Tag Archives: literature

Charles Ramsey is Burma Jones

Posted on 9 May 2013 by

My most favourite character in literature is Burma Jones. The only black, the only sane, possibly the smartest and yet the funniest person in A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, he works for “minimal wage” – not his only mispronunciation … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Films, USA | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sad Things (# 6) Library Books

Posted on 29 March 2013 by

Sad: Buying a book in a library book sale which had been in the stock of the library for several decades but which hasn’t been on loan to a reader even once. Even more sad: Not reading this book in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Poetry Slam (# 1) Cigar

Posted on 4 December 2012 by

My first attempt at travel poetry: I went to the bazaar in Kandahar and bought a cigar from a guy called Bashar.   Don’t worry. I will continue to write predominantly in prose. (Zur deutschen Version.)

Posted in Afghanistan, Travel | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Leaving Books in Public Places

Posted on 21 October 2012 by

I love books. So naturally, I used to collect them. I kept all the books I had ever read, I bought dozens of books that I still wanted to read and I even bought antique books which I would never … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Photography, Travel | Tagged | 8 Comments

The Mo Yan Poll

Posted on 11 October 2012 by

My empty, questioning stare when I heard that this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature would go to the Chinese author Mo Yan showed me three things: that I don’t read enough books, that I don’t read enough literary supplements of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, China, Polls | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Book Review: “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck

Posted on 22 September 2012 by

Since 2008 or 2009, I have heard the expression “worst recession since the Great Depression” more times than banks have asked for another bailout. I got tired and fed up by that constantly repeated statement because as little as I know … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Economics, USA | Tagged | 8 Comments

My Encounters with Mexican Literature

Posted on 1 April 2012 by

Carlos Fuentes, the Mexican writer, has the following quote attributed to him: Writing is a struggle against silence. Of his many books, I have only read “Aura” and I wish he had remained silent. Whenever I visit a country, I try … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Travel | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

“Death in Venice”

Posted on 1 February 2012 by

… and there goes Gustav von Aschenbach: “Death in Venice“ (“Der Tod in Venedig”) is not my favourite book by Thomas Mann, but he is one of my most favourite authors. I have met a few people who have dismissed … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Death, Italy, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Mario Vargas Llosa Poll: which book to read?

Posted on 8 October 2010 by

As Mario Vargas Llosa from Peru has just won the Nobel Prize for Literature 2010, I guess I should read one of his books at last. Which one or two of the following do you recommend? Or would you recommend … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The joy of reading many books at the same time.

Posted on 27 September 2010 by

“What are you currently reading?” – Don’t ask me this question if you don’t have a few minutes time. Because I love to read several books at the same time. Of course not absolutely simultaneously, but I begin with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Life | Tagged , | 6 Comments