Introduce yourself

[Eggwhite]

I believe I can, but I have a pressing concern. A quote by the odious troublemaker, Italo Calvino keeps besmirching the top of my computer screen when I look at this forum. Surely this must be some kind of mistake? Or a foolhardy prank played by some young jester, out for a laugh?

Hello all,
I'm glad to see this site launched. To use the pun suggested by the site itself, it should broaden my reading horizons.
I'm a continual reader -- always have a book in my hands. I read a wide variety and am always willing to try a book that comes well recommended, which is probably why I have such a pile of unread books ready and waiting. Always looking for more, nevertheless.
Glad to be here!

[Stewart]

Originally Posted by Dabbler

am always willing to try a book that comes well recommended, which is probably why I have such a pile of unread books ready and waiting.

Tell me about it. I like the recommendation thing and sometimes I just like to browse eBay, find something I've never heard of and take my chances. Welcome, Dabbler.

[nnyhav]

Ahoy! Permission to come on board?

I came in by way of The Literary Saloon. "nnyhav" is a moniker pseudorandomly assigned to me way back when, but I also go by Dave. My blog (nnyhav.blogspot.com) has been a reading diary (mostly in translation, though it's all over the map) cum musings for the past couple years or so, but it's no discussion space; I'm glad Stewart has set this forum up (it's about time somebody did!) and look forward to getting pointers on more territory to explore.

[Stewart]

Originally Posted by nnyhav

Ahoy! Permission to come on board?

Granted.

look forward to getting pointers on more territory to explore.

You and me both.

[Catch22]

Hello all,

I'm a Englishman living in Madrid, in dire need of a second language under my belt, plus a second book not written in English as well (that's an exaggeration. Slightly). I'm occasionally struggling under the weight of Don Quixote at the moment - I like it, it's just a bit of a marathon and there are so many shorter, easier diversions to be enjoyed on all sides...

The most recent translated work I've read was Q by the Italian group mind "Luther Blissett" and very good it was too.

Finally, apologies for the avatar. I joined a Sci-Fi forum with it, but since two months later I don't go anywhere near it I thought I'd put it to use here. I'll replace it with something a little more Spanish when I get the time!

[Stewart]

Originally Posted by Catch22

I'm occasionally struggling under the weight of Don Quixote at the moment - I like it, it's just a bit of a marathon and there are so many shorter, easier diversions to be enjoyed on all sides...

I was making steady progress on it a number of years back...and then the new Umberto Eco (The Mysterious Flame Of Queen Loana) came out and I abandoned ship for that. Bit of a mistake, in reflection, as I never finished that either. Something else must have come along.

Finally, apologies for the avatar.

Not at all. Er, what is it?

[Howard]

I live in London and I'm a literary translator from French, Italian and, soon, Spanish. I don't get to read as much as I'd like because most of the time I'm too busy translating - although of course, translating is probably the closest reading any book could get.

[Stewart]

Originally Posted by Howard

I live in London and I'm a literary translator from French, Italian and, soon, Spanish.

Phew! I could barely manage will school German back in the day. I suppose the Latin roots of those languages help complement each other? Welcome in, Howard.

[Sybarite]

Hi All,

I'm a journalist and writer, living in London with my other half and two cats.

I have varied literary interests and too many favourite books and authors to list here.

Sybarite

[A Common Reader]

Hi Stewart - I didn't know you had a book blog. It looks really good and I will visit again soon.

I'm Tom from the coast of East Sussex, who after a lenghty career in computing (since 1973 when computers were a little differnt to how they are today) managed to get early retirment last November (bliss, bliss, bliss).

Many interests, but books are a huge part of my life and always have been.

My wife and I have a personal website at www.southcoastsounds.org.uk which provides more information about me than you'd want to know.

[miriring]

Hello,
I am a literature teacher in highschool. In the last 15 years I work as the head of literature studies in 100 high schools.
Reading is for me a pleasure as much as a tool for work. I read during my life books from almost every place on this world (even poetry from Angola and Sao Tome).
I can read in 6 languages, so the pleasure of reading the original is something I enjoy very much.
The last 10 years I concentrated in Portuguese literature from Portugal. Poets and Authors such as Fernando Pessoa, Saramago, Lidia Joege and many more.
I am married and have 3 children and 2 grandsons.

[Beth]

Originally Posted by miriring

I can read in 6 languages, so the pleasure of reading the original is something I enjoy very much.

Wow! Very pleased to meet you, miriring. I'd imagine teaching literature to high schoolers would be exciting as they seem to be the perfect age for becoming real literature lovers. Sounds like a fun career.

[miriring]

Hello Beth,
Thank you for your message.
I did find it interesting to teach literature to teenagers.
Not an easy work nowadays as children do not read as much as we did in our youth.
I am an optimistic person and from my experience (also with my private children), they start reading at a certain age and when they read Kafka or Borges, Tolstoi or Dostoiveski being a bit mature, they enjoy reading much more than in their highschool period.
I can tell you only that I tried hard to look for "tricks" that my students will read the original texts and not summaries of the texts (which are available in any internet site).
I must confess that I had more leasure in teaching or instructing teachers. It was also a chalenge to convince teachers to enter into classes with texts by so called "hard" to read....

[miriring]

Hello Sybarite,
It sounds interesting- A journalist and a writer.
Can you tell what are your favorite writers?
Miriring

[abecedarian]

Hi everyone! Some of you know me already, but for those who don't. I'm a homemaker from Kansas, who has been known to read a book or two now and then. About two and a half years ago, I took up a reading challenge at bookcrossing.com called The Olympic Challenge. This challenge is to read one book (ideally by a national writer) per nation participating in the Summer 2008 Olympic Games. I'm up to 196/204..or 195 if one dares to take Scotland away from me

[Colette Jones]

Surely Scotland counts!

That's an impressive number of books and it looks like you're going to make it.

[abecedarian]

Originally Posted by Colette Jones

Surely Scotland counts!

That's an impressive number of books and it looks like you're going to make it.

One would think so! But this is based more on Olympic committees than reckognized soveriegn nations. Scotland does not field their own team, so they don't officially count for this challenge...which irked me terribly. It seems sinful to avoid such a literature-rich place just because they don't have a separate team. so I didn't.

[Stewart]

Originally Posted by abecedarian

About two and a half years ago, I took up a reading challenge at bookcrossing.com called The Olympic Challenge. This challenge is to read one book (ideally by a national writer) per nation participating in the Summer 2008 Olympic Games

What have been your favourites over the course thus far?

Originally Posted by Colette Jones

Surely Scotland counts!

If you consider the harsh dialect of something awful - say Irvine Welsh - then perhaps it counts as something without translation but probably in dire need of it. But since the country goes to the Olympics as part of Great Britain, it's still British writing.

[abecedarian]

Originally Posted by Stewart

What have been your favourites over the course thus far?

Some that rise to the top are: The Man Who Fell From Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima, The Van by Roddy Doyle(as you know I read the trilogy)-That scene with the deep fried nappy still makes me laugh- Broken April by Ismael Kadare, Blanket Boy's Moon by Peter Lanham, The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka, Dirt Music by Tim Winton, Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura, A Dream in Polar Fog by Yuri Rytkheu, Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov, Wonderful Fool by Shusako Endo, First Circle & Cancer Ward by Solzhenistyn, A Writer at War-Vasily Grossman, Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
I know I'm leaving out some others I loved...Oh yeah-The Decapitated Chicken and other Stories by Horacio Quiroga-this one has some creepy but memorable tales...

Originally Posted by Stewart

If you consider the harsh dialect of something awful - say Irvine Welsh - then perhaps it counts as something without translation but probably in dire need of it. But since the country goes to the Olympics as part of Great Britain, it's still British writing.

Well, I figured whether Scotland made the 'official' list or not, I'm a big girl and can read what I want I was thinking about this earlier, and it occured to me that Guam is a US territory and they have a place on this official list..I'd have to check to see if they have their own committee, but at this point I'm tired of caring..I just need to find something to cover a few Caribbean Islands and read some Macedonian poetry online, and I'm done.