I forgot to mention that I read "Timoleon Vieta Come Home - A Sentimental Journey," by Dan Rhodes, prior to "The Catcher in the Rye." It was lovely in places. Tragic in others. Some (quizzical) gay content. Picture postcard Italian setting. Crying out to be made a movie of.
I've not yet decided what I'll be reading next, when I finish "The Catcher in the Rye."
I really shouldn't visit bookstores (I don't mean that), because I invariable always come away with a book or two, even if there's already a stack, waiting to be read, on my coffee table.
Already on the coffee table is the following short list. Decisions! Decisions!
* The Boy from Oz - The Peter Allen Story," by Stephen Maclean
* "How Proust Can Change Your Life," by Alain de Botton
* "Maurice," by E. M. Forster (this will be a re-read)
* "Ancient Egyptian Divination and Magic," by Eleanor J. Harris
* "The Campaigns of Alexander," by Arrian (this will be a heavy read, which probably explains why it keeps sinking to the bottom of the pile)
* "The Architecture of Happiness," by Alain de Botton
* "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," by Louis de Bernieres
* "A Fortunate Life," by A. B. Facey
Eclectic, no?
As well as that lot, there's probably about another 20 books under the lamp tables, including several by Annie Proulx.
I'm leaning toward reading "A Fortunate Life" next. It's an Australian classic. The back cover blurb reads:
"This is the extraordinary life of an ordinary man. It is the story of Albert Facey, who lived with simple honesty, compassion and courage. A parentless boy who started work at eight, on the rough West Australian frontier, he struggled as an itinerant rural worker, survived the gore of Gallipoli (WWI), the loss of his farm to the Depression, the death of his son in World War II and that of his beloved wife after sixty devoted years - yet felt that his life was fortunate. Albert Facey's life story, published when he was eighty-seven, has inspired many as a play, a television series, and an award-winning book."
Yep, I think it'll be "A Fortunate Life" next.