[R]evolving Incarnations: A Questionnaire for Passionate Readers-Featuring R.A. Kerr of Silver Screenings

[R]evolving Incarnations: A Questionnaire For Passionate Readers is an interview series done in classic Q&A format. Each entry features one intrepid writer/blogger/artist/creative mastermind as they take on the same 40 reading-themed questions and scenarios. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section!

R.A. KERR

R.A. Kerr is the writer behind the amazing classic movie blog, Silver Screenings.

  • What book have you always wanted to read, but haven’t? Why? The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer. Once I start it, I know I’ll do nothing else until I finish. No blogging, no socializing, no tooth-brushing. That’s quite a commitment. 
  • What is your favourite line or passage from a book? “The mystery of wood is not that it burns, but that it floats.”-from “Fugitive Pieces” by Anne Michaels. In a novel full of mystery, this single line reminded me that there is mystery in the ordinary. We only need to look.
  • Who do you think is the most underrated author? Ray Robertson, author of “What Happened Later.” Genius.
  • What is your pick for the most underrated book? “A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City” by Anonymous. This is the true, gut-wrenching account of how one woman survived the Russian occupation of Berlin in the waning days of WWII.
  • If you could make everyone in the world read one book, what would it be? “A Fair Country” by John Raulston Saul. To me, this book best explains the elusive “Canadian Identity.” 
  • Is there a book you wish you had written? “How to Make an American Quilt” by Whitney Otto. There were times I couldn’t breathe for the beauty and cleverness of her writing. Continue reading

A Year in Books/Day 230: Lonelyhearts The Screwball World of Nathanael West and Eileen McKenney

  • Title: Lonelyhearts The Screwball World of Nathanael West and Eileen McKenney
  • Author: Marion Meade
  • Year Published: 2010 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
  • Year Purchased: 2013
  • Source: Half Price Books
  • About: He was a commercially neglected writer with celebrity friends. As the inspiration for My Sister Eileen, she was mildly famous for being mildly famous. Continue reading

[Book Nerd Links] F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Handwritten Ledger…

…is a fascinating and priceless literary and cultural treasure. Filling the years 1919-1938, it is a neat autobiography of his (and Zelda’s) professional output and earnings. The whole thing is now available on-line. Go there, go there now! It is a first-class time-waster worth every second.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ledger [courtesy University of South Carolina]

His handwriting is elegantly divine.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1921

F. Scott Fitzgerald, meticulous record-keeper, in 1921.

The Splendiferously Bearded Writers Social Club: Anthony Trollope

  • Name: Anthony Trollope
  • DOB: 4/24/1815
  • Member Since: 1863
  • Status: Charter Member
  • Important Role: Head of the decorating committee.
  • Hobbies: Creating imaginary communities; day jobbing at the postal office; fox-hunting.
Anthony Trollope by Napoleon Sarony

Anthony Trollope by Napoleon Sarony