What I'm reading now.

Other than being busy as hell as the festive season is quickly approaching, I've been continuing my reading of spectacular novels by literature's greats. At the moment, I've just started a new novel by renowned author Jean-Paul Sartre. I've only just started so it's a bit early for my true critique or praise for the novel, however I do quite like it as of now.

Title:

The Age of Reason

Author:

Jean-Paul Sartre

Blurb:

Set in the volatile Paris summer of 1938, the Age of Reason follows two days in the life of

Mathieu Delarue, a philosophy teacher, and his circle in the cafes and bars of Montparnasse. Mathieu has so far managed to contain sex and personal freedom in conveniently separate compartments. But now he is in trouble, urgently trying to raise 4000 francs to procure a safe abortion for his mistress, Marcelle. Beyond all this, filtering an uneasy light on his predicament, rises the distant threat of the coming of the Second World War.

Enjoy.

Twitterature by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin.

Perhaps you once asked yourself, 'What exactly is Hamlet trying to tell me? Why must he mince his words, muse in lyricism and, in short, whack about the shrub?' No doubt such troubling questions would have been swiftly resolved were the Prince of Denmark a registered user on Twitter.com. This, in essence, is Twitterature.

Here you will find seventy-five of the greatest works of western literature – from Beowulf to Bronte, from Kafka to Kerouac, and from Dostoevsky to Dickens– each distilled through the voice of Twitter to its purest, pithiest essence. Including a full glossary of online acronyms and Twitterary terms to aid the amateur, Twitterature provides everything you need to master the literature of the civilised world, while relieving you of the burdensome task of reading it.

From Hamlet: WTF IS POLONIUS DOING BEHIND THE CURTAIN???

From Dante's Inferno: I'm havin a midlife crisis. Lost in the woods. Shoulda brought my iPhone.

From Oedipus: PARTY IN THEBES!!! Nobody cares I killed that old dude, plus this woman is all over me. Total MILF.

From Paradise Lost: OH MY GOD I'M IN HELL.

'The classics are so last century' Guardian

Films to watch.

Here is a site I found which lists all the great novels turned into films. I don't recommend you watch all of them without reading the novel beforehand as it may pique your interest to read the real thing first. However that is not to suggest that I don't give you permission to watch a few of these films in exchange for a study hour or two.

http://www.intelligentsianetwork.com/novels.htm

You might notice that many of them are featured as a part of the '1001 novels to read before you die' so I'd be hoping you got the drift of the storylines and themes while you are watching the films. Also, these films should be available at your local video store otherwise, let me know if you need help finding any.

Literary Terminology.

Until you can recite the definitions and effects of the following literary terms, I can tell you now that you are in for a long ride. Lucky for you, these words have hyperlinks leading to their definitions but I can tell you that perhaps you won't be so lucky next time...

Allegory
Alliteration
Allusion
Amplification
Anagram
Analogy
Anaphora
Anastrophe
Anthropomorphism
Antithesis
Aphorism
Apostrophe
Authorial Intrusion
Archetype
Assonance
Asyndeton
Bibliomancy
Bildungsroman
Cacophony
Caesura
Characterization
Chiasmus
Circumlocution
Conflict
Connotation
Consonance
Denotation
Deus ex MachinaDiction
Doppelganger
Ekphrastic
Emulation
Epilogue
Epithet
Euphemism
Euphony
Faulty
Parallelism
Flashback
Foil
Foreshadowing
Hyperbation
Hyperbole
Imagery
Internal Rhyme
Inversion
Irony
Juxtaposition
Kennings
Malapropism
Metaphor
Metonymy
Motif
Mood
Negative Capability
Nemesis
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Pathetic Fallacy
Periphrasis
Periodic Structure
Personification
Point of View
Plot
Polysyndeton
Portmanteau
Prologue
Puns
Rhyme Scheme
Rhythm & Rhyme
Satire
Setting
Simile
Spoonerism
Stanza
Stream of Consciousness
Syllepsis
Symbol
Synecdoche
Synesthesia
Syntax
Theme
Tone
Tragedy
Understatement
Verisimilitude
Verse

By the way, this is just to name a few.

What I'm reading now.

I've already finished Perfume by Patrick Suskind and I've found a new way to further enhance my adoration for wit and frivolity in a most literary comical way so I'm currently indulging in an ultimate classic; Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. As a result of re-reading (one of my) favourite novel of all time, I am constantly reminded why Holly Golightly is my absolute alter-ego. This novel is really love at first sight.

Title:
Breakfast at Tiffany's

Author:
Truman Capote

Blurb:
In an idealized New York City during the early '60s, Holly Golightly is a charming socialite with a youthful zest for life who lives alone in a nearly bare apartment. She has such a flippant lifestyle that she won't even give her cat a name, because that would be too much of a commitment to a relationship. Maintaining a childlike innocence yet wearing the most perfect of designer clothes and accessories from Givenchy, she spends her time on expensive dates and at high-class parties. She escorts various wealthy men, yet fails to return their affections after they have given her gifts and money.
Enjoy.

Join a book club.

If you like reading and talking about books, then why not join one of six weekly literature groups at North Sydney's Stanton Library? What better location for a book club of sorts than a library? Lock horns with like minded book worms on the title that has been chosen by the group in one of the ongoing weekly meet-ups. Visit www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/ for more details about this literary event.