by good reading
This fall’s rainy days and dark evenings have been perfect to cosy up with some good books. Here’s a short list of some that I have been enjoying:
1. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos – this review says it all for me, though perhaps reveals too much of the story. Chapter 25 was most compelling for me with its vivid description of the creative process of breaking and remaking. This book was recommended by a reader in a comment to one of my many posts on broken china. The image above is a reposting of one such “break”.
2. How Many Roads? by Jonathan Sa’adah is a gorgeous book of his stunning sepia photographs taken in the late 60s and early 70s. My husband and I enjoyed revisiting that time from our youth when from a distance we read and heard about what was happening below the border from us in Canada. Wonderful essays too. We highly recommend it. Order from Phoenicia Publishing. We are very pleased to support our friends Jonathan and Beth Adams and to have this treasure to remember them by.
3. I wrote about Emily Carr recently and felt inspired to reread, afer many decades, her books Klee Wyck and The House of All Sorts – such sweet pleasures still underway.
November 13, 2014 in Books, Other artists, Photography by Marja-Leena
I need to read more, but find it difficult to settle, and more and more resent time wasted on indifferent books. Thanks for the recommendations anyway. Striking broken china photo.
Lucy, I should read more too but also get impatient if the reading is boring. I gave up quickly on one book because it had very bad text design and layout with long long paragraphs. I do most reading in the evening, even during the night sometimes, so it has to be gentle on my eyes and my tired mind.
I’m happy you like the image.
I do need to get “How Many Roads?”
And what a reproach or warning to those of us who make books is Lucy’s “time wasted on indifferent books!”
Marly, yes, you must get “How Many Roads?”
No worries, your books do not fit the category of “indifferent”. I keep checking online for your latest to be available in Canada – A.ca says 1 to 2 months wait.
Indeed Marly, no need to worry! I would doubtless be reading ‘Glimmerglass’ now except it’s the time of year when Tom starts snaffling my book parcels and hiding them away for Christmas!
No, the last novel I read, and berated myself for even bothering to finish, was ‘Her Fearful Symmetry’ by Audrey Niffenegger, who wrote ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ a book I didn’t love unreservedly, but I was impressed with it and it worked; the conceit hung together throughout and there was some depth behind it. But this one was so bad, and got worse and worse, that I couldn’t believe it was by the same writer, and I can’t imagine any publisher would have looked twice at it if it hadn’t been. Life’s too short to waste on such things, there are too many good books still to read!
Lucy, I enjoyed ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ and am surprised her next book was so disappointing. I won’t bother with that one, thanks for the warning! Indeed, there are far too many good ones out there to read, more than I could in my lifetime surely.
I sometimes am left to ponder if I’m lazy or a poorly educated reader when I cannot understand or enjoy certain highly rated literary novels.
Very sweet, Lucy! And I did get “How Many Roads?,” Marja-Leena!
We have a month declared “reading month”, that is people signed in should read at least 30 pages/day. I seem to read more. And yet: today they announced Finlandia-bookprice candidates, and I haven’t read any of them. There are six of them. But presently reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel called The Namesake, and Predrag Matvejevic’s Our Bread (a historical study of bread starting from Mesopotamia to today’s Europe, but essayistish type of read), which both books are interesting and a way to fight away fast increasing darkness.
Today: temperature around 0 C, frozen surface on streets, not slippery, thick clouds and pitch dart right now at 17 o’clock. Winter hasn’t started yet. Take courage, brave Canadians!
Ripsa, I’ve heard of these ‘reading months’ but have never put that kind of pressure on myself. I know you are a huge reader and also write a lot about the books you have read – good for you! The books you mention here are unknown to me, translations presumably.
Our temperatures seem similar to yours at the moment. Being clear the nights are frosty – 3C last night, warming up to 5 to 7C by noon so we are enjoying being outdoors doing the garden chores. Sunset is now 16:00 so that is similar too. The rest of Canada is having far colder weather.
Marja-Leena, Jhumpa Lahiri writes in English and is presently living either in East Coast USA or in London. The book has a story of how to manage upbringing a baby in Hindi style and find a proper Hindi name, not just a calling name. Lahiri is a very good story teller. In-between the cultures always appears interesting things, not only misunderstandings. Power figures take and rise over the young family’s quest of identity. At least with a name and in proper time after the birth.
It’s called bureaugrazy (my own spelling), and there isn’t seemingly no force over that faction of our finely tuned modern societies. Humor in Lahiri’s book is subtle. Hindi’s have actually a very fine and full of crazy detailed sense of imagination. Hilarious!
So let’s read! There is long time before the real darkness steps in, and the life as we use to know it, takes a violent end and threatens the life on people. We probably end up in February kinda like zombies…
Ripsa, thanks for telling me more about Jhumpa Lahiri. I looked up the name and learned that she was born in London, grew up in the USA and now lives in Rome with her husband and children. I also checked my library and it has several books by her including “The Namesake” which sounds like the book you are describing. It’s been made into a movie. So, it will be next on my reading list! We have many Hindi and Muslim peoples here in BC.
There’s nothing so nice during the cold dark months as to have some good books close by. Speaking of books about India, the one I’m looking forward to is the third in Amitav Ghosh’s ‘Ibis’ trilogy that will be released in March. It’s been so long since the second I’ll have to read all three in order. Now I have a rule about trilogies – not to read any until all are published.
Susan, we are agreed on rading for winter nights, and you’ve named an intrriguing one that I must check out. Oh my, I know what you mean about trilogies and even longer series for I’ve been caught that way too!
I downloaded a sample of *Broken for You.* It’s $8.80 U.S. on a Kindle download.
The other books I’ve already read! And I’m passing *How Many Roads* around to the several people I know who would love it as I do. We were young, remember?
Hattie, I know you are an avid reader especially on your Kindle. For fiction, I use the library, still preferring paper. Let me know how you like ‘Broken for You’.