121 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
121 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
<p>To the brave reader who has been following me somehow regularly it’s obvious
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that Emacs is the main topic of discussion here on these pages. Being it a
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personal website, though, it makes sense to expand on other topics as well. And
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since my cinephile side is pretty much covered by <a href="https://www.filmsinwords.eu/">Films in
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Words</a>, what is left to write about? Books, of
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course. Starting from next year I will share here a few words on the books that
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I enjoy the most. For today, however, a classic best-of list is all that I am
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going to offer.</p>
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<div style="text-align: center; padding-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 15px;">
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<img src="https://www.manueluberti.eu/images/2021-books.jpg" />
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</div>
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<p>I have selected only the most relevant books from this year, setting aside
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<em>almost</em> everything related to my University exams. Without further ado, from
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bottom to top:</p>
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<h4 id="12-spinoza-lorenzo-vinciguerra">12) <em>Spinoza</em> (Lorenzo Vinciguerra)</h4>
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<p>Carocci has been covering many great philosophers with these handy companions.
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Beside Vinciguerra’s, I have been through the ones about Aristotle, Plotinus,
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and Decartes and they all proved to be more than mere introductions. They are
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deep, clear, and concise explorations that help the reader move swiftly among
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outstanding thinkers. I am singling out Vinciguerra’s book because Spinoza is
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particularly dear to me, but any serious philosophy enthusiast should check
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Carocci catalogue.</p>
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<h4 id="11-the-broom-of-the-system-david-foster-wallace">11) <em>The Broom of the System</em> (David Foster Wallace)</h4>
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<p>Not my favourite work from David Foster Wallace, but he was still able to absorb
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me and enthrall me. Even though most of the time I was looking for clues to
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understand how he moved from here to <em>Infinite Jest</em>, he was already a superb
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writer and an enigmatic story-teller when he published this.</p>
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<h4 id="10-michael-mann-pier-maria-bocchi">10) <em>Michael Mann</em> (Pier Maria Bocchi)</h4>
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<p>My favourite Italian film critic on my favourite film director. There is nothing
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much to add. This is a work of love, it’s plain to see, but it is not only for
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Mann’s devotees. Bocchi has dedicated more than twenty years to study the
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director’s career and the amount of insights in these pages is outrageous. I
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won’t say this is <em>the</em> book about Michael Mann, but yes, it definitely is.</p>
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<h4 id="9-surfacing-margaret-atwood">9) <em>Surfacing</em> (Margaret Atwood)</h4>
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<p>A little book about the imaginative power of memory and how hard it is to
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control it. Atwood does not tell. She evokes impressions, suggests emotions,
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points at infinite directions. She traps the reader gently and then shocks them
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at the right time.</p>
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<h4 id="8-philosopher-of-the-heart-clare-carlisle">8) <em>Philosopher of the Heart</em> (Clare Carlisle)</h4>
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<p>One the most introvert philosophers of all time, Kierkegaard put everything he
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thought and was in his writings, so why should we read a book about him written
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by someone else? Carlisle answers this rather silly question of mine with a
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marvellous work that places the reader within the Danish philosopher’s mind and
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heart. Eventually, she poses an interesting question to any Kierkegaard’s
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apprentice out there: what if there is something about him that he was not able
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to process with his philosophy?</p>
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<h4 id="7-freedom-jonathan-franzen">7) <em>Freedom</em> (Jonathan Franzen)</h4>
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<p>Franzen always seems capable of capturing something about my life when he
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writes, as he does all the time, of people that could not be more different from
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me. <em>Freedom</em> tops the already great <em>The Corrections</em> not only because of this,
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but also because whenever I think of life one of his characters comes to mind,
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and more often than not they have such familiar faces.</p>
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<h4 id="6-attesa-di-dio-simone-weil">6) <em>Attesa di Dio</em> (Simone Weil)</h4>
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<p>Considering my idea of Christianity, when a book forces me to think about the
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<em>Pater Noster</em> for months then it has to be special. Weil’s explorations of
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every word of the Lord’s prayer is the only thing I could think of when, a few
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days ago, I happened to be in church for a funeral. Faith remains a complicated
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issue for me, but Weil has forever changed the way I look at prayers.</p>
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<h4 id="5-diari-1941-1943-etty-hillesum">5) <em>Diari 1941-1943</em> (Etty Hillesum)</h4>
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<p>As a member of a book club, at one of our meetings I had a hard time explaining
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why it is next to impossible to write about what it means to live through hate
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and die because of it after Hillesum’s pages. Which is the main reason why I
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didn’t enjoy the book we were discussing, anyway. I wish Etty could have been
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there because she would have found the right words. She was truly one of a kind.</p>
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<h4 id="4-the-human-stain-philip-roth">4) <em>The Human Stain</em> (Philip Roth)</h4>
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<p>From now on when someone asks me about race I will point them to this book,
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simply because I’ve never seen the hypocrisy of so many opinions about race
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and racism framed so intelligently. Roth sharp writing takes no prisoners. As
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soon as I was sure to have him finally pinned down, he punched me hard and woke
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me up once and for all.</p>
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<h4 id="3-moby-dick-herman-melville">3) <em>Moby-Dick</em> (Herman Melville)</h4>
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<p>For reasons beyond my understanding Melville’s masterpiece has entered my life
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many times but only this year I was able to pick it up and go through all of it.
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In awe, of course, because there is no other way to witness the literary genius
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of Melville at work. If you are not deeply in love with this book already, I
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could not recommend the Norton Critical Edition enough.</p>
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<h4 id="2-i-promessi-sposi-alessandro-manzoni">2) <em>I Promessi Sposi</em> (Alessandro Manzoni)</h4>
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<p>Possibly the most hated book in Italian high schools, I was lucky back then
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because I had a great teacher that was able to convey her passion for Manzoni to
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a kid who was not ready for the world just yet. More than twenty years later I
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decided to see whether <em>I Promessi Sposi</em> had still something to offer to me.
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It’s safe to say that it will take me a while to find another novel that can
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match the emotional turmoil Manzoni has put me through once again.</p>
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<h4 id="1-la-divina-commedia-dante-alighieri">1) <em>La Divina Commedia</em> (Dante Alighieri)</h4>
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<p>As great as the above-mentioned teacher was, a colleague of hers who was
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supposed to enlighten us about Dante Alighieri was instead a complete jackass
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who disregarded <em>La Divina Commedia</em> entirely, and so I ended up finishing high
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school with little to zero knowledge about this classic. More so than with
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Manzoni, I wanted to feel ready when approaching Alighieri, and studying
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philosophy has taken me right where I wanted to be. I am going to read <em>La
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Divina Commedia</em> over and over again for the rest of my life and I am confident
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I will never be able to talk about it with the respect and the wisdom it
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deserves.</p>
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<p>That’s all from 2021. Happy new year, people!</p> |