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I am currently reading, "The Book Of The Thousand Nights And One Night," by Mardrus & Mathers, (hopefully) in its entirety. It is more commonly referred to as The Tales Of The Arabian Nights, and is an immense treasure trove of story: ribald, racy, racist, humorous, delirious and intense.

At this point in her tale, Shahrazad saw the approach of morning and discreetly fell silent.

Above is the central structuring device for the entire affair. There is an introductory tale, in which the King, to allay his immense grief at the loss of his wife determines to ravish a new virgin every night and then have her put to death. Having pretty well drained the pool of potential victims he goes to his chief advisor and says it his time for you to cough up your own daughter. This wazir is understandably fraught and approaches his daughter to plot her escape. But she, instead, insists that she be presented to the King in hopes that she can put an end to this tragic cycle. After their night of pleasure, she begs leave to tell the King a story before they retire. What follows is a series of 1000 cliff-hangers. Every evening at some crucial juncture in the story-telling, she utter sthe above line. When -typicallly after many nights- one story is resolved, another is swiftly brought up suffer the same interruption.

Considering the currently political climate, I am relishing the irony of the fact that most of the stories are set in Bagdad, most of the characters are Muslim, and there is an abiding and continuous affirmation of faith in Allah, and his prophet. (Would that be considered a Freudian slip that I originally wrote profit instead of prophet?) The parallels in this to my own experiences with Christianity are a cause for constant reflection.

In all, a delicious read. [I am on Night 277, in Vol. 2 of 4, as of July 22, 2010]

I also recently purchased R. Crumbs vividly illustrated, literal rendering of The Book of Genesis from the old testament. I am slowly savoring it and it is a wonderful compliment to the above work.

2010

• "Flint," Louis L'Amour
• "The Book Of The Thousand Nights And One Night (Vol. 1)," Mardrus & Mathers
• "Five Skies," Ron Carlson
• "The Hamlet," William Faulkner
• "Sanctuary," William Faulkner
• "Light In August," William Faulkner
• "One Hundred Years Of Solitude," Gabriel García Márquez
• "Love Medicine," Louise Erdrich

2009

• The Elegance Of The Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
• The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, Reif Larsen
• Maximum Bob, Elmore Lenard
• The Diary Of Laura Palmer, Jennifer Lynch
• Inherent Vice, Thomas Pynchon (2nd X)
• Inherent Vice, Thomas Pynchon
• A Confederacy Of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
• River Horse, William Least Heat-Moon
• Pygmy, Chuck Palahniuk
• Offshore, Penelope Fitzgerald
• Bambi Vs. Godzilla: On The Nature, Purpose, And Practice Of The Movie Business, David Mamet
• Junky, William S. Burroughs [aka William Lee]
• A Hundred Camels In The Courtyard, Paul Bowles [Stories]
• Our Friends From Frolix 8, Philip K. Dick
• The Simulacra, Philip K. Dick
• A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick
• Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said, Philip K. Dick
• Now Wait For Last Year, Philip K. Dick
• Dr. Bloodmoney, Philip K. Dick
• Maritan Time Slip, Philip K. Dick
• The Complete Works Of Billy The Kid, Michael Ondajette
• A Wild Sheep Chase, Haruki Murakami
• High-Rise, J. G. Ballard
• The Hotel New Hampshire, John Irving
• The Cider House Rules, John Irving

2008

• Libra, Don DeLillo (2nd X)
• John's Wife, Robert Coover (2nd X)
• Ahab's Wife, Sena Jeter Naslund
• The Devil's Dream, Lee Smith
• 3 Novella, Wendell Berry
• Randell Jarrel's Book Of Stories (A Collection)
• The Collected Short Fiction, J. G. Ballard (2nd X)
• Empire Of The Sun, J. G. Ballard
• Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace (2nd X)
• Sundog, Jim Harrison
• Cities Of The Plain (The Border Trilogy < Vol. 3), Cormac McCarthy
• The Crossing (The Border Trilogy < Vol. 2), Cormac McCarthy
• All The Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy < Vol. 1), Cormac McCarthy
• The Acme Novelty Library (Number 18), Chris Ware

2007

• Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson
• The Last Picture Show, Larry McMurtry
• South Of The Boarder, West Of The Sun, Haruki Murakami
• Sputnik Sweetheart, Haruki Murakami
• Kafka On The Shore, Haruki Murakami
• Mason & Dixon, Thomas Pynchon (2nd X)
• Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon (3rd X)
• The Crying Of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon (3rd X)
• V., Thomas Pynchon (3rd X)
• Slow Learner, Thomas Pynchon
• Against The Day, Thomas Pynchon
• The Acme Novelty Library (Numbers 16 & 17: Rusty Brown), Chis Ware

2006

• The Return Of The King (The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Bk III), J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Two Towers (The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Bk II), J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Fellowship Of The Ring (The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Bk I), J.R.R. Tolkien
• Crow, Ted Hughes
• Ariel, Slyvia Plath
• Birthday Letters, Ted Hughes
• Beowulf, Seamus Heany (trans.)
• Tales From Ovid, Ted Hughes (trans.)
• Almanac Of The Dead, Leslie Marmon Silko
• Middlesex, Jeffery Euginides
• Pnin, Vladimir Nabokov
• The Professor And The Madman, Simon Winchester
• Last Exit To Brooklyn, Hubert Selby, Jr.
• Communion, Will Shriever
• Runnning In The Family, Michael Ondajette
• Veronika Decides To Die, Paulo Coelho
• The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
• Songs Of Innocence & Experience (Facsimile of Illuminated Manuscript), William Blake
• Poems of William Blake * edited & with an introduction by W.B. Yeats
• The Portable Faulkner (Yoknapatawpha County 1820-1945), William Faulkner
• Chronicles (Volume 1), Bob Dylan
• The Painted Bird, Jerzy Kosinski
• The Miracle Life Of Edgar Mint, Brady Udall
• Shadow In The North (Sally Lockhart Trilogy, Bk II), Philip Pullman
• The Continental Prophecies (The Illuminated Books, Vol. 4), William Blake
• The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Bk III), Philip Pullman
• The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Bk II), Philip Pullman
• You Bright And Risen Angels, William T. Vollman
• Still Life With Woodpecker, Tom Robbins
• Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, Tom Robbins

2005

• Jitterbug Perfume, Tom Robbins
• Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut
• Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (Stories), David Foster Wallace
• The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Bk I), Philip Pullman
• The Lathe of Heaven, Ursala K. LeGuin
• Oblivion (Stories), David Foster Wallace
• Girl With Curious Hair (Stories), David Foster Wallace
• The Complete Stories, Flannery O'Conner
• Collected Stories, Paul Bowles
• The Delicate Prey (Stories), Paul Bowles
• Favorites, Damon Runyon

2004

• Stand By Your Man, Tammy Wynette
• Touch, Elmore Lenord
• Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
• Fathers and Crows, William T. Vollman
• Beloved, Toni Morrison
• Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Naked Lunch, William Burroughs (2nd X)
• Flight To Canada, Ismael Reed
• Yellow Back Radio Broke Down, Ismael Reed (2nd X)
• Landscape Painted with Tea, Milored Pavic
• On the Road, Jack Kerouac
• The Defense, Vladimir Nabokov
• King, Queen, Knave, Vladimir Nabokov
• Mary, Vladimir Nabokov

2003

• Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov (2nd X)
• Celebration, Harry Crews
• Post Office, Charles Brukowski
• Crash, J.G. Ballard

Here is a list I made for Amazon many years ago of some of my favorite books:

• BigFat()Fiction

SOME OTHER BOOKS I LOVED READING:

• (coming soon)

SOME CHILDREN'S BOOKS I HAVE ENJOYED WITH MY KIDS:

• The Animal Family, Randell Jarrel
• The Trumpet Of The Swan, E. B. White
• Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
• The Wind Boy
• Mrs. Frisby & The Rats Of Nihm
• The Collected Works of J.K. Rowlins

 

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http://www.galenwade.com