hm

[maribou]

Is there anything Jonathan Raban can't write about?

I really like the epigraph he chose for this piece on the Democratic race:

I want a hero: an uncommon want
When every year and month sends forth a new one,
Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant,
The age discovers he is not the true one.

Byron, Don Juan

note to self: read more Byron instead of just scraps and pieces.

(link gacked from ozarque)

Comments

[heyokish.livejournal.com]

damn. thanks for that link. Raban has a big sexy brain, and yes, I think he can write about anything.
Have you read "For Love and Money"?

[maribou]

Honestly, all I know of him is a) bits and pieces like this essay I've picked up over the years and b) you think he is the bomb diggety.

Based on those two things, I know I've accumulated 3 or 4 of his books ... but I haven't *read* them yet...

[maida-mac.livejournal.com]

Byron was ::cough:: quite the character as well. :)

This reminds me that I need to pick back up Byron: Life and Legend and finish it. I also have the sudden urge to read The Difference Engine again.

[maribou]

Yes, yes he was. (And I adored The Difference Engine.) Is B:L&L good so far? I mean, I'm sure it's fascinating, given the topic, but is it well-written?

[maida-mac.livejournal.com]

I never got that far into it previously, so I'll have to let you know. Of course, I also found Disraeli: A Biography while looking for Byron and I now have to make up my mind what to actually read. I have a huge pile of half-read books wandering around the house.