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Solyaris

Solyaris

about the Art of Reading, the Great Enchanter Vladimir Nabokov:
"Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only reread it. A good reader, a major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader.
[...]
Literature is invention. Fiction is fiction. To call a story a true story is an insult to both art and truth. Every great... more »
  • Bucharest, Romania
  • member since November 9 2007

Solyaris’s last login was 1 hour ago. show recent activity »

Books I'm reading

     
 
 
 

Public Notes

  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    So do you have any great wisdom for me today? I hope I am not writing too often, but I figure that it helps you to practice your English...perhaps you could teach me a few simple phrases in Romanian? I am reading THE OUTLAW BIBLE OF AMERICAN LITERATURE, which features excepts from underground literature- some of it is subversive, which I like. There are companion volumes on poetry and essays. The book on poetry has been very influential on my own writing. I am still slowly working on LES MISERABLES, and I soon want to read "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes. A friend of mine recently sent me one of Rumi's love poems and it was transcendent of beauty and captured my heart. I am renewing my subscription to the American magazine POETRY, and may even submit some of my own work in the next few months. The pay is fairly substantial as far as poetry goes, but the difficulty and selectiveness of getting published is great. I want to go shopping for books this week- you can buy used paperbacks here for about 50 cents apiece, which is an extremely small sum of money. Do you buy or borrow most of your books? Tell me about some poetry that inspires you and I will check it out. You should read the African-American poet Maya Angelou if you ever get a chance. I hope to hear from you soon. Jason

    posted yesterday. ( send a note )
  • Ylva a

    Ylva a says

    De ce Adela doua stele? O citesc acum...si simt nevoia sa te intreb...inainte de a o termina si de a-mi trage propriile concluzii.:)

    posted 8 days ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    So your actual name is Iulia? I've wondered. I have heard of Codrescu, but I haven't read him. My Mother is here to visit- she's from Georgia (USA) and we are going to Columbia the capital of South Carolina today to visit a zoo- I am excited I haven't been to a zoo in about 15 years. I am reading Stephen King right now, but I will start back on Hugo soon! Happy reading- I will talk to you soon...Jason

    Thanks for the comment about the poems!

    posted 13 days ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Hi Solyaris- I hope you are doing well since I last spoke to you a couple of weeks ago. You have yet another interesting photo. I am about halfway through LES MIS and i am taking a break- I hope to get back to it in a week or two and get back on track. I am reading an excellent non-fiction book right now called ZEITOUN- it is about a Syrian-American and his trials and tribulations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina a few years back. As a guilty pleasure, I have a book of short stories by Stephen King. Do you do any creative writing, Solyaris- poetry or stories? I write poetry as you've seen on my page, but I haven't done anything lately...well, write back soon when you have a chance- you don't have to just talk about books- you can tell me something interesting about yourself or Romania (which I know next to nothing about). Have a good week in school- Jason

    posted 2 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Thanks Solyaris for your linguistic discourse. I had to take a short break from Hugo to spend some time at the library which is just a short, brisk walk from my apartment. I fell across a book of three short novels by Brazilian writer Paolo Coelho and I am intrigued. I may possibly take a quick break from LES MISERABLES and read one of them. I normally don't distract easily, but this has piqued my interest. Please let me know how you like SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION- it has been on my PTR list for a long time. MADAME BOVARY has been one of my favorite novels and a beacon of 19th century naturalism for a long time- I have read it 4 times over a twenty year period!

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    When you are finished you should come to the U.S.A. and pursue a doctorate (Ph.D.) in comparative literature or English. I like your new avatar by the way. I haven't changed mine in several months- I just found one that I like and have stuck with it. I wanted to reiterate that my knowledge of French is very elementary and I don't want to mislead you into thinking that I can read anything either on an intermediate or advanced level. I am reading Hugo in an English Translation. Foreign languages are not emphasized in the U.S. as they are in Europe. We are so self-contained and relatively isolated that the day-to-day need to speak anything other than English is not there. Things are changing in certain parts of the country such as California, Texas, and Florida as those areas adapt to a large influx of Hispanic immigrants and there is a growing need to speak Spanish. To sum up- I am fluent only in English with a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish and French. Enjoy your day and I will talk to you again soon.

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Thanks for the explanation. I will check that magazine out. Our local branch of the state university may have it and the library is open to the public. The library where I frequently volunteer basically just has mainstream general interest periodicals. I may have asked you before, but are you seeking a degree in literature? Yes I was reading Hugo very early this morning and I plan to read him throughout the day, also!

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Bon Jour- out of ignorance what does "Rentree Litteraire" mean?

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Joe M

    Joe M says

    Hmmm, well I would be interested in what is said. What is "The flat man?"

    Psychoanalysis might still be alive and well in Europe, but in the U.S. and especially in this age, apart from NYC (definitely) and a few other places (maybe), and amongst special professional groups who wish to keep it alive and maybe restore its glory days (good luck!), and in its classical form, it is a dying therapy here. Though elements from its theorists are still borrowed and can still show up elsewhere as an influence.

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Joe M

    Joe M says

    A "30% off" sale at Borders (one of the major bookstore chains in the U.S.)--I went to 3 of them locally and no "Testaments Betrayed" to be found at any of them! But not to worry, because I think I saw it in a Barnes & Nobles (the other major chain, Borders' competitor), though a bit of a drive from here. I will grab it when I am next up at that store, perhaps in a few weeks...
    After purchasing that, I will then have to officially show some restraint with buying books, as I have accumulated such a backlog now of things to read!

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Best of luck at the University! I will talk to you again in the near future. I am surprise that school is starting so late there, the students get started in early August over here (it has been quite a long time since I was a student myself!) Until next time- happy reading!

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Hi again Solyaris, I certainly don't mean to be pesky, but I noticed you are reading "Ada, or Ardor" by Nabakov. I was intrigued enough to by a copy several years ago, but it sits on the bookcase behind scarcely opened. I loved "Lolita", but it is the only one of N.'s novels that I have read. I'll have to admit of being a bit intimidated at the geneaology chart at the first of "Ada". I guess if I was able to navigate my way through the sophisticated family relations in "War and Peace"- I could manage this one, eh? Maybe I'll put this one higher on my PTR- I'll obviously be tied up with "Les Miserables" for a while- I will be interested in hearing what your thoughts are. Jason

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    You are very sweet- I would actually put my odds at being in Bucharest in the next few years at 25%- according to how my traveling companions feel (we are tentavely planning a trip to Amsterdam and Paris). Yeah I was reading Hugo at 5 AM- but I am not sure how much I comprehended- my French is mediocre at best. You have me on fire for Kundera again- he is one of my top five authors...Have you ever read Jack Kerouac or Charles Bukowski- I would actually be willing to send me a couple of books if you sent me an address....let me know...keep in touch...Jason

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Solyaris- it is very early here on the Atlantic Coast of the USA- I love Kundera- I have actually read almost all of his published works. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" is one of my favorite novels, ever! I do travel a bit- if I ever happened by Bucharest- would you like to show me around?- I apologize for the forwardness- but I detect a kindred spirit! Back to Hugo for me!! Jason

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    PS- Wow your hair is really short!! (but stylish, of course)

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Hi- It looks as if I just missed you- I used to have a cat that looked exactly like that. I have just sunk my teeth (figuratively) into Hugo's Les Miserables- I feel so hopelessly 19th century French- boo Napoleon!! What are you up to?

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Joe M

    Joe M says

    P.S. How is "Clea" so far?

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Joe M

    Joe M says

    As always, you amaze me with the extent of your knowledge! This book's original title was "Doctrine Fabuleuse" (also a pretty good title). I love certain sections, which are imminently quote-worthy. Particularly, one on the myth of Tantalus as a metaphor for one's desire having been met:

    "Let us now consider the Man of Desire, Tantalus symbolically reduced, in the legend, to his hunger, his thirst, and his fear. He is the man in each of us who prefers desire, even if painful after thousands of disappointments--but still *his* desire, and thus himself--to the prize he can win only be agreeing first to be changed. 'What would be the use,' he thinks, 'of winning the world, if it means losing my self?' There can be no doubt that in his way he is right. For winning always means losing something: anticipation, hope, longing. Imagine a person who has desired for so long that his whole being has become anticipation, hope, and longing. That being would die--necessarily, be definition, if the gift were given. Or else a new being would spring forth at the moment the gift was given to receive it in his place.
    At the worst, and in the logic of a myth wherein man is identified with one of his longings, the one who wins is always *another*. And the one who desires will never win.
    It is the emperor's fallacy: Napolean is not Bonaparte fulfilled, but someone who has taken Bonaparte's place under the ermine cloak. The romantic who dreamed of being emperor died on coronation day.
    All our successes, and probably all our *acts*, are therefore to some extent changes of identity, alienations of ourselves. At worst, they are also usurpations."


    Other essays were a bit too abstract for me and harder to follow...though this is a work I feel I read too fast and really should re-read (eventually; my queue is so large at this point) at some point.

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Joe M

    Joe M says

    From which part of the psyche do these groups arise? :) This is reminding me of a joke my friend Jack used to say...sort of a repressed-homoeroticism-underlying-gaudy-overt-displays-of-Masculinity joke:

    "We're **MANLY** men!!!....Doing **MANLY THINGS**!!!!!.........with OTHER MEN!!!!!" ;)

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Jason R.

    Jason R. says

    Hey Solyaris- no problem on the belated reply. I just finished "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol, which I only thought was so-so. I am about to start on "South of Broad", a new novel by my favorite writer Pat Conroy. After that, I plan to read "Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo- wish me luck with that one! It's nice to hear that you have been traveling a good bit- i miss travel and haven't done very much over the past couple of years. I really like Kundera- i've read six of his novels and am never disappointed- he really knows how to capture the human condition. I wish you well with your studies and i hope to chat with you again soon. Jason

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )