Art Garfunkel has kept a record of every book he's read since 1968. If you want, you can download
the entire list. Yes, this is THE Art Garfunkel, of
Simon and Garfunkel.
The guy has read an impressive amount, but I don't find it to be a particularly interesting selection. The bulk of it is stuff you might find in a college literature course (i.e. "The Classics"). There isn't much of what gets labeled as genre literature, such as science fiction or horror. Personally, I think some of the most imaginative literature gets produced in those genres.
Garfunkel's list is also relatively light on non-fiction academic works from the sciences and social sciences. I guess the problem is there are just too many interesting books. No one has time to read them all. (via
Reality Carnival)
The next time someone sees you reading comics and criticizes your lowbrow tastes, whip out a hardcopy of this page and reply, "But no,
mon frere, I read only zee intellectual
bande dessinée, such as zee
Arthur et Zoé."
Over at the Museum of Hoaxes I kept a list of Strange Musicals, but I think Weird Universe is a better home for it. So far the list includes:
To this list I can add
The Fly, an opera that debuted in Paris earlier this month, based on David Cronenberg's 1986 movie (based, in turn, on George Langelaan's 1957 short story), about a man who transforms into a fly due to an accident with a teleportation device. From the
NY Times review:
as Mr. Okulitch continues to sing in strong voice, he — or rather Seth — acquires a bulbous, hairy skin as well as an impressive ability to walk upside-down on scaffolding at the back of the stage.
Same thing happens to me if I miss my morning cup of coffee.
(Thanks, Sam Gaines!)
Jincy Willett, one of my favorite writers (who just came out with a new book,
The Writing Class), offers an
interesting puzzle. The challenge is to identify this list. Googling is cheating.
- The spur of cheese.
- The mustard-pot of penance.
- The cobbled shoe of humility.
- The furred cat of the Solicitors and Attorneys.
- The Teeth-chatter or Gum-didder of Lubberly Lusks.
- The Ape’s Paternoster.
- The Fat Belly of the Presidents.
- The Merciless Cormorant, by Hoxinidno the Jew.
Jincy doesn't give the answer, and neither will I. Leave your guesses in the comments.
(Of course, the real challenge is to see how long before you break down and google. Took me about a minute.)