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Le citt invisibili
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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catsuit_mango
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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Work day did finish with too many things not working out so i' m settling in the sofa with a blanket and a book...

britt_brooke Love your thinking! 9mo
catsuit_mango @britt_brooke honestly ? Everything in real life is just an excuse to read more ;) 9mo
britt_brooke @catsuit_mango Exactly! 😂 9mo
11 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
rockpools
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Pickpick

No idea how to review this, or who I‘d recommend it to, but I loved it.

Marco Polo & Kublai Khan are talking. In short vignettes Polo describes the myriad of cities he‘s visited. Or does he? Memory, desire, signs and the dead - all touching how we experience a place. Maybe that‘s it. If you have a fascination with sense of place you could do a lot worse than read this.

If you‘d like a bit of plot/character development, give a very wide berth!

Ruthiella I do want to try this and go in with the right mindset, because I hated 2y
rockpools @Ruthiella I really struggled with If On A Winter‘s Night. It felt far too clever for me and I just didn‘t get it. Chances are I don‘t fully ‘get‘ this one either, but I did enjoy it. I played a lot of ‘guess where we‘re talking about‘, with both real and fictional cities, and found it quite atmospheric. But it did need to be dipped into rather than read cover to cover. 2y
Centique The way you describe this reminds me of Here is Where we Meet by John Berger which I loved. I will have to try this! 2y
rockpools @Centique Ooh, interesting. I‘ve never tried John Berger - there are lots of similarities with your comments, aren‘t there? I‘ll look that out! 2y
56 likes2 stack adds4 comments
review
MarshmallowAdventures
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Mehso-so

Though each vignette is different, by the end of the collection the cities all blur together. This may be the intention, symbolically, but it makes finishing the book a challenge.

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rockpools
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Heading home with this little volume, which apparently I‘ve been reading for 2 months.

I love it! It‘s dream-like, interesting, challenging, beautiful, grey-matter-tickling… But a page-turner it is not.

Pic is Hawarden Station earlier. After (another) hairy start to the journey (first connection 8 minutes; first train delayed by 10 minutes), I can relax for a couple of hours - and I think a coffee trolley just got on!

Happy Monday, folks.

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rockpools
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Elsewhere is a negative mirror. The traveler recognizes the little that is his, discovering the much he has not had and will never have.

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mavs
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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Começando uma nova leitura :)) não sei falar italiano mas porque não

Caioghost Inspiring 2y
1 like1 comment
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mavs
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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Livros antigos, Veneza

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mavs
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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Livraria em Veneza

Caioghost You walk in inside a library, you start reaching for a romance novel and cross sight with the love of your life. 2y
mavs @Caioghost imaginaaa 2y
2 likes2 comments
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mavs
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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Porque livrarias são sempre tão belas.

Livraria em Veneza

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mavs
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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Carrinho de livros, em Veneza

2 likes1 stack add
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rockpools
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Look, it‘s a book!

Reading at the moment is minimal, writing reviews even more so, and finishing books I‘ve started… Let‘s not!

This fell off a very dusty shelf for #ReadAroundTheWorld #Italy and so far (ok, I‘m at 18 pages in but that‘s how it is right now) I‘m adoring it!

If you need plot, or even characters, avoid! If you have urban geographer tendencies, and enjoy dreamscapes that let your mind wander, give it a go maybe.

#bookreport

Velvetfur I knew exactly what you mean in that first part, my life has gone like that now too! I hope everything is ok in your case though xx 2y
rockpools @Velvetfur Hi Vikki, hope you‘re doing fabulously! Yes, all ok, just don‘t seem to have the brain cells to finish anything, which is causing a few problems! Also, isn‘t it hot?! x 2y
squirrelbrain Glad you‘ve found a book you love..long may it continue! 2y
See All 15 Comments
Cinfhen Hi Rachel!!! So happy to hear from you ♥️ 2y
Cathythoughts Sounds good ! I think it‘s on my shelf 👍🏻♥️ 2y
TrishB Hope you continue to enjoy ❤️ 2y
rockpools @squirrelbrain 😂😂 Another 10 pages would do at this stage! 2y
rockpools @Cinfhen Hello Cindy 😁. Hope you‘re doing well 😘 2y
rockpools @Cathythoughts I think it‘s one of those that sits on shelves for a far while… 2y
rockpools @TrishB Thank you Trish. Have a FANTASTIC weekend. 2y
AllDebooks Bit embarrassed to say I've completely missed this author, thank you for introducing me 😊 2y
BookwormM Soo hoo go you 2y
rockpools @AllDebooks I read Winter‘s Night before, and it may have gone over my head. But I think he‘s done some interesting stuff, and this is gorgeous - well worth investigating (edited) 2y
rockpools @BookwormM 😂😂 🐌 🦥😴 2y
mandarchy This was a reading assignment in my college 3 dimensional form studio class. I enjoy revisiting it occasionally. 2y
57 likes1 stack add15 comments
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GatheringBooks
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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#BookMoods Day 15: This would definitely qualify as a #BookYouRegiftOften - beautiful writing, otherworldly musings. Bari coastline, 2022.

Eggs Awesome 😎 2y
fredamans My hubby is Pugliese and his family is from Bari. 😊 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 💙 2y
55 likes3 comments
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GatheringBooks
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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#BookMoods Day 13: This is definitely #AFriendsFavorite and after finishing it yesterday on our way back from Naples to UAE, I can see why.

DivineDiana What a delicious looking plate of treats! ❤️ 2y
Eggs Perfect 🤩 2y
52 likes3 comments
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GatheringBooks
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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🌸 ✈️🏝🤓
🪷This Is The Canon - but more titles coming from Southeast Asia - maybe I should write this lols
🪺⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tagging anyone who wants to play. :)

Eggs 📚⭐️👍🏼 2y
28 likes1 comment
review
MsRadioSilence
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Pickpick

Six books in May! Not pictured here was Amanda Lovelace‘s ‘To Make Monsters Out Of Girls.‘ I don‘t usually read poetry but the cover convinced me to pick that one up. It was alright, but I recognize I‘m not the target audience.

Read my full reviews at: www.rainyreader.com

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pigiann
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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Mehso-so

Italo Calvino porta agli estremi la logica combinatoria e si perde in un libro giocattolo di descrizioni di numerose città - o forse un'unica città - tra rimandi tematici, sdoppiamenti, punti di vista diversi. Ottime alcune riflessioni, ma nel complesso una lettura poco soddisfacente.

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TiminCalifornia
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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1) Looking through my favorites shelf on GR, I appear to like locations in the UK and Europe, especially historical.

2) No, but the last couple years I have been curious to see how authors do with writing trans* and non-binary characters.

Thanks for the tag @Cuilin - I am still planning on some Dickens reading this summer!

#Two4Tuesday

Cuilin Glad your is this summer #whattheDickens 4y
17 likes1 comment
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Lindy
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Bailedbailed

John Lee is a wonderful narrator —I loved his performance of China Mieville‘s The City and the City—but this is not the right audiobook for me right now: it keeps putting me to sleep!

KathyR These days some people would be grateful for something that assured them a good night's sleep 😴. 5y
Lindy @KathyR I‘m actually using this audiobook as a sleep aid now. I have given up on making sense of the content. By the third time through, it might sink in, who knows. 5y
46 likes2 comments
review
LisaMorr
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
Mehso-so

Beautiful imagery, but nothing really happens as Marco Polo describes many cities to Kublai Khan.

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Carolyn11215
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Panpan

Sigh...wasn‘t a fan of this one as it turns out. I should probably seek out some literary critique to understand it a bit better. #lmpbc Will be in the mail to you before end of December @aeeklund . @rachelm @lele1432 @suvata

BarbaraBB I felt the same - about all of his books in fact 🙊 5y
Carolyn11215 @aeeklund I mailed out this book to you today...2 day priority mail so you should have it by Monday. 5y
15 likes2 comments
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Billypar
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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#holiday #MOvember

A few books I've read while on a holiday. The top three were from this year 📆🕶🎒🛩

@Cinfhen

vivastory How many books by Hustvedt have you read? I keep meaning to read more by her 5y
Billypar @vivastory The Blindfold was my third - it wasn't bad, but I liked What I Loved and Blazing World a lot more. I definitely want to read more - not sure which I'll pick up next. 5y
vivastory I've heard great things about 5y
See All 7 Comments
Cinfhen Our book club is readingWhat I Have Loved for January! 5y
Billypar @Cinfhen Hope you like it - it's a perfect book club choice- lots to discuss! 5y
Leftcoastzen Show off! Those are smart people books.😁👍👏 5y
Billypar @Leftcoastzen Ha! I did look at the stack and think, 'no real beach reads here, huh?' 😁 5y
48 likes7 comments
review
rachelm
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Pickpick

Reread for my #lmpbc book for our translations #groupl group. Even better than I remembered. Gorgeous, surreal prose that makes you think about place and humanity in new ways.

Sending this out soon!
Not my picture, but an illustration of one of the cities

KT1432 Can‘t wait!! 5y
BarbaraBB Great picture 5y
Carolyn11215 Got the book in the mail. Hoping to get it read over the long weekend! 5y
rachelm @Carolyn11215 glad to hear it arrived! 5y
36 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Vivlio_Gnosi
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Excited to add this book to my #TBR stack. I'm anticipating an odd, mystical tale.
I got the suggestion from my current book Emperor of all Maladies.

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shadowspeak17
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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My friend has been wanting me to try one of his favorite Italian authors, so he sent me some #bookmail to expedite the process. 😄📚

#bookmailisthebestmail

Louise Oh, you are in for a treat! Calvino is such an interesting author—full of surprises and multiple meanings! 💕 5y
46 likes1 comment
review
Billypar
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Pickpick

#GetOuttheMap #LillithJuly
There are no maps for the cities Marco Polo describes to Kublai Khan in this dreamy, unconventional masterpiece. His tales of city after imaginary city are beautifully written, but also feel like philosophical mysteries to solve. Not sure what Calvino had in mind, but it felt like a struggle to grasp all the dichotomies the world gets split into, and what they share in common.
@KarenUK @Cinfhen

KarenUK What beautiful illustrations! Just gorgeous 😍😍😍 5y
Cinfhen Strongly agree with my lovely cohost 💜 5y
Billypar @KarenUK @Cinfhen They're from a box of postcards that we decided to hang on our wall- every now and then they find there way into a Litsy post (as is the case for most of our apartment 🙂). 5y
34 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
peacegypsy
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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I was fortunate to find a bookstore in the Trastevere area of Rome that sold books in English: the Almost Corner Bookshop. So pleased I found a copy of Calvino in Italy! 😃🇮🇹❤️

tournevis Teehee! 6y
43 likes1 stack add1 comment
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gildedspine
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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"You take delight not in a city's seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it gives to a question of yours."

review
Libby1
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Pickpick

I will begin by saying that a lot of people would HATE this book.

There is no narrative flow, no clear characters or plot or setting.

But, as I wrote earlier today, it is like a series of poems that ebb and flow into each other.

The book is an imagined series of conversations between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan (Genghis‘s grandson - hence the comic) about the nature of cities.

I found it beautiful and awe inspiring, even in its oddness.

rockpools It sounds like something I need to read! (But might hate 🤔) 7y
Libby1 I hope you‘ll like it, @RachelO . 📚 7y
80 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Libby1
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Kublai asks Marco, “When you return to the West, will you repeat to your people the same tales you tell me?”

“I speak and speak,” Marco says, “but the listener retains only the words he is expecting.”

MyBookLife So true ❤️ 7y
Libby1 @MyBookLife - there were many nuggets of truth in this book. ❤️ 7y
MariettaSG Too true 5y
71 likes3 comments
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Libby1
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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If you can read the pictured page then do.

This book is one long train of strange images, like a constantly shifting, twirling poem.

So far it is wonderfully odd and unlike anything I‘ve ever read before.

Cathythoughts I can‘t read . But your description is lovely. It‘s on our bookshelf for years. Hasnt made it to TBR yet 7y
Libby1 Thanks, @Cathythoughts . I usually type out all shared quotes but this one was too long. ⭐️ 7y
60 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Libby1
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Good place to finish one book and begin the next!

MyBookLife A perfect place!! 7y
Eggs A lovely spot 7y
Zelma Excellent spot. So cozy! 7y
Libby1 I really enjoyed reading there, @MyBookLife , @Eggs , @Zelma 🎄 7y
95 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Libby1
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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“Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.”

71 likes1 stack add
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Libby1
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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New morning, new beginnings.

Zelma Nice photo! 👍 7y
Libby1 Thanks, @Zelma ! 7y
111 likes2 comments
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Libby1
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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A week ago some friends of ours were in a car accident as they were leaving our house. My husband was coming home from church & was first at the scene. He asked a neighbour to come get me to help.

Unfortunately, the neighbour told me this in such a way that I thought my husband was in the accident and was dead. I‘m still reeling.

Hold tight to your loved ones, Littens. Talk about love & light and books with me. These things are healing. ❤️

DGRachel Thanks, neighbor. 🙈 Sorry you got the news in such a way. I‘d be shaken, too. {hugs} 7y
Redwritinghood What a scare! 7y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️❤️❤️ Hugs!!! 7y
See All 18 Comments
Librariana You poor dear! Sounds like that was an unfortunate delivery method and I am SO sorry you had to experience a rollercoaster of emotions due to miscommunication! Hugs upon hugs to you! 💖💜❤ As for sharing bookish news, I did a tiny bit of shopping at Book Outlet for their Thanksgiving sale, then ordered from Book Depository for the very first time EVAH! AND just took advantage of Cyber Monday to order from Barnes and Noble 😁 7y
Librariana Also! I am DIY-ing our Christmas cards this year, listening to audio books while I craft, and planning a visit home to Texas for the holidays 😊❤🎄🎁☃❄ The hubby and I are excited to be spoiled rotten by my Mom's home-cooked meals and by tamales!! 😄 7y
Jabberwocky Oh my god I‘m so sorry to hear that 💛💛💛 7y
rabbitprincess ♥️♥️ 7y
CatLass007 Sorry about that miscommunication from your neighbor. What an awful way to hear about something. As for love, I take care of my 88-year-old mother who has Alzheimer‘s. It‘s a labor of love, but sometimes it‘s rough. And books? I love Litsy in all it‘s wonderful community. I‘ve only been here a few months but it‘s a wonderful place. I‘m so glad it helped me get out of my reading slump. 7y
[DELETED] 3803335244 Oh geez! I‘m so sorry! 7y
megt What a terrifying miscommunication! I‘m sorry to hear you‘ve gone through that, but I‘m glad your husband wasn‘t hurt. In bookish news, I‘ve ordered a book for each of my family members for Christmas Eve. I‘m determined to make it a new tradition (I did it last year, too) even though I think only my dad read last year‘s gift. 😊 7y
CouronneDhiver Scary but I‘m so glad that you were able to team up to assist. 7y
arlenefinnigan Bloody hell. Hope all are ok x 7y
LeahBergen 😮😮😮 7y
Jas16 Cannot even imagine. 7y
JennyM Virtual hugs xxx 7y
quietlycuriouskate Oh my word, how horrible: I'm not surprised you're reeling! xxx 7y
CatLass007 @Libby1 ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ 7y
78 likes1 stack add18 comments
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Cathythoughts
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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#acityinthetitle #uncannyoctober @RealLifeReading Invisible Cities has city in the title. 😉

MayJasper It certainly does 7y
41 likes1 comment
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Libby1
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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I forgot to share my London Book Haul!

I had a lovely, quick visit to London lady weekend where I visited my favourite secondhand book shops.

I‘m pretty excited about all of them, but particularly Invisible Cities and The Sellout.

LeahBergen Nice!! 7y
Libby1 Thanks, @LeahBergen ! 7y
84 likes2 comments
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damlalala
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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You take delight not in a city's seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it gives to a question of yours.

(Venice, Italy)

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CharissaWeaksAuthor
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Quick audio tonight!

Cathythoughts My husband bought me The Baron In the Trees by Calvino, when we were courting. So he is special for me. Never read any others though. Must have a look 😉 7y
62 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
parttimedomestic
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Pickpick

I spent my #24in48 Saturday morning finishing up Invisible Cities. It took me a while to get into, but once I got into the language I thought it was really beautiful.

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vespertine.volumes
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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There are altogether not enough people with whom I can endlessly examine the little gems in this beautiful book.

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BarbaraBB
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Panpan

Well, this is definitely not my cup of tea. The conversations between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan are bearable, but I could make nothing of the descriptions of the various cities (which are supposedly all Venice). I have to admit there are some very beautiful sentences on travelling and how it confronts you with yourself and your past. But still.... #1001books

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myers85
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Mehso-so

I hate to admit it but maybe this book went over my head. The prose was fantastic, a stream of incredible metaphors. Dozens of imaginary cities, each carrying some meaning. Some of it I could relate to but some just felt repetitious. A very short book without a plot, it read more like a book of poetry. Probably a book to pick up from time to time rather than to treat like a novel. Very well written but not the type of book that draws you in.

JazzFeathers I've always gotten problems getting into Calvino 8y
myers85 @JazzFeathers agreed. I felt like I should be enjoying it more than I was. 8y
8 likes2 comments
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myers85
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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Only issue with library books... They're not always well looked after! Almost didn't notice this but suddenly realised a whole chapter was missing!

celtichik Oops! 8y
bitterbear 😠😠😠😠 8y
4 likes3 comments
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Natasha.C.Barnes
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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#riotgrams Day 5: #bookishtattoos I don't have any tattoos, but I've always thought about getting one to do with Invisible Cities, as a way to express my love of both literature and architecture. This is an illustration I found online of one of the cities described in the book.

RadicalReader @Natasha.c.barnes would make a remarkable tattoo 8y
11 likes1 comment
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Margherita_C
Le citt invisibili | Italo Calvino
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[... riconoscere chi e cosa, in mezzo all'inferno, non è inferno, e farlo durare, e dargli spazio.] Le parole in cui mi rifugio quando ho bisogno di sentirmi a casa ❣️

1 like1 stack add
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ladyclassics
Invisible Cities | Italo Calvino
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You know you're an adult when your Halloween consists of celebrating finishing writing your students' Midterm with an evening full of reading a new book. Good news is it's my last novel to read before my MA exams next week! Oh how lovely it is to spend your life studying what you love. :) Happy Halloween, Littens! ♡