“Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky

What can one say about one of the world’s great novels!! It was very good. I would appreciate it even more if I reread it to better analyze its themes. As with all great novels, it is quite contemporary in many of its sensibilities....timeless. Though, truth be told it was too intellectual to be as emotionally satisfying for me as ”Pride and Prejudice” or “Emma”.

It’s also quite amusing. I was reading Jo Nesbo at the same time as this book, and noticed some striking thematic parallels.

"The Redeemer" by Jo Nesbo

Overall I enjoyed this book, though, as usual, I found some of the philosophical musings to be a bit too abstract for total understanding. I like Harry Hole because he is an imperfect, 3 dimensional human being. I like the Norwegian/European flavor of the setting. As is often the case with Jo Nesbo, religion was an important theme. It seemed as if the Salvation Army is a significant religious organization in Norway. I wonder if that's actually the case. I remember the heavy religious presence in Ingmar Bergman movies, so I wouldn't be surprised. Ah, those rigid Scandinavians.

“Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich” by Stephen Leacock

I enjoyed listening to this audio book, though the satire was a bit depressing due to its accuracy about human nature. Since Leacock is Canadian, I was rather surprised that the stories took place in the United States. I guess I should do some research about this one of these days. The reader, Kate Adams, was very good. I think she must be the reader Eva has been praising. Unlike Eva, I don’t think I’m that fond of the audio format, though it is very convenient. I much prefer to have the written word in front of me.

“Reading into Photography” selected essays 1959-1980

I finally “finished” this book which was recommended by a photography course I took years ago. The initial few essays were quite readable for me, and even interesting, but as the book progressed, the level of scholarly discussion rose above my understanding and interest. The main question posed by the book was, I think, is photography art. It would be interesting to hear the authors’ thoughts on digital phtography.