This description of feeling awkward at a party, from James Salter’s All That Is, re-enters my mind at basically every party I attend.
“Bowman, having run out of things to notice and places to stand, was looking at a collection of photographs … ”
My girlfriend and I just watched Patrick Melrose on Stan. Being half-Welsh, I’m not a huge fan of English toffs, but I’d heard enough people rave about Edward St Aubyn’s novels—from which the TV show is adapted—to give it a go. And … yeah, it’s good. Why is every TV show so goddamn good now? Anyway, I really like this sentence from one of the books, Bad News.
“How could he think his way out of the problem when the problem was the way he thought.”
I recently read Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll just say, Whoa … and recommend you check it out, too. I liked this moment, and it doesn’t spoil anything. (And yes, I know this is actually two sentences … mistakes were made.)
“I love that you love words.
That you use them like glasses to make the world make
more
sense—
unblur its sharp edges.”
The “sharp edges” of the world reminds me of a lyric from The Beach Boys’ track Darlin’.
“I love the way you soften my life with your love.”
No offence to The Beach Boys, but I actually prefer the cover by The Paper Dolls.
*puts on jaded record store guy voice*
I think I first came across this little number when I had a job finding music for ads. This was back in the golden age of ‘indie folk’. Sadly, to this day I will enter a catatonic state upon hearing any song with a glockenspiel, whistle or handclap. But it was all worth it to bring you this song which, with any luck, will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
Take care,
Evan.
The Paper Dolls just set me up for a splendid evening. Ah, nostalgia. Worth its weight in gold.