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| Bookcrossers on "Around the World" trip |
| 11.24.04 (4:23 am) [edit] |
Today I received a release alert for three books, released in my city,Sofia (Bulgaria).When I went to see the journal entries,I understood that the bookcrosser is from England and is making a trip around the world by bike along with his wife. They are in Sofia now.They release books on spots during their travel.They have a very interesting travel weblog and I would recommend it as an interesting read:
bigtrip.blogspot.com http://www.bigtrip.blogspot.c...
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| I finished a few books |
| 11.22.04 (10:07 pm) [edit] |
Haven`t posted here for a while....I had a pretty good reading week. I read:
The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi
The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk
A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton
Now I started "Snow" by Orhan Pamuk.This is his last novel so far,written in 2002.I bought it in Italy,June 2004. It is an English translation.
At first,I wasn`t sure if I was going to read "A Map of the World" until the end.I got a bit depressed over the story and feelings of Alice. Then I managed to distance myself and enjoy the good writing.It is not a pleasant or easy reading. It is about how lives can be turned upside down,how problems lying dormant for many years,may arise and demand an immediate solution.The family of Alice seemed a perfect one,with role models neatly divided between Alice and her husband...until their foundation was shuttered and they had to look for new models and to find again way to each other.
"The Mango Season" was funny and entertaining.Not so good as other Asian writers I have read but still quite enjoyable.I don`t remember if I wrote a review of this book here...but in brief,the story is about an Indian girl who lives for seven years in US. During her stay in US the impossible thing happened-she went with an American,and more than that, a black man! Meanwhile,her parents keep planning a decent marriage with some good-looking rich Indian boy. She has decided finally to go visit them and tell them she is going to marry an American. Of course,it is not an easy task and she risks to be expelled from the family,which almost happens. In general,a good novel about gap between cultures and generations,traditions and liberality.
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| The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk |
| 11.19.04 (3:55 am) [edit] |
I "won" this book on Bookrelay site (http://bookrelay.net ) choosing it from a bookcrosser`s shelf. It is not an easy book to understand,although it was quite quick and interesting one.Orhan Pamuk explores the philosophical question about personality and what makes a person unique.
A scholar from Venice is captured near Istanbul and given as a slave to a mysterious Turkish scholar nicknamed "Hoja". Hoja wants to learn from him everything which the European scholars know. The odd thing is that Hoja and the Italian resemble each other so much as if they were twins.
They spent all their time together,learning,studyin g,torturing each other with pervert intelectual games and violence. All the time they spy secretly one after another,trying to understand how they are different,and are they different at all,when they have one and the same face.
At the end of the book they completely exchange their positions and identities: Hoja learns Italian and returns to Venice,loaded with the memories of his friend; the Italian scholar takes the place of Hoja and settles until the end of life in Turkey.
To admit honestly,I didn`t understand the book fully, it was more like an intelectual exercise,and I missed the "flesh and blood",so to say,the emotional part.
Orhan Pamuk is one of my favorite writers and in principal I look forward to read everything by him,so I`m glad I added this one to my knowledge of his works.
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| Floating in My Mother`s Palm by Ursula Hegi |
| 11.14.04 (12:24 pm) [edit] |
I finished the book today.I liked it very much.This is a charming book. It is about the childhood of Hanna Malter,a young girl growing up in 1950s in Burgdorf- the same village where Ursual Hegi placed the story of her famous novel, "Stones from the River". If one has read "Stones from the River",this one may seem like some kind of sequel,but it is an independant book and can be read by itself.
It consist of chapters each of which is a story from Hanna`s childhood.They all bear the naivity,the charm and freshness of child`s way of thinking and world view.You can see all those people the stories go about,through her eyes.
I liked very much the title of the book.I think it refers to that infinite sense of security,love and protection which you have when you are little and you have loving parents.
Now I began reading "The Mango Season" by Amulya Malladi.I`m already through the half of it and am enjoying it.
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| New books received today |
| 11.12.04 (7:18 am) [edit] |
Today I got my order from Amazon.com:
Mango Season by Amulya Malladi,
and Complete Book of Abs for Women by Kurt Brungart.
I`m generally interested in Asian literature.Some time ago I read a very funny,very good book by Indian writer Anita Desai,"Fasting,Feasting". I like when in a book of foreign literature you can feel the exotic environment,the different smells,customs,relationsh ips, and expect the same from "Mango Season".
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| Books I`m going to read next |
| 11.11.04 (1:53 pm) [edit] |
I have the following books moved nearer to the top of my TBR pile:
Nuremberg-An Infamy of Trial by Joseph Persico (promised)
Floating into My Mother`s Palm by Ursula Hagi (finished)
A Map of The World by Jane Hamilton (promised,started reading)
Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman (promised)
(updated 11/19)
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| The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve |
| 11.11.04 (1:31 pm) [edit] |
Finished this book tonight.This is the first novel by Anita Shreve I`m reading.It was boring at the beginning but got better in the middle.I liked the second and the third part of the book.
In general,a good love story.I have heard about other novels by Shreve,that they are better than this one.
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| Tales of Thousand and One Night |
| 11.08.04 (1:21 pm) [edit] |
I`m reading every night several tales from "Thousand and One Nights".It has been a long time since I have read any of them.Now I lvoe to be curled in the evening with the big hardback volume and just to let myself be immersed into the "ocean of tales".I feel as if I`m back into my childhood,and I`m enjoying all those stories,so wise,so funny,so beautifully described.
Beside this,I`m reading "The Last Time They Met" by Anita Shreve.The story is a trivial one: two former lovers meet again after 20 years.They both have lost dear ones during this period and are burdened with memories.I was a bit bored yesterday while reading it but still the reading goes easily,so probably I will give the book a chance:-)).
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| 50 books so far |
| 11.06.04 (1:01 pm) [edit] |
With "The Lady and the Unicorn" I hit the 50th book in my list of readings for 2004. It is not so bad,I think; it makes 5 books per month so far.
I have no particular reading goal,I just keep record of the numbers to see how much I`m reading.
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| The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier |
| 11.06.04 (12:56 pm) [edit] |
A friend gave me this some time ago and I read it for two days (yesterday&today) between othеr BC books. I liked it very much,almost so much as I liked "Girl with Pearl Earing". The story has many things in common with the first book but it is not a shortcoming,IMO.Obviously, this is the kind of stories Chevalier tells best.It is again the story of the talanted,potent,sexual artist but here we have more characters involved.
I would like to write more about the book but as I read it in Bulgarian translation,I`m not sure about the spelling of the names in English.
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| A day rich with books experience |
| 11.05.04 (3:37 am) [edit] |
Today I had several books related experiences in a row.
1)Bookcrossing is going to be featured in a teenager`s program for
Bulgarian National TV. Today they made an interview with me. It was taken in
a beautiful park.I enjoyed a lot the warmth of the autumn sun. After the interview
they filmed me how I leave a book on a bench in the park,then we waited from some distance
to see if somebody will pick it up. A young woman came,sit on the bench and took the book.
They immediately approached her and explained to her that she had just found a
Bookcrossing book,and asked her if she knew about Bookcrossing,is she going to take the book with her and so on. I met her afterwards,she was going to take and read the book,and she promised to register it. For the first time I meet someone who has found a book of mine.
2)I received two free books from a women`s magazine and although they are chick-lit,and I don`t read chick-lit,I would be glad to have them for release.
The books are:
"32AA.Size Does Matter" by Michelle Cunnah
"Seven Sunny Days" by Chris Manby
3)I bought a hardback edition of all tales from "Thousand and One Nights".I have read many of them,of course,but never had the complete edition.I would like very much to read them all now.one by one.
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| "The Go Between" by L.P.Hartley |
| 11.03.04 (12:26 pm) [edit] |
I`m reading this book now and enjoying it. It is a delight and a classic!
Leo is going to be thirteen and is spending the summer with the family of his friend
Marcus.He fells in love for the first time with Marcus` sister,Marian. Lead by his
affection and attracted by the person of a young farmer,Ted,he begins to deliver messages
between Ted and Marian,who are secretly seeing each other. The writing gives a very true,honest and profound insight into 13 y/o boy`s feelings and thinking.There are already some scenes I just loved,like Leo with his warm clothes in the hot summer and Marian who friendly offers to go to the town and buy him some lighter clothes; Leo is happy and enourmously grateful but Marian has her second thoughts of seeing someone in the town...
or the moment when Leo opens the unsealed envelope and learns that Marian and Ted are in love.Also the awkwardness and the shyness of the boy regarding the wealthy and pompous
family clings very true.
In one word,this book shows as a childhood-story classics.
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