Which Book Should We Read from Belgium?

In order to start reading quickly, we’re going to do an abbreviated voting cycle so make sure to include your vote as early as possible.

We got 4 great book suggestions this month & randomly chose 2 (see the video of the random pick here).

Before we get to the vote, let me introduce you to some “contemporary” Belgian poetry. I have that in quotes because the name of the book I got the poetry from is titled Contemporary Belgian Poetry (view on Amazon), however, the collection is from 1911. I usually don’t like rhyming poetry, but I found this book available for $0 on Kindle (not Kindle Unlimited, but a purchase price of $0 so took a shot). It was interesting to read & there are a few poems I enjoyed like the following one. Plus, it’s astonishing to see someone not only translate poetry, but translate rhyming poetry!

“Midnight

The earth is black with trees of velvet under
A low sky laden with great clouds of thunder.
The gnomes of midnight haunt the dark, whose ears,
With luxury veiled, hear as a deaf man hears.
One is uneasy in one’s stifling sheets,
And so uneasily the poor heart beats
That, bathed in sweat, at last you leave your bed,
And as in dream about the chamber tread.
You throw the window open. Not a sound.
Surely the wind is swooning on the ground,
And listening to some holy, mystic birth
Preparing in the entrails of the earth.
You listen, earnest, to your heart’s loud shock
Beating with pained pulsations like a clock.
Then to the window-sill you pull a chair,
And watch the clouds weigh down the helpless air
Over the gardens whence, in sick perfumes,
Exudes the sweat of trees and wildered blooms.”
— Victor Kinon

THE VOTING

You can vote from now until Tues., May 3 at 11:30PM on which book you’d like the club to read next. (That's NYC time. See this converted to your local time below.)

Time converter at worldtimebuddy.com

To participate:

1. Review the books.

2. Then, click here to vote.

We'll publish the anonymous results afterwards.