Daily Prompt: Final Trio - the trouble with books

For our final trio prompt of the year, write about any topic you wish, but make sure your post features a bookcase, something cracked, and a song you love.

Down in the cellar there is a room with a bookcase. No, not just one bookcase, but a few bookcases. It is the overflow from the apartment, the books that are books with covers and paper and print, not the books that you upload onto an electronic apparatus.

We really wanted to keep the books in the apartment, but they actually began to reproduce, they took over. One morning I awoke to find the door of the bedroom open being pushed by three books that had wandered in from the living room bookshelf. 

“What are you doing here, you had a nice comfortable place on the third shelf on the right.”

“Forget it book reader, we have no room. The volume of “Cooking for 5 star cooks” expanded during the night. It decided we were too inferior to share the same shelf because we were just ordinary criminal stories. We are moving into the bedroom, so that you can read us before going to sleep.”

“Oh I see, perhaps I can shift the cooking book into the kitchen.”

“We told him to go to the kitchen, but he said it was a definite No. He was not going to hang around in those kitchen smells, the damp and the grease. He was meant for better things, being a 5 star cooking book and wanted the best place on the shelf. He pushed us off.”

“But I do not have room for you in the bedroom. I shifted the bookshelf into the hobby room in the cellar, so I will take you down there.”

I picked them up and carried them downstairs, which was not easy, they were struggling all the way. Eventually we reached our destination and I put them on the top shelf next to the German classics. An argument began at once.

“Hey reader, this is not our place. We are english books and really do not want to mix with the foreign stuff.”

“Are you talking to us. Zis is not ze vay to speak to we deutsche books. We are zu special to be put on the same shelf as ze english books” and the German books pushed the three english books out of the shelf where they fell on a glass vase on their way causing a crack on its side.

“Books can you behave, if you are German or english it makes no difference, the main point is that you are good reading material. Now you have cracked the vase we were given on our wedding day by great aunt Matilda.”

“If you are so proud of this vase, why is it in the cellar. We want to return to the upstairs room, or at least be given a more dignified place. Just a moment, I can see a space between the complete Sherlock Holmes works and the Harry Bosch books, that will do nicely.”

I didn’t realise books could be so fussy, but I did as they said and they seem to be settling down nicely, exchanging stories and situations. 

“Ok reader you can go, we are now happy.

So here is a song about books - I don’t plaster my blogs with You Tube favourite songs, because I do not push my favourites onto anyone, but I found this a suitable song if anyone wants to listen.

By the way, did you notice, the ping backs have disappeared again. Who cares? I am fed up with caring.

WordPress: Off the Shelf

Take a look at your bookcase. If you had enough free time, which book would be the first one you’d like to reread? Why?

First of all, which bookcase do you mean? I have one large selection in the living room and six in the hobby room, most books have been read. When Mrs. Angloswiss decided to move in with Mr. Swiss there was a small problem. Combining our lives was easy, but finding where to put our books was not. Even our tastes were similar. What I had in English, he often had in German. The life of Michelangelo by Irving Stone was on the shelf titled The Agony and the Ecstasy together with “Inferno und Ekstase”, the German edition.

I do not do rereads with one exception. There might be a discussion about a book on a literature web site where I belong. If I had already read the book, I do a reread because I generally devour books and forget the details over time so I have to refresh. Otherwise I am more interested in reading what I have left out in life. I often read an English classic that we had at school, for the reason that at school I did not pay attention and the enjoyment was spoilt by writing about it from a certain character’s point of view: although they never asked to describe what Sydney Carton felt when he was guillotined in Charles Dickens “Tale of Two Cities“. Shame really I would have painted a very colourful picture of having my head landing in a basket after being separated from my body and seeing the French peasants knitting whilst looking on. I think the teacher would not have appreciated my gift for reality writes.

I read on average 1-2 books weekly, according to whether they capture my interest or not. I do not have a bookcase containing my books. The real books with paper and covers are only now for ornamentation. I have been there and read most of them. I am a Kindler, I have a Kindle app on my iPad and now I sit comfortably in a chair in the evening with a handy flat packed plastic book, illuminated by a mysterious background light and turn the pages by sliding my finger over them. I have no time for nostalgic thoughts on the good old books. I do not have room for books, the shelves are bursting at the seams. As an overworked housewife, I am glad to say I no longer have to dust the shelves or the books: just wipe the iPad screen now and again and liberate it from finger prints.

I am a gifted reader, a genius and am again showing a modest characteristic. I can read in German and English which is an advantage. It is wonderful to read German literature in original texts and to discover the new German authors, some of which are not yet translated into English. It is also an advantage with Scandinavian books. They are generally translated into German before English, so I read it before it even starts to climb the New York times bestseller list. I like to keep up with the newest developments. I very much keep an eye on what is new in the world of literature. I often do not know what to read next and find that is helps if something new arrives. If the price is right, I download it. Sometimes I download it even if the price is not right, if it appeals.

I am also a member of Amazon. Admittedly there is a lot of rubbish offered as a free download or half price, but now and again there is a gem to be pounced on. In Facebook I am on the receiving list for free Amazon offers and somehow I am now in an Amazon special offer group. My latest success was downloading part 1 of the Century Trilogy of the Ken Follett successful novels,”Fall of the Giants” free of charge. I was so taken with this book, the clear political explanations of the First World War, and the families involved spanning England, Russia, Germany and the States, that I immediately downloaded Part 2 “Winter of the World” building up to the Second World War and afterwards. The families involved are the same and now in the second generation. This book is a masterpiece. I always appreciated the works of Ken Follett. I had to pay for part 2, but Kindle books are reasonable.

Another bargain I once snapped, I think it was a Christmas deal from Amazon, was The Leopard by the Norwegian criminal author Jo Nesbo which was also free. I am a fan of Harry Hole (the Norwegian police chief created by Jo Nesbo) as well as Kurt Wallender (the Swedish police officer created by Henning Mankell). I know them all, but now I stop. This is the danger of such a prompt, that I fill your eyes with books that I read and like, but probably you are not so interested.

We all have our own tastes. Give me a book that I can s="ink into, live in its world and mix with the characters and I am happy: one of the reasons why I rarely concentrate on a television programme. If Mr. Swiss is away for the evening I do not even attempt to switch the television on, I have no interest: give me a good book any time.

And now to finish this boring prompt and read a good book. Let’s see – yes, page 115 of 819 pages of “Winter of the World”. Life is never boring with a book Kindle.

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WordPress Daily Prompt: Matters of Taste

When was the last time a movie, a book, or a television show left you cold despite all your friends (and/or all the critics) raving about it? What was it that made you go against the critical consensus?

Even our departed feline, RIP Nera, liked to watch the TV. She was not bothered about happy endings, as long as the story line and pictures fitted her sharp senses. Watching a duck made her mouth water, and if it was a tennis match, she would follow the ball carefully from left to right and now and again make a leap to catch it.

We are fussy, we like it to fit the mood and the likes and dislikes. The last time a TV show left me cold was probably yesterday, the day before yesterday and two days ago etc. etc. You see what I mean, I have given up with TV. In the good old days when it was still in the learning phases it was a method of relaxation until it sent me off to sleep. I was a mum, multi-tasking and sinking into the armchair in the evening to see what TV had to offer. I was not fussy and was soon sleeping whilst the wildest programmes were running in the background.

The present day situation has not changed very much the difference being that I am now wide awake, being a golden oldie and only doing what I want to do, and choose television as entertainment. Over the past few years I have discovered it no longer entertains and that the ideas are slowly disappearing. The suspense of a police drama, a murder, a spy thriller have dwindled into a sameness. The names are different, the actors are different, perhaps the victim is shot instead of poisoned, but it is all dying a mysterious death and the colour of blood remains the same. Even the vampires all look alike. Admittedly the have grown a little more horrific, they might have a chunk of arm between their teeth, the possibilities of film have improved. There was a certain charm watching the crew members of Starship Enterprise in the past stumbling around a mysterious planetary landscape, mainly constructed from painted cardboard and meeting extra-terrestrials with plastic ears and masks. It was a fascinating world of make believe and it was fun to watch. Today the actors stand in an empty studio, move according to the director’s orders and all around them there is a sort of X-box surrounding. When they deliver a punch to a watery substance in the klingonic form, they are punching the air. It is all computer generated effects.

I was thinking about watching the new film of Noah, the guy who built the ark with the animals, but it has been subjected to a lot of critic. The story had been changed (does anyone remember what really happened at the time?) and it seems that there are even a couple of animals that were a figment of the director’s imagination. I believe there was a discussion with Pope Francis, although I do not think he was actually there when the ark sailed. Who cares, I might even enjoy that film. Bruce Willis has made the impossible the possible with his reckless escapes from the clutches of the bad and the ugly, but to an extent that it becomes boring.

To sum this up, I no longer really watch television or films. They no longer make them like Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains. They were the good old days where you knew what was going on and did not have to ask your colleague “What did he say” (not understanding the garbled slang and words).

I am a reader of books, good or bad, but I have my opinions. I write myself, am too lazy to write a book. I like to see the newest editions, read the critics and based on this I download my choice. I get quite a few good free offers from Amazon or at reduced prices and as I usually read a book just once, that suits me. An Author has to think up the plot, create the characters, describe them that they exist for us and that is not easy. There are bad writers and good writers, but they still have to work for a result and spend time on creating a novel. I do not put them in good or bad boxes,but more good and less good. I have read so many books, some have disappointed and others not. The not-so-good books are usually those on cheap or free offer from Amazon from unknown authors, but even those books had to be written. All the more when a book is really classified as a best seller, one of the best and you read it (perhaps not such a cheap price) and are disappointed. This happened to me a couple of months ago when I downloaded The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt on my Kindle. I was prepared for a good read and it was for about two-thirds of the book. The last third was a weakening of the plot and the end was OK, but just OK. I love happy ends. I know everything cannot end happily, but to just let it dwindle to a nothing was not my idea of a successful ending to a story. Everyone to their own taste, but this was not mine. At the moment I am reading Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. I like his books and above all I could download it free on my Kindle. This is a real bargain as it is a monumental book. I know I will not be disappointed and am now 75% through.

One thing I am sure about. When I eventually write my epic novel full of excitement, great descriptions and a super story, I am sure you will not be disappointed. The problem is I hardly ever have time to write it, I am too busy doing this Daily Prompt.

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WordPress Daily Prompt: Binding Judgement

Does it ever make sense to judge a book by its cover — literally or metaphorically? Tell us about a time you did, and whether that was a good decision or not.

No, I really did not imagine good old Michail Gorbatchev as being an Idiot. It just so happened that I wanted to take a photo of my little pap maché model, one of those Russian babushka type dolls where they all fit into each other, that he was positioned in front of that book. The smallest in this series was Lenin and the top man was Gorbatchev. It was a gift from Russia from one of my colleagues in my Russian language class given to me some time in the nineties, when he was the boss. With my artistic creative spirit I posed him in front of my German edition of The Idiot by Dostoewsky, although perhaps a better choice would have been Crime and Punishment. To compensate we have the German edition of Get Even by Woody Allen next to this book, which I have never read, have no intention to read and Mr. Swiss even asked me “Where did we get that book?” Woody Allen is not No. 1 in our authors.

Book covers no longer exist in my world of literature. Most of the books enclosed in their artistic designs are in the hobby room in the cellar, some paperbacks in bright colours and graphic designs and others more hard covers, slowly yellowing with age covered with a few coffee stains, or – oh horror - perhaps something resembling a nicotine mark (from my earlier smoking days). A Kindle entered my literary world a couple of years ago, and my books now look alike, encased in a plastic flat pack with pages to flip by a lever at the side. My Kindle is an older version, but I did not bother to modernise it. A Kindle app exists on my iPad, illuminated from a mysterious background light, and handy to hold. Many are the evenings I relax in my stressless chair, or outside on the porch, reading my Kindle. Books are cumbersome. I have to use energy to turn pages and use an old fashioned invention called “bookmark” to find where I stopped the evening before. All I do now is open my Kindle and I am where I left it, no problem. In this case there is no longer judging a book by its cover, as they all have the same cover known as Kindle.

If we go into the metaphorical state of affairs, that is too high for my weakened golden oldie brain. If you coincidentally saw me walking along the street, you would be impressed, fascinated by my aura, you would might judge me as being super-intelligent, interesting and definitely having a radiation of good vibes. You only have to see my perfect photo on my WordPress page. Just imagine this week I was even cloned on Facebook, I was deemed worthy of a second identical page. Unfortunately this caused quite a sensation, my son calling me from Montenegro (where?) and I immediately thought it was a Montenegroen that was guilty. My son was on a business visit, one of those work things that some people do, but deemed it important enough to tell his mum that her Facebook page was doing strange things. I was telling everyone to re-adopt me, that they would become rich, and all sorts of interesting facts. My son reported this to Facebook, called me and after a day of excitement, confused friends and friends of friends, everything was settled and Facebook cancelled my cloned page. I bathed in the light of fame for half a day. My Facebook contacts realised I was there, although it was not me. Needless to say I had only one wish for the person that caused this dilemma “may the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of the person that screwed up my day and may their arms be too short to scratch”  and guess what, I found that in Facebook as well.

I do not judge a book by its cover, literally or metaphorically. I choose books generally by reading the critics and keeping in touch with the latest titles and new authors. You can never judge a person by the appearance, for me they have to have a certain attraction which I cannot even put into words.

This morning I had a problem of judging things by how they look. Actually it began yesterday when I noticed a sore part on my left ring finger, next to the nail. With bravery I pressed my lips together to ward off the pain and saw that indeed on the right side of the nail there was an inflammation. I remained cool and found some sort of ointment to linder the problem. During the evening the swelling moved to below the nail. Needless to say, I did not have a relaxing sleep, I was worried, had visions of a finger amputation and blood poisoning. The decision whether to have a burial or cremation was becoming a realistic choice.

This morning I discovered that my finger was still glowing in red and it was still sore. Today is Sunday and the doctors are resting. I remained calm. I cleaned the apartment, took a shower and called my doctor where there was a telephone number for emergencies. I decided this was an emergency. I only have one ring finger on the right hand. The emergency number led to the ER in the local hospital, what fun. Mr. Swiss said he would accompany me and he drove me to the hospital. I eventually found myself in a waiting room with a few suspected broken and injured feet, an annoying cough which might have been swamp fever, and me with my sore and throbbing finger nail. I decided this would need patience, so Mr. Swiss departed for a coffee and I began to search for one of those George Clooney lookalike doctors. There were none, but after an hour it was my turn.

Coincidentally Mr. Swiss appeared on the scene and sat with me at the consultation. The doctor examined my finger, it was an infection. He described what could happen if it was neglected – abscess, blood poisoning, the whole enchilada, but he decided it was not so bad and gave me a special ointment to pull out the poison, resemblng motor oil, brown and drippy. I was also told to bathe the finger twice a day in kamillosan, which is an extract from the Camomile flowers, quite well known in our country. I remembered we had a bottle somewhere in a cupboard at home. I believe the last time I used it was for one of my felines where she had a scratch from a colleague feline: the result of a territorial fight.

I eventually arrived home with Mr. Swiss and cooked lunch. Needless to say I spent more than a happy hour relaxing afterwards. So, there you have it, it was not so bad after all. The finger is still red, a little swollen, but as you can see I can type with it. The doc did say if it turns worse, then to visit tomorrow and he will dose me up with antibiotics, but I am still alive. He was not the George Clooney lookalike I hoped for, so I probably will be on the way to the ER  tomorrow. Tomorrow is a national holiday, Whit Monday, and I do not intend to spend it in the ER at the local hospital.

So it was not so bad after all, red and swollen on the surface, but below one of the healthiest fingers alive - I hope.

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WordPress Daily Prompt: Judgement Day

If you were to judge your favourite book by its cover, would you still read it?

The problem being that my books, favourite or otherwise, do not have covers any more. They did, although I must admit I never judged a book by its cover. Today the books are restricted and condensed to a handy little gadget called Kindle. You know the sales hit that Amazon brought to us readers. No more problems with looking for space for your books, everything nicely condensed in a flat electronic device, so small that you can put it in your handbag, or take it with you in your pocket (a large pocket). So condensed that the covers are restricted to some sort of black and white image undefinable as to what it should represent. No more inviting colours, even the blood is grey on the murder book cover.

So I now just download my books. Classics are all free in any case, but who reads classics? Funnily enough I do. I sort of catch up from time to time on what I missed out on at school. My husband introduced me to the German classics some time ago, so my literature is now completed with books from Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Günther Grass and a few others (in German language of course), all nicely downloaded on my Kindle. However, the Kindle is a bit restricted in size, so I now have the Kindle app on my iPad which is larger. Nothing better than curling up in the evening with a good book, I mean electronic reading device.

So I am unable to judge my books by their covers, as they do not have covers any more. Transferring this saying to human beings, I do not judge them by their covers either. You might think that boy is an idiot because he is wearing torn blue jeans and a t-shirt with stupid words, but who knows, he might be the best in the school. Look at me. A golden oldie who wears jeans and comfortable shoes, glasses and no make up (cannot be bothered). Who would think that a computerised blogger is hidden under my ancient appearance. You just have to scratch under the surface. The same with books, read them and decide.

WordPress Daily Prompt: That Stings

Franz Kafka said, "we ought to read only books that bite and sing us." What's the last thing you read that bit and stung you?

This is just the bookcase in the living room. We have another in the bedroom and three in our hobby room in the cellar.

Are you sitting comfortably, then I will begin at the beginning. I do not really read a book, I devour it. My reading capacity is about two books a month, depending on what I am reading, what else I am doing, and how the time is available. Language is a bit of a thing with me, I just like to learn them. I speak German and Swiss German fluently, can converse in French and Italian and can just about get through in Russian, if the Russians do not get too complicated. In between I did a year learning Arabic, but that was just a little too much. This means that I read english books in the original written language and German books in German.

And now to Mr. Franz Kafka and his brilliant phrase about books biting and stinging. The problem being that there is actually only one book by Kafka that I discovered that  bit or stung, and that was more a novella, than a book. I read “The Trial” and could follow it quite well, but what the accused did, why and how was a mystery still at the end of the book. Of course, Kafka was trying to get something across to us all, but it just did not reach me. The story also seemed to have about 4-5 different endings, so it seemed that Mr. Kafka himself was perhaps a bit muddled on how to finish his great work. I read “The Castle” which was also a mystery, the main figure in the book never actually arriving at the castle.

So back to my stinging and biting book by Franz Kafka, which was definitely “The Metamorphosis”. I always had a taste for the strange, and when Gregor Samsa, the main figure in the book, went to bed for a sound sleep one evening and awoke, lying on his back, as a giant beetle the next morning, you have to ask what happens next. The first problem was that Gregor could not turn to stand on his six or eight new legs. And so the story continues. Shock and confusion in his average family. At first he was cared for by his sister as the only person in the household that still stood by her brother, but eventually she also gave up, so Gregor Samsa was left on his own and sadly died, sort of faded away. I think Kafka was saying, if you are different to the rest, you are not wanted and ignored. There are probably many other deep thoughts to invest in this story. I am not a professor of literature, but the story just fascinated me.

I remember one of the most biting books I ever read, at the age of fourteen for the first time (I re-read this one many times) was Dracula by Bram Stoker. My dad’s taste in literature was similar to mine, and a member of his family was given the book as a school prize. The edition was from 1915, but not a valuable one, I already checked that on Internet. The book is now approaching one hundred years, and its cover has frayed through numerous readings, but the story is still good. Nothing like the spectacular blood thirsty films. It tells a story through diaries and letters written by that characters and it all comes nicely together. I survived and never awoke to a tapping at the window on a dark night by a figure with two fangs asking for entry, nor did I ever have two marks on my neck in the morning and pillow covers with blood stains. Perhaps because I always hung some garlic on the bed post.

Now for something completely different. The Scandinavians have got me. It all started with Stig Larsson’s Millenius trilogy. I know that many have perhaps read them or seen the films, but the German translation was published long before the english. I started to read them one after the other and had long finished before they were published in English. I found the translations of the titles a bit weird in english, but the content was the same. The first book was the best for me, the second was also good, and there was a grand finale in the third, although I found it a bit long drawn out.

Scandinavians write very good criminal stories. Henning Mankell from Sweden and his Kurt Wallender police detective series, which have also been filmed for the television, are just brilliant. I read and do not watch the television so much, at least not before I have finished the book. There is also the Norwegian Jo Nesbo with his police detective Harry Hole, who tends to look a little too deep into the whisky glass now and again, but he always wins. I still have two books to read in that series. Let us not forget Denmark. Jussi Adler Olsen is just unique with his books on the Q Department of the Copenhagen police and Carl Morck, his detective. Again I have had the luck to read the books when published in German, as it takes some time until the english translation arrives.

Now to the American police, I think I have a soft spot for Harry Bosch and his half brother Mickey Haller who operates from his Lincoln car. Michael Connelly created the Los Angeles police detective Harry Bosch, and the lawyer Mickey Haller. There are many books but I still have a couple to dive through.

Otherwise I love the classics. Have been catching up on Charles Dickens over the past year, after all he did have a 200^th anniversary to celebrate. I at last read the “Pickwick papers”, which I really enjoyed. Not all books have to sting and bite, some can just be very amusing. I now have “A Tale of Two Cities” on the shelf. Of course, I know the story of the book, but I really want to read it from cover to cover.

Am I boring you with my book collection? I will draw to a close, but not without mentioning the fact that the Swiss also have authors worth reading. Martin Suter is probably a name that is unknown to most,  a comparatively new author. I do not even know if his books have been translated into english, but they are good. His first success was “Small World”, the main figure being an elderly gentleman that has the first signs of Alzheimer. There are connections with a successful family who have more than one skeleton in the cupboard. “The Cook” is also a very good read. The central figure is a gifted cook from Sri Lanka who is working in Zürich and turns his hand to aphrodisiac cooking with success. Of course there are many twists and turns in the story.

What am I reading at the moment? “Allmen und die Libellen” (Allmen and the dragon flies) also by the Swiss author Martin Suter, his first attempt at a detective novel.

And now to finish this blog, so that I can relax with a good book.