Quarantine Books - Part 2

Ahhh books.

Part two of this “Quaran-reads” series delivers peace and tranquility for the now-omnipresent, quieter life.

The great German poet, novelist, painter, and Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse (July 2, 1877–August 9, 1962), made an exquisite case for breaking the trance of busyness with the sanctity of solitude when he wrote:

    “Solitude is the path over which destiny endeavors to lead man to himself. Solitude is the path that men most fear. A path fraught with terrors, where snakes and toads lie in wait… Without solitude there is no suffering, without solitude there is no heroism. But the solitude I have in mind is not the solitude of the blithe poets or of the theater, where the fountain bubbles so sweetly at the mouth of the hermit’s cave.” — Hermann Hesse

For this collection, I searched for tomes that offer solace in, and seek the beauty of, Solitude. Hope for the shut-in. Salve for the isolated.

The isolated that thinks it looks like this while it reads in quarantine:

© "Ophelia Exquisite," Pierre-Auguste Cot

But truly looks like this: 

Boom: WOLFMAN!

But I digress.

Enjoy, and may we face the coming pandemic cradled by a more patient view of time and what it means to evolve.

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[Repeated] PSA:

In all times, but particularly in these times of extraordinary economic struggle for all, I strongly advise you philanthropic and socially-minded readers to support your local communities by purchasing your books locally from local bookstores—many of whom are happy to or ship books to your door, or drop them off personally, at least six feet away from your face.

Buying at local stores keeps money in the local community, supports independent enterprises and also reduces your carbon footprint!

There are a number of sites that make it easier to find and support local independent bookstores in your area.

Chief among them:

• IndieBound.org: Find bookstores and other independent retailers near you. (Says Indiebound: “Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.”)

Other book resources:
• WorldCat.org: Search for a book title at your local library!

(Right now, it is very helpful to make financial donations to local libraries for those who cannot afford to purchase new or used books, and I strongly encourage you to sign up for the library’s downloadable books programs to avoid unnecessary public outings.)

• Bookshare provides accessible books and periodicals for readers with print disabilities. Everyone, of every ability, deserves the gift of reading!

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See? Reading material AND a workout!

1. Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust

Wow, you guys. What an opportunity.

Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust is an epic internal journey back to the taste of madeleines, the smell of budding groves, and the company of long-gone lovers and friends. It requires a lot of time and quiet thinking space to appreciate it to its fullest, and que puis-je dire? No time like the present quarantine to make the perfect space for this beautiful classic.

So yesterday I sat down beneath my perfectly arched reading vintage lamp, Tatiana the cat curled and purring by my side, and plowed straight through Remembrance of Things Past. All 4000 pages. In one sitting. I am now unable to stand back up because my legs have atrophied.
Ah well. What a treat.
And speaking of a treat, does anyone know of a good place to have madeleines shipped directly to my door and delivered by a masked person wearing a beret?

APRIL FOOLS. 

Are you kidding?
Well I was.
Could ANYONE read Remembrance of Things Past straight through in one day’s worth of reading? I mean. I dunno. These are strange times. Yesterday I alphabetized my hard-copy sheet music and cleaned all the sink crud with a toothbrush. It could happen.
Stranger things have. Maybe. Peut-être. Des choses étranges se sont produites…

But for the average Joe, I wager not even a straight month of devoted reading could allow one the (truly, no snark here) exquisite pleasure of reading the seven (oui, seven) volumes that comprise Remembrance of Things Past. (The entire collection is also known as In Search of Lost Time, in certain English translations — and what a pointed translation of the title for our Quarantined times).

But don’t let the heft of Proust’s work deter you from starting the foray into his world of lost time regained through vividly-portrayed memories. Swann’s Way and Time Regained in particular, the first and last volumes, are truly beautiful and can (and should!) be read over long stretches, leaving plenty of time for deeper reflection.

Perhaps we all have a bit of Proust within us, and that is why his writing resonates, whether you read just a bit or the whole crêpe.

I also highly recommended the audiobook version of the complete works of Remembrance of Things Past, the 2012 vision read by Neville James is currently available through Audible here. As an audiobook consumer and narrator myself I find Neville James’ performance to hit the just-right balance of caring-for-the-listener’s experience, whilst also giving them the space required to HAVE their own experience. It’s a delicate balance with fiction, and God bless audiobooks in this, and in all, times.

Marcel Proust is the ultimate in life’s recorders: proving to be everything from humorous to seemingly smart, profound and alacritous in his portrayal of a life recorded, observed, and recovered.

All of that is true: no fooling.


2. How to Do Nothing (Resisting the Attention Economy) by Jenny Odell

A message to me from my iPhone:

    “Dear Al, your screen was up 57348573094293847098% this week”

Well no shit, Siri. Thanks a lot. And by the way: people wearing jeans? What are you trying to prove?

Look, what can you do? Self-limiting one’s time in the “Other World” of The Cloud was tough literally designed for our addiction long before COVID. It feels like we have only two choices: to succumb to the lure of our devices for hours a day, every single day, or we can delete all apps, throw our phone into the sea and move to a commune.

Not so, says Artist and writer Jenny Odell. She proposes a third option: to “participate, but not as asked.”

Her book How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy is adapted from a talk she gave in 2017 at the Minneapolis art and technology conference Eyeo. It’s not exactly a guide to doing nothing; more like a suggestion that you could refuse, you can empower yourself to change the level and quality and quantity of your engagement and to more consciously structure participating in the things that splinter your attention.

A nice little post-script from John Francisconi:

    “Before COVID-19, the title of Jenny Odell’s wise primer for disengaging from our devices was a little funny. Now it seems crucially instructive. Thankfully, the book’s also, sneakily, an eagle-eyed look at how its readers can make a big difference in their communities.”

3. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Speaking of Quiet, I’ll go directly to the source. When Kahlil Gibran’s titular-prophet is asked to address the matter of talking, he responds:

“There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.
The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.
And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.
And there are those who have the truth within them,
    but they tell it not in words.
In the bosom of such as these, the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.”

The Prophet is a collection of poetic essays that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational. Undoubtedly Kahlil Gibran’s masterpiece, The Prophet, published in 1923 is one of the most beloved classics of our time.

26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American artist, philosopher, and writer Kahlil Gibran. (Its popularity peaked in the 1930s and again in the 1960s when it became the bible of the non-judgmental, religiously neutral but spiritually full, counter-culture.)


This slight (but pregnant) volume introduces us to the prophet, Almustafa, who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for twelve years and is about to board a ship that shall carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses such topics as giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, housing, clothes,  laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, talking, time, prayer, pleasure, and death. Each essay reveals deep insights into the impulses of the human heart and mind. Gibran’s musings are divided into twenty-eight chapters covering, among other things, marriage:

    "Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup."

children:

    ''Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.''

beauty:

    ''Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror.''

Gibran sketched 'the Prophet' after a dream

Gibran was a painter as well as a writer by training and was schooled in the symbolist tradition in Paris in 1908. He painted more than 700 pictures, watercolors, and drawings (but because most of his paintings were shipped back to Lebanon after his death, they have been overlooked in the West.) Some editions of The Prophet have twelve full-page drawings by Gibran himself.

What I personally think sets it apart (especially in delicate, universally adverse planetary moments such as these) is that The Prophet lacks all and/or any kind of dogma. It is accessible, not-at-all moralistic, open-hearted, utterly available wisdom to any seeker wherever they may find themselves on the Theistic spectrum. Not a Biblical person and want a Psalms-like companion for troubled times? The Prophet is the perfect companion.