Monday, December 31, 2018
End of Year and all that
I didn't meet my Goodreads goal of 200 books and I don't care because I have cookies!
I got behind on my "Deal Me In" short story challenge so have been trying to catch up. (I also had to fill in some dates.) I finished this morning with the Queen of Clubs: Bernard Hœpffner, Portrait of the Translator as Chameleon
I didn't enjoy this challenge as much in 2018 as I did in 2017. The randomness began to get to me toward the middle of summer. I don't know if I'll do it again this year. I still read plenty of short stories, but on a different schedule.
Some things that cut into my reading time were the day trips and generally being more physically active this year (a big plus especially if you have cookies).
Goals for next year? A smaller Goodreads challenge, continue exploring the Northeastern neighborhood, try to reduce the "owned-but-unread"* list, and eat a few cookies.
*had 331 books on it at the beginning of the year, it now has 341.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
"There's a book in the mail!'
Yesterday's snail mail (slight misnomer, see *note below) had a book for me. Naturally I stopped what I was doing (reading my email) and rushed downstairs to grab it.
Opening book mail is always a bit of an enjoyable mystery. Is it a subscription book from Open Letter, Deep Vellum, or Three Lines? Or my win from LibraryThing, Goodreads, or some blog? A late Christmas gift? It all flashes through my mind as I hobble (I stubbed my big toe something awful on Christmas Eve--it's not broken but it is bruised and cut) to the stairs.
My housemate is holding a rather thin book mailer and hands it to me when I'm halfway down the stairs. It's too thin for what's I'm expecting from subscriptions and I'm puzzled.
Oh boy it's from Archipelago Books! I did win something from them on LitHub but I can't remember what it was. Hum...what is it? I slide the item out of the mailer and--It's Wrapped! The mystery continues...what fun!
And the "wrapping paper" is an unmutilated four page section of TLS from July 27, 2018. I carefully remove it because I want to read the exposed review of two climbing books. (Later I place a hold on The Push by Tommy Caldwell.) I smooth the paper and set the bonus reading matter aside and get to the meat of package.
Of course! It's The Barefoot Woman
Thank you Archipelago, LitHub, & USPS!
*note: The email informing me of the win and requesting my address came on the afternoon of Dec 19. I replied two hours later. Note saying "book is in the mail" came around noon on the 20th. Book arrived on the 26th. Not so "snail" considering weekend, holiday, and Christmas mail crunch.
Opening book mail is always a bit of an enjoyable mystery. Is it a subscription book from Open Letter, Deep Vellum, or Three Lines? Or my win from LibraryThing, Goodreads, or some blog? A late Christmas gift? It all flashes through my mind as I hobble (I stubbed my big toe something awful on Christmas Eve--it's not broken but it is bruised and cut) to the stairs.
My housemate is holding a rather thin book mailer and hands it to me when I'm halfway down the stairs. It's too thin for what's I'm expecting from subscriptions and I'm puzzled.
Oh boy it's from Archipelago Books! I did win something from them on LitHub but I can't remember what it was. Hum...what is it? I slide the item out of the mailer and--It's Wrapped! The mystery continues...what fun!
And the "wrapping paper" is an unmutilated four page section of TLS from July 27, 2018. I carefully remove it because I want to read the exposed review of two climbing books. (Later I place a hold on The Push by Tommy Caldwell.) I smooth the paper and set the bonus reading matter aside and get to the meat of package.
Of course! It's The Barefoot Woman
 |
| Fine book with its nifty 'wrapping paper' Is this accidental or is it a feminist message? |
Thank you Archipelago, LitHub, & USPS!
*note: The email informing me of the win and requesting my address came on the afternoon of Dec 19. I replied two hours later. Note saying "book is in the mail" came around noon on the 20th. Book arrived on the 26th. Not so "snail" considering weekend, holiday, and Christmas mail crunch.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
A Brief Return
OK, so I'm going to try to get back to the blog...but it may or may not be about books and reading...
This morning whilst sipping coffee and munching shortbread, I checked my email. Stuff leads to stuff so...
From my Sotheby's feed I read this gem, which features some museums I'd like to visit as we continue our exploration of our neighboring states:
Great American Art from Maine to Virginia by Alice Cavallo
Then my Bloglovin' Daily Digest (BDD) caused me to add a few things to my seemingly endless list of things to read. I took action on one. I placed a hold on Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, Tina Kover (Translator). I've been considering this for a while and the deciding factor was this review on Tony's Reading List.
While at the library I also checked on the availability of Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller and placed a hold on it.
Back at BDD I did a little house keeping and deleted a couple of blogs that no longer interest me.
My wanderings were interrupted by a cheery voice from downstairs "The mail's here and" (in a mock surprised tone) "there's a book for you!"
A book? for me? gosh?...but that's a story for later...
This morning whilst sipping coffee and munching shortbread, I checked my email. Stuff leads to stuff so...
From my Sotheby's feed I read this gem, which features some museums I'd like to visit as we continue our exploration of our neighboring states:
Great American Art from Maine to Virginia by Alice Cavallo
Then my Bloglovin' Daily Digest (BDD) caused me to add a few things to my seemingly endless list of things to read. I took action on one. I placed a hold on Disoriental by Négar Djavadi, Tina Kover (Translator). I've been considering this for a while and the deciding factor was this review on Tony's Reading List.
While at the library I also checked on the availability of Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller and placed a hold on it.
Back at BDD I did a little house keeping and deleted a couple of blogs that no longer interest me.
My wanderings were interrupted by a cheery voice from downstairs "The mail's here and" (in a mock surprised tone) "there's a book for you!"
A book? for me? gosh?...but that's a story for later...
Monday, November 12, 2018
Sunday, October 21, 2018
October (third week) 2018 Reads and day trips
These posts are getting briefer and briefer...
Sunday - roamed back roads, checked out Hidden Lake and Robert's Food Center at the 79/80 Rotary Circle
Wed - Milford - Silver Sands State Park - walked on boardwalk and a short stretch of sand for lunch at The Greek Spot Cafe and Grill, 726 East Broadway, Milford. Then drove around Milford and headed home trying to hug the coast (not easy) to Madison and then cut inland.
Read this week:
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the King of Hearts; the selection is Transcription of an eye by Carmen Maria Machado (in Watchlist)
from the library....
In the Café of Lost Youth by Patrick Modiano: translated from the French by Chris Clarke
online...
The Literature of Inequality by Nicolas Léger
Sunday - roamed back roads, checked out Hidden Lake and Robert's Food Center at the 79/80 Rotary Circle
Wed - Milford - Silver Sands State Park - walked on boardwalk and a short stretch of sand for lunch at The Greek Spot Cafe and Grill, 726 East Broadway, Milford. Then drove around Milford and headed home trying to hug the coast (not easy) to Madison and then cut inland.
Read this week:
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the King of Hearts; the selection is Transcription of an eye by Carmen Maria Machado (in Watchlist)
from the library....
In the Café of Lost Youth by Patrick Modiano: translated from the French by Chris Clarke
online...
The Literature of Inequality by Nicolas Léger
Sunday, October 14, 2018
October (second week) 2018 Reads and day trips
Saturday - a return to Rodgers Orchards in Southington. In addition to an apple pie for home we got an apple cider slush and an apple cider donut each. Couldn't wait to get home so we stopped by Memorial Boulevard Park in Bristol for a snack.
Sunday - Picnic - food from River Valley Provisions (95 Bridge Road, Haddam); Picnic at
Hurd State Park, East Hampton.
Wednesday (an unseasonably warm day) - Picnic - Food from The Bronx Deli in Oxford CT. Picnic and walk at Southford Falls State Park Southbury. And on the way home ice cream at Sweet Claude's Ice Cream in Cheshire.
Saturday - Leaves are turning so we explored Suffield, Granby, and a little of the part of Massachusetts that dips into Connecticut. Lunch at Three Figs in Suffield. Went for dessert at Lost Acres Orchard in North Ganby. Too full from lunch to eat more so we got some apple dumplings, some gingersnaps, and a loaf of cheese bread. Had the dumplings for supper at home. Delicious.
Read this week:
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the Eight of Hearts; the selection is Viewer, Violator by Aimee Bender (in Watchlist : 32 stories by persons of interest)
Gutenberg find...
Hawaiian Flowers by Loraine E. Kuck and Richard C. Tongg; Illustrated by Ted Mundorff
Pretty to peruse.
from my shelves...excellent issues of two of my favorite periodicals...
Korean Literature Now (Vol. 41, Autumn 2018) edited by Agnel Joseph
Two Lines: World Writing in Translation (Issue 29), The Japanese Vanguard edited by CJ Evans
Sunday - Picnic - food from River Valley Provisions (95 Bridge Road, Haddam); Picnic at
Hurd State Park, East Hampton.
Wednesday (an unseasonably warm day) - Picnic - Food from The Bronx Deli in Oxford CT. Picnic and walk at Southford Falls State Park Southbury. And on the way home ice cream at Sweet Claude's Ice Cream in Cheshire.
Saturday - Leaves are turning so we explored Suffield, Granby, and a little of the part of Massachusetts that dips into Connecticut. Lunch at Three Figs in Suffield. Went for dessert at Lost Acres Orchard in North Ganby. Too full from lunch to eat more so we got some apple dumplings, some gingersnaps, and a loaf of cheese bread. Had the dumplings for supper at home. Delicious.
Read this week:
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the Eight of Hearts; the selection is Viewer, Violator by Aimee Bender (in Watchlist : 32 stories by persons of interest)
Gutenberg find...
Hawaiian Flowers by Loraine E. Kuck and Richard C. Tongg; Illustrated by Ted Mundorff
Pretty to peruse.
from my shelves...excellent issues of two of my favorite periodicals...
Korean Literature Now (Vol. 41, Autumn 2018) edited by Agnel Joseph
Two Lines: World Writing in Translation (Issue 29), The Japanese Vanguard edited by CJ Evans
Saturday, October 06, 2018
October (first week) 2018 Reads & day trips
Two neat walks this week
Thursday - revisited Chatfield Hollow to walk the boardwalk and picnic (food from home)
Friday - Picked up picnic stuff at The Cooking Company in Haddam and went to Ferry Landing State Park, Old Lyme for picnic and walk on boardwalk.
Reading this week:
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the Nine of Diamonds; the selection is Bartleby (in The Piazza Tales by Herman Melville)
from Project Gutenberg...
The Orkneyinga Saga, edited by Joseph Anderson, translated from the Icelandic by Jón Andrésson Hjaltalín and, Gilbert Goudie
from my shelves...
Bogotá 39: New Voices from Latin America, introduction by Gaby Wood, edited by Juliet Mabey.
Excellent! I won this on LibraryThing.
An anthology of short stories by thirty-nine Latin American writers under forty, from fifteen countries. The featured authors are: Carlos Manuel Álvarez, Frank Báez, Natalia Borges Polesso, Giuseppe Caputo, Juan Cárdenas, Mauro Javier Cárdenas, María José Caro, Martín Felipe Castagnet, Liliana Colanzi, Juan Esteban Constaín, Lola Copacabana, Gonzalo Eltesch, Diego Erlan, Daniel Ferreira, Carlos Fonseca, Damián González Bertolino, Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón, Gabriela Jauregui, Laia Jufresa, Mauro Libertella, Brenda Lozano, Valeria Luiselli, Alan Mills, Emiliano Monge, Mónica Ojeda, Eduardo Plaza, Eduardo Rabasa, Felipe Restrepo Pombo, Juan Manuel Robles, Cristian Romero, Juan Pablo Roncone, Daniel Saldaña París, Samanta Schweblin, Luciana Sousa, Jesús Miguel Soto, Mariana Torres, Valentín Trujillo, Claudia Ulloa and Diego Zúñiga.
Thursday - revisited Chatfield Hollow to walk the boardwalk and picnic (food from home)
Friday - Picked up picnic stuff at The Cooking Company in Haddam and went to Ferry Landing State Park, Old Lyme for picnic and walk on boardwalk.
Reading this week:
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the Nine of Diamonds; the selection is Bartleby (in The Piazza Tales by Herman Melville)
from Project Gutenberg...
The Orkneyinga Saga, edited by Joseph Anderson, translated from the Icelandic by Jón Andrésson Hjaltalín and, Gilbert Goudie
from my shelves...
Bogotá 39: New Voices from Latin America, introduction by Gaby Wood, edited by Juliet Mabey.
Excellent! I won this on LibraryThing.
An anthology of short stories by thirty-nine Latin American writers under forty, from fifteen countries. The featured authors are: Carlos Manuel Álvarez, Frank Báez, Natalia Borges Polesso, Giuseppe Caputo, Juan Cárdenas, Mauro Javier Cárdenas, María José Caro, Martín Felipe Castagnet, Liliana Colanzi, Juan Esteban Constaín, Lola Copacabana, Gonzalo Eltesch, Diego Erlan, Daniel Ferreira, Carlos Fonseca, Damián González Bertolino, Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón, Gabriela Jauregui, Laia Jufresa, Mauro Libertella, Brenda Lozano, Valeria Luiselli, Alan Mills, Emiliano Monge, Mónica Ojeda, Eduardo Plaza, Eduardo Rabasa, Felipe Restrepo Pombo, Juan Manuel Robles, Cristian Romero, Juan Pablo Roncone, Daniel Saldaña París, Samanta Schweblin, Luciana Sousa, Jesús Miguel Soto, Mariana Torres, Valentín Trujillo, Claudia Ulloa and Diego Zúñiga.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
September (fourth week) 2018 Reads & day trips
Sunday afternoon drive: back roads around Chamard Vineyard area of Clinton, CT (did not go for wine tasting, it's not a good idea if you are exploring twisty, narrow, pretty roads). A few leaves are already changing and there is a nip in the air but still not to cold to give up on an ice cream stop at Ashley's in Madison, CT.
Thursday drive - a short one to Rocky Hill CT - picked up picnic stuff at West Side Marketplace
and ate it at Dinosaur State Park. No ice cream because the place we planned on has closed for the season. So we had some fruit for dessert.
Reading this week: only finished one book because I'm simultaneously reading two books of short stories and a saga.
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the Three of Spades; selection is
At the Amusement Park by Jung Young Moon (in A Most Ambiguous Sunday, and Other Stories)
from my shelves....
Crux: A Cross-Border Memoir by Jean Guerrero
A journalist searches for family roots in Mexico.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
September (Third week) 2018 Reads (and day trips)
Sunday drive: Weston to pick up picnic stuff at Peter's Market and then to Putnam Memorial State Park to eat.
Monday drive: Lunch at Panera Bread in Lisbon, CT; then a swim at Hopeville Pond State Park (most likely our last outdoor swim of the season); followed by ice cream at Buttonwood Farms.
Saturday drive: Explored Mashamoquet Brook State Park in Pomfret, CT. On the way home we stopped for lunch at Hank's Restaurant in Brooklyn, CT.
Reading this week:
The "Deal Me In" card is the Two of Clubs; the selection is Muqtatafat: Part two: Arabic language (translated into English). Slop / by Magdy el Shafee -- Where our stories collide / by Jana Traboulsi -- Gauche droite & estamba / by Mohamed el Shennawy -- Nap before noon / by Barrack Rima -- The bike / by Mohamed Tawfik.
from the library...
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
from my shelves...
Our Woman in Havana: Reporting Castro's Cuba by Sarah Rainsford
Advance review copy through LibraryThing giveaway
Monday drive: Lunch at Panera Bread in Lisbon, CT; then a swim at Hopeville Pond State Park (most likely our last outdoor swim of the season); followed by ice cream at Buttonwood Farms.
Saturday drive: Explored Mashamoquet Brook State Park in Pomfret, CT. On the way home we stopped for lunch at Hank's Restaurant in Brooklyn, CT.
Reading this week:
The "Deal Me In" card is the Two of Clubs; the selection is Muqtatafat: Part two: Arabic language (translated into English). Slop / by Magdy el Shafee -- Where our stories collide / by Jana Traboulsi -- Gauche droite & estamba / by Mohamed el Shennawy -- Nap before noon / by Barrack Rima -- The bike / by Mohamed Tawfik.
from the library...
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
from my shelves...
Our Woman in Havana: Reporting Castro's Cuba by Sarah Rainsford
Advance review copy through LibraryThing giveaway
Sunday, September 16, 2018
September (second week) 2018 Reads
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Seven of Spades; the selection is The Wife Killer (in Singer Collected Stories I)
from the library...
White Houses by Amy Bloom
Peculiar Ground by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
The Age of Eisenhower : America and the World in the 1950s by William I. Hitchcock
from my shelves...
The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin
Sunday, September 09, 2018
September (first week) 2018 Reads
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Four of Clubs; the selection is Elizabeth Strout: ‘If I ever return to a small town, I want you to kill me’
from my shelves...
Her Mother's Mother's Mother and Her Daughters by Maria José Silveira; translated from the Portuguese by Eric M.B. Becker
Rochester Knockings: A Novel of the Fox Sisters by Hubert Haddad; translated from the French by Jennifer Grotz
The Unmapped Country: Stories and Fragments by Ann Quin; Jennifer Hodgson (Editor)
from the library...
Circe by Madeline Miller (Kindle edition)
Saturday, September 01, 2018
August (fifth week) 2018 Reads
I had planned to be away from home most of the week, but the place had no air conditioning. Monday night was quite pleasant, Tuesday night was miserable so we gave up and came home on Wednesday morning. It was too hot to do anything but read so I made a dent in the owned-but-unread stack.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Seven of Hearts; the selection is The Provincials by Daniel Alarcón (in The best American short stories, 2013, Kindle ed.)
Online...
The Illegal Ramen Vendors of Postwar Tokyo: Black markets and American wheat imports popularized ramen. By Hunter Lu
Two of my favorite topics - Postwar Japan and Food.
from my shelves...
When Adam Opens His Eyes by Jung-Il Jang; translated from the Korean by Sun-Ae Hwang and Horace Jeffery Hodges
Coming of age...
Lost Cities Found Objects, linked stories by Robert Fagan
OK, but it was my least favorite of this week's reading
The Animal Gazer by Edgardo Franzosini; translated from the Italian by Michael F. Moore
bio-fic inspired by the life of sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti
Brother in Ice by Alicia Kopf; translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
A young woman muses on her family relationships (including a disabled older brother) whilst engaging in research on the polar regions and other icy things. Excellent!
Sight by Jessie Greengrass
Advance Review Copy. As in Brother in Ice, a young woman muses on her life and family (especially pregnancy and mother/daughter/grandaughter relationships) whilst researching. This time the research involves Freud, Rontgen, and William and John Hunter. Also Excellent!
Allmen and the Dragonflies by Martin Suter; translated from the German by Steph Morris
Underhanded shenanigans in the world of art collectors and thieves. In this case the art is five missing Art Nouveau glass bowls created by renowned French artist Émile Gallé. Fictional account of what might have happened the the bowls.
The Baklava Club (Yashim the Eunuch #5) by Jason Goodwin
A pleasant mystery--not nearly as much fun as Allemen (above)--but OK. I haven't read the others in the series, I might pick one up at the library when I want a not too demanding diversion.
The Endless Summer by Madame Nielsen; translated from the Danish by Gaye Kynoch
Had trouble getting into this but it turned out to be a favorite. It just took a while to click.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Seven of Hearts; the selection is The Provincials by Daniel Alarcón (in The best American short stories, 2013, Kindle ed.)
Online...
The Illegal Ramen Vendors of Postwar Tokyo: Black markets and American wheat imports popularized ramen. By Hunter Lu
Two of my favorite topics - Postwar Japan and Food.
from my shelves...
When Adam Opens His Eyes by Jung-Il Jang; translated from the Korean by Sun-Ae Hwang and Horace Jeffery Hodges
Coming of age...
Lost Cities Found Objects, linked stories by Robert Fagan
OK, but it was my least favorite of this week's reading
The Animal Gazer by Edgardo Franzosini; translated from the Italian by Michael F. Moore
bio-fic inspired by the life of sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti
Brother in Ice by Alicia Kopf; translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
A young woman muses on her family relationships (including a disabled older brother) whilst engaging in research on the polar regions and other icy things. Excellent!
Sight by Jessie Greengrass
Advance Review Copy. As in Brother in Ice, a young woman muses on her life and family (especially pregnancy and mother/daughter/grandaughter relationships) whilst researching. This time the research involves Freud, Rontgen, and William and John Hunter. Also Excellent!
Allmen and the Dragonflies by Martin Suter; translated from the German by Steph Morris
Underhanded shenanigans in the world of art collectors and thieves. In this case the art is five missing Art Nouveau glass bowls created by renowned French artist Émile Gallé. Fictional account of what might have happened the the bowls.
The Baklava Club (Yashim the Eunuch #5) by Jason Goodwin
A pleasant mystery--not nearly as much fun as Allemen (above)--but OK. I haven't read the others in the series, I might pick one up at the library when I want a not too demanding diversion.
The Endless Summer by Madame Nielsen; translated from the Danish by Gaye Kynoch
Had trouble getting into this but it turned out to be a favorite. It just took a while to click.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
August (fourth week) 2018 Reads
Sunday drive - Explored Scoville Reservoir and Hancock Lake in Wolcott, CT. Lunch (omelets at El Cafesito Diner, 1804 Meriden Road (Rt 844), Wolcott.
Ice cream - actually fresh peach sundae free with purchase at Rodgers Orchards, 2876 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike (Rt 322), Southington.
Another day (I forget which day) - picnic from home at Devil's Hopyard State Park East Haddam
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Ten of Diamonds; the selection is The She-Wolf (in Beasts and Super-Beasts by Saki)
from the library...
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.
Sure hope I can get something else by her.
from my shelves...
Two fine novels of Dagestan:
The Mountain and the Wall by Alisa Ganieva; translated from the Russian by Carol Apollonio Bride and Groom by Alisa Ganieva: translated from the Russian by Carol Apollonio
Ice cream - actually fresh peach sundae free with purchase at Rodgers Orchards, 2876 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike (Rt 322), Southington.
Another day (I forget which day) - picnic from home at Devil's Hopyard State Park East Haddam
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Ten of Diamonds; the selection is The She-Wolf (in Beasts and Super-Beasts by Saki)
from the library...
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.
Sure hope I can get something else by her.
from my shelves...
Two fine novels of Dagestan:
The Mountain and the Wall by Alisa Ganieva; translated from the Russian by Carol Apollonio Bride and Groom by Alisa Ganieva: translated from the Russian by Carol Apollonio
Saturday, August 18, 2018
August (third week) 1018 Reads
Sunday day trip - an afternoon drive to and around Cogamond Lakes.
Ice cream at Moolicious Farm, 258 Feeding Hills Rd. (Route 57), Southwick MA.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Two of Hearts; the selection is
Testimony of Malik, Israeli agent, prisoner #287690 by Randa Jarrar (in Watchlist : 32 Stories by Persons of Interest)
Online...
Fact and Fox: enter the world of Dubravka Ugrešić’s new novel, a visceral study in elusiveness
Georgi Gospodinov: enter the world of the Bulgarian writer taking on empathy, sorrow and stereotypes
from the library...
In The Shade Of Spring Leaves: The Life Of Higuchi Ichiyo, With Nine Of Her Best Stories
by Ichiyō Higuchi: Introductory biography and translation of stories by Robert Lyons Danly
from my shelves...
At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien; Introduction by William H. Gass
Saturday, August 11, 2018
August (second week) 2018 Reads
A quiet week - no trips (weather), well I did go to the library.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Eight of Diamonds; the selection is Fanutza by Konrad Bercovici (in The Best Short Stories of 1921)
Ah well...
Gutenberg find...
The Confessions of Harry Lorrequer — Complete by Charles James Lever (originally published 1939)
I'm going to try to read at least some of this. I have to after I spent too much time getting it onto my Kindle...
from the library...
Quicksand by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki; translated from the Japanese by Howard Hibbett
To me this seemed a bit soap opera-ish.
One Station Away by Olaf Olafsson and Walking Into the Night by Olaf Olafsson
I loved both of these.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Eight of Diamonds; the selection is Fanutza by Konrad Bercovici (in The Best Short Stories of 1921)
Ah well...
Gutenberg find...
The Confessions of Harry Lorrequer — Complete by Charles James Lever (originally published 1939)
I'm going to try to read at least some of this. I have to after I spent too much time getting it onto my Kindle...
from the library...
Quicksand by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki; translated from the Japanese by Howard Hibbett
To me this seemed a bit soap opera-ish.
One Station Away by Olaf Olafsson and Walking Into the Night by Olaf Olafsson
I loved both of these.
Saturday, August 04, 2018
August (first week) 2018 Reads
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Queen of Hearts; the story The Taxidermist by David Abrams (in Watchlist: 32 Stories by Persons of Interest)
A taxidermist with a unique, unsettling paranormal gift. One of my favorite stories from this anthology. Here are some links to a few of Abrams' works online. He also has a great blog: The Quivering Pen
elsewhere online...
Treepedia: Exploring the Green Canopy in cities around the world
from MIT Senseable City Lab - a source worth further exploration.
and from the library...
Two excellent short story collections:
A Thousand Morons by Quim Monzó; translated from the Catalan by Peter Bush
Awayland by Ramona Ausubel
...and an ok collection:
Tell Tale: Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer
a good novel;
A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert
...and two novels that I found disappointing (because I've liked everything else I read from these authors):
The Neighborhood by Mario Vargas Llosa; translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman
The End of a Family Story by Péter Nádas; trhanslated from the Hungarian by Imre Goldstein
a non-fiction that I enjoyed:
The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 by Harvey Sachs
as for my shelves...I didn't touch them except to add some things that came in the mail.
A taxidermist with a unique, unsettling paranormal gift. One of my favorite stories from this anthology. Here are some links to a few of Abrams' works online. He also has a great blog: The Quivering Pen
elsewhere online...
Treepedia: Exploring the Green Canopy in cities around the world
from MIT Senseable City Lab - a source worth further exploration.
and from the library...
Two excellent short story collections:
A Thousand Morons by Quim Monzó; translated from the Catalan by Peter Bush
Awayland by Ramona Ausubel
...and an ok collection:
Tell Tale: Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer
a good novel;
A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert
...and two novels that I found disappointing (because I've liked everything else I read from these authors):
The Neighborhood by Mario Vargas Llosa; translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman
The End of a Family Story by Péter Nádas; trhanslated from the Hungarian by Imre Goldstein
a non-fiction that I enjoyed:
The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 by Harvey Sachs
as for my shelves...I didn't touch them except to add some things that came in the mail.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
July (fourth week) 2018 Reads
Hot and humid this week so only outings were to the Y, some food shopping, and a successful library trip.
Lots of reading "in progress" but only finished to short novels.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Three of Hearts; the selection is Sleeping where Jean Seberg Slept by Katherine Karlin (in Watchlist: 32 Short Stories by Persons of Interest)
from the library...
Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos; translated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey
Quesadillas by Juan Pablo Villalobos; translated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey
Lots of reading "in progress" but only finished to short novels.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Three of Hearts; the selection is Sleeping where Jean Seberg Slept by Katherine Karlin (in Watchlist: 32 Short Stories by Persons of Interest)
from the library...
Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos; translated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey
Quesadillas by Juan Pablo Villalobos; translated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey
Sunday, July 22, 2018
July (third week) 2018 Reads & Day Trips
Beautiful weather for outings this week.
Wednesday - Picnic & Swim - Chatfield Hollow State Park, Killingworth CT
Followed by ice cream at HK Dairy Barn, 986 Killingworth Rd (Rt 81), Higganum, CT
Friday - Picnic - Indian Well State Park, Shelton, CT Sandwiches from See More Sandwich Shoppe, 130 New Haven Road (Rt 67), Seymour, Ct.
Ice cream later at Whittemore Ice Cream, 114 So. Main (Rt. 115), Seymour, Ct.
Saturday - Lunch and walk at Lavender Pond Farm, Killingworth, CT.
Also, a good reading week...
but not for writing...
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Ten of Hearts; the selection is Strava by Steven Hayward (in Watchlist: 32 Short Stories by Persons of Interest).
from the library...
A Book of Memories by Péter Nádas; translated from the Hungarian by Ivan Sanders and Imre Goldstein
The Hare by César Aira; translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor
An Invisible Country by Stephan Wackwitz; translated from the German by Stephen Lehmann
from my shelves...
The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion
Advance review copy. I choose not to review.
Wednesday - Picnic & Swim - Chatfield Hollow State Park, Killingworth CT
Followed by ice cream at HK Dairy Barn, 986 Killingworth Rd (Rt 81), Higganum, CT
Friday - Picnic - Indian Well State Park, Shelton, CT Sandwiches from See More Sandwich Shoppe, 130 New Haven Road (Rt 67), Seymour, Ct.
Ice cream later at Whittemore Ice Cream, 114 So. Main (Rt. 115), Seymour, Ct.
Saturday - Lunch and walk at Lavender Pond Farm, Killingworth, CT.
Also, a good reading week...
but not for writing...
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Ten of Hearts; the selection is Strava by Steven Hayward (in Watchlist: 32 Short Stories by Persons of Interest).
from the library...
A Book of Memories by Péter Nádas; translated from the Hungarian by Ivan Sanders and Imre Goldstein
The Hare by César Aira; translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor
An Invisible Country by Stephan Wackwitz; translated from the German by Stephen Lehmann
from my shelves...
The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion
Advance review copy. I choose not to review.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
July (second week) 2018 Reads
A slow week for everything...
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Jack of Spades; the story is The brown dog and the yellow flower from China by Nicolas Ancion; translated from the French by Marlon Jones (in Best European fiction 2015)
from the library...
Learning to swim: and Other Stories by Graham Swift
from my shelves...
Fox by Dubravka Ugrešić; translated from the Croatian by Ellen Elias-Bursać and David Williams
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Jack of Spades; the story is The brown dog and the yellow flower from China by Nicolas Ancion; translated from the French by Marlon Jones (in Best European fiction 2015)
from the library...
Learning to swim: and Other Stories by Graham Swift
from my shelves...
Fox by Dubravka Ugrešić; translated from the Croatian by Ellen Elias-Bursać and David Williams
Saturday, July 07, 2018
July (first week) Reads
No day trips during the beastly heat wave--just a quick trip to the library.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Three of Diamonds; the story is De Amicitia (in Orientations by W Somerset Maugham)
Online...
The Guardian's Poem of the week: Typewriter by Matthew Francis
Loved the poem; the commentary (by Carol Rumens) following was OK even if it did remind me of those dreary lit classes where we picked at a writing until it was completely dead.
'My daring grandfather took a bit of East Berlin for himself' by Elaine Chong
The story of the Treehouse on the Wall, das Baumhaus an der Mauer.
from Project Gutenberg...
Cliff Dwellings of the Mesa Verde by Don Watson
Published in 1954 by the Mesa Verde Museum Association, Mesa Verde National Park. Colorado
Many photographs. I think I used this as a source for one of my junior high term papers.
from the library...
Fire and Knowledge: Fiction and Essays by Péter Nádas; translated from the Hungarian by Imre Goldstein
from my shelves...
Just Call Me Superhero by Alina Bronsky; translated from the German by Tim Mohr
Lion Cross Point by Masatsugu Ono; translated from the Japanese by Angus Turvill
Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina García
Saturday, June 30, 2018
June (24-30) 2018 Reads & Little Trips
Not many trips this week--too hot.
Monday - picnic Wickham Park, Manchester/East Hartford. Not a state or city park. It's a private foundation. $5 a car entrance fee. Lovely gardens, nice picnic areas.
Wednesday - picnic (with wading) Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middlefield/Middletown
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Two of Spades; the story is On the Beautiful Blue Danube by Georgi Tenev; translated from the Bulgarian by Angela Rodel (in Bat City Review, Issue 10, 2014)
The Danube is not anything near beautiful in this story of hazmat disposal.
online...
The Two Most Beautiful Words in Doughnut Language
from my shelves...
The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle
A pleasant read to fill in between more serious stuff. Actually this covered some serious stuff, but with a light touch. Not too dense.
Advance review copy from publisher.
Fashion Climbing. A Memoir with Photographs by Bill Cunningham; Preface by Hilton Als
It's fun to read a memoir by someone who had a passion for his work. This covers Cunningham early life and his struggle to make a living designing hats. Some inside stuff, some gossip, some goofy parties, and what it's like in the salons when designers parade their new lines. Fun to read. I was a bit disappointed that this didn't cover the latter portion of his life when he was a street photographer.
Advance review copy from the publisher.
Bat City Review, Issue 10/2014 (see here for contents)
Literary journal from the University of Texas at Austin. Poetry, Fiction, and Art.
from the library...
In the Land of Eternal Spring by Alan Howard
Young Americans get tangled up in the 1960s political situation in Guatemala.
Crimes of the Father by Thomas Keneally
Difficult subject matter--child abuse.
Revolution!: Writings from Russia: 1917 by Pete Ayrton (Editor)
Three that I checked out for home improvement ideas:
Dream Porches and Sunrooms: Designing the Perfect Retreat by Michael Snow
Pretty pictures and none of it fits my budget or daily life style. Nice places to visit.
Ultimate Guide: Porches by Steve Cory
A couple of these might actually be something I would want to add to my house.
Ideas for Great Patios & Decks by Sunset Magazines & Books
Maybe, if I still lived in California...
Monday - picnic Wickham Park, Manchester/East Hartford. Not a state or city park. It's a private foundation. $5 a car entrance fee. Lovely gardens, nice picnic areas.
Wednesday - picnic (with wading) Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middlefield/Middletown
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Two of Spades; the story is On the Beautiful Blue Danube by Georgi Tenev; translated from the Bulgarian by Angela Rodel (in Bat City Review, Issue 10, 2014)
The Danube is not anything near beautiful in this story of hazmat disposal.
online...
The Two Most Beautiful Words in Doughnut Language
from my shelves...
The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle
A pleasant read to fill in between more serious stuff. Actually this covered some serious stuff, but with a light touch. Not too dense.
Advance review copy from publisher.
Fashion Climbing. A Memoir with Photographs by Bill Cunningham; Preface by Hilton Als
It's fun to read a memoir by someone who had a passion for his work. This covers Cunningham early life and his struggle to make a living designing hats. Some inside stuff, some gossip, some goofy parties, and what it's like in the salons when designers parade their new lines. Fun to read. I was a bit disappointed that this didn't cover the latter portion of his life when he was a street photographer.
Advance review copy from the publisher.
Bat City Review, Issue 10/2014 (see here for contents)
Literary journal from the University of Texas at Austin. Poetry, Fiction, and Art.
from the library...
In the Land of Eternal Spring by Alan Howard
Young Americans get tangled up in the 1960s political situation in Guatemala.
Crimes of the Father by Thomas Keneally
Difficult subject matter--child abuse.
Revolution!: Writings from Russia: 1917 by Pete Ayrton (Editor)
Three that I checked out for home improvement ideas:
Dream Porches and Sunrooms: Designing the Perfect Retreat by Michael Snow
Pretty pictures and none of it fits my budget or daily life style. Nice places to visit.
Ultimate Guide: Porches by Steve Cory
A couple of these might actually be something I would want to add to my house.
Ideas for Great Patios & Decks by Sunset Magazines & Books
Maybe, if I still lived in California...
Saturday, June 23, 2018
June (fourth week) 2018 Reads & Little Trips
Little trips this Week:
Monday - Picnic & swim (wading, didn't get my hair wet) Day Pond State Park, Colchester CT.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - a little trip to do some more exploring in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Stayed in a cabin at Lake Waramaug State Park. This is not a rugged wilderness.
Spent the three days just poking around the area, wandering , seeing few local sites, and just relaxing. Very low-key.
Thur. Morning scenic drive to West Cornwall (covered bridge); afternoon wandering around village of Kent (live music at various outdoor venues)
Fri. Gunn Memorial Library & Historical Museum; Institute for American Indian Studies, both in Washington.
Breakfasts: Wed. home; Thur. Nine Main Cafe, New Preston; Fri. Noel's concession stand at Lake Waramaug State Park.
Lunches: Wed. picnic lunch (food from home) at cabin; Thur. J.P. Gifford Market and Catering Company, Kent followed by Ice Cream at Annie Bananie (note 9/28/19: permanently closed); Fri. Picnic at Black Rock State Park, Watertown (food from Marbledale Citco Quik Mart, New Preston)
Dinners: Wed. at cabin; Thur. Fantastic splurge meal on the terrace at Hopkins Inn on Lake Waramaug.
Reading this week:
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the King of Clubs; the selection is Chung Wenyin, Flesh and Bone Translated from the Chinese by Jennie Chia-Hui Chu
A Taiwanese daughter visits a healer at her mother's insistence.
online....
The Designers Who Made Disco: "The nightclub has always been a fiercely creative and radical architectural typology, a new exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum argues." by Alice Bucknell
Gutenberg finds...
My Year in a Log Cabin by William Dean Howells
Will download this to Kindle and read next time we stay in a log cabin.
The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre
Didn't read yet.
from the library...
Murder in the Museum by John Rowland
I picked up this British Library Crime Classic at a library book sale as a relaxing read on a little trip. Perfect choice. I read it in a couple of days and left at a little free library at the campground.
Granada by Radwa Ashour; translated from the Arabic by William Granara
Interesting novel of a Moorish family during the Inquisition.
Knots: Stories by Gunnhild Øyehaug; translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson
A little uneven; mostly good.
Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives by Sarah Williams Goldhagen
Meh.
Monday - Picnic & swim (wading, didn't get my hair wet) Day Pond State Park, Colchester CT.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - a little trip to do some more exploring in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Stayed in a cabin at Lake Waramaug State Park. This is not a rugged wilderness.
Spent the three days just poking around the area, wandering , seeing few local sites, and just relaxing. Very low-key.
Thur. Morning scenic drive to West Cornwall (covered bridge); afternoon wandering around village of Kent (live music at various outdoor venues)
Fri. Gunn Memorial Library & Historical Museum; Institute for American Indian Studies, both in Washington.
Breakfasts: Wed. home; Thur. Nine Main Cafe, New Preston; Fri. Noel's concession stand at Lake Waramaug State Park.
Lunches: Wed. picnic lunch (food from home) at cabin; Thur. J.P. Gifford Market and Catering Company, Kent followed by Ice Cream at Annie Bananie (note 9/28/19: permanently closed); Fri. Picnic at Black Rock State Park, Watertown (food from Marbledale Citco Quik Mart, New Preston)
Dinners: Wed. at cabin; Thur. Fantastic splurge meal on the terrace at Hopkins Inn on Lake Waramaug.
Reading this week:
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the King of Clubs; the selection is Chung Wenyin, Flesh and Bone Translated from the Chinese by Jennie Chia-Hui Chu
A Taiwanese daughter visits a healer at her mother's insistence.
online....
The Designers Who Made Disco: "The nightclub has always been a fiercely creative and radical architectural typology, a new exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum argues." by Alice Bucknell
Gutenberg finds...
My Year in a Log Cabin by William Dean Howells
Will download this to Kindle and read next time we stay in a log cabin.
The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre
Didn't read yet.
from the library...
Murder in the Museum by John Rowland
I picked up this British Library Crime Classic at a library book sale as a relaxing read on a little trip. Perfect choice. I read it in a couple of days and left at a little free library at the campground.
Granada by Radwa Ashour; translated from the Arabic by William Granara
Interesting novel of a Moorish family during the Inquisition.
Knots: Stories by Gunnhild Øyehaug; translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson
A little uneven; mostly good.
Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives by Sarah Williams Goldhagen
Meh.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
June (third week) 2018 Reads & Day Trips
Another week of fantastic weather hence more picnics...
Sunday Drive - Picnic: Chaffinch Island Park, Guilford, CT. This is a beautiful municipal park. Ice Cream: Fenwick Ice Cream Co.
Thursday Drive - Glastonbury/Hebron area. Picnic: picked up food at Gardiner's Market (terrific market) then ate at the Glastonbury ramp for the Rocky Hill - Glastonbury Ferry. We decided not to cross on the ferry and drove around exploring the area. We ended up at Gay City State Park Hebron, CT where we sat a spell enjoying the perfect weather (and munching store bought raspberry tarts).
Saturday (today) Drive - Picnic: picked up food from Pete's Weston Market (Weston CT--pricey but good food,a great selection of picnic stuff, and a nice bakery department petits fours! ) Ate at Putnam Memorial State Park Redding, CT.
So another week with not a lot of reading--just too nice not to go out and about. I did read a bit...
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Five of Clubs; the selection is The Canal-Boat (in The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe Reader edited and with introduction by Joan D. Hedrick.)
This is the last of the Stowe selections for the short story challenge. I have been reading the other parts of the book and have now read the entire book. Great reading.
online...
Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Chekhov
Wow!Of course I didn't read them all this week, but what a great resource.
Smith & Foulkes depicts an animated history of tennis for Wimbledon
And I've been spending a lot of time at The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) State Parks and Forests web site.
from the library..
The King Is Always Above the People: Stories by Daniel Alarcón
Good collection.
Sunday Drive - Picnic: Chaffinch Island Park, Guilford, CT. This is a beautiful municipal park. Ice Cream: Fenwick Ice Cream Co.
Thursday Drive - Glastonbury/Hebron area. Picnic: picked up food at Gardiner's Market (terrific market) then ate at the Glastonbury ramp for the Rocky Hill - Glastonbury Ferry. We decided not to cross on the ferry and drove around exploring the area. We ended up at Gay City State Park Hebron, CT where we sat a spell enjoying the perfect weather (and munching store bought raspberry tarts).Saturday (today) Drive - Picnic: picked up food from Pete's Weston Market (Weston CT--pricey but good food,a great selection of picnic stuff, and a nice bakery department petits fours! ) Ate at Putnam Memorial State Park Redding, CT.
So another week with not a lot of reading--just too nice not to go out and about. I did read a bit...
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Five of Clubs; the selection is The Canal-Boat (in The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe Reader edited and with introduction by Joan D. Hedrick.)
This is the last of the Stowe selections for the short story challenge. I have been reading the other parts of the book and have now read the entire book. Great reading.
online...
Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Chekhov
Wow!Of course I didn't read them all this week, but what a great resource.
Smith & Foulkes depicts an animated history of tennis for Wimbledon
And I've been spending a lot of time at The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) State Parks and Forests web site.
from the library..
The King Is Always Above the People: Stories by Daniel Alarcón
Good collection.
Saturday, June 09, 2018
June (second week) 2018 Reads & Day Trips
There was lots of meandering this week:
Sunday drive - This time in Fairfield County, CT. with lunch Easton Village Store and ice cream at Holy Cow in Newtown.
Wednesday picnic - Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford, CT. A gorgeous day to view Long Island Sound and the islands. Did not tour the house, it's open on weekends only.
Thursday Shopping - three specialty food markets.
The Olive Bazaar in Berlin, CT - Middle Eastern specialties, halal meats, fresh produce & bakery, frozen ingredients and entrees, dairy, bulk and packaged staples, lots of special treats. Clean and roomy, a fun place to shop. Owners very helpful and friendly.
Asia Grocers in Cromwell, CT - large, clean, well stocked with a beautiful produce section. Plenty of Asian foods (mostly Indian). The most "supermarket-like" place of the three.
Euro Grocery, Rocky Hill, CT - Mostly Greek, but they do have some other European foods. A small shop with a good cheese selection.
Friday Picnic - This time by the Connecticut River at Haddam Meadows State Park, Haddam, CT
Saturday Picnic - Picked up picnic stuff at Highland Park Market in Farmington and drove to Topsmead State Forest, Litchfield, CT for picnic and house tour.
There was also a library trip in there somewhere, Wednesday? No, it was Thursday. Picked up 5 books I had requested + 5 from browsing.
The reading this week...
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Four of Spades; the selection is Together With Chicken by Jung Young Moon; translated from the Korean by Jung Yewon (in A Most Ambiguous Sunday, and Other Stories)
I'm enjoying these offbeat stories.
online...
What better reading for our day trip season than this? An Illustrated History of the Picnic Table by Martin Hogue.
I've been exploring the first issue of Panel Magazine. This Budapest based magazine looks promising.
I love this house! One of my recent enthusiasms is looking at houses with indoor swimming pools. This pool isn't exactly indoor, but then it's not exactly outdoor either.
Issue 52 of The Quarterly Conversation is full of good stuff: Emma Ramadan on being a translator; Chad Post makes me want read a 640 page book I would never have considered if I hadn't read his review of Lost Empress* by Sergio de la Pava; and J. Daniel Elam reviews Alan Hollinghurst's The Sparsholt Affair makes me so glad I read the book. I'm hesitant to read more of this issue--my TBR list is already so long....
*am delighted to find I can get this at my local library.
Speaking of Chad Post, The Reykjavík Grapevine has a good post about Chad's Open Letter Books.
Ten Years in Translation: US Publisher Of Icelandic Fiction Open Letter Books Fills A Decade
I spent a lot of time browsing at The Reykjavík Grapevine, which bills itself as "Your essential guide to life, travel and entertainment in Iceland."
from the library...
The People in the Photo by Hélène Gestern; translated from the French by Emily Boyce and Ros Schwartz. A fun read.
Black Vodka: Ten Stories by Deborah Levy
Can't go wrong with Levy.
from my shelves...
The Tidings of the Trees by Wolfgang Hilbig; translated from the German by Isabel Fargo Cole
Sunday drive - This time in Fairfield County, CT. with lunch Easton Village Store and ice cream at Holy Cow in Newtown.
Wednesday picnic - Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford, CT. A gorgeous day to view Long Island Sound and the islands. Did not tour the house, it's open on weekends only.
Thursday Shopping - three specialty food markets.
The Olive Bazaar in Berlin, CT - Middle Eastern specialties, halal meats, fresh produce & bakery, frozen ingredients and entrees, dairy, bulk and packaged staples, lots of special treats. Clean and roomy, a fun place to shop. Owners very helpful and friendly.
Asia Grocers in Cromwell, CT - large, clean, well stocked with a beautiful produce section. Plenty of Asian foods (mostly Indian). The most "supermarket-like" place of the three.
Euro Grocery, Rocky Hill, CT - Mostly Greek, but they do have some other European foods. A small shop with a good cheese selection.
Friday Picnic - This time by the Connecticut River at Haddam Meadows State Park, Haddam, CT
Saturday Picnic - Picked up picnic stuff at Highland Park Market in Farmington and drove to Topsmead State Forest, Litchfield, CT for picnic and house tour.
There was also a library trip in there somewhere, Wednesday? No, it was Thursday. Picked up 5 books I had requested + 5 from browsing.
The reading this week...
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Four of Spades; the selection is Together With Chicken by Jung Young Moon; translated from the Korean by Jung Yewon (in A Most Ambiguous Sunday, and Other Stories)
I'm enjoying these offbeat stories.
online...
What better reading for our day trip season than this? An Illustrated History of the Picnic Table by Martin Hogue.
I've been exploring the first issue of Panel Magazine. This Budapest based magazine looks promising.
I love this house! One of my recent enthusiasms is looking at houses with indoor swimming pools. This pool isn't exactly indoor, but then it's not exactly outdoor either.
Issue 52 of The Quarterly Conversation is full of good stuff: Emma Ramadan on being a translator; Chad Post makes me want read a 640 page book I would never have considered if I hadn't read his review of Lost Empress* by Sergio de la Pava; and J. Daniel Elam reviews Alan Hollinghurst's The Sparsholt Affair makes me so glad I read the book. I'm hesitant to read more of this issue--my TBR list is already so long....
*am delighted to find I can get this at my local library.
Speaking of Chad Post, The Reykjavík Grapevine has a good post about Chad's Open Letter Books.
Ten Years in Translation: US Publisher Of Icelandic Fiction Open Letter Books Fills A Decade
I spent a lot of time browsing at The Reykjavík Grapevine, which bills itself as "Your essential guide to life, travel and entertainment in Iceland."
from the library...
The People in the Photo by Hélène Gestern; translated from the French by Emily Boyce and Ros Schwartz. A fun read.
Black Vodka: Ten Stories by Deborah Levy
Can't go wrong with Levy.
from my shelves...
The Tidings of the Trees by Wolfgang Hilbig; translated from the German by Isabel Fargo Cole
Saturday, June 02, 2018
June (first week) 2018 Reads & Day Trips
We dined at a castle this week, sort of. Sandwiches: watercress and prosciutto on ciabatta. Dessert: strawberry shortcake. Castle: Gillette Castle State ParkOur picnic site was near one of the ponds and we strolled around the area without actually going in the castle (been there done that). It was a beautiful day and a nice drive home exploring back roads.
Another outing this week combined a trip to the Wallingford Public Library with a lunch stop at Kayumangi, a Filipino grocery store/restaurant in Wallingford. (Link is to a sample page, don't know if will keep.) We had delicious stews served with rice and a excellent flan for dessert. We'll be back!
Oh yes this is a reading blog so here is what I read...humm, Filipino food and Peruvian lit. What's next? Look for a local Peruvian eatery? Filipino writing? The books waiting for me on the holds shelf are Iranian, French, and British!
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Three of Clubs; the selection is Muqtatafat : a comics anthology featuring artists from the Middle East region: Part one: English language. Manal and Alaa : a love story / by Lena Merhej -- Breath underwater / by Mike V. Derderian -- Anomaly / by Omar Khouri --Time travel / by Maya Zankoul --Liberty gone wild / by Nidal El Khairy --Filsteezy / by Mahdi Fleifel and Basel Nasr --Birdie mania / by Ghadi Ghosn -- Noûs somme / by Sandra Ghosn -- The genie of the throne / by Wassim Maouad
online...
Mourning My Birthplace: On Immigration, Family, and the Distance in Between “When you’ve spent your life apart from a loved one, what prepares you for not knowing how to mourn?” by Natalia Sylvester.
The author was born in Lima, Peru and came to the U.S. at age four. In this essay she tell about going to Peru join family at her dying grandfather's bedside.
from my shelves...
Ten Women by Marcela Serrano; translated from the Spanish by Beth Fowler (Kindle edition)
Very good linked stories of Peruvian women. Nine are clients of a psychologist. Their stories are first person narratives. The tenth woman is the therapist. Her story is told by her assistant.
Saturday, May 26, 2018
May (fourth week) 2018 Reads
Finished two really good books this week and a third one that I'm not so sure about. Also had a very pleasant picnic at the Hampton Reservoir Boat Launch. The picture shows that this a place for launching canoes, kayaks, and other small craft.
It's a really pleasant and restful place.
Saw some families of geese and some other birds.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is, oops, cards are, a Joker and the Five of Spades.
The story for ♠5♠ is Way of Remembrance by Jung Young Moon; translated from the Korean by Jung Yewon (in A Most Ambiguous Sunday and other stories)
A story of mourning and remembering. Weird and I liked it.
The Joker is a wild card...so here is something I came across this when I was looking at Lev Parikian's blog (see entry for his book below) Reasons to be cheerful
from my shelves...
Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? 200 birds, 12 months, 1 lapsed birdwatcher by Lev ParikianI doubt that I will ever go bird watching in the UK (or anywhere else), still I thoroughly enjoyed this account of attempting to spot 200 species in one calendar year. It was really fun to look over Parikian's shoulder while he indulged his passion.
Actually I occasionally watch a few birds in my backyard--robins (our state bird), cardinals, some sort of woodpecker who drilled a hole in the eaves, a wild turkey, some migrating geese who liked the big puddle in the back yard, and an unidentified little bird that has set a nest in our hanging flower basket. And then those aquatic thingies (geese? ducks? loons?) at the reservoir. I enjoy looking at them without knowing details. Quoting the author (from his blog entry Reasons to be cheerful) "Resisting the temptation to photograph the above and put it on Instagram, but just drinking it in and remembering it."
I also enjoy the author's blog where he talks about birds, music, cook books and other stuff.
I participated in crowdfunding this book through Unbound.
Radiant Terminus by Antoine Volodine; translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman
Stunning!
The Attempt by Magdaléna Platzová: translated from the Czech by Alex Zucker
Not sure how I feel about this novel about anarchists. I thin it deserves a reread before I comment or rate it.
Free from the publisher as a sort of "bonus" along with a book I requested through LibraryThing.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
May (third week) 2018 Reads
I really have been reading, writing has been the problem. Just haven't been in the mood to blog, plus I've been juggling several books and only finished one. Had auto work, a medical appointment, and took a friend to her med appt, so I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms.thus, the Kindle book got my attention.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Six of Clubs; the selection is The Old Meeting-House: Sketch from the Note-Book of an Old Gentlemen (from The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe reader)
A glimpse of old New England when everyone in the household (even the dogs) went to meeting.
Carry over from last week: the card was the Jack of Hearts; the selection was Second Chance by Etgar Keret (in Watchlist : 32 stories by persons of interest).
This was very short and fun. What if we had a way to go back and take the road not taken?
from the library...
The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst (Kindle edition)
Liked this a lot, Hollinghurst is one of my favorite writers. I wish he'd given this father and son a different surname--I keep forgetting "Sparsholt" when people ask what I'm reading.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Six of Clubs; the selection is The Old Meeting-House: Sketch from the Note-Book of an Old Gentlemen (from The Oxford Harriet Beecher Stowe reader)
A glimpse of old New England when everyone in the household (even the dogs) went to meeting.
Carry over from last week: the card was the Jack of Hearts; the selection was Second Chance by Etgar Keret (in Watchlist : 32 stories by persons of interest).
This was very short and fun. What if we had a way to go back and take the road not taken?
from the library...
The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst (Kindle edition)
Liked this a lot, Hollinghurst is one of my favorite writers. I wish he'd given this father and son a different surname--I keep forgetting "Sparsholt" when people ask what I'm reading.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
May (second week) 2018 Reads
This wasn't much of a reading week. I've been reading steadily in several books and I'm enjoying the slow reading process. I've also enjoyed the better weather and have taken several day trips including a picnic on the Farmington River and a lunch at seafood place over in Rhode Island. On the way home from RI we stopped and had fabulous ice cream at Buttonwood Farm. Not a great weather day. It was drippy and chilly so we ate our ice cream in the car and watched the cows munch on bright green grass.I did not get to this week's "Deal Me In" story. The card is the Jack of Hearts; the selection is Second Chance by Etgar Keret (in Watchlist : 32 stories by persons of interest). I'll pull another card and report on two next week.
Saturday, May 05, 2018
May (first week) 2018 Reads
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Jack of Clubs; the selection is On the Threshold, an excerpt from The Diaries of Emilio Renzi by Ricardo Piglia; translated from the Spanish by Robert Croll
Well, all these little bits made me add the source to my wish list.
"But he had realized he must start with the leftovers, with what had not been written, to move toward things that had not been recorded but persisted and twinkled in his memory like dying lights. Minuscule events that had mysteriously survived the nighttime of forgetting. They are visions, flashes sent from the past, images that endure, isolated, without frames, without context, cut loose, and we can’t forget them, right?"
from the library...
Sundays in August by Patrick Modiano; translated from the French by Damion Searls
Good, but I didn't like it as much as some of his other work. Maybe because it's set in Nice, not Paris?
The Little Stranger (Kindle Edition) by Sarah Waters
Set in England shortly after the end ow World War 2. Kind of a Gothic novel with mysterious things happening in a crumbling manor house. I kept at it, and was sort of rewarded in the end.
Quickening Fields by Pattiann Rogers
These fifty-three lyrical poems made me reconsider the world around me with an altered vision.
read online...
Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots by Margarita Engle, Rudy Gutierrez (Illustrations)
A middle-grade poem about the Los Angeles Zoot Suit Riots (1943). Excellent.
Read free online at Rivited.
Well, all these little bits made me add the source to my wish list.
"But he had realized he must start with the leftovers, with what had not been written, to move toward things that had not been recorded but persisted and twinkled in his memory like dying lights. Minuscule events that had mysteriously survived the nighttime of forgetting. They are visions, flashes sent from the past, images that endure, isolated, without frames, without context, cut loose, and we can’t forget them, right?"
from the library...
Sundays in August by Patrick Modiano; translated from the French by Damion Searls
Good, but I didn't like it as much as some of his other work. Maybe because it's set in Nice, not Paris?
The Little Stranger (Kindle Edition) by Sarah Waters
Set in England shortly after the end ow World War 2. Kind of a Gothic novel with mysterious things happening in a crumbling manor house. I kept at it, and was sort of rewarded in the end.
Quickening Fields by Pattiann Rogers
These fifty-three lyrical poems made me reconsider the world around me with an altered vision.
read online...
Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots by Margarita Engle, Rudy Gutierrez (Illustrations)
A middle-grade poem about the Los Angeles Zoot Suit Riots (1943). Excellent.
Read free online at Rivited.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
April (fourth week) 2018 Reads
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Ten of Clubs; the
Yasujiro Ozu (1903–1963) was a film director and screenwriter. These are selections from his prose writing for periodicals. Marunouchi Staffage: A tour of Tokyo’s commercial strip (1933); The Unexpected Pleasures of Riding Trains (1937); and Here We Are, on Narayama: A few words about my mother (1958).
from my shelves...
Sphinx by Anne Garréta; translated from the French by Emma Ramadan
Stunning!
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations by Sarah Cleave (Editor), Anoud (Contributor),
Wajdi Al-Ahdal (Contributor), Ubah Cristina Ali Farah (Contributor), Najwa Binshatwan Contributor), Rania Mamoun (Contributor), Fereshteh Molavi (Contributor), Zaher Omareen (Contributor) , Ruth Ahmedzai Kem (Translator), Basam Ghalayini (Translator), Perween Richards (Translator), Sawad Hussain (Translator), William M. Hutchins (Translator), Hope Campbell Gustafson (Translator)
An anthology of stories from writers from the countries whose people the Trump administration wants to exclude from immigration to the USA. Some of these stories are excellent, one or two are not so great, but all give a very human look at the plight of refugees.
Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson
I enjoyed this charming epistolary novel. She is in England dealing with a so-so marriage, he is in Denmark grieving the loss of his wife.
Free advance review copy
Sleeping Mask: Fictions by Peter LaSalle
Very nice short stories. Definitely a keeper to reread. Publisher sent me a free copy along with an advance review copy of another title (one I requested) through LibraryThing.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
April (third week) 2018 Reads
Slow reading week...juggling several books...
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Five of Hearts; the story is Malaria by Michael Byers (in The Best American Short Stories, 2013)
So so story..
Gutenberg finds...
Patroon Van Volkenberg : A Tale of Old Manhattan in the Year Sixteen Hundred & Ninety-nine. by Henry Thew Stephenson; Illustrated by C. M. Reylea
"I turned on my heel to look at the town in which
I intended to lodge for the night. It was now late
and fully dark, and one or two dim lights were all
that I could see in Gravesoon by way of welcome.
At that moment a feeling of loneliness took such
2strong hold of me that I cast my eyes once more
upon the open sea for the meagre companionship
of the pirate crew that was gliding away into the
dark. But the ship was already so far from shore
that the sounds that always accompany getting
under way could no longer reach me, though I
strained hard to hear them. In ten minutes even
the vague outline of the vessel against the sky had
completely blended with the darkness. Then I realized
for the first time that I was all alone in a
strange land. My only companions were the heavy
sorrow in my heart and a strong hope that this
sorrow would soon be turned to joy by virtue of
the errand that was now bringing me to New
York.'
Don't know if I'll finish this...am on Chapter three...
The Book of the Feet : A History Of Boots And Shoes, With Illustrations Of The Fashions Of The Egyptians, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks, And Romans, And The Prevailing Style Throughout Europe, During The Middle Ages, Down To The Present Period; Also, Hints To Last-Makers, And Remedies For Corns, Etc.
B y J. S p a r k e s H a l l, Patent-Elastic-Boot Maker To Her Majesty The Queen, The Queen Dowager, And The Queen Of The Belgians. From The Second London Edition, With A History Of Boots And Shoes In The United States, Biographical Sketches Of Eminent Shoemakers, And Crispin Anecdotes (American Edition, 1847)
Didn't read the entire text, but loved the illustrations.
from my shelves...
Angelica's Smile (Commissario Montalbano #17) by Andrea Camilleri; translated from the Italian bt Stephen Sartarelli
It was OK, but I think I've now read one too many in the series (and I haven't read all 17). Put in the donation pile.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Five of Hearts; the story is Malaria by Michael Byers (in The Best American Short Stories, 2013)
So so story..
Gutenberg finds...
Patroon Van Volkenberg : A Tale of Old Manhattan in the Year Sixteen Hundred & Ninety-nine. by Henry Thew Stephenson; Illustrated by C. M. Reylea
"I turned on my heel to look at the town in which
I intended to lodge for the night. It was now late
and fully dark, and one or two dim lights were all
that I could see in Gravesoon by way of welcome.
At that moment a feeling of loneliness took such
2strong hold of me that I cast my eyes once more
upon the open sea for the meagre companionship
of the pirate crew that was gliding away into the
dark. But the ship was already so far from shore
that the sounds that always accompany getting
under way could no longer reach me, though I
strained hard to hear them. In ten minutes even
the vague outline of the vessel against the sky had
completely blended with the darkness. Then I realized
for the first time that I was all alone in a
strange land. My only companions were the heavy
sorrow in my heart and a strong hope that this
sorrow would soon be turned to joy by virtue of
the errand that was now bringing me to New
York.'Don't know if I'll finish this...am on Chapter three...
The Book of the Feet : A History Of Boots And Shoes, With Illustrations Of The Fashions Of The Egyptians, Hebrews, Persians, Greeks, And Romans, And The Prevailing Style Throughout Europe, During The Middle Ages, Down To The Present Period; Also, Hints To Last-Makers, And Remedies For Corns, Etc.
B y J. S p a r k e s H a l l, Patent-Elastic-Boot Maker To Her Majesty The Queen, The Queen Dowager, And The Queen Of The Belgians. From The Second London Edition, With A History Of Boots And Shoes In The United States, Biographical Sketches Of Eminent Shoemakers, And Crispin Anecdotes (American Edition, 1847)
Didn't read the entire text, but loved the illustrations.
from my shelves...
Angelica's Smile (Commissario Montalbano #17) by Andrea Camilleri; translated from the Italian bt Stephen Sartarelli
It was OK, but I think I've now read one too many in the series (and I haven't read all 17). Put in the donation pile.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
April (second week) 2018 Reads
Didn't read a lot this week--we finally had some decent weather and went for a couple of outings including delicious ice cream at the UCONN Dairy Bar.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Six of Spades; the story is Afternoon of a Faun by Jung Young Moon (in A most ambiguous Sunday, and other stories); translated from the Korean by Krys Lee and the author.
A quiet dream-like story of three friends spending an afternoon on a lake shore. Nothing much happens as they retell personal stories they've all heard before. A boring afternoon but the writing is lovely and not boring in its creation of an atmosphere of ennui.
Gutenberg finds...
Making Tin Can Toys by Edward Thatcher, c. 1919
Not that I read the whole text--it's quite detailed and I'm not actually going to try to make these. But I loved the pictures and the whole idea. If I had the tools, maybe I'd give it a try.
Suffrage Songs and Verses by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Published in 1911
25 poems, here is a sample (I feel frustrated when I read this) :
COMING
Because the time is ripe, the age is ready,
Because the world her woman’s help demands,
Out of the long subjection and seclusion
Come to our field of warfare and confusion
The mother’s heart and hands.
Long has she stood aside, endured and waited,
While man swung forward, toiling on alone;
Now, for the weary man, so long ill-mated,
Now, for the world for which she was created,
Comes woman to her own.
Not for herself! though sweet the air of freedom;
Not for herself, though dear the new-born power;
But for the child, who needs a nobler mother,
For the whole people, needing one another,
Comes woman to her hour.
from the library...
The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home by Denise Kiernan
An interesting account, but it has much padding that hasn't anything to do with do with the Baltimore.
from my shelves...
Mourning by Eduardo Halfon; translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman and Daniel Hahn
Loved it! Halfon is always wonderful to read.
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Six of Spades; the story is Afternoon of a Faun by Jung Young Moon (in A most ambiguous Sunday, and other stories); translated from the Korean by Krys Lee and the author.
A quiet dream-like story of three friends spending an afternoon on a lake shore. Nothing much happens as they retell personal stories they've all heard before. A boring afternoon but the writing is lovely and not boring in its creation of an atmosphere of ennui.
Gutenberg finds...
Making Tin Can Toys by Edward Thatcher, c. 1919
Not that I read the whole text--it's quite detailed and I'm not actually going to try to make these. But I loved the pictures and the whole idea. If I had the tools, maybe I'd give it a try.
Suffrage Songs and Verses by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Published in 1911
25 poems, here is a sample (I feel frustrated when I read this) :
COMING
Because the time is ripe, the age is ready,
Because the world her woman’s help demands,
Out of the long subjection and seclusion
Come to our field of warfare and confusion
The mother’s heart and hands.
Long has she stood aside, endured and waited,
While man swung forward, toiling on alone;
Now, for the weary man, so long ill-mated,
Now, for the world for which she was created,
Comes woman to her own.
Not for herself! though sweet the air of freedom;
Not for herself, though dear the new-born power;
But for the child, who needs a nobler mother,
For the whole people, needing one another,
Comes woman to her hour.
from the library...
The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home by Denise Kiernan
An interesting account, but it has much padding that hasn't anything to do with do with the Baltimore.
from my shelves...
Mourning by Eduardo Halfon; translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman and Daniel Hahn
Loved it! Halfon is always wonderful to read.
Saturday, April 07, 2018
April (first week) 2018 Reads
This week the "Deal Me In" card is the Two of Diamonds; the story is Old Man Savarin (on Project Gutenberg in Old Man Savarin and Other Stories, by Edward William Thomson)
A fun story about fishing rights in Canada. Difficult to read because of the dialect.
online...
This Spanish Architect Wants to Revolutionize the Home—by Getting Rid of Kitchens by Samuel Medina"Few spaces of the home are as coveted as the kitchen. But Anna Puigjaner is showing the way out of these wasteful private cooking boxes toward more efficient “shared” alternatives."
from the library...
The Fairy Tales of Hermann Hesse by Hermann Hesse; Translated from the German by Jack D. Zipes; Illustrated by David Frampton (Illustrator)
from my shelves...
The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov; translated from the Bulgarian by Angela Rodel
I've been reading this as part of Season Four of the Two Month Review
A great read and I really enjoyed the podcasts and essays on the Three Percent blog.
Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones
An excellent collection of short stories of African Americans in Washington, D.C.
Saturday, March 31, 2018
March (fifth week) 2018 Reads
This week I juggled several short story collections and only finished one book (a biography, not short stories).
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the Five of Diamonds; the story is The Last Asset (on Project Gutenberg in The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories, by Edith Wharton)
Americans in Paris. Love this sentence "He was presumably a bachelor—a man of family ties, however relaxed, though he might have been as often absent from home would not have been as regularly present in the same place—and there was about him a boundless desultoriness which renewed Garnett's conviction that there is no one on earth as idle as an American who is not busy."
from the library...
Empress of the East; How a Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman empire by Leslie Peirce
A biography of Roxelana, wife of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent.
also from the library....a film
The French minister / directed by Bertrand Tavernier. New York, NY : IFC Films, [2014]
A spoof on french involvement in international diplomacy.
The "Deal Me In" card this week is the Five of Diamonds; the story is The Last Asset (on Project Gutenberg in The Hermit and the Wild Woman and Other Stories, by Edith Wharton)
Americans in Paris. Love this sentence "He was presumably a bachelor—a man of family ties, however relaxed, though he might have been as often absent from home would not have been as regularly present in the same place—and there was about him a boundless desultoriness which renewed Garnett's conviction that there is no one on earth as idle as an American who is not busy."
from the library...
Empress of the East; How a Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman empire by Leslie Peirce
A biography of Roxelana, wife of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent.
also from the library....a film
The French minister / directed by Bertrand Tavernier. New York, NY : IFC Films, [2014]
A spoof on french involvement in international diplomacy.
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