A Work in Progress

And Other Bookish Distractions!

Sorry I've been absent here this week.  I have been a little distracted as I have finally started 'Instagram-ing' in earnest.  I have had an account for ages, but not having a small enough portable device in order to take photos and upload them easily I have only occasionally looked.  Now that I have a handy ipod (the intention was to have a device to listen to audio books and music while walking), I have discovered an entirely new world.

Anyway, if you are on Instagram, please let me know so I can follow you.  I am 'literarycat' there, so please look for me.  What you see above are my attempts at learning how to navigate Instagram.  It's been fun so far and I plan on continuing, but I will be back here soon as I have lots of bookchat to catch up on as well.

March NYRB: The Life and Opinions . . .

I'm not sure I have ever read a book translated from Romanian into English before.  Now I will have the opportunity as my March NYRB selection is Matei Calinescu's The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter.  I am in the middle of the February book, which I am enjoying very much and finding smooth going, but the Calinescu may be closer to the Chang in terms of a 'perhaps challenging read'.  This is an author and a book I know nothing about and likely would not have crossed my reading path had not NYRB nudged it my way.  But the beauty of my NYRB subscription is broadening my literary horizons, so I am up for it.  (If I managed to get through the Chang, I figure I can tackle whatever NYRB sends my way).

So, let's see, a little about Matei Calinescu first.  He was born and educated in Romania (1934-2009) and emigrated to America in 1973 where he taught comparative literature at Indiana University.  He was a "leading intellectual of his generation".  This novel achieved "cult status among generations of young people despite attempts by Romanian authorities to expunge Calinescu's name and works from cultural memory".  After the fall of Ceausescu Calinescu was able to return home.

The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Litchter is considered one of the top ten Romanian literary works of the 20th century.  Why does this description bring to my mind J.P. Donleavy's classic The Ginger Man?  (Which I have to be honest with you--I read it, but I could not warm up to at all).

"Ugly, unkempt, a haunter of low dives who begs for a living and lives on the street, Zacharias Lichter exists for all that in a state of unlikely rapture. After being engulfed by a divine flame as a teenager, Zacharias has devoted his days to doing nothing at all—apart, that is, from composing the odd poem he immediately throws away and consorting with a handful of stray friends: Poldy, for example, the catatonic alcoholic whom Zacharias considers a brilliant philosopher, or another more vigorous barfly whose prolific output of pornographic verses has won him the nickname of the Poet. Zacharias is a kind of holy fool, but one whose foolery calls in question both social convention and conventional wisdom. He is as much skeptic as ecstatic, affirming above all the truth of perplexity. This of course is what makes him a permanent outrage to the powers that be, be they reactionary or revolutionary, and to all other self-appointed champions of morality who are blind to their own absurdity. The only thing that scares Zacharias is that all-purpose servant of conformity, the psychiatrist."

Still, my mind is a blank slate and I am keeping an open mind.  Whenever something is called picaresque, and this one has been called that, I also think of Cervantes's Don Quixote, too.  Here is how the story opens:

"Many who chance to see him now and then, if only in passing, recognize him at once from the briefest of descriptions: a strange creature, so ludicrously ugly he produces a strong impression on even the indifferent observer--leaving behind one of those liminal but nagging memories that remain concealed in the shadows, only to surge forth from time to time with incredible freshness and precision."

He sounds like he could be quite interesting.  This read should be an adventure!  Apparently at the time of publication it passed the censor because they could not make head or tails of it, which means they were certainly the very people likely being skewered by his prose (much like Bohumil Hrabal's Closely Watched Trains--I see a pattern here!).  Maybe if Zacharias is to my liking I should give this Calinescu book a try?

State of the Nightstand: March 11

Gosh I need a mini staycation to make a dent in my piles.  I blame it on the coming first day of Spring.  The books have taken root and have started blooming and growing, I think!

March 9: Reading Notes

Someday soon I am going to get around to writing about the last books I have finished, but I've not been feeling ambitious enough lately to do so.  My reading time has been limited and I am in the middle of so many really good books, it's hard to squeeze in all the things I need and want to do.

Since I have an ipod and am so looking forward to getting back outside and walking in earnest again (I have been feeling like a slug far too long and am ready to say goodbye to winter) I am looking for some interesting things to listen to.  This new podcast sounds good.

Another good book is being made into a movie, and this is a book I have been wanting to read, too.

Yes, more awards lists--this time the L.A. Times Book Prize finalists were announced as well as the Lambda Literary Awards finalists.

Is it just me or does everyone seem to have a book club these days?  Of course there is Emma Watson's feminist book club, Our Shared Shelf at GR.  Sarah Jessica Parker hosts one through the American Library Association and is announcing her newest pick on March 13.  Reese Witherspoon has one on Instagram, and I have to admit that I picked up my own copy of Balli Kaur Jaswal's Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows to read along, which is her March selection.  And now Barnes and Noble has joined in the fun with their first choice Meg Wolitzer's The Female Persuasion, for which they will host events in early May.  Oh, and how could I forget Oprah's book club!

Coming right on the heels of International Women's Day here is a list of eleven women to watch in 2018.  I've jotted down several titles, because your wishlist can never be too long.

If I come across a discount coupon maybe I will stop by the bookstore this weekend.  I can bring one of my own books and sit in the café and read for a while, and then look for one of these newly published in paperback titles.  I am most keen on reading the Toibin from that list.  I had been eyeing it since it first came out, and now that it is in paper . . .

My library has gotten in a few of these Object Lessons books and they look interesting, though I have yet to check any of them out for further perusal.  Now, Bookshelf is one I might bring home. 

This weekend I will be spending time with Sweet Bean Paste (and hopefully will finish), Elif Batuman's The Idiot (which I picked up from my TBR thanks to its inclusion on the Women's Prize List), which is turning out to be great, as well as Laura Wilson's Dying Voices--I started it and have not been able to put it down.  I knew she was good--in the vein of Ruth Rendell--but this makes me want to read my way straight through all her books now.

Happy reading everyone.

Happy International Women's Day!

Happy International Women's Day everyone!  Every day we should be inspired by great women, but it's nice to have a special day to celebrate.  There are lots of things going on today and in the coming week.  Bookwise the 2018 Women's Prize for Fiction longlist was announced.  I am always excited to see the list and hopefully discover some great new books. 

The longlisted books are as follows:

H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
Sight by Jessie Greengrass
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy
Elmet by Fiona Mozley
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Not surprising, I have not read any of the books (I started reading the Egan just before the holidays, but then the library book had to go back . . . you know how that goes).  I own a copy of the Batuman, which has ended up on my reading pile.  Why do I need these little 'excuses' to start new books?  Last year I actually managed to read a small handful and I hope to do the same again this year.  There are several that look really good, so I have ordered a few and requested a few from the library, so we'll see how it goes!

And the Stella Prize shortlist was announced, so more temptations!  It is harder to get my hands on those Australian titles, but I have my eye on a few of the titles, so if I can find a copy there will be more to add to my reading pile.

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman
The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser
An Uncertain Grace by Krissy Kneen
The Fish Girl by Mirandi Riwoe
Tracker by Alexis Wright

A few other things caught my eye as well.  I wish I could be in London this week to see this pop-up bookshop--lots of things to celebrate there--the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage as well as International Women's Day.  I wish they had taken more photos so I could get a better view of the books!

I am very curious about this #ViragoPressForProgress project.  It is the "2018 Books for Change promotion".  It sounds like anyone can share photos of both Virago and non-Virago books related to a daily theme.  Maybe this is an Instagram thing?

And a subject I am especially interested in this year--books in translation--check out this International Women Writers and Translators Who Press for Progress from Words without Borders.  I think I need to try at least one of the books/authors/translators mentioned there this year!

Have you come across anything especially interesting today, too?

Teaser Tuesday: Sweet Bean Paste

So do you think I have to go to Japan to try an authentic dorayaki?  I had never heard of them before I started reading Durian Sukegawa's novel, Sweet Bean Paste.  It is my monthly prompt book and I am not even sure where I heard about this book or what made me order it.  Likely I was just browsing (I do a lot of book browsing, which probably won't surprise you), and the cover and description of the story piqued my curiosity.  I like books related to food or set in bakeries or restaurants and then this is a translated work (which I am trying to read more of this year).  After the fact I realized it had been adapted to film, and so a perfect choice for this month's reading.

According to the wikipedia a Dorayaki is "a type of Japanese confection, a red-bean pancake which consists of two small pancake-like patties made from castella (Japanese sponge cake) wrapped around a filling of sweet Azuki red bean paste."  It actually sounds pretty yummy to me, but I think the chances of me finding one in Omaha are pretty slim.  (I would be happy to fly to Japan, however, and try the real thing . . . only in my dreams and books, right?). 

My teaser is a description of the characters making dorayaki.

"They sandwiched the still-warm bean paste between fluffy, freshly grilled pancakes.  For anyone who liked dorayaki, this was a moment of happy anticipation.  Sentaro gave a nod of thanks in Tokue's direction, and then brought the dorayaki to his lips."

"The aroma seemed to leap up at him, as if it were alive, racing through his nose to the back of his head.  Unlike the ready-made bean paste, this was the smell of fresh, living beans.  It had depth.  It had life.  A mellow, sweet taste unfurled inside Sentaro's mouth."

Better stop there or it will really make me hungry!  The film came out just a few years ago and you can see the trailer here.  I plan on watching it as soon as I finish reading.  Happy anticipation (even if I only get to watch and not eat . . .).

Call Me By Your Name, André Aciman

It's a rare event when I can think back on a book and say the movie is just as good (and vice versa).  I read the book in a somewhat convoluted manner, wanting to finish it before I saw the movie, which just won an Oscar for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, but instead seeing the movie in the midst of reading the book.  I loved them both and was pleased to see the film nominated for several awards, though the film veered slightly from Aciman's novel.  Not in a bad way, and of course an adapted film is its own work of art and a reinterpretation of a story, so it should stand on its own.  The film is close, but the novel takes the story to a further point in the characters' lives that we don't see onscreen.  It does set a slightly different tone, but for me, they seemed to work equally well.

I'm so glad André Aciman's 2007 novel, Call Me By Your Name was adapted to film as it brought the story to a wider audience that might otherwise have not thought to pick up the book, myself included.  The story is a coming of age novel, a story of first love and intense longing, about being assured of yourself in some ways, but completely at swim in other ways.  It matters not one whit that in this case the love story is between two men, as the feelings and desires and uncertainties are universal.  So often while reading I wondered how it was that Aciman was so very perceptive and could look into my mind and know I have done and thought the same in my own life.  Both novel and film are beautifully done, visually as well as in the acting and writing.

Elio is the son of ex-pat parents living in Italy.  His father is an academic who every summer offers a doctoral student free room and board in exchange with help eidting his manuscripts, the promise of which is always a bit of a bore for Elio who is just on the cusp of adulthood and precocious for his age--cultured in two languages as well as music and literature.  However, he's just that age where he feels the least noticed and certainly the least listened to, but this summer is different.  He feels an almost immediate attraction and connection with the student who arrives from America.

Oliver is twenty-four to Elio's seventeen, seemingly self-assured and at ease in his situation.  He exudes a charm and an unperturbable nonchalance that seems to Elio to run hot and cold.  He's not quite sure where he stands with Oliver, but there are moments when he is sure there is some little spark.

"I liked how our minds seemed to travel in parallel, how we instantly inferred what words the other was toying with but at the last moment held back."

Elio is unsure if what he senses from Oliver is an actual attraction and he's racked with doubts and uncertainties.  There is this indifference that Oliver seems to have and he naturally is comfortable with everyone connected with the family and the little Italian village it seems.  So Elio watches while Oliver hangs out with the local crowd and even appears to have a romance with one of the village girls.  For all his intellectual prowess Elio isn't even sure if what he thinks he feels for Oliver is more than just desire. 

"This was probably the first time in my life that I spoke to an adult without planning some of what I was going to say.  I was too nervous to plan anything."

This is a classic story of first love.  It's confusing and painful yet wildly exciting and exuberant.  It's the sort of romance that could be fleeting but that won't ever be forgotten.  It's the sort of romance that is impossible considering the time and circumstances and so is bittersweet.  Set in the mid-1980s, there is not so much contemplation on identity--the romance is what it is.  Neither Elio or Oliver sees it necessarily as anything but normal yet they are still careful about keeping the romance quiet.  And it's just as natural for both to have or consider romance with the local girls, though I imagine there is all sorts of subtext there.  It felt less a story primarily about gender and identity and more simply about love and attraction.  It's about wants and desires and understanding yourself and wanting to be with someone who also understands those things inside yourself.  And loves you for those things, or maybe despite those things. 

I loved the book and I loved the movie.  When I first saw the trailer for the film, it gave me goosebumps and made me go out and buy the book.  I'm so glad I did. 

State of the Nightstand: March 4

A little progress?  Yes, a few books finished their way out of the pile.  A reread went back to its place on the shelf--enjoyed the bits I read, but my attention is being drawn elsewhere.  And a few new books added into the mix.  I am getting close to finishing my current Virago, and as I am trying to keep a VMC or Persephone on the nightstand all the time, I am browsing my shelves even now in anticipation of my next read.  More about those in a day or so.

For now, though, these are at the top of my bedside TBR pile.  Books that I am thinking about at the moment . . .

Bits and Bobs for an Almost Spring Weekend

Just so you don't think I always complain about the weather (though sometimes it does feel like I talk about it too much), this weekend promises to be downright springlike.  Next week may be another matter, but I am happy to focus on the here and now.  I have two birthdays to celebrate and a ticket to the symphony so reading time might be limited but I will squeeze in as much as I can.

Welcome to the 21st century--I finally replaced my poor dead MP3 player with an ipod!  I was thinking it was all music but it is an ipod touch and seems a mini version of an ipad (I have use of an ipad from work).  I can see why Apple kind of rules the world when it comes to techie things--they are so intuitive and easy to use.  I was a little disturbed when I pulled it out of its lovely packaging to not find a thick instruction manual, but when I turned it on--magic.  I have been loading apps of all the things I use and have logged into the places I most visit and when all that stuff is mostly in the clouds anyway, I can get to it anywhere and with any device.  Now, the weather needs to stay nice so I can take my long walks and listen to music and podcasts and all sort of other cool things.  If you have an ipod and have any tips or tricks or places that work especially well on it--do share, please.

Now that I have such a slick portable listening device, I think I am going to do this!  It is not a book I would ordinarily have picked up, but I'll give it a try.

So just a little bookishness to kick off the weekend!

I think I might have to order this shirt.  Is this a new thing?  Are they going to keep tempting me with limited edition literary t-shirts that I cannot resist?

In honor of the Oscars this weekend, I love this list of awards--if books won Oscars!  Unsurprisingly I don't think I have actually read any of them, but I own a few and have hand a number of them in my hands for a peek anyway.

Speaking of awards, we have less than a week to go now for the longlist to be announced for the Women's Prize for Fiction.  Even though my reading of the list is haphazard at best, I always am excited for the list to come out.  Last year I even managed to read a small handful of the books, and I will try and so the same this year, too.  So, it is with much interest that I have watched a few other blogger's prediction videos--here and here!  I have jotted down titles that sound tempting to me and I have to refrain myself from ordering them rightnow.  Better to wait until the actual list--I am sure there will be a number of those books on the list, but there likely will be some surprises, so I can cherry pick the ones that appeal the most. 

And then comes the reader's dilemma.  You know I am always reading and always looking and always tempted, but I seem to pick more older book, or books off the beaten path or 'less literary' than many of my reading peers.  It does make me look twice at my own choices and think I am missing something--not reading more current releases and more 'literary' books, and I tell myself I am going to pull something from my shelves this minute so I can be part of that discussion.  But then I look longingly at my genre fiction or books that maybe far fewer people are looking at (or shh, more popular and less highbrow).  Of course there is no right answer or right book, but I always feel that tug. 

Hey, a 'new' list of anticipated books coming this spring and I must say there are indeed a number on that list that I, too, am anticipating!

I feel a need to splurge on the newest novel by Laura Lippman and I see it has been heaped high praise!  That always makes the decision to buy a book rather than borrow much easier.  (Especially when I would be #59 in line for a copy at the library).  No worries, I have plenty of other books I am waiting for and there are five (yes, five!) books ready for me on the hold shelf to pick up this weekend!  And after seeing the trailer for the novel Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler, I kind of want to pick up a copy of that to read, too.

I will definitely be hitting the library, and maybe I will try and squeeze in a bookstore visit, too.  How will you be spending your weekend?  Happy reading everyone!

March Prompt: From Book to Film

A new month, and time for a new prompt.  I'm enjoying this little project as with each new month with its promise of freshness comes the opportunity for 'guilt-free' choosing of at least one new book to read.  So far I have even managed to keep up with each month's read and pluck one book from my own collection.  I always think I might manage more than one book for the prompt, though I have yet to read more than one, but maybe this will be a two-book month.  I certainly have plenty of good books to choose from.

This month is 'book to film' and this year there are loads of forthcoming movies based on novels.  Some of these, however, are older and if I can, I plan on watching the movie after reading the book.  I had a few ideas in mind, but when I started looking through my shelves I found a few more that I had forgotten had been made into movies.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson -- So I cheated a little on this one.  I read the book when it was first published and then last weekend I watched the TV adaptation of the book and loved it.  It made me want to pick up the book again, so I did.  I think I will read this in any case and (though perhaps not this month) also finally read the two sequels before watching the rest of the TV episodes.  I wonder if she will ever continue the story as Jackson Brodie (and his daughter!) are such great characters.

Julieta by Alice Munro -- This is just three short stories that Pedro Almodovar adapted recently to the screen.  I have been watching a lot of his movies lately, so this seemed a natural progression and I plan on getting to these this month, if I can squeeze them in.  The book is just over 100 pages, so surely I can manage it?

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa -- I am not sure where I came across this book.  I think I was looking for something else and ran across this story and it sounded kind of enchanting.  I have watched the movie trailer and that looks equally as good.  "Sukegawa―enabled by Watts's lucid translation―tells an endearing, thoughtful tale about relationships and the everyday meaning of life. Readers in search of gently illuminating fare―e.g., Shion Miura's The Great Passage, Jeff Talarigo's The Pearl Diver―will appreciate this toothsome treat."  (Library Journal)

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan -- This is a Netflix series streaming now and I believe it has been nominated for a few awards.  It was already on my TBR pile.  "In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm—a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not—charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion."

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews -- I think the movie is just now coming out.  I love these kinds of thrillers. "In contemporary Russia, state intelligence officer Dominika Egorova has been drafted to become a “Sparrow”—a spy trained in the art of seduction to siphon out information from their marks. She’s been assigned to Nathaniel Nash, a CIA officer who handles the organization’s most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception and, inevitably, a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America’s valuable mole in Moscow."

The Time in Between by Maria Duenas -- Another series, this time filmed in Spain, that is also streaming on Netflix.  Both the book and the movie look really good and I am so temThe inspiring international bestseller of a seemingly ordinary woman who uses her talent and courage to transform herself first into a prestigious couturier and then into an undercover agent for the Allies during World War II.pted by the book, but it is rather chunky and I am not sure I can finish it (along with the rest of the books in my pile) this month."

Logan's Run by William F. Nolan -- I think I want to try to get to this one as it has been on my mind for a while.  I have seen the 1970s movie numerous times and would love to read the book that inspired it.  "In 2116, it is against the law to live beyond the age of twenty-one years. When the crystal flower in the palm of your hand turns from red to black, you have reached your Lastday and you must report to a Sleepshop for processing. But the human will to survive is strong—stronger than any mere law."  I think the story is also told 'backwards' from the end of the story to the beginning.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick -- "Burdened by debt after her husband's death, Lucy Muir insists on moving into the very cheap Gull Cottage in the quaint seaside village of Whitecliff, despite multiple warnings that the house is haunted. Upon discovering the rumors to be true, the young widow ends up forming a special companionship with the ghost of handsome former sea captain Daniel Gregg. Through the struggles of supporting her children, seeking out romance from the wrong places, and working to publish the captain's story as a book, Blood and Swash, Lucy finds in her secret relationship with Captain Gregg a comfort and blossoming love she never could have predicted."

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple -- Ack!  Another one I really want to read before seeing the movie!  "A whip-smart, hysterical dramedy about a family in crisis after the disappearance of its brilliant, misanthropic matriarch."  And another book where I feel like I am the last reader on the planet to get to this one.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton -- I have had this book for ages and it 'sounds' great, but I have heard mixed things about it, which has made me hesitate to pick it up.  I do want to read it, but when will be the right moment?  "Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam—a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion—a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant."

Too many good stories (and potentially good movies to see after reading) to choose from!  And there were a couple more books I had in mind, but I was too lazy to hunt for the books this week, but maybe just as well not to make the choice even harder.  A couple short ones, or one long one?  Hmm.