Catch-up

  Holy crap, I keep doing this. Sorry. I'm at 46 books for the year so far. 

The Caves of Steel by Asimov. This was chosen in our family book club. I'd read it back in 1989 or so. Aged. A bit simple. Not as bad as Ringworld (oy) or Stranger in a Strange Land (oh God). But good parts to it, especially setting the stage for rules of robotics. And the wonderful pair of a robot and human. Oh where did you go Almost Human, how I miss you. 

The Stone Face by William Gardner Smith. Interesting. This was the NYRB Book Club pick for July I believe, maybe June. Experience of an African-American in Paris in the 1950's. Interesting. 3 stars. A bit preachy. Not sure how much of this is autobiographical. I've read less obvious books about the black American experience. 

An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd. I read Boyd's A Good Man in Africa last year and loved it, and same here. Still don't know why the title. Where's the ice cream? 

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild. What a horrible human being. Raped and destroyed the Congo. Burn in Hell.

The Glass Bees by Ernst Jünger. A year or so ago I read his A German Officer in Occupied Paris. Incredible writer, this one had an intro by Bruce Sterling, so I knew I had a good book coming. This could fall under Dystopia. Strange dystopian story, unlike any of the others I've read during my year (2019?) of dystopias. Zapparoni = Bezos or Musk? 

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba. Great book. If we were still homeschooling this would be required reading. This kid didn't let anything stop him. And I'm not talking pathetic first-world "anythings," I'm talking about famine FFS. And talk about recycling, this kid did it. Turned out great for him too. Spoiler alert: in 2014 he graduated Dartmouth. 

In the House of the Interpreter by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. This memoir was great to read, not just for the history of Kenya in the late 1950's during the (British) state of emergency. But especially fun was seeing mention of the father of one of my dear friends, with whom I served in Berlin. This guy took advantage of the opportunities he was given, and went through some hell. Will read more from him. 

In the language game, I've begun studying Swahili. I might get opportunities to visit East Africa in my job, so wanted to have some language that I could use there. Interesting and fun language, especially with the noun classes. Using Pimsleur along with Colloquial and Teach Yourself. 

For Esperanto still reading the book I started during the July Sumoo: Kiel Akvo de l'Rivero by Schwartz. Set in the early days of WWI. In fact, our main character, a Frenchman, just moved to Berlin to tutor "cretins" in French. It is early 1914. Uh-oh!

Orde Wingate, by Christopher Sykes

 There are biographies that I will never forget, written by incredible authors who bring their subject to life. I can think of two in particular: Benjamin Franklin by Carl van Dorn and The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. Two great books.

I can now add to this duo Orde Wingate, by Christoper Sykes. Wingate is probably best known as the originator of long range penetration groups and The Chindits, a caconym for chinthe, a spiritual lion in Burmese culture. The Chindits arguably aided in the destruction of the Japanese Army in Burma, which led to their defeat in WWII. A unit I used to fly with is the successor of the American contingent of The Chindits, the 1st Air Commando, and the famous (to USAF Airmen) Colonels Cochran and Alison. 

But he did so much more. He personally led the Army in Ethiopia, running out the Italians and escorting Haile Selassie into his empire. He also was a Zionist of some repute. His death was premature; he was memorialized by Winston Churchill: "[Wingate] was a man of genius who might well have become also a man of destiny. He has gone, but his spirit lives on in the long range penetration groups, and has underlain all these intricate and daring air operations and military operations based on air transport and on air supply." 

Sykes does a masterful job of engaging the reader, keeping his interest. I have the first edition and it is good, but lacking in end notes or a bibliography. Its copyright is 1959 and footnotes are at the bottom of the page. Unfortunately, once a book is mentioned, it is short-titled under the author's name for the rest of the book. If one wants to find the book, one has to find the first footnote, instead of simply look in the back for the biblio. So many good book recommendations!

I read a book...

 ...and I'm blogging about it!

I just finished Atenco by Julian Modest. Written in Esperanto, it is a novel about a Bulgarian spy working under journalist cover in France. Pretty poorly written. The story was too easy. Turned out perfect. Too perfect. Too many news articles about spies being caught, especially during the Cold War. Too many bodies in the basement of Lubyanka.

Novel had other issues, too. Weird quotes. First off, most East European novels use dashes for dialogue. They sometimes use quotation marks, a la Anglo literature, and in this case, the author used it for the narrator's thoughts. And here's where he confuses the reader. He'd use quotation marks like this:

"I wonder if she knows I'm a spy, he thought." 

Why keep he thought in the quotations? Further, he sometimes forgot to close quotes. Ugh. 

I gave it 3 stars due to it being a fast read and the Esperanto being strong. But, unfortunately for Mr. Modest, I'm reading at the same time The Secret Pilgrim by John Le Carre, the master of spy novels. Mr. Modest is simply too amateur in the world of spies. 

To add to the also reads section of my blog:

Orde Wingate, by Christoper Sykes. I started this bio almost two years ago. Got it out of the library after reading the Journals of Maj-Gen C.G. Gordon at Khartoum. It was due so stopped about half-way through. Found it recently in a great bookstore here in Boston for only $10! Bought it and been reading through it. I'll finish it soon. Reading a little per day. 

The Secret Pilgrim, by John Le Carre. As stated above, I'm reading this one, George Smiley #8 I believe. Great, as expected. I love his writing. The minute I'm done with it, I'll continue reading...

A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali, by Gil Courtemanche. Just started this. Incredible. Wonderful writing. Kudos to the translator, Patricia Claxton. The English is elegant and moving. This is my train-read until I'm done with the Le Carre. 

African History: A Very Short Introduction, by John Parker. I love the Short Introduction series. This one was recommended by a Naval Postgrad professor I had a class with a decade ago. Got this in Audible.

Here I go again

 I'm really bad at this. 

German class ended the third week of May, Gott sei dank! I'd had enough Zoom for one lifetime. Took the DLPT and got a 2 in the Listening and a 1+ in the Reading. Happy with that. 

Books I've read since the last update:

Mozart, by J.W. Dyck. An easy little German reader about the composer. Great level for me. Quick read. 

The Skull Mantra, by Eliot Pattison. Inspector Shan #1. My wife's choice in our family reading group. Very fun detective story, set in Tibet. Why do I love these foreign detective stories so much? (c.f. Arkady Renko.) I will read other Inspector Shan novels.

The Right Sort, by L.H. Bradshaw. Got this old book (copywrite 1921) from an auction for 5 pounds. Fun English public school story with, of course, a happy ending. Wodehousian. If you can find it, read it.

Translation: A Very Short Introduction, by Matthew Reynolds. Very short. Good, but if you want an intro to modern-day translation, instead read Is That a Fish in your Ear? 

Warlight, by Michael Ondaatje, the author of The English Patient. Just as good. Man can write. Why don't I just read all his books? OK, I will. 

The Mother Code, by Carole Stivers. Great concept, an AI "mother" who can raise human newborns. Good, readable book, but the author rushed the ending. Unfortunately.

Medalionoj, by Zofia Nalkowska. Book about what the Nazis did to the Poles. Horrible. Not the book. The Nazis. Read this in Esperanto. 

Six Four, by Hideo Yokoyama. Best detective novel as far as the Japanese are concerned. And I have to agree. Incredible story. Great translation by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies. Long book, but well worth the time. Top 5 I've read in the last 1-2 years.

Currently I'm reading:

Atenco, by Julian Modest. Story about Eastern European spies during the Cold War. In Esperanto. Originally. 

The Secret Pilgrim, by John Le Carre. Another Smiley novel. I'm a sucker for them. Sadly, this is the penultimate novel. 

Slowly but surely:

A Century of Humour [sic], edited by PG Wodehouse. I got this from an auction. I think 20 pounds? Maybe 30? Unsure, but it is over 1000 pages of British humor (not humour), short stories all. So stinking good. I'm reading a story a night, 3-4 nights a week. It will be a while till I'm done with this one. So many stories, I'll be reading this for a while, so of course it was worth 30 pounds, right?!

The 99% Invisible City, by Roman Mars. Great book about all the things we walk by in a city and don't really pay attention to. You know those painted symbols and lines on sidewalks? This book explains them. Again, will read a chapter or so every once in a while. 

I won't promise to write more this time as I'll probably forget again. But I hope you all are doing well. 

Where'd the time go?

 Holy shit. I totally forgot about this blog. Jeez Louise, I need to catch up. So...

...German. The class is going ok. I've learned that 8 weeks is long enough for me for online/virtual 5 hours/day training. Unfortunately, the class is 10 weeks long. Sigh...  But German is still on-going. Not sure how I'll do on the DLPT/OPI. I'm guessing 1+R, 1L, 1S. We'll see. 

So, the books I've read since last I've updated this blog:

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret/HP und die Kammer des Schreckens. So since we last talked, I've read Harry Potter #2 in English, then followed it up with reading it in German while listening to it in German. Way over my head. But figured, this is part of the L-R process, so we'll see how it goes.

The wife has been bugging me for years to read more Lovecraft, so I "read" At the Mountains of Madness. (Italics because it was Audible.) Very creepy and good. I could imagine listening to it while being stationed in Antarctica while watching The Thing. 

The Big Hello, by Morris Renek. I read a great review of this author, purportedly the most dedicated writer (finished a book, then immediately started working on the next novel). Loved this book. About the "divorce market" in the '60s, at the start I thought it would be an apologetic to men, but it turned out to be a great "family first" story. A love story. I loved it and will read more of his, if I can find them.

I listened to Edmund Morgan's Benjamin Franklin bio (thanks Hoopla!). My main character of the novel I'm writing is Franklin-esque, so I considered this study. Great bio. Every few years I read a bio of this, one of my favorite (two) Americans.

Trip of the Tongue, by Elizabeth Little. A tour through the variety of America's languages. I wish I'd investigated my Goodreads first. I already read this 4-5 years ago. I hated it then, I hate it now. What an f'-ing whiner. So narcissistic. 

The Next 100 Years, by Friedman. Suggested by the other student in my German class. Pretty good. The author tagged Russia: he wrote it in 2009 or so and said Russia would be moving west and would try to take land from Ukraine, and possibly Crimea. Wah....?!  But some of his other predictions? Not so sure. But who knows.

Never Cry Wolf, by Farley Mowat. Read this 20+ years ago in Alaska. Loved it then, love it now. Great book. If you want to know about wolves, this is the first book you should read. (FWIW, if you want a great book about coyotes, read God's Dog by Hope Ryden.

The Body Builders. Again, thanks to Hoopla and the Melrose Public Library. This one was good, along the lines of The Sports Gene and Endure. But I wanted more on bionics/prosthetics. (Read Endure for a great scientific-sports book.)

Perdido Street Station. This is the third China Mieville I've read. This is not to say that the novel was bad, but it is my third favorite of his. He is a master of world-building. Holy shit, he had all the answers. Totally new world. Great. And third person except for two chapters at the end!

Wow, that's a lot of books since my last update. Sorry! I promise to write more in the future!

German & books

 Sorry I haven't been updating. I've been busy! Ich war beschäftigt!

I'm in week 6 (I think) of my 10-week full-time German course. It's going great. I think I have a good chance of a 2/2 on the DLPT and maybe a 1+ on the OPI. 

Books-wise, I've been reading. Still a good 2-3 books behind schedule, but catching up. Some of the books I've read recently:

Refuse to Choose, by Barbara Sher. I learned I'm a scanner. Some say fickle, but really, I have many interests, and I love learning new things, getting as much info on the subject as I feel I need, then move on. This book had great ideas, albeit some of it is old, but still worth it. Fast read.

Smiley's People, by John LeCarre. Another great one. I'm going to be sad when I've read all of his. RIP, Mr. LeCarre.

Havana Bay, by Martin Cruz Smith. Arkady Renko #4. One of the best. Not sure if I like this one or the one on the fishing boat the best. But every single Renko is great. Why didn't they keep making the movies? I would have loved seeing William Hurt play him in more films.

The Big Sleep. Noir par excellence. Family book club choice by my SIL. Fantastic. Never saw the movie, but now I must. 

Is that a Fish in your Ear, by David Bellos. A book about translation. I've recently gotten interested in literary translation. This book really gives you an inside look into the job, as well into traditional translation jobs, like those superstars at the UN.

Why Translation Matters, by Edith Grossman. Ms. Grossman translated Don Quixote, and I will say now and will always say: her translation is the BEST translation out there. This book, though, is okay. Her politics came up a few times in the book, which was unnecessary. Still, important book on translation. 

The City & the City, by China Mieville. This was my choice for the family book club and, well, to put it modestly, I ROCK! What a great read. I've only read his The Last Days of New Paris, which was so weird and well written, I knew I had to read more of him. This book, City, was a detective story, and so well done and I'm still debating some things about the two cities in the book. Unsure which Mieville I'm going to read next.

White Noise, by Don DeLillo. I loved his Zero K, or whatever it was called. This one was good, and of course well-written, but oh so concerned about death, and the character in the book is a couple years younger than me, so...uh, get over it.

Wheat that Springeth Green, by JF Powers. I read his only other novel, Morte D'Urban, which was awesome. This one, too, was great. What is it about stories about priests that I like so much? Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory. I'd put Powers' novel up there with Greene.

And finally, in prep for L-R'ing German, I read Harry Potter #2 (Chamber of Secrets). Just finished that today and will start the German-version probably tonight or tomorrow. 

Damn...been a while since I've updated you guys! 

Tonight I'm starting In the Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft, for the #1936Club, which started today. My wife loves Lovecraft, and I've only read one story of his, so reading this one will double how great of a husband I am. 

Books, books, books

 So much reading has been going on!

First off, some nice hard sci-fi. Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space. Outstanding space opera, with solid science behind it. Unlike another recent read which just was plain horrible. Don't even want to mention its name, but yuck.

Next up was dumb luck. One night at dinner I saw the British colonel here eating alone, so I joined him. Talk at one point finally led to our reading interests I mentioned my love for Evelyn Waugh. Turns out he wrote his dissertation on Waugh. Then we talked for about a half hour, comparing books. During this discussion, he mentioned Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins. So of course I had to read it. Oh. My. God. Best book in about a year. Best since The Memory Police. I cannot stop thinking of this book and it's been about a month already. So glad I sat with him that night!

Next up was a book I started at least twice over the years. I got it on Audible and finally finished it. All the crows around here, I felt I had to know more about corvids, in this case, ravens: Bernd Heinrich's Mind of the Raven. Great book, this guy really knows his stuff. These birds are so interesting, I can't wait till we move again as I'm going to set up a feeding station for ravens and crows and see if I can get them to bring me gifts. 

Finally, the family book club choice most recently was John Scalzi's Redshirts. So funny. Clever. Definitely read the codas at the end. No, it's not about Star Trek. 

OMG, how did I not publish this one. I wrote the above on 25 Feb, and just now looking here and realized I never published it. 

So many more books have been read! But I'll save that post for another time. 

Russian results

 So how about this? 3/3 on the Russian reading and listening DLPT. (Only took 34 years.) And, a 2+ again on the OPI. 

And no, I'm not going to sit for the upper level DLPT, thank you very much!

Russian

 This year's testing is complete, and I've got great news. For the first time since I started taking DLPTs 30+ years ago, I finally got a 3/3 in Russian. 

For the uninitiated among my dear reader(s), that's a great score. That's the max you can score on the lower range DLPT. Yes, I can sit for the upper range test, but holy hell, I think I barely made the 3/3 this time. Not sure I wanna try for a 3+. Honestly don't think I am a 3+.

So, listening and reading tests done for a year. I did the OPI on Tuesday, but of course those take a bit of time before the results come through. Last time I got a 2+, which was miraculous. This time I think I'm a solid 2 but possibly a 2+. She was pushing me with multiple topics, and that's normally a sign they're trying to get you to the next level. My God, I hope she wasn't trying to get me to a 2! 

I guess all the studying and the one-on-one with Marina worked. I'll hold off on the celebration till I get the OPI score back. Пожелай мне удачи, дорогой читатель!

A Distant Mirror, and more

 I finished Barbara Tuchman's classic A Distant Mirror a few days ago. Great book, especially if you are interested in the so called Dark Ages. I applaud her on telling the history through one normal joe,de Coucy. Lots of pages on the Black Death and supposed chivalric valor. Good read. 

I dumped the Russian HP4. Not enough time left before my DLPT and OPI, and I need to concentrate on Russian that I'll be tested on, therefore, lots of news articles. The big ones now are on changes Biden is proposing with respect to Russian-US relations; changes proposed to the Russian retirement system (дедушкам и бабушкам надо дольше работать!); and some other subjects I can't remember right now. One more class left this coming Friday night, then the speaking test on Tuesday, listening on Thursday and reading on Saturday.

Then I'll start an Esperanto book that my daughter sent me: Bogomolov's La Momento de Vero. Another in my favorite sub-genre of books by Esperantists about WWII. 

I'm a bit behind in my 2021 reading challenge, but I don't get as much reading time here as I do at home, so I expect to catch up once I've returned to the family.

Russian

 Doing another Russian class with a Defense Language Institute (DLI) instructor like I did last March/April time-frame. I tried to get six weeks, twice weekly for two hours, but all they had available was six classes of two hours each. Gonna take what I can get.

I think I've been trained to be anxious before these classes due to the year of the Russian Basic Course at DLI way back in 1986. The teachers then, oh boy, God help you if you didn't do all your homework. I had one break into English once and tell me she was going to "fucking smack" me if I kept pronouncing в комнате as /və kom-na-tə/.

So now I don't sleep well the night prior, for fear of disappointing my instructor, who couldn't be nicer of course. I study and read, and study and listen, till I'm tired of the language, then have a great time during the two-hour block. Ugh.

Besides the things I'm doing for class, I'm also listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Russian while reading in Russian (one chapter) and English (the next chapter). So far so good, but I know I won't have enough time before my DLPT and OPI to finish the book; too slow going as I get back to my room so late every night.

Now, I'll finish this short post and get back to reading. Harry & Co. are about to go to the Quidditch World Cup. Nothing bad could happen there, right?