Book Barn BOTM POLL: APRIL: CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSEEEE

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Book Barn BOTM POLL: APRIL: CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSEEEE

two days to vote starting NOW gunshot This poll is closed.
Zorba the Greek	4	18.18%
I Claudius	4	18.18%
The friend of the family of the Narcissus	4	18.18%
The Conference of Birds	10	45.45%
Total:	19 votes

[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis,

quote:

I'd heard of Zorba the Greek, in the way that the classics of modern literature totter into the subconscious even without being read or studied. It was only while holidaying in Greece in summer 2010 that I bought a tatty, overpriced Faber edition from a small bookshop in Athens as I waited for the boat to Heraklion, the main port of Crete where Nikos Kazantzakis, the book's author, was born and is buried.

The novel tells the story of the narrator's friendship with a lively 60ish-year-old lover, fighter, adventurer, musician, chef, miner, storyteller, dancer ... the occupations are endless. This is Zorba, described by the narrator as "the man I had sought so long in vain". They spend a year on Crete together, Zorba managing the lignite mine that the narrator is financing as a project to bring him into closer contact with working-class men, whose honest, simple lifestyles the narrator admires but cannot emulate. It is a tale of Zorba's seductions, most memorably of Madame Hortense, the heavily made-up, big-buttocked, ageing courtesan who offers the two men hospitality and a little more, and of the narrator's melancholy "life-and-death struggle" to write an account of his Buddha while waiting for Zorba to return from the mine and make his supper.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/aug/14/zorba-greek-nikos-kazantzakis-summer-readings

I Claudius by Robert Graves

quote:

I, Claudius (1934) is a novel by English writer Robert Graves, written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius. Accordingly, it includes the history of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and the Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC to Caligula's assassination in 41 AD.

The 'autobiography' of Claudius continues (from Claudius' accession after Caligula's death, to his own death in 54) in Claudius the God (1935). The sequel also includes a section written as a biography of Herod Agrippa, contemporary of Claudius and future King of the Jews. The two books were adapted by the BBC into an award-winning television serial, I, Claudius.

In 1998 the Modern Library ranked I, Claudius fourteenth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2005, the novel was chosen by Time as one of the one hundred best English-language novels from 1923 to present.[2]

The friend of the family of the Narcissus by Joseph Conrad

quote:

The work, written in 1896 and partly based on Conrad's experiences of a voyage from Bombay to London, began as a short story but developed into a novella of some 53,000 words. As it grew, Conrad began to think of its being serialized. After Smith Elder had rejected it for the Cornhill Magazine, William Ernest Henley accepted it for the New Review, and Conrad wrote to his agent, Garnett, "Now I have conquered Henley, I ain't 'fraid o' the divvle himself!" Some years later, in 1904, Conrad described this acceptance as "the first event in my writing life which really counted".[6]

In the United States, the novel was first published under the title The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle, at the insistence by the publisher, Dodd, Mead and Company, that no one would buy or read a book with the word "friend of the family" in its title,[4] not because the word was deemed offensive, but because a book about a black man would not sell.[7]

The Conference of the Birds or Speech of the Birds (Persian: منطق الطیر‎‎, Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr, also known as مقامات الطیور Maqāmāt-uṭ-Ṭuyūr; 1177), by Farid ud-Din Attar

quote:

is a celebrated literary masterpiece of Persian literature by poet Farid ud-Din Attar, commonly known as Attar of Nishapur.

In the poem, the birds of the world gather to decide who is to be their king, as they have none. The hoopoe, the wisest of them all, suggests that they should find the legendary Simorgh, a mythical Persian bird roughly equivalent to the western phoenix. The hoopoe leads the birds, each of whom represent a human fault which prevents man from attaining enlightenment. From the many birds that begin the journey, only thirty birds are left that finally reach the dwelling place of the Simorgh. There, the birds see the Simorgh in the reflection of their faces of an implicit lake.[1][2]

# ? Apr 3, 2017 02:33

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# ? May 3, 2024 00:37

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

You can vote for more than one! But if you vote, and the book you vote for is chosen, please participate in the discussion. Thanks!

# ? Apr 3, 2017 04:07

Groke: Jul 27, 2007; New Adventures In Mom Strength

drat fine selection this time around; but only one of the options is Joseph Conrad, so he gets my vote.

# ? Apr 3, 2017 08:39

TheManFromFOXHOUND: Nov 5, 2011

The Conference of Birds sounds really cool, and I'll probably read it even if it doesn't win. Does anyone know of a good translation of it?

# ? Apr 3, 2017 19:44

Ben Nevis: Jan 20, 2011

TheManFromFOXHOUND posted:

The Conference of Birds sounds really cool, and I'll probably read it even if it doesn't win. Does anyone know of a good translation of it?

It came up in Lit thread a bit ago and the only recommendation was the Penguin translation. I'm also curious to see if there are any additional recs.

# ? Apr 3, 2017 20:17

mllaneza: Apr 28, 2007; Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1993-1952

I'm voting for Conference of Birds because for some reason I find myself writing young adult adventure stories set in medieval Persia. i was planning to do some serious research soon, and it looks like the time has arrived. It's also folklore from an unfamiliar source, which is always good.

# ? Apr 4, 2017 02:21

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

mllaneza posted:

I'm voting for Conference of Birds because for some reason I find myself writing young adult adventure stories set in medieval Persia. i was planning to do some serious research soon, and it looks like the time has arrived. It's also folklore from an unfamiliar source, which is always good.

there's certainly no better reason to read old poetry than this

# ? Apr 4, 2017 04:38

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

i am honestly bewildered that the birds won, go fig

ill get a thread up soonish

# ? Apr 6, 2017 01:46

chernobyl kinsman: Mar 18, 2007; a friend of the friendly atom; Soiled Meat

mllaneza posted:

I'm voting for Conference of Birds because for some reason I find myself writing young adult adventure stories set in medieval Persia. i was planning to do some serious research soon, and it looks like the time has arrived. It's also folklore from an unfamiliar source, which is always good.

christ

# ? Apr 6, 2017 03:41

ulvir: Jan 2, 2005

which version should I for my kindle, this or this?

edit: from the preview it looks like the first link is a prose translation. there's also a new translation from 2017, maybe I should go for this one instead?

ulvir fucked around with this message at 15:30 on Apr 6, 2017

# ? Apr 6, 2017 15:23

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# ? May 3, 2024 00:37

Tree Goat: May 24, 2009; argania spinosa

ulvir posted:

which version should I for my kindle, this or this?

edit: from the preview it looks like the first link is a prose translation. there's also a new translation from 2017, maybe I should go for this one instead?

don't get the $2.00 (or 1.99 or whatever) kindle version, it's the same as the one of the free public domain versions. the new translation is supposed to be good (but i haven't read it), the amazon kindle version is https://www.amazon.com/Conference-Birds-Attar-ebook/dp/B01HDSU0G0/

the penguin classics one (the paperback of the first link) is the one i have, and the one that was recommended to me

there's an illustrated one by peter sis that iirc is more of a "retelling" than a strict translation but is supposed to be pretty to look at

# ? Apr 6, 2017 23:08

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