These days I lack curiosity. — Tom Storm

What is the cause of your lack of curiosity?
It might be that you have already read a lot of books in that 25-year span, and now it is complex to find out what can be interesting.

One advise -- I tend to schedule what I want to read depending on the origin of the author. A few years ago, I was deeply interested in Japanese literature, but now I am no longer thrilled. Therefore, I was looking for new stimulation since the end of 2023; reading Russian literature and trying Nordic and Eastern European authors as well. After that, it would be interesting to chew Australian writers, etc.

Who knows! Maybe you could end up having curiosity in Hispanic literature: Argentina (Borges, Sábato, Casares...) or Spain (Cervantes, Lorca, Cela...) :wink:

On Monday, my daughter and I finished reading and discussing "The Power Broker" by Robert Caro. We've been reading it 100 pages/month starting last January — T Clark

Wonderful. I imagine you had a great time reading and discussing a book with your daughter. She has to be very proud of you, so you of her, of course. It is important the culture that we receive by home.

Now we have to find a new book for 2025. The criteria 1) We're both interested 2) We would never read it ourselves because of it's length 3) We'll get bragging rights and be able to pontificate for the rest of our lives. We're thinking about "Infinite Jest." — T Clark

"Infinite Jest" is a good choice, indeed. A long book and seems interesting; holding a lot to discuss. I was about to recommend you "One Thousand and One Nights" because I imagine it might be interesting to read a tale each night and then choose your favourite at the end of the year, for example.

Taking part of the town is very important, indeed.

But I don't get what you attempt to say; are you linking aesthetics to ethics? If so, I guess you claim that taking part of the town is attractive to our behaviour rather than moral.

The Kreutzer Sonata, Leo Tolstoy.

Russian literature to start 2025 with! It is a novella about—mainly, amongst other topics—sexual abstinence. It was censored by the authorities when it was published the first time.

You will only doubt the existence of the sandwich until you get hungry. — Banno

Wonderful. I love when you often leave remarkable phrases like that one.

From that point of view, there is no ultimate truth about reality. — T Clark

Why do you dare to question your senses in the first place?

On a side note, Eucalyptus trees are also good for selling their wood. You can plant them, grow them, chop 'em up and sell them, repeat. — Arcane Sandwich

Yeah. Folks make tonnes of paper thanks to Eucalyptus' wood. It might be a win-win plant/product if they don't damage the local flora. I think the Eucalyptus is pretty neat, but only in Australian territory; I suppose this is the main point of the Eucalypteae topic. :lol:

Like, this isn't Australia, mate. I'm allowed to cut down a God damn Eucalyptus in Argentina and not feel bad about it. — Arcane Sandwich

I wholeheartedly agree!

they're called "provinces", not "states", in Argentina) — Arcane Sandwich

We also say "pronvinces" or "comunidad" instead of "states"

Some erudite mates (under Franco's era) did the same decades ago in Spain. Aussie Eucalyptus represents now 28% of Galician flora. Eucalyptus and pines were chosen by the caudillo to dry out swamps. Good choice back in the 1950s, mate!

But now that green and tall Aussie tree is controversial in Spain. You may have heard about our heavy desertification and how Catalunya is literally running out of water. Well, some folks blame the eucalyptus because they dry out the territory surrounding them. These trees now dominate the Iberian flora and don’t allow local plants to develop properly.

I remember that on a YouTube video about Spain's drought, an Australian mate commented: Don't plant eucalyptus bulbs!11!!1!1 But I replied -- Sorry, mate. Too late... Franco already did his best...

Shall we blame Australia because of this? Nah.

Can I blame @Banno? Absolutely. :eyes:

Cheers.

-----

Bienvenido al foro. Qué alegría tener otro hispanohablante. De Argentina cómo Casares y Borges. :up:

Hello Kazan,

I know about Sholokhov, but I haven't read anything from him yet. My parents have a special edition of 'Russian Masters,' and Sholokhov's 'The Don' is included in the collection. If I am not mistaken, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but the Soviet Union forced him to decline the prize.

I am interested in Russian literature in general, but now I want to be focused on classical Russian writers, when Russia was under the Tsar dynasty.

Thanks! I am glad you also have read Alan Watts. I have some other books of him on my shelf that I didn't read yet. I also want to keep reading Russian authors. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Gogol are in my 2025 list.

That is a total of 11,720 pages, which would be 32.1 pages per day if all read in one year. — Hanover

Interesting! Yes, I tend to read 25-30 pages per day, with the only exception of Russian authors. I need to read their stories very carefully. Their prose is very deep and long.

My 2024 reading recap. It was a fruitful year:

• Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky.
• The Disoriented, Amin Maalouf.
• Life Is Elsewhere, Milan Kundera.
• Melancholia, Jon Fosse.
• The haw lantern, Seamus Heaney.
• All the Names, José Saramago.
• Art, Yasmina Reza.
• The Tunnel, Ernesto Sábato.
• A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce.
• Humiliated and Insulted, Dostoevsky.
• The Fratricides, Nikos Kazantzakis.
• The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety. by Alan Watts.
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.
• First Person Singular, by Haruki Murakami.
• Four Walls by Vanghélis Hadziyannidis.
• White Nights; Netochka Nezvanova, Dostoevsky.
• Symposium, Nikos Kazantzakis.
• Vacaciones en el Cáucaso, María Iordanidu.
• The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi.
• Hidden by the Leaves by Yamamoto Tsunetomo.
• Angelos Sikelianos. Selected Poems.
• The City and Its Uncertain Walls, Haruki Murakami.
• Lucerne and Albert, Leo Tolstoy.
• Ward No. 6; The Prank, Anton Chekhov.
• Notes from Underground, Dostoevsky.
• Immortality, Milan Kundera.
• A History of Eternity; Fictions, Borges.
• Red Cavalry, Isaac Babel.
• The Dream of Heroes; The Invention of Morel, Adolfo Bioy Casares.
• The Elephant's Journey, José Saramago.
• The Farewell Waltz, Milan Kundera.
• The Other Name: Septology I, Jon Fosse.
• Afterlives, Abdulrazak Gurnah.
• A Death in the Family. My Struggle 1, Karl Ove Knausgård.
• The Seducer's Diary, Kierkegaard.
• Laughable Loves, Milan Kundera.
• Bullet Park, John Cheever.

I was in great need of watching a black-and-white film. I think 1940s films were spectacular, so I decided to watch 'Brief Encounter.' -- What a sweet and funny performance! Celia Johnson, as one of the main characters, was amazing in her role.

I have read on the Internet that it is a classic British romantic drama film, and I guess most of you have already watched it—maybe more than one time! I address @T Clark just in case he wants to experience a bit of nostalgia; by the way, it is he and I who are sharing films here.

Bullet Park by John Cheever.

It is nice to read about the link between the neighbours of an American suburb. Cheever was a master of describing the mysterious and dubious normality of these people.

I guess it is important to say that Cheever himself was from Massachusetts; so is Clarky ( @T Clark ). Two great human souls who belong to the same place of the Western civilisation. :smile:

I can't see the link of not being kind with conservatism. I guess you might refer to the selfish way of acting that is common in the spectrum of this political ideology. Nonetheless, there are conservative groups out there that do kind acts. For example, Christian—and other religious groups—that are educating children in underdeveloped countries. Look at Catholic missionaries in Papua New Guinea, for instance. I am sure they are both kind and conservative.

I know they are not perfect, but I would not call nasty to a missionary, even if his ideas are conservative.

@Noble Dust

Congratulations on your Sparrow record Strongheart re-release. I received the notification by email. I am subscribed to your Bandcamp channel—or whatever it is called.

My favourite tracks are 'Morning' and 'Songbird Incantation.' :sparkle:

https://matthewanderson.bandcamp.com/album/strongheart

Righto, mate! :up:

It is interesting what you both suggest. But it is difficult for me to consider what a primary source is. Furthermore, the primary source needs also to be relevant. I guess there has to be a consensus on what a primary relevant source is, right?

Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera.

A collection of seven short stories. Cleverly written, as most of Kundera's works. An interesting fact that I did notice about their characters -- when he wrote in Czech, he used Czech names such as Ruzena, Havel, Klíma or Škréta. But, when he wrote in Frech, he used typical French names like Agnes or Paul.

Well, we can thank javi2541997 for that!
He, unwittingly, introduced him as 'Dali' in his profile pic — Amity

:smile:

We never know where the gems are hidden. You look for copper and 'pop!' An emerald appears. :up:

I know Dali painted some crucifixion or Christian symbolism. But all of them are like—let's say—'out of place.' They are not the average paintings of Murillo or the ones that hung in the Vatican. They lack Christian fanatic realism and intimidating characters.
My point was that Dali was not trying to paint a biblical scene but playing with Abrahamic symbolism. Making them dreamlike or surreal. I hardly believe that Dali was inspired by religious painters of European enlightenment.

For example -- the amazing crucifixion that you shared in your post. No blood, no image of Jesus Christ, the floor is mysterious, the cross looks like cement blocks, the crown of thorns is missing, and the famous nails are substituted for perfect cubes. An amazing painting by Dali, and very clever how he used Abrahamic symbolism.

@Barkon

When the leaf of a tree falls down in autumn -- is this a creative or logical move?

Hmm...

A tree is also a creative being, it isn't reduced to any or all of its parts, it exists on Earth stand-alone, and there was life force involved in it's generation where a whole lot of the logic involved in that was skipped. — Barkon

I think I am starting to understand you -- you consider a tree as a creative being because it produces oxygen and for simply standing on Earth.

Yet I still think that the process of a tree's existence is pretty logical to me. I mean, a tree doesn't stand in a forest without following a basic pattern, nor does it produce oxygen randomly. You claim 'a whole lot of the logic involved was skipped' -- are you sure? I fully believe that plants are very logical. More than some humans.

It's the opposite of logic, and most things have both a creative and logical side. Take a tree for example, there is it's being in the world and what created it, and then there is the fact it is green and produces oxygen. Most things need creativity to exist — Barkon

Do you mean that a tree exists because it is both logical and creative? What if we know about a tree's existence because we are the ones who are creative and logical?

Logic may have a pass; but I doubt whether creativity is an attribute of animals or things.

Across place and time, is creativity a reaction to a primal need? Objects of adornment have been found, through archeology, made by the Neanderthals. — Jerome

I think yes, it is.

But to what extent does your conception of creativity go? -- either creativity in a literary and artistic sense or in a technical way.

Did your interpretation come from the belief that it was Dali's? — Amity

Yes, because Dali's always loved to play with those metaphors and illusions. The same happens to watches melting in the branches or the trees hanging in the abyss. How he wanted to express the nature with dreams is what it made me interpret that the painting was his.

And so, you viewed the 'insect' as a worm, instead of a chrysalis? — Amity

Are you referring to the insect on the down right? I honestly thought it was a worm, but now I understand why it is more technical to say chrysalis because Kush might have been thought on a pupa.

What we expect from a name or brand...see 'Apple', what do you think. The use of a symbol to 'sell'. — Amity

I don't like the use of symbolism with the purpose of selling, or even worse, to recruit people. I think symbology should be at our collective thought and behaviour. I don't know how to explain this, but Jung was quite right about the archetypes. It comes to our mind an iPhone device when we see an apple, sadly. It should come to our minds something related to life, health care, fruits, etc.

Wow! It is true that it might be Kush's signature. I didn't pay attention to that. You are probably right, because I tried to find the painting in the official Salvador Dali museum, and I couldn't find the apple.

Yet I found websites that refer to the green apple as Dali's.

http://my-photogalore.blogspot.com/2008/12/salvador-dali-paintings_9853.html?m=1

I think it is Dali-ish, but the real author is Kush. I am deeply sorry, because I misunderstood the original work of an artist with other's.

Well, I will keep the apple in the thumbnail, either it is painted by Kush and inspired by Dali. :smile:

Proof that is Kush's --

https://www.jacobgallery.com/vladimir-kush-green-apple

But you know, you can't always judge a book by its cover... — Amity

Wholeheartedly. :cool:

Not sure about the 'bird' thing... but does it matter? — Amity

It doesn't matter; I agree. But it is very curious because it makes me wonder whether those members coincide in the bird thumbnail randomly or not.
Look! A thread was even started towards this 'thing' :lol: --

Why do so many people on here have bird thumbnails?

The spooky curiosity remains after three years. :smile:

For 6yrs I didn't see any reason to change it.
What did it matter? — Amity

Yes, I know it is not a big deal, but the profile picture is something curious. Some have a lot of birds on it (Jamal, T Clark, hypericin, etc.) And others have the same picture since I joined the first time (Benkei, creativesoul, Janus, etc.); and then, those who even show their real identity (Jack Cummins or Mikie). I wonder if we are recognised on TPF due to our profile pic or just our username. Hmm... :chin:

It's not just an apple, though, is it? A butterfly is emerging from it, or through it. From a chrysalis. — Amity

Exactly. Dali painted life and death in that apple. It is a very clever drawing. The worm and the apple; the first enters the second, and the progress of life goes on. The painting left me reflecting on some deep thoughts the first time I saw it.

Is this about Eve's plucking the forbidden fruit leading to knowledge? The Creation story in the Bible. — Amity

No, no. The Dali's apple is not Biblical, and I think he never painted something religious. The point was to be surrealist or even dreamy.

I wonder why some people stick and others move on... — Amity

I wonder exactly the same!

And can't even remember what you had before! — Amity

I had the cover of a Japanese film—called The Eel.

I had no idea when I uploaded my profile pic (yesterday) of its symbolism. Yet, it's so 'right' for me! — Amity

I thought that when I saw you changed your profile image. The blue flower belongs to your personality—hope and the pursuit of art. I honestly think it is better now than when you had that soulless 'A' in your profile.

I changed my profile picture a lot of times. Now I have an apple painted by Dali. I will keep this painting for a long time, no doubt about that. I love apples and surrealism.

Salvador Dalí Art Gallery

Deleted.

The Seducer's Diary. by Kierkegaard.

Firstly, I think it is notoriously to say that Kierkegaard's works are difficult to translate into our languages. I spent more than half an hour finding out on the Internet the proper translation of Forførerens Dagbog in English. My edition is in Spanish, which was translated from Danish in 2008. So, I think it is an accurate edition.

On the other hand, is there a Danish mate here in TPF? If so, please explain why the Danish language used by Kierkegaard is that complex to translate.

Edit: Thirdly, the book is a collection of fragments from a personal diary, where Kierkegaard shows his anxious love towards Regina Olsen. :heart:

she gives all the thoughts at a moment and you feel like you are living in that characters brain. — Burcu

Yes, it is fascinating. It reminds me of Melancholia by Fosse. The main character is Lars Hertervig. A Norwegian painter who suffered from a mental illness. Fosse gives all the thoughts and the anxiety of Lars at the same time that he relates to the outside world. A complex writing style that only a few are able to do. Well, Fosse is a Nobel laureate -- as well as Pamuk. I just checked your profile info, and you are Turkish! :smile:

Hope it didnt tuned our to be commercial i really get thrilled as i mentioned — Burcu

It is fine! We are often very emotional with some authors and novels. I remember being very obsessed with Mishima and Japanese literature a few years ago. We want to share this feeling with others, and this is gorgeous. :up:

Hello, welcome to TPF.

And most importantly the thing i love about her writing is she is writing with all the parts that live in our mind — Burcu

She writes without quotation marks, without dividing conversations but you can still follow and realize who is the one talking to who — Burcu

If anyone is out there who has same taste with me i will be glad to know — Burcu

Well, according to that writing style, I also like some authors whose novels are similar to the one you are currently reading. But only in regard to the style, not the topic.

For example -- Jon Fosse and José Saramago always wrote in that way. Without dividing conversations and the format is written all in a row. Fosse doesn't even use chapters. I think Saramago either.

Yep, what I don't get is why we don't let them join the Eurozone. They deserve to have the euro as the primary currency. What can you do with Polish złoty? Nothing. As well as the Czech Republic, they still have their own currency (korunas).

So, the EU should give these countries the opportunity of joining the Euro-zone finally.

On the other hand, I only hope that France and Germany will be more fond and considerate of Mediterranean countries. That would be neat.

@fdrake

I finished the book (My Struggle 1).

It is complicated to do a review in such a deep book. I think it has a lot of crucial parts, but Knausgård focuses on one point: loneliness. I have been jotting down the parts where he felt that way -- 15 years old; 30 years old; and when he is currently writing the book, around 40 years old or so.

There are different stages where Knausgård feels lonely. The relationship with his father, rather than being bad, I would say it is incomprehensible. It hit me when he says in the book: I was reciting a performance at school. I was nervous, so the storyline didn't go well. When we were in the car, my father said that he has never felt that embarrassed, and he will not show up to another performance. He kept the promise.

The attitude of Knausgård's father was exactly that. He never was there, and I think it caused an emotional trauma to this writer. He admitted in some paragraphs of the book that it took him ten years to write a book of his father, because there are some questions that remain unanswered. I believe this book was a self-guide to answer those questions. Precisely, I think the death of alcoholism was not the issue here, but the fact that his father will no longer be physically around anymore. Maybe he had the faith to build a paternal relationship, and this is very sad.
On the other hand -- it is interesting to see how he embraces loneliness when he became an adult. There is another page that says -- I disliked living in my childhood residential neighbourhood of Norway. I gaze at this Swedish suburb with a lot of buildings with unknown people, and I feel fine.

Well, I never read something like this. I think the way he approaches solitude is unique and original. There are five more numbers. I don't know if I would read them all, but the first volume gave me the impression that he also wants to focus on his brother, Yngve. The last pages of the book show a similar sense of loneliness in his brotherly relationship when they attended Bergen University, but he was not as deep as with the father.

I am again in that period of time where one feels blue oneself -- a bit depressed.

Brother, already on to a different girl man; the teacher is old news. This other one does in fact like the beach she said, so it might work out super chill. Who knows though. — Zolenskify

Glad to know! Stop faffing around, and have a coffee with that girl! :up:

But I digress, right now I have to pick between going out with this one girl or a chance to catch a nice swell; so, I have my work cut out for me. — Zolenskify

If I were you, I would go surfing and catch a nice swell. Look mate, I am from Madrid and my city has no access to the sea, but I understand how it feels to have the sea near you when I go to Barcelona or A Coruña often. I know it is a special feeling. It seems that you feel chilled when you are in the waves; then, you have to ask yourself if you would feel the same way getting your teacher to drink a coffee with you. It might be everything in your head; you have to be strong, man. I know it is difficult, but I think you are knocking on the wrong door. Why don't you try going out with a girl who also loves surfing like you?

I didn't see it because I hadn't signed in. Not everybody does. So, they will not know about the Literary Activity. — Amity

Well, they couldn't have known about The Shoutbox either because it is also not visible unless you sign in. I think it is a correct and understandable idea. There are weird people flowing around the Internet, and it is better to hide the relevant categories from search engines, as Jamal explained. :up:

"Where is my apple?". She said, "I ate it". We were happily married for 33 years. — jgill

I thought -- 'Mate, I don't recall reading that passage of Adam and Eve in the Bible'. :razz:

We have to never disregard the power of an apple. That's why I had one painted by Dali as a profile pic.