My last post was quite some time ago, and these days, I\u2019m not exactly shining with activity on Lesestunden. My reading output is currently quite modest \u2014 I still haven\u2019t managed to reestablish a regular reading time during my commute. On top of that, few books have truly caught my interest in recent weeks. I\u2019ve read a few nonfiction works, but I tend not to review them when they touch on very personal topics \u2014 such as philosophical or religious ideas. Overall, I just haven\u2019t been reading that much lately, so there\u2019s not a lot to blog about here either.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The Advent season and Christmas were, of course, filled with lots of family time. In the evenings, we watched one or two movies \u2014 mostly Christmas classics. From time to time, I\u2019ve also played some Magic, or followed the small and manageable Magic scene on YouTube. And of course, every now and then, I indulge in the pleasure of listening to a beautiful record. That\u2019s how the short winter evenings tend to pass \u2014 very atmospheric, but not very productive when it comes to reading.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
At the moment, I\u2019m reading The Wild Ass\u2019s Skin<\/em> by Honor\u00e9 de Balzac, and as usual with Balzac, it\u2019s simply another masterpiece. I\u2019ll continue to enjoy this delightful read over the next few days. This means I\u2019ve picked up volume 11 of my complete Balzac edition \u2014 not much left now until I\u2019ve read all of his La Com\u00e9die humaine<\/em>. He remains the undisputed grand master \u2014 the author I\u2019ve read the most, and whose style, depth of storytelling, and poetic language are simply unmatched.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Looking at my wish list, I\u2019m still missing the latest Mare classic, In Alastalo\u2019s Parlour<\/em> by Volter Kilpi. The book is quite tempting \u2014 the sample I read revealed a wonderfully rich language. At the same time, with over 1,000 pages and a plot that sounds rather demanding, it\u2019s definitely a challenge. It\u2019s not a book one reads casually on the side. So it\u2019s still on my wish list, waiting for the right moment to draw me in. In the same category is The Captive<\/em> by Marcel Proust, which was published some time ago by Manesse in a very appealing edition. I\u2019ll get both books sooner or later, but I\u2019ll need to get back into a better reading flow first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The previews for next year offer only a few books that caught my interest. Brothers of the Wind<\/em> by Tad Williams is already on preorder. The conclusion of his new series, The Last King of Osten Ard<\/em>, has been delayed and will apparently be even longer than expected. In English, there will be four books, and in the German translation by Klett-Cotta, each one will be split again into two volumes. I already have the second volume (or rather, the third and fourth in German) sitting unread on my shelf. But I won\u2019t read any of them until the final book is released. Then I\u2019ll start the tetralogy from the beginning. With long interruptions, I lose track of the story and forget too many details. Reading it all at once is just such a pleasure \u2014 you get completely lost in the world, and Tad Williams is simply my absolute favorite fantasy author. I did the same thing back then with Shadowmarch<\/em>, and it was an absolute joy. Anyway, it\u2019ll be a while until The Last King of Osten Ard<\/em> continues, and to shorten the wait, Tad Williams has pulled the short story Brothers of the Wind<\/em> out of his hat. I\u2019m expecting a very atmospheric and worthwhile interlude in the world of Osten Ard \u2014 and he\u2019s already proven he can do that brilliantly with The Burning Man<\/em> years ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The Mare Verlag already has the next classic lined up for next spring: Deephaven<\/em> by Sarah Orne Jewett. I wasn\u2019t familiar with the author before, but she comes with excellent references (Henry James, Mark Twain, and Rudyard Kipling all admired her work). An American author focusing on evocative small harbor towns \u2014 that\u2019s exactly my thing. I\u2019ll definitely be reading that one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n