(no subject)

[thegirlwiththemouseyhair]

Last week I bought myself Richard Ellman's Oscar Wilde biography on Google Play Books, and have been reading it at work while hiding from everyone and ignoring the fact that I'm in this field. The book was kind of my birthday present to myself, and being able to discreetly read on the phone at work is amazing. Of course I'd used chapters/parts of that biography for various papers back in happier days, like in high school and college, but I'd never done the whole cover to cover reading thing, and I'm so glad I am, even if Ellman peppered it with some occasional facts which were later proved inaccurate.

I'm also on a roll for finding quotes that were in Velvet Goldmine and that I didn't even realize were Oscar Wilde references. (For some, I initially figured they might be Wilde quotes, then, after reading more of his work and not finding those lines, I figured they were just Todd Haynes trying to sound Oscar Wilde-esque but not actual quotes.) I have literally found at least one reference every single day of the week; some days, it's been more like three at a go. Monday I read quite a bit, didn't find a reference and thought my winning streak was ending; as soon as I thought that, I turned the page, and there it was. That was one of the happiest, most fun moments of my week. (My dreams are very small...) Today the Velvet Goldmine OW reference was on the second page I read, at about 11:00 am. I've actually started betting to myself on the lines that are going to turn up. I preempted my reading to Google a few... and was right about 2 on 3. (One is in Ellman and I will probably come across it tomorrow or Friday: my Google search turned up the biography in Google Play Books, bringing everything full circle.)

So, yes, so far my winning streak has lasted the whole seven days I've been reading (I'm wondering if it's even going to end at all) and it's made me really happy. It perfectly marries two things I love so much and that changed my life so much.

Comments

[jessenigma]

Is Ellmann's biography really good, then? I have a copy of it but I bought a copy of Neil McKenna's rather more scandalous-sounding bio at the same time and I opted for that one first. My attention span then suffered badly from post-MA reading fatigue, so several books I bought around then still sit unread, including Ellmann's book. Should I go dig it out now?

[thegirlwiththemouseyhair]

Wow, I feel a bit ashamed to say it but I don't think I've read the other(s) cover to cover either. The Ellman one is good, although in some ways the way he talks about Wilde's sexuality just seems outdated (not unsympathetic but outdated). Then again I think the book was published in 1988 and Ellman had been working on it since like 20 years before, which means 60s and 70s, so ways of talking about things have changed considerably since then. In some respects, also, his chapters on The Picture of Dorian Gray pissed me off because I felt like Ellman was veering too much into dictating how I should interpret that, when I/one could make somewhat different arguments. That proved to be a pet peeve of mine, but otherwise it was great.

[biting_moopie]

That was one of the happiest, most fun moments of my week.

This is awesome. There's something so uplifting about the little joys in life. I think it's wonderful that you found one that's meaningful to you and makes you happy.

<3