tsundoku

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Comment by Mail Art Martha on February 24, 2020 at 5:08am

Absolutely Mike!

Not sophisticated child, Nancy, just sick frequently. The only thing I could do was read.  The Ulysses I met through Lobato was the real one, the greek myth, only decided to read James Joyce recently because everybody says it is difficult. Could not resist the challenge.

I still read kiddies' books! No shame in that I tell myself.

Comment by Mike Parsons on February 23, 2020 at 12:27pm

feel like this group was created solely for you (me) ?

a public library withdrawn book becomes an art supply store ... carefully being deconstructed and thoughtfully repurposed.  Your thoughts?

Comment by Bradford on February 22, 2020 at 8:04pm

Entropy is a Great Artist!

Comment by Nancy Bell Scott on February 22, 2020 at 3:47pm

Richard, A Humument is incredible, yes, fascinating visually and I also try to "read" it. A multi-years project. Just a page or two takes me an hour. It's kind of like dessert, only better. Neil Gordon taught me the term Wabi-Sabi when I was trying to describe why decay is beautiful, and failing. Wabi-Sabi took care of that problem.

You must have been a really sophisticated child, Martha. My favorite author was probably E.B. White. I was still reading "Stuart Little" at 14 and laughing my guts out. 

Comment by Mail Art Martha on February 22, 2020 at 12:10pm

My favourite author as a child was Monteiro Lobato. A Brazilian educator of liberal tendencies who wrote a series of books aiming to educate through entertainment. They are fantastic. He was not liked by the Establishment. I met Ulysses through him.

He said that books of no consequence should be printed on something edible so you eat them as you go along. Lobato would have approved of tearing up certain books to make Mail Art. Mmmm...

Comment by Mail Art Martha on February 22, 2020 at 12:00pm

I realized you were joking Richard! I wasn't though. Sometimes I read the ending to see if I can read/enjoy/stomach a book. That is if it is a novel. Mostly I prefer non-fiction, no danger of finishing crying.  

Comment by Richard Canard on February 21, 2020 at 5:33pm

21.O2.20  Dare Ficus S., yes, ...this group  is another "feather in your cap".  & Wow!  Do you speak Japanese? The only word I seem to know is "Wabi-Sabi" or something like that......& to Ms. Mail Art Martha, ...I certainly bow to your point of view. My commentary about Ulysses was intended to be a joke on myself & the classic everyday line that goes "don't tell me how it ends --I don't want to spoil ending". Obviously,  poorly presented.  I can only assume that  a film about an ancient Greek hero  & a contemporary  book by the author James Joyce have little in common other than perhaps an intricate & complex journey. SinCelery, Richard Canard

Comment by Mail Art Martha on February 21, 2020 at 6:40am

Yes! thanks Fike for forming this group.

Nancy, you are right; when a book falls apart it is OK to re-birth it as art. The only one that did so for me is Cannery Row. I picked it up to re-read it  and I was so sad when the paperback fell to pieces in my hands. It seemed natural to use it. Back to Ulysses, I do not feel such an oddity now, but must say that reading it on the tablet I can, when finding something beyond my understanding, invoque Google and some kind soul would have explained whatever it is. Of course it makes Ulyses even longer but the pleasure is in the journey. Only I need several parallel lives.

Richard; my policy is the reverse of yours. I do not to see the movie before I read the book, I do not want to be told what to think. As to spoiling endings, I seem to be inmune. I have read detective stories many times over, knowing 'who done it'. Back to enjoying the journey! I think what I enjoy the most in a book is the authors handling of the language rather than the story. Anybody can tell a story but the telling is what matters for me.

Jayne; you would love to visit Beckenham. It used to be a village, now submerged in the sprawl of London, but the High Street retains its character reasonabley well. There are around a dozen charity shops and all sell secondhand books, among other stuff. The temptation is huge.

Comment by Richard Canard on February 20, 2020 at 8:52pm

20.02.20 ....As a child, I was taught to take especially good care of books & certainly not to write, etc. in books. I spent countless hours entertaining  myself with trips to & fro & in the library. Still yet, after all these years, books , libraries, Barnes & Noble, second-hand bookstores & the  "Goodwill" book shelf remain a central concern in my day to day. But also... long ago, I was privileged  to witness occasional books (children's books primarily) that contained markings, drawings, underlined sentences, commentary in the margins , etc., etc. &  I begin to see that the book could serve a multitude of possibilities of expression beyond its original format.The foremost proponent in this realm that I was most impressed with is the British artist Tom Phillips & his adopted  book "A Humument" ( I think the title of the original book was "A  Human Document"). Several year ago, Mister Josh Rosen (I.U.O.M.A. member) put together a mail art/book project (involving many mail artists) that I thoroughly enjoyed  & thought to be most successful. His project was entitled "Revising The Century". The other day I went to the local recycling center  . They had bins for all manner of materials including books & paperbacks---of course,the public is not allowed to pilfer thru the contents. & finally, ... I saw the movie "Ulysses" with Kirk Douglas years & years ago---so, was never attracted to all the hoopla about James Joyce  & his "Ulysses"---- as it is my usual practice not to "read the book before  I see the movie" as I don't want to spoil the end of the movie.

Comment by Jayne Barket Lyons on February 20, 2020 at 7:59pm

Fike, so glad you formed this group! In my studio old books and magazines abound. I should stop buying, but I can’t stay away from used book sales and thrift stores! 

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