Everything by Le Guin is pure gold! I will add this one to my reading list, but I lived “The Dispossessed “ as political science-fiction, while “the left hand of the darkness” explores gender and prejudices, and “earthsea” is a series of coming of age novels. Every is so good
It is! I also find unsettling how human-like the cast looks, both with the eye and the position of the elbows…
I started Blood Meridian by McCarthy. It was a Christmas gift from an American friend. I had never heard about it before then, and I went into it more or less blind. It’s a much bleaker read than I was expecting, but the language is keeping me hooked: it has been a while since last time I had to check the meaning of an English word, and this me taught me plenty.
On the side, I’m reading a German young adult romance novel to learn better German. It’s a light read, to nicely compensate and lift my spirits a bit.
From an academic level, he stands aside, presenting himself as and taking pride in being a “poet maudit”, a cursed poet. So his themes are very peculiar. But he also has a really good classical education, thus he builds very balanced verses, while often playing with the musicality of words.
For me, very personally, it sounds so incredibly good while being almost over the top dark and tortured. I love the contrast that creates.
The poem I particularly like is the one he chose as introduction of his works. It’s alluring, while alluding to the future corruption. I imagine it to be the call of a new drug.
A problem with poetry is that it cannot be translated, so I’ll refer the originals:
As an Italian, I’m most definitely biased, but the Divine Comedy, and mostly the Inferno, are worth a read if you are willing to read the notes (all the historical references are near-impossible to understand otherwise). Some sections are romantic, some politic/religious/esoteric, some epic, a couple really fun. There is a bit for everyone. The Paradise becomes more serious, concentrating most on religion and politics, and I found it less exciting.
Lol! My mum still asks both me and my husband (“techy” jobs according to her) to solve all her problems with computers/printers/ the internet at large/ any app that doesn’t work… the list is endless. I take it as a statement of how proud she is of me that she would still ask us first, even if we haven’t succeeded in fixing a single issue since the time the problem was an old cartridge in the printer some 5-6 years ago.
I walked into a random bookstore and got advised to read “Rossignol” by Audrey Pleynet. As far as I know it has only been published in French, but I hope this is going to change.
It’s a short read, but absolutely amazing. A woman is on the run, and mixes memories of her past in a futuristic space station to flashes of her escape. Only slowly do all the pieces fall together, creating a tale with many emotions, strange characters and glimpses of a lively mixed station where all are welcome, but where tensions between groups are rising.
I loved it for the deep characterization of the main character, while all others are just fast drafts. I loved it for the sci-fi and the politics and the action.
I started it yesterday and already finished it.
Thanks for the extra info. In the meantime I finished the book, so I have a better outlook. At the beginning, the push is towards a revolution against the authoritarian regime, with some sprinkles of “workers unite”, so I expected to go more towards socialism. Then it becomes more clear that he is against all a d any government, even while accepting that it can’t work. Quite interesting overall!
I am reading “The moon is a harsh mistress” by Heinlein. It’s the first time i read him in the original language, and it’s glorious! He talks about a moon uprising against the earth government. The book reads a bit like a battle diary, at times quite dry. The part I love the most is how he plays with so many political and ethical concepts, like completely supporting prostitution. His extreme left tendencies are not hidden in this book. I’m enjoying it a lot!
I couldn’t finish Dead Souls. It’s supposed to be hilarious, but i just did not get it. How do you like it so far?
Wow, that’s great news! Thanks for sharing! I read my father’s version, so definitely older than 1991.
I just started reading The Moon is a harsh Mistress, I’m hope it keeps up with the hype.
I randomly picked up “On”, an old sci-fi book I never heard of. While reading, I understand why it got lost in the mists of time, but it’s an okay read with an interesting idea: what if gravity went sideways?
You are not! Books are not time bound! How are you liking it?
I have just finished “Stolen Focus”, all in all an enjoyable and relatively informative read on the key ingredients of attention and why we struggle with it nowadays. While some parts were unexpected, and the topic was fairly deeply researched, i still felt like i already knew a bit part of what he talks about. Okay book, would not recommend unless you are really into TedTalks.
I also read “A Little Life”: American slice of life. This might be the book with the longest list of trigger warnings that I have read, easily rivaling Berserk (the manga), and it’s absolutely worth it. It has some pitfalls (namely, everything is a little extreme), but the psychological characterization of the characters is gut punching and reminds me of the best of Victor Hugo and Dostoyevsky. Fullheartedly recommend to anyone that can stomach written violence on many forms.
Now I’m here looking for inspiration on my next read.
The two things are actually often related: junk food is faster, more accessible, stores longer, and is cheaper per calorie. So you can be hungry, skip a salad meal (that would need to be bought fresh and prepared) while having “mcdonalds”/microwave meal/high calorie meal for your leftover meal. Third has been the pattern, following US, where it is very common for the poor to eat more calories than the rich, while eating less healthy meals.
So glad to hear that you are feeling better!
I enjoy this weekly chat, allows me to get a glimpse of other people’s interests and approaches to reading. I am particularly fascinated by the people having a full stack of books they will soon be reading. That’s so different from how I usually choose my books. For me, it’s mostly a spur if the moment decision which new book to start, depending on my mood and my reading list. As an aside, this is for me one of the biggest pros of a kindle: I can download my next book as soon as I decide what it will be.
Anyway, I’m reading Stolen Focus, interesting and entertaining enough, but nothing much to write home about.
You are in for a great experience. Personally, Japanese teas are probably my favorites, with Gyokuro and Genmaica at the top of the list. Plenty of variety for “pure green teas”. :) Enjoy!
“Latest hack you figured out”
As a new parent, there have been countless little hacks shared with me that really helped my life. The first one: “sometimes babies just need to cry it out” (within reason). Helped me drop the parent guilt of hearing your baby cry and not being able to fix it right away.
Latest one: if you are excited, they will likely be as well. (Experiences of potty training)