Bookspotting: Week 5

I had a very cool bookspotting moment this week. I stepped onto the MTR at North Point and saw a man reading a book called Clarinet. I stood across from him and opened up my paperback copy of The Finkler Question. I happened to glance down the train and saw a mother and daughter sitting side by side and reading two more English paperback books, though I couldn't see the titles. The four of us made quite a group. I do not think I have seen that many people reading in one place since I got here.

I saw a young man carrying a copy of Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, a teenager reading Caesar's Legion by Stephen Dando-Collins and a young woman reading 1984 by George Orwell in Chinese. A young girl sat next to me on another train reading a highlighted and dogeared copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I noticed four other Chinese books this week in various places, and I saw another Kindle in the Kubrik Cafe.

What are people reading in your town this week?

THE FINKLER QUESTION by Howard Jacobson

THE GIST:

In this smart, contemporary tale two aging men cope, or fail to cope, with the loss of their wives and their identities. The third man doesn't have either one, but he too mourns.

THE VERDICT:

The men in this book find themselves at loose ends. They have lost their footing, or else they never had it in the first place. Julian Treslove grasps for a sense of self and decides that being Jewish is his strongest source of identity, despite the fact that he is not actually a Jew. Sam Finkler is a Jew, but he struggles to separate himself from 'them' and flounders. Libor just misses his wife and mistrusts the tenuous safety of the Jews in Britain.

I did not like Treslove at all, though I am not convinced that you are supposed to like the protagonist in this story. Everyone needs something to ground them, and I found Treslove's way of swirling and eddying through life infuriating. However, his assumptions about and encounters with Jewishness are thought-provoking, revealing the complexity of the modern Jewish (Finkler) question.

Jacobson is at the top of his game in this book, which earned him the Man Booker Prize in 2010. The writing style is clever, poetic, and often funny. He explores themes of grief, jealousy, aging, and collective guilt. The story did not feel resolved in the end, probably because the complexities of the issues cannot be tied up into neat little packages.

THE LINK:

Profile on the Booker Prize site: Howard Jacobson

THE COST:

I borrowed this book from a friend in paperback format.

THE QUESTION:

Where do you get your sense of identity? Relationships? Nationality? Religion?

Wednesday Dim Sum: Hong Kong International Literary Festival

The Hong Kong International Literary Festival begins in two weeks. It will take place at various venues throughout the city from March 8-18. This will be my first HK Literary Festival, and I volunteered to help at some of the evening and weekend EVENTS. I haven't confirmed which ones will need me yet, but I will post about the events I attend as they happen. These are some of my top picks and I'll definitely buy tickets for these ones if I don't get to help out:

Three Hacks on China - Thursday, March 10th - 19:30-21:00 - Jonathan Watts, Peter Hessler, Frank Ching

An Evening with Emma Donoghue - Friday, March 11th - 19:00-20:30 - Emma Donoghue

Surviving the Modern World - Sunday, March 13th - 18:00-19:30 - Xu Xi, Rajeev Balasubramanyam, Manreet Sodhi Someshwar

In preparation for these talks, I am planning to read ROOM by Emma Donoghue, COUNTRY DRIVING by Peter Hessler, WHEN A BILLION CHINESE JUMP by Jonathan Watts, and HABIT OF A FOREIGN SKY by Xu Xi. If I have time I'll read the other two Hessler books on his travels in China: RIVER TOWN and ORACLE BONES, and then try to work my way through some of the other authors featured in the festival.

Are any of you Hong Kong people attending the Literary Festival events? Has anyone else read these books before?

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

THE GIST:

The impossibly clever Holmes solves mysteries, big and small, using his keen eye for detail and his nearly supernatural powers of deduction.

THE VERDICT:

These stories, told from the perspective of Holmes' friend Dr. Watson, are just plain fun. Holmes solves his mysteries in approximately the same way each time, but the cases themselves are actually very different. They come from all sorts of interesting characters and Holmes (almost) always saves the day.

The twelve adventures can each be read independently, although Watson sometimes references earlier cases in the later stories. The good thing about reading them all at once is that you develop a fleshed out picture of Holmes' singular character. He keeps odd hours, goes to violin concerts between cases, and makes it his business to know everything about everyone, without being impressed by anything.

Holmes and Watson are characters that I've known by reputation for a long time, but this is the first time I've read any of their stories. Sometimes beloved characters do not live up to their hype, but in this case I was not disappointed. I was duly impressed by Holmes' abilities and charmed by Watson's voice.

THE LINK:

This is a cool website with everything you ever wanted to know about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

THE COST:

Free Kindle edition (the complete collection of everything Doyle ever wrote about Holmes is about $1)

THE QUESTION:

When you finally meet a character or read a book that you've known by reputation for a long time do they live up to your expectations? Does anyone have a good example?

Bookspotting: Week 4

This week my work schedule was back to normal, so I spent lots of time spotting books on the MTR. I think I notice more people reading now that I'm actively thinking about it. I counted FIVE Chinese books this week, plus another graphic novel. One morning I saw a school boy reading A Child Called "It" which seems like a depressing way to start the day. I saw a woman reading Leaving Microsoft to Change the World and a man with one of the Stieg Larsson books.

What are people reading in your town this week?

A ROOM WITH A VIEW by E. M. Forster

THE GIST:

A young woman travels to Italy with her stuffy companion and meets an angst-ridden but ultimately charming young man.

THE VERDICT:

This classic novel is full of eccentric characters and witty banter. The young women travel with chaperones, the young men read German philosophy, and the Englishmen abroad dine together at one table in their hotel. Forster captures the changing attitudes toward propriety and freedom in England after the turn of the century.

Essentially, this is a story of a young woman’s awakening to the wonders of the world. For the first time she experiences art, culture, philosophy, travel and love. She has to make the classic choice between a mysterious, free-thinking man and a respectable, uninteresting one. She has to look past her prejudices and the expectations of her family and figure out what she really wants.

It was interesting to read this book as a young woman living abroad. The differences in the ways in which women travel between now and 100 years ago are striking. It made me particularly grateful for my independence. I love Forster’s way with words, and this is a thoroughly readable story.

THE LINK:

Here's a Forster site: Only Connect

THE COST:

Free Kindle edition

THE QUESTION:

Do you think that people must defy the expectations of their family and/or their social circle in order to attain maturity?

Wednesday Dim Sum: Stylish Bloggers

Each Wednesday I will write a post with bits and pieces about Hong Kong, blogging, books and miscellaneous literary things. I am calling it Wednesday Dim Sum after the Chinese dishes that come in delicious bite-size portions.

This week I was given the Stylish Blogger award by Stephanie at The Conscientious Reader (thanks again!). I'm supposed to pass on the award to 15 other blogs, so for my first Wednesday Dim Sum here are 15 blogs that I read regularly. Not all of them are book blogs (sorry), but they are still pretty cool.

A Literary Odyssey
Living in Literary La La Land
Dash It All
Reads, Reviews, Recommends
Demitria Lunetta
Query Shark
Seattleite Imagery
Shredded Cheddar
The Book Frog
Eleusinian Mysteries
Tiny Library
She Is Too Fond of Books
The Traveling Writer
Sarcastic Female Literary Circle
Kendi Everyday


What is your favorite blog to read? Why?