tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.comments2024-03-15T12:14:33.129+00:00BiblibioMeytal Radzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comBlogger1545125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-90021272837778526582023-06-03T20:02:48.087+01:002023-06-03T20:02:48.087+01:00Such a lovely reflective post, a natural evolution...Such a lovely reflective post, a natural evolution, but noticing that loss of something you had an immense energy for. My reading and writing comes and goes, but I love the space to write about reading, without any pressure or expectations, I think of it as my own personal external memory drive, so I can forget about the book and give it away, but the words I write will always refresh the memory and bring back the wonderful reading experience, regardless of whether I liked the book or not.<br /><br />All the best with completing your PhD and making time for other activities Meytal. See you back here in August for WIT Month.Clairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02621205432410398580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-87352467809063862102022-08-14T12:28:16.285+01:002022-08-14T12:28:16.285+01:00I've got Jokha Alharthi's Celestial Bodies...I've got Jokha Alharthi's Celestial Bodies to read, which is Omani, I'll try to link to this post when I've read and reviewed it. LyzzyBeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398604923871095647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-88469529209931907042022-08-10T15:15:33.940+01:002022-08-10T15:15:33.940+01:00I enjoyed reading your thoughts, as I've not y...I enjoyed reading your thoughts, as I've not yet read beyond her In the Company of Men (other than a short story collection that she edited many years ago) but was left with the same feeling you've described here: More, Please.Buried In Printhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00808249065026802365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-48188663083612477552022-08-08T20:27:45.274+01:002022-08-08T20:27:45.274+01:00I so agree with you! I just read an unusual genre ...I so agree with you! I just read an unusual genre novel from Ukraine that I'll be talking about soon, but it's also a literary/mystery kind of story so not full on genre, either. I do read a LOT of literary fiction in English as well as translation, but see the same lack of variety in translated work that you point out. Melwykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04885378201188978664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-17938184148446935572021-10-05T16:50:05.609+01:002021-10-05T16:50:05.609+01:00I'm glad I stumbled on this post. It's nic...I'm glad I stumbled on this post. It's nice to see attention called to the great women writers of the past. <br /><br />I'm currently reading Christine de Pizan's Book of the City of Ladies (cheers for 15th century feminist works). But you've listed a lot of classic women writers I've never heard of before, so I look forward to looking into them!<br /><br />- Ally @ <a href="https://separateminds.wixsite.com/bookblog" rel="nofollow">Separate Minds Book Blog</a> <br /><br />Ally H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06695686395923027739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-79061064084945409752021-08-26T00:53:27.705+01:002021-08-26T00:53:27.705+01:00Speaking of Korean novels, my brother suggested I ...Speaking of Korean novels, my brother suggested I get Land by Pak Kyŏng-ni. He says it's one of the most famous classic novels of Korean literature. So that's on my list.Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-51325959540816478852021-08-26T00:47:44.962+01:002021-08-26T00:47:44.962+01:00I noticed at the beginning of the month that Archi...I noticed at the beginning of the month that Archipelago was running ads about WIT month, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I've purchased several of their books, but boy, you really have to look to find the women authors.Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-34406086370797990052021-08-19T06:47:29.485+01:002021-08-19T06:47:29.485+01:00Wow, this is stark! And very easy to miss if you a...Wow, this is stark! And very easy to miss if you are not out counting it, especially given they boast about diversity. Clearly, we must NOT take anything at face value. With Corylus I admit that I look all the time to achieve parity. Because we only publish 4 or so books a year, it might mean more men one year but then we try and compensate. First year we had 3 women, 1 man; 2nd year, 3 men, 2 women; next year probably 2 and 2.Marina Sofiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15251903359649828285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-72831732647592390612021-08-17T07:24:58.850+01:002021-08-17T07:24:58.850+01:00I really welcome this post, as someone obsessed wi...I really welcome this post, as someone obsessed with The Tale of Genji (I own copies of all the translations plys a few books about it, plus read the translation into modern Japanese by Yosano Akiko, herself a very talented and sensual poet of the eatly 20th century).Marina Sofiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15251903359649828285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-21143029517236365022021-08-12T02:17:13.235+01:002021-08-12T02:17:13.235+01:00These all sound fascinating. I love a good popular...These all sound fascinating. I love a good popular science read as well!Melwykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04885378201188978664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-48370909977289541052021-08-10T08:30:16.135+01:002021-08-10T08:30:16.135+01:00Have to seek out the Courtois book. I had heard of...Have to seek out the Courtois book. I had heard of it but didn't know it had been translated and didn't think I could cope with cosmology in French. I don't know if I've ever confessed to this but I was planning to study astrophysics then changed my mind 6 months before the entrance exams...Marina Sofiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15251903359649828285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-3263627617850422312021-08-04T05:42:20.621+01:002021-08-04T05:42:20.621+01:00You are right. At times, with all the excitement I...You are right. At times, with all the excitement I see about #WITMonth on Twitter and among my book blogger friends, I start to think the problem is nearly solved, but it's easy to forget we are in a bubble of like-minded people...Marina Sofiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15251903359649828285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-75302726722804741582021-08-02T10:31:50.095+01:002021-08-02T10:31:50.095+01:00Most impressive, Meytal - a wonderful resource. I ...Most impressive, Meytal - a wonderful resource. I hope #WITMonth 2021 is the best yet! 😀Paula Bardell-Hedleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14590752205374960539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-21267778321700944472021-08-01T18:06:31.325+01:002021-08-01T18:06:31.325+01:00Congratulations! How exciting to have this new and...Congratulations! How exciting to have this new and wonderful resource. Thanks to you and your sister for making WIT Month even easier to share and participate in.Melwykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04885378201188978664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-57818753821171702812021-07-25T08:54:48.518+01:002021-07-25T08:54:48.518+01:00Right now I'm reading "Four Minutes"...Right now I'm reading "Four Minutes" by Nataliya Deleva (translated by Izidora Angel) which will be released on August 17 by Open Letter Press. It is a collection of connected short stories; speculative, contemporary fiction, translated from Bulgarian (my first)!Davida Chazan (The Chocolate Lady)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13862954387314281089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-24650263237857162102021-06-25T20:30:05.232+01:002021-06-25T20:30:05.232+01:00I am looking forward to the whole WIT Month excite...I am looking forward to the whole WIT Month excitement -- seeing a glut of reviews, gorging on new titles, adding endless titles to my TBR -- I love it all!Melwykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04885378201188978664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-29330133544465914392021-04-19T17:23:12.077+01:002021-04-19T17:23:12.077+01:00Wow, I was not expecting a new comment on this pos...Wow, I was not expecting a new comment on this post from 2012, haha! To be honest, I think my original thoughts were pretty shallow and I don't really feel this same way anymore for a lot of reasons. You're absolutely right that there's a huge problem in whitewashing frontier literature, and to add to that: I think that there's a huge problem in wanting a specific type of fantasy to exist <i>in place</i> of existing traditions, which is sort of what ended up happening here. Wrede easily could have simply... not treated her story as a purely white-lensed one, even within the framework of the fantasy story she wanted to tell. Fiction is fiction and all, but there are larger factors at play behind the choices writers make and the stories that are ignored, something I've learned pretty expressly in recent years. My younger self, it seems, was far too generous to authors in this regard. And sometimes it's nice to see how things have changed. :)Meytal Radzinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-71084201734529332072021-04-17T07:38:12.674+01:002021-04-17T07:38:12.674+01:00I think if question had been about leaving out an...I think if question had been about leaving out anyone else, it would be less sore. Not completely unsore, but less. Frontier fiction, *specifically* is horribly whitewashed, with a MASSIVE propendency to overwrite native-- especially Mexican and Spanish speaking native peoples, roles in that period... Not just as a narrative, but by stealing their lands, writing corrupt laws, refusing to enforce laws that protect their homesteads and ancestral places, punishing them for fighting back... Not to mention that the most well known American western tropes, of wandering cowboys ranging with their cattle, was heavily mixed-race, with a large portion of them being part or all black or native or Hispanic. Yet our media for decades portrayed them as white good ol boys, with dramatic tension whenever one or two characters dare to be something less vanilla. It wouldnt have been surprising to frontiersman to see a non-white cowboy.OnlyAnOwlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12632056109002252486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-31203035412084036782021-01-09T18:27:21.372+00:002021-01-09T18:27:21.372+00:00Yeah... My hope is that things will ease back in t...Yeah... My hope is that things will ease back in the next year, but who knows? Meytal Radzinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-51192480740835446332021-01-09T18:19:24.408+00:002021-01-09T18:19:24.408+00:00Yes, I feel like a lot of recent books and especia...Yes, I feel like a lot of recent books and especially articles written in, say, 2019, feel heavily dated now. I just read a book that ends in 2022 and was published in 2018, and...I don't know that 2022 will look the way normal did in 2018. It felt weird.Space Station Mirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03091908248048157507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-86660735928078725912021-01-09T13:49:04.149+00:002021-01-09T13:49:04.149+00:00I love this! What a great idea, and I'm excite...I love this! What a great idea, and I'm excited to learn about many new writers. I have more Women in Translation authors on my 2021 anticipated-books list this year than I can remember having in a long time, which is nice, but yeah, there's still such a lack of awareness of women writers in so many languages.Jenny @ Reading the Endhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08795408347296150988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-37051458455430895332020-12-29T12:14:36.670+00:002020-12-29T12:14:36.670+00:00I agree with you so much - I get disappointed by b...I agree with you so much - I get disappointed by books that I expect to enjoy and that end up being mainly... OK, but not truly memorable. When I went back to see which titles to include on my best of the year lists, I realised that there were quite a few that I enjoyed well enough at the time, but that didn't really stick with me. For instance, one of my favourite authors is Sarah Moss - and I liked her latest book, Summerwater, but it's not my favourite book of hers and it didn't make my best of list. It was the kind of book that started off well and then ended up disappointing me.Marina Sofiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15251903359649828285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-79709847342478496412020-12-29T00:55:32.662+00:002020-12-29T00:55:32.662+00:00I've had similar experiences. I think once you...I've had similar experiences. I think once you have a better sense of what you do and don't lie after years of reading, it's then easier to pick books that you're going to lie. I also really liked The City We Became, but it just wasn't as good as the Broken Earth trilogy (which omg so fair bc it's hard to top!). Space Station Mirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03091908248048157507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-46550219275868693712020-12-21T16:40:59.907+00:002020-12-21T16:40:59.907+00:00There's something so lovely and whole in being...There's something so lovely and whole in being a reader. And I agree that the "just" is not quite necessary and you're absolutely right, but I view it as an odd sense of power when looking at a world that feels like so much more. And definitely in the face of people who have tried to strip me of that power. :)<br /><br />And thank you for your kind words! As snippy as this post may come off toward the industry (oops), I am honestly perpetually in awe of all translators and writers and publishers, you're all doing such amazing work and I am so lucky to live in a world where you bring this beautiful art to my life! Meytal Radzinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-85780531791136619492020-12-21T15:05:54.781+00:002020-12-21T15:05:54.781+00:00I'm very sorry to hear you ran into that react...I'm very sorry to hear you ran into that reaction at the ALTA conference, Meytal. It's so wrong that anyone would say that. We all come at reading, translating, and other literary pursuits with our own individual backgrounds; that, I believe, is how it should be. <br /><br />I want to add that I think of you as (not necessarily in this order!) a scientist, an activist, and a <i>a reader</i>, without the <i>just</i>: every reader is important. No reader is "just" or "only" a reader since every reader is a person with a unique perspective and a right to use it. This makes me recall when I first met Mikhail Shishkin, at a book fair in 2011: he asked who I was and (since I'd barely started translating then) I told him about my blog. I must have also mentioned that I'd read some of his work because I remember him saying something like, "ah, then you're my reader." That seemed to make him happy. <br /><br />Thank you for all that you do!Lisa C. Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10139281544357167953noreply@blogger.com