Emil, To avoid bloating Kiowa Peak any further, I'll stop by here and say Ghostwriters in the Sky is brilliant. Brandenburg gate in the snow, beautiful. I was there just before the wall came down, it is my hope to pass that way again.
Hello Emil, Hope all is well. I thought you would be interested in a few more photos from my 1988 summer tour of Europe. I realize this is a shameful self promotion, however threads tends to get buried rather quickly. They are posted on the "Pictures Taken by You" thread. I'll continue to doll them out a few at a time. Perhaps a few more from you would be in order? Gg
"Absalom, Absalom! was the only Faulkner selection I've read; an entirely random choice for my introduction to this author. Based on a few comments from others, it turns out that I chose one of his more difficult novels, so I don't want to announce my final verdict on Faulkner just yet, but for me, that was a tedious book. I'm about two thirds through Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and so far it is simple reading- linear(?). RE: Photos - In fact I had loaded a few already in your Architecture thread. That first installment covers my visit to Pisa Italy. Oh, and my new profile page background image is from a community water pump in Nuremberg Germany. St. Lorenz church to be exact. .
You deserve a Merry Christmas after wading through Faulkner. Did you manage to read all the chosen works or get bogged down in Absalom Absalom? Reading Fitzgerald is a good antidote to Faulkner, as is Hemingway. I haven't done much reading at all this year except for French newspapers and magazines where the two main topics have been next year's presidential election and the Dominique Strauss-Khan scandal which are of course related. Next year looks like being a no book year too on account of both the French and US elections and also the looming crash of the Eurozone. Logan Pearsall Smith once said that he preferred fiction to real life, but the current worldwide scenario is much more interesting to those like myself who make a point of following political and economic events. Anyhow, I will be able to keep up with literature via LitNet, so it isn't a complete wipe-out. It'll be interesting to see your digitalized pictures when you find time to post them.
Merry Christmas Emil (from my stamp collection).... Btw- I managed to get my photo slides, from my 1988 Europe tour, converted to digital. I'll share them over time.
Well according to what I have read, they are stacked in long shelf-like constructions that form corridors where visitors are able to wander around. An interesting notice is displayed in the main corridor that says: "Nous sommes aujourd'hui ce que vous serez demain." 'We are today what you will be tomorrow.'
"... but those in Paris are far more extensive as they house the remains of thousands of people who were originally buried in various locations prior to Baron Haussmann's..." I recall seeing images of catacombs in which the bones were placed in ellaborate patterns. Could I be recalling the catacombs you are referring to? Now I am off and running with Fitzgerald and Faulkner. I'll keep you posted on my impressions.
I visited the Roman catacombs also but those in Paris are far more extensive as they house the remains of thousands of people who were originally buried in various locations prior to Baron Haussmann's redesigning of the city and the colossal excavations required meant that they had to be re-interred in Montparnasse. I see that someone has opened a new thread re Faulkner and Hemingway but given that so much was said in the deleted thread, I don't suppose there is much left to say. I haven't read Faulkner but checking him out I found his writing to be incredibly turgid and there is no way I would fully read any of his books. I'm not particularly fond of Hemingway but he does get to the point without circumlocution and some of his writing is very good. Fitzgerald by comparison is marvellous and 'The Great Gatsby' is one of the 20th century's great novels. I wish you well with 'Absalom, Absalom' but, for my part, it will stay on the shelf along with Harry Potter and 'Wings of a Dove'.
I see Lokasenna guessed the painting and speaking of catacombs, I have toured the catacombs of Saint Callixtus in Rome, but not in Paris. Faulkner, Fitzgerald and Hemingway have certainly stirred things up lately. I have been following the various threads, but not able to contribute due to lack of familiarity with those authors. However, I am about to remedy that, as well as check off two more new authors for the 2011 - 11 new authors challenge. Today, I purchased "The Great Gatsby" and "Absalom, Absalom!". I plan to make Hemingway number 11. Gg
Hi Gilliatt, Sorry about the lack of contact but I seem to spend most of my time on the actual forums these days' It's ironic that a site primarily devoted to literature actually stops people from reading because there is such a variety of subjects being covered. I see that the moderators have deleted the Hemingway vs Faulkner thread which veered off into a protracted discussion on music, after pages of comment on the two writers. Some of the long posts were interesting and informative but there were a good number of insults flying about as people got more and more heated over the issue. This is something that has increased in recent times and an air of malaise seems to permeate the website, although I still spend far too much time on it.
