[Friday Reads] Sick at Home - 2nd Edition: Reading is exhausting!

Yep, sick at home - again... might be because I didn't quite get over the flu the last time? Or: wtf is the problem with my immune system? Or: Why hasn't it been spring sooner?!

What I didn't read first: This Easter I didn't pick up "Krabat" by Otfried Preußler, a German
children's classic, which I usually like to read around Easter (because Easter features an important time in the book). I don't do this every single year, but probably every other year. At first I felt like doing it, then I kind of forgot and then I didn't feel like it anymore. Now I'm a bit sad, that I didn't get to read it this year, because it's just such an awesome book. Naturally, as there is no law that it has to be read only at Easter, I could just pick it up and read it, but that wouldn't feel right. So now I'll be preserving the book and hopefully enjoy it next year.

What I'm currently reading (or not really reading, because reading is really exhausting when you're sick, all the tiny letters, holding those heavy books, thinking all the thoughts...):

1984 as an audio book.

This is a re-read. I've read the German translation of it years ago. But I can hardly remember anything. So it's really interesting to finally actually read one of the most quoted and referenced books ever - again. I'm not too keen on the writing style. It's getting better now (about half way through), or maybe I'm just getting used to it. But it did feel rather clumsy in the beginning and also really dry. I'm also only getting used to the narrator of the audio version I'm listening to. He's not bad, but I'm am really annoyed by him not being able to breath as a narrator or actor should be able to. He draws a really sharp breath at the beginning of every other sentence and that is just wrong.

Getting Things Done: well, persuaded by the hype I started this one. Not very far into it yet, so I can't really say anything about it. It might also not quite be the right moment, me being sick and all...








Dvori od oraha by Miljenko Jergović

I stumbled upon this one totally by chance (the pleasures of working in a bookshop!), I had never heard about it before, which is weird, because I did have a look into Croatian and Yugoslavian lit last year. Maybe it just didn't stand out. And that is a shame, because it's a seriously good book! Took me about one page to be totally immersed in it. And that despite the the way it's told. I won't actually mention this, it's not a spoiler, but in retrospect I think it was great that I didn't know this before I started reading it (it might have even turned me off). But I'm gonna say it's style is beautiful and every now and then I stumble over things that I'm, well, not liking as much, it's all part of the narrative and has to be there. I love it and am so glad this customer ordered it - and then didn't want it! ;) Good for me. His loss. I'd say: Go read it, everybody! But I'm afraid there's only been German and French translations from the original Bosnian.



PS: Turns out you need to hit "publish" for your posts to go live... who would've thought? Anyway, this is why this is going up on a Sunday.

April Wrap Up and a kind of a May TBR (we'll call it MBRiM)

Okay, if I'm serious about book blogging then I should probably do an April Wrap Up. Especially because I feel like I finally got back into reading more during this April. I actually finished books (and yep, it's plural!) in April.

Actually when I think about it it may have been Oryx and Crake in March, when I was trying to finish that before going to a reading by Margaret Atwood, what got me back into the bookish spirit. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy (as I really, really liked this one and Atwood in general, who doesn't?!), but I'll wait till I can get this one trilogy edition that I want to have. (I bought Oryx and Crake as an audio book, so I have no book book copy of it.)

Well, but the Wrap Up. As in: books that I actually finished reading in April:

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi. I'll post my review on that one tomorrow or so. I'm kind of torn on this one. Great ideas, but horrible reading experience for me...

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. A re-re-re-re-read for me. And brilliant as always. Sticks with me, too.

The Love Artist by Jane Alison. Finally finished this one. I started it for a Coursera class. I loved the beginning, but over all I had some problems with it. I'll also post a review soon.

So, yeah, three books. Not much, but more than usual for me lately, so I'm happy.
Right now I'm reading Fahrenheit 451. And I also hope I'll finally get to watch the movie adaptation. (I started watching it some while back and loved the looks of it, but for some reason I don't have the DVD anymore...)

And now onto what May may bring.
I'm really hesitant to do an actual TBR. And I won't. Just because I know that I do not like to (and do not do) stick to plans where reading is concerned. (Also, for school I have a lot of stuff that certainly HAS to be read [yep, an "HTBR"], where it is not so much up to me to make decisions, so I like to roam freely the rest of the reading world.)So instead I'll make an "MBRiM" which naturally means: "Might be read in May".

I'll definitely be going on reading S., which I got last week and am in awe of. I read this very, very slowly and enjoy it immensely, the whole feeling and experience. So this may go on for months.

Other books that are just lying around here and might be picked up include:

Die neuen Frauen - Revolution im Kaiserreich (1900-1914) - this is a German book about German women who became politically and culturally active in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. It looks seriously interesting, but I don't know if I'll be much inclined to read non-fiction for pleasure with all the school work I have going on.

Aspects of the Novel by E.M.Forster - I love Forster. And this is my excuse to read something by him while at the same time maybe getting into the spirit of lit exams. (So it's semi-pleasure non-fiction, mark that as a new genre!)

I'm expecting some more books to arrive by mail during the coming days and maybe I'll just dive into one of them immediately. As I'm very much in a Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction kind of mood lately among these books are:
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Embassytown by China Mieville
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov (these last two totally due to me watching too much of books and pieces wonderful youtube channel..)

As an audio book I just started North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. And I just love, love, love this book! So much in there. I am so looking forward to this re-read. (Also: This version is read by Juliet Stevenson. I love her, too.)

And about that whole stuff I have to read for university I might make another post... (Russian lit is always worth a blog post, I think...)

And now it's past 3 am and I am not willing to check for typos. Good Noght.