Hi, folks! Karen @kaggsy59 and Simon @simondavidthomas are hosting the #1936Club this week, and, as always, I am jumping in! The event is one of their regular six-monthly reading Clubs, where they encourage everyone to read and discuss books from a particular year. This time, we are reading books from 1936. I am currently reading The Beauties and Furies, by Australian author Christina Stead, and I will be writing more about it later this week. I’d also like to recommend three books I’ve read & loved from 1936 (I wrote about them on my blog a long time ago): 1) Deborah, by Esther Kreitman (1946, tr. Maurice Carr. Original: Der Shaidim Tantz, 1936); 2) Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (1936); and 3) Novel on Yellow Paper, by Stevie Smith (1936). Are you taking part in the #1936Club? What are you reading this week? 🌱 Oi, gente! Essa semana acontece o Clube 1936, evento criado por Karen e Simon para incentivar a leitura de livros publicados em um ano determinado. O evento acontece semestralmente, e a cada vez é escolhido um ano diferente. Dessa vez é 1936. Minha leitura para o evento é esse romance da autora australiana Christina Stead, e recomendo três outros romances sobre os quais já falei no blog há muito tempo (passe a foto para ver as capas). Vocês curtem esse tipo de evento?
Whenever I find a book by a new-to-me forgotten woman writer at my local little free library, I pick it up. I hadn't heard of Marianne Langewiesche, a German author born in Bavaria in 1908, until I found this 1952 copy of Der Ölzweig ("The Olive Branch"), a retelling of Noah's story that takes place in the late 1940's. This brief summary may not sound very appealing nowadays, but there is an interesting existential undercurrent & even some environmental topics going through the book. So far so good. 🌿 Sempre que encontro na little free library um livro de autora esquecida, decido pegar para conhecer. Nunca havia ouvido falar de Marianne Langewiesche, autora alemã nascida na Baviera em 1908, até me deparar com esse exemplar de 1952 de O Ramo de Oliveira. O romance é uma releitura da história de Noé, transposta para o final dos anos 40. Esse resumo pode não parecer interessante para os leitores contemporâneos, mas o livro tem uma atmosfera existencialista e até toca em temas ambientalistas. Continuarei a ler.
This is just a quick note to say that Natalie @curiousreaderr and Emma from the #Booktube channel A Cup of Books have just posted their announcement videos for the 2021 #Springathon, which will happen from May 1 to 14. Some of you may remember that I took part in this reading project last year here on IG. The idea is to read at least one nature writing book, and this year we will be joined by the wonderful @booknaturalists! We will also be announcing the Instagram challenge soon. For now, check Natalie and Emma's channels for more information! 🌿 Oi, gente! Em maio, ocorrerá a Maratona de Primavera, cujo objetivo é ler ao menos um livro de não ficção cujo tema tenha a ver com a natureza (como dizer "nature writing" em português?). Se quiserem saber mais sobre o projeto, assistam aos vídeos introdutórios da Natalie (A Curious Reader) e da Emma (A Cup of Books) no YouTube, e sigam o grupo The Book Naturalists aqui no Instagram. Talvez alguns de vocês se recordem que participei do evento no ano passado. Também faremos um desafio aqui no Instagram. Espero que curtam!
My current read is this essay collection I borrowed in ebook format from my local library. I am only at the beginning, three essays in, but I am already loving its approach on belonging, identity, immigration, prejudice, and motherhood. Quote: "Ich sage manchmal, ich sei »im Iran geboren« oder »Iranerin«, zögerlich und meistens aus Trotz behaupte ich, Deutsche« zu sein, sehr selten sage ich »aus einer assyrischen Familie« oder »Deutsch-Iranerin«. Nichts davon klingt richtig, vor allem aus dem Mund anderer. Kürzlich habe ich in einer Fotoausstellung eine Reihe iranischer Passfotos gesehen. Ich schaute mir die Gesichter an und sah Nasen wie meine, Augen wie meine, Haare wie meine. Für einen kurzen Moment konnte ich mir vorstellen, wie entspannend es sein würde, all diese Menschen zu meinem Alltag zu zählen. Ihnen auf der Straße und in Geschäften zu begegnen, im Bahnhof, im Kino, beim Einwohnermeldeamt. Ich würde nicht auffallen, ich wäre nicht anders. Man wüsste, wie mein Name ausgesprochen wird, man würde sich nicht fragen, woher ich komme. Rede ich da von Heimat? Ich hoffe nicht.(...)Ich empfinde Zugehörigkeit als einen Prozess und keinen Zustand, keine Frage der Loyalität zu einem Territorium, weshalb ich nie eine grundsätzliche Aussage darüber treffen kann, wohin ich gehöre. Ich komme mir anmaßend vor, das als Schmerz zu beschreiben. Ich musste nicht von einem vertrauten Ort an einen mir unbekannten Ort ziehen. Trotzdem befinde ich mich an diesem Zwischenort, hin und her gezogen, nostalgisch in die eine Richtung und sehnsuchtsvoll in die andere Richtung blickend, gewollt und ungewollt unzugehörig." Asal Dardan✨ Minha leitura atual é essa coletânea de ensaios da autora alemã de ascendência iraniana Asal Dardan. Peguei o livro emprestado, em formato ebook, da biblioteca. Estou gostando muito da forma como aborda identidade, pertencimento, imigração, preconceito, maternidade.
I’ve got that Dorthe Nors out from the library, and I just finished her (longer) novella, Mirror Shoulder Signal, and I *loved* it. So excited to read the the two novellas in So Much for that Winter next. I also really enjoyed The Guest Cat
LikeLike
I have the Dorthe Nors on my kindle, and I was hoping to read it for WITMonth – which ended up not happening. I will try to pick it up this month 🙂 Good to know you loved the other book by her!
LikeLike
That’s an interesting list and I’m very intrigued by Nihilist Girl!
LikeLike
I am intrigued by it, too, Karen! It is supposed to be in the similar vein of The Boarding-School Girl…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah! So happy to have you aboard 🙂
Your list reveals something that I’ve noticed looking and many novella TBRs this month: novellas from the 2010s and from the early part of the 1900s. There seems to be a little bit of a spike in their popularity over the last few years, which is fantastic. Very eclectic list, I love it. Haven’t read any of these so I’m super excited to hear your thoughts on them. Happy reading!
LikeLike
Thank you, Rick!
LikeLike
Great list – I have another Dorthe Nors that I’m hoping to read for my Novels in Translation challenge so I look forward to hearing what you think about that one.
LikeLike
Thank you, Cathy! I’ve heard good things about it 🙂
LikeLike
I enjoyed the Mussel Feast when I read it a few years ago, quite a powerful story for such a slim book. I can see why it’s taught in some schools in Germany.
Love the sound of the Rodoreda, so I’m particularly curious to see what you make of that whenever you get around to it. Enjoy your November reading.
LikeLike
Thank you, Jacqui! I am loving Vanderbeke’s writing so far – it feels quite claustrophobic. I am curious to read your review of it now.
And Rodoreda – yes, I am looking forward to reading it 🙂
LikeLike
Have you read Nathanael West? He wrote only four short novels, and and the most famous is The Day of the Locust (but that’s 108 pages, so maybe too long; I think the others are shorter). By the way, I absolutely loved The Mussel Feast.
LikeLike
I haven’t read anything by him – thank you for the recommendation, Kat! I will check if my library has any of his books. I finished The Mussel Feast today and loved it! I will try to find your review of it
LikeLike