Mr. Martin muses muchly on matters which may not matter as well as many marvelous matters, which may matter muchly. Please post your polite prolific profound ponderings by pressing the comments link, which is perfectly placed post each post, prior to the previous post.A chain Book Blog!
I have been tagged with this great chain post on the blogosphere by BillyBudd of American Dinosaur , my very cool Right Wing Pundit friend. It's great to learn about how other people think. So here it is...
1. Total number of books I own: Somewhere between 125 and 150. I tried to make a precise count, but they are scattered in various places. I'd have more, but I spent a few years in a nomadic existence, moving on a regular basis. So most of what I have has been acquired in just a few years. More than half of my collection is Shakespeare, followed by acting technique, mythology, poetry, philosophy, spiritual/self-help books, and classic novels.
2. Last book I bought: The First Folio edition of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, in order to prepare for my current role in the play.
3. Last book I read: Entire book straight through – Density of Souls by Christopher Rice (Anne's son) about a young man growing up gay in New Orleans with friends both loyal and otherwise. It takes many surprising twists and turns with a tragedy that turns it into sort of a mystery novel. I found myself crying uncontrollably in public as I reached the end. Excellent riveting and emotional first novel for Mr. Rice.
4. Five books of notable influence on me: hmmmm... well, let me think....
1.The First Folio of William Shakespeare. If Shakespeare's friends, Heminges and Condell, had not decided to publish his plays in one concise volume after he died, many of them would be lost forever, including key scenes from my favorite, King Lear. My acting technique involves using these early printings,as well, which I use for more than just Shakespeare. Equally fascinating is the history of how this book was first assembled.
2.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Huck Finn is probably my favorite fictional character.. He lives life on his own terms, running from abuse and befriends Jim, in spite of those around him who tell him it's a sin to do so. He finds much adventure and self discovery with nothing more than a makeshift raft. This is more than a kids book, it's full of humor and incite. I am among those who consider this book to be The Great American Novel.
3.The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. I have the entire text link on the side column of my blog. This book has often uplifted me in tough times, and I've quoted many times to friends. It is probably my favorite gift to give to those I care about.
4.The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.This is a self-help book for unleashing creativity and eliminating self denying blocks. It operates under the premise that creative expression is the natural order for all human beings.
The Gospel's of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I do not say The Bible, as I do not view it as one book, but rather a compilation of various books and letters (thus accounting for contradictions), the books I adhere to most are the these that I mention. They chronicle the life, teachings and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth, who provides the ultimate example, for me, of how to live my own life.
(My friends have looked at me strangely, as well, as they have witnessed me excitedly looking for new words as I perused the dictionary.)
5. Five poor bastards to tag with this:
Sister Sunshine the working mom, wife, songwriter in Florida.
Alan J.F. the very intelligent student in California.
Jenelle, a wonderful real life friend, and incredibly talented little beauty.
NonSequiTourettes, a friend from my hometown who now lives in my neighboorhood. Very smart, talented, and funny guy.
Dwayne Another aspiring actor, singer. It may take him a while to respond, as he is home in Singapore for the summer.
I really like this survey, so I'm going to extend it to non-bloggers to answer, as well, in the comments section. I'd love to hear from Gary, David, Barleymash, lessthanzero, The Anonymous Globe holda, and anyone else who'd like to answer!
posted by Cary Patrick Martin @ 6/22/2005 01:42:00 AM
3 comments
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3 Comments:
Cool stuff, I am about burned out on Meme's but books are a passion and I could not pass it up. I love Shakespeare, his timeless ability to still enthrall people all over the world is amazing. Great post.
1. Total number of books I own: Oh, say, about 45. (but that's certainly not counting comic books and tradepaperbacks, of which, well, lets say, ho hum, ive got LOTS)
2. Last book I bought: The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
3. Last book I read: the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde
4. Five books of notable influence on me:
1. Confederacy of Dunces
2. Lonesome Dove
3. Lost in the Funhouse (Andy Kaufman biography)
4. Catcher in the Rye
5. oooo... and the Watchmen
5. Five poor bastards to tag with this:
Cary Patrick Martin in every sphere of his afterlife!
1. Total number of books I own - probably somewhere in the 200+ range. Like you, they're mostly acting-related, but there's a goodly portion of horror and British humor in there - which, on some days, is pretty much the same thing, isn't it?
2. Last book I bought: I honestly don't remember, seeing as I'm mostly a library hound nowadays. I will compromise, though, and say that the last book bought FOR me was "John Adams" by David McCullough.
3. Last book I read: "The Men Who Stare At Goats" by Jon Ronson. It's about "the First Earth Battalion," allegedly a top-secret armed forces unit that tried to develop new and wacky fighting techniques, like walking through walls and stopping a goat's heart just by looking at it, hence the title. It's a superficial read at best with no real substantiation to speak of, but it's pretty timely and does spark a great deal of "Hmmmmmmm ..."
4. Five books of notable influence on me:
1. "How to Save Your Own Life" by Erica Jong. I saw this book first way way high up on my mom's shelf. The spine featured a woman's face in very soft focus and clearly in some ecstatic moment, her eyes heavily lidded and her lipsticked mouth parted slightly. Even at the tender age of nine I was fascinated and climbed up to steal it away to my room for perusal. Pretty jaw-dropping stuff at the time, and maybe TOO sexually instructive for my age. But learning about sex in a way that went beyond the physical and included the mental and emotional, not to mention references to Henry Miller, Oscar Wilde and other literary luminaries - and, most importantly, from a woman's perspective, probably prepared me better than Judy Blume's "Forever." And probably a little bit not, too.
2. "Parachutes and Kisses" - Erica Jong. Summer going into my junior year of college, in an airport on my way to a summer stock gig I had only taken to be close to my girlfriend, who once I signed the contract promptly dumped me and ran off with a bodybuilder. Nursing my first-ever broken heart, I walked into a bookstore in Newark Airport and happened upon a recent paperback by an author I hadn't thought about since junior high. Completely out of curiosity I picked it up, and it turned out not only to be a throwback of sorts to my younger developing self but also something of a revelatory parallel to my own life at the time, or so my 20-year-old melodramatic mind concocted. Jong's alter ego, Isadora, was undergoing a painful divorce from the ideal man she had found in "How to Save Your Own Life," and embarking on a bit of a sexual odyssey before finding, well, another ideal mate. My high school English teacher had once smirked at Jong's work as "literate trash," and I guess that's true. But there was something about the optimism, the candor, the wicked sense of humor and the passion for life and art that was a great comfort to me at a time I was feeling really lonely.
3. "Immortality" by Milan Kundera. I read "Unbearable Lightness of Being" first, but this is the one that stayed with me the most. Its freeform ramble through sex and death and Goethe and Hemingway seemed to mirror the side trips my own mind so often takes from the main point, although hardly with such fluency and clarity. With Kundera it's never about the climax, it's about the cumulative effect. Take that where you will.
4. "The Last Temptation of Christ" by Nikos Kazantzakis. The dual nature of Jesus always confused me, at least as far as the Bible had it. He was human; He was God. How exactly does that break down? And since the writers of the Gospels weren't all that big on psychological writing, they weren't much help. Kazantzakis may or may not be "blasphemous," but he does put down in vivid terms that struggle between human frailty and the desire for something higher. Between this and Scorsese's film, my faith was strangely energized and strengthened. Take THAT, Bill Donohue!
5. "True and False," David Mamet. He's another grouch, and his railing against actors taking classes when the Atlantic Theatre Company offers semesters in his "technique" can make one a little cynical. But for those of us who get easily stuck in the playgrounds of our heads, the mantra of "Invent nothing, deny nothing - get ON with it" can help immeasurably.
Five poor bastards to tag with this:
1. Jesus
2. Beethoven
3. Jack the Ripper
4. Sappho
5. Eleanora Duse
Well, I can dream.
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