I just saw your post in the Bike group; about riding a bike through Sweden. I know you mentioned this in your previous message to me; I just didn't think of it as something you'd very likely do as it's quite a ride to get here ;-)

Anyway. 2/3 of Sweden is quite hilly, and in the north-west it's mountains only - the roads go across them, and across the country, but going on a round trip is (almost) impossible - it's hiker's territory.

But if you avoid the mountains and the highways (designated 'E') the roads are mainly good for cycling, with wide verges. There are local, regional and nationwide maps describing the best routes. Some areas are very scenic. Lots of bed & breakfast places, camp sites, and every town has at least one hotel. May through September is the best time - else the risk of rain and sleet makes biking not so attractive - and July is the big vacation month here (we have a total 5 weeks /minimum/ of vacation, most people have at least three weeks in July).

Tell me if you make more definite plans, or if you want to know more - I'll be happy to tell!

posted by Busifer at 5:16 am (EST) on Mar 2, 2008

Hi,
first; I had to go back to that post to check what you was talking about, and that way I discovered what was wrong with it - left over word from the way I phrased the post initially... - it should read "No shadow...", not "I shadow..." ;-)

I was forced to read the Moberg books as part of curriculum in school and I can't say I enjoyed them back then. Probably this would not be true if I tried them today but at the time (I was 14 yo) I read mainly SF and felt Moberg to be *duh*.

As for other books - Per Anders Fogelström have written about Stockholm and how the modern city was born - 'City of my dreams'. They're part of the canon, just like the Emigrant books, and I recommend them.
Also August Strindberg; he's very important in swedish lit even though people like me dismisses him for his misogynistic views. Hemsöborna (I think it's called By the open sea in translation but I don't know for sure).
As for Norway... Yes, for a short period we were the same country, or at least union. But culturally the differences are HUGE (I had the biggest culture shock of my life first time I went to northern Norway - the mindset is very different, as is the way they live...)

Where were they from, your mother's parents? I may be able to give more specific tips on books etc. based on that knowledge. Sweden back then was not a very homogeneous society, and reasons for emigrating differed from religious persecution to starvation to curiosity, mainly but not only depending on where you came from.

BTW - The prayer should read 'Gud välsigna maten, amen' - literally 'God bless the food, amen'. And the little thing with angels is originally from Germany but is a perennial hit here - lots of people thinks of it as 'swedish' ;-)

posted by Busifer at 7:31 am (EST) on Feb 29, 2008

Hello, Douglas.

Your TBR pile just made me smile. My eastern CT childhood (only a few decades ago) included twice-a-week sauna. I miss those warm and steamy times.

Janet

posted by sisaruus at 7:56 pm (EST) on Feb 10, 2008

Hi Doug
Here is the info about the book womb!
http://storms.typepad.com/booklust/2006/01/lost_in_books.html
Cheers
Keziah
http://keziahhill.com

posted by nautilus at 2:18 am (EST) on Nov 4, 2007

Hi Douglas,

Thanks for joining the Labyrinth group. I was intrigued that there was not already a group devoted to labyrinths and started it with the trepidation that no one at all would join! Then, within hours, there were two of us, so it was obviously meant to be.

Rather than blather on about me here, I answered your questions at the Labyrinth group "Introductions."

George

"For beings of intelligence and cognition to forsake their powers of perception and discernment in favor of blind faith is only a disguised form of bondage."
-- Joseph Marcello, "Life More Abundant"

"The correct prayer is never a prayer of supplication, but a prayer of gratitude." --- Neale Donald Walsch, "Conversations with God"

"God is a Comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh." -- Voltaire

www.reverendgeorge.com

posted by aeronaut at 9:58 am (EST) on Nov 3, 2007

Nice library. Which work did you find to be more difficult: Ulysses or Gravity's Rainbow? Also, which edition of Ulysses would you recommend?

posted by appeartodisappear at 2:13 pm (EST) on Jul 19, 2007

Douglas: Thanks so much for sending comforting thoughts about mug shot and for sharing your love of the poem "Fern Hill". I was so amazingly fortunate to have grown up where I did (rural northern Canada), living near uncles and grandmothers who owned farms (the old fashioned kind - with hay lofts and horses), where I was always made welcome and where I did indeed consider myself "famous among the barns" and a close confidant of chickens and milk cows.

posted by tropics at 1:32 pm (EST) on Jul 7, 2007

You dawg!
:o)

posted by clamairy at 6:27 am (EST) on Jun 14, 2007

Douglas,

I'm glad you enjoyed the Mr.Deity clips! I hope you watched them all. I think there are 10 now, with that Superbowl clip. I have one sibling who was constantly emailing novenas and prayer-chain emails, until I snapped. :o( I should just get a tattoo on my forehead that says "I don't believe what you believe." Maybe everyone would leave me alone.

Nice weather we're finally having, huh? :o)

Clare

posted by clamairy at 12:07 pm (EST) on May 5, 2007

Hi Douglas,

Thank you for introducing me to Wendell Berry. His poetry is beautiful, and in his essay 'Thoughts in the presence of fear' I found his thoughts echoed my, as yet unformed, notions - especially his ideas about local economy.

Cheers from oz,

Alana.

posted by camelspit at 7:23 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2007

Hi Douglas. I am DESPERATELY searching for a James Kavanaugh poem about which the last line is "be a boy, be a girl". The poem talks about ... when did tastebuds cease to tremble? etc. Is it in the book you have "Tears and Laughter of a Mans Soul"? I have been trying to find this poem for 2 months now to use in a presentation I am giving on Feb 11 - getting down to the wire and very discouraged!!
Please email me at maverick08@earthlink.net and let me know .... Thanks!!

posted by Maverick08 at 6:30 pm (EST) on Feb 1, 2007

Hi Douglas,
Yes, Taiwan. I've been here for nearly 10 years now and love the place. I'm sure it's changed immensly since the 70s. Seems to be in a constant state of flux... What I love about Librarything is the opportunity to talk about books. I'm lucky to have some great friends here in Taiwan who are also book mad, and we get together on a monthly basis to drink ourselves senseless and discuss what we're reading. It's nice to be able to extend that through librarything. Great!

Regarding, Gaddis, I began with Carpernter's Gothic, which, as it is shorter, is perhaps easier to deal with. However, I see from your library that you are also a fan of the Really Long Book. I've just posted a review of Carpenter's Gothic on The Lectern.
http://thelectern.blogspot.com/2007/01/carpenters-gothic-william-gaddis.html. There is no plot spoiler!

I agree that War and Peace is excellent. I (re)read it last year in fact and haver read Anna Karenina at least three times, I think. Have you read Tolstoy's shroter fiction? The Cossacks is also brilliant.
I've also already read most of Dickens and Dostoevsky, but my idea this year was to read them both back to back to see what light they shed on each other. I have such a soft spot for the great 19Century novels...

By the way, isn't it easier to play the pennywhistle with your mouth?
Take care.
Murr

posted by tomcatMurr at 10:59 pm (EST) on Jan 27, 2007

Hi
Thanks for your remarks on my blog the Lectern. I've been neglecting a bit recently due to too many other things going on, but your interetest has stimulated me to keep adding more!
Saint Iris, is actually Iris Murdoch. Some writers are so great that I canonise them myself Saint Iris, Saint Oscar, Saint William etc :)

The Pynchon quote you put up recently is very prescient. I find it quite interesting that really great writers share this quality of being prescient.
I haven't read V. yet, but it's in my library, along with Mason&Dixon and GR and COL49. I know great pleasures await me there, but I don't want to rush into them. By the way, what are your thoughts on Gaddis?

Best wishes,
Murr

posted by tomcatMurr at 12:24 am (EST) on Jan 25, 2007

No need to apologise for the earlier lengthy reply. You`re probably not suited to `terse`. Was interested to see you have been a number of antonyms - I thought that was some sort of Amazonian marsupial, but in light of your comments, probably not !

Best

Nick

posted by nickhoonaloon at 2:44 pm (EST) on Nov 21, 2006

Me again, don`t bother to answer that - I`ve just found your listing again and see it`s from Gravity`s Rainbow.

Thanks again anyway.

N

posted by nickhoonaloon at 11:57 am (EST) on Nov 20, 2006

Well you are a good lad for replying ast such length, it is good of you to take the trouble. I take your point that starting with the easy stuff is not always as good as starting with the best stuff.

At present (my wife and I are self-employed), I`m too tired most of the time to sttempt anything too challenging - I`ve been re-reading The World And Africa by W E B Du Bois, which isn`t even too difficult a book, but don`t seem to be making progress. I think I`ll wait till life`s a little less demanding and then try V.

Just as an afterthought - which book did your quote come from ?

Best,

Nick

posted by nickhoonaloon at 11:53 am (EST) on Nov 20, 2006

Hi,

Sorry to bother you, but I was very struck with the Pynchon quote you provided earlier today.

I know nothing about him - are there any titles of his you`d recommend for Pynchon novices ?

Best,

Nick

posted by nickhoonaloon at 7:01 pm (EST) on Nov 19, 2006

Hi Douglas,
Thanks for joining the UU Readers group, and for introducing yourself. Your congregation sounds like the kind of place I hope mine becomes. We're about five years old, and hovering at 50 members. No building, no minister, just hoping to get there!
Best,
--David Dodd
PS You mention the Dead in your post in talking about the music. I'm a Deadhead myself (and our choir leader de facto...). I've started a topic in the Jazz and Pop Music group about the band--seriousgrace is also a member and co-conspirator. Come on over if you're interested!

posted by ddodd at 9:00 am (EST) on Oct 31, 2006

Douglas: thx for the invite. I've been busy with Yahoo Answers for the last month, trying to get to Level 4 and then this lady asked about George Orwell and I pointed her to Librarything and then thought I'd open my account.

I work in Indonesia, so can't join your readings in Connecticut. Sounds like a bit of a marathon.

Was watching original Mutiny on the Bounty with Charles Laughton, which reminded me a bit of Peck's Ahab. Both excellent performances and one of Gable's better roles as Christian.

Rgds, Hell

posted by hellbent at 7:00 am (EST) on Aug 29, 2006

Hello Douglas
Sorry to be so late replying: I have been away for three months. Yes I would like to join your Wallace Stevens group. What's involved? Something as simple as naming favourite Wallace poems (with reasons), or more complex discussions?
Philip McCoy

posted by mcoy at 9:22 pm (EST) on Aug 28, 2006

thanks for the invite, doogie. care for some banana pancakes?
rsanders

posted by rsanders at 12:22 am (EST) on Aug 18, 2006

I enjoyed yr enthusiastic comment about my library as described ... i wouldn't call it a poem ... my poems (?) are less accessible ... as a rule ...

& i'll tempt yr envy by saying that my summer cleanup has got those six floor piles back onto shelves ... & i've no idea how that happened ... sort of a loaves & fishes kind of thing

posted by brtom at 10:58 pm (EST) on Aug 12, 2006

Thanks for the invite to the Pynchon group. I am very much interested ;)

posted by Melmoth at 8:24 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2006

Oh, Douglas. One other thing I almost forgot. I love the quotation from Calvino. I'll be stealing that one. :)

posted by gad at 2:36 pm (EST) on Aug 1, 2006

Douglas --

Thanks for the invitation to the Pynchon group. I'm excited to join, but I suspect my activity will be limited. My love for Pynchon is derived mostly from CL49 and some short stories. I've tried GR once or twice, but haven't found myself ready for it on either occasion. It's been a few years, and I hope to give it another shot in the near future, but the demands of teaching tend to limit the chunks of time available for a work like GR.

At any rate, I appreciate the invitation, and I look forward to learning from others whose enthusiasm for and exposure to Pynchon are in greater balance than my own. : )

gad

posted by gad at 2:32 pm (EST) on Aug 1, 2006

Thanks for the invite, Douglas. I confess that Stevens is on my "to read" pile, so I'll wait a bit before joining the group. However, the Pynchon groups looks tempting . . .

Robert

posted by DoctorRobert at 11:58 am (EST) on Jul 30, 2006

Thanks for the invite to the Pynchon group. I actually joined mere seconds before seeing your message. Cheers!

posted by donutage at 2:19 pm (EST) on Jul 29, 2006

Hey, so that 'what books are being added' page works now, when I tried it when he first mentioned it, it would work for a little bit then crash the browser?

thanks,

bt

posted by bluetyson at 8:27 pm (EST) on Apr 29, 2006

so I can look at them easily, and see what fits in with where with my other books, and for a research project I am working on, and so they will be catalogued when I have downloaded 'em.

posted by bluetyson at 8:07 pm (EST) on Apr 29, 2006

Hi Ho - you can run but you can't hide :)
Just kidding with you. Wanted to recommend a really good book that I thought you night enjoy - "The Double" by Jose Saramago.

posted by lfomom at 2:47 pm (EST) on Apr 5, 2006

Ha! And just when I thought I'd be the only user from Norwich for a long, long time... :) Yes, I believe that you indeed should try Wilson's & Shea's Illuminatus trilogy, Stephenson's Zodiac, and Chesterton's Orthodoxy. (Any of Stephenson's books, really, but Zodiac is bite-sized and has a biology/activism angle you might appreciate.)

posted by szarka at 12:02 pm (EST) on Feb 27, 2006

Hi Douglas,

Thanks so much for the kind words on my library. It's still very much a work in progress (have at least 1000 more books to catalogue and am constantly acquiring more!) so I'm certain we'll soon be showing even more volumes in common.

I enjoyed perusing your collection. Even picked up some ideas for future trips to the bookstore. Happy reading!

Marie Therese

posted by marietherese at 2:38 pm (EST) on Feb 16, 2006