Lonely Friday

I am all on my own this weekend, well, I am doggy sitting, so not really alone. And it is the cutest dog in the world, so I will probably be more than fine. Although he makes for a rubbish conversation partner. So hopping around on all of your blogs will definitely cheer me up! :)

This week I:



I am soon going to start reading 'If On A Winter's Night A Stranger' by Italo Calvino from 1979. It's originally Italian and I'm putting it on my Classics list for Classics Club. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and Book Beginnings by RoseCity Reader.

BB:

'You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away.'
What is brilliant about this novel is that in the uneven chapters Calvino tells us how someone prepares to read a book, in the even chapters we get the story that is being read by him. I really like this opening because this is exactly how I think sometimes!


F56:
'Continuing my run, I pass another house in which a telephone is ringing, and I think: There is a telephone chasing me, there is somebody looking up all the numbers on Chestnut Lane in the directory, and he is calling one house after the other to see if he can overtake me.'
He is being chased by a phone? By someone who seems to know ll the phone numbers? That is actually pretty scary! I wonder whether this is from the book, or whether it happens to the reader. I really hope the former, for the reader's sake!

 Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read and this week's question is:

Do your reading habits change based on your mood? Do you read a certain genre if you are feeling depressed or happy?


Gain New Blog FollowersIt's a bit strange with me. Sometimes when I am tired or the weather is depressing me, I won't feel like reading at all. I wouldn't be able to focus on a book long enough to get lost in it properly. Sometimes though, a book is exactly what I need. I think it depends more on the books at hand. If I'm depressed and all I can find is Shakespeare I'll probably despair. If 'Pride & Prejudice' is there waiting for me though, I will use it as a literary aspirin. It's not so much a genre that I go for but more the gravitas of a book. A really heavy and dramatic story, such as 'Hamlet', is not the right thing to read when you're grumpy or depressed. Something with a happy ending that is relatively light, such as 'Pride and Prejudice is the perfect read for that mood.!

So, how about you?


Comments

  1. I'm the opposite with weather, the crappier the weather the more I want to curl up and read. :) I love seeing everyone's habits!

    ~Ali

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  2. Intriguing selections from your next book. I hope you are enjoying it and your weather is proper reading weather. I read in all sorts of weather but do find rainy days especially good for reading. Happy reading!

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  3. LOL @ the 56! A phone chasing him.... too much.
    Cute pup!

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  4. I love the passage you've shared; so descriptive!

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  5. What an unusual book! It sounds very tempting...thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog. Hope your weekend is now not so lonely.

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  6. Love your Friday 56. How did the author think of such a thing? I should have such an imagination.

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  7. Books like Pride and Prejudice are like comfort food. You know the story so well, the dialogue, it's like coming home :)

    Thanks for stopping by and following back!
    Otherwhere.Co FF

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  8. That dog is adorable. And second person narratives are always interesting.

    Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  9. Very interesting opening. Almost like he was on drugs when he wrote it.

    Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  10. I pick books based on my mood sometime. I want to enjoy every book to the fullest.

    My follow friday! Please visit!

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  11. Hmm, very interesting and somewhat confusing book beginning. I hope it's a good one!

    Diana
    My BB Post

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  12. I can't read Shakespeare for pleasure. *hangs head* I can watch the plays, they are great, but reading ... ugh.

    Thanks for stopping by, old follower here!

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  13. Loved your 56! Thanks for sharing and for the chuckle.

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  14. hi Juli! the 56 excerpt was creepy and i wouldn't want to think about phones chasing me in some form or the other. lol.
    the person would probably freak out even more if it weren't just phones ringing in houses but people's mobile phones ringing everywhere near him.

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  15. I love that that beginning sounds almost hypnotic. Sometimes when I need a break I'll pick a book based on my mood, going to a favourite author, but usually I'll just read the next one in the pile :)

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  16. Aw, don't be lonely!

    Calvino sounds pretty good. What an opening ... seems slightly offputting as he were about to suddenly strike!

    Guiltless Reading

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  17. Hey! I can't read something thick and heavy when I'm depressed either. Best kind of book for me is something hilarously funny with a laid-back hero/heroine :)

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