Three Lives & Company

Three Lives & Company is an incredible independent bookstore in NYC that I frequented when I lived in the states. I have been using a bookmark from them from my last visit over 12 years ago. While I read about 120 books a year, that adds up to many books and pages the bookmark has kept for me. My friend Jan just recently visited the bookstore and sent me a new bookmark, free of smudges, rips, and tears. I don't know if I can use it. I may have to put it in safe keeping and continue using the old one.

Old, and quite dependable and loved, and new.

Hispabooks

I am constantly impressed by the books Hispabooks Publishing releases. Last year I posted about three of their books which made it to my 2016 Favorite Reads list. This year, I have already read several that I recommend. Antón Mallick Wants to be Happy, Martutene, Landing, and The Birthday Buyer stand out as favorites this year. Hispabooks has been publishing out of Madrid since 2011. They publish only writers based in Spain and have quite a collection of worthwhile titles. 

My Hispabooks collection so far. Still a few in the catalog I need to buy.

Home

Home by Leila S. Chudori, from Indonesia, and translated by John H. McGlynn, is my monthly favourite read. It is published by Deep Vellum Press, which is how I became aware of it. Chudori deals with love, identity, and the concept of home. Home is represented by where the characters live for different reasons, as well as where they wish to live, both in their current lives and when they die. The novel is a great mix of politics, personal relationships, and the search for a space to be oneself in today's world. A bit simple in some sections, but overall a tremendous read.

"And we drank."

There is a lot of drinking in a Jerzy Pilch story. In fact, you might say that was the main plot if not for the colourful characters and all their ambitious plans. I have enjoyed the three books of his that I have read and look forward to acquiring and reading "His Current Woman." "The Mighty Angel" (my favorite) translated by Bill Johnston, "A Thousand Peaceful Cities" translated by David Frick, and "My First Suicide" also translated by David Frick are available from Open Letter. A great Polish writer with lots to say on addiction in all its forms.

Jan Kjaerstad

I am in the second book of my March trilogy read. This month it is the Jonas Wergeland Trilogy by Jan Kjaerstad from Norway. All three books are translated by Barbara Haveland. The first, The Seducer, was published by Overlook Press. The next two, The Conqueror and The Discoverer, were published by Open Letter, one of my favourite publishers for translated works. It has been an interesting series so far, with an exploration into the stories that make up a life and the connections between those stories: which ones are important and lead to later life outcomes. Back to reading. 

Micheline Aharonian Marcom

My March trilogy read was not a trilogy at all, but two interconnected novels by American author Marcom. Three Apples Fell From Heaven deals with the Armenian genocide during WWI and The Daydreaming Boy deals with a survivor of that genocide and how it determines his actions later in his life. Both are well-written novels and investigate history, memory, and the ways different people react to adversity. Highly recommended.

Jón Kalman Stefánsson

Two days away from starting my February trilogy. Up next is Stefánsson's trilogy from Iceland. The trilogy does not seem to have an overarching title but it consists of Heaven and Hell, The Sorrow of Angels, and The Heart of Man. All three have been translated by Philip Roughton and published by MacLehose Press. 

Jens Bjørneboe

This year I plan on reading one literary trilogy per month. It was a blast discovering them and then searching for them to purchase. It took me most of 2016 to do so. The first trilogy, which I will begin later this week, is Norwegian Jens Bjørneboe's The History of Bestiality trilogy consisting of Moment of Freedom (Norvik Press), Powderhouse (Norvik Press), and The Silence (Dufour Editions). The three are translated from the Norwegian by Esther Greenleaf Mürer.

Stig Sæterbakken

I started the reading year off with two stories from the depressing and dark Stig Sæterbakken from Norway, Invisible Hands and Don't Leave Me. Both are translated from the Norwegian by Seán Kinsella and published by Dalkey Alchive. They are very different books but both well worth reading with Don't Leave Me resembling his other novels the closest.

His other three works translated into English include self-control, through the night, both translated by Seán Kinsella, and Siamese, translated by Stokes Schwartz. All are published by Dalkey Archive.

Sæterbakken was born on January 4, 1966 and committed suicide on January 24, 2012 at the age of 46.

Favorite Books of 2016

Out of the 129 books that I read this year, I picked eight which stood out as exceptional reads. They are as follows:

• A Bad End by Fernando Royuela, trans. from Spanish by Peter Bush; Hispabooks
• Bad Light by Carlos Castán, trans. from Spanish by Mike McDevitt; Hispabooks
• The Plimsoll Line by Juan Gracia Armendáriz, trans. from Spanish by Jonathan Dunne; Hispabooks
• Vaseline Buddha by Jung Young Moon, trans. from Korean by Yewoh Jung; Deep Vellum Publishing
• On the Edge by Rafael Chirbes, trans. from Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa; New Directions Press
• Thus Bad Begins by Javier Marias, trans. from Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa; Hamish Hamilton
• The Son by Andrej Nikolaidis, trans. from Montenegrin by Will Firth; Istros Books
• Three Faces of an Angel by Jirí Pehe, trans. from Czech by Gerald Turner; Jantar Publishing