— Henry James
— The term “blogosphere”, also “hat tip”, and any kind of subset of blogging. “Catblogging”, “photoblogging”, etc. Just stop.
— Cake. (Not the band. I love the band. But the actual food.)
— Herman Melville’s Billy Budd
— I hate girlie frothy frozen drinks.
I HATE HENRY JAMES. YES, I DO. SO MUCH THAT I HAVE TO SHOUT IT IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
i love Emily
not implying that i “shouldn’t “..jsut that her comments always make me smile!
I too hate Henry James.
hahaha
You two need to meet.
people make me feel BAD about hating Henry James!! And I’ve tried – I’ve read like feckin’ 4 of his stupid books. NOPE.
I DO NOT LIKE HIM. I MUST NOW SHOUT WITH EMILY.
I should add I also do not like John Irving. Not one bit, no matter how many people sing his praise.
It makes such a huge difference to have met commenters. Having met Mitchell, I can hear his voice and even see the impish gleam in his eye when he posts comments.
Might be time to start planning the first annual SheilaFest :)
hahaha!!! That was such a fun night, Scott – thanks for making the trek. And for hanging out with a bunch of lunatics that you did not know!!
Henry James is one of those writers that some people make you feel stupid for not appreciating. Like there’s something wrong with YOU. YOU are missing the point because you’re an idiot. Whatever. How about I take those pages I ripped out of Wings of the Dove and shredded to bits because it was so gawd-awfully boring and stick them up your left nostril? Will that bring you closer to your precious Victorian era snoozefester?
that was a fun night at Guthries’…it was nice to meet you too Scott.
I don’t like that either – and it seems very very particular to Henry James fans. They get all uppity. Here;s the deal:
To me, Henry James is the most OBVIOUS WRITER. EVER. There is NO SUBTEXT. NONE. So those people who are like: “Ohhh, you just have to understand the nuances of that society…”
Nuance, my buttcheek. OBVIOUS. BORING.
mitchell – I seem to recall doing my ‘staggering-Liza’ imitation for the back room.
Henry James… bleh… And my last run-in with Melville made me a little freaked out. We’re in English class in college, watching the old b&w movie version of it, and my instructor stops the movie for the end of class, then turns directly to me (in a class of 30) and says, “This is a lot more interesting when you’re on drugs” WHAT?!?!
what??? hahahahaha That is so weird!
A Haiku…
Staggering Liza
Swollen like a bloated tick
Pass me the Xanax
I don’t hate cake, but I prefer any other dessert. Now if there’s JUST cake, I’ll eat it. Except for white cake like wedding or birthday cake. I can’t eat that. ::shudder::
(Dude, I trackback-pinged your OLD post. I meant to do the newest one. Typepad is not my friend today.)
*Everything* is a lot more interesting when you’re on drugs.
Maybe if I read Portrait of a Lady while shooting up heroin I might understand the nuances of the Jamesian universe.
So far the codeine I’m on hasn’t made anything better. Stupid codeine.
“…the instructor stops the movie for the end of class, then turns directly to me (in a class of 30) and says, This is a lot more interesting when you’re on drugs'”
That reminds of a college classmate whose freshman writing instructor said she couldn’t teach Slaughterhouse Five anymore because “it’s too much like my life.”
Try Wings on LSD…Henry James meets Ken Kesey. “Millie Theale…get back on the Further Bus…we won’t make it to Burning Man in time if we don’t leave this instant.”
Emily, I am going to kill you for how funny that was. Burning Man….hahahaha
We should start some kind of warped anti-fan fic. We could take Henry James characters and place them in alternative settings…Kate and Merton go to Las Vegas, get drunk, and lose a fortune playing craps. They wake up in a pick-up outside of Reno, decorated with an appropriate “Just Married” sign in the shape of Elvis’ head. Their first act as husband and wife is to vomit in each other’s laps.
//Try Wings on LSD//
Try Predator. Very .. odd.
Try 2001. You may never get over it. I’m not sure I did. Required: an actual movie theatre, filled with people, so in the part with the space suits and the “Open the pod bay doors, HAL” bit everyone down front can be afraid that they are the one breathing so loud.
I was positive it wasn’t me; imagine my relief when it turned out to be a guy in the row behind. “Whoa!” he cried. “Was I doing that? Thanks, man, I thought it was someone else.”
I also can’t abide Henry James. Three words: The Golden Bowl. Arrrrrgh.
red, I dig you, let’s get that upfront first…
…I’m Irish, but…
I can’t read James Joyce. I tried in college. What the hell is he saying? Why can’t I as a moderately smart guy understand it? I don’t want to have to work that hard. I am ashamed of myself, if that helps.
I’m with you on The Golden Bowl. Which I thought was arch and so full of “nuance” that it became an incomprehensible mishmash. But you didn’t like Portrait of a Lady? That makes me sad. Daisy Miller, even?
I’m not sure I read Daisy Miller, though it seems likely I would have. I remember enjoying Washington Square somewhere around college time. Never made it to Portrait of a Lady, myself. Haven’t missed it so far…
Sheila hates Billy Budd? Horrors!
“Farewell, the Rights of Man…..”
Wait, you’re right. It is pretty loathsome.
Please carry on! My bad!
I didn’t know anyone was supposed to like Henry James. I thought it was generally accepted that he was an insipid ass.
Wow, I never knew there was so much Henry James antipathy out there. I like the guy, but I can definitely see how some would find him very tedious.
For me, the most flaming occupants of this category would be The Doors and Pink Floyd. They’re both loved by millions, both in the R&R HOF, and I absolutely can’t stand either of them.
Wait, wait–who the hell says you’re supposed to like Billy Budd. It was godawful, I say. Good on you for hating it. That just means you’re sane.
popskull-
I read Joyce’s Ulysses this year. The first hundred pages were insanely difficult for me to get through. I had no clue what the hell was going on. I just didn’t get it. By the end of the book I felt like I had read the best book I have ever read. But I still can’t figure out why. I don’t know if it was the language, the contrasting styles in different parts. Everything about the book was hard. But I was thrilled by the time I got through it and have every intention of picking it up again. Sheila’s Notes on the book were actually quite helpful to get the idea of what joyce was trying to do in each section.
That being said I don’t think I will ever be up to reading Finnegan’s Wake.
Laura:
Oh boy, you’ve just given the typical response of the Henry James fan. No, I’ve read all the books you have mentioned. I have read them all and I reiterate: I CAN’T STAND HIM. I’m not missing any one of his books, I haven’t just not read the right one yet – I’ve read them all, and I STILL hate Henry James. I read Portrait of a Lady and had an intensely bad time. I slogged my way through it, thinking: “What the FECK is the big deal about this book?”
Joel – I don’t know – since we were forced to read Billy Budd in 10th grade, I always felt like I was supposed to like it.
My friends and I loathed reading that book.
That being said, Moby Dick is one of my favorite novels ever – but Billy Budd sucks.
MikeR: “For me, the most flaming occupants of this category would be The Doors and Pink Floyd. They’re both loved by millions, both in the R&R HOF, and I absolutely can’t stand either of them.”
I KNEW I left something off my list! I hate them both (with the single exception of The Wall, and really only the first disk of that).
Otherwise – ptui. Can’t stand either.
Maybe the secret is that when I read Portrait of a Lady the first time I didn’t know it was Important Literature and that I was supposed to like it. I had barely heard of Henry James. I just picked it up and read it. I like it the way I like Anna Karenina.
Now I tremble for what you’ll think about Middlemarch. But tell me your take on Rosemary.
Laura … I am cruising right along through Middlemarch and loving every minute of it. What is happening in the book right now:
Mr. Featherstone’s will has been announced, and everyone is up in arms about it. Lydgate has just proposed to Rosamond – but, to be honest, he doesn’t really seem like the marrying type. Even though he seems to love her, and have an ideal image of marriage in his mind. He wants to get married quickly – she is obsessing over handkerchiefs, etc. He is kind of not playing by the courtship rules (randomly buying a dinner set, without consulting her, etc.) She doesn’t seem all that bothered, however.
Poor Dorothea. Her life is horrible. There are times reading her predicament where I literally shudder. poor woman. And Will Ladislaw has just come into her life – he has moved to Middlemarch to run a newspaper. I think she might be falling in love with him.
And who could blame her – being married to that pompous asswipe?
I think I have known people like Rosemary.
Oh, and I loved it when her uncle talked. “I said, my niece is very young, and that kind of thing.”
I mean Dorothea’s uncle, obviously. Celia could turn a phrase, too
Celia’s great. I like her husband, too – even though he’s a bit of a bore. Still, he seems like a nice man.
They’re the archetypal Happy Couple, to which you are to compare all tbe others. Mary’s parents are another version of same.
Celia’s husband originally wanted to marry Dorothea. One thing she was right about – they weren’t suited at all.
I love Mary’s parents.
New Linking Policy
Now that Eccentrica has taken over for the conspicuously absent Emily for the next month or so, she would like to make a few policies crystal clear to readers. First of all, she would like to declare on behalf of…
Yeah, Sheila, I had to read it in 11th grade, if I remember correctly. And I hated it. As did everyone, it seemed. I guess it’s supposed to be good, but I don’t know of anyone who actually thinks it is.
It also has helped keep me from ever reading Moby Dick. Perhaps I should give it a try some time?
Joel –
All I can tell you is my own experience. Moby Dick was one of the most thrilling reading experiences I’ve ever had in my life. I can’t even describe it. There is no other book like it – you just have to go with its flow – and accept that there will be a payoff.
Hmm. Well, based on that, I’m gonna have to pick up a copy and stick it in the queue. And, uh, if it ever actually gets to the front of the queue, I’ll let you know what I thought.