Clarice lispector
AN APPRENTICESHIP OR THE BOOK OF PLEASURES
THOUGHTS: CURRENTLY READING.
QIU MIAOJIN
LAST WORDS FROM MONTMARTRE
THOUGHTS: ONE OF THE BEST RECOMMENDATIONS MADE TO ME BY MY FRIEND JACK AT MCNALLY JACKSON. TAIWANESE WRITER QIU MIAOJIN TRAGICALLY TOOK HER LIFE AND THIS BOOK IS A HEARTBREAKING TORTURED SELF-CREATION OF CYCLICAL LETTERS AND FRAGILE WORDS. ONE OF THE BEST AFTERWORDS IN A BOOK I’VE EVER READ.
ALBERT CAMUS
THE FALL
THOUGHTS: MY FIRST CAMUS BOOK THAT WAS READ IN ONE SITTING ON A FLIGHT. A PHILOSOPHICAL NOVEL ABOUT A MAN NAMED JEAN-BAPTISTE CLAMENCE WHO SHARES A MONOLOGUE WITH A STRANGER IN A BAR IN AMSTERDAM CALLED “THE MEXCO CITY”. IT’S PRETTY MUCH ABOUT THE HYPOCRISY OF HIS EXISTENCE, DESPITE WHAT HE THINKS OF HIMSELF. JEAN-BAPTISTE FEARS BEING JUDGED, BUT CERTIFIES SOCIETY ONLY JUDGES EACH OTHER, SHOWING HIS NIHILISTIC POINT OF VIEW ON LIFE. I RELATE TO THIS VERY MUCH. I WILL PROBABLY READ ALL OF CAMUS’ WORK IN MY LIFETIME. BRAVO
Clarice lispector
ÁGUA VIVA
THOUGHTS: ONE OF THOSE BOOKS THAT CAN TRULY ACTUALLY DISTRACT YOU ON THE TRAIN AND SUBDUE ALL THE BACKGROUND NOISE. COMPELLING, MAKES ME WANT TO CRY. CLARICE LISPECTOR IS A BRAZILIAN WRITER NICKNAMED “THE SPHINX OF RIO DE JANIERO”. I WILL PROBABLY READ IT MANY MORE TIMES DURING THE COURSE OF MY LIFE, VERY GLAD I BOUGHT THIS ONE.
SANZO WADA
A DICTIONARY OF COLOR COMBINATIONS
THOUGHTS: AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR ARTISTS OF ANY KIND INTERESTED IN COLOR RESEARCH AND FOUNDATIONS. A GREAT LITTLE POCKET BOOK TO PULL OUT IN MIDDLE OF NIGHT WHEN YOU CAN’T SLEEP OR THUMB THROUGH ON THE TRAIN TO FANTASIZE ABOUT COLOR VARIATIONS. MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE STARTING POINT FOR SOMETHING CREATIVE.
yukio mishima
CONFESSIONS OF A MASK
THOUGHTS: A LUCKY FIND IN THE USED BOOKS SECTION; WE ALL HAVE MASKS. IT IS A GREAT PSYCHOLOGICAL ACCOUNT NOT ONLY OF TEEN ANGST BUT ALSO OF REALIZING YOU'RE DIFFERENT IN A SOCIETY THAT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND YOU.
lÁszló krasznahorkai
SEIOBO THERE BELOW
THOUGHTS: I STARTED THIS BOOK WHILE TRAVELING IN JAPAN AND SEEING TŌFUKU-JI TEMPLE. TŌFUKU-JI WAS ALSO NOTICEABLY MENTIONED IN THE READING. HUNGARIAN CONTEMPORARY WRITER KRASZNAHORKAI HAS ME ENTRANCED BY HIS SHORT BEAUTIFUL STORIES ON HUMAN OBSESSIONS.
georges perec
LIFE A USER'S MANUAL
THOUGHTS: A 600+ PAGE READ I TACKLED A MAJORITY OF ONCE, WHILE DOGSITTING. WHAT CAN I SAY? PEREC SHOWED ME A PEEK INSIDE INTERWOVEN STORIES OF THE PEOPLE IN A PARISIAN APARTMENT COMPLEX. VERY VOYEURISTIC, A MUST FOR LIT NERDS.
lyn hejinian
THE UNFOLLOWING
THOUGHTS: IT WAS THE BEST PROSE OF SONNETS I'VE EVER READ. I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING I READ BECAUSE A SENTENCE RARELY RELATED TO THE NEXT. IT WAS EXCITING TO READ.
natasha STAGG
SURVEYS
THOUGHTS: PEOPLE SHOULD NOT WASTE THEIR TIME READING BAD BOOKS. IN THIS CASE, I DID. I RESENT AUTHORS WHO MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I'M EXPERIENCING A DECONSTRUCTED REALITY SHOW.
ANNE FADIMAN
EX LIBRIS
THOUGHTS: THERE'S PEOPLE WHO WRITE BOOKS, PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM, AND PEOPLE WHO WRITE BOOKS ABOUT PEOPLE THAT LOVE THEM.