Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Yes, I'm still talking about Oscar Wilde


I was listening to Stephen Fry’s April Podgram, which was mainly about Oscar Wilde. Fry is quite the connoisseur of Wilde. I greatly enjoyed this particular episode and thought I would share it with all of you.

The episode can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store. Power search for Stephen Fry and you will get Stephen Fry’s PODGRAMS as a result. Click the subscribe button. If you don’t have iTunes then you can go to the blog section of his Web site for a text transcript, http://stephenfry.com/blog/.

I just noticed that the transcript isn’t up yet. If you want to read the transcript keep checking back from time to time. But, I highly recommend listening to the Podgram. Stephen Fry is an absolute joy.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

And The New Book Is...


There are several of us who own copies of the book - feel free to ask!

The next meeting will be on:

Tuesday, May 24
Meeting Place:

Cheese Drip Factory (aka La Charreada)

Time:

To be voted on!
PSH

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Interesting notes on Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray


I hope everyone enjoyed Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray as much as I did. From speaking to a few of you, I think we were all reading different editions and publications of the book. I thought I would share some notes from my edition, published by Penguin Books in 1985.

Some critics have identified Wilde entirely with the character Lord Henry “Harry” Wotton. Wilde’s own remarks on the subject in 1894 was, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian what I would like to be — in other ages, perhaps.”

Continuing on the subject of Wilde being compared to his characters, there was an interesting connection made between Gray and Wilde. In my edition of the book, Chapter 12 starts with “It was on the ninth of November, the eve of his own thirty-eighth birthday…” My edition said in the Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, version of this story, this date was given as Gray’s 32nd birthday, which is a more significant age to Wilde. When Wilde was 32, he engaged in his first homosexual experiences, thus making more of connection between Gray’s sin or guilt and his own.

Several directories are mentioned in Dorian Gray. Knowledge of these directories do not make or break the book, but they are interesting and worth noting. In Chapter Three, Lord Henry tells Uncle George, “Mr. Dorian Gray does not belong to Blu-books.” The Bluebook was the official reports of Parliament and the Privy Council. In Chapter 15, Lady Narborough offers to go through Debrett carefully to find eligible young ladies for Gray. Debrett is short for Debrett’s Complete Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which was an aristocratic directory.

And finally, I want to point out one last thing. In Chapter 11, Wilde goes into long detail about Gray’s interests in music, art, tapestries, etc. I will be honest and admit that I skimmed/skipped it. Be honest, many of you did too. In case you were wondering how Wilde knew all of those things, he primarily used Huysmans, and the South Kensington Museum Art Handbook. According to the notes in my edition of the book, some of Wilde’s descriptive passages were taken almost verbatim.

Quotable Wilde

I love Oscar Wilde quotes. I just wanted to take a moment to share my favorites in "The Picture of Dorian Gray."

"The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world. They can sit at their ease and gape at the play."

"Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the cave-man had known how to laugh, History would have been different."

"It is not good for one's morals to see bad acting."

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

"She behaves as if she was beautiful. Most American women do. It is the secret of their charm."

"It is an odd thing, but everyone who disappears is said to be seen at San Francisco. It must be a delightful city, and possess all the attractions of the next world."

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Finished over the weekend...

Dearest IUAA book club ladies,

I finished "The Picture of Dorian Gray" over the weekend. What shallow dandies Dorian and Lord Henry were! I purchased the book from Barnes and Noble, and it had fabulous end notes and explanations of terminology, characters, etc. Thank goodness, or some of the subleties would have escaped me. And what a life Oscar Wilde led! We have a lot to discuss next week. ;)

--Rachael.

Recipe Fictional Book Series


Joanne Fluke is my new "mystery" series favorite author.

I call it "mystery" because it's more or less a no-thinker read for a mystery novel. I read the ninth book in the series (who the heck has the list of books in order when they go to the library? Not me) and really enjoyed it. I copied a few recipes out of it hoping to make one or two this summer.

It takes place in a small town in Minnesota (haha, yes, I am a Minnesotan and like most people, I have to give my home state authors a chance - so post some Indiana authors - I want to read more!) and is totally Minnesotan. Seriously. It's like I'm back home again when I open it.

If you need a no-thinker for entertainment, this is an OK book to read, just don't expect some great mystery novel. It's just entertaining!
Otherwise, I recommend Janet Evanovich - she's a real laugh out loud author!
Patty

Friday, May 2, 2008

I just finished! I'd remembered it being a lot longer than it actually was...

At any rate, I've found some questions about it for book club & have been thinking of some additional ones on my own; if you think of any discussion questions, remember them for our meeting!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday Everyone!

According to the votes, it looks like Tuesday, May 20 at 6 pm is the time.

The place is:

The Irish Lion

Here's a few fun facts about Oscar Wilde:

Irish-born novelist, playwright, poet, and critic

Birthdate: October 16, 1854
Died: November 30, 1900
Place of Birth: Dublin, Ireland

Known for:
Witty, often paradoxical, sayings that lampoon the social mores and behavior of the English upper classes of his time
Championing the aesthetic movement, which is based on the idea of art for art's sake

Milestones:
1878 Graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in classics
1881 Published Poems, a collection of poetry
January - October 1882 Lectured on English aestheticism in the United States and Canada
1882 Vera, or the Nihilists, his first play, is produced in New York but is not successful
1891 Published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which portrayed the moral decay of its title character
February 1892 The play Lady Windermere's Fan, the first of four successful comedies, opened in London.
June 1892 Rehearsals for the play Salomé were halted by the British censor because of a law forbidding the representation of Biblical characters on stage.
February 1895 The Importance of Being Earnest, the last and most popular of his comedies, was produced in London.
May 1895 Was convicted of homosexual acts following three sensationalized trials, and received a sentence of two years' hard labor
1897 Released from prison, Wilde left immediately for France where he lived the rest of his life, publishing only the poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898).

Did You Know:
Wilde's flamboyant personality and eccentric dress were parodied in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta, Patience (1881).
Wilde's most popular plays satirized the English upper classes- the very audience for whom they were intended.
Wilde's mother was a poetess and Irish nationalist known as Speranza.
Wilde's full name was Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, in deference to his Irish heritage.

PSH

Ideas for Books

My mom forwarded to me an email from the Carmel High School librarians about what books students are reading. I thought I'd share it to give ideas of books to read.

There’s an interesting article in the newest TIME magazine (May 5, 2008, p.49-51) about Stephenie Meyer, the author of Twilight (published in 2005) and its sequels. The first 3 books have sold more than 53 million copies in the U.S. When Eclipse (the 3rd book) “was released last August, it bumped the final Harry Potter book out of the top spot on some lists even though it came out only 2 ½ weeks later.” The article compares writing styles of J.K. Rowling and Meyer.

While Twilight and its sequels are primarily chick books, we see guys reading them to find out what all the hub-bub is about.

Remember BEACH READ SURVIVOR, the Media Center contest the week before spring break?
Twilight won, followed by
Cell: a Novel by Stephen King
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

Favorite authors:
Jodi Picoult had a total of 30 nominations for 12 books.
Stephenie Meyer had a total of 54 nominations for 3 books.
J.K. Rowling had a total of 9 nominations for 2 books.