@Tom Nimenai:
Have you ever read the Seamus Heaney translation?
Have you ever read the Seamus Heaney translation?
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- Thread starter Mythopoet
- Start date
Tom
Istar
I don't think so. I may have read a little of it; I tried a few translations and didn't find one to my liking until I came across Raffel's. What do you think of the Heaney translation?
arbiter117
Minstrel
I'm reading "The Feast" by FarmerBrown. So far I'm pretty much hooked.
I thought the Heaney translation was quite nice. The copy I have includes the original text on each opposing page.
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Post-apoc vampire survival story. About halfway through. Haven't made my mind up yet.
Post-apoc vampire survival story. About halfway through. Haven't made my mind up yet.
Tom
Istar
I just looked it up on Amazon, and I have to say--I'm going to have to get this. It looks good. The rhythm isn't as strong as I would have liked, but I like the word choices and sentence structures. It has a different feel than the Raffel translation; that one played to the epic's lyrical side, and brought out the poetic and atmospheric elements of it. This one is stronger, almost visceral, and less abstract--it's focused more on the story side of the epic, and brings out the action a lot more.
I also read a few paragraphs of the introduction, wherein Heaney talks about the loss of ancestral language and the discovery that languages that seem at odds (English and Irish Gaelic in this case) can be reconciled by small, simple connections in word origins. It caught my interest and touched my emotion, because I've been trying to come to terms with something exactly like that for a long time. I am a native English speaker, but I'm also part-Irish, and it's hard for me to remember that the language I speak nearly stamped out the language of my ancestors.
Re-reading Nostromo. I'm a huge fan of Joseph Conrad. Re-reading partly to watch how he writes, this time.
Oh, and reading another volume in Patrick O'Brian's epic. There, too, I'm paying more attention to how the author writes, what choices he makes.
Neither of these guys fit anywhere close to any of the dozens of how-to books I have. Hmm.
Oh, and reading another volume in Patrick O'Brian's epic. There, too, I'm paying more attention to how the author writes, what choices he makes.
Neither of these guys fit anywhere close to any of the dozens of how-to books I have. Hmm.
Yeah, Conrad is great. I'm reading Lord Jim at the moment. Nostromo provided namesakes for the films Alien and Aliens.
- Thread starter
- #189
Mythopoet
Auror
I'm working on finishing The Book of the New Sun. Almost done with Sword of the Lictor and then on to Citadel of the Autarch. I suppose then I'll probably need to read Urth of the New Sun just so all of this makes sense. A kind of sense anyway.
Tom
Istar
Re-read Coraline last night. It didn't have the same impact as it did when I was a kid, but it's still a well-crafted, delightfully creepy little book.
BronzeOracle
Sage
After finishing the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series I decided to have a short break from fantasy. I turned to some greek classics to help with researching the ancient world for my novel. I started on A History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides to get an insight into politics among the greeks, it was very insightful on the power plays of the city states and had some fantastic speeches and description of warfare, but it got a bit repetitive after about 200-300 pages so I'm now reading The Histories by Herodotus. I'm finding this book very interesting as Herodotus crosses a range of areas, he's not strictly a historian as he wrote before the field of history was invented, he more 'follows his nose'. So he goes into geography, cultural customs, rituals, monuments, legends - all really good stuff and a hive of inspiration for an ancient fantasy world.
BronzeOracle
Sage
Hey Tom I forgot to ask about Howls Moving Castle - what is the book like? Is it much different from the movie?
- Thread starter
- #193
Mythopoet
Auror
The book is significantly different from the movie plot-wise, because in the book there is no war yet, only the threat of one if the missing prince isn't found. And the Witch of the Wastes is the main villain, the curse she places on Howl through Sophie being the main source of danger in the story. There are a lot of differences, some significant and some not very important. But the things that I generally find most important, characters and themes, are very much the same.
I had watched the movie and loved it long before reading the book because I'm a big Miyazaki fan. I think his version is beautiful. But I also strongly recommend the book. I've read it at least 3 times and it is always delightful. It's one of those rare cases where the book and the movie are both wonderful and I don't think I could choose which one I like better.
Tom
Istar
As Mythopoet said--yeah, it's very different, but no less good.
The book is one big puzzle that you have to piece together as you read, and it's full of dry wit--the humor is very British. I like fairy tale subversions, and Howl's Moving Castle is full of them. clever references to LoTR, Hamlet, Arthurian legend and several other pieces of classic literature. It's a very good read.
The book is one big puzzle that you have to piece together as you read, and it's full of dry wit--the humor is very British. I like fairy tale subversions, and Howl's Moving Castle is full of them. clever references to LoTR, Hamlet, Arthurian legend and several other pieces of classic literature. It's a very good read.
deilaitha
Sage
I just finished reading Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, and I enjoyed it. I'm waiting till I can get my hands on Kinslayer and Endsinger. It wasn't a perfectly executed book (if there is such a thing) and I had a few complaints about it, but overall I recommend it for people looking for an exciting, easy read. (Some reviewers on Amazon said it was hard to read, but I probably spent well under ten hours reading it. (I had it read over the course of two days, with some missed sleep.) It caught my eye at the bookstore because the cover art is awesome.
Addison
Auror
Wrapping up book three in the "Adventurers Wanted" series I'm working my way through so I can buy the fifth. I was amazed at the prices, a used book on Amazon is more than a hundred bucks. :/
While I'm here I need a little help remembering the title of a novel. I lost it in the move, I've searched the entire attic and every cubby in the house. I remember it was paperback, the cover had a tree and light shining from it, the cover mostly a pink color. The title either started with "The" or was just the word, which started with a W I think. The story started with a paragraph leading the reader to think there's a war going on but it's really a character playing a violent video game. THe character, his sister and their friends go off to a park or some place with a tree house and rope swing. They're confronted by local jerks who tie them up and knock out one of the male characters. Somehow...I forget how exactly I think they were running away and landed in another world. In which they are greeted warmly. The story alternates to the mother back at home who is writing a story which, if I remember right, centered on talking animals.
If this story sounds familiar to anyone please let me know so I can find it and keep reading it. I left off with the unconscious character waking up on a rough-made stretcher and jumping off to run only to roll down a hill with the others running after him.
While I'm here I need a little help remembering the title of a novel. I lost it in the move, I've searched the entire attic and every cubby in the house. I remember it was paperback, the cover had a tree and light shining from it, the cover mostly a pink color. The title either started with "The" or was just the word, which started with a W I think. The story started with a paragraph leading the reader to think there's a war going on but it's really a character playing a violent video game. THe character, his sister and their friends go off to a park or some place with a tree house and rope swing. They're confronted by local jerks who tie them up and knock out one of the male characters. Somehow...I forget how exactly I think they were running away and landed in another world. In which they are greeted warmly. The story alternates to the mother back at home who is writing a story which, if I remember right, centered on talking animals.
If this story sounds familiar to anyone please let me know so I can find it and keep reading it. I left off with the unconscious character waking up on a rough-made stretcher and jumping off to run only to roll down a hill with the others running after him.
- Thread starter
- #197
Mythopoet
Auror
Well, I've finished The Book of the New Sun. I'm going to digest it for a bit before picking up Urth of the New Sun. Right now, I'm not even sure what I think about it. I still love the name Severian though and now that I know the character better I don't have to wonder if it was a bad idea to give the name to my youngest. He brings the new sun to our house everyday. 
For now I'm reading Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story by James Scott Bell. I always find his advice to be very practical and useful.
For now I'm reading Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story by James Scott Bell. I always find his advice to be very practical and useful.
I've taken a break from fantasy, which has turned out to be quite a long break. I've tried a few times, but I just wind up getting irritated. So, right now, it's more Patrick O'Brian (marvelous dialog, interesting pacing) and Joseph Conrad. The latter is one of my staples. I'm re-reading Nostromo right now, paying much more attention to how he constructs his story. Not with a view to imitation, but simply watching how it's done. Did the same with Ian Fleming a few months ago.
I've long heard advice about reading other authors to study their technique, and for a very long time I was unable to do that. I don't know why, I just couldn't see beyond perhaps a clever turn of phrase. Somehow, last year, I began to see more of the scaffolding. So I've been re-visiting authors, in order to study them. Graham Greene, Ian Fleming and Joseph Conrad so far. With a new book I get too caught up in the story, but with a book I already know, it's easier to watch the author work.
I've long heard advice about reading other authors to study their technique, and for a very long time I was unable to do that. I don't know why, I just couldn't see beyond perhaps a clever turn of phrase. Somehow, last year, I began to see more of the scaffolding. So I've been re-visiting authors, in order to study them. Graham Greene, Ian Fleming and Joseph Conrad so far. With a new book I get too caught up in the story, but with a book I already know, it's easier to watch the author work.
speculativejester
Scribe
I'm currently working on a novel by Devon Monk called Dead Iron. It's a well paced novel, but I'm finding that some of the characters really do not seem to have much (if any) depth at all. However, the universe it is presented in (Steampunk) is absolutely fantastic and extremely well defined; this is something I usually don't see in the sub-genre.
- Thread starter
- #200
Mythopoet
Auror
For some reason I'm on a classic vampire story reading binge. I read The Vampyre by John Polidori (Lord Byron's doctor, inspired by Lord Byron) and Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Now I'm going to finally read Dracula. I've also been reading a bunch of classic gothic short stories from the 1800s collected in the Macabre Megapack by Duane Parsons. Interesting stuff. The Vampyre was pretty awful. The plot was very basic but the prose... was really dreadful. Carmilla was much better. It will be interesting to see how Dracula compares to the earliest vampire stories.
