Book Culture Blog

Last week we hosted a launch event for Kathrin Stengel’s new book, November Rose: A Speech on Death

She was introduced by Professor Licia Carlson, a philosophy professor in Harvard’s Expository Writing Program, shown here on the left with Kathrin Stengel on the right.

Kathrin took the time to answer a few questions for us after the event:

What books are you currently reading?

Many books for work and one for pleasure, a book in German by Ortheil called Don Juan (but I am not so thrilled.) The last book I read and which I enjoyed very much and which hopefully will be translated soon was by Pascal Mercier: Der Nachtzug nach Lisabon. It is a bestseller in Germany …

For work, I’ve read Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s The World of Perception and L. Kolakowski’s Why is There Something Rather Than Nothing? 23 Questions from Great Philosophers.

Are there any upcoming book releases that you are particularly looking forward to the publication of?

Yes. The two new titles by Upper West Side Philosophers

Do you have standard titles or writers you like to recommend, either within or outside your field?

I recently read a small book by an architect, Juhani Pallasmaa, called The Eyes of the Skin. It is an exceptional treatise on perception and architecture and its recourses to our body. Also, Pascal Mercier is an amazing author!

What is your personal favorite book ever? Why?
I couldn’t pick just one. I have sooo many favorite books. I definitely adore the work of Cees Noteboom as much as that of Dostoyevsky, Chaim Potok’s work as much as Ludwig Wittgenstein’s, Rumi’s as much as Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s, and Immanuel Kant’s as much as Harry Mulisch’s.

Do you shop at Book Culture or was this your first visit to the store?

All the time! I just bought a book on Spinoza.