the theater that day. Legend has it that the theater's thatched roof was set ablaze by cannons fired during the performance. What does this teach us about arms control?
"Julius Caesar": Don't you wish more current politicians would murder each other and commit suicide? Which ones? Be specific.
"The Merchant of Venice": Interestingly, this play is classified as a comedy although it isn't funny. Discuss the parallels between The Merchant of Venice and the work of Carrot Top.
"The Merry Wives of Windsor": In this play, the husbands find out that Falstaff was trying to seduce their wives and take their money, but they forgive him in the end. If this play were an episode of COPS, how would it end?
"Othello": Have you ever tricked someone into murdering his spouse? If so, why are you admitting it?
"Richard II": Is it okay to overthrow as king if he's gay? If so, why?
"Romeo and Juliet": Shakespeare's tragedies are depressing. Why didn't he write more upbeat tragedies?
"The Taming of the Shrew": Some scholars argue that Kate's speech about submission near the end of the play is meant to be ironic. In how many ways are they in denial?
"The Tempest": If you rearrange the letters in the name Caliban, it almost spells "cannibal." Have you seen Silence of the Lambs?
"Timon of Athens": Have you ever seen Phantom of the Opera? Is it possible that Andrew Lloyd Webber co-wrote it with Thomas Middleton?
"Twelfth Night": In Shakespeare's day, the women's roles were played by boys. So for the part of Viola, a boy would have been playing a girl playing a boy. Explain this. Please.
"The Winter's Tale": In this play a baby is abandoned on the shores of Bohemia, a country with no coastline. Make up some smart-ass essay question about that "genius" Shakespeare's knowledge of geography and then answer it.
Happy New Year! Here's hoping 2007 is a good year. Cheers!
Anyway, today's quote/passage is from the "Reduced Shakespeare" book. Again. What? School hasn't started yet so I have nothing to do besides read. Which is actually kinda nice for once.
From Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Reader's Guide for the Attention-Impaired [abridged] by Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor:
Not to give too much away, but in Shakespeare's tragedies you know going in that the title character is going to die by the end of Act V. In some cases, as in Timon of Athens, you find yourself hoping he'll die in Act II so the play will end and you can go home. But in some cases, knowing the ending does not diminish the experience. It's like the movie Titanic. You knew from the title that the ship was going down, but you still enjoyed watching Leonardo DiCaprio freeze to death.
Yes, yes I did enjoy watching Leo freeze to death. :-D I'm a horrible, horrible person. ];->
The last post of '06.
From Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Reader's Guide for the Attention-Impaired [abridged] by Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor:
It's probably hard for modern readers to understand just how different things were in the sixteenth century. Unlike today, people of different religions had no tolerance for each other; back then, believers of one faith thought they were right, everyone else was wrong, and that it was their holy duty to convert everyone else to their own point of view.
Fortunately, now, almost 500 years later, these myopic religious views and extremist sectarianism have completely disappeared.
Can you tell which book I'm reading right now? ;-)
From Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Reader's Guide for the Attention-Impaired [abridged] by Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor:
Whether [Shakespeare] saw any theater as a child, however, is another matter. Troupes of traveling players went from town to town and had to audition for the local leaders, so some scholars insist that, because of John Shakespeare's high office, Shakespeare must have watched performances of plays, enrapt, at his father's knee. Maybe. This assumes his father had a knee. There's no evidence that he did have knees but there's no evidence that he didn't, either.
From Taming the Atom by Hans Christian von Baeyer as quoted by Bill Bryson in A Short History of Nearly Everything:
The physicist Leo Szilard once announced to his friend Hans Bethe that he was thinking of keeping a diary: "I don't intend to publish. I am merely going to record the facts for the information of God." "Don't you think God knows the facts?" Bethe asked. "Yes," said Szilard. "He knows the facts, but He does not know this version of the facts."
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