There is something about them I cannot put my finger on. Ever since I was little, I loved books. Well, that`s not true. In the very beginning, I hated reading. I argued when it was time to read. And I always read the exact amount upon we previously agreed (if the deal was three pages a day and the last sentence ended on page 4, I refused to read it in whole). And then all of the sudden, the trend changed and I read as much as possible. And I still do that.
I buy books in waves. I do not go out and pick a particular book, but sort of browse and see what will catch my eye this time. I think it`s better than to go out with a particular book in mind and when the bookstore does not have it go home empty hand.
Right now, the following books are on my hit-list:
- Salman Rushide – The satanic verses (a free fatwa included)
- Nick Hornby – High fidelity
- Nick Hornby – Fever pitch
- Nick Hornby – About a boy
- Marquis De Sade – 120 days of Sodome and Gomore
- Robert Ludlum – Bourne trilogy
I still have a few pages of the “That ace in the hole” which I am reading just so I can say that I did read it whole despite the fact that it sucks so much I am thinking of using it as a vacuum cleaner. It`ll probably do a great job.
Every book has its reason for picking it up. I got interested in de Sade when watching Quills. An excellent movie, Geoffrey Rush did an excellent job portraying this famous rebel and I`ve been eyeballing the book for (literally) several years.
Rushie is one of the authors I kept hearing about but I never actually read anything written by him. My first Rushie book was “Fury” which turned out to be written in black comedy style. I am not expecting anything from the “Satanic Verses”, I guess I am just wondering what all the hubub is all about.
I got interested in Hornby after seeing “High Fidelity” where John Cusak got my attention. Although other two book were also transported to film, starring Hugh Grant (euch), I am still highly optimistic about the threesome.
Ludlum is an oldie but goldie. He is the (grand)father of the genre which lately spawned authors like Dan Brown. I got it for two reasons. One cause it`s got all three parts from the Bourne trilogy binded into one book and two cause I`ll give it to Baya. Expanding her horizons 😉
What are you reading?
At the moment, I’m reading The Vinland Map and the Tartar Relation, by R. A. Skelton et al. It’s about a medieval manuscript containing a world map and a description of a 13th-century visit to Mongolia by several European monks. The map is particularly intriguing because of its references to Viking discoveries in North America (“Vinland”). Some people argue that the map is authentic, some say it’s a recent forgery. The authors of this book consider it authentic. I have now got through most of the preliminary matter, most of which was not very interesting; I hope that the text of the Tartar Relation itself will be more interesting.
I’ve also just started reading the Commentaries of the pope Pius II, recently published as vol. 12 of the I Tatti Renaissance Library. This is basically Pius’ autobiography, and it looks like it might be quite interesting. He lived in the 15th century, did a fair bit of travelling, and had a varied career as a diplomat and prelate before becoming pope.
I’ve recently finished Edwin Black’s “War on the Weak” (a history of the eugenics movement) and Tash Aw’s novel “The Harmony Silk Factory”, both of which I heartily recommend.
On a pedantic note, the correct English spelling is “Sodom and Gomorrah”. However, de Sade’s book is simply “The 120 Days of Sodom”. I rather enjoyed Sade’s fluid style and his remarkably inventive imagination; but on the other hand, he has a tendency to get dull and repetitive. In the end it’s hard to say which aspect is the more boring — the sex and horrors, or the philosophical ramblings. Truly we could say that Sade is the bastard child of the enlightenment; his works have all the pedantry of the 18th century (with its ceaseless classifying, measuring, numbering, organizing, systematizing, etc., etc.), except that it’s directed towards selfishness and lust rather than some more wholesome subject. If you get the Grove Press edition, it has the added bonus of two largely incomprehensible essays by authentic 20th-century French intellectuals 🙂
I hope you’ll enjoy Rushdie. I found it somewhat hard work, what with all the internal references and the numerous Hindi words, etc., but it was a pleasant read nevertheless. As for the fatwa, well, I am shocked at the thought of how fanatical and closed-minded a zealot one would have to be in order to find anything amiss in this book.
Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown