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Anybody have any experiences with "How to read faster" and those general books? Always was curious if they actually worked, feel it could be handy for "popcorn" books (i.e. light reading, pulp, etc).
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Dec 21, 2010 22:55
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I noticed midway through the High Level Lit Chat thread some discussion on Medieval literatre and Old English, with some mention on how it is possible to learn enough in a month to read Beowulf comfortably. I just finished a module on Medieval poetry and I'm really interested in using my Christmas break to trying to learn some Old English myself. Does anybody have any recommendations for good books, websites or courses I should be checking out? I wasn't too sure if I should post this here or in the high level thread, didn't want to spam it up in there as it's flowing so nicely.
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Dec 22, 2010 20:32
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A month? Maybe enough to have an idea what's going on. Comfortably? Not likely. English at any one time in history has a halflife of about 300 years before it goes completely incomprehensible. Go a little easier on yourself and start with the well-trod classics of "that's english?" literature like The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Night, and Piers Plowman. Look for (shouldn't be hard to find) heavily footnoted or parallel with translation copies. e: This book was pretty good. IRQ fucked around with this message at 09:26 on Dec 24, 2010 |
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Dec 22, 2010 22:02
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Dr Scoofles posted:I noticed midway through the High Level Lit Chat thread some discussion on Medieval literatre and Old English, with some mention on how it is possible to learn enough in a month to read Beowulf comfortably. Yeah, you could easily pick up an edition of Canterbury Tales with a good glossary and be reading comfortably within 10 pages. If you know any German, French, or Latin, it'll be even quicker. Plus, there are useful online resources like this Middle-Modern English dictionary-- http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/med/ --which can be a bit annoying because of variable spellings, but isn't bad if you're stumped by something not explained in notes. Old English stuff like Beowulf doesn't look nearly as much like our English. Knowing some German is supposed to help with it, but I can't attest to recognizing much outside of maybe every twelfth word and the occasional verb tense. Here's a poem in Old English with a Modern English translation: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/369.html. It looks pretty alien, but you could probably get enough basic facility to read a short piece like that within a month. If you're determined to give it a whirl, my university uses this book: http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Old-English-Bruce-Mitchell/dp/1405146907/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293056692&sr=8-1 , but this one -- http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Old-English-Peter-Baker/dp/1405152729/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293056759&sr=1-1 -- has a better reputation. And I know Seamus Heaney's Beowulf presents the Old English and his translation side-by-side; there are probably other translations that also do this.
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Dec 22, 2010 23:33
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How do you feel about Penguin's original-spelling edition of Canterbury Tales? It's one I've been thinking about picking up in the new year.
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Dec 23, 2010 16:42
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Dr Scoofles posted:I noticed midway through the High Level Lit Chat thread some discussion on Medieval literatre and Old English, with some mention on how it is possible to learn enough in a month to read Beowulf comfortably. This was the standard text we used back when I took Old English in college: http://www.amazon.com/Biography-English-Language-C-M-Millward/dp/0495906417/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1293120199&sr=8-1
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Dec 23, 2010 17:04
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So my nephew put an Orson Scott Card book on his christmas wish list, a new one I'd never heard of, "Pathfinder." I'm a bit leery of anything by Card outside of Ender's Game really, as almost everything else I've read by him is way way preachy and tends to go off the deep end, and I was hoping somebody may be familiar enough with the title to let me know if this is another Train Wreck like 'Xenocide' and 'Children of the Mind' and pretty much everything else of his I've read. Otherwise I'll just go buy him Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, because hey, all young kids should have a chance to read Ender's Game.
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Dec 23, 2010 22:44
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barkingclam posted:How do you feel about Penguin's original-spelling edition of Canterbury Tales? It's one I've been thinking about picking up in the new year. The version I read is old and has no "translation notes" at all so I'm going by the amazon preview just as you are, but it looks fine to me. The Norton edition has the translation-type notes in the margins and the content-type notes as footers, which I prefer to the Penguin tendency to put all the content stuff at the back of the book; note placement is a matter of personal preference though. Either seems like a good choice.
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Dec 24, 2010 01:00
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Thanks for all the Old English advice, it seems that a month is awfully ambitious but there is no reason why I can't make a start over the Christmas break. Cheers.
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Dec 24, 2010 09:23
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coyo7e posted:So my nephew put an Orson Scott Card book on his christmas wish list, a new one I'd never heard of, "Pathfinder." Why is he asking for OSC books if he hasn't read Ender's Game? That's kind of weird. But if he hasn't read Ender's Game then yes that's what you should get him. As far as other Card books, in my experience they've ranged from mediocre to revoltingly awful. I honestly don't know how he was responsible for Ender's Game. Speaker for the Dead was ok I guess. I only read the first Ender's Shadow book and it was decently written but felt like a cash-in, I doubt a young reader would care though.
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Dec 24, 2010 09:30
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IRQ posted:Why is he asking for OSC books if he hasn't read Ender's Game? That's kind of weird. My nephew's a fairly voracious reader and his tastes thus far tend to lean toward pulpy fantasy stuff he's seen in commercials. I'm a bit concerned that the first time he's possibly ever mentioned the name of OSC, it's for a new trilogy with a sketchy(aka preachy) sounding backstory. I bought him Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Pathfinder for Christmas and wrapped them into two separate presents. The rest of OSC's dross he can spend his own money on, and I mostly regret not having the time to read pathfinder myself to give it fair judgement, but it's a new series with a lot of PR which gives me a lot of misgivings. I'd rather leave him a copy of Stranger in a Strange Land somewhere inconspicuous. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 05:57 on Dec 25, 2010 |
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Dec 25, 2010 05:51
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Nevermind, actually found the right thread to ask this in.
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Dec 26, 2010 05:15
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car dance posted:Nevermind, actually found the right thread to ask this in. Dammit, now I gotta know.
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Dec 26, 2010 11:05
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I picked up the first book in Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy right before Christmas, and upon finishing it, I immediately rushed to the store and got the other two. It's a fairly new trilogy and it's a pretty rollicking good time of a pulp fantasy novel about assassins and thieves' guilds and battles and politics, I was wondering if anybody else had read them yet? The author has a lot of strong twists which caught me off guard, and I'm looking forward to finishing the third book this week. Anybody else checked these out? I've quite enjoyed them so far and am looking forward to more work by the author as he just published the first book in a new series, which seems to be set in the same world. The author occasionally goes on long, 'breathless' run-on sentences but I'm pretty pleased with his writing overall, it's a lot better quality than a lot of sword-and-sorcery stuff I've read.
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Dec 28, 2010 23:57
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Is the Steve Larson 'Girl with a Dragon Tattoo' series worth picking up? Would anyone here recommend the book over the movie or vice versa?
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Dec 30, 2010 08:10
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I'm about halfway through it and I can't put it down. If you like mystery/crime thrillers then definitely give it a read. Ignoring the hype its still a fascinating pageturner. I will say its pretty boring until Chapter 3 or 4. Then you're hooked.
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Dec 30, 2010 12:20
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Any suggestions on where to start with David Foster Wallace. I'm primarily interested in reading any of his essays or short stories that dealt with his rage for grammar in the english language. Actually I think I know what essay to find what I'm looking for in. I just don't have the name here. Can someone who knows more elaborate on the things David Foster Wallace had issues with with regards to English? Kneel Before Zog fucked around with this message at 10:07 on Dec 31, 2010 |
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Dec 31, 2010 10:04
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Kneel Before Zog posted:Any suggestions on where to start with David Foster Wallace. I'm primarily interested in reading any of his essays or short stories that dealt with his rage for grammar in the english language. Any DFW is obviously great. If you want fiction, start with Brief Interviews with Hideous Men then move on to Oblivion. Brief Interviews has much shorter, succinct stories with an obvious overarching theme. Oblivion has longer stories (for the most part) that might be better overall, but a tiny bit less accessible. For essays/non-fiction, you can't go wrong with starting with either Consider the Lobster or A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. The latter's eponymous essay is probably the most famous thing he's done outside of Infinite Jest, and rightly so. Back to your central question, I don't think he wrote much else exclusively about English grammar. But you should read the syllabus for the English class he taught. It's amazing: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/press/releases/2010/dfw/teaching/#syllabus bearic fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Dec 31, 2010 |
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Dec 31, 2010 21:11
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I had the Harper Magazine page opened in a tab but wasn't sure if that was it and if theres more. Thanks.
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Dec 31, 2010 22:08
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I just picked up The Rum Diaries, and Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trial '72. What should I read first?
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Jan 2, 2011 02:12
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coyo7e posted:I picked up the first book in Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy right before Christmas, and upon finishing it, I immediately rushed to the store and got the other two. It's a fairly new trilogy and it's a pretty rollicking good time of a pulp fantasy novel about assassins and thieves' guilds and battles and politics, I was wondering if anybody else had read them yet? The author has a lot of strong twists which caught me off guard, and I'm looking forward to finishing the third book this week. I was the exact same way with that trilogy. Tried the first one, immediately went out and got the other two. The other trilogy he just started is in the same vein but different universe I believe but sticks pretty much to his same style. I would recommend Karen Millers The Godspeaker Trilogy which includes: Empress The Riven Kingdom The Hammer of God Same sort of urban fantasy as Brent Weeks, darker, grittier than most of the usual fantasy. If you like those read her other two books The Innocent Mage and The Reluctant Mage but would shy away from her other serials. If your still looking for more after that than I would recommend Tad Williams Shadowmarch series. Its very dark, gritty and great series. Hope that helps.
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Jan 2, 2011 03:56
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Fat_Cow posted:I just picked up The Rum Diaries, and Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trial '72. Rum Diaries, than Fear and Loathing on the Campaign trail. Are you reading through his catalog or just reading these two?
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Jan 2, 2011 03:57
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Fat_Cow posted:I just picked up The Rum Diaries, and Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trial '72. Space them out or you'll realize how often he repeats himself and certain words/phrases. edit: That was The Great Shark Hunt and Feat and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, maybe Rum Diaries is different, dunno.
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Jan 2, 2011 04:35
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I am reading those two. I had a copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I read and lost some time ago.
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Jan 2, 2011 04:47
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I wouldn't even recommend Rum Diaries at all. It's pretty much Thompson spinning tales about himself and playing them off as fiction about somebody else (but really about him). There's a reason why a book he wrote in the 1960s wasn't released for decades. Campaign Trail is a much better and funnier book.
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Jan 2, 2011 05:35
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Flaggy posted:I was the exact same way with that trilogy. Tried the first one, immediately went out and got the other two. The other trilogy he just started is in the same vein but different universe I believe but sticks pretty much to his same style. I keep hearing Brent Weeks recommended and was interested in trying him, but I really didn't like Empress. I thought it was flat and the main character was predictable, it was dull to read about someone who always knows she's divinely inspired in what she should do and doesn't really choose or question much. The religious system was a drag on the book, the dialect was a bit tedious, and none of the characters were too interesting. Is it really that similar to the Night Angel stuff? Because if so then I probably need to avoid Weeks as well.
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Jan 2, 2011 16:48
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So this might be an oddly specific question but I am looking for interesting, engaging biographies of 18th and 19th century political figures/notable people. I feel like these types of books are shoveled out constantly, particularly ones about the Founding Fathers, so I am having difficulty finding some truly good ones rather than whatever one is in vogue at the moment. Any suggestions?
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Jan 3, 2011 01:34
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deety posted:I keep hearing Brent Weeks recommended and was interested in trying him, but I really didn't like Empress. I thought it was flat and the main character was predictable, it was dull to read about someone who always knows she's divinely inspired in what she should do and doesn't really choose or question much. The religious system was a drag on the book, the dialect was a bit tedious, and none of the characters were too interesting. Its not similar at all. In Brents books there is little to no reference to religion. I liked the ending to the Godspeaker trilogy, it was a little boring and tedious in the first book but the second book picked up just fine, I believe there are some preview chapters online of The Night Angel Trilogy if you want to read a bit of it first. Amazon has some and Google as well.
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Jan 3, 2011 15:03
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So I arrived yesterday in this small house I borrowed through a family member. Winter time in snow country on a small island just off the Western coast of Denmark. Beautiful, tiny, stove heated with extra electric panels, owned by an architect couple who had an idea with every stupid detail there is in a household. Plenty of coffee table books on architecture, nice hotels and penthouse flats and places. Like 15 crime novels. And then Ayn Rand. Why the gently caress does it always have to be Ayn Rand you find in the houses of the economically and aesthetically privileged, who still lack real culture? I can't look at The Fountainhead in my bedroom without being afraid they're cultists.
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Jan 4, 2011 15:19
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Flaggy posted:Its not similar at all. In Brents books there is little to no reference to religion. I liked the ending to the Godspeaker trilogy, it was a little boring and tedious in the first book but the second book picked up just fine, I believe there are some preview chapters online of The Night Angel Trilogy if you want to read a bit of it first. Amazon has some and Google as well. The trilogy closed off nicely and didn't leave it on too much of a cliffhanger, yet didn't really wrap up a lot of stuff, either. It definitely left me hoping that I can go back to that world with later work by the author, although I would almost prefer that the Kylar+[/spoiler]Vir[/spoiler] stuff not really come back up - it was the most tortured and least interesting romantic angle which seemed to mostly just effect the various DEMs to bring certain key characters and places together. I'd almost rather move on and have Kylar be a tertiary character or vanish entirely, although his ex-wife I would like to see more of - hopefully she'll get a chance to step into politics etc.. All in all a wonderful first series from an author who seems to be putting out a great deal of work at a respectable pace. coyo7e fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Jan 5, 2011 |
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Jan 5, 2011 02:05
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LooseChanj posted:Dammit, now I gotta know. Sorry, it was a book request but they haven't been able to find it.
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Jan 5, 2011 02:09
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Wanted to call attention to some new (to TBB) thread tags:   , and separate  and  tags. So if you were refraining from posting cuz there wasn't a tag appropriate hopefully there's a little less pressure now! 
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Jan 7, 2011 13:16
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Fantasy tag? 
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Jan 8, 2011 00:56
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I hope people stop using the flashing sci-fi/fantasy tag now, its pretty annoying!
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Jan 8, 2011 02:21
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Hey, Loosechanj: Could we start doing a poem of the month as well as a book? Starting with shorter poems, I guess?
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Jan 8, 2011 05:17
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Facial Fracture posted:Hey, Loosechanj: Could we start doing a poem of the month as well as a book? Starting with shorter poems, I guess? I'd love to see this. Maybe even consider doing it Cinema Discusso FotM/Primer style where someone chooses rather than a vote, and provides some background/analysis?
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Jan 8, 2011 12:53
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Not sure if this is the right place for this, but it's a bit of an odd question. I recently picked up a couple of hardcover books (Hourani's A History of the Arab Peoples and The Essential Wallerstein by - you guessed it - Wallerstein). Unfortunately, neither came with a dust jacket. Because of this, they really stand out on my bookshelf and it's a nagging irritation. Does anyone know of anywhere I can obtain dust jackets for books? Or is there anywhere I can get one printed? Does anyone have any experience of obtaining dust jackets for hardcover volumes?
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Jan 8, 2011 13:58
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I'd be down for a poem of the month. My goal for 2011 is to get better read in poetry - I'm starting with Chaucer and reading a volume of poetry a month - so I'd take part.
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Jan 8, 2011 17:17
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knees of putty posted:Maybe even consider doing it...where someone chooses rather than a vote, and provides some background/analysis? Yeah, that would be a nice way of doing it. And I'd hope we might end up with a good, diverse range of poems that way.
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Jan 8, 2011 22:03
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I like this poem idea, and yeah you definitely don't want me picking them.
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Jan 9, 2011 04:51
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