What have you been reading lately?
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Shaper
Member # 3442
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written Monday, May 21 2007 03:58
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I just finished The Picture Of Dorian Gray for the zillionth time, and am now reading some Shakespeare. Namely A Midsummer Night's Dream. -------------------- Nikki's Nook - La maison de mon rêve? Posts: 2864 | Registered: Monday, September 8 2003 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 5567
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written Monday, May 21 2007 05:50
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Almost finished Everworld by K. A. Applegate. Already regretting reading it... On the brighter side, I'm also reading A Spook's Apprentice in french, which, setting aside the fact it's in french (the translator can't translate the best bits very well), very good. And also reading Last of the Mohicans. -------------------- How many shapers are there? Why is Drypeak controlled by Zakary? Why is Barzahl a Guardian? How does the Geneforge work? What's as small as nothing? Why am I asking stupid questions? -------------------------------- Shaper teacher : "DON'T TOUCH THAT!" BOOM!! apprentice :*little voice* "Sorry..." --------------------------- Travian The Roost Do you know what is the answer to the greatest question ever? It's here. I like the French. They always go ^^. It's even infectious, if you catch the joke ^^ . Posts: 576 | Registered: Wednesday, March 2 2005 08:00 |
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Canned
Member # 7704
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written Monday, May 21 2007 08:48
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I've been reading clive Baker's Abarat And a few books written by doris lessing ( Shikasta, the sirian experiments and The prisons that we live in) and a bit of the vermis probe by Idries sha. I raises two more questions what do you and people prefer: Books or TV? If you need a french translator I'm french. Just E-mail me. [ Tuesday, May 22, 2007 08:31: Message edited by: upon mars ] -------------------- You can jump off a bridge, fire a gun in your mouth, drink poison,or going in to the tiger's pit but you will still end up dead it's a mater of time and how . Posts: 312 | Registered: Sunday, November 26 2006 08:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 2124
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written Tuesday, May 29 2007 22:45
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"Frida" by Barbara Mujica... an interesting fiction about Frida Kahlo. I don't know how to put it better... fictional character study??? I'm reading it like crazy at work! But I wouldn't reccomend it to the easily offended or to the kids, lol! The book has gotten me back to painting after a short addiction to gaming. >_> Posts: 17 | Registered: Monday, October 21 2002 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 5567
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written Wednesday, May 30 2007 03:01
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Well, I'm one who doesn't need a french tranlator - I live in France. Are you living in France too, upon mars? or Mars? :D I'm in the Limousin. Wondering, do French as the people and French as the language both have capitals? -------------------- How many shapers are there? Why is Drypeak controlled by Zakary? Why is Barzahl a Guardian? How does the Geneforge work? What's as small as nothing? Why am I asking stupid questions? -------------------------------- Shaper teacher : "DON'T TOUCH THAT!" BOOM!! apprentice :*little voice* "Sorry..." --------------------------- Travian The Roost Do you know what is the answer to the greatest question ever? It's here. I like the French. They always go ^^. It's even infectious, if you catch the joke ^^ . Posts: 576 | Registered: Wednesday, March 2 2005 08:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, May 30 2007 10:36
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quote:Certainly: Paris. -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, May 30 2007 11:08
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Dakar might be offended. It's got a fair claim as capital of the French language. —Alorael, who bestows upon all and sundry the knowledge that English capitalizes all permutations of proper nouns even when they're not nouns anymore. French people, the language French, and French fries before freedom liberated them from capitalized bondage. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
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written Wednesday, May 30 2007 19:19
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English capitalizes them even if they lose noun status, but not if they lose proper status. Case in point: "french fries" are not typically capitalized, as the phrase has lost some of its analyzability. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central "Slartucker is going to have a cow when he hears about this," Synergy said. Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Wednesday, May 30 2007 19:35
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quote:You rabid descriptivist. :P (I'd be inclined to say that some people may write the phrase that way, but they're wrong: it is correctly written "French fries." I suppose it just goes to show that it depends on your point of view.) [ Wednesday, May 30, 2007 19:36: Message edited by: Kelandon ] -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, May 31 2007 13:46
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Not capitalizing words that lose proper status is tautological. —Alorael, who has seem too many supporters of both styles to nitpick. He still writes French fries, but he's okay with swiss cheese. The latter makes more sense for clarity, though. You might want to get cheaper American swiss cheese when shopping in America. But never try to get Swiss american cheese! Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
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written Thursday, May 31 2007 19:34
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Alorael, your tautological examples, of which there lately seems to be a constant stream, are tautological. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central "Slartucker is going to have a cow when he hears about this," Synergy said. Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Thursday, May 31 2007 19:47
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Isn't something tautological being tautological not only tautological but also redundantly redundant to the point of redundance? Edit - Oh, to the original topic: I recently finished Snow Crash, borrowed from a coworker (you know, working on adjacent desks for nearly a year before finding out you both read Neal Stephenson, Douglas Adams and Userfriendly is weird). It was a bit strange - it was stylistically similar to Cryptonomicon, but unlike with some authors (say Dan Brown) the plot and setting are completely different and original. I will need to re-read it in English because I'm sure I missed some puns there that got mangled. Say, the super-railgun "Reason" being the "Ultima Ratio Regum" didn't work that well in German. [ Thursday, May 31, 2007 20:39: Message edited by: Dr. Johann Georg Faust ] -------------------- The Noble and Ancient Order of Polaris - We're Not Yet Dead. Encyclopedia • Blades Forge • Archives • Stats • RSS (This Topic / Forum) • Blog • NaNoWriMo Did-chat thentagoespyet jumund fori is jus, hat onlime gly nertan ne gethen Firyoubbit 'obio.' Decorum deserves a whole line of my signature, and an entry in your bookmarks. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 31 2007 22:47
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Is 'Artillery is the final argument of kings' not a German aphorism? Or is it that 'ratio' is 'Begründung' (a reason, as in a supporting argument) but 'reason' (the abstraction) is 'Vernunft'? -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Thursday, May 31 2007 23:37
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The latter, I'd say. Add to this that the translator didn't even bother to translate the name (it was just named "Reason"). But I guess "Vernunft" would have just sounded lame/dorky - and by choosing one of the meanings ("Argument"/"Vernunft") they would have had to destroy one of the puns anyway, because the original version plays on both meanings. If the translator really wanted to avoid English but keep the pun as well as a cool name, he might have gone for Latin and used "Ratio". But at least they didn't try to explain the pun (which occurs when one of the characters predicts the bad guys will "listen to the voice of reason"). It's lurking there beneath the translation, waiting for a bilingual reader to catch it. :) [ Thursday, May 31, 2007 23:40: Message edited by: Dr. Johann Georg Faust ] -------------------- The Noble and Ancient Order of Polaris - We're Not Yet Dead. Encyclopedia • Blades Forge • Archives • Stats • RSS (This Topic / Forum) • Blog • NaNoWriMo Did-chat thentagoespyet jumund fori is jus, hat onlime gly nertan ne gethen Firyoubbit 'obio.' Decorum deserves a whole line of my signature, and an entry in your bookmarks. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, June 1 2007 11:33
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As I recall, that bit was pretty cool, in fact: the Mafia guy blandly mentions that he's sure the pirates 'will listen to reason', which sounds ridiculously naive, before the reader knows anything about the weapon. Yeah, Snow Crash is one of the better Gibson clones. Better, I'd say, than some of Gibson's Gibson clones. But it's still pretty hard to beat Gibson's first three (in which I include the story collection Burning Chrome, and not Mona Lisa Overdrive, which was good but not quite classic). The first paragraph of Count Zero is still one of my favorite book openings. And it is now a minor life goal to find an appropriately meaningful occasion to quote, "Things aren't different, Case. Things are things." -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Friday, June 15 2007 03:14
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I am reading the Dragon Quintet, Five Original Short Novels, Edited by Marvin Kaye, It is a nice collection of stories by five decent authors, Orson Scott Card, Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee, Elizabeth Moon, and Michael Swanwick. The Tanith Lee story is the best so far. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Add your one star vote to my tally. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 8872
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written Friday, June 15 2007 03:35
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Here's a book: Trinity should know it. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Quite good SciFi for you. Edit: Woo hoo! Post 50! [ Friday, June 15, 2007 03:36: Message edited by: Fractal ] -------------------- Slarty: "Why don't we all just get along?" The Mystic: "Vista is a funky and finicky OS to begin with." Posts: 197 | Registered: Saturday, June 2 2007 07:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, June 15 2007 04:30
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I know of it, but I've never actually read it. Maybe I will. After The Man in the High Castle I seem to be somehow reluctant to try more Philip K. Dick. I think it's some combination of fear that the next book of his won't live up to that one, and fear that it will. -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Friday, June 15 2007 04:41
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I have finally gotten around to starting The Baroque Cycle with Quicksilver. Suffice to say that it lives up to all expectations. If anything, it's even more exciting than Cryptonomicon (and definitely better than Snow Crash). Enoch Root kicks ass. -------------------- The Noble and Ancient Order of Polaris - We're Not Yet Dead. Encyclopedia • Blades Forge • Archives • Stats • RSS (This Topic / Forum) • Blog • NaNoWriMo Did-chat thentagoespyet jumund fori is jus, hat onlime gly nertan ne gethen Firyoubbit 'obio.' Decorum deserves a whole line of my signature, and an entry in your bookmarks. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 6785
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written Friday, June 15 2007 05:00
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Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is interesting in the plot differences to the movie version Blade Runner. Completely different subplots, endings and views of the future. Posts: 4643 | Registered: Friday, February 10 2006 08:00 |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Friday, June 15 2007 05:46
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I just finished reading Un Lun Dun by China Mieville, which was his (I think quite successful) attempt at writing a children's book. Nowhere near as dark as his other works (which I've mentioned before) that take place in a steampunk setting, but just as imaginative, if not moreso. I'd recommend it to anyone who's a fan of J.K. Rowling or Lewis Carroll. On a less fun but more nonfictional note, I just finished reading Maxed Out (which there's a movie about) and The Two-Income Trap, both mostly to do with the nightmare of subprime credit availability and its negative externalities. Definitely worth a read for you younger folks if you've even considered purchasing something on a credit card that you can't pay off immediately, and also worthwhile to our older members looking to purchase a home. Craziness! [ Friday, June 15, 2007 05:47: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, June 15 2007 13:09
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What's bad about two incomes? -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 7638
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written Saturday, June 16 2007 18:37
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I'm surprised that this topic is still going, but I just finished Red Thunder by John Varley and Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. -------------------- "640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981 Posts: 152 | Registered: Monday, November 6 2006 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 6489
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written Saturday, June 16 2007 19:20
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quote:You didn't like The Man in the High Castle? I thought it was really good. Although, I really like alternate history. -------------------- "Dumbledore returns from the dead and declares it to be hammertime, Harry proceeds to break it down, Voldemort is unable to touch this." —Dintiradan Spiderweb Chat Room Avernum RP • Summaries • OoC • Roster Shadow Vale - My site, home of the Spiderweb Chat Database, BoA Scenario Database, & the A1 Quest List, among other things. Posts: 1556 | Registered: Sunday, November 20 2005 08:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Saturday, June 16 2007 19:40
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I don't think he was implying that he didn't like it, exactly. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |