Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer | 
so-soA strange reading experience. Reading the synopsis after the book, I don't feel bad that I initially thought I would be reading a collection of non-fiction essays focused on the books that made up Morgan's year long reading project, that I now gather were covered in her blog. The synopsis supports that assumption. 1/?
Robotswithpersonality 2/? Instead, while a few of the books and their authors are discussed, this book is actually a take on issues encountered when considering reading world literature, primarily from a western, anglophone point of view. There are a number of interesting figures consulted and quoted on the issues, but it made me want to read their books more than this one. 3mo
Robotswithpersonality 3/? I kept having the feeling that maybe this was groundbreaking when it was published almost 10 years ago, but especially considering the discussions going on in the book world in the last few years, it doesn't just feel very familiar, in some cases, it feels a little dated and backward. A chapter on the idea of nationality and culture, how that can be quite fluid depending on the author's life experiences, 3mo
Robotswithpersonality 4/? opens with what seems to me a clear-cut case of appropriating a different ethnic and gender identity for profit. The chapter on censorship and propaganda might be lauded for the author's willingness to be honest about how the media regarded in her youth led her to think of North Koreans as lesser people, but the 'we' framing in the chapter, as if the reader must have shared her viewpoint really put me off. 3mo
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Robotswithpersonality 5/? Maybe I'm naive, but the translation chapter, which for some reason needs to start with interpreters in the US led invasion of Iraq, segueing into the ways that translators are dismissed or reviled shocked me, in comparison to how I see their contributions appreciated and acknowledged in the book community I take part in today. 3mo
Robotswithpersonality 7/? I can't tell if I wish this book had been published today, with the inevitable upgrades that would represent in the discussions, or if it would be a different book if it was published today. No doubt there are still conversations that need to be had around the idea of diversity in publishing, in reading, but I don't feel like I gained anything new in that discussion from reading this book. 3mo
Robotswithpersonality 8/8 ⚠️mention of suicide, SA, conflict-related violence, racism, homophobia 3mo
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