Karl's Reading List

Published by Gecko Press: Australia and New Zealand, 2007 (2006). English translation by Gecko Press, 2007. First published in Belgium by Clavis Uitgeverij. I say this a lot for Ezekiel's books, but this is a beautifully illustrated book! And it's a pop-up book too! Who's Driving? is fairly self-explanatory. Each page has three animals dressed in different uniforms, each approaching a vehicle that they could conceivably be driving. When the pop-up tab is pulled, the driver of the vehicle is revealed, and sound effects are added as the vehicle 'drives' away. The illustrations are clever in that there are hints given as to which animal will be revealed. The desert jeep, for example, is being approached by a hippo in khaki. Of course the one in khaki is the driver! The pop-up elements are also cleverly done, with my favourte being a small convertible that is revealed as being driven by a giraffe. I am still impressed by how that giraffe pops up from that little convert...

Published by Daan Retief Publishers: Pretoria, 1989 (1988). Also published in Afrikaans as Moesan Muis. This is a weird little picture book, which somehow makes more sense when its South African and Afrikaans origin is taken into account! Mosan Mouse, the head of his family, is hassled by his wife for not providing enough food. She asks him whether he is a man or a mouse, to which he replies: "Wife," said I, "in this house I am the man and the mouse." He then proceeds to go through the house, facing off in turn with the cat, the farmer, the farmer's wife and the farmer's daughter. Each one in turn is knocked unconscious or otherwise side-lined, leaving Mosan Mouse free to help himself to the food they have on offer. At the end of the story, he returns home and tells his wife that "now it is up to you" to go with the children to collect the food, "And never shout at me again, for it should really be quite plain: in this house I am the man and t...

Published by Allen & Unwin: NSW, Australia, 1997. First published in 1995 as Vallen. Translated from Dutch by John Nieuwenhuizen, 1997. Another book I read as I look for a Year 12 text. This is a very well written and slightly disturbing book, which follows Lucas Beigne, a teenager from Belgium living with his mother in the house of his late grandfather. There is some scandal in the past that involved his grandfather, but Lucas is unsure what the details were; his mother won't tell him. Lucas also has a neighbour, Caitlin, who has returned from America, who he remembers not being allowed to play with when he was younger, but who now he is captivated by. To begin with, the book looks like it might follow the growing feelings between Lucas and Caitlin, but we are also aware, from the book's framing device, that there will be some sort of accident ahead, in which Caitlin gets terribly injured and which Lucas feels guilty for. This gives a mild sense of unease to the proceeding...

Published by Picador/Pan Macmillan: London, 2019. Translated by Geoffrey Trousselot, 2019. Originally published in Japanese as  Coffee Ga Samenai Uchini,  2015. For the second time this year , I have been lent a book by a student to read (though a different student), and once again it is a book originally written in Japanese! The similarities end there, however. Where No Longer Human was bleak and depressing, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is wistful, whimsical, melancholic and also somewhat sweet. It is also science fiction, with a hint of fantasy thrown in (there is a ghost, who can curse people; its not a big deal). Author Kawaguchi has adapted the storyline of the book from a play that he wrote, and at times that previous format shows through. Characters speak their feelings out in order to give us context, even when the narration has already told us the relevant information, or will go on to do so. The book also keeps its one setting very strongly, although the set up helps...

Published by The Chicken House: Somerset, UK, 2004. Originally published in Germany as Tintenherz, 2003. Translated from German by Anthea Bell. I read this book in the background of English classes during silent reading time, and honestly, if I had been more organised and found another book, I probably wouldn't have finished it. It's very slow. Having some awareness of the book - mostly by knowing there was a movie based on it some years ago - I knew that Mo, the father figure in the book, has the ability to "read characters out of books." That is a hugely important part of the book, and not really a spoiler; its important to the set up. And yet, we don't learn about that ability - we're not even absolutely sure that the book is a fantasy - until chapter 16, which begins on page 143 out of 543. There are hints, but only hints. And yes, books can work well when they drop hints about things without outright telling you, but there needs to be other interesting th...

Published in flipback format by Hodder & Stoughton: London, UK, 2011. First published 2003. A book marketed right at me, seemingly, The Adventure of English is a history of the English language, from around 500 AD through til just after the year 2000. The subtitle is The Biography of a Language , and this feels fairly accurate: the focus is always on the language itself, and how the various influences of history has shaped it; events come and go within the pages only as needed for explanation. As a result, we get chapters on figures like Chaucer and Shakespeare, chapters on areas where specific branches of English have developed - such as USA, India and Australia - and even a few chapters devoted to Church History figures like Wycliffe and Tyndale, and their efforts to translate the Bible into English. It's all fascinating - far more than it might at first appear. Although the book eventually dragged on a bit (understandable, as it is covering almost 2000 years of history in a ...

Published by Penguin Books/The Penguin Group: London, England, 2005. First published as Frygt og Baven in 1843. Translated from Danish by Alistair Hannay, 1985. If I told you I "got" all of this book, I would be lying. There are definitely aspects that went over my head, even if I thought I got the gist of them. It is not an easy book. It is interesting, though. Which makes sense. Søren Kierkegaard is a philosopher who fascinates me, because of the way in which he chose to write: under different pen-names that each took a different position on what he was writing. This book, for example, is written under the name 'Johannes de silentio' (John the Silent), and is a meditation on the faith of Abraham, particularly regarding the sacrifice of Isaac. It is also the only Kierkegaard book I have ever successfully read the whole way through (so far). I think this is because "John the Silent" is a writer that appeals to me, being interested in what we can learn about ...

Published by New Directions Publishing Company: New York, 1973 (1958). Translated from Japanese by Donald Keene. First published, in Japanese, in 1948. For the second time ever, a student recommended and lent a book to me to read. This one is an odd book. I've now had a few students tell me they enjoy it, and I find myself curious as to what exactly it is that they enjoy... The main character, Yozo, is met as a young boy, seeking to entertain those around him, and already beginning to put on masks in order to do so. He begins to see himself as 'no longer human' pretty quickly, due to the disconnect he feels between the things he does and the things he feels 'humans' would do. Throughout the book, Yozo gives in to his worst impulses more and more, feeling himself drifting further from the morality of 'humanity', and seemingly powerless to stop his descent. He takes up drinking and womanizing, and has at least two suicide attempts in the course of the book. A...

Published by Adam and Charles Black Limited: London, 1963. Translated from German by LA Garrard. First published in German as 'Griechische Kirchenväter' in 1955. A 'proper' theological work by a 'proper' theologian, The Fathers of the Greek Church gives a brief biography of a number of the - wait for it - fathers of the Greek Church. Being written by a theologian, it is no surprise that the book focuses more on the theological writings of each individual than their actual biography, although this is still covered. I love church history, and what I enjoyed about  Fathers was learning more about the beliefs of a number of these individuals, or even (for a few) hearing about them at all! With early church history it is also interesting to track the development of concepts that modern believers take for granted. It is not that these concepts had to be invented - as Scripture alludes to them -   but it took some time for the understanding of these concepts to be soli...

Published by Vintage Books: London, 2014. First published, in French, 2013.  Translated by Sam Taylor, 2014. One of those 'it is what it says on the tin' books, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an IKEA Wardrobe  also comes under the 'how much can we pack into a title' category, along with The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - a book (also translated from another language) that I previously read, but long enough ago that I haven't yet reviewed it. Extraordinary Journey actually has quite a bit in common with 100 Year Old Man - both take their heroes on wide-ranging journeys, encouraging allies and enemies, going from place to place via unexpected and often humorous detours, and both have a romantic subplot gradually emerging.  The titular Fakir is Ajatashatru (the pronunciation of his name is one of the recurring jokes of the book) whom we meet as he arrives in France, hoping to buy a bed of nails from IKEA. Aja...

Published by Auckland University Press: Auckland, NZ, 2021 (2020). I am fascinated by the historical figure Te Rauparaha, one of the greatest of the Maori warrior chiefs who were living around the time of the first European settlers. Te Rauparaha achieved a lot in his life, particularly in the area of warfare, and as such he is a very controversial figure (depending on which iwi you talk to). Born as the youngest child in his family (when younger children were not expected to do as much) Te Rauparaha led his tribe, Ngati Toa, to settle Kapiti Island, and from there launched a series of campaigns which ended up conquering much of the lower North Island and the majority of the South Island! He is most famous now for writing the haka 'Ka Mate' (sung by the All Blacks), but his life has so much more to it than just that! This manuscript, translated carefully from te Reo (and with extensive editorial notes) by Ross Calman, was written by Te Rauparaha's son Tamihana Te Rauparaha....

Published by Wordsworth Classics: Hertfordshire, England, 2010 (1996). Translated from Russian by Constance Garnett, 1913. Originally published in Russian 1868-1869. This was a hard slog. You may have noticed lately that my reading output has dropped. Although I can put some of it down to busyness or other external factors, a good chunk of my actual reading time over the last month (at least) has been devoted to getting through this novel. It is a slightly longer novel than some I've read this year (559 pages), but the style has been the hardest factor - I have managed to get through longer novels far quicker.  I'm still a little torn as to why this is, particularly as I really enjoyed The Brothers Karamazov , which is also by Dostoevsky. For a while I thought it might be the translation, but both novels were translated by the same person, so that also seems unlikely. One thing that might explain it came up when I began looking into the book's creation a bit further after f...

Published by Chatto & Windus: London, England, 2002. Translated by Esther Tyldesley. When I started the Alphabet Soup challenge, I knew that some letters would have a few less options to choose from, and felt that X would probably be the hardest. As I approached this letter I did occasionally glance ahead, and would see one or two books at most on display at any one time. In the end, when I went to get a book out for X there was only one fiction book currently in the library by an X author. Skimming through it I was unimpressed, so I browsed through non-fiction for only the third time in this challenge.  The Good Women of China is a collection of biographical stories told by Xinran, who for eight years ran a radio programme in China called Words on the Night Breeze dedicated to telling the stories of Chinese women. Fifteen such stories, including Xinran's own upbringing, are presented here, including some so traumatic that she was never able to share them on air.  The f...

Published by Librivox on 2006-08-18. Narrated by Kirsten Ferreri. First published in French in the 17th Century. This is a short and very well-known book, being a collection of conversations with, and letters from, Brother Lawrence, a 17th Century French monk. As the title suggests, Brother Lawrence believed in 'practicing the presence of God', seeking joy in every moment. This sound likes a very simple idea, and it is, but Brother Lawrence writes about it in such a way as to both challenge and encourage the reader to explore the idea further. The translation published by Librivox includes only the conversations and letters of Brother Lawrence, while some other versions (including a physical book I have) contain other sections, but I didn't know this at the time of listening. I will probably read the physical book at some point, especially as I find it easier to recall individual elements when read as opposed to simply having heard them. Kirsten Ferreri narrates the book we...

Published by Pushkin Press: London, 2016. Originally published in French as Tristesse de la terre in 2014. Translated by Ann Jefferson. This is an odd book. A non-fiction text, telling the story of Buffalo Bill's forays into show business, including the end of the life of Sitting Bull and the Massacre at Wounded Knee, the book shies away from going too in-depth into the facts of any of these moments, instead choosing to 're-imagine' the events, focussing more on the little moments, the feelings, the thoughts that may have crossed the mind of those involved in the events. As one example of this prose, after the massacre of Indians has happened at Wounded Knee, Vuillard starts a new section with:  "A violent storm blew up. Snow fell from the sky like a divine ordinance. The snowflakes whirled around the dead Indians, light and untroubled. They landed on hair and lips. Every eyelid was spangled with hoar frost. What a delicate thing a snowflake is! It's like a weary l...

Published by William Heinemann Ltd: London, 1977. First published 1945. Translated from the French by Katherine Woods. A cute, quirky, whimsical, oddly melancholic little book. The nameless narrator talks about his early forays into art, then, after his plane breaks down, forcing him to land in the Sahara, he meets the titular Little Prince. The Prince has arrived at Earth from his home on Asteroid B-612, a tiny world with three tiny volcanoes (one extinct) and a vain flower. He befriends the narrator and asks him to draw a sheep. After a few attempts which are criticized by the Prince, the narrator pleases the visitor by drawing a box and tells him the sheep is inside it. The Prince plans to take the sheep home with him, but is struggling to figure out how. This is not a long book, but it does have moments that seem somehow profound, and is very abstract in its ideas. The ending also builds on the feeling of melancholy that has been felt throughout, with the Prince 'finding a way ...

The end of 2021 marks the end of 5 years of book-list keeping. The aim of keeping these lists in the first place was the hope that it would inspire me to read more. Each of the years I have kept this list I have ended up reading more books than the previous year, so I guess it has been successful! In fact, in 2021 I have read so many books that I think I'll have to reign myself back in a bit next year, slow down a bit (although I have said that before). At the start of last year I decided to start reviewing the books I was reading (I had already been doing so with the Booker books before that). The aim of this element was to inspire me to write more, something I've been telling myself that I want to do since I was a child. And, although this has been a slower process than getting back into reading, I am also seeing growth in that area. Some day maybe I'll have something I can show for my efforts there too. Anyway, with this fifth year of reading lists drawing to a close, ...