Before I started revamping the front yard, I had looked very seriously into replacing our tree with a more elegant, flowering tree. As it turns out, almost the entire front yards of most houses in East York are in Toronto's road allowance, which means the city has control over what can be done with those areas, and specifically no trees can be removed. (On "private property," i.e. the back yard, small trees can be removed, but large trees cannot be removed, or at least not without going through an elaborate permitting process, which was beyond my limited patience.) I found not being allowed to upgrade my front yard extremely frustrating, but turned this into a short play.
I had meant to get to this sooner, but between work and preparing for the Fringe show, I just didn't have time. Finally, the deadline for SFYS sprung up on me, and I carved out a tiny bit of time. I wrote the piece in a white hot rush, basically taking 45 minutes to do it. I did go back through today and made a few very minor edits, but it is pretty much just as I wrote it yesterday. You can check it out here.
Or you can see it performed this Monday at Sing-for-Your-Supper, at Tarragon Theatre at 8 pm. I just heard it was one of the pieces that was accepted onto the slate! It's really quite gratifying how I have hit my groove with them. I think all of the pieces I submitted in the past year have been accepted, even those that I squeezed out in just a day or two (or in this case 45 minutes). Not quite enough acclamation to give up my day job, but it's still very nice.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Stageworthy Podcast
Featuring me!
This was a lot of fun, and it is certainly the first time I've ever been part of a podcast. I stopped by Phil's place for the recording session. I was late, as this was the day someone decided to mess with the bicycles in front of Union Station and switch people's seats! But aside from that, things went smoothly, and we did it all as one take. My one minor regret is that we got the date for the preview show wrong -- it is Thurs. July 5 (not 4).
In the episode, we talk about the main ideas that inspired me to write the piece. There are no spoilers beyond what is already in the advertising, i.e. the students in Mr. Miller's class seem about equally stressed over end-of-year exams and aliens showing up! We cover some other territory as well, including my background in theatre, such as it is.
Anyway, you can judge for yourself here.
This was a lot of fun, and it is certainly the first time I've ever been part of a podcast. I stopped by Phil's place for the recording session. I was late, as this was the day someone decided to mess with the bicycles in front of Union Station and switch people's seats! But aside from that, things went smoothly, and we did it all as one take. My one minor regret is that we got the date for the preview show wrong -- it is Thurs. July 5 (not 4).
In the episode, we talk about the main ideas that inspired me to write the piece. There are no spoilers beyond what is already in the advertising, i.e. the students in Mr. Miller's class seem about equally stressed over end-of-year exams and aliens showing up! We cover some other territory as well, including my background in theatre, such as it is.
Anyway, you can judge for yourself here.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Updates of a Minor Nature
Tonight is another rehearsal for Final Exam. This time we should finally have the full cast (someone was sick last time) and the director will turn up as well. I asked the cast to have the script down, but not sure where they will be with that. Fingers crossed.
I'm running a bit behind on getting my poster/postcards ready, but I need them soon, so I'll try to get the main image ready and work on that more today. There is some early release party at Fringe Central this Friday, but I don't think I can make it. Actually I don't even know when it starts, but I just think I'll be busy.
I've dug the bench in a bit and tried to get it settled. I don't think it will be moving again, especially after I added caulk to attach the top to the sides! The only filler I could find that claimed to work with concrete was bright white, so it basically looks like a pigeon came by and shat on the bench. That's disappointing, though it all comes down to the fact that Lowes transported them in a way that all the bench tops were somewhat damaged. I also added a layer of concrete sealant, which if anything will make the color mismatch last longer, but I figured I had to do something before the rain started again. I also planted some petunias along the path to spruce things up a bit. I'll do a bit more later in the week, but basically I think the front is essentially done.
I did have time to run by the Eaton Centre and pick up a new pair of jeans. The good news is that I can button up a pair of jeans that is one size down, but the roll of flab that hung out was not a good look. I am frankly disappointed at the slow rate of improvement (I am working quite hard on going to the gym and biking and lately have been skipping lunches) but will stay the course for now. Probably when the jeans go on sale, I'll get the smaller size.
I'm not making nearly enough progress on my TRB presentations, though I do have one piece completed. I'll see if I can work more on it tonight after rehearsal.
I'm running a bit behind on getting my poster/postcards ready, but I need them soon, so I'll try to get the main image ready and work on that more today. There is some early release party at Fringe Central this Friday, but I don't think I can make it. Actually I don't even know when it starts, but I just think I'll be busy.
I've dug the bench in a bit and tried to get it settled. I don't think it will be moving again, especially after I added caulk to attach the top to the sides! The only filler I could find that claimed to work with concrete was bright white, so it basically looks like a pigeon came by and shat on the bench. That's disappointing, though it all comes down to the fact that Lowes transported them in a way that all the bench tops were somewhat damaged. I also added a layer of concrete sealant, which if anything will make the color mismatch last longer, but I figured I had to do something before the rain started again. I also planted some petunias along the path to spruce things up a bit. I'll do a bit more later in the week, but basically I think the front is essentially done.
I did have time to run by the Eaton Centre and pick up a new pair of jeans. The good news is that I can button up a pair of jeans that is one size down, but the roll of flab that hung out was not a good look. I am frankly disappointed at the slow rate of improvement (I am working quite hard on going to the gym and biking and lately have been skipping lunches) but will stay the course for now. Probably when the jeans go on sale, I'll get the smaller size.
I'm not making nearly enough progress on my TRB presentations, though I do have one piece completed. I'll see if I can work more on it tonight after rehearsal.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Crazy busy gardening day
Today was one of those crazy days I wouldn't want to repeat.
I had done the grocery shopping fairly early. I was running a bit late but decided to head over to the mall, not least because I wanted to stock up on sun screen. I also got in a fairly short workout at the gym. However, I was fairly sure I would I be working out in the front yard, so I wasn't looking to totally exhaust myself.
I then set out for the parking lot near Danforth, taking my son with me. I was renting a van, since I hoped to pick up some paving stones and ideally a concrete bench. I brought my son along for a bit of extra muscle. Traffic was kind of heavy but I still made it to the Lowes in reasonable time. It was a bit frustrating in that the carts were on one end and the garden centre on another. The black mulch was more expensive than at Home Depot, but it didn't make sense to try to get to both places (and the black mulch had been running very low at the HD anyway). Most frustrating is that they didn't have any paving stones or the bench, despite my having looked on-line. They said it was at their Warden store, which was in Scarborough!
I was quite annoyed by this point but decided I just wanted to get everything done at once, rather than wait for another day. So I called ZipCar and extended the rental for another hour. Fortunately, no one had rented the van later that afternoon. Traffic was so crazy getting into Scarborough, but it wasn't so bad after that. But Scarborough is just so sprawling and suburban. I couldn't quite believe all the enormous strip malls out that way. The Warden Lowes was totally packed and it was hard to get what we wanted. What was somewhat unfortunate is that I didn't see the paving stones ahead of time and just picked some out of the catalogue. It turned out they were way too big and too heavy, so I then had to exchange them, but that meant extra delay. The other thing that is especially frustrating is that the way the concrete benches were shipped, there are grooves in the concrete from the plastic dividers. I'll see if I can essentially sand this out and then put on some concrete sealant, which I need to do anyway. Given that every step of the way took longer than it should have, I was running behind schedule.* It was already 3, and the van was due at 3:30!
Traffic was so bad, that I decided to ditch Danforth and go down Dundas. I got slightly turned around at the Kingston/Dundas split, but eventually made it back. Indeed, traffic was much lighter on Dundas. We pulled up and fortunately there was a spot across the street. We quickly unloaded the van, then dropped it off. It was 10 minutes late. Also, I didn't have time to fill it up with gas, as I had wanted to. I think in the end, I was in the grace period and they didn't charge me any extra. It was kind of stressful all the way around, but I didn't get in an accident and nothing was damaged in transit.
The day wasn't quite over though. Since my son's birthday is coming up, I decided he probably should have a new bike. So I got him a bike, and then a new helmet, lock, lights, etc. My poor credit card was kind of screaming by the end. I told him this was his birthday, graduation and most of Christmas...
Then we walked home with the bike. After I rehydrated, I started on the front yard. I'll just show a few photos of the progress.
The new bush is a burning bush. They are generally very pretty in the fall, when they turn bright red. I honestly don't know how much more I will plant. Mostly I wanted to get rid of the grass, which looked pretty bad last year and absolutely horrible this year, which is why I put down all the black mulch. I'll have to dig down and reset several of the paving stones, so they don't rock. I'll make sure this is where I want the bench (and I don't bump it with my bike or the garbage cans), then dig that in a bit and caulk it so the top doesn't come off. So it was a productive but exhausting day. I'm actually kind of tempted to take Monday off just to recover, but I don't think I can do that.
* To try to speed things up, I carried some of the stones myself, then apparently Hulked out, since my jeans split! Unbelievable. I was hoping to go to the store in a couple of weeks to see if I was one size down, but I guess I'll have to go tonight.
I had done the grocery shopping fairly early. I was running a bit late but decided to head over to the mall, not least because I wanted to stock up on sun screen. I also got in a fairly short workout at the gym. However, I was fairly sure I would I be working out in the front yard, so I wasn't looking to totally exhaust myself.
I then set out for the parking lot near Danforth, taking my son with me. I was renting a van, since I hoped to pick up some paving stones and ideally a concrete bench. I brought my son along for a bit of extra muscle. Traffic was kind of heavy but I still made it to the Lowes in reasonable time. It was a bit frustrating in that the carts were on one end and the garden centre on another. The black mulch was more expensive than at Home Depot, but it didn't make sense to try to get to both places (and the black mulch had been running very low at the HD anyway). Most frustrating is that they didn't have any paving stones or the bench, despite my having looked on-line. They said it was at their Warden store, which was in Scarborough!
I was quite annoyed by this point but decided I just wanted to get everything done at once, rather than wait for another day. So I called ZipCar and extended the rental for another hour. Fortunately, no one had rented the van later that afternoon. Traffic was so crazy getting into Scarborough, but it wasn't so bad after that. But Scarborough is just so sprawling and suburban. I couldn't quite believe all the enormous strip malls out that way. The Warden Lowes was totally packed and it was hard to get what we wanted. What was somewhat unfortunate is that I didn't see the paving stones ahead of time and just picked some out of the catalogue. It turned out they were way too big and too heavy, so I then had to exchange them, but that meant extra delay. The other thing that is especially frustrating is that the way the concrete benches were shipped, there are grooves in the concrete from the plastic dividers. I'll see if I can essentially sand this out and then put on some concrete sealant, which I need to do anyway. Given that every step of the way took longer than it should have, I was running behind schedule.* It was already 3, and the van was due at 3:30!
Traffic was so bad, that I decided to ditch Danforth and go down Dundas. I got slightly turned around at the Kingston/Dundas split, but eventually made it back. Indeed, traffic was much lighter on Dundas. We pulled up and fortunately there was a spot across the street. We quickly unloaded the van, then dropped it off. It was 10 minutes late. Also, I didn't have time to fill it up with gas, as I had wanted to. I think in the end, I was in the grace period and they didn't charge me any extra. It was kind of stressful all the way around, but I didn't get in an accident and nothing was damaged in transit.
The day wasn't quite over though. Since my son's birthday is coming up, I decided he probably should have a new bike. So I got him a bike, and then a new helmet, lock, lights, etc. My poor credit card was kind of screaming by the end. I told him this was his birthday, graduation and most of Christmas...
Then we walked home with the bike. After I rehydrated, I started on the front yard. I'll just show a few photos of the progress.
The new bush is a burning bush. They are generally very pretty in the fall, when they turn bright red. I honestly don't know how much more I will plant. Mostly I wanted to get rid of the grass, which looked pretty bad last year and absolutely horrible this year, which is why I put down all the black mulch. I'll have to dig down and reset several of the paving stones, so they don't rock. I'll make sure this is where I want the bench (and I don't bump it with my bike or the garbage cans), then dig that in a bit and caulk it so the top doesn't come off. So it was a productive but exhausting day. I'm actually kind of tempted to take Monday off just to recover, but I don't think I can do that.
* To try to speed things up, I carried some of the stones myself, then apparently Hulked out, since my jeans split! Unbelievable. I was hoping to go to the store in a couple of weeks to see if I was one size down, but I guess I'll have to go tonight.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Doors Open Toronto 2018
This is the first year I've actually made it out to Doors Open. Last year I had thought about taking the kids to the Don Jail (kind of down the street), but they weren't that into it, so I did something else instead. While the weather threatened to rain, it actually held off and was actually fairly nice in the afternoon, though a bit hot. It looks like today (Sunday) will be a scorcher. I'm done for this year, but there is plenty still to see today. A general website to see what is available is here.
In the end I saw the R. C. Harris Water Plant, which is at Victoria Park and Queen off in the Beaches. This is quite the palace of water. There is a general discussion of constructing this facility and the Bloor Viaduct in Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion, which I really ought to reread one of these days. Harris seems like quite the giant, perhaps as influential as Robert Moses, though somewhat less power-hungry (actually willing to give up some of his duties). At one point, Harris was in charge of road and bridge construction, garbage disposal, the TTC and of course the water works for Toronto.
I biked over to the Water Plant. I've never been that deep into the Beaches before. I'm glad I got an early start before the beaches (and the bike path) got really crowded.
Anyway, after a bit of a detour I made it. One night thing about this site is that is it so big, there are no lines to get in.
In the end I saw the R. C. Harris Water Plant, which is at Victoria Park and Queen off in the Beaches. This is quite the palace of water. There is a general discussion of constructing this facility and the Bloor Viaduct in Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion, which I really ought to reread one of these days. Harris seems like quite the giant, perhaps as influential as Robert Moses, though somewhat less power-hungry (actually willing to give up some of his duties). At one point, Harris was in charge of road and bridge construction, garbage disposal, the TTC and of course the water works for Toronto.
I biked over to the Water Plant. I've never been that deep into the Beaches before. I'm glad I got an early start before the beaches (and the bike path) got really crowded.
Anyway, after a bit of a detour I made it. One night thing about this site is that is it so big, there are no lines to get in.
The upper building is where the filtration happens. The lower building is the pumping station.
I may write more about this later.
I decided since I was already on my bike (and fairly sweaty), I should see if I could get into the Don Jail. In the past, this has been one of the more popular sites with fairly long lines. I don't know if I just got lucky, or most people who wanted to see it had already seen it last year, but I was able to get right in for a visit.
Of course everyone wants to see the tiny jail cells and then upstairs where they used to hang people.
It was an interesting site and worth a quick visit, but to be honest, the Ottawa Jail (now a youth hostel) is more impressive, not least because one can stay overnight in the cells, which I did many, many years ago. One of the more impressive things is the Sorel Etrog collection they have, but I will hold off on that for a second post.
I was fairly tired by this point, but I had to go downtown for a concert anyway, so I left a bit early and stopped off at the Bay TTC station, since the lower level was open. This is usually closed off and only open for filming. It wasn't the most thrilling site (it basically looked like a dingy station), but just being in the space was interesting. Unfortunately, this site isn't open today, but it will probably be opened up next year again.
So that was my Doors Open experience. Pretty good for a first time.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
The American male canon
To follow up from the Philip Roth post, this post will list the main works by the most dominant US writers of the 2nd half of the 20th Century, primarily Bellow, Updike and of course Philip Roth.
Philip Roth
In this list, (DK) marks the trilogy of novels featuring David Kepesh, while (NZ) stands for Nathan Zuckerman. I didn't realize that the so-called American Trilogy -- American Pastoral, I Married a Communist and The Human Stain -- are all partially narrated by Zuckerman. I thought it was the four parts of Zuckerman Bound, plus The Counterlife and Exit Ghost. I'm looking into reading those, but would definitely hold off on the American Trilogy for quite a while. I think eventually I probably will read all of these, but it will take a while, and I'm not really in a hurry.
Saul Bellow
Dangling Man 1944
The Victim 1947
The Adventures of Augie March 1953
Seize the Day 1956
Henderson the Rain King 1959
Herzog 1964
Mr. Sammler's Planet 1970
Humboldt's Gift 1975
The Dean's December 1982
What Kind of Day Did You Have? 1984
More Die of Heartbreak 1987
A Theft 1989
The Bellarosa Connection 1989
The Actual 1997
Ravelstein 2000
As mentioned, I've read all of these except for Ravelstein, which I'll have to get around to one of these days. I've reread Dangling Man and Seize the Day. I'm fairly likely to reread Augie March and The Dean's December, which are probably my two favorite Bellow novels. I'm still deciding if I want to reread Herzog and Humboldt's Gift. One thing about Bellow is that he does seem to repeat himself (more than Roth certainly), though when he is good, he is very good indeed.
John Updike
(novels only)
The Poorhouse Fair 1959
R Rabbit, Run 1960
The Centaur 1963
Of the Farm 1965
Couples 1968
R Rabbit Redux 1971
A Month of Sundays 1975
Marry Me 1976
The Coup 1978
R Rabbit Is Rich 1981
The Witches of Eastwick 1984
Roger's Version 1986
S. 1988
R Rabbit at Rest 1990
Memories of the Ford Administration 1992
Brazil 1994
In the Beauty of the Lilies 1996
Toward the End of Time 1997
Gertrude and Claudius 2000
Seek My Face 2002
Villages 2004
Terrorist 2006
The Widows of Eastwick 2008
Aside from the Rabit novels, which are in a class of their own (and which I should finally read by the summer), I've seen strong recommendations for The Centaur and In the Beauty of the Lilies and moderate ones for Couples and Roger's Version. Updike also wrote a huge number of short stories. They have been collected in a two volume LOA set, though I don't know if this does include the Henry Bech stories, or if this was considered a separate product. For my part, I will read Licks of Love (mostly because it contains Rabbit Remembered) and The Afterlife. After that the Olinger Stories, which I don't actually own, and then if I still am inspired, probably the Henry Bech stories, then tackle what is remaining from the LOA Collected Stories set.
Bernard Malamud
The Natural (1952)
R The Assistant (1957)
R The Magic Barrel (1958)
A New Life (1961)
Idiots First (1963)
The Fixer (1966)
Pictures of Fidelman: An Exhibition (1969)
R The Tenants (1971)
Rembrandt's Hat (1974)
Dubin's Lives (1979)
R God's Grace (1982)
The People and Uncollected Stories (1989)
So I've read 4 of 12. To be honest, I have no interest in The Natural (I'm pretty allergic to sports in literature or real life) and almost none in The Fixer. I do plan on reading the two remaining novels from the list (A New Life and Dubin's Lives) but mostly I just need to work my way through his stories.
John O'Hara
(novels only)
R Appointment in Samarra (1934)
BUtterfield 8 (1935)
Hope of Heaven (1938)
Pal Joey (1940)
A Rage to Live (1949)
The Farmers Hotel (1951)
Ten North Frederick (1955)
A Family Party (1956)
From the Terrace (1958)
Ourselves to Know (1960)
The Big Laugh (1962)
Elizabeth Appleton (1963)
The Lockwood Concern (1965)
The Instrument (1967)
Lovey Childs: A Philadelphian's Story (1969)
The Ewings (1970)
The Second Ewings (1972)
Somewhat similar to Updike, O'Hara wrote many, many stories. The new LOA volume is a selection, with relatively limited overlap with his Collected Short Stories (1984). What is somewhat amusing is that both collections include "Imagine Kissing Pete" but not the other two novellas from Sermons and Soda Water: A Trilogy (this is one that I tracked down at the library a long time back, though I can't remember if the editors' judgement was just).
I know that I am not even going to attempt to get through this many novels by O'Hara (and I suspect most of them are not even in the library). I'll reread Appointment in Samarra and read BUtterfield 8 and then probably the stories in Collected Short Stories, the LOA Collected Stories and Waiting for Winter (which I happen to own). This reviewer makes a solid case for O'Hara, and suggests adding three more novels to my list (Ten North Frederick, Ourselves to Know and From the Terrace), but I'm not quite ready to commit just yet.
Enough new lists for now.
Philip Roth
| Goodbye, Columbus | 1959 | ||||
| Letting Go | 1962 | ||||
| When She Was Good | 1967 | ||||
| R Portnoy's Complaint | 1969 | ||||
| Our Gang | 1971 | ||||
| R The Breast (DK) | 1972 | ||||
| R The Great American Novel | 1973 | ||||
| My Life as a Man | 1974 | ||||
| R The Professor of Desire (DK) | 1977 | ||||
| R The Ghost Writer (NZ) | 1979 | ||||
| R Zuckerman Unbound (NZ) | 1981 | ||||
| R The Anatomy Lesson (NZ) | 1983 | ||||
| R The Prague Orgy (NZ) | 1985 | ||||
| The Counterlife (NZ) | 1986 | ||||
| Deception | 1990 | ||||
| Operation Shylock | 1993 | ||||
| R Sabbath's Theater | 1995 | ||||
| American Pastoral (NZ) | 1997 | ||||
| I Married a Communist (NZ) | 1998 | ||||
| The Human Stain (NZ) | 2000 | ||||
| R The Dying Animal (DK) | 2001 | ||||
| The Plot Against America | 2004 | ||||
| Everyman | 2006 | ||||
| Exit Ghost (NZ) | 2007 | ||||
| Indignation | 2008 | ||||
| The Humbling | 2009 | ||||
| Nemesis | 2010 |
In this list, (DK) marks the trilogy of novels featuring David Kepesh, while (NZ) stands for Nathan Zuckerman. I didn't realize that the so-called American Trilogy -- American Pastoral, I Married a Communist and The Human Stain -- are all partially narrated by Zuckerman. I thought it was the four parts of Zuckerman Bound, plus The Counterlife and Exit Ghost. I'm looking into reading those, but would definitely hold off on the American Trilogy for quite a while. I think eventually I probably will read all of these, but it will take a while, and I'm not really in a hurry.
Saul Bellow
Dangling Man 1944
The Victim 1947
The Adventures of Augie March 1953
Seize the Day 1956
Henderson the Rain King 1959
Herzog 1964
Mr. Sammler's Planet 1970
Humboldt's Gift 1975
The Dean's December 1982
What Kind of Day Did You Have? 1984
More Die of Heartbreak 1987
A Theft 1989
The Bellarosa Connection 1989
The Actual 1997
Ravelstein 2000
As mentioned, I've read all of these except for Ravelstein, which I'll have to get around to one of these days. I've reread Dangling Man and Seize the Day. I'm fairly likely to reread Augie March and The Dean's December, which are probably my two favorite Bellow novels. I'm still deciding if I want to reread Herzog and Humboldt's Gift. One thing about Bellow is that he does seem to repeat himself (more than Roth certainly), though when he is good, he is very good indeed.
John Updike
(novels only)
The Poorhouse Fair 1959
R Rabbit, Run 1960
The Centaur 1963
Of the Farm 1965
Couples 1968
R Rabbit Redux 1971
A Month of Sundays 1975
Marry Me 1976
The Coup 1978
R Rabbit Is Rich 1981
The Witches of Eastwick 1984
Roger's Version 1986
S. 1988
R Rabbit at Rest 1990
Memories of the Ford Administration 1992
Brazil 1994
In the Beauty of the Lilies 1996
Toward the End of Time 1997
Gertrude and Claudius 2000
Seek My Face 2002
Villages 2004
Terrorist 2006
The Widows of Eastwick 2008
Aside from the Rabit novels, which are in a class of their own (and which I should finally read by the summer), I've seen strong recommendations for The Centaur and In the Beauty of the Lilies and moderate ones for Couples and Roger's Version. Updike also wrote a huge number of short stories. They have been collected in a two volume LOA set, though I don't know if this does include the Henry Bech stories, or if this was considered a separate product. For my part, I will read Licks of Love (mostly because it contains Rabbit Remembered) and The Afterlife. After that the Olinger Stories, which I don't actually own, and then if I still am inspired, probably the Henry Bech stories, then tackle what is remaining from the LOA Collected Stories set.
Bernard Malamud
The Natural (1952)
R The Assistant (1957)
R The Magic Barrel (1958)
A New Life (1961)
Idiots First (1963)
The Fixer (1966)
Pictures of Fidelman: An Exhibition (1969)
R The Tenants (1971)
Rembrandt's Hat (1974)
Dubin's Lives (1979)
R God's Grace (1982)
The People and Uncollected Stories (1989)
So I've read 4 of 12. To be honest, I have no interest in The Natural (I'm pretty allergic to sports in literature or real life) and almost none in The Fixer. I do plan on reading the two remaining novels from the list (A New Life and Dubin's Lives) but mostly I just need to work my way through his stories.
John O'Hara
(novels only)
R Appointment in Samarra (1934)
BUtterfield 8 (1935)
Hope of Heaven (1938)
Pal Joey (1940)
A Rage to Live (1949)
The Farmers Hotel (1951)
Ten North Frederick (1955)
A Family Party (1956)
From the Terrace (1958)
Ourselves to Know (1960)
The Big Laugh (1962)
Elizabeth Appleton (1963)
The Lockwood Concern (1965)
The Instrument (1967)
Lovey Childs: A Philadelphian's Story (1969)
The Ewings (1970)
The Second Ewings (1972)
Somewhat similar to Updike, O'Hara wrote many, many stories. The new LOA volume is a selection, with relatively limited overlap with his Collected Short Stories (1984). What is somewhat amusing is that both collections include "Imagine Kissing Pete" but not the other two novellas from Sermons and Soda Water: A Trilogy (this is one that I tracked down at the library a long time back, though I can't remember if the editors' judgement was just).
I know that I am not even going to attempt to get through this many novels by O'Hara (and I suspect most of them are not even in the library). I'll reread Appointment in Samarra and read BUtterfield 8 and then probably the stories in Collected Short Stories, the LOA Collected Stories and Waiting for Winter (which I happen to own). This reviewer makes a solid case for O'Hara, and suggests adding three more novels to my list (Ten North Frederick, Ourselves to Know and From the Terrace), but I'm not quite ready to commit just yet.
Enough new lists for now.
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