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I've just finished Isherwood's A Single Man, which I guess could be called A Single Day in the Life of a Single Man. It is interesting to compare the fairly buttoned-down George to the let-it-all-hang-out Wilhelm from Bellow's Seize the Day. To be fair, there was a point (in the past) when George broke down in the company of his friend Charlotte, over the death of his lover, but now George keeps these emotions in check. However, given the rivers of booze that flow through this novel (indicating perhaps Mad Men wasn't so far off the mark) and poor George's liver, there is a bit of suspense over what exactly will come out of his mouth while he is drunk. The novel is somewhat radical in how it describes an older male lusting (privately) after a fair number of younger men. Given how much of the novel is an interior monologue (maybe 65%), I'm struggling to imagine how they turned this into a movie. (Most people who have read/seen both, consider the movie a pale imitation of the novel.) I may check out the movie one of these days, but I am in no hurry. I'll be reading Bradbury's The History Man next and then Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

Have you read Let Me Be Frank with You, which is sort of a coda to the trilogy?

The Longreads piece didn't do that much for me, but the piece he linked to was quite interesting: https://talkingcovers.com/2012/09/12/vintage-contemporaries/ I particularly find Richard Yates's reactions amusing, as he just didn't like the covers at all. I haven't read all the Vintage Contemporaries, but certainly a fair number. Being in the Vintage Contemporary line-up was a fair indication that the book was solid. Maybe some day if I get through all my other reading (fat chance), I will just go through the list once and for all. What I really ought to do is see if some crazy person has put the entire series on eBay and just buy it and stick it in my basement. I'm not entirely sure how long it would take to collect the individual titles, especially as so many used bookstores have gone out of business.

While it had a few moments of interest, ultimately I found Bombay Time to be too disjointed, delving into too many marriages (most unhappy or tragic, with 2 happy marriages detailed). I'm about halfway through Atwood's Moral Disorder and am enjoying that. It will be one of Mahfouz's shorter novels, Love in the Rain, next.

It's a tough day for fans of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip (arguably Canadian's most-beloved rock band). Obit here: https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2017/10/18/tragically-hip-frontman-gord-downie-has-died-band-repiorts.html It doesn't help much that it has been known for quite some time that he had incurable brain cancer, but he did have a chance to go out for one last Hip tour and say goodbye to the fans. Many artists don't get that. I'm amazed that he found the time to do two last solo projects, as well as that last tour with the band. I saw them three times plus a very short outdoor set at Dundas-Yonge Square. So I was hardly a super fan, but I liked their work quite a bit. Similar to Tom Petty, basically Downie was, by all accounts, pretty grounded and was a nice guy; he never seemed to lose his contact with his roots and often went the extra mile to satisfy his fans. One late interview was particularly heart breaking when he revealed that the cancer was affecting his memory. He had to have teleprompters on the last concert tour. He was even afraid he would forget his children's names. Anyway, cancer sucks, though we all know that. RIP

I decided to tackle The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor. This is a recasting of the Mahabharata with Indian politicians covering roughly 1917-1980. Not surprisingly, my knowledge of Indian politics isn't very deep with only a passing familiarity to Gandhi, Nehru and Indira Gandhi. I've decided to just go ahead and read through the novel, which is fairly engaging, and then I'll go back to the Wikipedia article that explains all the references. After this, Thrity Umrigar's Bombay Time. Then assuming it is in at the library, Anita Majumdar's Fish Eyes Trilogy.

Working my way through Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. Another book I should have read when I was much younger. I'm having a lot of trouble relating to (or even being very interested in) the title character, who is basically a Jewish (and more more cynical and destructive) version of Ferris Bueller.

I definitely felt The Good Soldier was a bit too drawn out this time around and a bit too needlessly convoluted. We get the gist of what happened by p 50 or even sooner, and then the rest is sort of a baroque filling in of a lot of details and much more back story. Which would be fine if some of it didn't seem just so repetitive. The last few pages do redeem it a fair bit where we finally get a sense that the narrator isn't quite the angel he often portrays himself as. It's still a solid book, but I wasn't blown away by it as I was in my 20s. Carr's A Month in the Country next, and I am also trying to wrap up Fontane's Irretrievable (NYRB). I compared Irretrievable and No Way Back (Penguin) and finally plumped for the (older) translation published by NYRB.

I'm finding I have no particular interest in any of the characters in Lucky Jim and don't care what happens to them. (Furthermore, David Lodge writes much more pointed satire of academia.) I'll finish it, as it is fairly short, but I am already looking ahead to The Good Soldier, which I liked very much in my 20s, so I hope I still feel the same now.

RIP I saw them once after they started touring again after a long layoff. Amazing show. Fagen says the show (current tour) will go on, but obviously it will never be the same.

In terms of the music, definitely Andrew Hill, though that was one I assembled from the individual BN CDs. In terms of the big black boxes, probably Elvin Jones, followed by the Farmer-Golson Sextet. In terms of Selects, probably Hutcherson, Andrew Hill (not solo), and Akiyoshi. It is true, I don't really listen to these (and the others I own) as much as I expected when I bought them, but I do bring them out from time to time.

RIP. I have enjoyed many of his recordings. My two faves (at the moment at least) are Gateway and Class Trip. I'll have to spin them today.

Yesterday, I watched the partial eclipse for a couple of minutes, then had to go back into a meeting. Apparently, Buffalo gets a full eclipse in 2024 and Toronto will be 90-95%, so that will be cool.

Humor dates quickly, that's for sure. I found J.P. Donleavy unbearable. I have somewhat higher hopes for Amis. Thinking back, I did find Murdoch's Under the Net quite amusing. I think I am slightly more in tune with her, but not with Muriel Spark, whose work I just don't enjoy.

I finally, finally picked up my copies of the Basie/Young and Beehive sets (bought when the alarming email circulated). Just starting to listen to them now. Some really great music obviously. I will note that on my Beehive set the middle CD in each case has the teeth of death (basically worse than I've seen before). So be warned. Even knowing this is an issue and trying to shave the teeth down, I'm still pretty sure I'll end up cracking one of the discs. I plan to rip the box, and then will probably never take it out again.

Slight detour into Bowles's The Sheltering Sky. Many, many years ago I got a few chapters in and set it aside for some reason. I should wrap it up this afternoon and then Gide's The Vatican Cellars. Probably Lucky Jim after that. Hard to believe, but I never got around to this one before.

It was nice but even 5 years ago, you got about 50% talk, 50% music with Benny (and Lou Donaldson). Now it is about 25% music. Still definitely worth it to see one of the last giants (and these at least were new stories for me). He did play "Horizon Ahead" off a fairly recently album, and the rest were his standards - "Whisper Not" and "I Remember Clifford." They closed with Coltrane's Mr PC, taken at a fairly fast clip.

In Chicago for a couple of days and saw that Benny Golson is at the Jazz Showcase. I am going to try to catch the 8 o'clock show tonight!

Just wrapped up The Sound and the Fury. Even though I read it before and knew broadly what happened, it was a challenge. While Benjy's thoughts are completely jumbled, Quentin's (in the 2nd section) jump around nearly as much. It is only the second half where there is a more linear narrative. Also Camara Laye's The Radiance of the King, which in many ways is an African-version of Kafka's The Castle. Oddly one review claims that The Radiance of the King starts off with an epigraph from Kafka, though certainly not in my edition (Vintage). If I can borrow it from the library I'll try to get the NYRB edition to check out Toni Morrison's introduction. Gide's The Vatican Cellars next and then Fontane. I have to decide whether to go with the NYRB translation of Irretrievable or No Way Back (on Penguin).

Unless is Shields' last completed novel. It is a fairly straight-forward tale about a family in crisis with some allusions to Bellow's Herzog (the narrator also writes long (sometimes imaginary) letters to notable public figures).

What do you think so far? I've heard good things about it, and expect to get to it in Sept.

Halfway into Wuthering Heights. For me it is a more successful novel than Jane Eyre, which didn't do a lot for me in the end, though I still am not that interested in the characters here. I do find it fairly strange that these two families act as if there isn't a larger world outside with which they can interact and from which they can find partners. Most other novels, including Jane Eyre, show a bit of socializing with neighbors further afield and even the occasional trip into town. These folks (in Wuthering Heights) all act as if they are stuck in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. Re-reading Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury after this. Then Gide's The Vatican Cellars.

Nearing the halfway mark in Jane Eyre. It's a strange case where I didn't read it as a kid, and as an adult I know the big secret, so it's hard to sustain the same interest a true first-time reader would have. As soon as I am done with this, I'll go ahead and read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, as the two are interlinked.

It's nice that it is finally out. I have Highway One and Conception on vinyl, so I'm not really in the market for this.

I was very surprised to find this on Hoopla (and perhaps on Spotify -- I didn't check), as I didn't think Sam was a label that participated in streaming. Anyway, listening to it now.