spring reading ~

[lookingland]

some screaming red tulips bloomed in the back yard since just this morning when i went out earlier. spring doesn't kid around when it finally happens here.

i've spent most of the afternoon reading ~ starting to catch up on the 50bookchallenge since i let myself get far behind while doctorow sat on my nightstand and gave me indigestion.

10. Hunting a Hair Shirt and other Spiritual Adventures ~ short essays by aline kilmer. i really enjoyed these pieces, especially the hair shirt piece. something about aline kilmer (the person, maybe not the voice entirely) reminds me very much of inkidink. the writing was crisp and funny. her characterizations, which are often unflattering, are nonetheless amusing. some of her philosophical sentiments (she has a rant about radios that reads like a modern slam on cell-phones) are very fresh for a book written in the early 20s.

11. Sullivan County Sketches ~ short works by stephen crane. there's a reason these aren't so well-know, i think. they're rather rough and unformed overall. charming and fun to bumble through (following the exploits of four men who get caught up in various almost prosaic misadventures). the tent story in which a bear galumphs off wearing the title article is the best of the lot, i think. crane was a notoriously bad writer (in terms of organization, spelling, etc. and his work was often heavily edited). these sketches strike me as pretty raw material and definitely "sketches" as opposed to polished pieces. still, i enjoyed thoroughly.

started reading harte's The Luck of Roaring Camp, but have only finished the title story so far. lots to say about his style and my reactions to his wordsmithing. but i'm not really up to going into it just yet, wanna give it a spell to marinate.

: D