ulvir posted:I heavily recommend going further. I would’ve suggested the translation I’m reading, but I’m not sure learning Norwegian in order to read Proust is too worthwhile an endeavour I want to I do It's my sweet sisyphean sleep book Each attempt ends, I'm passed out, asleep, beautiful smile on my face, the book fallen from my torpid hands, place irrevocably lost
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# ? Apr 29, 2021 19:33 |
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# ? Apr 26, 2024 15:16 |
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A real treat for Proust readers is the book Paintings in Proust. It has all the paintings he mentions during the books. A magnificent companion.
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# ? Apr 30, 2021 02:13 |
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Reading The Razor's Edge and it is nothing remarkable. Something this straightforward and 'just ok' helps balance out my slow-reading of Ulysses. I know we all hate Christopher Hitchens now but I found his quote about W. Somerset Maugham funny: quote:Maugham eventually received an honor from the Crown—but it was for "services to literature," rather than for literature itself, and this distinction represents all the difference in the world.
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# ? Apr 30, 2021 17:23 |
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:Reading The Razor's Edge and it is nothing remarkable. Something this straightforward and 'just ok' helps balance out my slow-reading of Ulysses. Just the other day I was looking at my bookshelf and thought: "has anyone actually read Maugham since the 1900s?" I guess the answer is: at least one person. e: Two.
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# ? May 2, 2021 06:55 |
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I have a big Collected Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham from 1934 that I got at a fleamarket years ago, but I only got around to reading one or two of the stories. Idk if that counts
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# ? May 2, 2021 22:55 |
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Carthag Tuek posted:I have a big Collected Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham from 1934 that I got at a fleamarket years ago, but I only got around to reading one or two of the stories. Idk if that counts I only have The Painted Veil and Razor's Edge. I read the former, thought "oh this is like Greene but boring" and never started on the latter. (I'll get to it eventually.)
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# ? May 3, 2021 02:02 |
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reading a biography about Samuel Beckett by Anthony Cronin while re-reading Molloy. I’d like to have met Sam the golfer, who loved Ode to the Nightingale. started and stopped Tristram Shandy after a five page hobby-horse pun. merits closer reading maybe I’ll start Fourth Mansions since I loved Pasr Master so much artism fucked around with this message at 14:14 on May 5, 2021 |
# ? May 5, 2021 14:11 |
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on the subject of Molloy, there’s a great fuss over small windows and sometimes I wonder if I have even that. on the other hand, fart arithmetic was well understood and an admirable use of the sciences.
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# ? May 5, 2021 14:26 |
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Recommended The Poor Mouth to a coworker a few months ago and found out today that she bought it and really liked it.
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# ? May 6, 2021 05:14 |
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artism posted:reading a biography about Samuel Beckett by Anthony Cronin while re-reading Molloy. I’d like to have met Sam the golfer, who loved Ode to the Nightingale. reading Beckett's stories & texts for nothing over here he wasn't kidding with the title
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# ? May 6, 2021 06:22 |
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Burning Rain posted:reading Beckett's stories & texts for nothing over here there are so many ideas expressed and dismissed within the same breath that if you read it before bed you’re sure to go sleepless for want of understanding. but in the end I somehow feel better about my ignorance. for now, at 30 I also feel slightly better that I’ve chosen to act, however trivially, to the extent that I am able, rather than to think, inasmuch as I am able, lacking the capacity e: is there a particularly good, or recognized, biblical concordance for the KJV? guessing it's 'Strong's Exhaustive Concordance' artism fucked around with this message at 21:12 on May 6, 2021 |
# ? May 6, 2021 18:46 |
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I read The Crying of Lot 49 today. It felt very fresh in its style despite its age. The plot summary of the stage play was a particular highlight.
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# ? May 7, 2021 10:34 |
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if I wanted to read sir phillip sydney's arcadia what's the best version?
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# ? May 8, 2021 02:39 |
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Have a long road trip ahead. What's a good audio book (preferably available on google play)?
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# ? May 9, 2021 20:38 |
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thehoodie posted:Have a long road trip ahead. What's a good audio book (preferably available on google play)? A Brief History of Seven Killings Each character is narrated by an actor with the correct regional/class accent and it really brings the text alive.
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# ? May 9, 2021 20:55 |
blue squares posted:A Brief History of Seven Killings Fuuuuck now I'm gonna get this
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# ? May 9, 2021 22:29 |
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Echoing for Seven Killings that yeah I was partway through the book when I started the audiobook and it's amazing. His follow-up fantasy novel is a bit of a mess unfortunately, but at least he tries to branch out. Finished At Swim Two Birds on this thread's recommendation and while I was pretty lukewarm at first once it starts devolving into chaos it's delightful. It's weird O'Brien isn't very well known in North America; my only friend who'd heard of him did her undergrad at Oxford. Can't wait for Third Policeman.
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# ? May 9, 2021 23:29 |
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Segue posted:Echoing for Seven Killings that yeah I was partway through the book when I started the audiobook and it's amazing. His follow-up fantasy novel is a bit of a mess unfortunately, but at least he tries to branch out. I'm more of a reader of sci-fi rather than serious lit, so I appreciated that he at least tried to bring a fresh perspective to the fantasy genre. Very unique world building (come at me) based on sources not frequently seen. I've had seven killings on my radar ever since, but every time i look at the page count i put it off a while longer.
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# ? May 10, 2021 01:00 |
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Segue posted:Echoing for Seven Killings that yeah I was partway through the book when I started the audiobook and it's amazing. His follow-up fantasy novel is a bit of a mess unfortunately, but at least he tries to branch out. Some guys have an O'Brien theme night every year at a friend's bar. No idea why.
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# ? May 10, 2021 02:00 |
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thehoodie posted:Have a long road trip ahead. What's a good audio book (preferably available on google play)? I recommend Norm MacDonald's Based on a True Story: Not A Memoir, narrated by the author.
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# ? May 10, 2021 02:17 |
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3D Megadoodoo posted:Just the other day I was looking at my bookshelf and thought: "has anyone actually read Maugham since the 1900s?" I guess the answer is: at least one person. (raises hand) I read Ashenden recently. Kinda liked it. It's a series of loosely connected WW1 spy stories, though the mood is completely different from Greenmantle or The Thirty-Nine Steps. Maugham is very cynical about the futility of it all, in a way that reminded me of John Le Carré. And it's got a character called the Hairless Mexican. Ashenden posted:"I'm expecting a fellow to come and see me to-night," he said at last. "His train gets in about ten." He gave his wrist-watch a glance. "He's known as the Hairless Mexican."
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# ? May 10, 2021 04:28 |
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Segue posted:Finished At Swim Two Birds on this thread's recommendation and while I was pretty lukewarm at first once it starts devolving into chaos it's delightful. It's weird O'Brien isn't very well known in North America; my only friend who'd heard of him did her undergrad at Oxford. Can't wait for Third Policeman. love the narrator so much. he’s such a smug little twerp. and of course the three wise men constantly interjecting as Finn drones on. and of course the inestimable Jem Casey Carly Gay Dead Son posted:I recommend Norm MacDonald's Based on a True Story: Not A Memoir, narrated by the author. seconding artism fucked around with this message at 06:46 on May 10, 2021 |
# ? May 10, 2021 06:43 |
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Global Disorder posted:(raises hand) I read Ashenden recently. Kinda liked it. It's a series of loosely connected WW1 spy stories, though the mood is completely different from Greenmantle or The Thirty-Nine Steps. Maugham is very cynical about the futility of it all, in a way that reminded me of John Le Carré. The Hideo Kojima school of character-naming. Anyway I'm beginning to think The Painted Veil might be his One Really poo poo Book. Kind of like A Farewell to Arms for Hemingway (JK it's Death in the Afternoon, obviously.)
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# ? May 10, 2021 13:16 |
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I finished Pale Fire and it owned, what Nabokov should I read next?
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# ? May 10, 2021 14:26 |
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Sarern posted:I finished Pale Fire and it owned, what Nabokov should I read next? Lolita, or Ada, or Ador. Pnin for something a little less reader-intensive.
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# ? May 10, 2021 15:04 |
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Started Berg by Ann Quin and it's very much got Beckett vibes in terms of how she approaches and plays with language and the lurid family/sexual themes. Took a little to get into the groove of the prose but very much enjoying it.
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# ? May 10, 2021 15:30 |
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Sarern posted:I finished Pale Fire and it owned, what Nabokov should I read next? I agree Lolita is a must read, but just fair warning its nothing like Pale Fire in terms of tone (sorry if i'm being patronizing, but you never know what people know) it's extremely dark and hosed up, sickening even. also in my top ten or even top 5 favorite books, but not a light read at all. If you enjoyed the schadenfreude of pale fire, another underrated one with similar lols is Despair. I almost never hear anyone talk about it, but it was also hilarious.
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# ? May 10, 2021 15:49 |
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Sarern posted:I finished Pale Fire and it owned, what Nabokov should I read next? invitation to a beheading
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# ? May 10, 2021 16:49 |
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derp posted:I agree Lolita is a must read, but just fair warning its nothing like Pale Fire in terms of tone (sorry if i'm being patronizing, but you never know what people know) it's extremely dark and hosed up, sickening even. also in my top ten or even top 5 favorite books, but not a light read at all. Despair is my favorite Nabokov! Incredible book.
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# ? May 10, 2021 19:45 |
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artism posted:love the narrator so much. he’s such a smug little twerp. and of course the three wise men constantly interjecting as Finn drones on. and of course the inestimable Jem Casey He had that Ignatius Reilly vibe but lazier and less aggressive, I think that's what put me off at first before warming. Jem Casey's poem was amazing. The ending paragraph is just a work of art. By god the last bit is bloody though.
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# ? May 11, 2021 04:44 |
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he’s nowhere near as lazy as Ignatius, though just as disdainful of those he relies upon. at least he produces something. I guess Ignatius studied Boethius. just reread the final paragraph and agree. except that I do know the thoughts that flit across a fool’s head, and have a healthy cynicism for the sciences artism fucked around with this message at 21:42 on May 11, 2021 |
# ? May 11, 2021 21:35 |
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it’s really apparent that volume 5 of In search of lost time was the first “incomplete” volume to be released. I can’t exactly pinpoint it precisely, but there’s a certain difference in the tone of the prose, and certain phrasings that really differ from the previous four. It’s still good though, and the longwinded passages that flow in and out between musings and reflection and dialogue is still largely present
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# ? May 13, 2021 19:09 |
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I really got to read that eventually. Which translation are you on? And I wonder why Lydia Davis only did the first volume, since everyone seems to think her version was the best in english
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# ? May 13, 2021 19:47 |
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I’m reading it in Norwegian, so I’ll have to leave it to others to recommend which english version to go for
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# ? May 13, 2021 19:56 |
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The original idea was for different translators to do the different books just because 'translating all of Proust' would be a massive endeavour for just one person. Her version's really really good, but I've heard the other volumes are pretty variable in quality. While the CK Scott Moncrieff has definite problems it still feels luxurious and the overtly aristocratic voice basically suits imo, so I'd still go for that one by default
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# ? May 13, 2021 21:04 |
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Jrbg posted:The original idea was for different translators to do the different books just because 'translating all of Proust' would be a massive endeavour for just one person. Her version's really really good, but I've heard the other volumes are pretty variable in quality. While the CK Scott Moncrieff has definite problems it still feels luxurious and the overtly aristocratic voice basically suits imo, so I'd still go for that one by default Ah, that makes a lot of sense. I see that every volume is a different translator, so i imagine they were all working concurrently that so it didn't take ten years to release the series.
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# ? May 13, 2021 21:15 |
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Uha, nå tapte jæ tia
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# ? May 13, 2021 22:39 |
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derp posted:Ah, that makes a lot of sense. I see that every volume is a different translator, so i imagine they were all working concurrently that so it didn't take ten years to release the series. Better than that! It’s not even done and it’s been over 10 years!
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# ? May 13, 2021 22:57 |
The North Tower posted:Better than that! It’s not even done and it’s been over 10 years! Lol but it's a real nice set to have and to read.
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# ? May 13, 2021 23:48 |
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# ? Apr 26, 2024 15:16 |
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Jrbg posted:While the CK Scott Moncrieff has definite problems it still feels luxurious and the overtly aristocratic voice basically suits imo, so I'd still go for that one by default I appreciate that every translation is a compromise and so on but Proust doesn't sound luxurious or aristocratic in French. His style is complex but very neat and deliberate and basically devoid of preciosities like rare grammatical constructions or gratuitous metaphors. From what I've read, SC's word choice and sentence structure make him sound almost florid which isn't at all the impression one gets in the original
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# ? May 14, 2021 11:52 |