A grailing we will go...

[morgan_dhu]

For anyone who found my previous rant about the Da Vinci Code nonsense interesting, my discussion of the literary histoy of the Holy Grail as presented in Richard Barber's book The Holy Grail: History of a Legend is up on my book journal: bibliogramma.

You know, I wouldn't have minded at all if Brown had said "This is a works of fiction. I've taken some historical people and things and reinterpreted them as is my right as a creator of works of the imagination, but this is literature, not history."

But no, he said it's all based on fact, when it simply isn't, and that makes all the difference to me.

Comments

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

I know exactly what you mean.

The frightening thing is that, because these topics are of interest to me (Arthurian and Grail literature, history of religions, conspiracy theories, etc - all "hobby" interests of mine), I find myself watching a lot of this crap becasue I want to find out just how wrong they've got it. Intellectual masochism, or something to that effect.

Re book journal - I will likely be adding a lot over the next few days - I read a lot, and I've been too busy at work lately (i.e., since January) to post about everything I wanted to, so there's a backlog of about 20 books that I plan to write at least some commentary on while I'm on vaction this week. My reading tastes are, to say the least, eclectic.

[pretzelsalt.livejournal.com]

"The frightening thing is that, because these topics are of interest to me (Arthurian and Grail literature, history of religions, conspiracy theories, etc - all "hobby" interests of mine), I find myself watching a lot of this crap becasue I want to find out just how wrong they've got it. Intellectual masochism, or something to that effect."

Me too. I'm a liar - I totally watched some special on "the real king arthur" last night.

*guilty*

I don't ever write about the books I read - it's an interesting idea. My tastes are all over the place as well. I have been having a dry reading year though. I have hundreds of books at home waiting for me to turn off the glowing idiot boxes. Right now I am reading.

The death of god the father - by Mary Daly
Braided Lives - Marge Piercy
Walking on water - derrick jensen
the will to change - bell hooks
indian killer - vine deloria
and
A Little Matter Of Genocide - ward churchill

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

So you read multiple books at the same time, too. I usually have at least two or three on the go at once myself, sometimes more, depending on what they are and how they're asking to be read.

I'm not sure why I started a book journal. Mostly for myself - it's foolish vanity to keep an internet journal on the assumption that anyone is going to read what you've written, even though one may hope that they will.

I kept a journal when I was younger, or possibly the closer work is commonplace book, because it wasn't a record so much of what I'd done,but things I'd heard or seen or read and wanted to remember. I think the book journal is somewhat of a similar intention. The books I read, even the fluffy, mind-candy books, affect me and make me think about things, and I want to have a place to collect, and recollect, some of those things.

[pretzelsalt.livejournal.com]

That makes sense - I kinda do the same thing in a very ADD scribbled corners on receipts, envelopes, and other bits of paper I will never see again.

I got the several books at once thing from my pops. When I was a kid if he made me mad I would move all his bookmarks. I secretly live in fear now that someone in my life will figure out that dirty trick.

The many books at a time thing is problematic right now though since I am reading so little. If you spread that many stories open in a huge swatch of time things get fuzzy.

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

I tend to deal with the "spreading stories over a huge swatch of time" by reading the fiction fairly quickly and only having one or two fiction books on the go at once. I find non-fiction is easier to read in small batches.

Of course, it also helps that I have a phenomenally fast reading rate. It's not uncommon for me to read a fair-sized novel in an evening. Non-fiction I take a little longer with, becasue I usually stop often to think about issues raised in the book, and perhaps discuss them with my partner if he's interested in the topic as well.

[wolfinthewood.livejournal.com]

I think the book journal's interesting.

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm glad that someone else is enjoying my literary musings.