I just subscribed to the Archipelago Books subscription series, and I get to pick a free book.
Unlike picking my free book from Tupelo Press --which was easy--I knew I wanted Floyd Skloot!-- Archipelago has a big list, and I haven't a clue what I want.
Take a look and let me know if you recommend any of these.
16 comments:
I'm disgusted by the titles at the link. Precisely the sort of uber-commercial, money-grubbing, profit-first commercialism one expects from a literary agent.
I mean, "Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone?" by Mahmoud Darwish, translated from Arabic by Jeffrey Sacks? A hundred bucks says that Darwish pitched that as 'Twilight meets Da Vinci Code.'
I'd say maybe the Musil, if you've read "A Man Without Qualities," but the one that sparks my interest would be "The Salt Smugglers," for the title alone.
You can't go wrong with Rilke.
I vote for *Sarajevo Marlboro*.
I just got back from visiting Bosnia with my friend. (She immigrated here after the war.) It's a beautiful country, but I still can't quite describe what it was like to see evidence of the war- burned houses, building still damaged from shelling...
Enough rambling. All that to say, I'm partial to anything from that part of the world.
Musil
Bingol, you crack me up!
I think you might win Best Comment of the Day for that one!
I'd go with Dream in Polar Fog. And how cool is that you get your pick like shopping for delicious apples!
Mouroir is an astonishing book.
But then, so is Autonauts of the Cosmoroute.
I don't see how you can go wrong with any of those, to be honest. (And now I know what my husband is giving me for my birthday!)
Sarajevo Marlboro! I wrote a lit fiction novel about the war in the early 90's. My parents are from there, I speak it, visit it and live it, I may as well read and write it. And yes, in case you were wondering, you rejected my work. All is well.
The only one I am familiar with is Lenz - Büchner was very original (then).
Honestly, I can't claim to have read any of them, or even heard of many. But several caught my eye and, of those, the one I suspect would most thrill me to read -- based on the reviews of the titles I looked twice at -- would be Gate of the Sun, by Elias Khoury. D*mn that sounds good.
Without a doubt . . . Of Song and Water. But then, I'm partial to The Great Lakes.
Ask for your money back.
My absolute favorite from Archipelago: A Dream in Polar Fog. Closely followed by Sarajevo Marlboro.
Though I haven't seen or heard of any of these before, I feel compelled to comment because they're all so beautiful! Lately, all back-cover copy leaves me cold, so I'll have to suggest completely based on the title and/or cover.
Mafeking Road (Starry Night!)
The Vanishing Moon (Nice title; cover looks like a Tom Mangelsen photo.)
You should most definitely go for Plants Don't Drink Coffee, or at least, I would.
I have some reasons:
1) The title. It's quirky enough to make me think that the book is quirky too.
2) The cover. Once you get past the hideous green (green is my favourite colour, but this didn't quite do it for me) the image is pretty interesting. In a slightly disturbing way. (Again, quirky)
3) The protagonist. From the description he sounds like a Safran Foer-Irving-Manseau-esque character, which happens to be a favourite of mine (and many others', based on sales...)
4) The story. The elements presented are sufficiently intriguing that I think they may form the basis for an interesting story.
5) The translation. It's translated from Basque, a language belonging to a region I've been fascinated with for some time. However, I still don't know a lot about it. I would like to, though, and I find that the most interesting way to start learning about a region, a period of history, a religion and so on, often is to read a book about it. So even though reading books in translation often can be annoying, this one might be worth it.
Now I want to read the book (this is why my job as a bookseller seldom pays off...).
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