25 replies to this topic

[atm711]

I got four books:

l.  Bravura!  Lucia Chase and the ABT by her son Alex Ewing
2. Thank Heaven - A Memoir by Leslie Caron
3. The Last Empress (Mme. Chiang) by Hannah Pakula
4. The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2008

I am reading the Lucia Chase book and it is fascinating reading about the demise of Mordkin and the beginnings of a new Company, and the astonishing vision of Richard Pleasant.  Looking forward to every page.  What interests me most about Caron is her early years with Petit.  I was glad to get The Last Empress; the Times review was quite good.  The Best Men's Monologues includes one by my grandson Matthew.

[Helene]

The Herbfarm Cookbook.  Gastroporn at its finest.

[Hans]

I received Undimmed Lustre, Ballet 101, and the first English edition of Je Sais Cuisiner by Ginette Mathiot.  

[Rosa]

I received "Cotillion" by Georgette Heyer.  

[vipa]

The Ramayana in 4 paperback volumes.

Margaret Atwood - The Year of the Flood

David Foster Wallace - Infinite Jest.

Many months worth of great reading!  I'm a lucky person.

[Giannina]

I got "Men and Angels, the art of James C. Christensen", "The Saint and the Sultan" and 3 knitting books.  Yum!  I didn't get ... well, never mind.

Giannina

[PeggyR]

Nobody gives me presents anymore because I've reached that age when everybody assumes I must already have everything I want (HA!), so my literary gifts to myself this year:

-Lynn Seymour's autobiography
-Richard J. Evans' three volume history of the Third Reich
-A couple of Georgette Heyer novels I haven't read yet - including Cotillion    (after half a dozen chapters of Nazis, you really need some Georgette Heyer)
-Paul Moses' The Saint and the Sultan
-The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard (1,200 pages:  if I take this on the bus, the driver will probably charge for an extra seat)

[Helene]

PeggyR, on Dec 27 2009, 08:28 PM, said:

Nobody gives me presents anymore because I've reached that age when everybody assumes I must already have everything I want (HA!), so my literary gifts to myself this year:

-Lynn Seymour's autobiography

This is a great book!

[Marcmomus]

Rudolf Nureyev by Julie Kavanagh
Ballet in Western Culture by Carol Lee
The Cambridge Companion to Ballet ed. by Marion Kant
Ballet and Modern Dance  Susan Au

[dirac]

Good topic, atm711.  I received books by Tom Robbins and Kurt Vonnegut, neither of which I am likely to read.

I like Seymour's book, too.  It's a little TMI in some places and I should have liked to hear more about the ballets and less empurpled prose about "Kenneth pressing his lips to mine" or whatever, but the book's candor is refreshing.

[bart]

Books are best, but it's safer (I think) to ask people to allow you to purchase for yourself.

Counting ballet only,

Quote

my literary gifts to myself

are:

Nancy Van Norman Baer, et al., Paris Modern:  The Swedish Ballet, 1920-1925

and

Nancy Goldner, et al., The Stravinsky Festival of the New York City Ballet.

I learned about both books on Ballet Talk.  A thoughtful Member was kind enough to lend me a copy of the Stravinsky Festival book, which enthralled me so much that I sought out a copy of my own.

The book about the Ballet Suedois, with 8 contributors and many illustrations, revealed a story (richly illustrated) that I knew very little about.  The book about the 1972 Stravinsky Festival was a chance to submerge myself a second time into memories of one of the most powerful theatrical experiences of my life.

P.S.:  Paris Modern has a good essay by Lynn Garafola, spoiled just a teeny bit for me by her apparent belief that Germany in World War One was a participant in something called the Axis.

[vagansmom]

New York by Edward Rutherford
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (per my request after reading about it here on BA
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Complete Novels of Flann O'Brien also per my request after reading about them here

[kfw]

I received David Bentley Hart's The Beauty Of The Infinite: The Aesthetics Of Christian Truth, and with a gift certificate I have ordered the new biography by Robin D.G. Kelley of one of my favorite jazz players, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an Original.

The book on Lucia Chase and ABT that atm711 mentions is now the subject of an inter-library loan request.  

[cubanmiamiboy]

Less than 15 minutes ago I received Marguerite Yourcenar's "MÉMOIRES D´HADRIEN" -(Hadrian's memoirs)-in its Spanish edition-("MEMORIAS DE ADRIANO).  It's been more than 15 years since I read it, but I will always remember what a big impact had Antinoo's story on me.  Back then I had it in its original language, but then, my french was way better than now. Visiting it again in my native language will post a real thrill.  Can't wait to go home to start the reading.

[Mme. Hermine]

The Joffrey Ballet by Sasha Anawalt; I bought it for myself, does that count?