BillF

Alvin Alcorn Gabriel Oak Branch Davidians

Pharoah Sanders Emperor Rosco Roscoe Mitchell

Rubik Rupert Bear Grylls

Teddy Boy Mod Rocker

Marnie Tippi Hedren Children of the Night

Jan Garbarek My Old Man's a Dustman Dustin Hoffman

Herman Ouseley Herman's Hermits The Loneliest Monk

Chris Botti Arsen Avakov Paula Backscheider

Mog Edwards Pussy Galore

Seb Coe Tony Coe Cosy Fanny Tutti

Mums Mobley Hank Cinq Hooray Henry

Flash Harry Priscilla Clapp Cow Cow Davenport (again!)

Lloyd Trotman Eddie Cantor Wynona Ryder

You might recall I recently posted on Drabble's "Jerusalem the Golden." If you get a chance to read that one, I'd be interested in your critique. I have "The Waterfall" sitting about here, was going to read it after "Jerusalem," but got distracted with Muriel and with Doris Lessing. Currently doing battle with Lessing's "Four-Gated City." Almost done with that and shall post additional thoughts on it. Sorry to have missed your post on Jerusalem the Golden. There are now so many pages, we almost need a 20th Century English Women Novelists' thread!

I found if you can commit to 100 pages a day (or more), the reading experience is better, and the impact of the work is not diffused. Are you reading in original, Dutch or English? Is there an acclaimed Dutch translation? I only know the English ones. I studied Russian for a year in college, and my wife is a native speaker of Russian, but I'm not able to read in the original, alas. I have enough Russian to help me assess phrasing and idiomatic expression for their "Russian-ess." Various translations evoke some hot partisanship; they all have pluses and minuses. I prefer Rosemary Edmonds 2nd translation, in the one volume Penguin edition, if for no other reason that it is a convenient edition to hold and read. Plus I think her translation best splits the difference between English and Russian prose styles. I've been mulling over an attempt at "Clarissa," reputedly the longest novel in English. Not sure I have the stamina anymore I suppose the 100 page a day program would get me there eventually. I named my younger daughter Clarissa, as liked the name, though not the literary character's fate :-) (Fortunately she, now 27, has always liked the name.) I confess to never having read the novel in full. On a course on the 18th century novel I was once given a week to read it! I did manage Tom Jones in the same time, though!

Moving on from Spark to another mid-20th century British female writer. Excellent - I shall certainly read another Drabble.

Twitchers Bird Watchers Charlie Parker Appreciation Society

Richard Diebenkorn Cyril Kornbluth Julius Bluthner

The Subterraneans Nick Cave Shaft

Justin Thyme Monica Mint of Madrid Herb Geller

Cow Cow Davenport Earl of Chesterfield Couch Potato

Hart Crane Bo Derek Elmer Gantry

Cozy Cole Cole Porter

Penny Wise Lorna Sage Basil Brush