I
was so very happy and honored when Maria from A Night's Dream of Books
asked me to write a guest blog. The first task at hand, deciding on what topic
to write about was half the fun. As both Maria and myself share a love for the
original 1960’s era Star Trek Series and I have lots of thoughts on that topic,
we decided that I would write about how that television show has been an
influence upon me and my literary tastes in so many ways. Readers can find Part I my commentary on the
subject here and here.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Trekking Over to A Night's Dream of Books
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Time to Read

I
have a job that requires fairly long hours from me. In addition, as much as I
love the practice of reading and feel that it is my most important hobby, there
is also more to life. I love the outdoors, food culture and cooking, keeping
abreast of current events and various technical interests and so much more. I
devote time to family and friends. All this leaves me insufficient time to
pursue the ingestion of the written word.
Of
course, reading is indeed a very high priority! I often irresponsibly do without
sleep in my determination to conquer pages. I have also forsworn virtually all
television in an effort to gain reading time. OK, I do watch a little
television while eating breakfast and preparing for the day. This time is not
time that I would be reading anyway. Ironically, a fair amount to this
television time is spent watching Book TV!
Of
course everything is relative. I spend more time with books than do the great
majority of family, friends and coworkers. It is a priority in my life. Yet,
when I look at the rapidity that some of my fellow bloggers move through books,
I am positively green with envy!
If I
ever get to retire, and that is a long, long way off, I hope to return to the
long stretches of unfettered reading that I enjoyed in the days of my youth!
Monday, September 17, 2012
It's Getting Later All the Time - Antonio Tabucchi

At times I was befuddled. As I alluded to above, I
cannot imagine reading this book without the assistance of an Internet search
engine. This electronic aid was indeed very helpful. The author’s postscript
also provided very informative insights. It seems as if Tabucchi realized that
this book was a tough nut to crack, and decided to provide a little help! Finally,
healthy spurts of rereading passages after completing the book make me feel as
if I had turned the tide in the battle to de- encrypt what Tabucchi is trying to
say.
There are multiple themes here, some of which I believe
that I have gone a ways towards deciphering, and others that I am still fuzzy
about. One important set of ideas starts with an emphasis that there is not
much to our physical selves other then conglomerations of blood and organs. For instance, when one of the letter writers
imagines a scene involving a human sacrifice,
“the slab of
stone illuminated by the revived goddess and toward the entrails that had
appeared on the dolman. Without a doubt these were guts devoid of the human or
animal envelope that once housed them. A fragile, whitish tube of cartridge
that ended in a reddish bean, from which branched out other ducts laden with
blood and lymphatic vessels. But these entrails led nowhere because the body was
absent.”
This theme that demonstrates the lack of significance
of our physical bodies is further developed into the idea that there is a lack
of significance relating to actual action and experience. Instead, Tabucchi
implies that it is imagination and memories, which are often false, and, above
all, the words which make us real and are really important. Again and again,
memories are often shown to be inaccurate, yet crucial, in the development as
to who we are.
Imagination is similarly emphasized. The power and
artistry of words is analyzed and celebrated over and over again. At one point,
a letter writer describes in elaborate detail a trip that he and his girlfriend
never actually took:
“This is why
I remind you of the journey we didn’t make to Samarkand, because this was the
one that was real and our and full and lived.”
The above is just one of multiple intellectual
threads developed by Tabucchi.
If reading this book sounded like it was a little
difficult, it was! However, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. This type of
reading experience is my cup of tea. I love to try to dig deep, to interpret,
and to work a bit on the book that I am occupied with. I take satisfaction in the fact that I was
able to crack some of Tabucchi’s secrets. I am tempted to read this work again,
right now, from cover to cover, as I suspect such an undertaking would reveal a
world of new understanding.
To read this book I recommend three things: first, a
strong desire and curiosity to delve into the author’s very creative mind; second,
patience, as some rereading may be necessary; third, a reliable Internet
connection! In addition to the intellectual challenge that Tabucchi presents,
he is also a wonderful writer who shows mastery of many styles. His themes and
philosophies, while difficult and dense, are the product of a great imagination
and contain both wisdom and insight. I recommend this one for enthusiastic and
determined readers!
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Out Visiting At the Relentless Reader - To Kill a Mocking Bird
Many
thanks to Jennifer at The
Relentless Reader for inviting me over to her blog to write a guest post! I
am so honored that she is allowing me to share my thoughts with her readers.
When Jennifer and I discussed the nature of my post, I suggested that she choose
either a favorite book or just a book that she was interested in hearing
another reader’s thoughts on. I would read the book and write commentary for
her blog. Jennifer chose Harper Lee’s To Kill
a Mocking Bird as it was not only a favorite of hers, but she was in the midst
of a reread.
I
had never read Lee’s famous novel. As it turns out, this was a great choice.
Readers will need to look here
at Jennifer's blog to find out why.
While
over there, please check out as many of Jennifer’s posts as you have time for.
I think that anyone who enjoys my writings will love Jennifer’s site. She has
terrific taste in books that usually mirrors my own (After all, if I thought
that she would have chosen something like Fifty
Shades of Grey, I would never, of course, suggest that she pick a book for
me read!). Her blog is also witty and funny. Though she usually comments upon
serious books, both intellectual content as well as amusing tidbits can be
found on her site.
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