Challenge – READER AT LARGE (formerly BookSexy Review)

Starting 2016 A Little Late This Year

February 1, 2016January 31, 2016 tolmsted5 Comments

Happy 2016! I’ve never been a consistent reviewer and, true to form, it’s been some time since I last posted. But while I’ve been taking the last couple months off I haven’t been entirely relaxing. Completely the opposite, in fact. I’ve been working on submissions outside of this blog – something I want to do more of in the future and which will (by necessity) change the content of the posts you’ll find here.

Are you surprised? Does any of this sound familiar? I’ve noticed a lot of posts lately, by some of my favorite bloggers, saying much the same thing. Bloggers burned out by the daily grind of keeping up a blog, finding it difficult to balance their online & offline lives or just wanting to focus more on submitting their work to places that might pay. Many of these blogs, like mine, came online around 2009 – which leads me to wonder why we all seem to be feeling the same way at the same time. A case of the seven year itch perhaps?

Displaying 20160119_064006.jpg — Emma, who has eaten so many of the books reviewed on this blog that there was really no choice but to make her a mascot.

Submitting reviews while still creating content here is obviously going to create some challenges. My posts are still going to be about books and translations – this will remain a literary blog – so the reviews aren’t going away. Mostly because I’ve never been much of a personal essayist. I’m not a particularly private person, it isn’t that, but my private life isn’t particularly interesting. And I really love writing reviews. Yet there’s no denying that this blog has grown stale – probably for you as much as for me. That’s something I hope to change going forward.

If all goes as planned 2016 is going to be a busy year. And for my first official post of the New Year let’s start with Reading & Writing Goals of 2016.

I always sign up for the GoodReads Reading Challenge. Even though after 3 years of trying I still haven’t hit my goal. This year I’m going for 60 books and I’m already 3 books behind! But part of my reading goals for 2o16 is to actually spend more time reading. Doesn’t everyone feel like they have less and less time these days? To combat the hyper-acceleration of modern life (yep, I went there!) I’m working on a major restructuring of how I live. More about that later this week. (Here’s a hint: a certain Japanese book is part of my plan). Back to Goodreads – who else is taking part in the challenge and how many books have you set as your goal? Let me know in the comments.

What’s on the reading list? Translations, of course. But also some non-fiction. Last year there was no plan – no rhyme or reason as to what I was reading. And I prefer to have a plan. I was discussing the blog with a friend and she brought up a series on gardening books I did the first year of the blog. Those are some of my favorite posts because I was able to explore a single subject in-depth. In hindsight two factors made that series possible. First, I wasn’t getting as many review copies back then. More often than not the mail tends to dictate what I read now. This isn’t a bad thing – I’m definitely NOT complaining. I’ve been introduced to authors and publishers and books from all over the world – and am hugely grateful for the education and the opportunities that have resulted. But last year I was reading by the seat of my pants. Which leads to the second factor – planning. Series like the one on gardening take some advance planning. There needs to be more of that here in 2016. The goal is that every month is going to have a unifying theme and/or focus. Not necessarily reading books from a single country or a region for a month. I’m thinking of more abstract ideas – sometimes it will be a personal writing challenge I set myself, or a type of book, a specific subject or idea. I’ve got a few things planned but am always open to suggestions.

Lastly, expect more experimentation. The majority of posts on this blog have been straightforward reviews of translations. And you’ll still find those here. But there will also be more nonfiction, more interviews, more opinions and news pieces (I’ve become a bit obsessed with traditional journalism over the last few months)… and maybe my version of creative writing. We’ll see. The real goal this year is to mix things up a little.

Random Updates: What I’m Reading, WIT Month Cometh, Summer Holiday Reading & Two Translation Awards Get Together

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 tolmsted7 Comments

I’m currently enjoying The Brotherhood of Book Hunters by Raphaël Jerusalmy – a swashbuckling Alexander Dumas kind of tale translated from the French by Howard Curtis. It’s completely charming! The two main characters remind me quite a bit of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser. Jerusalmy has taken what’s best about sword & sorcery fiction and moved it into a historical setting – 15th century France, Jerusalum & (perhaps, I haven’t gotten that far yet) Italy. I’m not sure if he did it on purpose – this is where an introduction or translator’s note would be helpful – but the parallels are there all the same.

Have I mentioned lately how I wish more books included Introductions, Forwards, Afterwards & Translator’s Notes? Obviously not all at once – there wouldn’t be much room for an actual story – but any combination/variation of the above would be acceptable & is always appreciated.

August is Biblibio’s 2nd Annual Women In Translation Month – I’m hoping to take a more active part this year and with that in mind I’ve been putting together a tentative list of books to read & review. There was a link on Twitter this morning to the New Yorker article “The True Glamour of Clarice Lispector” (am I the only one who is constantly thrown off by the similarity between “Lispector” and “Inspector”?) It was written by Benjamin Moser – well, taken from an introduction Moser wrote to a New Directions collection of her work, to be exact. Benjamin Moser also wrote a biography of Inspector Lispector (see!?).

I’m very interested in reading that biography, titled Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector, despite the fact that I still need to read anything by her. A deficiency I hope to correct soon. Thanks in a large part to New Directions the English translations of her work seem to be enjoying a well-deserved moment in the California sun. And from what I’ve heard about her books she seems to belong to The Club of Fierce Women Writers – members include Marie NDiaye, Naja Marie Aidt, Yoko Ogawa, Anne Garréta, & Therese Bohman (to name a few). Women writers who aren’t afraid to leave it all on the page.

If you’re not already planning to take part in #WITM2015 follow this link to a great post listing FAQ’s & suggestions on ways to participate. The only real requirement is to read women writers who’ve been translated into English. And if you’d like some recommendations (or would like to leave some recommendations) feel free to use the comments section below.

More August News: This year we’ve scheduled our Summer Holiday for the end of August and I’m already putting together a list of books to read poolside. A solid seven days of uninterrupted reading time – bliss! 5 books seems to be a safe, and somewhat realistic, number. Current contenders are:

War, So Much War by Mercè Rodoreda, tr. Maruxa Relaño & Martha Tennent
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker, tr. Sam Taylor
Decoded by Mai Jia, tr. Olivia Milburn & Christopher Payne
A Clarice Lispector book & biography double-header
Hollow Heart by Viola Di Grado, tr. Antony Shugaar

Of course this list will change at least 12 times between now and then. Not least because I don’t think the Viola De Grado book is going to last (i.e.- remain unread) until then.

By now everyone has heard that the Man Booker International Prize and the International Foreign Fiction Prize have joined forces… just when the Man Booker International Prize finally had a list that was actually interesting! In my unsolicited opinion the whole thing seems like a step backwards for International & Translated Literature. The two prizes evaluated two entirely different things – the former celebrating an international author, the latter an individual book published within the same year. Of course, now the translator will be recognized (obviously a good thing) . And the Man Booker International Prize list is usually a huge disappointment. But wasn’t it lovely seeing the likes of Mabanckou, Aira, Van Niekerk, Krasznahorkai, Condé & Ghosh all up for the same award in 2015?

Your thoughts?

A New Ol’ Girls Club

December 29, 2013December 29, 2013 tolmsted2 Comments

The blogger Biblibio posted a call to arms in this December 9th post Where In the World Are Women Writers? and the follow-up Women in translation – responses. After informally crunching the numbers he/she came to the conclusion that less than 30% of the literature translated into English is written by women. After reviewing my reading history I came up with results that were startlingly similar. Leading to the obvious question: What the hell is going on?!

I can’t speak for the publishing world as a whole, but I can unequivocally state that I do not seek out male over female authors. Keeping that in mind I went back and tried to determine how the books I read this last year first came to my attention. The result was a mixed bag of publishers, podcasters, book critics, bloggers, booksellers and Goodreads. In other words, useless.

But, just when I was getting my indignation on in defense of the feminine gender, it was brought to my attention by a recent episode of the BBC Radio 4 Open Book Podcast that the majority of literary prizes in English for 2012-2013 were won by women authors. Alice Monro (Nobel), Hilary Mantel (too many to list), Lydia Davis (Man Booker International), Eleanor Catton (Man Booker), Angela Jackson (Edinburgh Festival First Book)… you can see the entire list on the Open Book website. In fact, women have made a strong showing overall on the long and short lists of all the major English language literary prizes this past year.

Obviously, this doesn’t in any way refute or reverse Biblibio’s findings. Yet it does reinforce my belief that this disparity is not happening intentionally. Publishers care about selling books and publishing good literature (hopefully not in that order). It’s doubtful that they have any investment (emotional or otherwise) in an author’s gender. My hope is that what we are dealing with is residual gender bias from the 20th century… a habit easily kicked if readers are willing to make the effort. And more importantly, if those of us who review are willing to get the word out. Because if they sell publishers will take notice.

Case in point: who knew that the Scandinavians were so into crime (or, let’s face it, could name the 3 Scandinavian countries off the top of their head?) before The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo?

Now, I realize that in some circles “quotas” is a dirty word. But they have frequently been proven effective. So I propose this informal challenge to fellow readers, bloggers and reviewers: in 2014 challenge yourself to read a set number of books in translation written by women – and then review them. The review part is key. Whether on a blog, as a contributor to a traditional media outlet or on Goodreads it’s important to give these authors a little marketing nudge.

Hmmm… this could merit a hashtag. Something I’m terrible at. Anyone?

This year my personal goal is to read and review 52 books – one per week. Half by women. I intend to alternate – every book by a male author will be followed by a female author, and vice versa. With a modicum of planning this shouldn’t be difficult to implement.

Until I started actively seeking books in translation I had no idea of the incredible literature from around the world I’d been missing out on. Now I look at my bookshelves and see authors whose names, three years ago, I didn’t know. I can’t wait to see who gets added in the year ahead.

#stoopbks

June 20, 2013 tolmsted8 Comments

If you follow me on Twitter then you may know that I’ve started a little experiment. Over the Summer, weather permitting, I’m taking my reading to my front steps. I live in a pretty, old residential neighborhood. Sidewalks, tree-lined streets, well kept front yards – in the Summer it’s not quite Norman Rockwell, but it’s pretty darn close. With one exception. Washington Street is a ghost town.

That might be a slight exaggeration. People walk their dogs, there’s the occasional yard sale and you do see people mowing their lawns. There’s a small orthodox Jewish community and I always like seeing the families walking to synagogue on Saturdays. But you don’t see the neighbors standing around talking. Or sitting out with a drink and enjoying the evening breeze. No one really uses their front yards. They just maintain them. It’s weird.

My family is included in that weirdness. Our garage is in an alley behind the house, so other than taking our dogs for a walk we barely use our front door. We know a few of our neighbors, particularly the one family immediately next door. Still, I thought it would be interesting to try something a little different.

So far I’ve gotten some curious looks. My neighbors across the street (who I know enough to exchange waves and gossip a few times a year) waved to me as they got home from grocery shopping. I had to apologize to Mike next door because my two dogs, guarding me vigilantly from behind the storm door against possible squirrel attacks, went crazy when he took his dog Molly out for a walk. I glanced up between pages and saw a cardinal. Then a rabbit. Neither expressed any interest in what I was reading, but that was probably for the best. How would I explain Roger Casement’s work exposing the atrocities committed in the Congo and Peru to a cardinal? It might have put him off his worm.

I wouldn’t exactly call this a challenge – but if anyone would like to join in on the experiment you can post your findings / or a link to your own post in the comments section. Or, if you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #stoopbks

July 2012 is Spanish Language Lit Month!

June 26, 2012 tolmstedLeave a comment

Stu at Winstonsdad’s Blog has designated July 2012 “Spanish Language Lit Month”. He’s created a schedule of activities that includes at least two read-a-longs and a foreign film watch-a-long/discussion – and for some reason I have this image in my mind of an outdoor street fair with food trucks and games and music blaring… which, O.K., isn’t exactly the case. But it still feels like a celebration!

In the spirit of the general festivities I’ll be posting something every Monday – whether it be as part of the scheduled events or a review of a new Spanish translation. And I encourage everyone to do the same. I’m not one who normally follows challenges (though, after some calculations I found out that I’m kicking The Insatiable BookSluts’ Global Domination Challenge’s ass!), but Spanish Lit Month is going to be pretty fabulous and I’d hate to miss the party. So grab your favorite Spanish author and find out more here.