Somerset Maugham was a perv?

Not long after I posted about my year-long obsession with Maugham, I found this article linked on another blog.
Apparently, W. Somerset Maugham was a depraved individual.

The most louche of all the expatriates who congregated on the beautiful stretch of coast between Nice and Monaco before World War II, the prolific writer held court at his fabulous mansion, the Villa Mauresque, in glamorous Cap Ferrat.

Nude bathing parties, drugs, lashings of champagne and nightly seductions of the local lads . . . Almost everyone who visited was shocked by his decadence.

Frankly, who's surprised? Aren't all brilliant writers somewhat insane?

Show me a normal writer and I'll show you a very bored reader.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Dammit. I guess I'll have to stop reading Swann's Way because I was on reserve at the library for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and it just came in.

I've heard nothing but good things about this book and the sequel so I definitely need to get caught up.

So...down goes Proust (temporarily) and I'll start the new book today.

Too Many Books!

After my post about Proust, In Search of Lost Time and Swann's Way, I decided to hit Barnes and Noble after work to find the second volume, In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower aka The Budding Grove. I like having the second volume nearby so it'll feel like I have a reward at the end of Volume 1.
I found a copy but it was a Modern Library version and I sort of wanted a Penguin Books version to match my first volume. But I thought, "At least I know it's here and if I can't find the other version, I'll get this one."
I actually carried it around the store a bit before finally putting it back.

A few hours later, at home, I was on the phone with a friend and he was in the middle of a long story when I found my gaze wandering my rows and rows of books. Suddenly, my eyes focused in on something that I thought said Proust. I knew Swann's Way was right next to me so what could this be?
I jumped up and grabbed it, not believing my eyes. It was a hard bound copy of In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower.
I owned it all along.

This, my friends, is my problem.

Swann's Way

I started to write that I, obviously, enjoyed punishing myself because I'm once again embarking upon Proust.
But the only reason I think it might be punishment is the sheer size of the project. In Search of Lost Time consists of 7 HUGE volumes so it's not a quick read, for sure.
I picked up Swann's Way two years ago and started reading it. Proust has this talent of making one sentence last at least two pages. That's difficult for my small brain to process sometimes, so after a handful of pages, I gave up.

But one of my goals in life is to read it all so no time like the present, right?

I intended to begin where I left off but in two years, I had no memory of what I had read before so back to the beginning I went.
I'm glad I did because I am sinking into it much better than I did the first time.

I might have to take a break or two or fifty during my quest but before I die, I will read the entire thing!

Happy vs Miserable

I bought 14,000 Things to Be Happy About many years ago. When my grandmother died, it was the first time I had been so affected by death and just couldn't imagine being happy again.
So, when I saw this book, I grabbed it and became charmed by it.
It lists simple things like:

• reading the newspaper
• childhood friendships
• Easter eggs
• mint

etc...

I've kept it all these years and would browse through it now and then.

This year, at TLA, I went by a booth and discovered this book:
I cracked up! It's been years since I "needed" the other book and I've survived countless other tragedies so the fact that there is a whole book of things to be miserable about is hilarious.
For example:

• Performance-enhancing drugs
• Catholic guilt
• Glowing red rodent eyes
• Farmer's tans

etc...

I can't wait to use both of these books with my teen journaling kids. Because nothing is more miserable than being a teen!

Up at the Villa by W. Somerset Maugham

I began and finished Up at the Villa in one day. It's quite a short book, therefore, it was a quick read.
It's more of a crime and suspense story than any of the other Maugham books I've read.
I don't like to give the meat of the book away, I will say that it's about a recently widowed woman, Mary, who is staying at the villa of a friend in Florence.
She is caught between three men; her older suitor, a swaggering ne'er-do-well confidante and a very unlikely one night stand.

There is something so comforting and satisfying about W. Somerset Maugham. I can spend a whole day, buried in anything he writes.
Although, I'd have to say The Razor's Edge is my favorite so far, The Painted Veil and Of Human Bondage really haunted me for days after putting them down.

Started and finished Up At the Villa by W. Somerset Maugham today. Will write more later.