f. scott fitzgerald – Confessions of a Book Lush

Top Ten Authors I Would DIE to meet (living or dead)

July 12, 2011 5 Comments

op Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Authors I Would DIE to meet (living or dead). Now DIE seems a little strong ;) Maybe more like, would shove people out of the way…and flip a baby carriage over for…

LIVING
1) Donna Tartt — Well I think I’ve mentioned elsewhere that if I could have my pick of any writer!mentor, it would certainly be Ms Tartt. Gotta meet her first though, ya know?
2) Martin Amis — Has he moved to Brooklyn yet? Cause I’m already halfway there.
3) Zadie Smith — you know technically I’ve had opportunities to meet her but the one event I really wanted to attend ended up being filled up, so I had hauled my ass down to NYU for no reason. That was incredibly frustrating. There was an event following that, but it cost $25, and I didn’t really want to pay
4) Talitha Stevenson — She is not my favorite author (though I like her a lot obviously), but I think I can safely claim the title of BIGGEST TALITHA STEVENSON FAN LIVING IN THE US.
5) Kelly Braffet — So I’ve only read Josie and Jack, one of my favorite books, but her website is kind of funny, as is her ABOUT section on Facebook, which makes me think she’d be a blast to have a conversation with.

DEAD
6) J.D. Salinger — if you are somehow surprised by this, then this is probably your first time here. In which case, WELCOME! Oh what I wouldn’t give to be told GET OFF MY LAWN! by J.D. Salinger. ;)
7) Vladimir Nabokov — I’m sure I’d come off sounding like a complete ASSHAT to Nabokov. I mean he’s just so damned intelligent and clever (or was at least). Still, can I bask in the glory a lil’ bit? Can we talk about how there are huge sections of Ada, or Ardor that are just indecipherable to me but that it’s one of my favorite book anyway? Yes, let’s.
8) Edith Wharton — I’m gonna go ahead and blame Edith Wharton for my fascination with upper crust New York Society. And I’m pretty much okay with that.
9) F. Scott Fitzgerald + Zelda Fitzgerald — yes I’d like to meet them together, as a pair. I’ve always been strangely fascinated by them (whether because they epitomize the literary Jazz Age in my mind or because their mutually self-destructive ways are like watching the proverbial train wreck, I can’t be sure)
10) Sylvia Plath — yeah, I’m one of those….except not really. I’ve never read Plath’s poetry (well, ok I’ve read “Daddy” and “Mad Girl’s Love Song” because who the hell hasn’t?), but I have read The Bell Jar, which is right up there with The Virgin Suicides for me… i.e. books I liked a lot, but which did not convert me into a cult follower like they seem to do to other people. So it’s weird that she’s on this list in a way. But I keep coming across stuff about her (Rereading Women, Nom de Plume, Seducing the Demon), and yeah, you know what? I am kind of fascinated. I’m also fascinated by the fact that Ted Hughes lover (Assia Wevill) gassed herself in the same way. Maybe I should just have all three of them over for dinner in an afterlife….

Filed Under: top ten tuesday meme Tagged With: donna tartt, edith wharton, f. scott fitzgerald, j.d. salinger, kelly braffet, martin amis, sylvia plath, talitha stevenson, vladimir nabokov, zadie smith, zelda fitzgerald

10 Books I Want to Reread

May 18, 2011 6 Comments

got this idea from Sarcastic Female Literary Circle (what a great name for a blog btw!) and thought I’d do 10 of my own. So, here we go!

1) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: As I have probably mentioned before, I first read TKAM in 6th grade. After literally spending months analyzing this damn book, I think I can safely say that more than a few of us were sick and tired of it. Still, I consider it to be a masterpiece, but I’d definitely like to give it a try without all the analysis.

2) A Separate Peace by John Knowles: I read this the summer before high school, not expecting to like it very much, but I ended up loving it. I also ended up crying because of what happens to Finny. I had cried over books before this but this was the first time I cried over a human character (that’s right…all previous sob-fests had involved an animal). Recently bought this at Housing Works so I could eventually reread it (also, because I actually didn’t own it).

3) The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton For whatever reason I did not like this book quite as much as I thought I was going to or as much as other people do. I’d picked it up a few years after reading The Custom of the Country but found that I liked the underappreciated work a lot more. Last year, I bought the Modern Library edition with the express intention of eventually rereading it.

4) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald As I mentioned in the 30 Day Book Meme, I really loved Gatsby when I first read it but recently came to the random and unsubstantiated conclusion that this book is overrated. I’d definitely like to give it another shot.

5) Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews You didn’t think I was only going to name classics did you? Yes, sometimes I really do feel like revisiting this (as well as the rest of the series). But I also feel like some things are better left alone.

6) After Dark by Haruki Murakami It has not been that long since I’ve read this book, but I read it SO quickly, and on my computer surprisingly enough! It just flew by. I loved it, but now I can’t remember very much of it. So definitely need to revisit in the future.

7) Wayside School Is Falling Down by Louis Sachar Gotta revisit my favorite children’s book, c’mon son!

8) Arcadia by Tom Stoppard The one and only book I did not finish in my ILS (Integrated Liberal Studies) class in high school. We didn’t have to know it for the oral exam and so I never actually read the end myself (I think I looked it up later on or gleaned the ending from class discussions) and all I remember thinking was shit! I should’ve finished that, it sounds so good!

9 & 10) The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer A two for one special! Nah, but seriously, I’d love to read both of these again, especially The Iliad… oh Achilles, you’re so sexy when you’re ragey!

Filed Under: reading Tagged With: a separate peace, after dark, arcadia, edith wharton, f. scott fitzgerald, flowers in the attic, harper lee, haruki murakami, homer, john knowles, louis sachar, the great gatsby, the house of mirth, the iliad, the odyssey, to kill a mockingbird, tom stoppard, v.c. andrews, wayside school is falling down

30 Day Book Meme: Day 12

April 8, 2011 22 Comments

Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore

This is a toughie…I want to say The Great Gatsby, but that’s because I came to this somewhat random conclusion that although I loved it when I first read it in 9th grade, it’s probably a bit overrated. But I haven’t actually re-read it (though I want to eventually), so it seems unfair to make that assessment, just yet. But nothing else really comes to mind so let’s just say, The Great Gatsby, with an asterisk.

Previously on the 30 Day Book Meme →

Filed Under: fun and fancy free Tagged With: 30 day book meme, f. scott fitzgerald, the great gatsby

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you…

February 14, 2011 3 Comments

Go on, you know you wanna click it! Experience the Great Gatsby, complete with flappers dancing the Charleston with murder in their eyes and butlers rudely trampling upon you in order to deliver a bottle of champagne!

The best part? I find Nick Carraway’s characterization in this game to be entirely accurate. I mean, just look at that dull placid face — even in the face of imminent danger!

Filed Under: literary Tagged With: f. scott fitzgerald, nick carraway, the great gatsby

book cover spotlight: F. Scott Fitzgerald by Coralie Bickford-Smith

August 21, 2010 3 Comments

hese Penguin Hardcover editions of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous works, designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith are gorgeous. The perfect gift for any Fitzgerald aficionado.