True story: I ran in to Paul Giamatti at used book store called Iliad in North Hollywood. We were both in the Scfi/ Fantasy section and you could tell he was on the hunt. Saw him a bit later that day and he was chilling on the little couch, reading happily.
This is my life too! You never get to see this type of conversation on network television! My respect for Paul Giamatti has increased a thousandfold! (I already knew Colbert was cool!)
When I was little, my dad always had a stack of books (mostly sci-fi & mysteries) he was working his way through and took me with him to the library once a week. It became a lifelong habit -- I love libraries & I always have a bunch of books I'm working on. So great to hear these two nerds talking about my no. 1 vice.
Just last Saturday my wife, daughter and I went to pick up our son after his freshman year of college, and we stopped in Silva, NC for lunch, then went for a walk and stopped in a used book shop. I immediately found the sci-fi/fantasy section, which was in a little alcove that, had it had a heavy curtain across the entry, could have been the porno section of an '80s mom & pop video rental place. I scanned the shelves until I found a treasure - a 1978 copy of 'The Best of Murray Leinster', whom I've loved since I read his funny, and amazingly prescient 1946 short story 'A Logic Named Joe', in which he predicted the personal computer, complete with keyboard interface and monitor, and the internet. I could watch these two geek out over sci-fi all day long.
OMG, love it! I too am a lover of sci-fi and fantasy books. My kids think I'm crazy because I like to smell the books. I told them it's like a time machine for me. I close my eyes, take it in, and it takes me back to my childhood. I assured them that I am not the only one that does this. Now I have proof!
When I lived in Portland, Oregon I used to hang out at the best bookstore ever, Powell’s. It was massive and amazing. It was literally a full city block with an equally big storage building next door. I would buy a book and sit at the lunch counter on the street level and read and people watch. It was delightful. If you’ve never been to Powell’s I would highly recommend it as they have huge sections on every subject imaginable!
It was my only “must do” when I went to Portland. I had been ordering hard to find books from them for years. I spent a glorious few hours there. I’d return in a heartbeat.
Paul Giamatti recently called in at the old and rare bookshop I work in. Wanted to tell him how much I loved The Holdovers, but you gotta let people just have their own time and space.
True story: I ran into Paul Giamatti at a book store on Vashon Island, WA in 2019. He was in the SciFi/Fantasy section with a group of friends. I looked him up afterwards and he has ties to Seattle. I didn’t say anything to him but he had a friendly atmosphere.
These are two men I've always admired. I love them both now. Now, I've got some book store "diving" to do. Thanks gentlemen for the info and for your brilliant careers! I'm in CT...if you ever need a singer/songwriter for a party, I'm available and cheap (for you).
Why there aren't thousands of views of Paul Giamatti and Stephen Colbert geeking out on science fiction, I do not understand 😉 ok now I will watch Ryan Gosling on Jimmy Kimmel
@@Phineas1626 Sorry, I haven't checked my comments. Examples of postmodern literature are the works of Jorge Luis Borges, Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon, etc. They are novels that play with the concept of time and reality but are different from magical realism novels which also have fantastical elements. A postmodern novel might be about a library that houses every novel that could possibly exist with every possible text or a protagonist that jumps backwards and forwards in time and/or space (but not through explainable methods which would make it sci-fi). There might be anachronisms and even well-read dogs who can speak and interact with actual historical figures (but again, without explanation). They generally play with our concepts of reality, time, and space while still telling a narrative.
@@Michael-hw5wk Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. Now the genre makes perfect sense, to the point I’m nearly embarrassed I didn’t figure it out given the name. One more question-I saw something recently that got me very interested in Tolstoy. Do you think that English translations give credit to authors’ original works-that is to ask: would I get a feeling of just how good a writer’s native writing is? Thanks again.
@@Phineas1626 Translations matter as some translators leave out entire passages or completely change the meaning of a sentence. I try to research the translations scholars/reviewers consider to be the best before purchasing a book, but cost can also be an issue. I read Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf as it was well-reviewed, and I believe the edition of War and Peace I purchased was well-regarded as well (at least, at that time). Accurate translations are also very important when it comes to religious texts as we have come to believe Moses parted the Red Sea when many translators believe a more accurate translation would make it the Sea of Reeds. Another example is that we assume Jesus to have been a carpenter when many modern translators believe a more accurate passage describing Jesus would be "Son of Joseph who worked with his hands," making it more likely he was a stone mason. If you read the intros to various translated books, you will often find examples detailing how the translator attempted to write a more accurate version than previous translations. I recently reread the Tao Ye Ching and The Bhagavad Gita and I believe both introductions covered the efforts made to create a better translation. However, some of us cannot always afford the "best" translation, so we make do with what we can access. None of this may be very helpful to you, but I'm very tired as I am writing this, so I possibly missed the point of your question completely. I do love Tolstoy though (not as much as Dostoevsky) and consider The Death of Ivan Ilyich to be my 3rd favorite work of literature after Hamlet and Withering Heights.
I don't think he was showing off. He was excited to find someone who loves to read the same books he does. Who doesn't like to find someone who you have so much in common with.
@@cherylwilkinson3228 To be sure, I love Stephen's intelligence -- and I love having a late night host who has guests from a wide range of subjects. He just has his moments where I lift an eyebrow -- like, he didn't *really* have to rattle off details of Catholic theology right then.
