Weekly Reading Wrap-Up: Philosophical Questions, Obituaries and Toilets

Hello! I’m Bob, and I hope you’re having a good week! Here’s what I’ve been reading!
Books Mentioned:
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Mircea Cărtărescu- Solenoid (tr. Sean Cotter)
04:46 Deborah Levy- Real Estate
06:57 Ann Wroe- Litescapes
08:15 Sam Grabiner- Boys on the Verge of Tears
10:39 End Chatter
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[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

My reading has slowed to a crawl. More like a stop. The weather is weird. Cold , wet and nothing like summer. My June TBR is suffering.

[@BobTheBookerer]

Ahh, sorry to hear it! And good luck! I hope you can get some rest. And my goodness, this weather is bonkers for June!

[@thelefthandedreader6632]

You’re probably one of the only people who could get me genuinely interested in Solenoid! Wow. Real Estate is one of my favorite Deborah Levy’s.

[@BobTheBookerer]

Aha, thank you! It’s a wild ride of a book, but I think it does some beautiful things. And I’m so intrigued by Levy’s writing!

[@TheLeniverse]

I have Solenoid ready and waiting for me, and now I'm even more excited to get to it! I'm currently struggling through Ducks, Newburyport and I couldn't tell you what, if anything, I'm getting out of it or why I keep reading it. Yet somehow I don't want to quit. It's a very strange feeling. 😆

[@BobTheBookerer]

Ooh, I hope you like it! And yes, Ducks is a weird beast! I love it, but it takes a lot of your patience and is so often infuriating!

[@readandre-read]

The only Levy I've read is August Blue, which was just okay for me. Maybe I should give her another chance.

[@BobTheBookerer]

Ah, fair! I liked that, but I think her non-fiction trilogy and The Man Who Saw Everything are brilliant. The same for Swimming Home!

[@CharlesHeathcote]

You've piqued my interest with Solenoid, even if it was one I had determined I would never touch. I found that Deborah Levy's take on the way time moves in her writing led to a more organic way of storytelling. She's a writer I hope to return to in future, simply for the ease with which I read her living memoir trilogy. As always, decidedly impressed by the way in which you talk about books and hope that while things might have been busy everything else is as wondrous as can be.

[@BobTheBookerer]

Aha, good luck with it! It has a lot of really exciting and interesting things going on in it. Yes! That’s such a good way of putting it about Levy- she’s such a fascinating writer. And thank you! Really appreciate it!

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

What are your Booker hopes/ predictions?

[@BobTheBookerer]

Ooh. It shifts all the time, but definitely crossing everything to see Praiseworthy on the list, and I’d love to see Ben Myers there (I’ve not read it yet but I just like him). Ghost Mountain would be up there for me too!

[@bookofdust]

Speaking of art, is there anything you can share about that Haring causally leaning on the desk?

[@BobTheBookerer]

Aha, it’s beautiful, right? I don’t know about how the owners feel about it, but always nice to see!

[@BroadwayBabyyy744]

Hi.

[@BobTheBookerer]

Hello!

[@ianp9086]

In the Dublin award Solenoid was up against Praiseworthy and I was kind of hoping the latter would win - any thoughts on the two of them now you have read both?

[@BobTheBookerer]

Yes! I am delighted for them both- I would have chosen Praiseworthy personally, but I think Solenoid is excellent! Both incredibly creative novels that create their own rhythms and language, and feel like they ‘earn’ their length by deeply developing an idea and rigorously exploring it. I think Praiseworthy does it in even more exciting ways, but what other prize would have those two on a shortlist!

[@ianp9086]

@@BobTheBookerer You're right - it's a really interesting prize and always throws up interesting books!

[@milespudge7817]

I'm surprised that, your videos have so few views.

[@BobTheBookerer]

Thank you!