Orwell etc.

As I was going to Spain on holiday, I decide to read Homage to Catalonia. I have now finished it. I got on with it quite well - fairly easy to read and I saw a reasonable amount of scope for visuals. While I was there I shot a roll of B&W film with the idea of going into the darkroom - scope for collage etc..

Having been trying to read Naked Lunch (not reading the chapters in order - when I started reading it in order it seemed like it made as much sense as if I wasn't) and finding it harder than Waiting for Godot (but with more scope for visuals) I wanted to like Burroughs as I thought it might fit quite well with my general approach but I'm not sure I get along with the text enough. 

I'm erring on the side of George Orwell but I'm not fully sure how I feel about the books I am focusing on are written by him (a member of the aristocracy) living like a worker, homeless person and a fighter in the Spanish civil war (it feels like he is indulging in voyeurism) then again the way these books drew attention to working practices - the plight of people abandoned by politicians is interesting - and still very relevant today (one of my thoughts was I could visit these places now). Catalonia is campaigning to become independent, amount of homeless people in major European cities seems to be increasing, people are left behind/big poverty in parts of the north of England.

I've also knocked off Metamorphosis (the other Kafka I tried to start didn't set my world on fire) I am finding it quite interesting - but I'm finding that it feels like he is trying to get at something that I can't quite tell (all I can get is the senses of anxiety and sadness). 

I also recently bought Susan Sontag on Photography - she is also on the list but I don't think this book will be of any use for this project.

To Kill a Mockingbird is another on my to read list - but I didn't fancy doing an author who had written so few books.

Update and About the author vol.2 (Talking to Godot, Kafka)

Finished 2 books in the last week - Ways of Seeing (John Berger) and Talking to Godot. I'm going to do some wider research for Samuel Beckett and maybe try thinking about some visuals jut to get the ball rolling - but I didn't feel like I got on with Waiting to Godot massively so I'm going to read research some more. 

The next author in my sights is Kafka; I'm starting with a collection of short stories (Wedding Preparations in the Country - starting small) and if I get into I've also got the Castle, the Trail and America. Its dawned on me that I've spent a long time and not really got as much done as I maybe should of. I wanted to read some work before researching the authors - hoping to draw at least some of my own conclusions - but I'm beginning to think in the interests of time I might need to speed this up.

Waiting for Godot

I've started Waiting For Godot (Sam Beckett) for about the author. I liked the sound of a long, fairly meaningless story where nothing happens (of course with deep subtexts about the human condition). I have found most of the language quite impenetrable and a long session of reading it left me with a headache. Will finish reading it but I don't think Sam is my guy.