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

[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.