Today is the last day of the Bread Loaf Translators' Conference, and I was going to write about that, but I want to have time to full compose my thoughts on it. In lieu of that, please enjoy this post of book recommendations!
Every job I've done has had to do with books. Whether it was processing ILL, doing inventory, working at a Harry Potter themed summer camp, shelf reading, tutoring, planning a poetry workshop, it all came down to books. Of all my jobs, my favorite is probably the book reviews. In my senior year of high school I started a book review blog for my local library, which sadly never got picked up after I graduated and stopped working there. That said, I had fun while working on it, and even after I stopped, I have continued to make small remarks on books I have read in my reading journal. Not every book I read gets an entry. Unfortunately I lost it about 15 books ago, and to back fill it out is difficult. That said, I have gone over the books I have read in the past year, and now present five snippets from my reading journal (note: not all of these have been released in the last year, it's just when I got around to reading them, some have been on my list for a while).
Every job I've done has had to do with books. Whether it was processing ILL, doing inventory, working at a Harry Potter themed summer camp, shelf reading, tutoring, planning a poetry workshop, it all came down to books. Of all my jobs, my favorite is probably the book reviews. In my senior year of high school I started a book review blog for my local library, which sadly never got picked up after I graduated and stopped working there. That said, I had fun while working on it, and even after I stopped, I have continued to make small remarks on books I have read in my reading journal. Not every book I read gets an entry. Unfortunately I lost it about 15 books ago, and to back fill it out is difficult. That said, I have gone over the books I have read in the past year, and now present five snippets from my reading journal (note: not all of these have been released in the last year, it's just when I got around to reading them, some have been on my list for a while).
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami (1982) translated by Alfred Birmbaum (1989)
Pretty much nothing in this book made sense to me and I love it. Somehow I still followed even though no characters have names, everything they say is enigmatic, impossible and downright nonsensical I'm chill with it because it all fits and in fact did make sense after I read through it again. A fantastic story that I can't properly explain because it's just a wild trip you have to take for yourself. (I haven’t read the sequel/prequel, so no spoilers please!)
Can't and Won't by Lydia Davis (2014)
These stories were all super fascinating! The varying length was catching, and I thought the book was aesthetically put together quite well.
Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood (2014)
Not enough good things to say. Each story just popped in the most excellent of ways, like a dagger to the heart (but in a good way without the pain and death).
Swing Time by Zadie Smith (2016)
I absolutely devoured this book. The juxtaposition of the main character and her old friend Tracey is extremely well defined, and the non-linear nature of the story, while confusing at first, was really the only way it could have been written. It's a book that upon completion I scanned through my mental list of people to lend it to immediately upon finishing.
Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey (2016)
It's no secret to anyone who knows me or has read this blog that I'm in love with translation. This book is one of my favorites that I have read in a long time, and a lot of that is due to the way that translation was woven into the theme of this book without overwhelming the plot or using convoluted means to do so. The main character, while not entirely sympathetic, is the kind of character where I like her because of her faults, rather than despite them. I highly recommend.
These are but a few of the books that I have read and recommend; expect future posts like this as I find book recommendations quite fun.
Cheers,
Talia
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