USSR:
Big thanks to New Girl for holding the fort. Big UPS, in fact. Recognise.
Anyhoo, I have a belly full of some delicious chickeny thing that Tam O'Shanter cooked for dinner; I have an internet connection; I'm ready to blog.
Sometimes, if you let it, a book seduces you. Well, the letting is the key, obviously. Otherwise it is not consensual and that, my friends, is not seduction but a criminal act. Have no doubt.
On one of my secondhand book forays with New Girl, I picked up a copy of With Hemingway, a memoir by some chap called Arnold Samuelson. Seems this Arnold chappy had a hankerin' to be a writer so he made his way down to Key West to meet the Hem and ended up spending a year with him, soaking up the wisdom and advice of the great man and, you know, the vibe of the thing. Also, they fished in many well-lit places.
I didn't have high hopes for this book. I was afraid that this guy would try to write like Hemingway. That annoys me when that happens. Just because he did it well, it doesn't mean they all have to do it. Sheesh. I mean, if Hemingway was jumping off a cliff.... But what turned out to be so super impressive about this lovely little book was that Mr Samuelson didn't let his adoration of EH dampen his own expressive and enthusiastic writing style - reflective no doubt of his enthusiastic response to life. It's utterly charming, this story, and conveys the awe in which he held Hemingway without coming across as a cringing toady. Of course, EH still comes out of it like the egotistical arse we all know he was. But it's the only description I've come across that portrays him as a person, a human being, rather than a walking amalgam of legendary stories, mythology and iconic restraint. It's the first time I've read something about the man and felt fondness for the old rogue.
Now I've misplaced the book, but I'm going to come back and bung some quotes in here. Just you wait and see.
High Rotation:
Love Removal Machine - The Cult
Andres - L7
All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
Let Your Love Flow - The Bellamy Brothers [Oh you can roll your eyes but consider this: "Let your love bind you to all living things" - isn't that just a great guide for life? Go on, tell me I'm wrong.]
Midnight Rider - The Allman Brothers Band
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