tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post114626756589530479..comments2024-03-14T00:16:32.077-07:00Comments on 50 Books: BOOKS: Oh, Reading Vacations, How I Miss TheeTammyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16613804843380827691noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146807092228759122006-05-04T22:31:00.000-07:002006-05-04T22:31:00.000-07:00The Nanny Diaries bit cracked me up. I've read it,...The Nanny Diaries bit cracked me up. I've read it, and thought as much of it as you did.<BR/><BR/>While I would probably never read it again, my most memorable reading vacation was in a mountain cabin with Frank Peretti's _The Oath_. I was young, I was in the woods, and I didn't move from my chair for 2 days. Very creep-tastic!Andihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05220718933942181809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146698841412383772006-05-03T16:27:00.000-07:002006-05-03T16:27:00.000-07:00Note that I made none of my judgements on actual l...Note that I made none of my judgements on actual literary merit. Rather I judged the books on my entire reading experience.<BR/>Best: I usually get way into non-fiction when I'm on holiday. Last Christmas my grandmother gave me a 1979 second-hand copy of something called "Dorie: The Girl Nobody Loved" by Doris Van Stone. (Thanks, Gramma.) I managed to contain my "is this some kind of hint that will shatter my life?" face until I got home, then I read it from cover to cover out of morbid curiosity. And it made me feel so much better about my life, because the author's family life sucked so badly I could hardly feel sympathy most of the time, and was guilt-free in doing so. I'm still not sure what the point was (I think it was "Jesus loves you!" but wouldn't that be a direct contradiction of the title? I mean, unless someone's agnostic...) <BR/>In any case, the chapter titles are just as campy as the title, including such gems as "Sir, Are You My Father?" and "Here Come the GI's!"<BR/>I don't know why this experience cracks me up so easily. Part of me feels awful because this is a real person and I can't connect with their character at all. It's not really a "good book." But damn if I didn't have fun reading it last Christmas.<BR/>Then, a couple of summers ago I read "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife" by Linda Berdoll for the first time. I ended up buying a copy of it because I still can't decide if I hate it or I love it because it makes me laugh in all the wrong places. Ms. Berdoll has clearly left the door open for a sequel to her first novel (which I hear is based on the '95 miniseries,) what with there being faked deaths and oodles of loose threads not tied up. But if and when the time comes when I am face-to-face with that sequel, I'm not entirely sure whether I'd laugh or cry. <BR/>Worst: I tried getting a "Regency" romance out of the library without even looking too closely at the cover-art, which later turned out to be a major issue. Within three sentances I'd slammed it shut, taken a deep breath, then flipped through to see if there were any possible reprieves. There weren't. The chronology is all over the place, with the date clearly stated at the beginning, then clearly ignored for the rest of the book. The clutching couple on the front is either in a dress 50 years too early for Regency or looks like Ricky Martin in breeches. (Did Colonel Fitzwilliam ever have bleached highlights in his slightly toned-down Flock-of-Seagulls-meets-mowhawk hair? Did he, really?) The only thing that kept me from destroying it in a merry bonfire ritual cleansing was the fact that it was a library loan and damn if I'm going to pay for ruining it. I settled for heaving it across the room.Emhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06894215177878536537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146690948727374082006-05-03T14:15:00.000-07:002006-05-03T14:15:00.000-07:00Oh, wait. We were supposed to write about reading ...Oh, wait. We were supposed to write about reading vacations?! I guess the fact that I haven't had a vacation since 2000 made me ignore that little detail. Since I take so few vacations, I find that I end up associating summers with books. So bear with me.<BR/><BR/>I will never forget how Ondaatje's <I>In the Skin of a Lion</I> absolutely charmed me. It made me see Toronto in an entirely new light.<BR/><BR/>Last summer I read the latest translation of <I>Don Quixote</I> (well only the first part, but I'll get to the second this summer)<BR/><BR/>Once, I was on vacation in the Dominican Republic and I was reading more Tolstoy - <I>Khadji Murad</I>.<BR/><BR/>Once I was on a train in northern Russia reading <I>Moby Dick</I>. My friends thought I was nuts: they were right.<BR/><BR/>Mike, I never trust a word Nabokov says - he says that all of German culture is "poshly" пошлый(trans. smug, kitchsh), including <I>Faust</I> (!). He is such a slippery guy. While his translation of <I>Onegin</I> is unusual, his commentary on it is among the best. I only recently reread it and was in awe ... for a day. Then I started mistrusting him again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146677276838638072006-05-03T10:27:00.000-07:002006-05-03T10:27:00.000-07:00I'm late to the party, but I have to chime in my l...I'm late to the party, but I have to chime in my love for -I Know This Much is True- by Wally Lamb. I read it many years ago and since then have purchased it as a gift for several people. I read it before reading -She's Come Undone- so I went into it untainted. I read She's Come Undone expecting it to be as good, and while I didn't hate that book, I really didn't like it either. There was just something about that bothered me, and I can't quite pinpoint what it is.<BR/><BR/>As for reading vacations, that is something I'll have to try. I am constantly reading a book, be it trashy and common, or deep and meaningful, but it seems that while on vacation I don't read nearly enough.<BR/><BR/>What I need to do is compile a list of books that I need to read or re-read and get started on that.lisalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02826551324308706882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146623729604517092006-05-02T19:35:00.000-07:002006-05-02T19:35:00.000-07:00The only two reading vacations come to mind right ...The only two reading vacations come to mind right now, most of the best books I've read were read at home. Clearly, I'm not hardcore enough :)<BR/><BR/>The first - A book called Titanic during a 1 week trip to the Dominican Republic. I can't really remember much of it, it was a novel with a story similar to the movie but not quite the same. It came out just after the DiCaprio movie and since I was a dopey teenage fangirl at the time, I picked it up. It was pretty much dreck but when I think of that book, I remember the sun, sand, and ocean right next to me and that makes it all worth while.<BR/><BR/>The second was a trip to Cuba two years ago. I read Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Ultimatum, sitting by the pool all week. I absolutely love the entire Bourne trilogy, though I was a bit disappointed by the second book (The Bourne Supremacy). This third one was a nice return to the original Identity, and I was completely caught up in it the whole week.<BR/><BR/>This is an interesting list, I loved One Hundred Years of Solitude myself, though it was my first experience with magical realism and so it took a bit of getting used to. I'd like to reread that this year. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Anna Karenina are both on my list for this summer, I've already got them on the shelf waiting. I actually loved She's Come Undone and call me crazy, but I really enjoyed The Nanny Diaries! You win some, you lose some, I guess :)spacepotatoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03299526454285045387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146612117481241252006-05-02T16:21:00.000-07:002006-05-02T16:21:00.000-07:00I remember reading Douglas Adams and whatever othe...I remember reading Douglas Adams and whatever other sci-fi my older cousin would bring along on our annual trips to visit the grandparents that lived fourteen hours away. <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the grandparents retired to Branson, MO and another road trip forced me to finish "Memoirs of a Geisha" much too quickly. The only book available at Walmart that I thought I would be able to stand for the insufferable and cramped drive back was "The Notebook." That miserable waste of a good tree only kept me going for 90 minutes. <BR/>P.S. "Caddie Woodlawn" was assigned reading in my 5th grade English class, along with "A Wrinkle in Time." While enjoyable, they both make me think of vocabulary tests and reading comprehension homework.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146610840741006852006-05-02T16:00:00.000-07:002006-05-02T16:00:00.000-07:00Garnett gets quite a smackdown from Nabakov -- cal...Garnett gets quite a smackdown from Nabakov -- calling her incompetent. This would be fine, if Nabakov was any better at translating; however, his <I>Eugene Onegin</I> is basically unreadable.<BR/><BR/>That's sort of a straw man argument, though. The thing is, I just like Garnett better than I like Maude and it might be because I read the Garnett first. I prefer Connie's <I>Anna</I> and <I>War & Peace</I> over Aylmer's. (I like <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140441840/sr=1-2/qid=1146610354/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-2237940-6322201?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books" REL="nofollow">Rosemary Edmond's</A> translation of <I>Resurrection</I>, though.)<BR/><BR/>And maybe what I like so much about Connie is her Victorianism. Lord knows, if it's got a bustle, an underbutler, and a mistaken identity that leads to either love or murder -- well, (a) it's probably by Wilkie Collins; and (b) I've probably read it and loved it.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887139425272294031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146605501615229592006-05-02T14:31:00.000-07:002006-05-02T14:31:00.000-07:00I don't know, Mike. I've never heard anyone speak ...I don't know, Mike. I've never heard anyone speak so fondly of any of Garnett's translations. Perhaps I'm missing something. Doppelganger, I would highly suggest reading either the Maude or the Pervear/Volokhonsky. That's my two cents (and I am pursuing a Phd in Russian language and literature with a diss. proposal on Tolstoy)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146600910598925932006-05-02T13:15:00.000-07:002006-05-02T13:15:00.000-07:00Woo! You had me with the book, but you brought it ...Woo! You had me with the book, but you brought it home with the pony. Well, played, Mike Bevel, British Adventuress. Well played, indeed.Tammyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16613804843380827691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146599740301395782006-05-02T12:55:00.000-07:002006-05-02T12:55:00.000-07:00I'll buy you a copy of the Constance Garnett trans...I'll <I>buy</I> you a copy of the Constance Garnett translation with the Mona Simpson essay. And then we'll be the best of friends forever because it's <I>just. that. good</I>. (I know we're already friends and all; it's just we'll be the <I>best</I> of friends, and all because of Connie. We'll show up on the "Books" part of C-SPAN and we'll laugh and then we'll ride ponies.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887139425272294031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146597411574528182006-05-02T12:16:00.000-07:002006-05-02T12:16:00.000-07:00First, tuckova, I WANT A CABIN, TOO. Seriously, Ru...First, tuckova, I WANT A CABIN, TOO. Seriously, Rusty and I have been hunting for YEARS and have had absolutely no luck. We were thisclose to buying some land on a nearby island last year, but then we got scooped. Goddammit.<BR/><BR/>And Madeline, you're the only other person I've ever heard from who's also read <I>Caddie Woodlawn</I>! I bought a new copy a couple of years ago, and it's every bit as good as I remembered it as a kid. You should hunt down a copy and re-read it.<BR/><BR/>And ooh, tough call on the Tolstoy translations. This is going to weigh on me, because my copy of <I>Anna Karenina</I> was, er, "liberated" from me a couple of years ago, so I need to replace it. And I do have a soft spot for Constance. She did me a solid with her work on Chekhov's short stories. Hmm...Tammyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16613804843380827691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146596731322393642006-05-02T12:05:00.000-07:002006-05-02T12:05:00.000-07:00I was visiting family in Hamburg, and my aunt had ...I was visiting family in Hamburg, and my aunt had a copy of <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156849548X/002-9105799-6293648?v=glance&n=283155" REL="nofollow">Desiree</A> and I read that and didn't explore Hamburg very much at all. Not unhappy about that, since seeing the Reeperbahn is enough, but really, thanks to that book I'll always have a soft spot for the Swedish monarchy. <BR/><BR/>Can't think of any bad reading vacations, only books that have stolen my soul. Which, sadly, does not include The Nanny Diaries. But then I have no soul, so there you go.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146596131047914652006-05-02T11:55:00.000-07:002006-05-02T11:55:00.000-07:00Ostro is mad to smacktalk Constance Garnett. The P...<B>Ostro</B> is mad to smacktalk Constance Garnett. The Pevear/Volokhonsky/Oprah translation of <I>Anna Karenina</I> isn't any better than the Garnett; and in many ways, the Constance Garnett trumps it, because she did it first and she did it better. Plus, if you read <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067978330X/sr=8-1/qid=1146595922/ref=sr_1_1/102-8579382-7591309?%5Fencoding=UTF8" REL="nofollow">this kickass Mona Simpson</A> essay about the novel.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887139425272294031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146545297262742752006-05-01T21:48:00.000-07:002006-05-01T21:48:00.000-07:00I think I've only read my Hitchhiker's Guide colle...I think I've only read my Hitchhiker's Guide collection only once while <I>not</I> riding in a car. Perhaps I've finsihed it up a few times not in a car, but I always pick it up for long gcar trips. Maybe it's because the randomness combats the monotony of riding in a car for hours, but I think it's more because it takes a long car trip to inspire me to pick up a paperback that contains five novels (and a short story). I should really invest in individual copies...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146540093180838372006-05-01T20:21:00.000-07:002006-05-01T20:21:00.000-07:00It wasn't so much a reading vacation, but on a rec...It wasn't so much a reading vacation, but on a recent four-and-a-half-day trip to London (England, not Ontario), I brought along a copy of <I>The Polysyllabic Spree</I>, mostly because out of the 15-plus books on my reading pile, that's the one that fit best in my backpack (no checked luggage on such a short trip, that's my rule and I'm sticking to it). <BR/><BR/>I didn't really expect to have much reading time on this trip, and neither did the friend I went with (who never reads anyhow so he didn't even bring a book - I know, but we've known each other too long for me to really hold that against him, ok?) As it turns out, this friend has a bloody <I>heart condition</I> that flared up, which of course meant a night and day in the hospital, and oh boy, was my friend ever glad that I'd brought along such a smart, funny, easy read to take his mind off the eternal beeping of the heart monitor while I tried not to have a complete breakdown. (I was exhausted, since the friend we were staying with had had me take him into hospital the morning before with kidney stones, so I hadn't slept since the night before we flew over. I think my next "vacation" might just be a week on the sofa or maybe on a beach with all my reading pile. No people. Just books.)BadYogihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15615013615808474353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146539688140984012006-05-01T20:14:00.000-07:002006-05-01T20:14:00.000-07:00We spent all last summer and fall (hurray, sabbati...We spent all last summer and fall (hurray, sabbaticals!) in a rented farmhouse in Devon, England. Read lots of nice books over the course of those months, but my fondest memory was of driving to the nearest village at 11:45 PM on July 16 to get in line for Harry Potter 6 at the tiny local bookshop. Stood with a group of costumed teenagers and sleepy tots dragged in by their way-too-excited parents. Drove back to the farmhouse, put the kettle on the Aga, and stayed up till 3 reading about 1/3 of the book. Worst book/vacation? A weekend in a posh Santa Barbara resort with my soon-to-be-ex-husband (the trip had been planned months before he decided to bag the marriage) reading The Silence of the Lambs. Great book, but WAY too similar to the emotional atmosphere. Funny now, but then? Brrrr.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146536967364016272006-05-01T19:29:00.000-07:002006-05-01T19:29:00.000-07:00I'm currently back in Toronto for a week (where I ...I'm currently back in Toronto for a week (where I used to work before relocating to Ottawa), and I guess this is as close as I get to a reading vacation. I commute in from my parents place by train, which takes about an hour. Undeniably, this sucks, but it also gives me two hours a day of dedicated reading time (which does not suck). I'm working on <I>Possesion</I> right now. Also: digging it.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06856187137331544258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146533851529500942006-05-01T18:37:00.000-07:002006-05-01T18:37:00.000-07:00When I was a kid (and by that I mean single-digit ...When I was a kid (and by that I mean single-digit age, but I can't remember precisely what that age was) my family went to Dunsborough, Western Australia for a week. I rained all but two days.<BR/><BR/>I hadn't brought a book (I was young!) but there were some in the house we were staying in. I ended up reading the entirety of the <I>Selby Speaks</I> series.<BR/><BR/>When I was twelve, we went to South Africa. The book I remember is one that came out there while we were there: <I>Masterharper of Pern</I> by Anne McCaffrey. I was a big fan of the Pern series and devoured it. My mother also likes the series but let me read the book first, which was a shame, since she got spoilt a bit on the ending when she had to comfort me, as I was <I>bawling my eyes out</I>.<BR/><BR/>Other than that, no reading vactions in my life history. I have had reading being-sicks, though. My wisdom teeth removal is also, for me, a memory of <I>Polgara the Sorceress</I>, and then I had a bad dose of flu and read the first 3 1/2 Harry Potter books in one day. (Then, oddly, took over a year to pick one up again.)Samihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00857346049002902060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146533394624756782006-05-01T18:29:00.000-07:002006-05-01T18:29:00.000-07:00Best - Having the house to myself one long weekend...Best - Having the house to myself one long weekend, and reading Tanya Huff's Keeper Chronicles series. Those books, that weekend, and the Sam Roberts CD I listened to will always be linked together.<BR/><BR/>Worst - Being stuck on a train back and forth to Toronto from my parent's place, with nothing but <I>The Devil Wears Prada</I>. Hate, hate, HATE! But I had to read it because it was for book club.Rebeccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12314538281021455995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146518356455453862006-05-01T14:19:00.000-07:002006-05-01T14:19:00.000-07:00When I was about seven or eight years old, I went ...When I was about seven or eight years old, I went with my family to Quebec. We stayed in the Chateau Frontinac and had a generally fabulous time- from what little I can remember- but what I can recall the most is sitting in a chair overlooking the St. Lawrence river and reading "Caddie Woodlawn." And I loved it so much.<BR/><BR/>I just read "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in September and absolutely loved it. It inspired me to pick up "Love in the Time of Cholera," also by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and it was wonderful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146517698368292332006-05-01T14:08:00.000-07:002006-05-01T14:08:00.000-07:00Next time you read Anna Karenina consider reading ...Next time you read <I>Anna Karenina</I> consider reading the latest translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky, which (gag) Oprah recently endorsed. I haven't actually read this version myself (I read Russian), but I have looked at Pevear and Volokhonsky's translations of Dostoevsky and they are simply the best available in English. I would imagine that the same would be true of their <I>Karenina</I>. I'm currently reading Tolstoy like a maniac at the moment but, funnily enough, I've been avoiding that particular novel, focussing mainly upon his work of the 1850s and 60s. If you can't get the latest translation, read the Louise and Aylmer Maude one. Tolstoy gave that one the thumbs up himself before he died. Do NOT read anything by Constance Garnett. She brought Russian lit to post-Victorian English readers, and for that she must be acknowledged, but she simply lacks the same skills as a translator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146517518526798052006-05-01T14:05:00.000-07:002006-05-01T14:05:00.000-07:00My most recent vacation memories of a trip to cent...My most recent vacation memories of a trip to central Mexico will allways be wound together with reading Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth."<BR/><BR/>And another trip to Las Vegas with my (then) boyfriend who was playing in a chess tournament for endless hours is full of memories of "Love in the time of Cholera." Yum.<BR/><BR/>It's funny that you mention Anna Karenina - I just started it today.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14642454427228503266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146516665532840442006-05-01T13:51:00.000-07:002006-05-01T13:51:00.000-07:00my favorite reading vacation was seven weeks in no...my favorite reading vacation was seven weeks in northern india with my sister. i read mostly books from/ about india and they all added to the rich tapestry of a land i was experiencing with all my senses (and even helped me make sense of a thing or two). i read A Day in Shadow (Nayantara Sahgal); May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons (Elisabeth Bumiller); Gandhi's autobiography; A Passage to India (E.M. Forester); Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie); Seven Years in Tibet (Heinrich Harrer) and my personal trip favorite A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146514111124831142006-05-01T13:08:00.000-07:002006-05-01T13:08:00.000-07:00"Now, I can't stop collecting and recommending all...<I>"Now, I can't stop collecting and recommending all things Garcia-Marquez."</I><BR/><BR/>I know! I'm exactly the same way. I knew that I'd eventually find a way into <I>One Hundred Years</I> because I'd already read and LOVED <I>Love in the Time of Cholera</I>. At this point, I could read Marquez's grocery list and love it.<BR/><BR/>I am not at all shocked that so many of you share my loathing of <I>The Nanny Diaries</I>. I am shocked, however, that so many of us have read it. Did we all lose a bet or something?Tammyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16613804843380827691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9931308.post-1146512144940035362006-05-01T12:35:00.000-07:002006-05-01T12:35:00.000-07:00In the beginning of April this year, I went to Chi...In the beginning of April this year, I went to Chicago for four days to check out the U of Chicago campus, where I'll be going to grad school next year. I took two books with me: <I>Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage</I> by Alice Munro and <I>The Wright 3</I> by Blue Balliett. I was almost halfway done with <I>Hateship</I> by the time I got on the plane, so I got through it quickly. I had a truly "You are there" reading experience with <I>The Wright 3</I>, since it takes place in Hyde Park on the U of C campus and concerns Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House which I saw for the first time, so that was awesome, but it was a kid's book and a quick read. The best part of the trip was when I had finished both of my books, was stuck on a plane, and had to borrow my mother's book, <I>Imperial Woman</I> by Pearl S. Buck, while she slept. I have never been so grateful for reading material in my life as I was at that moment, tens of thousands of miles above ground and three hours from California. I still haven't finished <I>Imperial Woman</I>, but I will when I can get it back from my mother. Thank you, Pearl S. Buck!<BR/><BR/>-C.C.Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04096644441493559481noreply@blogger.com