a day in Munich: shades of grey + colors of comic

the new photo friday theme is "shades of grey" 
- which fits in unplanned ways with my short trip to Munich:
it was a trip through grey skies, to a destination  that came both in black+white
and in 100 colors: the Comic Festival Munich 2013. 

some impressions:

 

Munich deserted and grey: this is one of the main plazas, the "Stachus"

event announcements, including the comic festival
and open air cinema, next to poetry slam
and Carmina Burana and Louis Armstrong

at the comic fair: "Hi Batman!"

comic exhibition of guest country Italy:
here, it's either ink black or pure whites.

the comic fair, coming with a 1000 colors and themes

and a final photo, from the drive back through the rain;
with weather warnings broadcasted in the radio:
many rivers run dangerously high,
some towns are in danger of flooding
and this, on June 1st: the official start of summer

reading into Belgium: a trip, comics, an open city, and finding books

This blog post is inspired by the "around the world" reading challenge and the "It's Monday! What are you reading?" series. More about the challenge, the series and further reads, at the bottom of this post.



Last week brought some challenge-inspired reading: the “around-the-world” contest has Belgium as destination for May. First I thought, I won't join this month, but then Belgium... it's a neighbour country of Germany, and I visited it on a short trip once. But I can't remember reading a book from a Belgium author - could that be?

A trip to Belgium
The thought hooked me, and so I went looking - both for photos from the trip, which was the easier part: the short trip was in August 2004, and lead forth and back between the three borders that meet up there: Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. In Belgium, the city we visited was: "Liege", which is called "Lüttich" in German. Here are 2 photos, I remember how i enjoyed the colorful mix of shapes, of old houses and modern plazas with sculptures: in architecture, of graffiti and classic facades:

Comic Books from Belgium
After the photos, I looked through the book shelves here, and doing so, i came across a collection of classic comics. It made me remember that there is a whole own range of European comics, called "Francobelgian" ... and yes, 3 books of the collection are from Belgian authors. The books wait since ages, still wrapped up.. Each paperback presents one author and his/her main comic series. So I revisited Lucky Luke and the Smurfs last week, and Gaston. Not sure if Lucky Luke and the Smurfs are as well-known outside Europe, but here, they were very popular when I was a kid.



The comic collection itself, I am really glad I started to read into it now: each single issues starts with an author and series portrait, and the stories included are well chosen - for example for the smurfs, the first story is the "roots" story of the smurfs, which made their initial appearance in a humorous comic set in the time of kings and queens. Also included is the story of the first female smurf - I remembered that one hazily. It also made me think that back as a child, a book was all about story, and the author and the place it was written didn't matter. I guess with the smurfs I didn't realize they were translated. And Lucky Luke, I thought it was coming from the US, with its western theme.

A question that I couldn't find the answer to so far is: why is Belgium such a hot spot for comics? Here's more about the phenomenon of Franco-Belgian comics, in wikipedia, with a list of the most notable comics, and more surprises: Asterix is Belgian, too - as are Blueberry, Marsupilami, and Tintin!

The article also gives some clues for the variety of comics created in Belgium:

When Germany invaded France and Belgium, it became close to impossible to import American comics. The occupying Nazis banned American animated movies and comics they deemed to be of a questionable character. Both were, however, already very popular before the war and the hardships of the war period only seemed to increase the demand. This created an opportunity for many young artists to start working in the comics and animation business. 

And as comics are all about image, here's a video clip with sights from the Belgian capital Brussels, and the comic murals that are part of the city:

 


***

Belgium in a novel: Open City

After I started to read into the comics, I remembered that a part of a novel I read last year actually was set in Brussels: Teju Cole's "Open City" is set in New York, the home of main character Julius. But the roots of Julius' family lead back to Africa, and his grandmother migrated from there to Brussels - and so he decides to visit this city. For some reason, he doesn't manage to meet her there. But he has several encounters with people who live in Brussels or are there temporarily. And the title of the book itself, "Open City" -



- it sounds so open and inviting, and at first i assumed its a metaphor for New York. But it refers to Brussels, the explanation of it actually is included in the book, and reaches back to 1940:  "Had Brussel's rulers not opted to declare it an open city and thereby exempt it from bombardment during the Second World War.."

It's a key line for the book, and made me look up the term in Wikipedia during a google search, when looking for more background:

"Open City: In war, in the event of the imminent capture of a city, the government/military structure of the nation that controls the city will sometimes declare it an open city, thus announcing that they have abandoned all defensive efforts." - Wiki/OpenCity

Which also means in some cases that the doors of houses aren't blocked - that the winners can go in for the taking, without defense. More about Open City, in a longer blog entry: Open City - links, ponderings, troubled complacency, and this place between ignorance & attention

**

Belgium and Africa

And one more find: this month, i made a little discovery: e-book readers can neatly look for a word in all e-books they have in their files. After the comic finds, I just had to look up "Belgium". And arrived at a book that I once downloaded when it was up as temporary free read: "Cafe d'Afrique - a personal discovery". It's the memoir of Tineke Van der Eecken, a Belgian-born social scientist, UN-worker, writer and visual artist who lived and worked in Africa during the nineties.

So again, a book from Belgium that already was in my shelves, without me realizing it. the main focus of the book is on Burundi and Zambia. Reading into it, it made me think of the Historia book from April, written by the volunteer teacher who went to Cape Verde with the Peace Corps, to find herself faced with a very different concept of social, political and cultural life. It's part memoir and part travelogue, and so far, takes a bit to get into it.

For both books, the connection of Africa and Belgium is of course rooted in the time of Belgian colonialism - it's almost like two sides of writing: the Belgian comics which are based on the time of being cut off from the comic-mainstream. And the novels / memoir, which both follow historic connections and the way they still influence the world.

**

Finding Books

I really enjoyed this discovery-tour induced by the Belgium challenge, and it also made me go and pull some useful links together in a blog post: Finding books by country: helpful links + resources

Upcoming next as destination is: South Korea. Looking forward to it.

*****

 

Previous reading blog entries are collected here: bookshelf: currently  reading... there also is a visual bookshelf, just click it to get there.

Around the world is a challenge by book blogger Giraffe Days. Here's the challenge overview link, and here the Belgium reading challenge page.

More monday reads from other bloggers: link list at book journey

And my own new book... is Worl(d)s Apart. True.

reading: a forbidden book + a (non)diva diary + a memory guide

This blog post is inspired by the reading challenge: 7 Continents, 7 Billion People, 7 Books - Reading Challenge 2013 and by the "It's Monday! What are you reading?" series, more about both, at the bottom of this post.


A Forbidden Novel: "Metro" 
Egypt: that is the world heritage of the pyramids, the Sphinx, the oldest country in the world, the glorious past of the Pharaohs, the first financial system, you name it. Also, it's a country in turmoil. A book that sketches an image of life in Egypt, and addresses the problems that lead to the current situation openly - so openly that it ended up being forbidden - is "Metro" by Madgy al-Shafee. It's a rough, almost desperate ride of a story, taking the reader through a Cairo that is defined by difficulty, dreams, corruption, and a lingering revolution.

Published in January 2008, the book soon was censored for "infringing public decency". It got published outside Egypt, though, and received prizes. Here's a video that includes a report on the situation and an interview with Al-Shafee, and moments from Cairo:

 

Given the background and prizes, I was sure that the regional libraries would have a copy - wrong I was. But they tracked down the book in Kassel library, and it got delivered from there. If you are interested in having a look inside, the magazine Words without Borders has the first chapters online in English: from "Metro" (the navigation is on the right side). And here's a bit more about it, in a new article: Formerly banned graphic novel ‘Metro’ now available in Cairo

*

A (non)diva diary
Of course, when picking up "Metro" at the library, I had a look around - and in the non-fiction section, came across a book that continues the "travel / long distance trek / stepping out" theme of the last weeks, with reads like "Out of the window & into the mountains" & Deep Country..":

Helene Grimaud, a French pianist who now lives in the States, at some point decided she needs to spend some time alone, and went to Europe to walk across the Alps. I didn't know her, and was amazed to read that she is a star pianist who at home, has created a home for wolves. I just started to read into her book. It's touching, open, and you can feel her two sides: the cultural/musical side, and the longing/connection to the wild, which probably inspired the title for her first book: "Wild Harmonies: A Life of Music and Wolves"
here's her homepage: Helene Grimaud - and here's a clip with an interview that is both about her music and the wolves.

*

A memory book
The third book i am reading is from the "How To"-kind: "Memory Book - the Classic Guide to improving your memory at work, at school and at play". I looked for it after watching a video about memorizing techniques, and feeling: wow, i want to try that, maybe that will help me to remember names of people and places and films etc. better. (for me, it's much easier to remember whole stories than names).

Here's the video that made me go and look for such books, it's from Joshua Foer, at Ted Talks. Foer wrote a book, too, and the memory book is one of the books he refers to in his talk, as one of the classic guides.

 


*****

Global Reading Challenge
This blog post is inspired by a Global Reading Challenge, more about it here: 7 Continents, 7 Billion People, 7 Books - Reading Challenge 2013 

The link is also listed in the "It's Monday! What are you reading?" series that is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, participating blogs are listed in this Linky Book List

Previous reading blog entries are collected here: bookshelf: currently  reading... there also is a visual bookshelf, just click it to get there:

And my own new book... is Worl(d)s Apart. True.

reading into graphic novels + around the world (+elsewhere)

this blog post is inspired by the blog series "It's Monday! What are you reading?" which is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. more about that, at the bottom of this post.



last week i read two books for the global reading challenge - and two graphic novels, one of them is "Habibi", which received several awards. the other is a new variation of "The Invisible Man":

• "Habibi" by Craig Thompson - a work that is stunning, from theme, from artwork, from size. 600 pages of delicate drawings, with a multitude of oriental patterns, and stories inside stories inside stories, including biblical stories both of the Bible and of the Koran, and the parallels they hold - and all this wrapped in a narrative that merges the world of the 1001 nights and our present world i had to keep myself from reading it all in one day. it’s such a visual joy, yet from narrative tends to move too much towards black-white characters, and towards a tale-like happy-end. below is a video that offers some looks inside. for more, try the image collage at google which gives a good impression of the style and variety: Habibi at Google Images
• "The Nobody" by Jeff Lemire - this is a modern-day version of H.G. Wells classic "The Invisible Man". Jeff Lemire turned the narrative into a smalltown graphic novel with a focus on prejudices and the lingering fear of the stranger that comes to town. for a look inside, try the video - following Habibi, i open the pages of "The Nobody". a side-effect of the book: it made me look for scenes from "The Invisible Man" film, and also download the original work, to get an idea of H.G. Wells own words. (PS: and now i saw that the new coursera lit lectures on SciFi and Fantasy will also feature H.G. Wells in several lectures, so that might be interesting - here's more about the (free) lectures

If you are interested in graphic novels, i blogged about previous graphic novel reads and the like (Hugo Award best graphic novel 2012 + short story winners, Batman Noel, Steampunk, etc..) here and here

And right below, the video - as january for me is about experimenting with video, and as graphic novels are all about showing instead of talking about it... 

World reads: Pakistan & former Yugoslavia
Pakistan is a country i now almost nothing about, even though it's one of the 7 countries that hosts the largest shares of the world population (here's the list: China, India, USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria..). I remember a street in London with Pakistani restaurants, though. I can't remember reading a book from there, or seeing a film. In contrast to that, i've been to former Yugoslavia on holidays, but mainly to beaches and some of the small islands. What I still remember is how time seemed to move backwards there - the further you drove, the slower things got, and at one point there was this road, with a wheelcart and a donkey on the other side. I also remember how I friend came back from there, and said: "If they continue like that, they will end up in a war." It seemed impossible, war in this place. But then it started. Reading the book brought those memories back, both of visting, and of the dark news from there.

But back to the books:

• Granta: Pakistan: After reading + writing about the wonderful book "Leaving India - My Family’s Journey from Five Villages to Five Continents" (for more, visit this book talk), the next regional focus of my reading journey will move towards rather different places and formats: for the 7 continents reading challenge, is a Granta collection of Pakistan waiting, which also is my first Granta collection altogether. here's the link to the online version with some selected reads: Granta Archive "Pakistan".
• "Frozen Time" by Anna Kim: inspired by the blog "a year of reading around the world", who picked an usual book for Austria: "Written by South Korean-born Anna Kim, who moved to Austria from Germany aged seven and regards German as her mother tongue, the narrative follows a young researcher in Vienna’s Red Cross Tracing Service as she attempts to help a Kosovan man discover what happened to his wife during the war in former Yugoslavia... Kim is one of those rare writers who manage to combine economy of language with rich significance." here's more: Austria (&Yugoslavia) - compacted meaning. and the story how the book arrived here by special library service - is an own story, included in the clip above.

**

February challenges:
and a quick update on the reading challenges i join this year, with a look at upcoming books (maybe it would make sense to start a book / challenges list page for those? i guess.. will do so in February):

• for the 7 Continents challenge - a book from one of the 7 highest countries: the "Pakistan" collection above 
• for the classic reading February: the The Tao Te Ching, Daodejing / dào"Path","Method” - also simply referred to as the Laozi a Chinese classic text. According to tradition, it was written around the 6th century BC by the sage Laozi (or Lao Tzu, "Old Master"), text dates back to the late 4th century BC: more/wiki. (which also fits with the 7 highest countries)
• for the Around the World in 12 Books Challenge is country for February "Sudan": for " Tears Of The Desert: One Woman's True Story Of Surviving The Horrors Of Darfur"

  

ELSEWHERE - some related links from fellow book bloggers:

• "One of my 5 Bookish Resolutions is to read more books set in places other than the US & UK, so the last Monday of every month is devoted to discussing my most recent international romps :-)", states Girlxoxo. This week she writes about: With Daughters Of Rome & Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow in her international edition of weekly reading
• "I'm also going to blog about graphic novels today!" tweeted Jessie Carty in reply to this post. Now hers is online, too: Tatemae Vs Honne: To explain the title of this post, .. I will quote from Japanamerica, where the author writes, “But in Japan, there are two very specific words to define these selves:tatemae, or the presentation of the public self, and honne, how you really feel. The underlying truth.”

 

• "A Reading Diary is a vanity project of sorts, but a worthwhile one. It consists of the jottings kept over the course of a year as Manguel (Argentine-born author, now living in Canada) rereads some of his most treasured books." - Leaves & Pages writes about reading a book about reading: A Reading Diary: A Year of Favourite Books 

*****

It's Monday! What are you reading? This blog post is inspired by the blog series "It's Monday! What are you reading?" which is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. participating blogs are listed in this Linky Book List

Previous reading blog entries are collected here: bookshelf: currently  reading... there also is a visual bookshelf, just click it to get there:

And my own new book... is Worl(d)s Apart. True.

Graphic Novels of the Dickens, Steampunk and Alpine kind + NY poets (or: what are you reading?)

this blog post is inspired by the blog series "It's Monday! What are you reading?" which is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. more about that, at the bottom of this post

From Noble Literature to ... Comics.
Last week: Noble Literature, induced by the Frankfurt Book Fair - as in: "Words, Wars, Books, Peace Prizes, Time, Beats, etc.
This week: Comics! Induced by the Comic Fair in Essen city. The nice thing is that i received a couple of comics there, and had the chance to thumb into some graphic novels i didn't know yet. Following that theme, my reads this week are comics and graphic novels - and also, NY poets:

Noel, or: Charles Dickens goes Batman
Just in tune with the upcoming Christmas Season, "Noel" was released here in Germany - i read it on Sunday, and was amazed by it. Great graphics, but even more so: great story, which is inspired by Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol", but with a modern set of characters. The main character is Batman, only that he isn't your helpful superhero in this story but rather the Dark Knight he has turned into in his recent movies and comic stories, scarred by his past and his fight against villains. So: Batman = Scrooge. The equation feels twisted at first, but  works painfully well and leads to uncomfortable reflections: if you deal with villains, how much darkness and cynicism rubs onto your own self in time? The strong contrasts of light and dark in the images, in this case it's a counterpart to the merge of good and bad in the characters. This book  was a #1 New York Times Bestseller. For a peek into it, try this link: Batman Noel

In Search of Peter Pan
I hadn't heard of this book before, and it was both the alpine cover and the title that made me curious. "In Search of Peter Pan" tells a story from the Swiss Alps - the region that is home to the author, Cosey, who favours "realistic comics". Set in the 1930ies, the book weaves together stunning landscapes, the history of the region, and the story of an author looking for inspiration in a narrative that leads from a small mountain village in the Wallis to a glacier that is about to crack to the Aosta valley in Italy. This story was originally serialized in the French magazine "Tintin" in 1983/184. The english edition has the title "Lost in the Alps" and comes in 2 parts. Here's a bit more about the author + artist Cosey and his bio + books (with screenshots) 

Comic artists live
The great thing at the Comic Fair is that there are several artists from different countries, drawing live at the fair. You can stand and watch a white page turn into a comic sketch. It's a kind of magic.

Danach + Steam Noir
The next 2 graphic novels are from German artists, and both also connect to the book fair last week: "Danach" is a non-fictional work, it actually is the thesis of a student, and explores the different ways people take to deal with the end of a relationship. It's not really common to pick the form of a comic for ones thesis, but there have been a couple of comics that developed that way.

And finally: "Steam Noir" - it received the Comic Award for "Best National Comic Book"  It's a steampunk story, here's the definition (which i wanted to look up since ages): "Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century." (more)

The steampunk approach blended right in with the region there, here's a photo from one of the old mines that the region around Essen is famous for - the nice thing is that i got to see a bit of the region, a photo travelogue is online here: Comic Coal Metropolis, or: short trip photos from the Ruhr Region

A bit more about the Comic nominations and award winners that were announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair, here: Comics Beat / Frankfurt 2012 Awards (i already ordered another of them, Habibi by Craig Thompson, set in Morocco - which i also saw in Essen, yet it was definitely to thick to carry  along with its 672 pages)

...and as non-graphic counterpart: the New York School of Poets 
Despite the fair trips, i still continue the "ModPo" Modern Poetry online class, which is moving to the “New York School Poets” this week. Yesterday i listened to Al Filreis’ audio introduction, and his excitement is contagious. The audio introduction is 30 minutes, and includes 2 poems by John Ashbery already – which is continued in the chapter with Ashbery’s “Instruction Manual” – a mind journey from an office that makes him daydream of Guadalajara, Mexico – and made me think of my own fragmented trip to the Ruhr region, where i tiptoed from the fair to catch some of the tunes of the region, which now seemingly reflects in those lines:

“Let us take this opportunity 
to tiptoe into one of the side streets.
..
How limited, but how complete withal, 
has been our experience of Guadalajara.”

*****

It's Monday! What are you reading? This blog post is inspired by the blog series "It's Monday! What are you reading?" which is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. participating blogs are listed in this Linky Book List

Previous reading blog entries are collected here: bookshelf + monday reads. there also is a visual bookshelf, just click it to get there:



Some lines about me: I'm into roads, stories, places, crossings, and all the things they lead and connect to. I edit BluePrintReview and the blueprint book + lit blog. Apart from being an editor and blogger, I am also an author myself. My new book Worlds Apart launched some weeks ago:

Worlds Apart: the true story of 2 friends, 2 journeys, and 10 life lessons  
In the global world, a traveler from Europe and a teacher from Asia meet in the web, share their journeys, and the joys, longings, and life lessons that wait along the road. Captured in letters and photos that reach from China and India to Germany and Spain, a dialogue across continents and cultures unfolds: Worl(d)s Apart

Comic Coal Metropolis, or: short trip photos from the Ruhr Region

Back from a short trip to the Ruhr Region ("Ruhrgebiet"). Traditionally this was an area of coal mining and heavy industry. But in the last decades, more and more coal mines had to close and the whole region is now goes through a huge transition from old industry to modern industry.

The reason i went was "industry"-related: there's a huge comic + boardgame fair, and as i freelance for a comic company, i was there for live blogging and talks and generally helping with everything (including hosting the comic artists).

altogether, this now turned into a multi-themed trip with summer weather in October. here's an image stream:

view of the Ruhr Region from the "Gasometer",

an old gas tank that now is a museum 

"Zeche Zollverein": once a massive coal mine,

now an Unesco world heritage
(more photos from this place, here)

of course, not all is industry here:

church courtyard in the city centre

...and now, to the comic fair:

comic artist at work -

... and more art, now back in the Gasometer:

photo exhibition "Magisch Orte" / "Magic Places"

(which opened April 2011 and closes today, so i was just in time to see it) 

city moments: monuments and autumn trees 

sun reflections in the city

and finally: the drive back home

Don Quijote Sweet Tooth Sugar Fish

currently reading: a wild mix of comics

yesterday a big comic event took place in Germany: “Gratis Comic Tag” / “Free Comic Day” – about 200 comic shops offered special free comics. i was involved into the event through the comic project i freelance for, and received a set of the comics earlier this week.

but it was both fun and interesting to walk into a real shop and see the real comics and people, in contrast to all the digital blogging and pages, especially as there also was a Star Wars signing going on in the shop i visited.

altogether, 30 free comics were on offer, with themes ranging from humour to crime, from historic to apokalyptic and from big international themes to german indie. it's a great way to explore authors and series.

above, some of my favourites so far: "Don Quijote" is a modern comic that incorporates the classic Don Quijote figure in a modern world, with a grandson that thinks he is Batman, "Wave and Smile" is actually German, and about the Afghanistan War, and  "Zuckerfisch" ("Sugar Fish") is a collection of comic strips. "Sweet Tooth" is an apocalyptic US-series that is launching in Germany now, and "Die Katze des Rabbiners" ("The rabbi's cat") is a philosophical french comic.

one thing that was interesting: even though there are lots of free comics in the web - and some of the 30 comics are actually print-versions of online comics - the free comics attracted a lot of attention. there even were people who went to Berlin, as with all the comic shops there, you had a chance to collect all free comics when you trailed all shops.