I sometimes wonder what to do at a particular moment: e.g., watch a movie or read a book. In my head, there is sometimes a battle between Cinema vs. Literature.
I want to stress today that movies often tempt me to watch them, but usually, it is the book that wins the titled battle. What did I read till today? The style of my reading changed within the last ten years. Between 2011 – 2012 I read many historical books, among others, about the history of Poland and Europe (the First and Second World Wars, etc.). The following year, 2013, was unexpected because it appeared to be a Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s year. My journey with Dostoyevsky started from reading “Devils.” Then, during the whole year, I read almost all of Dostoyevsky’s books translated into Polish. Up to today (I wrote this post on the 9th of January 2021), I still have one Russian writer book with unread short stories. During the first half of 2014, I read five books about Dostoyevsky.
Then, I completed my journey with Dostoyevsky with his letters and self-published a “Writer’s Diary.”
From the middle of 2014 until the middle of 2017, I read mainly Stanislaw Lem’s books and classical literature (among others: Seneca, Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, George Orwell, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, or Charles Bukowski). Since the middle of 2017, I have read mainly English books about broadly defined culture. My favorite publishing houses are Taschen, Phaidon, Thames & Hudson, or Hatje Cantz Verlag.
Usually, after a short decision between the duel “Cinema vs. Literature,” I choose the latter one. I choose reading. I think it has become a habit for me. In the post entitled “Cinema Fanatic,” I’ve already written about it. I wrote I am not a cinema fanatic, because I do not watch too many films. On the other hand, I read about them, mainly thanks to Taschen publishing house.
