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or it could be easily called A Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man (but still full of life!)
from A Prefatory Essay by the Author
�This book is the story of an artist, and his adventures
both in art and life, told by himself.
Jimson, as an original artist, is always going over the
top into No Man�s Land, and knows that he�ll probably get nothing for his pains
and enterprise but a bee-swarm of bullets, deaths and frustration, and an
unmarked grave. He makes a joke of life because he dare not take it seriously.
He is afraid that if he does not laugh he will lose either his nerves or his
temper, that he�ll want to run away from his duty.
He is himself a creator and has lived in creation all his
life, and so he understands and continually reminds himself that in a world of
everlasting creation there is no justice. The original artist who counts on
understanding and reward is a fool. He may have the luck to be found out by
some wind of chance which blows a sympathetic critical talent in his direction;
he may be admired and rewarded for what he does not do, but for the very reason
that he is original he will, in the ordinary course of things, wait a long time
to be understood.�
�A man is wise to give way to gaiety even at the expense of a
grievance and good grievance is highly enjoyable, but like a lot of other
pleasures it�s bad for the liver."
"And anything like bad temper is bad for me.
It spoils my equanimity. It blocks up my imagination. It makes me stupid so that
I can�t see straight. But luckily, I noticed it in time.�
�[once he said to his (ex)wife] I�m not going to hand over
this kid to the schoolmasters and get rid of it under the pretence of
education. No, I�m going to teach it myself. No reading and writing and arithmetic
for my kid.� For I was really keen on education at that time. And I had the
idea that if you could only prevent a kid learning to read, it couldn�t pick up
all the rubbish out of the newspapers and books, that spoils children�s brains.
My idea was to teach kids first of all to sing, since Nature starts �em singing
before they can talk; and then to draw; and then to swim and box; and then when
they got a bit older and could do more brain work, to dance and make poetry in
their heads.� (re this, check this: http://www.eslprintables.com/forum/topic.asp?id=7757)
�If it wasn�t for imagination,
we shouldn�t need any police or government. The world would be as nice and
peaceful and uninteresting as a dead dog full of dead fleas.�
Of course, these are all taken out of the context. It �s a highly optimistic book which i warmly recommend to everyone. Very light to read, too.
"The Egyptian" by Mika Waltari is one of my all time favourites.
It�s the life about an Egyptian doctor who ends up as the Pharoah�s own private physician.
I can�t go into great detail about Sinuh� s life because it would give away the story but it�s a wonderfully written book and I highly recommend it.
Oh, my God, I read that one when I was 14. It �s a really rare book, and few people I talked to knew what I was talking about, but - yes, it �s really interesting, especially for people who like exploring history, customs, egyptology.... Amazing you mentioned that book - thanks so much - it �s one of my most interesting teenage reading experiences (by the way, the author is a historian, so he also wrote similar books about all great periods in human history - I got my husband so into it when we started dating, that after Sinuhe, he read every single book Waltari wrote)... thanks again... a nice trip down memory lane
I �d have to go with anything by Peter Carey, especially the �True History of the Kelly Gang �. It�s a great read, well researched & annotated but... there�s no punctuation to be found!
I recommend reading it to anyone interested in English grammar & linguistics. I�m sure it�ll raise a lot of questions!
What an interesting topic to post here!!! I do recommend that u read these books. It �s a real joy!!!
My favourite books are many.
1- "Possession" by A.S. Byatt A mystery where the clues lurk in university libraries, old letters and dusty journals. Together with Roland Michell, a fellow academic and accidental sleuth, Maud Bailey discovers a love affair between two Victorian writers.
2- " The French Lieutenant �s Woman" by John Fowles. Tells the story of Charles Smithson �s infatuation with the unusual Sarah Woodruff, whilst being engaged to a young lady of a good family and a considerable dowry. The author re-creates the feel of a Victorian novel.
3- "The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James
A classic novel in which young American Isabel Archer is eager to embrace life and makes her choice from the suitors who court her as she explores Europe.
4- " The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
After devoting their energies and income for ten years to replacing a borrowed diamond necklace which they have lost, a woman and her husband learn the irony of their efforts.
I have read "THE NECKLACE" already and it �s fantastic it �s really nice.
I would also recommend THE LITTLE PRINCE". It �s a story about the absurdities of life and of being an adult. It tackles different philosophies in life.
My favourite book is the first one I �ve ever read in English and it �s �The Picture of Dorian Gray �. It �s beautifully written and the plot is so gripping that you can �t put the book down. I �ve learnt a lot of things about life thanks to this book.
Now you know why I �ve chosen Oscar Wilde as my avatar.
Interesting!! Hopefully we �ll have a great choice for our summer holidays (at least in the northern hemisphere).
When I think of my students, I think of Roald Dahl: rhymes, short stories, novels, anything is well worth reading.
When I think of myself, I �ve recently discovered two authors I adore: Haruki Murakami and Jos� Saramago. Right now I �m starting Murakami �s After Dark. I hope it is as original and magical as the ones I �ve read by him, like Kafka on the Shore or Norwegian Wood.
If you like Japanese authors you should also check out Kazuo Ishiguro. He writes in English & has written some wonderful books including The Remains of the Day, which was made into a film starring Anthony Hopkins & Emma Thompson. The book is superior to the movie!
Anything by Graham Greene is also worth opening too...
This is the greatest topic! Reading is my favourite thing. I would spend my days reading if I could :)
I �m not sure I can choose ONE favourite book, as I love so many! But if I was forced to choose one, I think I would have to say one by the Latin American writers. My favourite ones: Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez and Isabel Allende. They really know how to tell stories. Pick up One Hundred Years of Solitude by M�rquez and you �ll see what I mean...
A mystery where the clues lurk in university libraries, old letters and dusty journals. Together with Roland Michell, a fellow academic and accidental sleuth, Maud Bailey discovers a love affair between two Victorian writers.
Tells the story of Charles Smithson �s infatuation with the unusual Sarah Woodruff, whilst being engaged to a young lady of a good family and a considerable dowry. The author re-creates the feel of a Victorian novel. 
