Gore Vidal – Cannonball Read 17

Final 2024 Leftovers

1876 by Gore Vidal

Joe Country by Mick Herron

James by Percival Everett

Slough House by Mick Herron

Kiss Her Goodbye by Allan Guthrie

The Contemplative Tarot: A Christian Introduction to the cards by Brittany Muller

December 26, 2024 by Jake Leave a Comment

Hope everyone had a wonderful 2024. Remember that while we can’t control the horrors of the world, there is joy to be found in the presence of those we love. 1876**** Didn’t hit as hard as Burr; Burr’s presence was the center of the story that made it go, whereas this book wants to highlight every major player in the 1876 election. But Vidal does a good job of evoking the atmosphere of the time: the unapologetic corruption, the paranoia of another war and the […]

Gore Vidal (7); Jan Berenstain (1-2); Michael Berenstain (1-2)

Clouds and Eclipses by Gore Vidal

The Berenstain Bears Brother Bear Favorites by Jan Berenstain; Michael Berenstain

The Berenstain Bears Sister Bear Favorites by Jan Berenstain; Michael Berenstain

March 19, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

Clouds and Eclipses In general I tend to avoid collected stories from celebrated or beloved authors under the following circumstances: 1) they aren’t really known for short stories; 2) the stories are almost exclusively from when they were very young. Some obvious exceptions occur. Philip Roth’s stories in Goodbye Columbus are all very good, two being some of the best writing he ever did. But Gore Vidal is known primarily for two things: novels and essays. He did some other things too, sometimes very well […]

Gore Vidal (5-6)

The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal

The Best Man by Gore Vidal

March 5, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

“‘Old age is a shipwreck’. Like man a ground soldier, General de Gaulle was drawn to maritime metaphors.” Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 This last significant collection of essays by Vidal was published in 2001 around the inauguration of George W Bush. He did publish some smaller texts later, and a kind of end of life memoir before he died, but this is probably the last sizeable work of his before his death in 2012. Like the large collection United States, this book covers literary, political, […]

Gore Vidal (4)

Burr by Gore Vidal

February 28, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

Burr “Shortly before midnight, July 1, 1833, Colonel Aaron Burr, aged seventy-seven, married Eliza Jumel, born Bowen fifty-eight years ago (more likely sixty-five but remember: she is prone to litigation!). The ceremony took place at Madame Jumel’s mansion on the Washington Heights and was performed by Doctor Bogart (will supply first name later). In attendance were Madame Jumel’s niece (some say daughter) and her husband Nelson Chase, a lawyer from Colonel Burr’s Reade Street firm. This was the Colonel’s second marriage; a half-century ago he […]

Gore Vidal (1-3)

United States: State of the Art by Gore Vidal

United States: State of the Union by Gore Vidal

United States: State of Being by Gore Vidal

February 27, 2023 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

“Eckerman: I’m delighted that The New York Review of Books is still going strong after–what is it now? Fifty years?” Gore Vidal tells us that he collected these essays and split it into three defining sections, each counting as a “state” which gives us the title United States. His sections: “State of the Art” which is about writing, literature, and culture, “State of the Union” about politics, and “State of Being” containing personal essays. Because this is a more than 1200 page book, covering 40 […]

A Search for the King

A Search for the King by Gore Vidal

September 5, 2022 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

This short early novel by Gore Vidal takes on the story of Blondel and Richard I. If you are like me and don’t or didn’t know the story, basically, Blondel is a famous French troubadour, who befriended Richard during one of his Crusades, and when Richard was captured and imprisoned by the Leopold, Emperor of Austria, and held for ransom. In the novel, Blondel helps to rescue Richard from this captivity and then proceeds to fight alongside him against King John in Nottingham, restoring his […]

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