Quote:
Originally Posted by Frownland
I can respect that. Intense, provocative material is my jam (though it can make for a slow read because you have to take breaks on account of being so gobsmacked), but dense material can definitely be uninvitingly challenging in an unnecessary way. Invisible Cities contains (literal) worlds primed for micro and macroanalysis, but the gorgeous poetry prose, the bite-sized form, and the book's general shortness make it inviting enough to make you want to give it the attention that it deserves. Then you can't help but stick around for the philosophical quandaries. I only know of Calvino based on the reputation of If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (which I've started but didn't finish because I was too busy at the time, ironically enough), so I can't say for sure how distinct that is from what you've read though.
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Never really thought about it before, but I usually read for pleasure at a set pace, and wasn't comfortable slowing down for Italo Calvino. Perhaps to do him justice I should've read it the way you might read the I-Ching or a religious book.
What I gave up on was a series of essays, I think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trollheart
A collection of Christmas stories by Dickens. Bet he never saw himself linked with the word "megapack"!  Reading "The Chimes" at the moment; I don't like it and we are hopelessly lost. Maybe it'll become clearer as we go on. |
"Christmas stories" doesn't sound very appealing to me, tbh, Trollheart. The Dickens I have most enjoyed has been "Tale of Two Cities".