Stereophile
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- Joined
- Apr 19, 2013
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- 442
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- #1
<p><img class="story_image" src="http://www.stereophile.com/images/DaftWilliamsRodgers.jpg" /></p> It’s been just over a month since <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/content/payday-albums-52413">my last Payday Albums post</a>, but it feels much longer than that. I had been trying to spend less money on records, so that I could actually spend more <i>time</i> listening to the records that stood quietly on my shelves. A valiant endeavor, if I do say so myself, but one that didn’t really work out as intended: Instead of spending money on records, I spent money on books. I almost posted a Payday Books list, but I figured the grumpy old audiophiles would stone me for reading.
<p>
I’ll tell you, though, I’ve been reading a lot of John McPhee, largely because he can write powerfully and compellingly about anything, partly because he’s from New Jersey, and partly for other reasons. There’s just something in me that wants to be close to him now. You can probably hear McPhee’s tone in my writing, if you read carefully enough, because I’m not so good a writer to have my own distinct voice. Rather, I assume the voices of those authors I read. I don’t think this is too terrible a thing, so long as I read good writers.
</p><p>
I’ve also been reading a lot of Nick Hornby. His column for <i>The Believer</i>, “Stuff I’ve Been Reading,” is hugely inspirational, and I find many parallels not only between Hornby’s relationship with reading and my relationship with listening, but also between Hornby’s view of the literary world and my view of the audiophile world. To again spare myself a stoning, I’ll give you no examples.
</p><p>
During my recent reading craze, I’ve noticed that a certain faction of the literary world seems intent upon rehashing the old Death of the Novel topic. This strange matter, like The Death of Hi-Fi or The Death of Rock’n’Roll, is exhumed every 30 to 50 years or so. Some, who see the novel as a dying art, call for something “new”
[Source: http://www.stereophile.com/content/payday-albums-62813]
<p>
I’ll tell you, though, I’ve been reading a lot of John McPhee, largely because he can write powerfully and compellingly about anything, partly because he’s from New Jersey, and partly for other reasons. There’s just something in me that wants to be close to him now. You can probably hear McPhee’s tone in my writing, if you read carefully enough, because I’m not so good a writer to have my own distinct voice. Rather, I assume the voices of those authors I read. I don’t think this is too terrible a thing, so long as I read good writers.
</p><p>
I’ve also been reading a lot of Nick Hornby. His column for <i>The Believer</i>, “Stuff I’ve Been Reading,” is hugely inspirational, and I find many parallels not only between Hornby’s relationship with reading and my relationship with listening, but also between Hornby’s view of the literary world and my view of the audiophile world. To again spare myself a stoning, I’ll give you no examples.
</p><p>
During my recent reading craze, I’ve noticed that a certain faction of the literary world seems intent upon rehashing the old Death of the Novel topic. This strange matter, like The Death of Hi-Fi or The Death of Rock’n’Roll, is exhumed every 30 to 50 years or so. Some, who see the novel as a dying art, call for something “new”
[Source: http://www.stereophile.com/content/payday-albums-62813]