Comments on: The Companionable Presence of a Book http://www.philipgraham.net/2010/07/the-companionable-presence-of-a-book/ Sun, 25 Dec 2011 06:32:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: admin http://www.philipgraham.net/2010/07/the-companionable-presence-of-a-book/comment-page-1/#comment-518 admin Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:09:39 +0000 http://www.philipgraham.net/?p=522#comment-518 Lovely, Lisa--virtual and actual landscapes, giving you a stereoscopic memory of travel . . . Lovely, Lisa–virtual and actual landscapes, giving you a stereoscopic memory of travel . . .

]]> By: lisa peet http://www.philipgraham.net/2010/07/the-companionable-presence-of-a-book/comment-page-1/#comment-517 lisa peet Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:12:44 +0000 http://www.philipgraham.net/?p=522#comment-517 I somehow ended up reading Gao Xingjian's <i>Soul Mountain</i> on a trip to western Ireland a few years ago. And while I didn't ultimately end up loving the book as a whole, the descriptions of the Chinese landscape segued perfectly. Reading these intensely evocative passages about the Chinese river gorges and mountains while sitting on the misty oceanside cliffs of Cork and Kerry counties threw where I was into sharper relief, and enhanced the whole physical experience in a way I still can't quite pin down. I somehow ended up reading Gao Xingjian’s Soul Mountain on a trip to western Ireland a few years ago. And while I didn’t ultimately end up loving the book as a whole, the descriptions of the Chinese landscape segued perfectly. Reading these intensely evocative passages about the Chinese river gorges and mountains while sitting on the misty oceanside cliffs of Cork and Kerry counties threw where I was into sharper relief, and enhanced the whole physical experience in a way I still can’t quite pin down.

]]> By: admin http://www.philipgraham.net/2010/07/the-companionable-presence-of-a-book/comment-page-1/#comment-464 admin Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:20:40 +0000 http://www.philipgraham.net/?p=522#comment-464 Thanks, Levi, I love that story. Reading is never simple, is it? Any book offers different versions of itself, depending on where someone reads it. Thanks, Levi, I love that story. Reading is never simple, is it? Any book offers different versions of itself, depending on where someone reads it.

]]> By: Levi Stahl http://www.philipgraham.net/2010/07/the-companionable-presence-of-a-book/comment-page-1/#comment-463 Levi Stahl Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:58:24 +0000 http://www.philipgraham.net/?p=522#comment-463 This isn't as interesting or excusable as reading while malarial, but I once read about 75 pages of <I>Crime and Punlishment</I> while drunk. I was making my my way home--waiting on the Tube, riding the Tube--from a leaving party for a bookstore coworker in London, and I remember it being an intense experience, as if I were being <I>bathed</I> in the book. I tend to go for the more obvious matches of place and book: on a trip to Japan last year I read <I>The Tale of Genji</I>; on trips to London I usually bring along a volume of Dickens and <I>A Dance to the Music of Time</I>. But maybe you'll inspire me to try mixing it up! This isn’t as interesting or excusable as reading while malarial, but I once read about 75 pages of Crime and Punlishment while drunk. I was making my my way home–waiting on the Tube, riding the Tube–from a leaving party for a bookstore coworker in London, and I remember it being an intense experience, as if I were being bathed in the book.

I tend to go for the more obvious matches of place and book: on a trip to Japan last year I read The Tale of Genji; on trips to London I usually bring along a volume of Dickens and A Dance to the Music of Time. But maybe you’ll inspire me to try mixing it up!

]]> By: admin http://www.philipgraham.net/2010/07/the-companionable-presence-of-a-book/comment-page-1/#comment-457 admin Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:42:29 +0000 http://www.philipgraham.net/?p=522#comment-457 What a great line, needing an escape from the escape. Thanks, Chantal! What a great line, needing an escape from the escape. Thanks, Chantal!

]]> By: Writer Abroad http://www.philipgraham.net/2010/07/the-companionable-presence-of-a-book/comment-page-1/#comment-456 Writer Abroad Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:19:41 +0000 http://www.philipgraham.net/?p=522#comment-456 I often wonder why, when I go on vacation, do I always bring a book that takes me away from the place I've spent time and money on to explore? I've read about London in Paris, about backpacking in China while hiking the Alps, and about European food while eating hamburgers in the U.S. Perhaps no matter where we go to escape, we will always need an escape from the escape? I often wonder why, when I go on vacation, do I always bring a book that takes me away from the place I’ve spent time and money on to explore?

I’ve read about London in Paris, about backpacking in China while hiking the Alps, and about European food while eating hamburgers in the U.S. Perhaps no matter where we go to escape, we will always need an escape from the escape?

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