Posts Tagged ‘george orwell’
Stumbling into a deal…
I was having coffee with some friends earlier this afternoon and stumbled into the bargain section at Crapters and found a deal so good I spent money I clearly should not be spending. But, when you find a deal like this, how can you possibly pass it up. Michael Chabon’s collection of Non-fiction Essays and Musings Maps and Legends, originally priced at $26.99 for $7.99. 
I have had a long time love affair with Michael Chabon and I suppose I owe Dave Eggers a thank you for this love. I read Dave Eggers memoir A Staggering Work of Genius years ago and this is how I discovered McSweeney’s Quarterly Review & The Believer Magazine, and through these two mediums I was led towards Michael Chabon’s literary masterpiece The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. The way I see it, Michael Chabon is to our generation what George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway were for those respective generations of the past, voices that reflect on our current times. I highly suggest this collection as well as any of his fiction works, particularly Kavalier & Clay and Gentleman of the Road. Worth your time.
A New Year’s Post
Yes, I’m a day late but I was quite lazy and tired yesterday with work and festivities the night before.
It has been a fun year with the blog. I’ve enjoyed sharing all of the good literature and film that I’ve come across. I also want to thank those that click each week and listen to my inane rantings and ravings. Another round of university begins, and pretty soon I’ll be bitching about papers and readings that I have no time for.
Not much to report, I’ve been working a fair bit trying to pay off some debt.
Although, I do have a gift for you, my devoted blog readers. The gift of famous literary persona, in blog form. Thanks to our culture of voyeurism, and man’s incessant need to catalog and chronicle; various scholarly institutions have seen fit to release the diaries of famous literary celebrities in blog form.
Cheers.
Collected Essays, by George Orwell
George Orwell, pictured here with gun.
Oh and because it’s an Orwell type of day, here you go.
Enjoy, cheers.
August 12: Very hot in the morning…
The Orwell Prize presents to the world:
Orwell Diaries—
Britain’s pre-eminent prize for political writing, is publishing George Orwell’s diaries as a blog. From 9th August 2008, Orwell’s domestic and political diaries (from 9th August 1938 until October 1942) will be posted in real-time, exactly 70 years after the entries were written.
Orwell’s ‘domestic’ diaries begin on 9th August 1938/2008; his ‘political’ diaries (which are further categorised as ‘Morocco’, ‘Pre-war’ and ‘Wartime’) begin on 7th September 1938/2008.
The diaries are exactly as Orwell wrote them. Where there are original spelling errors, they are indicated by a ° following the offending word.
We are extremely grateful to Peter Davison, whose footnotes (from the Complete Works) are used with his permission. Where the Orwell Prize has attached additional footnotes, they are clearly indicated.
We are also very grateful to Bill Hamilton and A. M. Heath, who hold the rights to Orwell’s works. A. M. Heath reserve all rights to the diaries.
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Some interesting tidbits into the mind of Orwell, but then occasionally there are also some very mundane entry items, but I guess this is what makes it a real life diary entry, life can sometimes be dull that way.
My personal favorite:
August 10
10 August, 1938 by orwelldiaries
Drizzly. Dense mist in evening. Yellow moon.
'ahems and ahahs' 