Few months ago I moved from Italy to Bosnia-Herzegovina and, since I could carry with myself only few design books and a Bible, I ended up reading Bringhurst and the Four Gospels from dawn till dusk.
Now I'm going to spend Christmas holidays in Italy so I can take some other book from my library and buy new ones. My suitcase isn't huge and I won't be back in Italy again before next summer so I must select carefully.
What would you choose?
Without a doubt, Underworld by Don Delillo, I feel a strange kind of regret everytime I go to a bookshop and see it on the shelf because I've read it and own it and have no need to buy it.
Dostovesky's Crime and Punishment, possibly the greatest novel ever written, the writing is so good and immersive the divide between Raskolnikov's life and mine began to blur a little as i read it. I've heard the Borthers Karamoazov is as good if not better.
Continuing the Biblical theme Pilgrim's progress by John Bunyan, Screwtape letters by CS Lewis for two very different, entertaining, helpful and wise takes on what it is to live as a Christian.
Quite interesting, Manlio, good luck.
I’d choose Tales From Moominvalley and other Moomin stories published by Salani.
The Wind-up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami
Fury by Salman Rushdie
Perfume by Patrick Süskind
Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Any issues of Dot Dot Dot or Emigre.
Nothing to do with design or type at all!
Maybe a case of wine instead.
—K
I couldn't get thru Underworld! I vastly preferred his Mao II. Loved The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles.
Manlio, can't you order books from Amazon to tide you over til next summer?
Anyway, if not, go for long books! I'd take Possession by A.S. Byatt, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, U.S.A. by John Dos Passos, Moby Dick.
And for an oldie but goodie, Cervantes' Don Quixote.
Or a collected Shakespeare.
> What would you choose?
The DVD: Mediterraneo (1991, Directed by Gabriele Salvatores)
Or Six Feet Under, all 5 seasons.
Or all three seasons of Little Britain.
Read House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. It's a great example of stories-within-stories, American gothic horror, hardcore erotica, erudite writing, and it's got great typography set by the author, with words that go forward, backward, into shapes, etc. Literary critics describe it with respectful comparisons to Nabokov and Borges; Poynor included it in Graphic Design and Postmodernism. And getting funny looks when you have to keep rotating a book when you're on a plane is always great.
If you want to read something tremendously fun, contemporary and erudite without delving into the design world, read World War Z by Max Brooks. On the surface it looks like a kitschy zombie book, but it's just as engrossing as Harry Potter, and far more intelligent.
Pattyfab,
you got through USA but not through Underworld! Kudos i guess, I really liked Manhattan Transfer but I imagine I would probably need to organise some leave, or actually get stuck on a desert island to navigate USA. Haven't read Mao II but can't wait, loved Libra the 'ficitional' biography of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Additionally I'd recommend New York Trilogy and pretty much anything else by Paul Auster, off-kilter self-reflexive clue-puzzle whodunnits (sounds cerebral, is fun).
I'm reading a great book by Max Frisch, called I'm Not Stiller in the English translation but simply Stiller in the original German. I am only halfway through it, but I highly recommend it. I also liked two of Peter Carey's books, True History of the Kelly Gang and My Life as a Fake. One last suggestion: The Archivist, by Martha Cooley.
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams – No matter how many times you read Adams, it's still squirt-milk-out-of-your-nose funny.
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa – The greatest and influential tale of Musashi Miyomoto, the Sword Saint, greatest samurai to ever live. Dozens of Japanese movies have been based on this novel, with Samurai I actually winning the Academy Award. This book is the best epic I have ever read.
The Complete Poems of Edgar Allen Poe – For when you're alone at night :{
Thanks everybody for your suggestions.
Nicholas, Patricia:
I heard about Delillo but still didn't read anything by him, is him comparable to Thomas Pynchon? I was enticed by Gravity's Rainbow but couldn't read it cover to cover although I tried more than once (I got lost somewhere).
Dostoevsky and Melville will be in the list 100%.
Alessandro:
Thanks for good luck wishes, actually it's going better than what I expected.
Kris:
LOL! Herzegovian wine is pretty fine too. I complain just about the coffee.
Patricia:
Amazon doesn't sell Italian books and unfortunately I don't speak English well enough to read novels smoothly. At a local bookstore I found Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West (a must read about ex-Yugoslavia) but I stop at every sentence to counsult the dictionary.
Anyway I'll use Amazon for design books.
The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov
Baghdad Burning, by ‘Riverbend’, based on the blog, currently dramatised on BBC radio
Tim
Manilo,
Yeah you could compare Delillo to pynchon, perhaps in intent more in style; I think both are interested to capture and comment on American consumer culture/hyper-capitalism in all its manifestations, (especially Underworld and White noise) Delillo is much less scatty/absurd then pynchon, much more formal and dramatic, I've only read Vineland so that's what I'm going off. I own gravity's rainbow and have managed a total of about 6 pages; I know Patty would disagree, but I found Delillo much more accessible to read than Pynchon.
I reckon the trick with Dellilo is to accept early on that the characters don't speak quite like people speak but, though you seem to lose a level of identification (and ability to suspend your disbelief), you gain so much insight into reality and relationships and people through the actual content of the dialogue that it doesn't matter. White noise is fun and a lot less intimidating in size than Underworld, I'd read that first and see if you dig what's going on,
cheers, have fun in BH
Nick
I just read the book, Perfume by Patrick Suskind. It was so engrossing that I woke up each morning, before I finished it, thinking about it. I probably could have read it in its entirety had I had a longer flight. It is graphic and rich with detail. I recommend it entirely.
Ooh, another one, Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
Also - on a more populist note, Memoirs of a Geisha is a pretty compulsive read. Bet it's translated into Italian.
Nick: I totally agree re Delillo and Pynchon. I love Delillo, and have read a lot of his books. I just found Underworld bloated and un-engrossing. THe first 50 pages were great tho. All I've read of Pynchon were Crying of Lot 49 which is fun but kinda dated now, and Vineland which I liked but didn't love.
100 Years of Solitude is another winner.
The Brothers K rocks.
Middlemarch by George Eliot, War & Peace, anything by Edith Wharton, Infinite Jest a few more weighty tomes.
The Horrific Sufferings Of The Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot, his wonderful love and terrible hatred Since Perfume has been mentioned twice, good choice too, I am currently reading this, which is blurbed as being the Perfume of the next generation, tricky charades title too:)
Suite Française the mixed threads of several Parisian’s lives affected by the German invasion, rendered tragic by the final outcome for the author.
Tim
{edit: sorry forgot to add the title for the second}
Yeah, Kavalier and Clay is a good one. I also liked Wonder Boys, by the same author.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
For Esme - With Love and Squalor by J.D. Salinger
But with limited suitcase space then easily the most economical for size to content ratio has to be the haiku collection...
On Love and Barley by Basho
...infinity in my pocket. I won't leave home without it :)
Very helpful and inspiring. Almost all the titles you suggested are translated into Italian and available as compact size paperbacks.
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski. A good length read, thoughtful messages, and can be quite a conversation piece. Simultaneously gimmicky and substantial, ireverent and relavent; it is well worth rereading and dissection, making any copy a bargain. It's even panders to the typophile in you.
I don't recommend many products. This is something exceptional.
I thoroughly enjoyed Auster's Book of Illusions. Also, a different and ribald book, Tom Robbins' Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates.
Margaret Elphinstone's Hy Brasil was an engrossing read, as was The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Mmmm, and Blindness by Jose Saramago.
For poetry, I'd get some kind of modern or postmodern anthology. And an anthology of short stories can be a wonderful thing, too.
About Perfume, I have heard both rave and negative reviews. So I haven't read it yet, but probably will eventually.
K.
Happy holidays to all typophiles including Manlio.
I don’t recommend many products. This is something exceptional.
Agreed. My unreserved recommendation is for Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson.
(and if the size of your suitcase increases or your holidays mysteriously lengthen you might consider taking all three volumes of his Baroque Cycle...)
> About Perfume… I haven’t read it yet, but probably will eventually.
Make sure to read it before seeing the visual travesty on the big screen.
Conor, have you seen it? It would be a shame, although not unusual, if the film is so awful, because the book is great, but it is difficult to imagine a more difficult theme to render in film.
Tim
yeah, they don't make movies scratch and sniff yet, do they?
I usually read the book and then refuse to watch the movie!
One of the most disappointing movies from books (a book I would also add to my desert island list), and which I must admit I haven't seen, is Narnia. Not only did my daughter's English teacher read the abridged version to the class, she dragged them to see the movie. E's experience of the real Chronicles (when we get to them) will forever be marred by images of the movie.
K.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
Every five years or so…
Chinese Zen Poems - What Hold Has This Mountain?
Compiled and Translated by Larry Smith & Mei Hui Huang
Wonderful translations and immense power in a very slim volume.
peace
well since it was the bible last time, how bout the tao te ching?
Although I am glad I have read the Tao Te Ching the exposition of belief systems is not nearly as interesting as the art.
Taoist poetry - definitely…
Mass in B Minor interests me a lot more than what inspired it.
peace
Not only did my daughter’s English teacher read the abridged version to the class...
Someone abridged those books? Good god, there wasn't much to them in the first place.
"Although I am glad I have read the Tao Te Ching the exposition of belief systems is not nearly as interesting as the art. Taoist poetry - definitely…"
I thought the Tao Te Ching is Taoist poetry... as long as you don't waste breath or thought on the usual scholar's introduction :)
I discovered my sense of spirituality through art, primarily Chinese and Japanese poetry. More specifically Tao and Zen poets.
It's cloudier and that suits me…
peace
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Absolutely. I even bought myself the pop-up book. A masterpiece by Robert Sabuda published by Simon & Schuster in the UK, quite expensive and you need to keep the kids at distance, which is sad because they go mad when they see it.
I loved A Confederacy of Dunces (Pulitzer Prize) by J.K. Toole. Set in New Orleans, it has been translated but I'm afraid it only makes sense in English. Awesome.
When I left England I took with me 3 books by Jonathan Coe: The Rotters Club, The Closed Circle (follow up) and What a Carve Up! (The title in the US changed to The Winshaw Family I think) and a few Private Eye editions to remember my wonderful years in the UK!
How could I forget: John Lanchester's The Debt to Pleasure. What a book: Eccentric, refined and voluptuous. And Manlio, the Italian translation is fine too (the title in Italian is Gola).
Italian: anything by Calvino, Sciascia or Primo Levi, but I don't need to tell you that!
Perfume I read it when it first came out (or a couple of years later) and everyone was talking about it. For some reason I wasn't that impressed but maybe I should have another go.
When I was working on the poster for a campaign against Tessa Jowell's Gambling Bill a couple of years ago, The Gambler by Dostoyevsky was a great source of inspiration. His descriptions are so graphic it's amazing.
I have not read "Perfume" since the 1980s but it has stayed with me as few other books have. A powerful and sensual tale.
Another literary high point for me -- not sure if it was popular enough to be translated into Italian -- is a book called "Le Mas Théotime" by Henri Bosco. It's a wonderful mystery about rural life in Provence in the late 19th century. It was published only once in English, in the late 1940s, but perhaps with luck it was also published in Italian. In France it seems to be perennially in print.
Bruce
> Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Absolutely. I even bought myself the pop-up book. A masterpiece by Robert Sabuda published by Simon & Schuster in the UK, quite expensive and you need to keep the kids at distance, which is sad because they go mad when they see it.
Sounds fabulous Lore - I will definitely check it out…
peace
The pop-up Alice in Wonderland is indeed spectacular.
And I agree re Confederacy of Dunces - it starts out a bit hard to get into but well worth the investment.
Another long and totally engrossing book: Lonesome Dove. Not highbrow but was so so sad to see it end, even after 1000+ pages.
Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian is BEAUTIFUL.
No type, something else - "Neo-Darwinism" to clean up the brain...
Richard Dawkins
"The Selfish Gene" or/and
"The Extended Phenotype"
Both books are brillant!
I found Underworld at Rome's airport and Perfume at my parent's home. I was so unpatient that I began to read both at the same time (not a good idea maybe).
> House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
I will buy that.
> Neal Stephenson
I already read Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle and truly enjoyed.
> The Winshaw Family
I read that many years ago and still recommend to all my friends.
> Calvino, Sciascia or Primo Levi
You read my mind!
> Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian is BEAUTIFUL
I agree.
Ciao a tutti a buone feste!
"What would you choose?"
Dear Manlio,
If it's not too late, I'd take the 1912 "American Typefounders Founders Book of Type Styles". It's more than just a book, and a great Bible companion.
Cheers!
This? Where can I find it?
" Where can I find it?"
Depends. What do you want to do with it after you find it?
Still don't know. Depends on weight and size of the book.
"Depends on weight and size of the book." 12" X 9" X 5", must be three to five pounds, but it's got a lot of ink.
I loved Confederacy of Dunces - very funny. Loved Perfume also.
Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell are both brilliant.
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan.
And if you fancy something obscene: Filth by Irvine Welsh
Nick Cooke
> Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
I just got Saturday as Christmas present. Thank you.
Now that's funny. I've literally just finished Saturday. 15 minutes ago! Loved it, even the long and detailed descriptions of surgeries and squash games. Strange because I remember I wasn't very impressed by Atonement when I first read it but now maybe I should have another go. How do you find the Italian translation of Saturday Manlio? I read it in Brazilian Portuguese.
I like Patrick McGrath too. Not sure if his is your cup of tea, it's very intriguing though, a bit E.A.Poe-ish maybe. Stay away fom Martha though, it's a very heavy book to carry around (I know the feeling, for years I had to choose my books by their size and weight because I was always moving around).
> How do you find the Italian translation of Saturday Manlio?
I still didn't begin to read it, so I can't tell you anything.
A friend of mine is literally mad about Atonement. He even reads pages from that book to every woman he's dating.
I second Cloud Atlas. It's challenging but a great book.
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Devil in a Blue Dress or almost anything by Walter Mosley
Hmmm...From Bauhaus to Our House by Tom Wolfe.
Ok, a light weight from the literature point of view but on the other hand it's a light weight in terms of size ; )
Unfortunately I came back to Mostar with less novels (but lenghty ones) than I wanted to bring. Anyway I already have a list for the next time.
Lore, I began to read Saturday and think it's really good. Thank you for all your suggestions!
Lore - I bought the Alice in Wonderland pop-up for my sister in law for her birthday. She absolutely loves it! I do too since I had to sneak a peek before sending it out.
Thanks for the suggestion.
peace
How about Under the Volcano?
I just finished Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden. Fantastic, but certainly not an upbeat novel. Two native american boys who go off to fight in WWI. I was stunned (and still have mixed feelings about this) to realize after I finished it that the author is young and Scottish/Irish--Basically as far from native american as you can get.
A good, thought-provoking book nonetheless.
I just zipped through Mark Z. Danielewski's Only Revolutions, as I am a big fan of his first novel, House of Leaves. It's amazing. I can't recommend it to the 'classical' reader, but anyone who liked House of Leaves and is also a great fan of Kerouac will appreciate this road novel. It's also ingenuously designed, it has two front covers, and the pages are laid out so that there are always two stories on one page, but either one rotated 180 degrees. Well, you should just check it out in a local bookstore. It's wonderful.
My pleasure Paul. That book is a real treat.
I don't know about you guys but I find this little "book club" of ours both nice and useful. We should keep it going even if Manlio doesn't have any space left in his luggage anymore! : )
Plus he might want to go to back to Italy for Easter holidays...
I agree with Lore, so here are three books I read every year or so:
My parents will come here for Easter holidays so I gave them my wishlist ;)
Updike's essays and lectures compilation, The Well Made Book have been my mainstay winter reading. Good stuff, that.
Captured from web.archive.org on 2 Nov 2012. view this capture