A Sea of Little Fires

In the Steve Goodman documentary, included in the DVD “Steve Goodman Live From Austin City Limits… And More,” Kris Kristofferson refers to a poem by a South American poet to explain what Steve was like [see 29:40 on YouTube]. The poem talks about a man who scales a high mountain and looks down upon all the people on earth and sees them each like a spark of flame. “Some of the flames simply burn, others … more

The 100 best novels written in English: the full list | Books | The Guardian

Robert McCrum has reached a verdict on his selection of the 100 greatest novels written in English. Take a look at his list Source: The 100 best novels written in English: the full list | Books | The Guardian   After two years of careful consideration, Robert McCrum has reached a verdict on his selection of the 100 greatest novels written in English. Take a look at his list Ten of the best … Some … more

Roman Restaurants and Food

Rome restaurants (DeLapa reviews) Top picks Da Bucatino – Marcello and I enjoyed a wonderful meal there last night, probably the best Italian food yet. We started with carciofi alla Romana, with the artichoke smashed flat — delicious. We split a pici con pancetta pecorino e carciofi and grilled swordfish, and a carafe of unsurprisingly mediocre red house wine. After paying the bill, our waitress, who reminded me of my aunts in their somewhat younger days, … more

Books about Italy and Rome

Books I Read Four Seasons in Rome, Anthony Doerr The Twelve Caesars: The Dramatic Lives of the Emperors of Rome, Matthew Dennison Rome: An Empire’s Story, Greg Woolfe The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World’s Greatest Empire, Anthony Everitt Italian History Books | Hon. Gary K. Hart McCulough, Colleen: The First Man in Rome (as well as the other four volumes of her historical novels of ancient Rome) Freeman, Philip: Julius Caesar Unger, … more

51 Of The Most Beautiful Sentences In Literature | BuzzFeed

51 Of The Most Beautiful Sentences In Literature. 51 Of The Most Beautiful Sentences In Literature “At the still point, there the dance is.” —T. S. Eliot posted on Dec. 9, 2014, at 12:46 p.m. Jennifer SchafferBuzzFeed Staff We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about their favorite lines from literature. Here are some of their most beautiful replies. Suggested by CindyH11 Creative Commons / Flickr: 58621196@N05 2. “In our village, folks say God crumbles up the old moon into … more

There’s More to Life Than Being Happy – Emily Esfahani Smith – The Atlantic

Given the choice of escape from Nazi Austria or the almost certain imprisonment in a concentration camp if he stayed to help his parents, Viktor Frankl chose to stay. Out of that experience came his bestselling 1946 book, Man’s Search for Meaning, “which he wrote in nine days about his experiences in the camps.” Among his insights: Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms — to choose … more

10 Most Important Books That You Don’t Read in High School

I’ve been invited to a friend’s son’s high school graduation. As a present, I’m planning to send him the “10 Most Important Books That You Don’t Read in High School” (at least I didn’t). Here’s my first cut, first draft list. What would you add, subtract? Desert Solitaire (Edward Abbey) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig) The River Why (David James Duncan) Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer) Coming … more

Gary Hart Book Recommendations

Zoya’s Story HART TOP TEN BOOKS The Healing of America:  A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care (T. R. Reid) American Prometheus:  The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin) An End to Suffering:  The Buddha in the World (Pankaj Mishra) Overthrow:  America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq (Stephen Kinzer) Retribution:  The Battle for Japan, 1944-1945 (Max Hastsings) The Bottom Billion:  Why the … more