tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post7011758247654054202..comments2024-03-27T23:50:21.307-04:00Comments on Doux Reviews: Summer 2013: Beach ReadsBillie Douxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-35816612727707710662013-06-24T17:29:40.965-04:002013-06-24T17:29:40.965-04:00The original novella Doctor Jeckyll and Mister Hyd...The original novella Doctor Jeckyll and Mister Hyde. Extraordinarily boring to a 21st century guy reading it. Arrgghh.celticmarchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06018881585193380762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-41227560678249062082013-06-24T15:18:19.036-04:002013-06-24T15:18:19.036-04:00Josie I tried the unabridged and untranslated Hunc...Josie I tried the unabridged and untranslated Hunchback and had to fight real hard to get to the end of it! (I'm real stubborn when it comes to finishing books and movies)<br /><br />Les Misérables on the other han I loved and have read several times!<br /><br />Good to know about the Russian to English translations, but since I don't do too much reading in French these days I'm going to stick with that version. :pCrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-16787618402409593912013-06-24T14:51:34.301-04:002013-06-24T14:51:34.301-04:00Cris, I don't read Russian, so I can't spe...Cris, I don't read Russian, so I can't speak to their accuracy, but I've found the Russian-to-English translations of Richard Peaver and Larissa Volokhonsky to be delightful. I think they were well regarded by people who know more than I do, too.<br /><br />Avoid Constance Garrett! <br /><br />In high school, I wanted to read <i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i>. I bought it, read it, and was horribly bored. Only a few years later did I realized it was an abridged version. I can't bring myself to try to unabridged version--the first go-round was too dull.Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-90313581793898528022013-06-24T14:26:50.520-04:002013-06-24T14:26:50.520-04:00Could be Paul. A good translator makes a huge diff...Could be Paul. A good translator makes a huge difference! <br /><br />I usually avoid translations like the plague (when possible, I'm good with anything in French, English or Spanish), but when I have to read a translation I try to find out in advance if it's a good one. For example I've been meaning to read several of the Russian classics for years, but haven't gotten around to them yet because I've been heard the best translations are in French! So one of these years on a random trip to France (or browsing through amazon.fr) I'll finally pick up Anna Karennina or War and Peace.<br /><br />And I abhor abridged versions of books!!! :o( Which might be why I haven't tried tackling the behemoth which is Don Quixote yet... :pCrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-19193959349515576062013-06-23T05:19:36.027-04:002013-06-23T05:19:36.027-04:00I think the readability of Dumas' books is mos...I think the readability of Dumas' books is mostly dependent upon translation. I've two versions of The Count of Monte Cristo -- one which I adore, and one which is merely okay. The Robin Buss translation is simply spectacular. It's unabridged, easy to understand, and evokes both time and place without all that flowery nonsense generally slowing everything down. The other translation -- I can't remember who did it -- is an abridged version, is jarring to read, and makes Dumas' (not to be confused with dumb ass) classic a chore to read. I'm wondering whether the same is true of his other novels and people's alternating hot/cold reactions to it. Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-70987589075702989322013-06-21T11:19:21.825-04:002013-06-21T11:19:21.825-04:00@Ben P. Duck, I loved World War Z. Such a differe...@Ben P. Duck, I loved World War Z. Such a different way to write about a zombie apocalypse (I still don't know how I got on the zombie train...). Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. @ChrisB, I've actually decided not to go anywhere on my vacation this year. I am just going to sit and read, probably some of the suggestions here. And just to prove that I can do fluff - I burn through the Sookie Stackhouse novels as soon as they come out. drnanamomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667806039402426676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-70341608621543326492013-06-21T08:46:38.625-04:002013-06-21T08:46:38.625-04:00Two very different (and very late arriving) though...Two very different (and very late arriving) thoughts, one of which builds on discussion:<br /><br />First if you haven't read World War Z (and even if you end up hating the movie), this is a perfect beach read. Episodic and exciting, you can put it down feeling a sense of completion after each chapter, that is if you can put it down at all.<br /><br />Second, Madame Bovary is a good read for the beach if you don't want to be seen reading a contemporary romance novel and you do want to appear attractive to the one French literature professor also lying on that same beach (and presumably pouting about the banality of it all). A longing (yet doomed) glance, the blood races, etc.<br /><br />Finally, nobody can go on like Melville in Moby Dick, and only recommended if you share a Ahab-like obsession with defeating a great beast(nevertheless a book well worth it) Ben P. Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17761225532136987245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-66107992238101762152013-06-19T16:19:09.868-04:002013-06-19T16:19:09.868-04:00Dickens was literally paid by the word. So, that e...Dickens was literally paid by the word. So, that explains that. :)sunbunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08553429350476841139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-38581905013979720512013-06-19T16:14:28.789-04:002013-06-19T16:14:28.789-04:00Yup, the Americans are definitely worse than the B...Yup, the Americans are definitely worse than the Brits, but there are some British authors who loved to wax lyrical!<br /><br />Walter Scott can go on and on and on as well!!!<br />Ditto Dickens, but he's much later.<br /><br />And I don't think I've ever been able to get through a single Spanish novel from the 19th century! I've tried several classics, but gave up each time!CrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-78834989378391973582013-06-19T15:32:49.806-04:002013-06-19T15:32:49.806-04:00Romantic writers in general were far more easily d...Romantic writers in general were far more easily distracted (look a tree! I shall describe it using many words!) than those of other eras, but I still say the French were the worst at this (although I've never read any Spanish romanticism, to be fair). Second worst are probably Americans. I really don't find British Romantics have as much of a problem with it for whatever reason. It might be the time gap. Romanticism came to France relatively late. Dumas was writing in what the 1830s, 1840s? Whereas Lyrical Ballads was published in 1798.sunbunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08553429350476841139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-17016021490448211372013-06-19T15:14:58.445-04:002013-06-19T15:14:58.445-04:00Sunbunny that's true (looooong descriptions, t...Sunbunny that's true (looooong descriptions, tangents...) about most of the 19th century authors I've read (French, Spanish, UK, US...). Those books all take a long time to really get started, and there are frequent "asides" or "tangents". The French Romantics it can often be a commentary on social issues of the time, for historical novelists it can be a history lesson... (Walter Scott has the same problem as Dumas with this!) <br /><br />I think in part it's because most of these novels were serials, published weekly in the newspaper and so they needed to stretch it out to guarantee a paycheck! They were the equivalent of hot TV series in the 19th century! ;o)<br /><br /><br />Josie: it took me two tries to read Monte Cristo! I gave up the first time (I think I was 12, to "heavy" for me), but when I got through the second time I was like "why on earth did I stop last time? This is a great story!!!". But The Three Musketeers I have NEVER had a problem with! I love it straight from the beginning with D'Artagnan proudly arriving in town on that yellow nag, being made fun of by the locals, and his confrontation with Rochefort and then in the next chapters his encounters with the Athos, Porthos and Aramis and the subsequent duel chapter. Great fun!!! Push through!!! ;o)CrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-65606655787476897872013-06-18T18:49:42.427-04:002013-06-18T18:49:42.427-04:00I haven't read Dragon Tattoo. I was intending ...I haven't read Dragon Tattoo. I was intending to but a friend of mine got to it first and said I wouldn't like it. I might've giving it a try anyway but it's just so long. I don't want to give that much time to something I'm pretty sure I'm going to dislike.sunbunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08553429350476841139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-49199965066756419172013-06-18T18:41:11.684-04:002013-06-18T18:41:11.684-04:00I gave up on Monte Cristo after losing track of th...I gave up on Monte Cristo after losing track of the plot and how all the characters are connected to each other. Even this didn't help: <br /><br />http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/CountOfMonteCristoRelations.svgMark Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12984193299389764649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-30541437710512327132013-06-18T18:39:33.769-04:002013-06-18T18:39:33.769-04:00Sunbunny, have you read Girl with the Dragon Tatto...Sunbunny, have you read <i>Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</i>? It's like one long list of random stuff, then some gore (typically in list form).Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-39859124406662250872013-06-18T18:18:12.774-04:002013-06-18T18:18:12.774-04:00Yay! Books I've read! I'm not a fan of the...Yay! Books I've read! I'm not a fan of the French romantics. In a way they're just too impressed with their own cleverness. They're also incredibly easily distracted. Tangent much? I gave up on the Count of Monte Cristo about halfway thru. Dumas was describing stuff the count had packed in his trunk or something for like ten pages.sunbunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08553429350476841139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-53638281570323251002013-06-18T18:08:58.490-04:002013-06-18T18:08:58.490-04:00It's funny you mention the slow start, CrazyCr...It's funny you mention the slow start, CrazyCris. I've tried to start <i>The Three Musketeers</i> four or five times, and always give up on p. 16. <br /><br />The foolish part is that I loved <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i>, so I know it'll be worth it. But I still give up.Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-82861024456022176392013-06-18T09:38:44.313-04:002013-06-18T09:38:44.313-04:00Great piece, Josie. There are some of my favorite...Great piece, Josie. There are some of my favorites listed here as well as some I have never read. Oh, to have the time to just sit and read all day...<br /><br /><i>The Shadow of the Wind</i>is a must read. I loved it.ChrisBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10843864158239536750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-10775397448938317522013-06-18T06:46:34.714-04:002013-06-18T06:46:34.714-04:00Josie yes he does! And he leaves it to write a nov...Josie yes he does! And he leaves it to write a novel, supposedly inspired by a mysterious (demonic?) person...<br /><br />It wasn't as good as Shadow, but I still enjoyed it! The Angel's Game is better and I love how it brings the threads together from the other two books (particularly our protagonists dead mother -first book- who is central to the second book!)<br /><br />M, I learnt long ago to push through the beginnings of slow books... I used to read A LOT of French 19th century literature in high school and most of it begins that way (Zola, Verne, Hugo even Dumas at times), and I discovered that once I got past the first 100 pages (which were still brilliant in setting the scene, even if not much happened) then the story just zipped along, fascinating and I was always glad to have stuck with it!<br /><br />There's another recommendation for summer reading!!! Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers!!! So much better than any movie version you've ever seen which usually only tells the first half of the book with a bit of the end. And after that you can segue into 20 Years Later (double volume, continues the Musketeers story). The Vicomte de Bragelonne is a harder read, the story is a bit slower (like our musketeers who are a lot older!), it's very long (7 volumes in the edition I read!) and it's a bit sad (Dumas takes us to the end of each of the Musketeers' lives). But still excellent! I've read Vicomte twice, 20 Years Later at least half a dozen times... but lost count by college as to how many times I'd read the Musketeers!!! :pCrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-53020752133513716122013-06-18T02:11:09.464-04:002013-06-18T02:11:09.464-04:00The 10 book series Malazan: Book of the Fallen is ...The 10 book series Malazan: Book of the Fallen is an epic (and finished!) fantasy series that will last you an entire summer and change the way you look at fantasy novels. It has everything in it but the kitchen sink and more complexity than Song of Ice and Fire. (which is also amazing of course) Triscuitcrackernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-67590194871460188032013-06-17T22:53:48.341-04:002013-06-17T22:53:48.341-04:00I had the same experience, with TNoTW, CrazyCris. ...I had the same experience, with TNoTW, CrazyCris. I had a hard time getting into it, but my friend wanted me to read it, so I pushed through. So glad I did. I am on my library's waiting list for the Kindle version of the second book. I looked for it in stores many times, but I underestimated how long it would take to be published! That's ok, P.R. can take as long as he wants to write books that good! I am glad to know he is a good guy, Josie. In the photo on his website, he is wearing a "Joss Whedon is My Master Now" shirt, so I figure he must be ok. Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-72370780367517337332013-06-17T16:48:14.889-04:002013-06-17T16:48:14.889-04:00CrazyCris, I think I read The Angel's Game. Do...CrazyCris, I think I read <i>The Angel's Game</i>. Does the main character work at a newspaper? I didn't love it as much.<br /><br />Patrick Rothfuss regularly updates his blog with a bunch of information (including stuff about his extensive charity fundraising, which is fairly awesome). He's been quite honest about the third book: it's going to be a while. He is a slow writer. Or, rather, he writes at the speed of an author of "literary fiction" in a genre that expects a quicker publishing schedule.<br />Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-50893038651706361742013-06-17T15:43:01.205-04:002013-06-17T15:43:01.205-04:00I prefer "light" reading for the summer,...I prefer "light" reading for the summer, books that don't require my brain to do <i>too much</i> work as the distractions and noises at the beach and pool don't help when it comes to concentration!<br /><br />Right now I'm re-reading some of Isabel Allende's "lighter" novels, El Zorro is a lot of fun!!! Looks into that legend's youthful years. Her trilogy for "younger" readers La Ciudad de las Bestias - El Bosque de los Pigmeos - El Reino del Dragón de Oro (dunno the titles in English! City of Beasts?) are also magically wonderful! A couple of kids go on adventures with a grandmother, first one's in the Amazon!!!<br /><br />I might start reading the Star Wars "Legacy of the Force" novels. I got hooked on SW novels with the first Timothy Zahn Thrawn trilogy (a brilliant set of books which really capture the magic of Star Wars!) and I've been reading most of them ever since! I've been waiting on this sub-series for a while, until they were all out in paperback... 9 books should be just about right for the summer! Just need to decide if ebook or paperback... I'd like to complete my collection but my shelves are groaning! ;o)CrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-44344476462696734052013-06-17T15:36:51.092-04:002013-06-17T15:36:51.092-04:00M, Josie I too love the Rothfuss novels!!! Took me...<br />M, Josie I too love the Rothfuss novels!!! Took me a while to really "get into" the first one, but once I did I just zipped through! Couldn't get enough and so went out and bought the second in the larger format (couldn't wait for cheaper paperback). Does anyone have any ideas when the third (final?) will be out???CrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-26056232167439519872013-06-17T15:35:23.863-04:002013-06-17T15:35:23.863-04:00Josie you made my day when you listed The Shadow o...Josie you made my day when you listed The Shadow of the Wind!!! I love it when Spanish authors get read in other languages across the world! :D<br />That book was fabulous! I think I gave it to easily half a dozen people for their birthday (some in English, some in French, some in Spanish... thank you Amazon!)<br /><br />Have you read the two follow-ups? The first - The Angel's Game - takes place a generation earlier in Barcelona, and again the Cemetary of Forgotten Books features nicely (so only a couple of the older secondary characters from Shadow make an appearance).<br /><br />Then there's The Angel's Game which takes place about 5 years after Shadow and brings together several threads from the previous two books while retaining its own independance. If you haven't read them I highly recommend them! :o) CrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-35339400748745314732013-06-17T13:35:46.143-04:002013-06-17T13:35:46.143-04:00Ahem...Tolkien*-fannish :)Ahem...Tolkien*-fannish :)Mnoreply@blogger.com