#bookaday 12 a book I pretend to have read

I’m not one for making up what I’ve read but I have books I felt I should of read like Wuthering heights books by scary female writers .I think we all wish to have read more but there is no point making up what you’ve read celebrate what you have read as much as you can !!

Ethos of winstonsdad

When I started winstonsdad a little under five years ago it was a journey for me of discovery .I had read a lot translation over the years but had maybe not travelled enough in my reading or been faring enough ,so I set forth on the first few years trying to challenge myself and have read loads of books from lots of countries but this last while I’ve struggled with ways to give back to the community of translation but I often feel outsider still , then I’ve discovered what is he pint of this ok my job is to get new folks discovering what’s point in preaching to folks that already know the secret of fiction in translation and the secret is there is no secret really don’t let them tell you there is now it’s the same as everything there is books out there in translation for every one so if it’s a name or a feeling of being alien I. The world you are reading don’t feel that it’s not like that . My ethos is too gently push folks in the direction of translation I have said this before in an earlier post .I’m always full of ideas and will be trying to put some of them into place another reading week later in year for Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one for sure I want to do get people to see more than the two most famous books but even if it is just reading them it small steps .2015 is a way away but I really want to push a year of translation and know folks are very keen on this and will be starting work behind the scenes up too 2015 .Another big project is reorganising all my reviews into categories so stories about war ,families , villages , towns , love ,struggle , issues and alternate worlds (ie magic realism, oulipo ,surrealism or books that just don’t fit a niche so easy ) .I want my blog twitter feed be a friendly helpful place for the reader wanting to challenge or discover the world of translation .A place of discovery where I transfer the seed of my passion to all to grow their own passion .anyone with suggestions idea , willing to help contribute is welcome as I am wanting the blog to grow from 2015 onwards to something bigger for all .

What Book Blogging means to me

Third day of book blogger appreciation week and todays topic is what does book blogging mean to me .Now this is a tough one I don’t really like to turn the spotlight on myself as a blogger ,as I feel well know I m not the best .My grammar is poor and maybe I could do with more depth in my reviews I feel in the three years I ve blogged thou my writing has improved .What I feel I bring to blogosphere is passion ,raw passion for world literature and translation 85% of the books on the blog are translations and many haven’t been covered on other blogs  .The blog has help me promote so many books and translators that I love .I ve connected with other bloggers with passion for world literature tony , Gary ,Mark  and Max .I also made bloggers that only once in a while blog about translation to remember to put the translator down as well as the writer .Bloggers I really admire that I ve connected with people like Simon , Lisa  ,Sue and Simon .But for me the best thing of all is actually meeting fellow bloggers face to face like I have Rob ,Simon and Mark having a coffee and chatting books ,for a book bore like me these are the only ones I can really let rip about books with is my  fellow blogger .I ve also started some great meme’s,on  twitter every thursday runs #translationthurs hashtag to tell everyone what books from round the world you have been reading and it  has been up and running  for a couple of years now and gets a fair number of people joining every week  .Earlier this year I held the first Henry Green week as he is my favourite modernist writer  ,which went really well and gave Henry Green some much-needed limelight round the web .Then with Richard I hosted Spanish language literature month which we will be doing again in January as it is very hot in the summer where Richard lives .so blogging has helped a middle age man find a purpose for himself .I just hope I ve made some people want to step out side the normal reading and maybe try a translation every now and then if so I feel I’ve done a little part to promote literature in translation .As I say not great one for talking about my self sorry if this isn’t the best post but I leave you with a great song about books

Translation Why ?

I ve read Tony’s post on translation ,He kindly mentions me but I will now admit something I wonder what difference I have made and why I was mentioned in such hallowed company . I ‘ve spent two year promoting translation and building this blog and to be truthful recently my heart has gone hence lack of post last two months ,I do wonder if I get the message across and my passion because it is a passion to me   .I have reviewed two hundred translations. but feel I ve not made even made a small dent on the readers that don’t even bother reading translation I m not even at base camp yet I need to get to the peak  .This is the point where I d think of a change of direction in the past  but no actually I step back as I struggled  with my own conviction on this journey .But now with Spanish language month on the horizon  .I face the blog and twitter world with renewed excitement  and vigour .so why translation I may ask the opposite why not translation .I ve been round the world been young and  old ,in the wars ,in prison  ,in dream worlds , ancient cities ,imagined cities solved crime in the heat ,cold ,now and then .All that due to translation so hear me I will continue the battle to place a translation in every readers hand .

#translationthurs round up

Today on twitter it was suggested by two good twitter friend I am Amro and rob around books I start listing books mention on translation thus on the blog   .I start this small meme last year and it is slowly growing and seems a great way to find new books to read if like me .you like world literature .

Blue fox by Sjon – suggest by I will tweet the guy behind Just William ,you should go over and have a look he does better reviews than me and loads of world lit .

Woodcutters by Thomas Bernard – suggested by Amelia atlas ,Bernhard was Austria favourite writer even if he dislike his homelands art scene I ve one of his near to of tbr pile .

Gold by Blaise Cendrars – The renown swiss writer ,a peter Owen edition they publish a few of his books .This was John s. of asylum suggestion ,he reviews a great mix of fiction ,with highly insightful analysis of books  ,a number in translation.

The death of Napoleon by Simon Leys -suggest by great twitter friend Simon from inside books ,from the Belgian writer pierre ryckmans ,Simon Leys is his non de plume  was made into a film called emperors new clothes .

blood sisters by Alessandro Perissinotto – a book I like when I review an italian crime novel suggested by Cazbah88 from Carol’s book corner blog

Memoirs of the duc de saint Simon by Louis de Reuvroy -a french classic ,new to me here is the wiki info   suggest by dave trembley

Lost honour of Katherine Blume by Heinrich boll -from  Meike at Peirene as their writer Friedrich Christian Delius had won the Georg Buchner prize ,germany’s biggest Literary prize ,as had Boll .

THE topless tower by Silivna Ocampo – New Zealand based Tim Jones from tim Joness blog ,The surreal Argentina novel considered a classic

The sleeping Dragon  by Miyuki Miybe -a Japanese mystery by In spring it i s the dawn from the blog of the same Name

The final going of snow by Kristina Ehins -suggest by mpt magazine the poetry translation magazine ,Estonian Poetry in translation .

A void by Georges Perec -the novel that’s a detective novel with a vowel missing all way through the book ,suggest by Gary and Gina here are the blogs Parrish Lantern and Gina Choe  both great world lit bloggers .

Spring in Fialta by Vladimir  Nabokov -suggest by Nia Polly from her blog and literature across frontiers comms manager a great site link lit in europe ,not read this Nabokov but he was one of the best writers in the 20th century wrote in russian and english .

STEFAN ZWEIG

The post office girl by Stefan Zweig -by new york based writer Katie Kitamura  writer of longshot ,post office girl is a study of class I loved it when I reviewed it here on winstonsdad .

The Lusiads by Luis vaz de Camoes – by themselves  Oxford world classics ,a Portuguese classic about them discovering the world .

Cibernectica e fantasmi in une pietra sopra by Italo Calvino -suggest by sam tweets books ,loved every Calvino I ve read so sure this will be good .

Tomorrow Pamplona by Jan Van Mersbergen -Peirene press no 4 ,I finish it last week out 7th June well worth reading one hell of a ride like grabbing the bull by the horns .suggest by tony from tony reading list 

Memoirs of a porcupine by Alain Mabanckou- a book narrate by said porcupine of the title loved broken glass reviewed here on winstonsdad ,suggest by the publisher serpents tail

Traveller and Innkeeper by Fadhill al-Azzawi- by Arablit great blog for all arabic lit ,set in Iraq follows a secret policeman published in 70’s in Arabic

Redbreast by Jo Nesbo -by little reader who has recently returned to blogging ,the third in the Harry hole series I read snowman from this series a well written taut crime novel ,of nordic noir style .

Kamchatka by Marcelo Figureas suggest by Rob from Rob around books my favourite IFFP read ,reviewed here on winstonsdad .

well that’s them for this week ,we had books from every where and every age and genre just shows what you can find in translation if you look .

 

I m on Booktrust blog

Any one that follows me on twitter Knows I m about most of the time and chat a lot with people .This is how I got be on The booktrust translated fiction blog page ,as part of the IFFP coverage I tell how I started reading translated fiction HERE

twitter week

it’s here again friday time to wrap up what has caught my eye this week on twitter .

first up all week @joethepublicist has been treating us to images from the forth coming decades series this is where a number of books from each decade have been redesigned by Zandra Rhodes ,John squire and Peter Blake among others .out in april some can be seen on link above

there is a new book prize by @tohellwithemma at to hell with publishing ,fast on the heels of the new shop they now have a prize with judges such as India Knights,David Peace and  Kwame Kwei-armah among them,this prize is for unpublished novels and is going to be award on 18th april.

last is @randompr who told us about to great crime novels the man in beijing by Henning Mankell of Wallender fame ,and Henry Sutton get me out of here

i ve tweeted about

  passports by Herta Muller review weekend

 how fiction works by james woods will be reread and review later in year feel this book needs reading twice to absorb fully

the last Englishman Roland C

hambers

hope everyone has a good week .What were your highlights ?  more next friday

the week in twitter

This is where i put down bits of book news over the past week that has caught my eye

@archipelagobk’s where telling us about Unai Elorriga novel tour in america the Basque writer who’s novel plants don t drink coffee they publish any one who knows me well knows what a fan i am of archipelago there a small non-profit publisher who make beautiful books .

@windmillbooks told us about pocket notebook by mike Thomas a dark comedy about the police ,the book also has a great take on the famous clockwork orange cover from the seventies

@vintagebooks told us about a new edition of  worst journey in the world the book about the ill-fated scott expedition which their classic imprint are bring out soon

@radompr the wonderful Bethan told us about how to live by Sarah Bakewell  a book about de Montaigne the writer

This week i tweeted about –

the patience stone  by Atiq Rahimi -reviewed

white ravens  by   Owen Sheers -review over weekend

fado by Andrzej Stasiuk -review early next week

a pile of archipelago books