What BOOK are you reading right now?

Primo Levi was a superb author.
The Periodic Table is a masterpiece.

From Carlo Levi I was really liking Cristo è fermato a Eboli until it came down on me that the hero was Carlo Levi himself.

When I was thirtysomething one of my greatest fears was to finish reading all Borges and not having any new Borges to read any more.
Now that I am fiftysomething I realize that re-reading Borges is just as magic.

(Just finished La testa perduta di Damasceno Monteiro, (The Missing Head of Damasceno Monteiro), a nice thriller set in Portugal by Italian writer Antonio Tabucchi.)

You inspire me, Fib..

I've liked Carlo Levi, for sure and mostly - book and movie. I see your point. I guess I saw him as intertwined..

Will report on my forays into Borges..


Adds, I loved loved loved the Rosi film... which of course cuts a kind of bias.

Add, I trust my beginning forays in to Borges may be quite lame on my part. Still, I'll start.

Hi FB
I've wanted to read that Carlo Levi title since visiting Matera earlier in the year. Are you saying it's no good?

(I so doubt he's saying exactly that, but I'll shut up and wait.)

Hi Osso,

Like you I knew before hand the autobiographical elements so I guess I wouldn't be surprised/disappointed to find out the thing that seems to have turned off FB.

Hi, Hinge. I've guessed they might have been related but still don't know.

A link I found just now, not all that illuminating: http://www.questiaschool.com/read/102140620?title=Carlo%20Levi

I suspect our Paola at a2k/abuzz knew some of these people, but naturally I don't know for sure, for sure.

Not only do I not know if Primo and Carlo are related, I'm not sure re Rita Levi Montalcini... whose book is also stacked in this room, as yet unread.

mumbles..

Carlo Levi is a very good read. More so if you've visited Matera.
The thing is I was admiring the painter so much, and then I found out it was Levi writing about himself.

I don't think Carlo and Primo were relatives, even if they were both Jews from Turin. It would have been noticed elsewhere.
One thing for sure, some of Carlo's friends were Primo's teachers in High School.

Don't know about Rita Levi-Montalcini. She's also a Jew from Turin. But it seems Levi was a pretty common last name among Turinese Jews... her mentor was famous histologist Giuseppe Levi.

Damn, I'm going to have to open that book (by Rita). I've had it here for years...

I like books like this. I've read all of Michener and was unhappy they weren't longer. This time around, Russka is showing me insight into the Russian character. It explains a lot of the apparently unexplainable things Russia (and the USSR) have done.

I don't remember if I've read The Forest. Remind me?

This was the first of his I read. It is the story of the English New Forest.

Like Green Witch, in his others I found it disheartening to start to know a character and then they get old and die, or the story moves on; but in this, it almost suits the book.

It has this Hardyesque, connected to nature feel, and the cycle of life feels right in it. Of course, it's a lot of years since I read it.

Hi msolga, I hope you pick this up.

I finished Detainee 002 and it's definitely worth the read.

I come to Melb. every 2 or 3 weeks and would be happy to meet somewhere, or drop it off.

I do a run through Dandenong, Cheltenham, Oakleigh, usually Eltham, Mitcham, Cranbourne, and all points between. Sometimes to Moreland, so I probably go near you.

or I would be equally happy to post it.

You might like to go to this forum
http://www.freeratio.org/vbb/index.php

and PM me there.

A2K . The book that has everything.

Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman
Stephen Bissette, Christopher Golden and Hank Wagner

Over the past twenty years, Neil Gaiman has developed into the premier fantasist of his generation, achieving that rarest of combinations - unrivaled critical respect and extraordinary commercial success. From the landmark comic book series The Sandman to novels such as the New York Times bestselling American Gods and Anansi Boys, from children's literature like Coraline to screenplays for such films as Beowulf, Gaiman work has garnered him an enthusiastic and fiercely loyal, global following. To comic book fans, he is Zeus in the pantheon of creative gods, having changed that industry forever. For discerning readers, he bridges the vast gap that traditionally divides lovers of 'literary' and 'genre' fiction. Gaiman is truly a pop culture phenomenon, an artist with a magic touch whose work has won almost universal acclaim.

Now, for the first time ever, Prince of Stories chronicles the history and impact of the complete works of Neil Gaiman in film, fiction, music, comic books, and beyond. Containing hours of exclusive interviews with Gaiman and conversations with his collaborators, as well as wonderful nuggets of his work such as the beginning of an unpublished novel, a rare comic and never-before-seen essay, this is a treasure trove of all things Gaiman. In addition to providing in depth information and commentary on Gaiman's myriad works, the book also includes rare photographs, book covers, artwork, and related trivia and minutiae, making it both an insightful introduction to his work, and a true 'must-have' for his ever growing legion of fans.

Kingsolver's newest novel is about her family taking a year (or three) out of mainstream america to live off the grid. They grew much of their own food and relied only on local suppliers to supplement the rest.

I've started Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, was getting into it despite initial confusion on who was saying what, and I do mean 'who', but brought it into the comp room to put a signature quote from it on a2k.. thus losing it on the desk, so now I'm reading Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Valperga, a novel set in Lucca, Florence, Este, and elsewhere, in the early 1300's, edited by Stuart Curran.

It's sort of strange and wonderful; will be a fast read, I think, given that the footnotes take up a lot of the pages, and so far I know most of the info in the foots. I have a fair sense of contrivance from it but am not yet bothered by that.
And I never mind learning more about Dante.

Part of the wonderful is that the original book was published in 1823, a while before Italy's unification, yet the language is quite modern in many ways.
I could tell more about the book's edition in general if I'd read the preface and introduction, but it is a kind of policy of mind to read those bits after I finish a book, and right now I'm on page 61.

Valperga


[img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71NHXG7N0GL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.gif[img]

Interesting review here ---
[b][color=#0000FF]http://www.amazon.com/Pedro-Paramo-Juan-Rulfo/dp/0802133908/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229563881&sr=1-1[/color][/b]

Sorry, I clicked reply instead of preview, aaaaack.

will try to improve on this!

Valperga

Interesting review here ---
Pedro Paramo