These are my current long reads, and I‘m enjoying each of them in their own way.
I got a lot from my previous read of #Genji, so I thought I would reread for the #Reading1001 yearlong read this year by listening to the Washburn translation. It‘s interesting how I‘ve forgotten so many details, but then hear sections that immediately seem so familiar.
#CurrentlyReading #NaturaLitsy #WhatTheDickens #NoPlaceLikeHolmes #1001books #audiobook
Finally, as part of my year end wrap up, here are the 30 books I read from the #1001books list in 2019. It‘s not quite as many as I was hoping for, but I did manage to read my #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown book every month, a few of the books of the month for that group, a few with Litsy readalongs, and a few random choices.
#1001Discoveries #Genji #Hugonuts #ReadColdBlood
#2019Stats #ReadingStats
#MyYearInBooks from Goodreads plus a few other details. The two books that have stuck with me throughout this year were The Tale of #Genji and The History of the Hobbit, both read with fantastic Litsy readalong groups.
#HobbitHistory #FellowshipofTolkien
#ReadingStats #2019Stats
If we looked at everything with an eye to its utility there would be nothing left to value in the world, he said. What is more, he immediately kindled a piece of the wood I had brought back. It was of rare quality and he named it ‘Hatsune,‘ or first song, from the ancient verse ‘Each time we hear the cuckoo cry it sounds so new, always singing its first song.‘
—Ōgai Mori
[The sentiment is reminiscent of The Tale of #Genji, don‘t you think?]
Time for the bookish discussion question of the day 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻! Here it is: Does buddy-reading make a difference for you when reading a book? #BookTalk
It's been about 6 months since I slogged through a long book, and I wouldn't mind settling in with one for the rest of the summer...do any of these seem like particularly good choices?
1) Underworld by Don DeLillo
2) War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
3) 2666 by Roberto Bolano
4) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
5) Jerusalem by Alan Moore
6) The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
Today I visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and enjoyed seeing these screens depicting The Tale of Genji. The book was often a tough read, but it‘s also one of the most impactful that I‘ve read this year.
#Genji #LiteraryTourism
In The Tale of Genji, cherries were portrayed as symbols of youth, love, romance and contentment, even as the novel‘s main characters lamented the flowers‘ ephemeral beauty. #Genji
