tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post5968195390632558898..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: Borges oralRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-33985797845810656832011-10-28T15:33:05.807-04:002011-10-28T15:33:05.807-04:00*Andrómeda: Je je, lo del "tanto de leer y p...*Andrómeda: Je je, lo del "tanto de leer y preferimos releer" me preocupa un poco; sin obstante, hay libros que nos gustan tanto que tenemos que releerlos cada tanto. Es un dilema, ¿no? De todos modos, gracias por la visita y espero que tú vayas a encontrar la oportunidad de "estudiar" con el profe dentro de poco. ¡Saludos!<br /><br />*Amanda: Yes, how much to read and how much to reread: the million dollar question! Borges frames the question a little differently in "Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote," but I suggest you take a look at that short story from <em>Ficciones</em> if you want a dose of Borges that's simultaneously entertaining and provocative but in a fictional format. Great stuff. Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-68883454351009040112011-10-26T13:52:37.600-04:002011-10-26T13:52:37.600-04:00I've still not read any Borges (despite owning...I've still not read any Borges (despite owning <em>Ficciones</em>), but I enjoyed reading about his thoughts here. I was especially struck by his comments on rereading. It's such a difficult balance to strike between how much to read and how much to reread--how much of either do we choose to do?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-11835893415507911202011-10-25T20:56:04.035-04:002011-10-25T20:56:04.035-04:00Tomo nota de este libro para hacerme la ilusión de...Tomo nota de este libro para hacerme la ilusión de tener a Borges como profe de alguna manera. <br />Dicen por ahí que siempre volvemos a los mismos libros (tanto por leer y preferimos releer...)<br />¡Saludos!RebecaTzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04610915499580085815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-40157478565415137022011-10-23T16:30:06.864-04:002011-10-23T16:30:06.864-04:00*Anthony: I have to say that while I wasn't su...*Anthony: I have to say that while I wasn't surprised to hear that Borges didn't like Joyce, I <em>was</em> surprised to hear him crack on Joyce for that particular reason. I mostly agree that the question of readability is a risible idea, but taking Fay's (Readramble's) point into consideration, perhaps it would be better for readers to question <em>why</em> a writer chose to write a work in a particular way rather than giving blanket praise or dismissals to a book or author based on whether the style is "readable" or not.<br /><br />*Fay: Thanks so much for your comment! While I was all set to agree with Anthony in full on principle (in general, I think there's a lot to be said for wrestling with "difficult" works and writers), your point about whether a work is unreadable or not is actually the author's fault or the reader's is certainly well taken. We all run into books like that from time to time, so that's really the million dollar question, isn't it? Why is the book not readable? Is it the author or me? In any event, I'm really glad you chimed in here because your comment probably gets at what Borges was trying to get across--and I couldn't believe he'd taken such an apparently simplistic stance on the matter. My bad, I guess!<br /><br />*Sarah: As with Woolf to a certain extent, I appreciate Borges more than I connect with him at times. Love many of his short stories while others just sort of leave me cold. As a thinker, though, he's quite inspiring to me and great for making me reassess certain ways I think about literature. He's quite passionate about books, and so a dip into his nonfiction (the way you've done with Eco) might be just the ice-breaker for you. In any event, thanks for the comment and the kind words. Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-25800200546989439202011-10-23T16:11:49.640-04:002011-10-23T16:11:49.640-04:00Fascinating post, making me feel sad that I, unlik...Fascinating post, making me feel sad that I, unlike Stu!, have not been able to get along with Borges. (Gave up on the book of short stories I attempted. Maybe another book, another time, will fare better.)<br /><br />The comment about re-reading reminds me of observations made by Umberto Eco abut the empirical reader and the model reader. To date I have preferred Eco's essays to his fiction, so maybe this is a pointer to how I might better approach Borges.Sarah (Rat in the Book Pile)http://www.sarahbbc.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-89978740552585907092011-10-23T15:14:42.071-04:002011-10-23T15:14:42.071-04:00Anthony, what does "readable" mean? I as...Anthony, what does "readable" mean? I associate an unreadable book with an author's inability to communicate, not with the laziness of readers. Funny, considering what Borges said about the physical book, that Julian Barnes talked about the book as a beautiful object in his Booker acceptance speech.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-21244266871519549332011-10-23T00:59:19.839-04:002011-10-23T00:59:19.839-04:00Borges is right about Joyce if you accept the posi...Borges is right about Joyce if you accept the position that 'readability' is a criteria for the effectiveness of a novel. I think it is a risible idea. The Booker judges and the reaction of so many people during this year's Booker debate suggest the idea has popular acceptance.ABhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00424190778506425886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-59165758828862222642011-10-23T00:30:54.520-04:002011-10-23T00:30:54.520-04:00*Rise: You'll have to take up that argument wi...*Rise: You'll have to take up that argument with Professor Borges after class. I'm just a humble scribe here. Borges does say something about reading being one form of happiness and "poetic creation" being another <em>minor</em> form of happiness, "poetic creation" being defined as "a blend of memory and forgetfulness about what we've read" if you'll pardon my inelegant translation. Which is kind of what Bolaño was getting at too, I guess.<br /><br />*Stu: Ha, you and Borges would get along just fine then!<br /><br />*Jill: This will probably pain us both, but I have to agree with you and not Borges on the reading should never be demanding thing! That's probably the most surprising opinion I came across in the entire book, and I'll now have to stay alert when reading other pieces from Borges to see if he expands on that or contradicts it. Didn't expect that "message" from such a cerebral writer!<br /><br />*Julia: You're very welcome! "Listening" to Borges is almost always a treat for me, but in addition to your points of contact here, one of the things these lectures all have in common is that they're a great resource for other authors/traditions that Borges talks about. Wonderful bibliographic aids, in fact. Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-91857851889109115382011-10-22T12:55:39.790-04:002011-10-22T12:55:39.790-04:00Thanks so much for this one. Three points of conta...Thanks so much for this one. Three points of contact for me: my love of rereading, an interest in the ancient transition from oral to written communication (from biblical studies), and Ficciones. I'll definitely have to read it.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305348683809503209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-70712331234333398082011-10-22T07:21:09.610-04:002011-10-22T07:21:09.610-04:00Wonderful point about the cult of the book. And I...Wonderful point about the cult of the book. And I don't agree with him about Joyce; sometimes there is a greater reward to be had from making a greater effort (yes, yes, although you wouldn't know I would feel that way from my reading choices...)rhapsodyinbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07041412748239010264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-12484833683829790152011-10-22T05:35:28.545-04:002011-10-22T05:35:28.545-04:00I beleive reading is very important and the books ...I beleive reading is very important and the books you reread are usually most important ,all the best stuAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-41804078253969862302011-10-22T05:10:40.045-04:002011-10-22T05:10:40.045-04:00I believe that rereading is more important than re...<i>I believe that rereading is more important than reading, except that in order to reread one needs to have read.</i><br /><br />So. Reading turned out to be more important than rereading, because the latter relies on the former. <br /><br />*snickers*<br /><br />Bolaño said something like, reading is more important than writing.Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.com