Reading roundup

Last week in language

I’ve been having fun re-reading Hunter Thompson’s Hell’s Angels, and - for the first time - Vicki Baum’s Grand Hotel. Getting caught up in the memorable characters and the rich detailed atmosphere, but Baum stops me dead in my tracks on occasion with a startling line. “Her life rattled past like an empty express train.” I had to put the book down and take a break after THAT. I re-read Greil Marcus’ “Presliad”, a chapter in Mystery Train, in preparation for my “guest spot” in a Creative Non-fiction class at NYU this past week. “Presliad” was written when Elvis was still alive, and yet it is steeped in posthumous gigantism, powered by a massive summing-up impulse. Haunting. I’ve signed up for a guided tour of James Joyce’s Ulysses, led by Stephen Bender, which will feature online discussions, maybe some Zoom meet-ups, and a rigorous reading schedule. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve only read Ulysses on my own, out in the wild. If you’re familiar with my work, then you know I know the book well, thanks mostly to my dad (who was there on speed dial if I got stuck my first time through). But it’s been a while, and I’ve never read it with a group. It should be fun.