Haiku U : From Aristotle to Zola, 100 Great Books in 17 Syllables

by David M. Bader | Humor |
ISBN: 1592401287 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 3/31/2005
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10 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, March 31, 2005
YAIB (Yet Another Impulse Buy). I picked this one up at the local Borders; as I thumbed through it, my eye fell on this haiku version of The Iliad, and I couldn't resist:

"Sing, Goddess, of how
brooding Achilles' mood swings
caused him to act out."

{giggle}

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, June 5, 2005
[Working on my backlog of to-be-journaled books; I read this one almost two months ago!]

"Lite" yes, but cute, beginning with the foreword: "After Gutenberg, millions of books on all subjects were published, some of them highly influential, 'great,' or at least very long. This in turn led to eyestrain, paper cuts, deforestation, and adult reading groups." Some of the entries that tickled me the most:
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

Pilgrimmes on spryng braecke -
roadde trippe! Whoe farrtted? Yiuw didde.
Noe, naught meae. Yaes, yiuw.

Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Vengeance! Black blood! Aye!
Doubloons to him that harpoons
the Greenpeace dinghy.

Isaac Newton, Philosophiae Naturalis, Principia Mathematica

Cherry blossoms fall
with Force equal to Mass times
Acceleration.

And, my very favorite of all (caution: contains spoiler!):

Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Snow-drops hang like tears.
Shy, sweet, saintly Beth has died.
One down, three to go.
There are many others that I enjoyed, including the spectacular and many-footnoted entry for Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. There's Balzac, and Nabakov, and Kafka, and George Bernard Shaw (the entry for Saint Joan includes a seriously groan-worthy pun, as do several of the other items). I'm seriously tempted to look up my BC-registered copies of the titles lampooned herein and post the appropriate haiku as part of my journal entry!

Journal Entry 3 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Controlled release: I handed this to BCer bookczuk today in Cambridge, where I had the pleasure of meeting her and her family. (Had a wonderful time, though it went by too quickly... I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip, and I'll see you in Charleston in 2007, if not before then!)

Update - thanks for posting the photo!

Journal Entry 4 by wingbookczukwing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA on Monday, June 27, 2005
I'm dreadfully late in journaling on this book, but I had to snatch it back from a certain teenager who had appropriated it. Humph.

I had read some of Baders Haikus for Jews, which I thought a scream and look forward to reading this. I'll probably offer it up in a ring when through. Thank you Gory!

Pictured: The czuks and Gory at John Harvard Brew Pub!

Journal Entry 5 by wingbookczukwing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA on Wednesday, July 13, 2005
We had an absolutely marvelous evening reading Haiku to each other! TheSIL did a fantastic reading of many of my favorites, including the above mentioned LMA/Little Women. But our hands down favorite was the Odyssey. Unfortunately, Bumma has obsconded withthe book so I can't quote it here. Give me time. With three bookcrossers in this household, the haiku should turn up *somewhere*!

Pictured: Bumma and TheSIL. Aren't they darling???

Journal Entry 6 by hazrabai on Thursday, July 14, 2005
caught the book from bookczuk and read it out loud at the dinner table last night, having laughed myself silly reading it while trying to set the table. It is hysterical. Reading out "Little Women" was almost impossible. I was laughing too hard.
A Bumma fav:
The Odyssey

Aegean forecast--
storms, chance of one-eyed giants,
delays expected.

One of my favs:
Wuthering Heights

Wild. Strange. A bit damp.
Heathcliff waits for Cathy's ghost.
Women. Always late.

Hey all you college kids: skip the Cliff notes! Read Haiku U!
It's back to you, little czuk!

Journal Entry 7 by wingbookczukwing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA on Monday, July 25, 2005
This one's headed out on an International Book Ray:

fsr44 USA (Intl)
HallieK USA (US/CA)
Rampallion USA (USA)
echesketch USA (US preferred, but can do Int'l)
tyvmdear USA (Int'l)
deadendmind GRE (Int'l)
serendipity-sg GRE (int'l)
RockDg9 OZ (Int'l)
silentmiaouw SUI (Int'l)
vannessave USA (USA)
ladiibbug USA (USA)
twiggywig USA (USA)
buffra USA (Int'l)
quizgirl UK (Int'l) (PM me- I want to RABCK it to someone on your side of the pond!)

The usual rules apply.

Book travels the World
Bringing joy to many folks.
Czuk stuck at home. Sigh.


Pictured: A sand gator made by MartiP's relatives on Memorial Weekend at the Isle of Palms (right outside of Charleston. Come see us in 2007! Though the gator will sadly be gone by then!)

Journal Entry 8 by fsr44 from Pawtucket, Rhode Island USA on Wednesday, August 3, 2005
I had a ball reading this, sharing the best bits with Mrfsr and sending off a few to a friend who could use a laugh. My favorites?

St. Augustine, The Confessions

This is just to say
I screwed around. Forgive me.
I enjoyed it so.

Nathanial Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

Grim, gray New England -
all adulterers receive
free monogramming.

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

Gay Anglo-Catholics -
what else to expect from a
man named Evelyn?

I will send off to
HallieK, causing her to
giggle and snicker.

Journal Entry 9 by HallieK from Austin, Texas USA on Monday, August 8, 2005
Oh my goodness! Got this in the mail today and it's just hilarious! I had to read it right away and I think I'll probably read through it a couple more times before I mail it off!

One of my faves:

The Count of Monte Cristo
Gallant avenger.
Egg-dipped cheese sandwich. Thy name
is Monte Cristo.

It's...so...funny!! *laughing hysterically on the ground*

Will get the next address and send it on at the end of the week. Thanks so much bookczuk!!

Journal Entry 10 by HallieK from Austin, Texas USA on Friday, September 23, 2005
Mailing this off to Rampallion today. I do sincerely apologize for keeping this so long. Life gets in the way.... Happy Reading and thanks for sharing this one bookczuk!

Delivery confirmation #0305 1720 0001 9044 9746

Journal Entry 11 by rampallion from Evanston, Illinois USA on Tuesday, September 27, 2005
So glad to receive this . . . am laughing already. Thanks to all for sharing this!

Journal Entry 12 by rampallion from Evanston, Illinois USA on Friday, September 30, 2005
Hilarious! I gobbled it up in one sitting.

I hadn't noticed that some kind person enclosed STAMPS so I could mail the book free of charge! Thank you so much.

I mailed this to echesketch this morning.

Released 18 yrs ago (9/30/2005 UTC) at Controlled Release in Given To A Friend, Friend -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to echesketch!

Journal Entry 14 by echesketch from Lincolnton, North Carolina USA on Monday, October 3, 2005

Received 10/3/05 and plan to soak it up quickly!


Journal Entry 15 by echesketch from Lincolnton, North Carolina USA on Friday, October 21, 2005

I had a great time with this book! Bookczuk, thank you for offering it out to others.

I finished it in one small sitting and kept it a bit longer than I had planned to read to others but it is now on the road again. Next stop: tyvmdear in Canada.

May it travel well and safe.

Journal Entry 16 by tyvmdear from Thompson, Manitoba Canada on Friday, October 28, 2005
Received today. Will read right away. Thanks for includung me in this bookray.

Journal Entry 17 by tyvmdear from Thompson, Manitoba Canada on Saturday, October 29, 2005
Now that was fun : )
Here are the ones that really stuck out for me:

The Confessions -
This is just to say
I screwed around. Forgive me.
I enjoyed it so.

Gulliver's Travels -
Thus I was first great,
then small, and much vexed to learn
that size does matter.

Metaphysics -
Substance had essence.
Form adds whatness to thatness.
Whatsits have thinghood.

Kama Sutra -
Advice for those in
a difficult position.
First, be flexible.



Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I will be sending onto the next reader as soon as I get an address.


Journal Entry 18 by tyvmdear from Thompson, Manitoba Canada on Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Dropped into the mail today. Sorry for the delay.
Thanks again for sharing this great little book with me.

Journal Entry 19 by deadendmind from Athens - Αθήνα, Attica Greece on Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Received the book today, thank you! I'm looking forward to reading, it must be great fun!

I was delighted to find a dollar in the book! I'll go to wheresgeorge.com straight away! :-)

Journal Entry 20 by deadendmind from Athens - Αθήνα, Attica Greece on Tuesday, February 7, 2006
What a lovely little book! It had me giggling repeatedly!
It's amazing how much wit can fit in a few syllables. I have many favorite Haikus from this book, but I'll write the ones on Greek writers and thinkers because I feel pretty patriotic right now. :-P

Homer - The Iliad
Sing, Goddess, of how
brooding Achilles' mood swings
caused him to act out

Sophocles - Oedipus Rex
Chorus: Poor bastard.
Oedipus: This is awful!
Blind Seer: Told you so.

Plato - Phaedo
By Zeus, Socrates!
It seems you're right once again!
Time for your hemlock.

Homer - The Odyssey
Aegean forecast-
storms, chance of one-eyed giants,
delays expected.

Herodotus - The Histories
Go tell the Spartans-
the Persian hordes are fierce and
wear funny slippers.

Aristotle - Metaphysics
Substance has essence.
Form adds whatness to thatness.
Whatsits have thinghood.

Heeheehee!
Thank you for the bookring bookczuk!

I will send it to serendipity-sg as soon as I can.

10 Febr. 2006: Sent it to serendipity-sg today.

Journal Entry 21 by s3rendipity from Thessaloniki - Θεσσαλονίκη, Thessaloniki Greece on Sunday, September 3, 2006
What a little wise book...The extract of philosophy and reflection from ancient to modern times.(Sorry for the delay, i ll contact today RockDg9 to pass it on)

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