fucking hell… I think I ve read that book but I have no clue what it was called or who wrote it… I actually gave it to the public library this x mas I think… aaaaah!
Oh for crying out loud. Fine…let me get some more out.
If he had been more analytical, he might have calculated the approximate time of their arrival; but he still used the lifetime habit of judging nightfall by the sky, and on cloudy days that method didn’t work. That was why he chose to stay near the house on those days.
That’s I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson. The vamp tip kind of did set it up.
Here’s one from on top of my computer:
Aristotle contemplating the bust of Homer thought often of Socrates while Rembrandt dressed him with paint in a white Renaissance surplice and a medieval black robe and encased him in shadows. “Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius,” Plato has Socrates saying after he had swallowed his cup of poison and felt its numbing effects steal up through his heart. “Will you remember to pay the debt?”
Okay, I have to admit that I cheated. I can’t remember if I read it or saw the movie, or both, when I was a kid, but it was too familiar to let go. Google got me the entire answer. Curse me!
You can either kick out my suggestion or, if you prefer, I’ll give you a fat hint to keep things rolling. Or, I’ll pour nail polish on my genitals and set it aflame. Your choice.
Those are sneaky hints! Still, I’ve already cheated googlishly, so I don’t want to offer any answer, as someone might get the answer properly. Nor do I even offer any fire extinguisher, as I am now too confused wondering why, in the painting, Homer looks like a dead Greek guy, while Aristotle looks a very richly dressed Dutch guy.
It was (most of) a silly poem from mid/late 60s by Edwin Morgan, who has done loads of terribly academic stuff as well, but it’s only the fun stuff I even half remember. I liked the Shel Silverstein notion a lot, though!
Perhaps the last one was “Picture This” by Joseph Heller. But wasn’t an answer already given and neither confirmed nor denied? I’ve sort of lost track - I disappeared for Christmas and thought the thread had gone into hibernation. But it lives!! Joy!