A few short book descriptions/thoughts for those who are curious to know what little I've managed to read to date (although I expect to knock out 4-10 in the upcoming holiday weekend/week to follow), with the numbers indicating the books read to date in 2008:
279 Jorge Luis Borges, El idioma de los argentinos - This is an early (late 1920s, I believe) collection of Borges' essays on writing and semantics. Whenever I have the time, I hope to translate and post a snippet from this book, as I think it'd still generate lots of discussion. Erudite, well-written, typical Borges non-fiction.
280 Javier Negrete, Buscador de sombras/La luna quieta - Although I have already given my thoughts on both in posts a week or so ago, suffice to say Negrete is a very talented writer in both the SF and Epic Fantasy media and I won't be surprised at all to learn in the next 2-3 years, as his books begin to be translated into other languages besides Spanish and French, that an English translation might be forthcoming.
281 Javier Negrete, La Espada de Fuego - See above for the platitudes. This opener to an epic fantasy series feels more like an expanded sword and sorcery tale than it does the 1990s-early 2000s trend towards bloated 7+ volume series. Clocking in at around 450 pages, this story developed quickly and the prose is outstanding. Highly recommended.
282 Angélica Gorodischer, Las Jubeas en flor - Collection of six short fictions from one of Argentina's leading SF/feminist fiction writers. If you enjoyed her Kalpa Imperial, then this collection is a must-read for you...provided that you can read Spanish, of course.
283 Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón, After 9/11: America's War on Terror (2001 - ) - Graphic novel adapation of a history behind the Bush administration's responses to the war on terror. While I agree with much of the political views inherent in the authors' critique, there will be some who will reject the book out of hand because of its significant left-leaning bias. That would be a shame, because the juxtapositioning of the images drawn and the snippets of speeches makes for an exciting, provocative read.
In progress:
Alissa Torres, American Widow - This book, which photo I'll have posted later in the day as part of the weekly Book Porn series, is a graphic novel adaptation of one of the 9/11 widows. I'm roughly 50% into this and will finish it later this afternoon, but it is a very moving story where the artwork accentuates the grief, anguish, and the coming to term with Torres' husband's death after the North Tower impact. So far, it is the best graphic novel adaptation of an historical event that I've read since Art Spiegelman's classic Maus.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
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6 comments:
:: squeak ::
Do I have to learn Spanish to read more Angélica Gorodischer?
Or could I possibly persuade some American or other publisher to print it in a readable language... by flocks and flocks of hungry squirrels?
D
Hey you squeaker!
While unfortunately, it seems you need to learn Spanish to read this collection, the best bet is to get me to do it for you, knowing how much I fear those flocks and flocks of hungry, rabid squirrels...
<3
Why, did Kalpa Imperial fare so poorly on the market that publishing another title by the same writer would prove disastrous?
Or some other reason?
Well, Kalpa Imperial was through a small press, so unless Ursula Le Guin wants to translate the collection and Small Beer Press then wants to publish it, it'll be very difficult. Así es la vida, no? ;)
Maybe Lotesse has Le Guin's contact address.
I'll go squeak.
:D
Squeak away, you squeaker! :D
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