I am back and had lots of time reading books

You won’t believe it, but I managed to read the majority of my books despite seasickness and thus more than a day lost on the ship, because I have been lying down and sleeping. I am being so bad XD

Of course this is not going to be one of these “Hey, take a look at my great and glorious presence again, there will be more on this blog to come” postings, I have actually planned on reviewing the books. I will keep the same order as from this earlier post:

1. Lonely Planet Iceland
Ah, the indispensable book. Now I am happy that I bought it in german (a direct translation from the 6th english edition), because my parents read a lot in it too, and marked the places we have went to with the marker I have brought (hohoho). I know that they really are interested in these kinds of things, and I am glad that I was able to provide them.
However, I am not exactly happy with the execution of the book. There were minor mistakes and one thing that made me roll my eyes very seriously: The Listasafn Íslands (the national gallery) was described as a large museum housing many painters from the 19th and 20th century with many landscape paintings. When we went there, it turned out that the gallery only does temporary exhibitions now, so we have seen a really horrible video installation and some very abstract modern art from contemporary icelandic painters. Ugh. Now, I can’t entirely blame the Lonely Planet, because the website is very erratic in itself too, saying they have over 10,000 works in their collection. But is it really too much to ask to actually go to all of the perhaps 10 museums in the city, especially since this one is in the middle of the city center?
The other things I didn’t like included some places that were absolutely great but not given much mention (Hraunfossar – incredibly beautiful) or were just completely overlooked (Godafoss). The one eating place that was supposedly very popular did not exist anymore and some things mentioned in the book were not marked in the map (but we have found it anyways). I also don’t think that the rather extensive use of superlatives helps you plan your travel all that much either, but the majority of the book was actually old Lonely Planet goodness: In general, the book was helpful and did a good job at presenting the place to you; after reading the about the Laugavegur, the hiking trail from Landmannalaugar to Thorsmörk, I really wanted to do it. Perhaps one day, when I am not a “Turnschuhtourist” (sneaker tourist) anymore, I want to go there. (I have been to Skógar and haven’t liked it as much so I would stop after 4 days in Thorsmörk.) There also were great tips concerning practical information, itineraries, much more information than all other books which don’t much beyond giving some descriptions of the places to visit, and finally, many tips for eating places. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to try out any of them. Finally, I think that Lonely Planet is the best when it comes to a good snapshot of history, culture and politics of a country. Perhaps youth makes you really more open-minded *hrr*

Recommendation: Yes, with certain reservation. Perhaps another edition will make it better?

So, would you guys be interested in reading about my two weeks in Iceland?

2. The handbook for my Nikon D40
I have read the majority of it, and even though I am sure I will forgot most of it, it was very helpful. I have played with shutter speed a little while taking photos of one of those waterfalls, but it was a little difficult to handle due to the lack of a tripod.
I was surprised to see how similar the 7 or 8 different automatic modes are actually not all that different, they only have some very few differences that also make a lot of sense but not so much of a difference, in my opinion. Amazing.
The camera of my mother which has no manual mode at all makes me swoon, but the automatic programs are good enough for most of the times, although I too think that my camera (and especially my father’s D80) overexpose quite a bit.

Recommendation: Well, as a horrible novice at handling cameras, I actually think that it’s really crucial to read its handbook.

3. Cees Nooteboom, “All Saint’s Day”
Ah, Nooteboom. It’s refreshing to read such a contemporary book and to have found it to be good. I am not saying I have turned to a fan of the book due to the large amount of random musings on things, but I have liked it a lot. I have actually managed to avoid skipping the long parts that were mainly stream of consciousnesses that jumped from one thing to another up to the point that words and expressions just followed each other (very contemporary, huh?). But, the great aspects of the book largely made up for it. The first one is the marvelous portrait of Berlin and its history. I have known most of the streets described there, so I was able to imagine the places heh as been at in my head (cool, eh?) It made me want to do a Berlin-All Saint’s Day-tour one day, heh. Madrid was described much less extensively, considering that I knew most of the streets and plazas in Madrid he mentioned too. Next, I think that the characters are being described in a very gripping and interesting way; I think the main character is quite an original person who gives you the impression that he lives in a film.
Finally, if the book had been more about the main characters, the city of Berlin or others itself, about films or about the interaction between filming, memory, places and history, and if it had been less ‘random’, I think this book would have turned to one of my favorites. I am sure the book is much deeper than I was able to grasp it, but I must admit that I am also not very willing to try to make my way through this kind of intentionally open writing style, which is also nice in its ambiguity. Its atmosphere is supposed to be headache-inducing, I believe.

Recommendation: Yes, definitely. Even when you don’t know much about the history of Berlin.

4. Franz Kafka, “America”
I have lost this book. God knows why, but now my SZ-Bibliothek is not complete anymore. Sigh. Then again, I don’t have the books 52-100 anyways, so who cares.
I have actually only read 5 of the total of 8 chapters. The ones that involved the two guys, Robinson and Delamarche, were just too infuriating, and Karl’s incapability of dealing with them was just too painful to read. The rest was very typical for Kafka, and I enjoyed them a lot. Kafka really is such an amazing writer, and one of few authors whose books I read because of the writing style, and not because I want to know what actually happens. Usually I am the type of person who mainly cares about the destination, but with Kafka, there is no destination and I like the way he executes the route.

Recommendation: This is definitely not Kafka’s strongest book, but it’s quite a good read, and I wholeheartedly recommend for Kafka fans.

5. Anton Chekhov, “Das Leben in Fragen und Ausrufen”
As a collection of many short-short stories, it’s no surprise that there are some better or some worse ones, but most of them were really, really enjoyable. I have read all the footnotes to get a picture of the people and the political situation that Chekhov has parodised, and it has made me smile quite a lot. I think my favorites were the relationship stories and those that were self-mocking jokes about being a writer. The humour is light and very sophisticated at the same time, I think it gives a great picture on Russia in the 19th century.

Recommendation: If you are a fan of Chekhov, you will love this book, even though this is of course very different from his extremely serious plays. I have heard that Dostoevsky has written very good humoresques and comedical short stories too, and I kind of want to read them now.

6. Lev Tolstoy, “Anna Karenina” part 2
Apart from the Lonely Planet, which I have studied rather thoroughly, this is the book I have spent the most time on of course. It never felt like a long book though, and while the book has never been dragging or spending too much time on something I felt unnecessary, I kept having the impression that nothing much happened in the book, heh. The developments feel very natural though, and more than one time, I have found myself unable to stop reading; it really is an amazingly well-written story, especially when it comes to Anna’s feelings, and this from a male writer, heh.
It is difficult to speak about Anna Karenina without spoiling too much about the story (even though everybody knows how it ends), and there is just way too much to say about it. What I have found surprising is the very strong focus on Levin’s life who is barely mentioned in secondary literature, it seems to me. I can see how Levin is supposed to be an identification figure like Anna, and his characterisation is at least equally thorough and in depth. Apart from the great characterization, what makes “Anna Karenina” absolutely outstanding in my opinion is the storytelling. I love how Anna Arkadjevna herself was only introducted at around 100 pages when every single other character has been given a long introduction already. And I like how the whole last part (out of a total of 8 ) takes place after her death. I generally like the idea how the last part shifted to Levin (so to make the story end with life, and not death), but I must admit that I kind of lost interest in the god-or-not-god question that has barely any meaning for me personally.
Another thing I have found very interesting, and yet very depressing, is that despite this book being a work of realism, you can clearly see how both Anna and Vronsky could have lead a rather happy life together if they just have decided differently at different times.

Recommendation: There is a list somewhere saying that this is the best novel ever written. You can love or hate the characters, but there might be a certain truth to it.

7. My signal processing lecture
The major thing I have learnt was that I can hope for a good grade when I take the class next semester. The analogue part was primarily a repetition of what we have had before, and when I have figured out how the z-transformation is implemented for the digital filters, I will be a happy girl.
Okay, enough tech talk now XD

Recommendation: Hell no, haha. It was very enlightening and now I have the feeling that I have understood much more, but really, this is nothing that you can just read for enjoyment, of course.

8. Flaubert, “L’éducation sentimentale”
Yes, after writing my posting on Naked Lunch, I have randomly packed in this book as well. Until today, I have progressed until the end of chapter 5, which already gives a good insight to the main characters, I think. It’s a drag to read, I’ll admit it; but not because the book is bad, but because it’s so surprisingly good. As expected from Flaubert, the writing style is extremely dense and elaborated in the sense that every single word or description gives you the feeling that the author must have worked on it for ages (and that was largely also the case, I suppose). I like the main character despite his weaknesses, and I am a large admirer of the way Flaubert weaves the extremely dramatic political background of his time into the book.
I do want to read more of “L’éducation sentimentale”, the book with the most beautiful title ever in my opinion, but I wonder when I will ever find the strength to do so again.

Recommendation: Absolutely, if you have too much time at hand and want to challenge yourself to something.

9. Homer – The Odyssey
Well yes, another book has appeared! It was in a box along with a lot of cheap literature, but this little gem has immediately caught my eye. The book is from Penguin Books and has apparently benefited from extensive marketing including a Princeton translator and a bunch of prizes. But at the point when Nausicaa said “Daddy dear”, I realized that I cannot accept an english translation of the Odyssey as much as I actually find this translation to be rather good, and the introductional part was very, very good. I think I need to get myself a german edition one of these days.
The Odyssey itself is a masterpiece. From what I know about the Iliad and what I have read until now, I think it is great on so many subtle accounts, starting from rather non-chronological storyline that I have not expected at all. I also have never heard of the Telemacheia before, the story arc around Odysseus’s son. And I also never knew that half of the whole book (books 13-24) take place in Ithaca and deal with his and Penelope. I thought that there would be more minor story arcs on his way home, but it turned out that I have actually have known the whole story before I even picked up the book now.

Recommendation: The Odyssey is the female counterpart to The Iliad (it involves a lot of women, love relationships and good food), of course it is recommended.