Edward ChampionIt has literally taken me a year and change to write this piece, but my new Modern Library essay on Ford Madox Ford's PARADE'S END has finally dropped! (Spoiler alert: I was not a fan and strongly advise promising youth all around the world to AVOID this obnoxious mansplainer. But hey I read the book -- TWICE! -- so you kids wouldn't have to!)
I've just dropped my latest Modern Library essay on Edith Wharton's THE AGE OF INNOCENCE. I'm not as hot on this admittedly dazzling novel as others (Team Lily Bart forever!), but I did my best to be honest about my love for Wharton and my absolute abhorrence for Newland Archer, surely the 1870s answer to an aimless crypto-trading dudebro complaining about the "male loneliness epidemic."
https://www.edrants.com/the-age-of-innocence-modern-library-58/
The Age of Innocence (Modern Library #58) - Reluctant Habits
Edith Wharton's classic novel is a more somber and often breathtaking warning about the dangers of conforming with the upper crust. But the reading experience is not made easy by Newland Archer, the dudebro of his time, being Wharton's most insufferable protagonist.
AdamI sort of inadvertently became a collector of old Modern Library hardcovers. I was in my local used book shop this weekend nearly bought one before realizing I already had a copy.
To prevent this from happening in the future, I considered making a spreadsheet of which titles I already have, but then I realized I could make a list or shelf here on BookWyrm. I'm not sure which approach is best. Probably a list(?).
Feedback / links to relevant documentation appreciated. #modernlibrary #books #oldbooks #bookwyrm #bookcollection
(comment on Marius The Epicurean)
Mark Gardner@DrHyde I suppose you (along with the #ModernLibrary) prefer #JamesJoyce? https://newideal.aynrand.org/a-tale-of-two-novels/
The list from that editorial (https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-top-100) had a solicited correspondence from what’s now the Columbia Publishing Course. The latter’s director said at the time, “Our list reflects a young, more #feminist crowd. [It] shows a difference of age and taste.”
#AynRand’s #TheFountainhead was #43 and #AtlasShrugged was #92: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1998/7/24/class-ranks-top-100-novels-of/
Andrew Benedict-NelsonHere’s number 13 in my 1954 #ModernLibrary collection, The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler.
Though it wasn’t one of their original 12 titles, ML starting publishing Butler’s autobiographical novel in their first year, 1917, 14 years after the book first came out. It’s a good example, I think, of how one element of what ML meant by “modern” is anti-Victorian, since the book serves as an indictment of Victorian family and social structures.
But what I really want to talk about is this dust jacket. I love the fabric pattern of the background and the scratchboard vignette. I love the gold of the torch runner and the light blue of the promotional text on the back. I love the contrast between serifs and san serifs.
This jacket was in use between 1940 and 1970.
Whew, I’m back! Here’s number 11 in my 1954 Modern Library collection, Lust for Life by Irving Stone. It’s a biographical novel of Vincent Van Gogh mainly based on his letters to his brother Theo.
#books #bookstodon @bookstodon #modernlibrary
A biographical novel might seem a little unusual for a series focused on literary classics and trailblazers, but I think this fits with the idea that ML was hoping to popularize all kinds of elite culture, including music and painting. For example, the series also includes books of lyrics to operas and musicals.
Also…
#books #bookstodon @bookstodon #modernlibrary
A biographical novel might seem a little unusual for a series focused on literary classics and trailblazers, but I think this fits with the idea that ML was hoping to popularize all kinds of elite culture, including music and painting. For example, the series also includes books of lyrics to operas and musicals.
Also…
edwardchampionMy least appreciated life project has involved reading the Modern Library list from 1998 and writing long, fiercely idiosyncratic, and rigorously researched essays about these titles. I've been at this for eleven years. You Mastodonians may dig this endeavor. And nobody else has gone to this much trouble. So I'm pimping it here! 🤣 Just follow the links! OF HUMAN BONDAGE (which I loved) is next!
http://www.edrants.com/the-modern-library-reading-challenge/