Selling My Books on the Streets of Brookln 1/15 - Phaedra

Since I receive many donations from customers and passersby, I get to read books I’ve never heard of. I just finished Phaedra, A Novel of Ancient Athens by the late June Rachuy Brindel, who is labeled a feminist. I was attracted to the title because it reminded me of a song. It is a re-working of the Theseus legend beginning after he has slain the Minotaur and abducted his future bride. I slogged through it. It seems unfinished, sketchy. Theseus is mostly off stage, seemingly paranoid, unable to stop killing, abandoning the Goddess-faith for something masculine and deadly. I suppose the author was making a case for a more balanced approach to leadership, a harmony of the best of male and female. Since I found it so puzzling and difficult, I won’t rate it. There is only one review of it at Amazon, and the woman rated it five stars out of five. 

Almost two decades before the publication of that novel, the late Lee Hazlewood wrote and performed one of the most unusual and haunting, described as "psychedelic" at Wiki, pop songs ever: Some Velvet Morning, in which he speaks of a lost love, Phaedra, to which many males would relate. Nancy Sinatra sings the female part in a spacey voice in stark contrast to the deep, grounded resonance of Hazlewood. I’m hearing it more these days than when it was first released. It was not a big hit, rising to only #26 on the charts, but it has stood the test of time. The duo partnered on several songs, mostly notably Jackson. Hazlewood wrote her biggest hit, These Boots Are Made for Walking. He also wrote This Town for her father, as well as the theme song for Old Blue Eyes' 1967 detective movie, Tony Rome. His earliest success was a collaboration with pioneer rock guitarist Duane Eddy. It would be a stretch to dub Nancy Sinatra a good singer, but her contributions to the art of music are significant and impressive. Here is a link to the video of Some Velvet Morning. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-SVPJM4L4

Given the raw cold and lack of sunshine, I did not expect much business at the floating book shop. I sat in my car and waited for customers to come along. I sold five books, among them a large Stephen King I'm happy not to have to lug around any more. The highlight of the day was a visit from local poet Big All, who came bearing gifts - a number of popular paperbacks, some non-fiction, and two collections of Wayne Dyer on audio cassette. Thanks, folks.

Visit Vic's sites:

Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb

Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6

Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h

Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3