Dude!! This is what it's about!

[fugazied]

Nice one!
I'm in Australia right now and the particular library I visited last week didn't have any ebooks available so that was a little disappointing. I checked with the library more out of curiosity than anything, I still have about 20 bought books on my to-read list.

[Slite]

Originally Posted by Ea

I would expect a library to spend most money on native language books, and only have smaller selections of books in other languages - after all (I assume) most of its user base will prefer native language books. It's like that with p-books - why should it be different for e-books?


But e-books cost money as well. I wouldn't mind more English books myself, since there's hardly any new books in Danish published as e-books yet, but as far as I understand it, the main purpose of a library is to give the public access to a very wide variety of books, especially in the native language.

I think I'm also able to lend books via Elib through my library. I assume they have made an agreement. I found teh link on the libraries web site a while ago, but none of teh librarians I've asked about knew anything And then the link was removed but I can still log in - but the selection is so small that, well....

Thats kind of odd, since it seems that ELib in particular is very speedy in converting new books too E-books. I can usually pick up the e-book in my "local" library online of a swedish author very soon after it has been published in hardback.

Especially if we are talking about thriller and/or mystery authors. But I'm starting to get a bit bored with that genre at the moment, I sure wish they would extend their selection especially in their sci-fi and fantasy field.

[Slite]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I wish a few well-known Swedish writers were available online in either Dutch or English!

Astrid Lindgren and Selma Lagerlöf were two of my most favourite writers when I was young.

(already found Nils Holgersson)

There are a lot of current swedish authors translated to english, don't know how it is with dutch tho, but I would be very surprised if for instance Stieg Larssons Millenium-trilogy (which sadly should have contained a lot more books) isn't available.

Other that I would definitly recommend John Ajvide Lindqvists "Let the right one in", "Handling the Undead" and most definitly his latets "Human Guise" once that is released. John writes very good horror-stories

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Ea

In my first years as a reader, Astrid Lindgren was almost all I read. Not Selma Lagerlöf though, but then I've never thought of her as a children's author. I have the feeling I sort of ought to have read "Nils Holgerson's journey" - it's one my parent's generation know very well, but it's not especially considered a children's book here. Sweetpea, where did you find it?

http://manybooks.net/titles/lagerlof...3510935-8.html

Originally Posted by Slite

There are a lot of current swedish authors translated to english, don't know how it is with dutch tho, but I would be very surprised if for instance Stieg Larssons Millenium-trilogy (which sadly should have contained a lot more books) isn't available.

Other that I would definitly recommend John Ajvide Lindqvists "Let the right one in", "Handling the Undead" and most definitly his latets "Human Guise" once that is released. John writes very good horror-stories

Don't like horror stories... And I don't mind Dutch or English, I read English as fluent. It's just that I don't read Swedish

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Slite

Thats kind of odd, since it seems that ELib in particular is very speedy in converting new books too E-books. I can usually pick up the e-book in my "local" library online of a swedish author very soon after it has been published in hardback.
...

I did a bit more research and it looks like my library use the service primarily for audio books - they don't advertise e-books at all, but you can download them if you try.

Most of the Danish books are either non-fiction or public domain (and thus old), but I can see there's a nice selection of books in Swedish. Maybe I should try reading a book in Swedish - wouldn't hurt I guess that ELib's Danish market is too small/uninteresting for e-books at the moment.

[Slite]

Originally Posted by Ea

I did a bit more research and it looks like my library use the service primarily for audio books - they don't advertise e-books at all, but you can download them if you try.

Most of the Danish books are either non-fiction or public domain (and thus old), but I can see there's a nice selection of books in Swedish. Maybe I should try reading a book in Swedish - wouldn't hurt I guess that ELib's Danish market is too small/uninteresting for e-books at the moment.

I think you'd have more succes in reading a book in swedish, than I would have reading it in Danish. I can never wrap my head around your way of counting for instance

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Slite

I think you'd have more succes in reading a book in swedish, than I would have reading it in Danish. I can never wrap my head around your way of counting for instance

Hmm, both your languages look weird! Almost as if I should be able to read it, but not quite...

[Slite]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Hmm, both your languages look weird! Almost as if I should be able to read it, but not quite...

Well, both danish, swedish and dutch ARE related to each other if I'm not misstaken, so we do have a lot of words that look similar

Pancakes for instance. In swedish it's Pannkaka, and Dutch is pannenkoek i think?

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Astrid Lindgren and Selma Lagerlöf were two of my most favourite writers when I was young.

(already found Nils Holgersson)

I'm currently (proof)reading "The Story of Gösta Berling", stay tuned

[Slite]

Originally Posted by Jellby

I'm currently (proof)reading "The Story of Gösta Berling", stay tuned

Ah, good news, that IS one of Selma's best stories.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Slite

Well, both danish, swedish and dutch ARE related to each other if I'm not misstaken, so we do have a lot of words that look similar

Pancakes for instance. In swedish it's Pannkaka, and Dutch is pannenkoek i think?

Yes, it is (or was it pannekoek? I can't keep up with those spelling rules they keep changing...) But that's what makes Swedish look weird to my eyes...

I just checked again last night about our library. I can get a library card and go to every single library in the entire province, but no mention what-so-ever about electronic books...

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Slite

I think you'd have more succes in reading a book in swedish, than I would have reading it in Danish. I can never wrap my head around your way of counting for instance

I guess you mean the 'tens'? I don't blame you - it's not the logical two-ten, three-ten etc. as in Swedish (and English and French, and other languages). BTW; Anyone know any other European languages with German roots that has odd number names?

You have to learn the names and not think about the meaning of the words - or rather, not think about the meaning of the modern words. I got curious and looked them up in my etymology. There's good reason and logic behind the names - but they're abbreviated and slightly corrupted/changed in the last thousand years. '50' which today sounds like 'half-sixty' originally meant 'half-three-times-twenty' which translates to 'three-minus-a-half-times twenty' = 2.5*20 (= 50), 60 is 'three-times-twenty'. 40 is interesting as the word is in full (not used anymore) 'fyrretyve' - and 'tyve' is the word used today for 20 - but the Old Norse root is actually 'fjórir tigir' = four tens. I could go on, but I won't The principle is the same for the other 'ten number' names. This is a good example of how language can be really tricky (and interesting).

But I was thinking... Is it possible that the Swedish number names have been changed deliberately in the more recent past, say 200-300 years? I'm guessing, since both our languages have coommon roots and were fairly alike 800-1000 years ago. It would be curious indeed if they'd manage to deviate so far without help.

Originally Posted by Slite

Well, both danish, swedish and dutch ARE related to each other if I'm not misstaken, so we do have a lot of words that look similar

Pancakes for instance. In swedish it's Pannkaka, and Dutch is pannenkoek i think?

And "pandekage"...

Being Danish, and knowing (some) German, I can understand the general meaning of a Dutch text or find my way around a web site. With some diligence, perserverance and patience, I could probably learn to read it quite well with practise. Dutch seems to be fairly closely related to the Scandinavian languages as well as German.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Considering the average Dutch aversion to ebooks (most people not going here are like: who is going to read on a device, I'll miss the book smell, and ewww, electronic device)

Oh, that's hardly a Dutch-only aversion There are MANY people here in the U.S. who state the same reasons. I figure they'll come around eventually. Like all the people I heard whining when music when digital because it meant the end of the record store, and digital music doesn't have the sound quality and blah blah blah...

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Ea

I guess you mean the 'tens'? I don't blame you - it's not the logical two-ten, three-ten etc. as in Swedish (and English and French, and other languages). BTW; Anyone know any other European languages with German roots that has odd number names?

But eleven and twelve and thirteen are also oddly numbered in English. In Dutch, 14 is also not 4-10. From 15 onwards though, it's 5-10, 6-10, etc.

Originally Posted by Ea

You have to learn the names and not think about the meaning of the words - or rather, not think about the meaning of the modern words. I got curious and looked them up in my etymology. There's good reason and logic behind the names - but they're abbreviated and slightly corrupted/changed in the last thousand years. '50' which today sounds like 'half-sixty' originally meant 'half-three-times-twenty' which translates to 'three-minus-a-half-times twenty' = 2.5*20 (= 50), 60 is 'three-times-twenty'. 40 is interesting as the word is in full (not used anymore) 'fyrretyve' - and 'tyve' is the word used today for 20 - but the Old Norse root is actually 'fjórir tigir' = four tens. I could go on, but I won't The principle is the same for the other 'ten number' names. This is a good example of how language can be really tricky (and interesting).

So, you have to be able to calculate in order to know the Danish counting words????

Originally Posted by Ea

But I was thinking... Is it possible that the Swedish number names have been changed deliberately in the more recent past, say 200-300 years? I'm guessing, since both our languages have coommon roots and were fairly alike 800-1000 years ago. It would be curious indeed if they'd manage to deviate so far without help.

Probably they were smarter and made the counting words easier

Originally Posted by Ea

And "pandekage"...

Being Danish, and knowing (some) German, I can understand the general meaning of a Dutch text or find my way around a web site. With some diligence, perserverance and patience, I could probably learn to read it quite well with practise. Dutch seems to be fairly closely related to the Scandinavian languages as well as German.

Yes. There are some interresting differences though which makes the learning one of the other languages a bit funny... (like the German word "bellen" and the Dutch word "bellen" They sound exactly the same, they are both verbs, they are written exactly the same, but they have two completely different meanings...)

Originally Posted by queentess

Oh, that's hardly a Dutch-only aversion There are MANY people here in the U.S. who state the same reasons. I figure they'll come around eventually. Like all the people I heard whining when music when digital because it meant the end of the record store, and digital music doesn't have the sound quality and blah blah blah...

But you've the advantage that there are waaaaaay more English speakers and readers and thus even a smal percentage would most likely be more than the entire Dutch speaking community...

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

But eleven and twelve and thirteen are also oddly numbered in English. In Dutch, 14 is also not 4-10. From 15 onwards though, it's 5-10, 6-10, etc.

Not quite oddly, it's just very old words, and today we can't "read" the meaning directly from the word. Eleven means literally 'one remaining' (after counting 10) and twelve means 'two remaining'. 'Thirtieen' is "three-ten" just spelled a little differently. The number names are not at all illogical, but it's sometimes remains of different systems than we have today, and the words are old and have changed a bit. BTW, the Dutch names most likely have the same roots as the English (and Scandinavian).

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

So, you have to be able to calculate in order to know the Danish counting words????

Eh, no I was just explaining the roots of the words used today, since you *today* can't directly infer the meaning of the names for 50, 60, 70, etc. You'd also have to calculate to figure out two-ten, three-ten, etc.

Think about it - when you learned to count, didn't you just learn the names for the numbers? Slite's "problem" was reading Danish based on being a native Swedish speaker. The languages are alike enough that we can, with a little effort, understand each other, but these exact words can be a small problem.

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Probably they were smarter and made the counting words easier

I don't know... is it easier for me to remember one or the other name? 'Halvtres' or 'femti'? Granted, the internal logic is not directly comprehensible to me, but then most words I use don't have any - to me - visible internal logic, words such as 'chair' or 'table' or 'dog'.