I always liked to read books, probably a trait that I inherited from my mom. The funny thing is that she started to read a lot when I was a baby and was waiting for me to eat milk. So in some way I caused her to read.
When it comes to reading I still prefer the feel of paper. However, when traveling for a short trip with a low cost airline I sometimes have to leave books at home and read something on the Kindle app on my smartphone.
Luckily before the invention of e-reader pocket books were invented.
In particular I want to dedicate this piece to a specific publishing house: Sellerio.
This company is in Sicily. Writing in Italian would be more appropriate, but since my blog is in English let’s keep the language. Managing a two languages blog for a single post would be too much of an hustle. And maybe among some of my readers (lol) there is some foreigner learning Italian that wants some advice on Italian books to read.
Well why this ode for Sellerio pocket’s book?
Form
Size
First of all, many titles have a limited size, for instance 12.5cm x 17 cm. I actually used a ruler to check it.
Do you want to put it in your jacket? It fits!
In your hand while you are going to the park? Just perfect!
In your laptop case so you have something to read on the train while commuting back from work? You know this is great.
Cover Art
The saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” exists because we instinctively decide based on it. Indeed I really like the standard dark blue background of the cover with yellow words that give a sense of elegant uniformity to all of the books, and the choice of using the image of an artwork right under the title.
I guess that the standardization appeals to my logical mind and the vintage artwork to my recent interest as my Italian Art bot can prove.
Writing this piece I discovered that probably the choice for vintage artwork is for using work with expired copyright. Nevertheless I like those.
Content
Characters & Authors
And now let’s focus on what’s inside the books. The catalog encompasses several genres and Italian and foreigners authors. But probably Sellerio books are most famous for detective series, with the most acclaimed one being Montalbano stories by the late Andrea Camilleri. Unfortunately his work is not my cup of tea. My favorites authors publishing with Sellerio are Antonio Manzini and Alessandro Robecchi.
Rocco Schiavone - Antonio Manzini
Rocco Schiavone is a vicequestore (policeman) born in Rome that for punishment is moved to the Italian Alps. He is an anti hero: smokes weed in his office, his childhood friends are criminals (and sometimes he helps them in their crimes), a tough man. But he also has a great sense of humor, he is generous and really smart.
And one gem is his “ranking of pains in the ass” going from 6 (under it you cannot say it is a problem) to 10. For instance:
- level 6: shopping, plumbers, renting.
- level 7: shopping center, banks, labs, doctors (in particular dentists), business dinners and dinners with undesired family members
- level 8: public speaking, bureaucracy, going to the theater,
- level 9: closed tobacco shops, cafeterias without favorite ice cream brand, meeting someone talking forever, stakeouts with fellow cops that do not like to take showers
- level 10: the (yet) unsolved case
How can’t you appreciate such a character?
Carlo Monterossi - Alessandro Robecchi
Carlo Monterossi is a famous TV screen writer living in Milan. He is quite wealthy, and he has a great music culture. For some reasons he happens to be often involved in crimes.
I particularly enjoy the writing style of Alessandro Robecchi, his great use of rethorical figures, dark humor and the ability to depict vividly characters and (crime) scenes. His novels are full of quotes of any registry and probably some are so high level that I cannot fully grasp them. By the way Monterossi is obsessed by Bob Dylan. If you are a fan, you would appreciate the books even more.
Besides the writing style I like that the actions are set in Milan and also two cops that often are met in the pages. Ghezzi is a middle-aged hard working cop preferring solving cases rather than going up the career ladder and Carella is a young detective obsessed with the case to solve.
Short stories collection
The collections of stories from different authors allow to read gems from my favorite authors (that are out from the main series) and experiment with new one writing style without having to read a whole book.
Reading an short story wrapped up in a few dozens of pages about a character you already know is always nice, especially if you are waiting for the next installement of the series.
Taking a chance on different authors you have not yet read to figure if the style aligns to your taste is a smart investment: you can try it in a few chapters instead of investing many hours on a whole book. And you may discover a nice series to add to your reading list.
Advised reading
I have already spoilered my favorite books but here some links:
- Pista Nera, translated in English as Black Run, is the first in Manzini series about Rocco Schiavone. This book follows his first investigation after being moved from Rome to the Italian Alps.
- Ogni riferimento è puramente casuale by again Manzini (just in Italian for now!) is a collection of satiric short stories on the world of book publishing. If you have just to read one of them go for Racconto Andino.
- Questa non è una canzone d’amore (unfortunately has not been yet translated in English): the first book in the series by Antonio Robecchi about Carlo Monterossi, a TV producer that gets stuck in crimes that he helps to solve.
- Viaggiare in giallo (time to learn Italian dear reader!) is a collection of short stories by the two above authors, and other famous writers such as Alicia Giménez-Bartlett and Marco Malvaldi, set during journeys.
- I miei stupidi intenti, translated in English as My stupid intention is the autobiography of a beech marten (yep, you read correctly!). Many people had great words for this book and it is in my to be read list. Actually Elena has just read it and confirmed the positive opinion. I plan to read it by the end of the year.
Sellerio did not need this but I wanted to write.
By the way if anyone working at Sellerio wants to sends me books, feel free to drop me an email to arrange the delivery!