September (fifth week) 2017 Reads

A day late, but .... well... I...er...didn't read the story of the week until this morning. It's a good one.

Story:  The Piazza (in The Piazza Tales by Herman Melville) on Project Gutenberg

“Deal Me In 2017!”

He moves to an old house in the country. It's perfect and perfectly situated but: "it had no piazza—a deficiency the more regretted, because not only did I like piazzas, as somehow combining the coziness of in-doors with the freedom of out-doors, and it is so pleasant to inspect your thermometer there, but the country round about was such a picture, that in berry time no boy climbs hill or crosses vale without coming upon easels planted in every nook, and sun-burnt painters painting there. A very paradise of painters. The circle of the stars cut by the circle of the mountains."
So he has a piazza built and from it he views the magnificent surroundings, filling them with classical allusions, fairies,  and other fanciful notions.
A charming story that makes one want to read the others in the collection: Bartleby; Benito Cereno; The Lightning-Rod Man; The Encantadas; and The Bell-Tower.



Card: The nine of diamonds (pentacles): there are many Tarot interpretations for this card and not all are happy ones. What I like about all this confusion is that I can pick and choose. (I really can't take all this Tarot stuff too seriously.) So here is what Biddy Tarot says in part: "The Nine of Pentacles indicates that you have reached a point in your life where you are feeling self-confident, self-sufficient, independent and free. By acting on your own accord, you have attained well-deserved success and may now enjoy money, leisure time, pleasure, material comfort and rest." 
This perfectly describes the man in the story (although the card depicts a woman). But upside down the card (according to Biddy) takes on a less optimistic meaning.




from my shelves...



Before  by Carmen Boullosa, Translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush 
Sort of a coming of age story.  One that sticks with you. Amanda Paustian's review on Goodreads caught my feeling almost exactly. It seems a bit of a cop out to link to another review and not write my own but if some says it better than I can, why not? 



 

The Best American Sports Writing 2017  edited by Glenn Stout  
I don't read a lot of sports stuff. I sort of follow women's basketball and occasionally watch tennis, golf, baseball, and men's basketball. So I don't know what an avid fan would think of this anthology which is often oriented toward the political and social issues reflected in sports rather than "pure sports" (whatever that is). Topics covered include the refugee crisis, human rights, exploitation of college athletes, gender identity, crime, family issues, etc.  Given the current state of the world (sports world included) this sort of expository journalism is necessary. These essays come from a broad variety of sources (online and print) and are excellent, informative reads.

Advance reader copy via Goodreads
 

Songs from the Violet Café by Fiona Kidman 

I really enjoyed this story of Violet, her café, and the young people who worked for her. A slice of New Zealand life set mostly in 1963 with back stories in the 1940's and a brief peek to the future.

 

Free copy from blog win at Words and Peace (as part of  Bout of Books 20)

online...

11 Reasons Everyone Should Celebrate Translation
By Savannah Whiting