literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
En encounter with the devil
If The Man who was Used up and The Spectacles constitute a single block in terms of subject and structure, a further grouping can be formed by two other humorous stories: Bon Bon and Le Duc de l’Omelette. These two stories are, in fact, united by the topic: the encounter with the devil, a situation that is certainly more in keeping with Poe’s inspiration. It seems, in fact, that even when he proposes to make people laugh, Poe feels more at home in the world of larvae than in the living rooms and theaters of everyday life.
By Patrizia Poli4 years ago in Geeks
5 Great Books I Read in November '21
I read so many great books in the first half of the month that I thought that five books to go into this article seemed like not very much at all. I really had to think about which books I wanted on this list in order to display a good range of what I have read during the month. I know I placed a sixth one on the last list and that was a quick addition to something that I had not planned - it was the final day of the month when I was writing the review for that sixth book.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles
Subplots are generally a difficult thing to get right. If any of you have read Shakespeare's Twelfth Night then you will know what 'getting it right' looks like. The interweaving of plot to subplot requires you to work with the same, or a familiar, character set. Then it requires some sort of connection to the main plot in which all the characters are somewhat or, indirectly, involved. Finally, we should have some sort of resolution to the subplot which comes in tandem with the main plot.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Will" by Will Smith and Mark Manson
I've read many autobiographies by entertainers in my time. My favourites include, but are not limited to: My Autobiography by Charlie Chaplin, Moonwalk by Michael Jackson, Chronicles: Volume 1 by Bob Dylan, Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen and obviously, Me: Stories of My Life by Katharine Hepburn, Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday and finally, The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. Apart from loving to read about actors who have been through some hardships and musicians who were barred from this, that and the other because of circumstance or over something they could not control - autobiographies are a useful way to engage with a person's voice. When you read an autobiography it needs to feel like the person who wrote it is reading it to you, or it becomes useless. The only real way to read an autobiography is to have the person's voice in your head so that you can interact with their character.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'Return of the Evening Star'
When the people and animals of Fairfax come under attack from speeding ambulances that prowl the land, mowing down anything in their path and dragging their victims to a mysterious hospital deep in the woods, Chloe Ashton and her friends race to stop the bloodshed. A mysterious hospital deep in the Oregon woods is sending marauding ambulances into the countryside, looking for new patients. Mowing down anything in their path, the deadly ambulance drivers have forced the people and animals of the land into hiding. Twelve-year-old Chloe Ashton has returned to Fairfax and is desperate to find her mother. Together with her friends—the magical cook Mrs. Goodweather, carpenter Brisco Knot, and clever white rat Shakespeare—she hatches a plan to enter the hospital and stop the bloodshed. At the same time a rumor reaches them from the east: Silas the Stargazer is coming, and he is bringing an army. An animal army.
By Cyn's Workshop4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World"
If you're like me, you probably read "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" (Ari and Dante Book 1) when it came out in 2012. I re-read the book a few times over the course of the next couple of years and I think a lot of people knew how I felt about it. I was pretty obsessed with it for a long time and thought that it was one of the most beautiful YA books ever written. You can check out my initial article on the reading experience I recalled from my teen years here.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Edda, Sagas and Kalevala
Thingvellir: behind the black basalt spur, in front of the immense lichen-covered lawn where the Althing was held, the open-air parliament of the Icelanders. In the cold, sulfur-smelling air, in this asphalt-colored lava land, among pumice dunes and geyser puffs, it is necessary to make a classification of memories and mental associations that pile up confused in our heads.
By Patrizia Poli4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Wonderworks" by Angus Fletcher
Books about reading have always been great books to read. Anthologies about great books, collections of changing ideas in literature and milestones of the cultural shifts within different eras of the arts have always been entertaining and informative. A while back, I was reading a book called "Ex Libris: 100+ Books to Read and Reread" by Michiko Kakutani. It was one of the most eye-opening books about reading I had ever read because it taught me not to be caught up in how much I reread a book (I am a big rereader) and know that when I reread a book, there will always be an aspect of discovery going on. It may be thematic, symbolic or even conceptual, but it is a new discovery all the same. Books such as "The Handmaid's Tale" appear side by side with Homer's "Odyssey". But this book we have here is a little bit different to that.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Matter of Black Lives" ed. by Jelani Cobb and David Remnick
The New Yorker is one of my all-time favourite publications. I try to get a subscription if and when I can (when I have enough money to pay for a subscription to it) and I am constantly amazed at the way in which they continue to be such a high quality publication every week. One thing I love reading about in that magazine is the sections on literature. This is not just literature in terms of books, but also letters, essays and ideas that are published within the columns. It's really interesting to see exactly what the people who write the books, who do the research and who are a big part of a changing culture have to say about the criticisms and judgements of the ideas that are at play in our world today.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
