VinnieK Posted October 30, 2006 Posted October 30, 2006 I'm not sure if it's been mentioned before, or if it's old hat by now, but Library Thing is a good book related way to while away a few minutes. Along with being able to catalogue your own books (for no really good reason), it's like being able to sneak into thousands of people's libraries, only without the legal ramifications or the unpleasantness of having to stove the owner's head in with a candlestick when they discover you lurking around. Mine. Po faced and ridiculous.
Declan Posted October 30, 2006 Posted October 30, 2006 I guess you aren't troubled by insomnia! I see you've read a fair few of the Greeks and Romans, is there anything you'd recommend? I read "The Satyricon" and enjoyed it. But I'm afraid most of the others will be really dry, when really I want to read a Western set in Classical times.
VinnieK Posted October 30, 2006 Author Posted October 30, 2006 I see you've read a fair few of the Greeks and Romans, is there anything you'd recommend? I read "The Satyricon" and enjoyed it. But I'm afraid most of the others will be really dry, when really I want to read a Western set in Classical times. The Illiad's a bit of a pain, but The Odyssey has a bit more pace to it and might be worth a try. Of all of them I'd probably recommend The Aeneid by Virgil over anything else. I tend to think that the Romans had a literary sensibility closer to our own than did the Ancient Greeks, with a flair for language and particularly epigrams that helps their literature come closer to entertaining the modern reader than being a chore. Be careful with the translations though. I can't recommend a specific one, but a good rule of thumb is throw it away if you notice the word "o'er" - it's difficult enough trying to wade through two thousand year old verse without the translation conjouring up images of a camp 19th century fop rattling off a few verses after a tiring night at the opium den. Also, if you ever fancy non-fiction, I'd give the letters of Pliny the Younger a try. Some of his correspondences are interesting in a strangely mundane way, whilst others are genuinely quite touching.
lectro Posted October 31, 2006 Posted October 31, 2006 Mine. Po faced and ridiculous. I thought reading was supposed to be fun! I think the only one of those I've read is Othello - and only cos it was beaten into me at school...
Ean Posted October 31, 2006 Posted October 31, 2006 http://www.librarything.com/profile/Ean That's all the stuff i have at uni and what i can remember i have at home. I approve of the Calvin and Hobbes collection Lectro, this is my favourite cartoon ever i think.
VinnieK Posted October 31, 2006 Author Posted October 31, 2006 I think the only one of those I've read is Othello - and only cos it was beaten into me at school... I quite liked Othello, so I'm slightly envious of you getting it at school. We had to put up with the Merchant of Venice, which has to be one of the dreariest of Shakespear's plays, Educating Rita, and Jane Eyre. I think that's what put me off fiction for good, and thus why there's so little of it in my library.
Speckled Frost Posted October 31, 2006 Posted October 31, 2006 What are you doing only giving Crime and Punishment three stars?!
VinnieK Posted October 31, 2006 Author Posted October 31, 2006 I thought three stars was good rating! I can barely even muster the energy to make it to the end of an average sized novel, so me even getting to the point were I can even award stars is pretty good going for Dostoyevsky!
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