Psilight's Books of the Shelf for 2011

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Psilight's Books of the Shelf for 2011

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1Psilight
Redigeret: jan 3, 2011, 12:24 pm

Hello. This year I will try to read a lot of the books I already own. Some will be in Dutch, others in English. It will be a mix of fiction and non-fiction. My non-fiction books are mostly philosophy, psychology, biographies and the odd book here and there. In fiction it varies between some classic Russian authors (Have War & Peace coming up!), Umberto Eco, etc., and of course some Dutch authors.

I already finished Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Currently reading a book by Flemish writer Hugo Raes.

We'll see if this year finally brings some satisfaction when looking at my library and I can proudly admit that, 'Yes, I've read most of it.'

Undoubtedly I will purchase new books, but my goal is to read as many from my current library as possible.

Edit: New to the site and still unfamiliar with Touchstones.

2Psilight
jan 3, 2011, 11:46 am

1: Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky (Loved it)

3iaTab
jan 4, 2011, 2:16 pm

Have fun reading you books :P good luck with finnishing them all its probobly gonna take a while. be strong and dont give up!

4connie53
jan 4, 2011, 3:27 pm

One Dutch person I will follow ;-))

5Psilight
jan 4, 2011, 4:26 pm

Thank you both. Halfway through Reizigers in de anti_tijd now, and finding it not really my style but intriguing nonetheless.

6Psilight
jan 6, 2011, 4:39 am

2: Reizigers in de anti_tijd by Hugo Raes.

A surreal tale of a family on their travels where fantastical things happen. It took a few pages before the book grew on me, since its not really my style, but I got fond of the family and their wondrous adventures. I expected a different kind of book, having read De vadsige Koningen years ago, but this was a nice read nonetheless.

7Psilight
jan 10, 2011, 3:22 pm

3: Fathers and Sons by Turgenev.

A short work on the conflicts between the older Russian generation, and the younger. The main character is a Nihilist, and mentor of his friend. The novel is not overly philosophical but it does have its parts, mainly in the discussions between the fathers and sons. This also comes through in the emotional descriptions of the characters. Not a great book, but it gives a nice impression of Russian life at the time, and its interesting for its exposé on Nihilism and Romanticism.

8Psilight
Redigeret: jan 19, 2011, 8:04 am

4: Van de koele meren des doods by Van Eeden.

I looked through LT and Amazon, and found myself surprised this book (nor any other work of Van Eeden) is not translated into English. It certainly deserves to be.

It is very rich in descriptions of the inner state of the protagonist, her feelings and her thoughts, even so that when someone actually spoke, it occurred to me that in fact the first part of the book was almost void of conversations.

About half way through the book and after so many pages detailing the inner life of the protagonist, I got the feeling I wanted some action instead. At that moment changes happened indeed, and I rushed through the rest of the book enjoying it very much.

edit: It seems this books is translated as Hedwig's journey.

9Psilight
mar 9, 2011, 7:33 am

5: Veronika besluit te sterven by Paulo Coelho.

Nice read, I think Coelho's wisdom shows in the simplistic way of writing, although I feel he romanticizes being 'crazy'. One of the sentences that stood out to me was: "We have replaced most of our emotions with fear.".

It took me so long to finish another book, since the last weeks were kinda hectic. I've started other books, one by Virginia Woolf, but the stream of consciousness style of writing is not really my thing. I hope to get back to her some other time. Another reason I did not read as much as I would like lately, is that I have moved houses. The good news is I got more space for my books now.

10Psilight
jun 4, 2011, 6:43 am

6: Zen en de kunst van het motoronderhoud by Robert M. Pirsig.

When I used to study Philosophy for a while, there was an article in the student periodical titled 'Philosophy is a sickness'. Can one go crazy because of too much philosophy? Is that what happened to Nietzsche?

This book is about both, madness and philosophy. About conflicting ways to view reality. As the book says, it is not so much about zen. Or motorcycle maintenance for that matter. Besides a trip through America by father and son, this book is mostly about the philosophy that underpins our contemporary culture's world view, and it challenges it to view things differently. The question being how we can improve the quality of our lives.

I liked this book a lot. I had started this book years ago on a holiday but never finished it. I thought I didn't come that far, but I remembered one scene that was 3/4th into the book. I'm glad I finished the book this time. Worth a read if you are philosophically inclined.

11Psilight
jul 23, 2011, 5:18 am

7: De witte tijger by Aravind Adiga

This book never bored me. In fact it made me smile a lot. This is not a book about the India for tourists. That made it all the better. It is realistic, raw and well told. Worth picking up.

12Psilight
jul 24, 2011, 12:21 pm

8: De wereld als markt en strijd bij Houellebecq.

I loved the way Houellebecq characterizes the people in this book. As seen from the perspective of the protagonist, the people all stand out in some way or another.

This isn't an upbeat book, it takes you on the journey of a 30 year old programmer who slowly starts losing himself while giving courses on a newly developed software program. We meet his colleagues, the people he has to work for and a friend who is a priest. The question here is if one can stay sane given the complexities and pressure of sex and work.

13Psilight
Redigeret: aug 7, 2011, 11:46 am

9: God's Gym by Leon de Winter

A lot happens to Joop Koopman, a Jew from Dutch nationality, living and working in Los Angeles as a movie script writer. His daugther dies on her birthday in a traffic accident. From then on his life is not the same. Can he trust the people he meets while dealing with his loss? Do they have their own agenda or do they genuinely want to help?

This is an entertaining book, with a fast pace and short chapters. We learn that the daughter dies very early in the book, but supported by Joop's memories, advanced technology and the believes of a Tibetan Buddhist monk, her heart keeps beating throughout the pages.

It has an interesting mix of Jewish, Buddhist and American culture, although it didn't stand out as a really great book. Good nonetheless.

14Psilight
okt 7, 2011, 2:11 pm

10: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

So many things to quote from this book. I won't, and instead will let you discover the gems yourself. Must read (even if you have seen the movie)!

15connie53
okt 15, 2011, 11:39 am

Nice to read your elaborate comments on the books, Psilight.

16Psilight
Redigeret: okt 21, 2011, 4:47 pm

Thank you. Slowly working my way through Milan Kundera's debut novel now. Will post when done.

17Psilight
okt 22, 2011, 5:47 pm

11: De grap by Milan Kundera.

This is Kundera's debut novel. I have read The Unbearable Lightness of Being and a book with essays from him before, and unmistakenly this book shows it is from the same author.

It talks about music, folklore, communism, christianity and most of all the movitives that make us be and how these are shaped by the events in our life. These events can be revolution, or grow out of mistakes or jokes we make. We may become motivated by hatred, or religion, or a political idea.

Very good debut, and although the middle part of the book is a bit slow, the last part gets it all together from well structured perspectives that are a joy to read.

18Psilight
nov 6, 2011, 11:26 am

12: De verbouwing by Saskia Noort.

What a bad book. This review might contains some spoilers.

For a thriller it contains very little action in the plot, okay, so maybe it is supposed to be a psychological thriller, but most of what passes as psychology here (and the husband of the protagonist is a depressed psycho-analyst) is the protagonist repeating every time, first, how happy she is and how she is harsh and that successful women have it hard socially, and when things turn around in the plot, she is repeating how bad it is she messed up her life and that of the persons she values.

The husband turns over-night from a depressive weak person into someone who can finally be himself again when he meets a women, who instantly falls in love with him. Yes they live happily ever after with the book only giving us a few reminders that they sleep together.

The finale is badly written. Of course there is the 'plan' the protagonist makes to set things right, that is hidden and which she will 'tell you tomorrow', after all is done, fine, but the descriptions of the ending itself could have been better. It hardly covers what happened, and it wasn't that much of an ending either. I had hoped for a more creative way out.

There's also the fact that two times the writer used the same sentence. On page 46 it is the protagonist about 'getting an damned old and sour head', and on 66 it a patient saying 'But you get an old, sour head from it', both describing their relationship problems. The other incident is that of a 'weird click'.

Oh well. It is an easy read, and while not very interesting or surprising, I finished it very quickly. Mostly because I read this on my mom's e-reader. I am definitely getting one too now! I was amazed at how easy and enjoyable reading on it was.