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Fionnuala's Reviews > This is Not the End of the Book
This is Not the End of the Book
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I was on a very rare visit to Foyle’s bookshop on Charing Cross Road in London earlier this year when I came across this book. One of the greatest pleasures of a real bookshop for me is finding something I'm not looking for. It's so much more exciting than putting a previously chosen list of titles into an online basket and clicking on checkout. As a faithful reader of paper and ink books in this age of of e-readers (and when I mistyped ‘book� just now, my computer offered me ‘nook�, ‘iBook� and ‘ebook� as alternatives), the title of this particular book was irresistible. Umberto Eco’s name on the cover just confirmed my desire to buy it straight away.
In the same shop, I found another enticingly titled book called ‘The Geography of the Imagination� so, as you can imagine, I walked out of there very happy indeed.
When I finally reached home, I realised that I’d forgotten to buy a birthday present for a friend so I reluctantly decided to give away my beautiful copy of ‘The Geography of the Imagination�.
Reader, I gave away the wrong book.
In the same shop, I found another enticingly titled book called ‘The Geography of the Imagination� so, as you can imagine, I walked out of there very happy indeed.
When I finally reached home, I realised that I’d forgotten to buy a birthday present for a friend so I reluctantly decided to give away my beautiful copy of ‘The Geography of the Imagination�.
Reader, I gave away the wrong book.
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This is Not the End of the Book.
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Reading Progress
August 23, 2012
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Started Reading
August 23, 2012
– Shelved
August 31, 2012
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6.56%
"While I agree that we need to talk about the future of paper and print books, I question the value of reading this particular conversation which is nearly two years old even as things are changing so fast in the world of publishing. But I will persist a bit longer as Eco and Carrière have some interesting book related reminiscences to recount."
page
21
October 6, 2012
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29.69%
"Eco has makes some interesting and universally applicable observations about literature. Carrère can be interesting too but less often; there is a lot of inward-looking, French-obsessed material to wade through...."
page
95
October 9, 2012
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35.31%
"J. C. C. says: "When we scroll through a document on our screens, aren't we in some way repeating what the readers of the volumina did all those years ago, when they unwound a text rolled around a wooden pole...?""
page
113
October 29, 2012
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55.0%
"Umberto Eco : " there's nothing like nonsense to provoke interpretation.""
page
176
October 29, 2012
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55.0%
"J-C C: "a horrific proportion of our libraries is made up of books written by the utterly talentless, or by half wits and crazy people.""
page
176
October 29, 2012
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84.06%
""There are more books in the world than hours in which to read them....we are thus deeply influenced by books that we haven't read, that we haven't had the time to read.""
page
269
October 29, 2012
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Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-21 of 21 (21 new)
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Kalliope
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Nov 02, 2012 02:47AM
I find Umberto Eco hard to predict. Some of his books are excellent and some are a real bore.. Will check now the Geography of the Imagination...
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Yes, Eco delivered maybe two or three interesting thoughts here but as you have to wade through 330 pages to find them, it's hardly worth it.I didn't manage to finish Baudolino although I enjoyed The Name of the Rose but it was so long ago, I'm wondering if I would still find it enjoyable.
The Geography of the Imagination is by a man called Guy Davenport.
Reader, I gave away the wrong book. A tragic story! I am a Baudolino fan, but I think its appeal is more limited than Name of the Rose. The spoof detective story is just something that anybody who has read or seen on TV a crime/detective story can enjoy despite the lashings of medieval theology. Baudolino requires the reader a have more of a taste for the medieval mind I think.
I have not tried Baudolino. The last one I tried (and did not finish it, which is very rare in me since I am a bit neurotic about finishing books) is the The Prague Cemetery. I like the medieval mind-set (there was a time I considered becoming a Medievalist), so may be I should check Baudolino.
Ha! So now you know why your usual online book source hasn't been thrusting this at you - they knew better!Mind you, it's a good thing to throw a two star hissy fit occasionally, just to prove that you really are critical and analytical and not on drugs or anything.
Of his non-fiction, I liked Mouse or Rat?: Translation as Negotiation, but then I'm a confirmed language geek.
Jan-Maat wrote: "I am a Baudolino fan."I might try Baudalino again sometime- I liked the cover!
Karen wrote: "Ha! So now you know why your usual online book source hasn't been thrusting this at you - they knew better!True - not too many goodreaders fell for this book's promising title!
Mind you, it's a good thing to throw a two star hissy fit occasionally, just to prove tha..."
I have a few more 'hissy fits' up my sleeve!
Seriously, I mostly admire what I read, and so it seems right to give 4 and 5 stars often.
Karen wrote: "Ha! So now you know why your usual online book source hasn't been thrusting this at you - they knew better!Mind you, it's a good thing to throw a two star hissy fit occasionally, just to prove tha..."
I did not know that one. I am not as involved with languages as you, Karen, are.
Do you speak French?, because there is a wonderful book on translating French-English written by French Canadians, which I would recommend. I also got the French-German one of the same series but by a different writer, but which I have not read yet.
If so, I could send you the details.
Fionnuala wrote: "Seriously, I mostly admire what I read, and so it seems right to give 4 and 5 stars often."You're good at picking what you know you'll like, is all.
I usually only go under 4 when the book has been chosen for me - a book group say. Otherwise: careful selection guarantees enjoyment (usually). But as you learned from your experience in Foyle's, an impulse buy can be hit or miss.
Kalliope wrote: "Do you speak French?, because there is a wonderful book on translating French-English written by French Canadians, which I would recommend."Mais oui, bien sur.
Vas-y, je t'écoute.
Karen wrote: "Kalliope wrote: "Do you speak French?, because there is a wonderful book on translating French-English written by French Canadians, which I would recommend."Mais oui, bien sur.
Vas-y, je t'écoute."
Stylistique Comparee Du Francais Et De L'anglais.
This we used in Paris, in the British Insitute, years ago... It is great.
And in the same series (not in GR, I should enter it), a similar title by Alfred Malblanc, "Stylistique comparée du français et de l'allemand".
I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy this book Fionnuala. On the whole I like Eco. "The Name of the Rose" is one of my favourite books. There's nothing worse than disappointment in the choice of a book...I've made that mistake many times.
Lynne wrote: "I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy this book Fionnuala. On the whole I like Eco....."It wasn't really Eco's fault, Lynne. He was quite entertaining most of the time, and he seems to have an amazing collection of incunabula, the earliest printed books - it must be priceless. When he spoke about them, it was fascinating.
Unfortunately, a lot of the space on the pages was taken up with J-P Carrière droning on and on about his own collection of esoterica. And he managed to make his books sound both obscure and of limited interest.
Plus neither of them really discussed whether the digital age is or isn't the end of the book.
Plus it was out of date by the time I read it.
Fionnuala, I hate individuals who drone on, in this case J-P Carrière, and so I see your point. Still a shame though.
Finno wrote:Reader, I gave away the wrong book.Don't regret it- Goodness is its own reward,what goes around comes around,etc.
Looking at This Cover I sure understand your loss. Godine publishes beautiful books:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30...
Mala wrote:"Looking at This Cover I sure understand your loss. Godine publishes beautiful books:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30... "
Yes, that was the cover, a very beautiful book, and reasonably priced too - when I later tried to buy it online, it had gone up to 70� so I passed on it..
I thought this was going to be a rave and then... 2 stars? But I hear ya sister. I still consider Umberto Eco one of my favorite authors, but mostly for the strength of Rose and the strength of my forgiveness (Baudolino, Island of the Day Before, and the unspeakably preposterous pot-boiler Eco-for-Dummies The Prague Cemetery). But his book on beauty is a joy, as is his art criticism collected here and there, and the essays are mostly luminous and numinous (but when he says American wax museums are prominently located while European ones are tucked away obscurely, this is a lie); I forgive him. Rest in peace ya fat old opera-singin lookin dude. Love you.
Weird. I only just now noticed how old your review was, but it was in my feed as I saw it, newly returning to GR. Odd.
Gregsamsa wrote: "I thought this was going to be a rave and then... 2 stars? But I hear ya sister. I still consider Umberto Eco one of my favorite authors, but mostly for the strength of Rose and the strength of my ..."Great to see you back, Gregsamsa - and to read your zingy comments ;-)
Four years on, I remember little about this book and I'm guessing Eco himself - if he were still around - wouldn't have a lot to say about it either. It was probably just the record of a long conversation he and his mate Carière had over a boozy lunch and then someone had the bright idea to put their wordy witterings into print for mugs like me to buy.
How my own witterings found their way into your updates I can't imagine, Greg - unless someone in gr has been having a boozy lunch too...
Gregsamsa wrote: "Weird. I only just now noticed how old your review was, but it was in my feed as I saw it, newly returning to GR. Odd."I just saw it, too.
Miriam wrote: "Gregsamsa wrote: "Weird. I only just now noticed how old your review was, but it was in my feed as I saw it, newly returning to GR. Odd."I just saw it, too."
Double weird - it's not even a review I spent any time on. If they had resurrected some of the reviews I put effort into like Confessions of an English Opium Eater or Finnegans Wake, I'd understand...;-)
