John Books

I've read most of John Gardner's novels, and Mickelsson's Ghosts is certainly my favorite, yet as with all other Gardner novels it's fraught with problems, particularly when it comes to Gardner's arrogance. For this was a man who was the self-proclaimed "greatest living author," who aimed to be remembered through the ages alongside literary giants like Proust and Chaucer, who razed and scolded his fellow authors without mercy. But now here we are twenty-six years after his unexpected death; John Gardner is forgotten, even unknown amongst what few true "readers" exist in this day and age; the majority of his novels have been out of print for decades, and when they ARE brought back into print the publishers must struggle to keep them so. Indeed, the authors Gardner railed against in his career-killing 1976 diatribe "On Moral Fiction" are the ones who are remembered today; I foresee Thomas Pynchon one day being considered alongside say Dante rather than Gardner. (Who knows, though: perhaps John Gardner could turn out to be the Herman Melville of the 20th Century, forgotten by his immediate generation, resurrected by the following. Maybe in thirty or forty years Mickelsson's Ghosts will be the Moby Dick of a new age. But I doubt it.)

Mickelsson's Ghosts has a simple set-up, with a metaphor any Serious Writer could dig into: a down-on-his-luck college professor buys a ramshackle house in the New York woods and sets about repairing it - the metaphor being, of course, that as he repairs the home he repairs his soul. Only Gardner jams a multitude of divergent threads, plots, characters, and digressions into this elephantine novel. Male witches who divine water holes in the thick woods, black trucks driven sans headlights in the dead of night, a houseful of redneck ghosts, true-blue undergrads who fret over mundane philosophical questions, rumored goings-on of puritanical Mormons afoot in the unwelcoming forest, the spirits of Martin Luther and Frederick Nietzsche, talk of UFOs and crop circles, radical photographers who keep the dying dream of the sixties alive, smarmy professors who sit around and endlessly discuss Big Issues. It's all here and more. And our guide through the dense bric-a-brac is Peter Mickelson, former college football star and current philosophy professor, gone to seed both physically and mentally - gone to seed, in fact, morally, spiritually, financially, and professionally. In his forties, freshly divorced, two adult children whom he no longer sees (one of them being the radical photographer, whose running from the government, it seems), his once-vaunted career in ruins. Author of a popular book on philosophy which at one point guaranteed him a long-standing career in the sun, but due to his own issues Mickelsson blew it, and now he withers away teaching introductory philosophy to undergrads at SUNY. This is our hero, a man who lives predominately in his memories, allowing his present troubles to accumulate and topple over like an overstuffed trash bin. In nearly thirty years of reading I've never come across as ineffectual a lead character as Peter Mickelsson, the first character who ever made me want to magically transport myself into the world of the novel so that I could punch him in his face.

We meet Mickelsson as he's buying the house which gradually (a few hundred pages in) he determines is haunted by ghosts. We know from the start that he's had a bad past few years. The first hundred pages of the novel promise a redemption for Mickelsson; he's bought this house, he's realized the mistakes he's made both professionally and emotionally, and he finds a new love with the fantastically-realized character Jessie Stark. A fellow professor, gorgeous, widowed at only thirty-five, Jessie is a living, breathing character whom Gardner created out of thin air (I pretty much fell in love with her myself); if ever one were to make a case that John Gardner WAS a literary giant, then his characters would be the first exhibit in the argument. Despite the long-winded digressions, the boorish philosophical discussions, the lack of forward momentum, despite all of those things which makes Gardner an acquired (yet still difficult) taste for the modern reader, his characters were nearly flesh and blood, three-dimensional, human beings with their own individual wants and needs and beliefs. This is particularly true of his main characters. Until brain-transplant science is perfected there will never be a better method of inhabiting another person's persona than through the novels of John Gardner. At any rate, Jessie basically throws herself at Mickelsson, and though he (and more importantly, WE) realizes that she is all he needs - she's gorgeous, smart, funny, and willing to help him navigate through the riotous mess he's made of his life - Mickelsson instead botches the promise and retreats into the insanity of his own mind. This is a book dense with inner turmoil, of thoughts growing from thoughts, of soliloquies delivered to the self, and we, the lucky readers, are there for it all. When action DOES arise it's over too quick, arising and culminating in a few pages - then fretted over for twice or three times the length. Or, worse yet, it's seemingly jammed into the narrative, an action sequence from an unrelated novel, as in the B-Movie denouement.

Only three relationships matter for Mickelsson as the novel proceeds: the one with the house, the one with Donnie (a local prostitute who falls in love with him), and the one with the ghosts. Gardner claimed in "On Becoming A Writer" (I think) that he enjoyed Stephen King's writing; King's influence is felt throughout the macabre sections in Mickelsson's haunted house. Many scenes are downright creepy, as Mickelsson, alone in his bedroom in the dead of night, hears voices chattering just outside his door. Yet Mickelsson, so ensnared in the ennui which consumes him in every other situation, just continues to lie there; even when the ghosts begin to actually appear to him (and touch him!), he remains as impassive as a Zen monk facing a loaded pistol. Only in Mickelsson's case the impassivity is not due to a studied indifference to life's passing troubles; it's due to his rapidly fading hold on sanity. And when Mickelsson recaptures his hold (to an extent) in the very final pages of the novel, the achievement comes so late that it doesn't harbor much of an emphatic thrill for the reader - instead, this wearying novel serves to leave you in your own ennui, glazed over at the wanton disregard Mickelsson harbors for everyone and everything outside of himself and his precious memories.

And the memories. Gardner was infamous for digressions, and Mickelsson's Ghost is mired with them, moreso than any other Gardner novel, even "Sunlight Dialogues." A case in point: halfway through the novel we have a scene where Mickelsson drives his newly-purchased (yet used and abused) Jeep to his morning classes. Along the way he reminisces (for several pages) about his one and only date with Jessie. Within this reminiscence Mickelsson recalls his troubled marriage - pages and pages about his wife Ellen and her early days at his side, followed by her disenchantment with life in the 1960s, followed by her rebirth as an "underground" chick, throwing performance pieces on the streets with her younger hippie friends, providing safe houses for poets on the run (Alan Ginsberg in a pseudonymous cameo). This in turn leads to a long essay on the sixties, on the movements and the dreams and the failures. From this back to the crushing and sad end of Mickelsson's marriage, and from there back to his date with Jessie; and from there, finally, back to Mickelsson in his jeep. About fifty pages have elapsed, and he's still in that Jeep; everything has occurred internally, forward movement of the plot has been nil. This is the case for most of the novel.

Death is close throughout. Thoughts of it, fears of it, acceptance of it. Mickelsson thinks about death constantly (what with ghosts hanging around, who could blame him?), and Gardner writes at length about the memories one hopes to leave behind when he or she is taken from this world. This morbidity is compounded by the irony that Gardner himself was dead within a year of the novel's publication, killed in a motorcycle wreck on a desolate country road. Mickelsson is a man at the end of his career, his salad days long past, any chance for a redemptive success crushed by his own bitterness and lashing tongue. It's not difficult to replace Mickelsson with Gardner; like his hero he had come to the end of his brief taste with fame, also due to his own actions. Gardner had been feted throughout the seventies, with critics praising his every release. The New York Times in particular graced him with positive reviews, even going so far as to proclaim him a "master." But then came "On Moral Fiction," where Gardner lambasted fellow writers for what he claimed was a lack of morality in their tales. The reaction was fast and harsh. Seek out critical reviews of Gardner's post-1976 novels and you will find a much different tone. The trophy horse had become the village mule. Also around this time nasty allegations arose concerning Gardner's nonfiction work, particularly his treatise on Chaucer, which it turns out had been plagiarized from other sources. All told, Gardner was now a man cast outside, a has-been. Much like Peter Mickelsson. And once you consider that Mickelsson's Ghost was received poorly both by critics and by readers (it barely sold its tiny first run), Gardner's death months later seems even more tragic...yet fated.

I've found that the reading of Gardner novels, for me at least, proceeds in the same fashion every time. The first several pages, as you get cozy with the blocks of prose and the relaxed pace, you realize you really are in the hands of a master, a man who not only knew how to teach writing but also knew how to write Literary Fiction With Lasting Merit, and you wonder, why doesn't anyone remember this guy? Then the rot sets in. As the pages progress and the digressions increase, the main plot vanishing in the horizon, you start flipping ahead a bit, checking if you'd miss anything important if you, say, maybe skipped a few pages. (But of course as a True Reader you ignore this impulse.) Halfway through you begin to hate this hoary-headed John Gardner, this man described by one hater as "a Hell's Angel grandmother," this man who, as one critic of Mickelsson's Ghost put it, "enjoys writing his novels more than we enjoy reading them." But you press on, and sometimes the end justifies the means. Mickelsson's Ghosts is a case where it does, "October Light," for example, is a case where it does not. As other reviewers have mentioned, Mickelsson's Ghost does indeed have a memorable ending, a bizarre one at that (which some Gardner-supporters have claimed turned original readers off from the novel, ruining their appreciation of it; something I find hard to believe, as it's my bet most of those original readers didn't even make it to the end). You'll be scratching your head over it for days, but it's my opinion (tiny spoiler alert), that one must look to the story of Mickelsson's grandfather, buried within the narrative, to understand what's happened to Mickelsson himself.

But make no mistake: this is a massive, enfolding novel which you can wrap yourself in like some tattered blanket. You can easily find yourself living within it, thinking of its characters as real people. You could easily find yourself moved by the genuine human pathos on each and every page. It all just depends on what kind of a reader you are, and what you demand from the fiction you read. If you don't mind a slow narrative, more internal action than external action, and pages and pages of speculation on the nature of death, then Mickelsson's Ghost will make for fine reading on a winter's night (though, despite the reviewer's claim below that this isn't "beach reading," I actually read Mickelsson's Ghost during a cruise in the Bahamas).

I have read most of Gardner's novels and was briefly a student of his in the 1970s. He was a larger than life character, and I have enjoyed many, though not all, of the Gardner novels I have read. Without question, this is my favorite. I put it off for many years but was inspired to pick it up after reading the Silesky biography. This book is a gem. The main character is a troubled philosophy professor who is sometimes difficult to like, but the book itself is one to love. It is philosophical work, but it is also part ghost story, part mystery, and part romance. The pages just keep turning, and the ending does not disappoint. I am hoping New Directions will choose to reissue this novel, along with the other Gardner books they are bringing back into print. To overlook it would be a big mistake.

So many readers minds are in concert regarding the reviews for this book and yet I found an original New York Times review from 1982 that was most unfavorable. It's instructive to keep in mind that there was a notable amount of unfair criticism targeted toward Mr. Gardner at the time this book came out, mainly because of `On Moral Fiction'. Bad mistake for Mr. Gardner. I can only imagine that he was looking forward to a spirited fight for the cause of higher art. Instead he found himself surrounded by resentful contemporaries with stinging tentacles. And so perhaps a critic or two approached this work with filtered glasses. Mickelsson's Ghosts is not only a `loose and baggy monster' like any good novel should be but is also a very visceral one that transcends the categorizations or genres it comes closest to. I don't think Gardner was working toward a mystery or a sci-fi or gothic necessarily and any solutions found here are not presented in a standard Mystery plot-driven format. etc. Most anyone that has approached this novel with a open mind (look at the customer's comments) knows its in a class of it's own. It succeeds at the highest level, pulling you in deep and leaving you in awe.

You know you're reading a good book when you find yourself purposefully delaying the conclusion to savour the experience longer. That's the kind of book this is: immensely detailed, intimate, fascinating. John Gardner was truly a master craftsman, and this is a masterpiece. The characters, minor and major, are fascinating, from the kooky old man next door who claims to be a witch, to Mickelsson himself, a philosopher with a brilliant mind, gradually coming undone as life delivers blow after blow against him.

The final scene is one I doubt I will ever forget, though I won't spoil it for you here ... do yourself a favour, get hold of this book. It's one to remember.

I can think of no book read over my 40 years of adult reading as deeply moving and thought-provoking as this book. The way I gauge the effect a book is having on me is the speed at which I am reading it - the slower I read it the more I am being affected, and the duration and frequency of times the book is remembered. I have never read a book as slowly as this one, and many years after reading the book I still think of it. I will admit that Mickelsson and his philosophic musings may not be for everyone. I would recommend him only to those who are unafraid of intense self-examination. Mickelsson's quest brings to mind the ancient dictum "Know thyself". The only books that have affected me nearly this deeply include the deeply brooding Moby Dick and the elegiac To the Lighthouse.

When I read "A Moment of Justice, A Lifetime of Vengeance" by John A. Wooden, I took flight from my surroundings and flew with the characters. The novel is a chilling and gripping murder mystery, set off by the murder of Alabama State Senator Robert Cowens, with shades of the old south woven throughout. It opens with the lynching of a Negro male, while 15 Caucasians, ages 15 to 21, celebrate as if it were a party. That, along, will raise the hairs on the nape of any human being. The lynching sets off many violent reactions, even years later. The voice of FBI Special Agent Kenny Carson (KC), the protagonist/narrator, is clear, yes, and full of testosterone. Yet, he's still a gentleman. Although the subcharacters work well as his team, I had trouble keeping up with the many names. I now know that they are all necessary to help the reader understand the "... fifteen youngsters in a photograph with a hanging body, ..." Who is the avenger, the [...] of these kids? It's the job of KC and his team to find the murderer who is murdering the murderers. What is more, KC knows he has to do it with as much objectivity as his heart can muster, given the fact that he is a black man highly offended by the lynching. His anger seeps through on occasions but he never loses sight of his job--to catch the [...]. And then there's Julia, a controversial relationship.

John A. Wooden does a wonderful job explaining investigative procedures, putting together the pieces of the puzzle, and showing us the mind of the [...]. He never loses his way through the complicated twists and turns. He penned an attentive, detailed murder mystery. At times, the crimes were nerve racking, and that ending, wow! It is definitely not your conventional murder mystery. Taken all together, this is excellent writing that would stand the test of time. If you are a lover of murder mysteries, you'll love this one. I eagerly await his next novel.

Minnie E Miller, Author of "The Seduction of Mr. Bradley."
[...]

I am not a reader of books about lynchings but I read this one on a whim and I am so happy I did. Mr. Wooden's book had me intrigued from page one. He built the suspense, created the moods, dropped the hammer and did it all without you ever expecting what was coming next. I loved the way the action flowed and the subtle introduction of past events and historical moments. And how the story began from a dead man's point of view completely caught me by surprise. From the lead character, who is way too dark for me, to his cast of supporting characters to the bad players who believed in killing black boys in the past, you will learn to love or hate each character. I cannot say enough about this book. It is one worth reading.

John Wooden has crafted a story for the ages. I just finished this novel and I am giving this book to my 16 year old son to read. The characters are so real you can feel their heartbeat pulse through the book cover! Kenny (KC) Carson is up there with James Patterson's Alex Cross and Robert Ludlam's Jason Bourne! We need more black mystery/suspense writers and Mr. Wooden adds his name to the list with a vengeance!! I look forward to more from this very talented author!!!

This is the lesson shown in the novel A Moment of Justice, A Lifetime of Vengeance by John A. Wooden. A Moment of Justice, A Lifetime of Vengeance is a story that covers many topics from dealing with the old ways of the "Dirty South", mourning the lost of a love one, finding a killer, and re-prioritizing the things in your life.

Special Agent Kenny Carson is doing all of these things while at times not knowing if he's coming or going. He must find the person(s) who are avenging the lynching of their loved one that happened 30 years earlier. The man was lynched by a group of teens for one reason and that was the color of his skin. Back in the day lynching happened everyday and it was more of a party so you had to make sure you had a souvenir. The souvenir at this time was a picture that came back to haunt all involved in this hideous crime. You'll have to read the book to find out how the picture haunted them and what happened to the each of them.

As you read this book (and I know you will) you'll be reading one of the best murder mysteries on the market. It's full of full of suspense, deception, and of course murder and mystery. I keep waiting for the killer to strike again just to see who was going to be next and how were they going to meet their demise.

John A. Wooden wrote a thought provoking book about a hideous crime that kept your attention because you are waiting for that Moment of Justice and you will not be disappointed during your wait. The only disappointment I'm experiencing now is that the book is over and I have to wait for his next release.

This is a "take your breath away" novel centered on the lynching of a Black man. The scene is set as Marcus Murray gets an unexpected but needed vacation from his job. As he sets out to drive back home, fear penetrates his thoughts as Blacks are not welcomed in the "dirty south". A few miles outside of his destination he is forcefully removed from his vehicle, beaten, and hung. The fifteen KKK members take things a step further by celebrating and commemorating the moment by posing for a picture by the body. Well, that is only the beginning for this crime novel filled with revenge, suspense, and terror.

Thirty years later, Special Agent Kenny "KC" Carson, an ex NFL superstar, is given the difficult task of finding the murderer of the next presidential hopeful, Senator Robert Cowens. The gruesome murder scene produces more questions than answers. KC discovers the Senator is the ninth person from the photo to pay for crimes of the past. KC assembles a team of top-notch FBI detectives to solve the mystery locked in the faces of the picture. KC is not his usual one-step before the killer self because he is running from his own demons that threaten to destroy him. As he sifts through the crime scene searching for clues, the killer strikes again. Will KC be able to find the killer before everyone on the picture is dead? You will have to read this thriller to find out.

A MOMENT OF JUSTICE: A LIFETIME OF VENGEANCE is a stellar piece of literary genius destined to be a national bestseller. Wooden writes with a passion that provides a booklover with a look inside racism, governmental cover-up, unconventional family bonds, and injustice which will intrigue readers by all walks of life. The plot is well developed and original which continually throws curve balls keeping your eyes glued to the pages. There are a host of characters involved, some you will love and others you will hate but everyone has motive to kill.

As I read the first pages of the novel, anger took over as I quickly turned page after page to find out what happened next. Slowly, my anger changed to disbelief as I begin to realize that many of the people involved with lynchings just like this one are still walking amongst us today. Hmmm...is this fact or fiction? Makes you wonder, what really made the KKK go underground. I can't wait for Wooden's next novel, as he truly has a gift from God.

Reviewed by M. Bruner for Loose Leaves Book Review

A village priest and his friend, the (communist) mayor, drive throught their native Spain to Salamanca with many wine and cheese breaks and hillside siestas on the way. Both are having to rethink the choices they've made and will make. In this road trip intimacy they share their thoughts, question eachother's beliefs and make mild attempts at converting the other, always with warm regard. The wine helps. A tender, hilarious and heartbreaking book. Much happier than other Graham Greene.

Entertaining, quite easy to read, and profound. On the surface this is a short novel about about an unassuming village priest (promoted to Monsignor) and the deposed ex-mayor (the more "world-wise" of the pair) who take a road trip. It is set in post-Franco Spain of about the late 1970's. Monsignor Quixote is a devout Catholic, the ex-mayor (Sancho) a devout Communist. Their adventures include run-ins with the police, stops at a brothel and risque movie, an encounter with a robber, inciting a community riot, and so on. They have long talks, with hearts and lips loosened by much wine (which they revere). Monsignor Quixote loves his old car, which in a way becomes yet an additional character in the story. We can all identify with this pair to some degree, be ye Christian or Communist. The mayor is washed up politically. The monsignor has a jerk for a boss (his bishop). It's light and fun, and has many laughable moments, but . . . .

Deeper - the author explores issues within Christianity and (to a lesser extent) Communism. Issues of; the "trinity" and the Holy Spirit, prayer, elitism and insincerity in the church, loyalty and betrayal, "brown-nosing", police oppression, financial scandal in the church, sexuality, "moral theology" vs. righteous brotherly love, generosity and hospitality, comparisons and contrasts between The Church and The Communist Party, etc, etc. A thinking person's feast. Easy to absorb and digest, but dwell on points of interest as long as you like.

The monsignor, though portrayed as a simple man, is a talented wit, as is the mayor, and their exchanges are a joy to read. In his behavior and philosophy, the monsignor is given to "coloring outside the lines" so to speak, which keeps him in trouble with his bishop. But really . . . he is a humble, wise, lovable and loving man, who exercises and lives a pure religion much superior to his rule-abiding, judgemental colleagues. And he is persecuted for it (sound familiar?). Sancho, though more wordly, cynical, and having rejected the chuch, is not so bad a guy either and they play well off one another.

In the end, the monsignor is able to find some good in Karl Marx, as the mayor reconnects a bit with the God he left many years before.

One need not be Catholic to connect with and enjoy this book (I'm not). This is the second Graham Greene book I've read, the other being, The Power and the Glory. A wonderful author - most highly recommended.

A really moving and thought-provoking novel. In this book, Greene brings up all kinds of interesting ideas, whilst maintaining a sense of humour. Unlike a lot of other books that deal with issues like religion, this isn't at all heavy-going, owing to the engaging style of writing.

This is one of the funniest and cleverest novels I have ever read. It is also one of the deepest. Behind the clever adaptation of the Don Quixote story to a context in post-Franco Spain there is a dance of ideas, much as Shaw's plays are a dance of ideas, and the questions dealt with are the biggest and most fundamental that we all have to deal with.

An innocent and un-intellectual Catholic priest sets out on a holiday with a communist politician, and their discussions, always friendly and courteous and greatly assisted by wine, centre on their respective faiths. The communist faith is much the more straightforward - the ex-mayor, defeated at a recent election, finds the general outlook of Marx congenial, he finds that doubt shackles freedom of action, and that's about as far as his introspection goes. Catholicism is about bigger issues altogether, such as do we go to heaven or to hell for all eternity, and the concepts involved, for someone who really thinks about them honestly, are sufficient to unseat anyone's mind. There is no real alternative to thinking about them, so in the interests of peace of mind what people do is to think about them not honestly but either ingenuously or disingenuously. Graham Greene, like Muriel Spark, was a convert to Catholicism, and like Dame Muriel his treatment of it in his writing is wry and ironic. What he really `believed' is not quite clear and I'm sure not meant to be. Indeed he even casts some doubt around the question of what `belief' actually consists of, and rightly so in my own view. At one point Father Quixote admits that a certain doctrine is one that he believes out of obedience, an admirable attitude for traditionalist believers whether Catholic or communist - you believe x because you're supposed to believe it and you'll be in trouble if you don't. Greene quite obviously sees that Catholic doctrine evolved as a book of rules to keep people under control. What started as religious and ethical teaching developed rapidly into thought-enforcement and thought-policing, but the matter goes even deeper - behind it all there is supposed to be a God whose word the ecclesiastical power-structure dispenses, and this God is not, like Marx, someone who certainly exists but only a hypothesis. How much further Greene wishes us to pursue this line of thought I'm not clear, but for me two considerations follow - firstly what is supposed to be God's word is actually a human construct foisted on the hypothetical God, something that to me seems outright blasphemy; and in the second place we have a clearer idea these days what the Creator has created, and such a Creator is not likely to bear much resemblance to Jehovah in the scriptures having to assert his authority against Baal, Dagon etc at intervals. Indeed if there is one crumb of comfort in the contemplation of such a Creator it's likely to be that he will take little or no notice of our insolence in presuming to speak for his intentions.

Towards the end of the book Greene says something to the effect that in the absence of certain knowledge one goes for the next best thing. For him this is `faith', for me it's probability, as best I can assess that. Greene is able, as I am not, to find a sense of `believing' that takes in the soul as well as the mind. When I say that I believe something I mean that it seems to me true or probable, and considerations that bring me spiritual comfort are unrelated to belief in this sense entirely. Greene seems not to go so far, but I venture to think that he's nearer to my way of seeing things than to `faith' in the conventional sense. What is completely unmistakable is the irony with which he observes the way that the devout have of finding support in the scriptures and in philosophy built on them for convenient viewpoints and courses of action.

The book is not so much about the rival ideas, nor even so much about what people do with these as about what the ideas do with people who for some reason adhere to them, as if the ideas had taken on a higher life of their own, dominating and controlling the very people who create them and without whom they could never exist. This may indeed be what we call divine in them. What is divine in a more earthly sense about this book is the humour and ingenuity of it all. It is a simple story as well as a battle of ideas, and a touching one too, with emotion and human affection finally dominant over the intellectual side. A delightful book, a beautiful book and I would even say a great book.

MONSIGNOR QUIXOTE by Graham Greene was thoroughly enjoyable, and touched, as some of Greene's better works are, with a divine stroke of love and genius. And I do mean, divine. It's hard to find the words to praise Greene enough. His novels are so well executed, so elegantly written, so touching and so unexpectedly changing. They read easily, are very accessible. This book references DON QUIXOTE by Miguel de Cervantes, so I was doubly engaged here, as I had just read it. This book is about a priest, Father Quixote, who lives in El Toboso, Spain. Through a happenstance act of kindness to a man in power in the Catholic Church in Rome, Father Quixote is made a Monsignor, much to his bishop's dismay. His bishop has never liked Father Quixote. Due to his "promotion" Father Quixote has some time to take for himself, and leaves El Toboso with the town's former mayor, who has lost his re-election bid, whose last name is Panza, just like the famous Don Quixote's squire, Sancho, so Father Quixote calls his friend Sancho. Like the first and second sally in Cervantes, Monsignor Quixote and Sancho go forth in the world and have adventures. What I found wonderful about this book was the discussion between these two men about Communism and religion. They trade books and references, and argue principles lightly and engagingly. What is true about both men as Greene writes them is that they are loving people. Sancho is more cynical, but he is kind and is genuinely friends with Monsignor Quixote, and the monsignor, for his part, is truly loving, naive and true. The end of the book is a surprising and stunningly beautiful apotheosis of the ideas expressed within. This is one of my favorite works by Greene, and reminded me in some ways of the life-changing END OF THE AFFAIR. I highly recommend it.

I am very pleased with the quality of this book. I watched the John Adams series on HBO and this makes a nice companion piece to that miniseries.

A beautiful book as I was sure it would be. Now in the possession of another John Adams admirer who happens to be a resident of Cornwall, England.

I must shamefully admit that prior to the renewed interest in John Adams with the recent miniseries, I really had only a general knowledge of his role and importance in the founding of our country. This book gives a private, personal and wonderful view of the strength,deep,abiding love of this first family. I could not put it down & would highly recommend it to anyone.

A collection of authentic letters between a man and his wife documenting the actual events as they occur from their first meeting, the beginning of the revolutionary war, the first meeting of Congress to negotiaing a system of government through freedom of our liberties through the written and signed Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Although early years were spent much apart, this extraordinary couple persevered a deep love, an emotional partnership and friendship while enduring personal tragedies of early Colonial life in the 1700's. These letters are Historical Documents. This was the life of Abigail and John Adams. A story that aided this reader in understanding a period of History so unassuming, so important in acknowledging the birth of our nation.

If you are a history buff or just a little interested in the history of our nation you will love this book. The letters exchanged between John and Abigail Adams are wonderful. Abigail was definitely John's rock. She kept him focused and steady. John was a very passionate man in his beliefs and at times would become a tyrant trying to convince people that his way of thnking was the only way to think. Thank goodness he had Abigail as he ran everything by her to see how she thought the people would react to his perception. Abigail would let him know when he needed to press an issue or just be quiet and let it happen on its own. Besides being lovers as husband and wife they were truly best friends. An inspirational read.

I'm beginning to realize that George Gissing is an author who is relatively unknown by the general public but who is frequently studied/referenced by academics. The main reason why I think this is true (and this relates to the book at hand) is that Gissing himself had more of an academic temperament than a writing temperament. He was very adept at analyzing the world around him and commenting on it to a point of depressing realism, but he wasn't a storyteller. In fact, he struggled with creating enough storylines in order to support himself. Thus, while his books give impressive looks at Victorian life, they don't always leave a reader fully satisfied.

Why do I say this so confidently? Well, as Gissing was particularly self-aware and as he was particularly oppressed when writing "New Grub Street," in this novel he writes about what it's like to be a writer in London in the 1880's and 1890's. He essentially writes about his own life and those he find around him, all of whom are trying to make a living on writing.

Gissings seems to portray himself through the main character, Reardon. When the story opens, Reardon is struggling. His sophisticated wife is getting fed up with their impoverished lifestyle and with her husband's inability to write decent material. Reardon, a sensitive soul, is floundering under mounting pressure and stress. He is torn between his desire to write sophisticated, meaningful material and the public demand for "fluff." The more stressed laid on him, the less he is able to create and stick with any plausible fiction novel. He becomes more and more fererish and unable to work, and he is devastated as he loses his wife's love and respect.

Around this central character Reardon, Gissing builds a very full and weighty cast of characters. A small sampling of these characters are:
- The embittered, older column writer/reviewer, Yule, whose temperament has made so many enemies during his career that he is still laboring hard to support his small family at the end of his life.
- Yule's daugher, Marion, who is very clever but who is also very vulnerable. Her education has made her too good for many positions and marriages but her lack of money makes her a poor match for the educated class.
- Reardon's friend Milvain, who is an ambitious young man who has no problem writing exactly what the masses want. He knows his talents, he knows the market, and he knows his stuff won't last for posterity. But he is determined to live a comfortable life, make a strategic marriage and become a semi-respected man.
- Biffen, another friend of Reardon's, sympathizes most with Reardon's situation and condition. Two peas in a pod, these men spend long hours discuss meter, prose and ancient poetry.

I found myself continually amazed at Gissing's amazing ability to get into the head of many individuals in his large cast and to see how the world makes sense through each's eyes. Gissing also provides us with a wealth of information about the Victorian publishing scene. It was amazing to read that writers and publishers then were struggling with the same issues writers and publishers are struggling with today.

Additionally, Gissing gives you an unglorified look at poverty and the impoverished educated class of London at that time. While Dickens' works on the poor is idyllic and sentimental, Gissing simply relates the life he has known. There is nothing exceptional or amazing, and Gissing seems to argue that poverty takes character out of a man rather then build up a man's character.

Overall, I found this to be a fascinating piece...though perhaps a slow read. For those interested in publishing, writing, realistic portrayals of Victorian England, or other such topics, this is a fantastic work.

Poor Gissing! I suspect his miserable, self-destructive life fuelled his wonderful novels much as (we now know) Dickens's traumatic "blacking-factory" experience explains so much of the nightmare world of those gargantuan fictions. Gissing greatly admired Dickens, and like Dostoyevsky, seems to have appreciated the grim side of Dickens most. Not much humor in Gissing; but there is the same shabby poetry one used to see in Bloomsbury back in the 1960s. The same wonderful appreciation of futile, obsessive scholarly lives. Gissing is a great poet and sometimes a rather fine moralist. His pictures of London rival those of the Master (Dickens --and Dore). Don't miss him. Start with "Workers in the Dawn" and "The Nether World"--his passion more than compensates for his crudities. Remember: he was also a very accomplished classicist--more of a scholar than any other major Victorian novelist! A not insignificant fact.

George Gissing's 1891 novel, "New Grub Street," is likely one of the most depressing books I've ever read. Certainly, in its descriptions of literary life, be it in publishing, or in my own realm of graduate scholarship, the situations, truths, and lives Gissing portrays are still all too relevant. "New Grub Street" itself points to the timelessness of Gissing's portrayals - as Grub Street was synonymous, even in the eighteenth century with the disrepute of hack writing, and the ignominy of having to make a living by authorship. One of Gissing's primary laments throughout the novel is that the life of the mind is of necessity one which is socially isolating and potentially devastating to any kind of relationships, familial or otherwise. "New Grub Street" gives us a world where friendship is never far from enmity, where love is never far from the most bitter kinds of hatred.

The anti-heroes of "New Grub Street" are presented to us as the novel begins - Jasper Milvain is a young, if somewhat impoverished, but highly ambitious man, eager to be a figure of influence in literary society at whatever cost. His friend, Edwin Reardon, on the other hand, was brought up on the classics, and toils away in obscurity, determined to gain fame and reputation through meaningful, psychological, and strictly literary fiction. Family matters beset the two - Jasper has two younger sisters to look out for, and Edwin has a beautiful and intelligent wife, who has become expectant of Edwin's potential fame. Throw into the mix Miss Marian Yule, daughter of a declining author of criticism, whose own reputation was never fully realized, and who has indentured his daughter to literary servitude, and we have a pretty list of discontented and anxious people struggling in the cut-throat literary marketplace of London.

Money is of supreme importance in "New Grub Street," and it would be pointless to write a review without making note of it. As always, the literary life is one which is not remunerative for the mass of people who engage upon it, and this causes no end of strife in the novel. As Milvain points out, the paradox of making money in the literary world is that one must have a well-known reputation in order to make money from one's labours. At the same time, one must have money in order to move in circles where one's reputation may be made. This is the center of the novel's difficulties - should one or must one sacrifice principles of strictly literary fame and pander to a vulgar audience in order to simply survive? The question is one in which Reardon finds the greatest challenges to his marriage, his self-esteem, and even his very existence. For Jasper Milvain and his sisters, as well as for Alfred and Marian Yule, there is no question that the needs of subsistence outweigh most other considerations.

"New Grub Street" profoundly questions the relevance of classic literature and high culture to the great mass of people, and by proxy, to the nation itself. For England, which propagated its sense of international importance throughout the nineteenth century by encouraging the study of English literature in its colonial holdings, the matter becomes one of great significance. The careers of Miss Dora Milvain and Mr. Whelpdale, easily the novel's two most charming, endearing, and sympathetic characters, attempt to illustrate the ways in which modern literature may be profitable to both the individual who writes it and the audiences towards which they aim. They may be considered the moral centers of the novel, and redeem Gissing's work from being entirely fatalistic.

"New Grub Street" is a novel that will haunt me for quite some time. As a "man of letters" myself, I can only hope that the novel will serve as an object lesson, and one to which I may turn in hope and despair. The novel is well written, its characters and situations drawn in a very realistic and often sympathetic way. Like the ill-fated "ignobly decent" novel of Mr. Biffen's, "Mr. Bailey, Grocer," "New Grub Street" may seem less like a novel, and more like a series of rambling biographical sketches, but they are indelible and lasting sketches of literary lives as they were in the original Grub Street, still yet in Gissing's time, and as they continue to-day. Very highly recommended.

I found Jasper Milvain, the "alarmingly modern young man," to be the most interesting character in Gissing's New Grub Street for a number of reasons, the most significant of which is that he evinces what can only be considered a modernist's consciousness in his approach to writing. That is, while it soon becomes clear to the reader that Milvain represents the antithesis of what Edwin Reardon personifies-i.e., the work of literature as an emanation of author's native genius-and thus one of the intercalated plots of the novel involves the incremental success of Milvain as a modern man of letters, and the concomitant gradual abjection of Reardon. In a manner of speaking, then, Milvain and Reardon's fates emerge from a common source, namely some sea change in the reading public's (the consumer's) preferences and tendencies.

Milvain identifies as vulgar the most lucrative market for the product of the man of letter's labor. The vulgarians, or "quarter educated," drive the market (479), and since they have been determined to desire nothing more than chatty ephemera, they have successfully opened an insuperable gulf between material success in writing and artistic success. Reardon's psychologically penetrating novels just aren't in demand. Therefore, there emerges quite an interesting conceptual shift within the nascent hegemony of the quarter-educated as established by their purchasing power: what was once considered healthy artistic integrity has transmuted into a peculiar kind of petit bourgeois hubris, if, in the new paradigm, the writer is more an artisan than an artist. Therefore, Reardon's artistically-compromised and padded three-volume novel, written with no other end in mind than to pander to the vulgar reader, nonetheless achieves only modest success because, the fact that it is indistinguishable from countless other similar works glutting the market aside, his novel is infected from his irrepressible integrity, and thus his novel becomes a strange sort of counterfeit, a psychological narrative masquerading as a popular novel. Reardon thus becomes a sort of Coriolanus among writers.

Milvain, on the other hand, is a sort of Henry Ford among writers; he reveals his particular genius when offering advice to his sister Maud about how to write religious works for juveniles: "I tell you, writing is a business. Get together half-a-dozen fair specimens of the Sunday school prize; study them; discover the essential points of such a composition; hit upon new attractions; then go to work methodically, so many pages a day" (13). In other words, Jasper has managed to streamline and to mechanize the writing process. He studies previous works, abstracts formulae from them, isolates the elements of these formulae, and then deploys and rearranges these elements to give his own writing a patina of originality. By treating writing as an exercise in manipulating formulae, Jasper exchanges "authenticity" (whatever that word means anymore) for the convenience and efficiency of not having to grapple with his own potentially mutable and recalcitrant genius. Jasper did not invent writing, just as Ford did not invent the automobile. But like Ford did with automobile manufacture, Milvain discovers those aspects of writing that lend themselves to mechanical reproduction. Thus he is able to capitalize on his time and effort, and effectively becomes the very machine Reardon believes himself to be but never actually becomes because of his lingering notions of artistic integrity (352).

Also of interest is the fact that Albert Yule is a sort of synthesis of Milvain and Reardon. Like Milvain, Yule attempts to streamline his own literary production by delegating some of the labor to his daughter Marian. However, like Reardon, Yule clings to the superannuated notion of the necessary individuality of writing: "[h]is failings, obvious enough, were the results of a strong and somewhat pedantic individuality ceaselessly at conflict with unpropitious circumstances" (38). In other words, Yule fails to recognize the obsolescence of the lone, learned genius within the realm of literary production. A market of vulgarians who demand occasional literary confections simply does not expect Works of individual genius. Moreover, even if they were in demand, works of individual genius are too ponderously inefficient to keep pace with the rate at which they are consumed. Therefore, Yule straddles the either/or proposition personified by Reardon and Milvain: One may preserve his artistic integrity and write "for the ages"--hence Yule, Biffen, and Reardon's fetishization of Shakespeare, Coleridge and authors of classical antiquity--and starve in the process, or one may write "for the moment" and actually turn a respectable profit.

The shadow of Charles Darwin indeed looms large over the events and characters of New Grub Street. The growth market brought about by the advent of the "quarter-educated" vulgar class, and their discretionary income coupled with their callow aesthetic sensibilities and truncated attention spans, represents a nascent economic, if not ecological niche, for certain social creatures to occupy. However, it's not simply a matter of being able to adapt one's skills to the tastes of these consumers. One must also be a prodigious enough writer to keep pace with an equally prodigious rate of consumption. Individuals like Milvain and Whelpdale are adequately adapted to this niche in that they satisfy the demands of this niche in terms of both content and output. Reardon panders to the vulgar taste only grudgingly and after long resistance and thereby cannot meet the production demands of this niche. Biffen absolutely refuses to pander at all. Alfred Yule does attempt to pander, but his mode of literary production is too inefficient to meet production demands, and he is also largely ignorant of vulgar literary taste. While more in touch with the vulgar reader than her father, Marian Yule is as inefficient in her literary production as her father. Therefore, each of the characters named above are equally maladaptive, albeit for various reasons, and thus their extinction by the novel's end strikes the reader as somehow inevitable. Whereas Milvain and Reardon's widow Amy are left to come together as the triumphant niche occupants and thus reproduce themselves in their offspring, should they decide to produce any.

I recently read New Grub Street, and I must say I was stunned by how much I enjoyed it. Gissing's prose and characterization hold up remarkably well. He's sort of an urban Hardy, though far more accessible to today's reader. I'd recommend this to any serious reader. Oh, and this novel is ripe for adaptation. A BBC miniseries would be great.

I picked this book up in the library because it looked moderately interesting and immediately fell in love. I have since purchased five more books in this series. If possible I would recommend a new reader begin with book one since it helps the story line and builds the characters but this is not required to understand any of the books. I have also re-read this book twice; something out of the ordinary for me. I am not going to go into detail regarding plot and story line since I hope you read it for yourself.

The protagonist, Decius Caecilius Metellus, is a Senator of Rome and a newly arrived junior officer at Julius Caesar's camp at the beginning of Caesar's Gallic Wars. After a Centurion who is savagely disciplining turns up dead, Metellus must find the killers. Metellus' search is complicated by the fact that he is in a war zone with three armies massing for war, everyone thinks he is an incompetent boob, and his habit of making enemies of everyone. Metellus determine whether the assassins were Germans, Helvetii, legionaries, or Druids in a matter of days.

This book had a realism that I sometimes found missing in Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series (the other great series of late-Republican based historical mysteries) in that Roberts' Metellus is not so shockingly moralistic as Saylor's Gordianus could be.

I stayed up past 2am two nights in a row to finish this book, it was that good. I just put the rest of this series on my wishlist.

Oh how I love this series! I wish bookstores in Canada kept it on their shelves because I can't bear waiting for them when I order them from Amazon.ca (although Amazon is so prompt, they can't deliver within a minute)
This one has Decius Metellus at his best. He's told when he first arrives in camp, dusty and unshaven, that he should spruce up for the General, so he has Hermes shave and bathe him and goes into Caesar's tent wearing his full parade armor. Needless to say the laugh is on Metellus, since Caesar and his staff are in their informal duds.
But serious stuff is soon afoot. One of Caesar's confidents, his Primus Pilus Centurion no less, has been killed in no man's land - and not by the enemy, who are encamped too close for comfort. The accused murderer is a Metellus family client. Decius has two weeks to discover who really killed the centurion and why, or the young soldier will be executed and Decius and the Metellus family will be discredited - not a good thing for a man whose dad the senator, pro-consul, censor, etc. does not take kindly to sons and clients besmirching the family honour.

This book is a great crime solving series set in the twilight of the Roman Republic. If you like Cadfael series then here is something to look forward to when you get done with them. 1st rate! (Also if you are interested in the Caesars Army in Gaul then here you go!)

John Maddox Roberts is the pseudonym of Mark Ramsay, author of numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. He lives in New Mexico with his wife.

When the famous Julius Caesar arrived in Gaul, he announced "I Came, I Saw, I Conquered." When Decius Metellus arrives from Rome he that the conquered part at least, is very far from the truth, in fact the campaign seems to be stagnating.

Decius's arrival does little to placate Caesar's temper. The great general has been waiting form reinforcements promised to him. An intake of fresh blood to kick start the invasion again. Instead of that he has been sent one man ridiculously decked out in military parade frippery but very short on any military accomplishment. Decius is accompanied not by eager troops chomping at the bit to get at the enemy, but by one reluctant slave.

But of course trouble follows Decius like a bad smell and when Vinius, supposedly the most hated centurion in the army is found murdered Caesar remembers that his newest recruit has a reputation for solving mysteries.

As both an educator serving hundreds of children over the past 12 years, and a mother of three I have found this sensational, practical book a wonderful resource. Parents, teachers and caregivers will find in this well organized, clearly written book a wealth of information for situations that all of us who nurture children encounter throughout our daily interactions. A true, sensitive delight filled with hundreds of user friendly exercises, fresh ideas and insights into how the world sounds to children today. Helen Shaw, secondary school teacher

This book is an excellent resource for both parents and educators who deal with both mainstream and challenged populations. For those of us interested in gaining from the benefits of the latest brain research, or "brain-compatible strategies," without having to sort through the theoretical concepts or scientific research that often make these books cumbersome this book is the answer. The author--a clinical psychologist with actual experience in these matters--shares with us his years of research and professional experience in a very handy, ready to use volume that provides hundreds of fun, useful, hands-on exercises. Each chapter also thoughtfully provides dozens of musical suggestions based on songs that our kids actually listen to and recognize. The amount of research that must have gone into this book boggles the mind. This is an offering from someone who not only KNOWS children, but also loves and cherishes them. If you are fortunate enough to attend one of Dr. Ortiz's workshops on this topic you will be further enriched and enchanted by his charm, knowledge and humor. Mindy Mother of two, educator

This is an exceptional guide for teachers and parents
alike. Well written, filled with creative exercises
and handy resources. Brings color to any environment!

As both a parent and an educator I find this simple to read, highly accessible tool is a "must read" for all of us whose primary emphasis is to raise children to be happy, responsible individuals. Sections on developing positive self-esteem, dealing with hyperactive children and developing creativity are among the best.

A dream tool!

I bought this highly recommended book to assist me with the many practical ideas that all caregivers crave. The book has easily surpassed my expectations and lived up to all the high praise and accolades from my friends. As a mother who also home schools two children, however, this book is a rich source of hands-on activities as well as inspiration for enriching family bonds. For parents-or nursery home workers-in search of very effective solutions for nap-time, or sleepy-time resources Dr. Ortiz's charming CDs: "It's Sleepy Time!" (for younger children), or "Daydreams to Dreams" (for older children)are HIGHLY recommended!!

As a nursing student I loved this book. It gave a great perspective on some areas of nursing that nursing students may not be exposed to during clinicals. Toward the end of the book it did get into nursing/hospital politics and policy, which slowed things down. I wish that the author had ended with something better and more inspiring.

It's often said that in today's society we have no heroes. If you read this book, you will soon learn otherwise.

I really liked the aspects of this books that dealt with the three nurses performing their jobs in their perspective fields. That was great- but all the talk about nursing jobs getting cut really gets boring after a while. So much so I've been dreading reading the last chapter. Great book, just has some boring parts.

A must read for all those working IN or WITH the profession of nursing. Gordon discusses how the changes in our health care system have affected both the nurses role and quality patient care issues. The essential need for collaboration of all health care personnel is woven throughout the content. I required this book for a senior nursing course I just taught at Wayne State University in Detroit and the students were most impressed with the book and its approach to nursing, medicine and health care. A must read for nurses, physicians, hospital administration, potential students and the general public. Afterall, we are all potential patients and we should be aware of what is happening to the largest population of health care providers, the nurses!

The most under rated people in our society are nurses,this is an introduction to the ever present caregivers in healthcare today.The most varied role and most significant in all aspects of health care is the nurse.This was a wonderful read for all of those who may ever be the receiver of any aspect of their care from nurses in our country, basically everyone,a must have.For those considering the profession as a career,and the family members who would like an overview of "all in a days work", this will invoke serious thought.Yes, I am a nurse and for me to recommend a book written on nursing....kudos to all involved in the creation.

Mr Maxtone Graham's work is a pure piece of art for all people with a love for classic liners and their times. It revives a (regrettably) lost way of life. A true bible.

I have two copies of this book and keep one on our boat in Ft Pierce, FL for guests to read and one at home for ME to re-read. Although we have cruised on the blue-water fleet numerous times, I love to read about the pre-jet crossings of a (seemingly) romantic and for the most part, by-gone era. When you read this book, it is so evocative tht you can close your eyes and almost imagine that you are there on a chilly quai in New York City about to depart for the great cities of Europe on one of the great liners. An absolute MUST READ for any ocean liner fan. I re-read this one often in the wee hours of the morning.

I devoured this book and you will too. John Maxtone-Graham is one of a kind, a marine historian who is urbane, erudite, and literate. He has written an absorbing book, filled with fun, details, anecdotes, and marine dreams. Here's to Big Ships and big dreams - That toast has a kind of 1920's ring to it. But I loved it. You will too.

I had the pleasure of meeting John Maxtone-Graham aboard the SS Norway in 1985. He autographed a copy of "The Only Way to Cross" and I have read it at least 3 times. I'll never tire of his detailed accounts of the ships and the people that made that era.

What I found really wonderful about the book was not only learning about the best parts of transatlantic travel but the worst as well. The section on Steerage as well as on the Boiler rooms show you every side of what life was like aboard the grandest ships to ever ply the oceans of the world.

If you buy only one book in your life buy this one!

This is a must read for any Oceanliner or ship fan. It will transport you back to the days when the steamship was truly the only way to cross. After reading this book you'll realize that those floating barge-hotels that Carnival and the other Megalines call ships will never be Luxury liners! Long live the SS Norway!

My wife is a text book writer and has found this gift text to be quite valuable. Recommended

Those are the bitter pills of civilization. Like other bitter pills, they have great healing power. As a matter of fact, if the World took more notice of those pearls of wisdom, produced by outstanding minds, from Heraclitus to the Huxleys, policies might be less absurd and mass actions less disastrous than they actually are.

The book is dark verging on sardonic, reflecting the dark, sardonic nature of the best epigrams of our age. I was inspired to respond in the margins to a number of them, and I can't think of a better response to epigrams in general, than for them to get under your prickly skin to the extent that you might write your own ironic counterstatements. Bloodshed begets bloodshed, and so we might say (ironically) that this sort of bitterness begets bitterness. But it may very well be the most brilliant bitterness you've known.

Some of my favorite quotes with my responses--representative in the extreme:

"Where they burn books they will also in the end burn human bodies"--Heine, <>, 1823

"Where they burn human beings, they will also, in the end, burn the wrong book"--Eucaleh Terrapin

"A secret may sometimes be best kept by keeping the secret of its being a secret"--Sir Henry Taylor, <>, 1823

"Thus the wisest proverb is common sense"--Eucaleh Terrapin

"Freedom produces jokes, and jokes produce freedom"--Jean Paul Richter, Introduction to Aesthetics, 1823

"But to be witty is to be serious about other comedians"--Eucaleh Terrapin

John Gross has compliled an excellent collection of the best aphorisms into a nicely accessible framework. The book is arranged by chapters reflecting everything from "Nature" to "The Afterlife." This arrangement works well as a path to pursue the great thoughts that philosophers, psychologists, and aphorists have written about the areas that most commonly provoke interest. The book has an outstanding index and an insightful introduction from Gross in which he expresses his regret about not having beem able to obtain permission to include the observations of Wittgenstein. As Vauvenargues wrote in 1746, "Men's maxims reveal their characters," and one of the great values in this collection is that it juxtaposes what others have said by subject area, juxtaposing what the famous thinkers here included remarked on the same subjects. The cover of this volume displays an explosive rocket, appropriately enough. The anti-religious elements are especially entertaining, as it is always fun to see the response to the groveling aspects of Christian orthodoxy. Highly recommended.

Like most collections of aphorisms this one is rich in helpful thoughts. These thoughts inspire and give birth to new thoughts. 1) Aphorisms of others ideally inspire aphorisms of our own.
2) Aphorisms help make our minds more interesting.
3) It is senseless to read too many aphorisms at once
4) A little here a little there, aphoristic pleasure everywhere.
5) A good aphorism is one you want to tell someone else.