Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style
Daphne Brooks, Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life of Black Feminist Sound
Edward Mendelson, Moral Agents: Eight Twentieth-Century American Writers
Russell Banks, A Permanent Member of The Family
Richard Watson, The Philosopher’s Diet
John Keene, Annotations
Percival Everett, Telephone
Madeline Dore, I Didn’t Do The Thing Today
George Eliot, Middlemarch
Fred Inglis, Cultural Studies
Okakura Kakuzo, The Book of Tea
Wesley Leon Aroozoo, Bedok Reservoir
Karen Solie, The Road In Is Not the Same Road Out
Gordon Eklund, The Eclipse of Dawn
december 2021 reading
Ethel Spector Person, Aiban Hagelin, Peter Fonagy eds., On Freud’s “Observations of Transference-Love”
Simon Crichtley, Notes on Suicide
Lisa Robertson, 3 Summers
David W. Brown, When Strangers Cooperate: Using Social Conventions to Govern Ourselves
Ann Charters, Nobody; The Story of Bert Williams
Catriona Strang, Corked
Catriona Strang, Reveries of a Solitary Biker
Tracey Thorn, Rock ’n’ Roll Friend
Nicholas Brown, Autonomy: The Social Ontology of Art Under Capitalism
Kevin Davies, FPO
Marguerite Duras, Writing, trans. Mark Pollozotti.
David Batchelor, Minimalism
Stuart Hampshire, Justice Is Conflict
Richard Cadell, Uncertain Time
12.31.21
Last day of this series. May use this space differently.
Up 5. Read 2 ch. Middlemarch, 10 p. Brooks.
At some point after breakfast, picked up Pinker’s Sense of Style.
Spoke to Bree and her folks, about 10 pm their time.
Napped around 11, to Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations (a friend had posted it on her dad’s b-day, couple days ago).
Knew in advance I wouldn’t write today - still recovering from exhaustion yesterday. At least the sun has come back out.
Played piano at some point - “The Man I Love” and of course “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”
Posted about the chord changes of the latter on twitter.
Finished chapter of Brooks.
Went out briefly around 5, partly to see if I could get some roasted peppers at Padua Pasta Makers, but they were closed. Got a coffee to go at Mud, walked around downtown Upland, dropped into the antique mall with the crummiest records ever. Sent pics of the gazebo to Bree.
Read the rest of Caddel, Uncertain Time.
Dinner, Jeopardy!
Watched Law & Order, half an hr. of a Thin Man movie. Read more Pinker.
Went to bed at 10, put on side 1 of Heiner Stadler, Brains on Fire - a weird record on a classical label by a Polish composer, but w/ out-jazz players inc. Barre Philips and Reggie Workman. Picked it up on intuition at Penny Lane last week, realized it’s the same guy who arranged an equally curious Monk/Bird record I have.
Bree called at 11. Lights out midnight.
12.30.31
53rd birthday; necessarily quiet one, given the circumstances (pandemic, dad, rain).
Up 6. Coffee. Read ch. of Middlemarch. Breakfast.
My uncle Joseph called from Montana; then Bree and her parents, for about an hr.; then I called my godsister Diane, whom I hadn’t seen on Christmas Eve; caught me up on her dad. (My dad told me later that she’s 70, which genuinely surprised me.)
Some of late morning occupied w/ a Facebook birthday post (pretext to talk about Susan Straight’s Didion op-ed) and responses. Also read 30 p. or so of a short book by Stuart Hampshire, Justice Is Conflict.
Got out about 1:30, went to the Barnes & Noble at Montclair plaza to take advantage of the half-price hardback sale; got the new Joy Williams novel, 2nd vol. of Lydia Davis’s essays, Claudia Rankine’s Just Us (cheaper w/ the discount than the paperback), and Stephen Pinker’s book on style (I know). Also the same weekly planner I get for Bree every year, not discounted.
Went to the Baseline Starbucks, struggled, finally wrote an even shorter, boiled-down version of some transitional material, and bits on “Doggie in the Window?” and “Que Sera, Se”
Picked up some rapini, angel hair pasta, and ice cream at Whole Foods.
Listened to most of the Spelling album between the various drives. Got back about 5:30, said hello to the substitute caregiver, rested in my room for about 40 min. and read just a little Brooks. Came back out and cooked the rapini and pasta w/ garlic & oil; did a decent job.
Played “Fascinating Rhythm” while my dad changed into his pajamas. Had some ice-cream. Jeopardy! Not done with all this until 9.
“I repeat: I am the writing project” (Carlos Lara)
“Poetry involves so much waiting” (Stephen Collis)
Petered out, couldn’t read more Brooks. Listened to the rest of a basic but good epistemology podcast w/ Liam Bright.
Poem in notebook, watched another 15 min. Safe. Emailed a covid attestation form (they’re needed weekly) to KSPC. Lights out 12:30.
12.28.21
Up 6. Read ch. Middlemarch. Breakfast, coffee, watched a Criminal Intent.
Skipped writing today. Left for San Fernando Valley about 10:30; in course of driving (both directions), listened to 1st discs of 2CD sets of Colpix singles (‘50s pop-rock, a few hits) and Lester Young’s Aladdin sessions, and The New Pornographers’ Brill Bruisers.
Stopped at a movie memorabilia store in Simi Valley that I’d read about. Lot of posters and lobby cards, all eras, some impressive and surprising stuff. Was tempted by such items as a 1950s Jane Wyman notepad ($20) and a Jackie Cooper pencil box (more for Bree; in a glass case, didn’t ask), but just wasn’t feeling it. Ultimately didn’t buy any thing. Guy who runs the store was more helpful/chatty than I needed, I slipped out when he was talking sports cards w/ someone else.
Looked at a couple breakfast places nearby (I’d checked online.) But I didn’t feel like eating inside, or overeating; finally gotten a chicken sandwich at a drive-thru, threw away most of the bun, and parked to eat it. (Bree called while I was in line.)
Headed to Tarzana, happened upon a $10-or-less bookstore on the way — found a few oddities, inc. a Robert Sheckley paperback, Leland Hickman’s Tiresias, which I’ve almost bought several times, and a $1 Terry Riley CD. Actual destination was Record Trader, where I got the New Ps disc and 2 others, + the Spelling disc I played and liked on my show last week, a few other things. Got out for $60, probably didn’t buy anything over $8, all used.
Got coffee and an oat bran muffin at a nearby Peet’s, largely so I could use the bathroom before a 90 min. drive home. Alternated between music and All Things Considered; I haven’t heard radio news in some time. Mostly omicron. Also called the family attorney I missed yesterday, talked to his partner, should hear from him.
Back about 4:30; tired. Ended up watching most of Trouble in Paradise (Lubitsch 1932) w/ dad/caregiver. Catnap.
Couldn’t make myself do much between then and dinner; quite tired. Watched a little more of Safe.Dinner, Jeopardy! Didn’t want watch more TV.
Read 50 p. Brooks, on Geechie Wiley/Elvie Thomas and white blues criticism w/ breaks, finished at 10. One p. Poetry notebook. Lights out midnight.