The bathroom, toilet, and by any other name - it's actually a sacred place to cleanse body and soul, crying on the floor or under the shower, smoking in secret (maybe not any more?), making private calls, getting away from the family arguments or a violent partner, a place you can be raw and truthful and swear at life and people who are making it difficult for you. We should have bookshelves and libraries waiting for us, welcoming us. Thanks for the post and the recommendations.
"The person whom he has condemned you to shake hands with may be an admirable person, though there is a strong numerical presumption against it..."
Haw!! Oh, Ambrose--!! Screwtape and Devil's Dictionary are two of my faves. Great idea for a post, and I shall think of it the next time I ease myself. 😅
I recently commented one of your notes about Lispector and I have to comment again on this post. It really makes me happy to know that she's been translated and is being read by the English-speaking public. One of our great writers!
I recently saw a video of an American woman reading Machado de Assis, another great Brazilian writer, and she was completely stunned. Her enchantment was clear, and her body language revealed it was a genuine reaction, not a fake one just to achieve a larger audience. Have you ever read Machado de Assis?
I think we Brazilians frequently have a sort of underdog mentality, that the things we do culturally aren't good enough. For example, we don't have a Nobel Prize in Literature, while several other South American countries already do (Peru, Argentina), despite being the largest country in Latin America and the largest Portuguese-speaking country (but it's Saramago who won the Nobel Prize, no merit judgments required).
So, knowing that native English speakers can read and appreciate our writers makes me f...ing happy!
Just a curiosity/ignorance of mine: you kept the word "crônica" in its original language and quickly explained its meaning. Isn't there an equivalent in English? Is the meaning of "chronicles" different, then?
If memory serves, most Orthodox publishers take a dim view of hauling the Psalter into the shitter.
Once a book is purchased, there’s no accounting for where it’ll end up.
The bathroom, toilet, and by any other name - it's actually a sacred place to cleanse body and soul, crying on the floor or under the shower, smoking in secret (maybe not any more?), making private calls, getting away from the family arguments or a violent partner, a place you can be raw and truthful and swear at life and people who are making it difficult for you. We should have bookshelves and libraries waiting for us, welcoming us. Thanks for the post and the recommendations.
Pulling out in Time: the NASA Probe guide to Uranus
I feel I have yet to start reading.
A friend, just this morning, gave me a copy of P. J. O'Rourke's Holidays In Hell. I'm looking forward to reading that while I'm doing my business.
An excellent choice.
I love these recommendations (and will probably search a few out) with one discrepancy...I am NOT reading psalms while taking a shit. 😂
LOL! David himself was pretty careful in that department: 1 Samuel 24:2–4.
"The person whom he has condemned you to shake hands with may be an admirable person, though there is a strong numerical presumption against it..."
Haw!! Oh, Ambrose--!! Screwtape and Devil's Dictionary are two of my faves. Great idea for a post, and I shall think of it the next time I ease myself. 😅
I recently commented one of your notes about Lispector and I have to comment again on this post. It really makes me happy to know that she's been translated and is being read by the English-speaking public. One of our great writers!
I recently saw a video of an American woman reading Machado de Assis, another great Brazilian writer, and she was completely stunned. Her enchantment was clear, and her body language revealed it was a genuine reaction, not a fake one just to achieve a larger audience. Have you ever read Machado de Assis?
I think we Brazilians frequently have a sort of underdog mentality, that the things we do culturally aren't good enough. For example, we don't have a Nobel Prize in Literature, while several other South American countries already do (Peru, Argentina), despite being the largest country in Latin America and the largest Portuguese-speaking country (but it's Saramago who won the Nobel Prize, no merit judgments required).
So, knowing that native English speakers can read and appreciate our writers makes me f...ing happy!
Just a curiosity/ignorance of mine: you kept the word "crônica" in its original language and quickly explained its meaning. Isn't there an equivalent in English? Is the meaning of "chronicles" different, then?