Wednesday, December 16, 2009

corner view - books



this corner view is dedicated to the lovely and talented janis. see, a while back she tagged me with seven books for seven confidences. i am not sure what exactly that means, nevertheless, i didn't study literature for nothing. i love books and decided to choose seven of those books i love. so i have been having this on my mind for a long time now. what held me back? the fact that i seemed to come up with all the books that i don't have here with me. after seven years in israel i am still transporting books from my stash in my parents house to my house here. anyway, i decided to only pick books that i brought with me to israel. or bought here. so that i could show them in this photo.

one book is missing though: gone with the wind. i know it sounds corny, but i think this book is one of the books that made the biggest impression on me. i read it when i was 12 and was on a vacation from school. it was in my mom's bookshelves, divided into four books. till this day if i mention that gone with the wind reading session to my mom, she will say, with a sigh, "i wish i had removed the last book before you read it". because i was so devastated. completely and totally out of proportion. i just could not believe that it could go from the happy ending of book three, where she has husband, daughter and wealth, to the final ending, where she has lost most of it and is running through her nightmare come true.

i am still not sure why it blew me away so hard. i mean, it's just a book. and honestly it's not even that good a book. i think it was the fact that there was no mercy. that there is not always a happy ending. and because i read it right at the time where i started to feel that certain melancholy that is also a part of growing up. which i struggled to accept and live with as a teenager only to be silent and overwhelmed by it instead.

well, i don't have gone with the wind on my bookshelves, even though i would actually like to read it again. so, the ones i have, from the bottom:

sally mann: immediate family. along with cindy sherman i think she is among the modern female photographers that have made the biggest impression on me. and then i just love her porch. i dream of a porch like that.

doris lessing: the golden book. because it's clever. a timeless description of how hard it is to get all the important aspects of a female life to connect and work together.

anaïs nin: under en glasklokke (under a glas bell). i was in my late teens when i read this. and it made sense. she just seemed to describe so many of the things i felt, and at the same time opened a door to the mysterious world of adulthood.

dan turell: just a gigolo. i love the writing from this danish author. he is inspired by american beat literature, which i also love, and you feel it in the rhythm. he writes about copenhagen and vesterbro (the amazing area in copenhagen where i used to live), and i am fortunate enough to have heard him read live before he passed away. which was beautiful. he had a great voice and he had the beat.

siri hustvedt: what i loved. i only recently read this book. it's brilliant! i was totally blown away. if you didn't read it yet, please do. there are passages and parts of that book that are so intensely beautiful, inspiring and true. and on top of that it is so intriguing and clever, that you just cannot stop reading.

tom robbins: skinny legs and all. i read this in india back in the days of back-packing. and i loved it. then i moved to israel and i read it again. because i remembered how jerusalem was described and the role it played. and it was still funny. and clever.

saint-exupéry: den lille prince (le petit prins). because it's classic, beautiful and reaches across all ages.

for more books, stop by jane of spain daily.

27 comments:

  1. I will ask Santa to have a look to your book list and to pick up any of them ...

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  2. Le petit prince, of course... like a bible ! Have a great day ; )

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  3. I have only read "Little Prince" from your books but after your recommendation I will try to read some of them. Thank you!

    Hugs,
    Kasia

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  4. this was a lovely reading... ;D !

    happy day!

    xp

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  5. A Gone with the Wind lover over here. I reread it several times. What a tragic book. The story of a world swept away by war and new times, the tragic story of two people who could have been happy together but never learned how to communicate. I don't know several of the books in your list. And I find it quite amazing that I also read TRobbins while backpacking (in South America).

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  6. I have to get my notebook this CV, all those great readingtips! Love your shortlist!

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  7. thanks for this list. i´m going to add some to my amazon basket when i leave here. warm hugs! p.s. sorry about gone with the wind. i love a good story though- happy or sad...

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  8. I love your corner view and know of almost all your books. I even saw the original show of Sally Mann's Immediate Family in NYC many years ago! Terrific stuff...

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  9. Great list! I'm still working on my books for corner view

    I've never read anything by Doris Lessing, but I've been planning it for a while now. It's time I picked it up.

    The Little Prince is one of my absolute favourites, I have it on my nightstand and I love opening it at random for little pearls of wisdom.

    I've read What I Loved a couple of months ago. I agree, it's absolutely brilliant.

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  10. Lovely post, Trine. I brought "Den lille prins" with me Vienna because I not read it yet and I really want to. What I loved is waiting for me in Málaga :-)

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  11. excellent post on the theme, trincsh!
    nicola
    http://whichname.blogspot.com

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  12. what a great pile of books ! and i have not ever made it through gone with the wind book. i have watched the movie many many times and i am actually named after bonnie blue butler ! i would like to read the book ... maybe i will see if i ca get it from the library and try again !

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  13. Ah the list! What a wonderful selection. It is so intimidating to only choose 7 - I know, I had the same experience, but it was fun :) ..now I have 7 new titles to check out! Thanks Trinsch...xo

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  14. A wonderful post on books my friend. Some of the titles made me smile. Thanks.xoxo

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  15. i've been curious about the siri hustvedt book. i have a MASSIVE pile of boks waiting to be read at the moment (there are no bookshops here, so I order big batches from amazon + haul big bags with me from airport bookshops whenever I have the chance...and I seem to have gone overboard) but when I get a chance....its going on the list of things to do in 2010!

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  16. How fun,

    Another list--where I have not read most of the books!Love Sally Mann & the Little Prince.

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  17. A very nice choice (and portrait !!!)

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  18. Great post!

    I have a surprise for you on my blog, if you want:)

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  19. all those books are fantastic...this is a great post!

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  20. ha! great list, le petit prince, indeed, like a bible, I agree with cabrizette.

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  21. great list! Siri Hustvedt is on mine too

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  22. Wonderful list! I love that title, 'Skinny Legs and All'. Thanks for the great reviews.

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  23. Oh. What I Loved is a favourite of mine too. I've read her books from the beginning of her carrier but this one is outstanding (I am not so much into her latest). Except for Lille Prinsen I haven't read any of the other books on your list so I am writing them down.
    And I was absorbed with Gone with the Wind too. But later. When I was thirteen I only read Agatha Christie. When I read Gone With.. I also read Kristin Lavransdotter. Oh those reading days.

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  24. As many, I've only read le petit prince; but after reading your post, I think I'll have to read Siri Hustvedt / what i loved!

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