A Momentary Taste of Being

Aramind Aviga's Last Man in Tower The Sharper the Knife the Less You Cry Eoin Coffler-- Plugged Joe Henry-- Lime Creek Dennis Johnson-- Train Dreams Elie Weisel-- Rashi Alexi Zentner-- Touch   (Seems reminiscent of Gilead, Home ,  and Peace Like a River , we'll see how it actually plays out. Oh and Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety

This weekend absorbed an eclectic mix of books, about which more, perhaps in moments: The Caretaker of Lorne Field David Zeltserman The Violin of Auschwitz Maria Angles Anglada Bill Bryson's African Diary Bill Bryson Presently I am reading: A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Alexander Solzhenitsen Kokoro Natsume Soseki The Invisible Bridge Julie Orringer Ulysses and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce The Jesuit Guide to (Nearly) Everything James Martin

My iPad had mysterious not charged and suddenly I was faced with a nine hour flight with nothing to read.  Sure, inflight movies might take up some of those, but I couldn't see getting on a plane with nothing.  I prowled through the bookstore looking for something besides airplane reading.  I was tempted first by Mockingjay and then by several authors in the "Irish Fiction" section.  But I finally stumbled upon Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier in America at such a good price, I picked it up.  I've tried it from the library and it simply did not captivate me.  It didn't really stir my imagination.  So, I read a few pages and realized that the need for something to read had put me in the mood.  Well, I haven't finished it yet, but I am finding it compelling reading.  I'll let you know how it works out.  But it is, along with a new and very nice translation of Natsume Soseki's Kokoro my current reading.

Today was a lovely Dublin day--overcast in the morning, but clearing in the afternoon to give a fine view of the Dublin Mountains crowned with low lying, but puffy white clouds.  Not much rain, and what there was came after I had walked back from the office to my hotel--just enough to make going out to dinner a little dicey without an umbrella--but as I had one, I was not in the least perturbed.  I walked around to The Pig's Ear, which is a restaurant on Nassau that I favor largely for the really excellent shepherd's pie and a Dublin confection that is simply unmatched called a gur cake.  (Look it up, it is too difficult to describe, and too delicious to do justice to in the few words I have before resuming work. Wonderful thing about Dublin, you can work an entire work day, go out to dinner, and then work your American job as well, catching up on the events of the day.) Dinner was somewhat disappointing because as I had had ground lamb en croute for lunch, I chose Salm...

As a result of a drop by the library and some irresistible remainder purchases, my book list has changed.  I will be taking: The Appoinment Herta Müller Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi Geoff Dyer Cheating at Canasta William Trevor Springs of Affection Maeve Brennan I'm particularly pleased with this last given how much I enjoyed her short novel The Visitor . By arrival time in Dublin, I hope to be ready to tell you about at least one of these.  Perhaps two depending on how much and how well I can sleep.

Because the list shifts too quickly for me to keep track via Goodreads or any other reasonable mode, and because such a list is not really trackable and because this blog is for my own reference in addition to whatever pleasure or edification it may offers others, I offer this list.  Please feel free to ignore it: In Other Rooms, Other Wonders --Daniyal Mueenuddin The Round and Other Cold Hard Facts --J.M.G. Le Clézio Goldengrove --Francine Prose--I have another blogger to thank for this--one who has championed this book at least two or three times since I started reading lit blogs.  I don't know who it is, but when I find the reference again, I intend to credit.  If you stop by, read here, and have commented on this wonderful book, my sincere thanks to you. The Ambassadors- -Henry James (Month 9) Ulysses --James Joyce--(Month 6) The Vagrants --Yiyun Li--rapidly becoming my favorite author of recent date The Collected Short Stories --William Trevor Counterfeit Go...