Tag: Friends

Random

We Survived Spain

Geoff W

2015 06-20 Shipping Back to BostonIn case you were wondering, we survived Spain. The photo is from right after we landed in Boston last Saturday evening. You know you’re jealous of that tan, we spent the last day in Spain at Sitges, a resort type town on the coast.It was a wonderful trip and I have so much to write about, but things are still very busy.

If I would’ve planned ahead I would’ve just posted through to the end of June, AKA NOT try to conquer the behemoth that is Don Quixote (I’m roughly 33% into it), but I didn’t. Instead you get this lovely update. I do think I will break Don Quixote into three posts, one each on Part 1 and Part 2, and then a separate one about Madrid and Don Quixote!

This afternoon I head up to Gloucester for a wedding. If you remember ALL the way back in Sept 2013, I posted these photos from when we decorated their apartment while they were off getting engaged,

Well it’s finally here. I’m honored to be a part of the wedding and I can’t wait for tomorrow! I’ll, hopefully, be back to regular postings next week. I do have an entire podcast to edit by Wednesday, so fingers crossed!

ARC, Books

Book 348: In Youth Is Pleasure & I Left My Grandfather’s House – Denton Welch

Geoff W

The publisher, Open Road Integrated Media, reached out to me with this book as I’d previously read Jane Bowles’ Two Serious Ladies, and she is even mentioned in this work.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hesitant at first as Bowles’ work was very well written but I just didn’t like the characters. Thankfully, Welch’s characters were a bit more accessible for me. This is two shorter stories so I’ve separated my response into two parts. The publisher provided a copy of this book and I received no compensation for my honest opinion.

The one over-arching them the two pieces have in common is the idea of sexuality, specifically homosexuality, before it was commonly talked about and/or accepted. I tried (aka did a brief google search) to find out about Welch’s sexuality, but again this was a long time ago before our out and proud mantras of today. Welch died young, he was only 33, and there is only speculation outside of his written works which in today’s society seem pretty explicit. Regardless, I enjoyed both of these snippets of the past for completely different reasons.

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CRWMPodcast

CRWM #05: Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion

Geoff W

CRWM05In the longest episode yet I talk with one of my roommates, Mike, about two VERY long books Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, the first two novels of the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons.

I’m sad I had to cut out as much as I did (including a great aside about Doctor Who), but I think you’ll enjoy this one. We talk about science fiction and religion, technology and the fear of Artificial intelligence and even delve briefly into religion and philosophy, and what all of these mean for the future of society. (We’re so smart!)

I did use this episode as a weird transition episode. You’ll start to see hints of what I’m working into the next episode from my “podcast class,” but  because this was recorded well before I did that class there are no actual transitions, I hadn’t recorded actual transitions yet, just the page turning sounds.

Download it here: CRWM #05 (Right click and “save as.”) Or, better yet, subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher!

Other books we talked about:

I was able to do a lot more editing wise so hopefully the sound quality is a bit better than usual! I’m also mulling over a few more changes, like starting with the guest reading as the intro and then going into the discussion, but I’m not sure.

As usual, if you have any thoughts or ideas feel free to comment or email me at podcast@geoffwhaley.com!

Book Group, Books, The Classics Club

Book 339: Emma – Jane Austen

Geoff W

For book two of our Jane Austen Book Club, my friends and I decided to conquer Emma. It has always been my least favorite of the six and reading Deresiewicz’s A Jane Austen Education both confirmed that and helped me get around this problem. His talking about Emma and it’s belief in the importance of every day trivialities, as well as Margaret Drabble’s excellent introduction led me to think about the book differently.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still boring as anything in most points, but Austen wrote it this way. According tot Drabble, Austen wrote this novel in such excruciating detail in direct response to the detractors of her previously published novel Mansfield Park, which I love. Drabble says, “This is domestic realism almost with a vengeance.” (xix) AND it is! The hyper focus on every detail, the incredibly limited scope of setting, characters and even conversation topics is overwhelmingly mundane. It is an assault on the senses, and as a fellow JABC member said “i’m diagnosing myself with ’emma-induced narcolepsy.'” (Thanks, Dalton!)

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Books

Book 337: Crome Yellow – Aldous Huxley

Geoff W

My friend Nick gave this to me to read ages ago and I’ve finally gotten around to it. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but the further I read the more I enjoyed the story. Coming in at under 200 pages, I was pleasantly surprised at how much Huxley fit into the novel without overwhelming the sense of lackadaisical whimsy of the people.

I am incredibly glad I read the foreword though, because I don’t think I would’ve understood this was a satirical novel of the British upper-class. I probably would’ve happily read it and thought, “wow these people are petty and ridiculous,” and then thought nothing more of it. It reminded me a lot of the various upper-class dioramas I’ve read from Jane Austen to Cécil David-Weill’s The Suitors, which is what Huxley was going for in his social criticism.

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