I finally finished reading Anne Applebaum's Gulag, and I must say that it is one of the best - if not the best - nonfiction work I have ever read. It is certainly the best nonfiction book concerning Russia that I have read. I recommend this book to everyone. It is fascinating, incredibly detailed and well-researched, and it is well written. If you think that you already know a lot about the Russian Gulag system, and therefore don't need to read this work, I'd advise you to think again. I studied Russian history and politics in college, and I certainly knew more about the Gulag system than the average American; however, what I knew would not have filled half of a chapter of this book. Everyone should read it. Everyone. I had meant to write something about this book: what I had learned, what opinions I had formed, what quotes I felt were poignant enough to repeat, but I simply cannot. Anything I could say would merely serve to lessen the impact of Applebaum's text. Buy it, go to the library and borrow it, something, but read this book.
Moving on, but still on the topic of books: Now that I've finished with the Gulag, it seems that I've exhausted the AH Library's supply of Russian-history books. (It's chock full of books about the US to benefit the Russians, but that's not really what I'm after here.) I snagged two escapist thrillers from the library - a Sue Grafton and a Robert Ludlum - but while they'll entertain me, they won't really hold my attention for an extended period, nor will I learn much of anything from them. So if any of you feel, for some reason, like sending me a book off of my wishlist, I would be most ever grateful. Okay, so I don't actually expect anyone to send me anything, but it's worth a shot, right? But in all seriousness, if any of you have any suggestions as to Russia/USSR/Eastern Europe books that you think I might find interesting, please drop me a line and let me know.
And speaking of books, I haven't done too much with the one I'm writing since coming over here; it's hard to get into the mind of a sixteen year old north Florida country girl from a Soviet-era apartment in provincial Russia. However, I have started translating it into Russian as part of my Russian class. Let's just say that's easier said than done. I've managed to translate what amounts to less than one full page (single spaced) of a tale that is, in English, currently hovering right around fifty pages. Today I got to play Stump the Russian Teacher. Any of you ever tried explaining the concept of a Band Geek to a Russian? Well, you should try it some time. It's definitely an experience.
And now for something totally unrelated: Tonight, after leaving the factory, I rode home on the trolleybus, seated next to one of my students. We were talking about the weather (what else? Russians *love* to talk about the weather), and she asked me if I thought it was cold. I told her that it is as cold as a north Florida winter right now, and then I moved on to explain how unnerving it was to fly out of Florida in February and land in St. Petersburg in February, which is obviously vastly different, climate-wise. She laughed and said, "Here in Russia we say, in St. Petersburg, they haven't winter. It is much colder here in Vladimir." Maybe Nina M. was right in giving me that coat after all.
Moving on, but still on the topic of books: Now that I've finished with the Gulag, it seems that I've exhausted the AH Library's supply of Russian-history books. (It's chock full of books about the US to benefit the Russians, but that's not really what I'm after here.) I snagged two escapist thrillers from the library - a Sue Grafton and a Robert Ludlum - but while they'll entertain me, they won't really hold my attention for an extended period, nor will I learn much of anything from them. So if any of you feel, for some reason, like sending me a book off of my wishlist, I would be most ever grateful. Okay, so I don't actually expect anyone to send me anything, but it's worth a shot, right? But in all seriousness, if any of you have any suggestions as to Russia/USSR/Eastern Europe books that you think I might find interesting, please drop me a line and let me know.
And speaking of books, I haven't done too much with the one I'm writing since coming over here; it's hard to get into the mind of a sixteen year old north Florida country girl from a Soviet-era apartment in provincial Russia. However, I have started translating it into Russian as part of my Russian class. Let's just say that's easier said than done. I've managed to translate what amounts to less than one full page (single spaced) of a tale that is, in English, currently hovering right around fifty pages. Today I got to play Stump the Russian Teacher. Any of you ever tried explaining the concept of a Band Geek to a Russian? Well, you should try it some time. It's definitely an experience.
And now for something totally unrelated: Tonight, after leaving the factory, I rode home on the trolleybus, seated next to one of my students. We were talking about the weather (what else? Russians *love* to talk about the weather), and she asked me if I thought it was cold. I told her that it is as cold as a north Florida winter right now, and then I moved on to explain how unnerving it was to fly out of Florida in February and land in St. Petersburg in February, which is obviously vastly different, climate-wise. She laughed and said, "Here in Russia we say, in St. Petersburg, they haven't winter. It is much colder here in Vladimir." Maybe Nina M. was right in giving me that coat after all.
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