{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/6404", "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it. Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "urth", "thread": { "id": 6404, "subject": "a journal entry from 1991", "messages": 7, "voices": 5, "first": "2013-07-30T18:19:38+00:00", "last": "2013-07-31T20:07:51+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Editor B", "address": "b at rox.com" }, "date": "2013-07-30T18:19:38+00:00", "subject": "(urth) a journal entry from 1991", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Hey all. I thought I'd delurk briefly to share an entry from my private\njournals dating way back to 1991. I'm pasting below for those who care to\ntake a look. It's about reading Wolfe to my then-girlfriend, identified\nhere simply as K to protect her identity. To date I've read *The Book of\nthe New Sun* aloud four times now, and I'm kind of curious if others have\ntried this. It's quite an experience. Also, it should be noted that this\nwas written before the net came to the masses, which may account for my\npresumption that I was some sort of super elite reader. That, and the\narrogance of youth. — Editor B\n\n\n*7/10/91 Wednesday*\n\nthe work day started late for K, so she woke me up around 8am and we had\nbreakfast together (after I did my exercises — I think I'll be doing 30 of\neach now, though I haven't done push-ups for a while). After she left I\nlooked over Chapter IX in *Shadow of the Torturer* (\"The House Azure\") but\nI only read it in a whisper because my throat was was a little raw from\nsmoking *Leonicus sibiricus* last night with K. (Yes, the package came from\nOf the Jungle just a couple days ago. We smoked by candlelight, with spacy\nmusic playing, and seemed to enjoy some psychic effects. But the jury's\nstill out.) As regards Gene Wolfe, I guess I should explain that K finally\nsaid go last week, after three agonizing months (at least) since I told her\nI'd like to share *The Book of the New Sun* with her. Every day I look over\nthe chapter I am to read that night, and I read it aloud to myself, so that\nI can get the inflections right and look up any unfamiliar words. All day\nlong I relish the thought of it, and it comforts me at work to think that\nwhen I get home, I will read her a chapter. I know that it's wrong to pin\nso much on this, but I do. At least we're past the anxious part — I asked\nher to listen to the first seven chapters before deciding whether she\nwanted to go on, and she did, and after the 7th (in which Severian meets\nThecla) she said she was enjoying the story. From this point I can only\nimagine that her interest will wax. I know that she doesn't see even a\nfraction of what I see in Wolfe's writing, but then she hasn't read it ten\ntimes over. *The Book of the New Sun* is like a mystery that has to be\nunraveled, and that takes time and patience. How many of his readers have\npenetrated as deeply into the mystery as I, I wonder? His flowery sentences\ndon't always lend themselves to being read aloud, but my prediction is that\nby this time next week, when Thecla is dead and Severian leaves the guild,\nK will be hooked. At this point, she's still rather ambivalent about\nSeverian as a protagonist." } ] }, { "message_id": "<1375211666.85567.YahooMailNeo@web84502.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>", "from": { "name": "DAVID STOCKHOFF", "address": "dstockhoff at verizon.net" }, "date": "2013-07-30T19:14:26+00:00", "subject": "(urth) a journal entry from 1991", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "So did K get hooked? We want to know." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "________________________________\nFrom: Editor B \nTo: urth at urth.net \nSent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 2:19 PM\nSubject: (urth) a journal entry from 1991\n\n\n\nHey all. I thought I'd delurk briefly to share an entry from my private journals dating way back to 1991. I'm pasting below for those who care to take a look. It's about reading Wolfe to my then-girlfriend, identified here simply as K to protect her identity. To date I've read The Book of the New Sun aloud four times now, and I'm kind of curious if others have tried this. It's quite an experience. Also, it should be noted that this was written before the net came to the masses, which may account for my presumption that I was some sort of super elite reader. That, and the arrogance of youth. — Editor B\n\n\n\n\n7/10/91 Wednesday \nthe work day started late for K, so she woke me up around 8am and we had breakfast together (after I did my exercises ??I think I'll be doing 30 of each now, though I haven't \ndone push-ups for a while). After she left I looked over Chapter IX in Shadow of the Torturer (\"The House Azure\") but I only read it in a whisper because my throat was was a little raw from smoking Leonicus sibiricus last night with K. (Yes, the package came from Of the Jungle just a " }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "couple days ago. We smoked by candlelight, with spacy music playing, and seemed to enjoy some psychic effects. But the jury's still out.) As \nregards Gene Wolfe, I guess I should explain that K finally said go last week, after \nthree agonizing months (at least) since I told her I'd like to share The Book of the New Sun with her. Every day I look over the chapter I am to read that night, \nand I read it aloud to myself, so that I can get the inflections right \nand look up any unfamiliar words. All day long I relish the thought of \nit, and it comforts me at work to think that when I get home, I will \nread her a chapter. I know that it's wrong to pin so much on this, but I do. At least we're past the anxious part — I asked her to listen to the first seven chapters before deciding whether she wanted to go on, and \nshe did, and after the 7th (in which Severian meets Thecla) she said she was enjoying the story. From this point I can only imagine that her \ninterest will wax. I know that she doesn't see even a fraction of what I see in Wolfe's writing, but then she hasn't read it ten times over. The Book of the New Sun is like a mystery that has to be unraveled, and that takes time and \npatience. How many of his readers have penetrated as deeply into the \nmystery as I, I wonder? His flowery sentences don't always lend \nthemselves to being read aloud, but my prediction is that by this time \nnext week, when Thecla is dead and Severian leaves the guild, K will \nbe hooked. At this point, she's still rather ambivalent about Severian \nas a protagonist. " }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "_______________________________________________" } ] }, { "message_id": "<51f82b8b.63543c0a.23e5.3521@mx.google.com>", "from": { "name": "Christopher Simon", "address": "kierkegaurdian at gmail.com" }, "date": "2013-07-30T21:09:06+00:00", "subject": "(urth) a journal entry from 1991", "in_reply_to": "<1375211666.85567.YahooMailNeo@web84502.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "That was really a pleasure to read, thanks for sharing.\n\n-----Original Message-----\nFrom: \"Editor B\" \nSent: ?7/?30/?2013 2:19 PM\nTo: \"urth at urth.net\" \nSubject: (urth) a journal entry from 1991\n\nHey all. I thought I'd delurk briefly to share an entry from my private journals dating way back to 1991. I'm pasting below for those who care to take a look. It's about reading Wolfe to my then-girlfriend, identified here simply as K to protect her identity. To date I've read The Book of the New Sun aloud four times now, and I'm kind of curious if others have tried this. It's quite an experience. Also, it should be noted that this was written before the net came to the masses, which may account for my presumption that I was some sort of super elite reader. That, and the arrogance of youth. — Editor B\n\n\n\n\n7/10/91 Wednesday \nthe work day started late for K, so she woke me up around 8am and we had breakfast together (after I did my exercises — I think I'll be doing 30 of each now, though I haven't done push-ups for a while). After she left I looked over Chapter IX in Shadow of the Torturer (\"The House Azure\") but I only read it in a whisper because my throat was was a little raw from smoking Leonicus sibiricus last night with K. (Yes, the package came from Of the Jungle just a couple days ago. We smoked by candlelight, with spacy music playing, and seemed to enjoy some psychic effects. But the jury's still out.) As regards Gene Wolfe, I guess I should explain that K finally said go last week, after three agonizing months (at least) since I told her I'd like to share The Book of the New Sun with her. Every day I look over the chapter I am to read that night, and I read it aloud to myself, so that I can get the inflections right and look up any unfamiliar words. All day long I relish the thought of it, and it comforts me at work to think that when I get home, I will read her a chapter. I know that it's wrong to pin so much on this, but I do. At least we're past the anxious part — I asked her to listen to the first seven chapters before deciding whether she wanted to go on, and she did, and after the 7th (in which Severian meets Thecla) she said she was enjoying the story. From this point I can only imagine that her interest will wax. I know that she doesn't see even a fraction of what I see in Wolfe's writing, but then she hasn't read it ten times over. The Book of the New Sun is like a mystery that has to be unraveled, and that takes time and patience. How many of his readers have penetrated as deeply into the mystery as I, I wonder? His flowery sentences don't always lend themselves to being read aloud, but my prediction is that by this time next week, when Thecla is dead and Severian leaves the guild, K will be hooked. At this point, she's still rather ambivalent about Severian as a protagonist. " } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "aaron", "address": "aaronsingleton at gmail.com" }, "date": "2013-07-31T00:58:50+00:00", "subject": "(urth) a journal entry from 1991", "in_reply_to": "<51f82b8b.63543c0a.23e5.3521@mx.google.com>", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I read TBotNS to my wife back in '05. It was a blast. I even got to the\npoint where I had different voices and cadences for each character. I have\nalso read 5HC to her, and Vance's Dying Earth series. I find it a great\nway to introduce someone to my favorite works--I mean, there is no pressure\nother than to listen and relax. Looking forward to reading some Wolfe and\nVance to my son one day soon, too.\n\n\nOn Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 5:09 PM, Christopher Simon \nSent: 7/30/2013 2:19 PM\nTo: urth at urth.net\n\nSubject: (urth) a journal entry from 1991\n\nHey all. I thought I'd delurk briefly to share an entry from my private\njournals dating way back to 1991. I'm pasting below for those who care to\ntake a look. It's about reading Wolfe to my then-girlfriend, identified\nhere simply as K to protect her identity. To date I've read *The Book of\nthe New Sun* aloud four times now, and I'm kind of curious if others have\ntried this. It's quite an experience. Also, it should be noted that this\nwas written before the net came to the masses, which may account for my\npresumption that I was some sort of super elite reader. That, and the\narrogance of youth. — Editor B\n\n\n*7/10/91 Wednesday*\n\nthe work day started late for K, so she woke me up around 8am and we had\nbreakfast together (after I did my exercises — I think I'll be doing 30 of\neach now, though I haven't done push-ups for a while). After she left I\nlooked over Chapter IX in *Shadow of the Torturer* (\"The House Azure\")\nbut I only read it in a whisper because my throat was was a little raw from\nsmoking *Leonicus sibiricus* last night with K. (Yes, the package came\nfrom Of the Jungle just a couple days ago. We smoked by candlelight, with\nspacy music playing, and seemed to enjoy some psychic effects. But the\njury's still out.) As regards Gene Wolfe, I guess I should explain that K\nfinally said go last week, after three agonizing months (at least) since I\ntold her I'd like to share *The Book of the New Sun* with her. Every day\nI look over the chapter I am to read that night, and I read it aloud to\nmyself, so that I can get the inflections right and look up any unfamiliar\nwords. All day long I relish the thought of it, and it comforts me at work\nto think that when I get home, I will read her a chapter. I know that it's\nwrong to pin so much on this, but I do. At least we're past the anxious\npart — I asked her to listen to the first seven chapters before deciding\nwhether she wanted to go on, and she did, and after the 7th (in which\nSeverian meets Thecla) she said she was enjoying the story. From this point\nI can only imagine that her interest will wax. I know that she doesn't see\neven a fraction of what I see in Wolfe's writing, but then she hasn't read\nit ten times over. *The Book of the New Sun* is like a mystery that has\nto be unraveled, and that takes time and patience. How many of his readers\nhave penetrated as deeply into the mystery as I, I wonder? His flowery\nsentences don't always lend themselves to being read aloud, but my\nprediction is that by this time next week, when Thecla is dead and Severian\nleaves the guild, K will be hooked. At this point, she's still rather\nambivalent about Severian as a protagonist.\n\n\n_______________________________________________" } ] }, { "message_id": "<916E3422-BE1E-4E1B-84E0-4A760881D442@gmail.com>", "from": { "name": "António Pedro Marques", "address": "entonio at gmail.com" }, "date": "2013-07-31T01:56:19+00:00", "subject": "(urth) a journal entry from 1991", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "More power to yous, but personally I can't follow a book that is being read aloud by someone else. Maybe if I really had to... \n\nNo dia 31/07/2013, ?s 01:58, aaron escreveu:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "I read TBotNS to my wife back in '05. It was a blast. I even got to the point where I had different voices and cadences for each character. I have also read 5HC to her, and Vance's Dying Earth series. I find it a great way to introduce someone to my favorite works--I mean, there is no pressure other than to listen and relax. Looking forward to reading some Wolfe and Vance to my son one day soon, too.\n\n\nOn Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 5:09 PM, Christopher Simon wrote:\nThat was really a pleasure to read, thanks for sharing.\nFrom: Editor B\nSent: 7/30/2013 2:19 PM\nTo: urth at urth.net\n\nSubject: (urth) a journal entry from 1991\n\nHey all. I thought I'd delurk briefly to share an entry from my private journals dating way back to 1991. I'm pasting below for those who care to take a look. It's about reading Wolfe to my then-girlfriend, identified here simply as K to protect her identity. To date I've read The Book of the New Sun aloud four times now, and I'm kind of curious if others have tried this. It's quite an experience. Also, it should be noted that this was written before the net came to the masses, which may account for my presumption that I was some sort of super elite reader. That, and the arrogance of youth. — Editor B\n\n\n7/10/91 Wednesday\n\nthe work day started late for K, so she woke me up around 8am and we had breakfast together (after I did my exercises — I think I'll be doing 30 of each now, though I haven't done push-ups for a while). After she left I looked over Chapter IX in Shadow of the Torturer (\"The House Azure\") but I only read it in a whisper because my throat was was a little raw from smoking Leonicus sibiricus last night with K. (Yes, the package came from Of the Jungle just a couple days ago. We smoked by candlelight, with spacy music playing, and seemed to enjoy some psychic effects. But the jury's still out.) As regards Gene Wolfe, I guess I should explain that K finally said go last week, after three agonizing months (at least) since I told her I'd like to share The Book of the New Sun with her. Every day I look over the chapter I am to read that night, and I read it aloud to myself, so that I can get the inflections right and look up any unfamiliar words. All day long I relish the thought of it, and it comforts me at work to think that when I get home, I will read her a chapter. I know that it's wrong to pin so much on this, but I do. At least we're past the anxious part — I asked her to listen to the first seven chapters before deciding whether she wanted to go on, and she did, and after the 7th (in which Severian meets Thecla) she said she was enjoying the story. From this point I can only imagine that her interest will wax. I know that she doesn't see even a fraction of what I see in Wolfe's writing, but then she hasn't read it ten times over. The Book of the New Sun is like a mystery that has to be unraveled, and that takes time and patience. How many of his readers have penetrated as deeply into the mystery as I, I wonder? His flowery sentences don't always lend themselves to being read aloud, but my prediction is that by this time next week, when Thecla is dead and Severian leaves the guild, K will be hooked. At this point, she's still rather ambivalent about Severian as a protagonist.\n\n\n\n_______________________________________________" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "aaron", "address": "aaronsingleton at gmail.com" }, "date": "2013-07-31T03:20:03+00:00", "subject": "(urth) a journal entry from 1991", "in_reply_to": "<916E3422-BE1E-4E1B-84E0-4A760881D442@gmail.com>", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Oddly enough, while I enjoy reading to others, I do not enjoy listening to\nbooks being read. Audiobooks put me to sleep. Strange but true." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 9:56 PM, Ant?nio Pedro Marques wrote:\nMore power to yous, but personally I can't follow a book that is being\nread aloud by someone else. Maybe if I really had to...\n\nNo dia 31/07/2013, ?s 01:58, aaron escreveu:\n\nI read TBotNS to my wife back in '05. It was a blast. I even got to the\npoint where I had different voices and cadences for each character. I have\nalso read 5HC to her, and Vance's Dying Earth series. I find it a great\nway to introduce someone to my favorite works--I mean, there is no pressure\nother than to listen and relax. Looking forward to reading some Wolfe and\nVance to my son one day soon, too.\n\n\nOn Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 5:09 PM, Christopher Simon <\nkierkegaurdian at gmail.com> wrote:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 2, "text": " That was really a pleasure to read, thanks for sharing.\n ------------------------------\nFrom: Editor B \nSent: 7/30/2013 2:19 PM\nTo: urth at urth.net\n\nSubject: (urth) a journal entry from 1991\n\nHey all. I thought I'd delurk briefly to share an entry from my private\njournals dating way back to 1991. I'm pasting below for those who care to\ntake a look. It's about reading Wolfe to my then-girlfriend, identified\nhere simply as K to protect her identity. To date I've read *The Book of\nthe New Sun* aloud four times now, and I'm kind of curious if others\nhave tried this. It's quite an experience. Also, it should be noted that\nthis was written before the net came to the masses, which may account for\nmy presumption that I was some sort of super elite reader. That, and the\narrogance of youth. — Editor B\n\n\n*7/10/91 Wednesday*\n\nthe work day started late for K, so she woke me up around 8am and we had\nbreakfast together (after I did my exercises — I think I'll be doing 30 of\neach now, though I haven't done push-ups for a while). After she left I\nlooked over Chapter IX in *Shadow of the Torturer* (\"The House Azure\")\nbut I only read it in a whisper because my throat was was a little raw from\nsmoking *Leonicus sibiricus* last night with K. (Yes, the package came\nfrom Of the Jungle just a couple days ago. We smoked by candlelight, with\nspacy music playing, and seemed to enjoy some psychic effects. But the\njury's still out.) As regards Gene Wolfe, I guess I should explain that K\nfinally said go last week, after three agonizing months (at least) since I\ntold her I'd like to share *The Book of the New Sun* with her. Every day\nI look over the chapter I am to read that night, and I read it aloud to\nmyself, so that I can get the inflections right and look up any unfamiliar\nwords. All day long I relish the thought of it, and it comforts me at work\nto think that when I get home, I will read her a chapter. I know that it's\nwrong to pin so much on this, but I do. At least we're past the anxious\npart — I asked her to listen to the first seven chapters before deciding\nwhether she wanted to go on, and she did, and after the 7th (in which\nSeverian meets Thecla) she said she was enjoying the story. From this point\nI can only imagine that her interest will wax. I know that she doesn't see\neven a fraction of what I see in Wolfe's writing, but then she hasn't read\nit ten times over. *The Book of the New Sun* is like a mystery that has\nto be unraveled, and that takes time and patience. How many of his readers\nhave penetrated as deeply into the mystery as I, I wonder? His flowery\nsentences don't always lend themselves to being read aloud, but my\nprediction is that by this time next week, when Thecla is dead and Severian\nleaves the guild, K will be hooked. At this point, she's still rather\nambivalent about Severian as a protagonist.\n\n\n_______________________________________________" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Editor B", "address": "b at rox.com" }, "date": "2013-07-31T20:07:51+00:00", "subject": "(urth) a journal entry from 1991", "in_reply_to": "<1375211666.85567.YahooMailNeo@web84502.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Yes. I read the entire tetralogy to her. Also to my previous girlfriend and\nto my subsequent girlfriend who is in fact my wife. In fact I've read it to\nmy wife twice, because she more or less forgot all about it. Strange but\ntrue. We celebrate our 20th anniversary in September.\n\nThanks for the replies, everyone.\n\nB" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 2:14 PM, DAVID STOCKHOFF wrote:\nSo did K get hooked? We want to know.\n\n ------------------------------\n *From:* Editor B \n*To:* urth at urth.net\n*Sent:* Tuesday, July 30, 2013 2:19 PM\n*Subject:* (urth) a journal entry from 1991\n\nHey all. I thought I'd delurk briefly to share an entry from my private\njournals dating way back to 1991. I'm pasting below for those who care to\ntake a look. It's about reading Wolfe to my then-girlfriend, identified\nhere simply as K to protect her identity. To date I've read *The Book of\nthe New Sun* aloud four times now, and I'm kind of curious if others have\ntried this. It's quite an experience. Also, it should be noted that this\nwas written before the net came to the masses, which may account for my\npresumption that I was some sort of super elite reader. That, and the\narrogance of youth. — Editor B\n\n\n*7/10/91 Wednesday*\nthe work day started late for K, so she woke me up around 8am and we had\nbreakfast together (after I did my exercises — I think I'll be doing 30 of\neach now, though I haven't done push-ups for a while). After she left I\nlooked over Chapter IX in *Shadow of the Torturer* (\"The House Azure\")\nbut I only read it in a whisper because my throat was was a little raw from\nsmoking *Leonicus sibiricus* last night with K. (Yes, the package came\nfrom Of the Jungle just a couple days ago. We smoked by candlelight, with\nspacy music playing, and seemed to enjoy some psychic effects. But the\njury's still out.) As regards Gene Wolfe, I guess I should explain that K\nfinally said go last week, after three agonizing months (at least) since I\ntold her I'd like to share *The Book of the New Sun* with her. Every day\nI look over the chapter I am to read that night, and I read it aloud to\nmyself, so that I can get the inflections right and look up any unfamiliar\nwords. All day long I relish the thought of it, and it comforts me at work\nto think that when I get home, I will read her a chapter. I know that it's\nwrong to pin so much on this, but I do. At least we're past the anxious\npart — I asked her to listen to the first seven chapters before deciding\nwhether she wanted to go on, and she did, and after the 7th (in which\nSeverian meets Thecla) she said she was enjoying the story. From this point\nI can only imagine that her interest will wax. I know that she doesn't see\neven a fraction of what I see in Wolfe's writing, but then she hasn't read\nit ten times over. *The Book of the New Sun* is like a mystery that has\nto be unraveled, and that takes time and patience. How many of his readers\nhave penetrated as deeply into the mystery as I, I wonder? His flowery\nsentences don't always lend themselves to being read aloud, but my\nprediction is that by this time next week, when Thecla is dead and Severian\nleaves the guild, K will be hooked. At this point, she's still rather\nambivalent about Severian as a protagonist.\n\n\n_______________________________________________" } ] } ] }