Introduction

Hello everyone, my name is Paige and welcome to my blog.

I am a graduate student in the Hispanic Studies department and my main interests are avant-garde art and literature, especially the dialogue between/through/across media. Looking at the course syllabus, I am most excited about exploring the physicality and materiality of a book. Is the construction of a book an art form or is it more scientific (based on stats and impact study)? In what way does the form of the media affect how we experience its content? How much agency does/should the author have in the creation of the book as object vs book as story, and how does that impact how they write it?

I had a long journey towards choosing a long book to read this semester because I am quite indecisive, especially when there are so many options. I started off by looking at my bookshelf, to see which books I could choose (and not have to spend additional money buying a physical copy of a new book). I cross-referenced my shelves with the course’s suggested list. I almost chose One Hundred Years of Solitude, because it’s a book I really should have read by now (and certainly have pretended to have read). I also almost looked at The Catholic School by Edoardo Albinati, but I decided it was too long (which, coincidentally, is why it’s still on my shelf, unread). I only entertained Don Quijote and Les miserables momentarily, because I very quickly decided that they were both too long and dry (too wordy, if you will).

After filtering out all these books that I did not choose for this semester, I am pleased to announce that my long book for this semester is:

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

I will be reading an English translation by Lucia Graves, because I could not find a used copy of the original Spanish. To obtain a physical copy, I would have had to Special Order it in to a bookstore for thirty dollars. I decided that the English translation is good enough for our class purposes, and it will also make the reading more enjoyable since reading in my native language takes less effort than reading in a second language. I like that the book is part of a series, so I can continue on if I end up loving it, and I like that the synopsis gives off cozy vibes.