Which Book Have You Read/Re-Read All Your Life?

[beppe]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

For some reason, it's usually translated into English as "Good Soldier Sveik" (or Svejk, or...) rather than as "Brave..." And I agree that it's a masterpiece of satirical writing.

Back when it was originally written, the author succeeded in convincing the Powers That Were in the Austro-Hungarian Empire that it was really a book by a loyal citizen about the unfortunate misadventures of a loyal-but-dumb Czech soldier. Which is particularly piquant when you realize that by doing so he succeeded in pulling off in real life the same bit of mis-direction that Svejk used repeatedly in many of his fictional scams!

It's hysterically funny, well-written, and very very highly recommended!

Xenophon

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

The Kindle edition of Jaroslav Hasek's book will be available at Amazon on November 17, 2010. That's a bit of a wait, but Amazon is already accepting pre-orders. It will be under the title The Good Soldier Svejk.

Dear co-admirers of Swejk and therefore friends,
Ich melde gehorsam that I just got our beloved Svejk from this place. PDF, apparently no DRM. Payed 5$ for the first volume, Paypal. The whole opus is available, though. I was billed by a certain Keenan, Sadlon & Lord, Inc.

No images of Lada but I have them on pbook, so it is not a big loss. On my PSR 600 it reads well. I made an epub of it but it converts with double line feeds, so I will stay with PDF.
Hurray! I am so glad.

Svejk makes a great reading when one is nervous.

Beppe

[Steve Anderson]

I too love Schweik. Only read him in English. It's about time for a new English translation. Maybe I should read him in German. Yeah, that's definitely what I should do. Any excuse to reread it again!

[konrads]

'Sans Famille' by Hector Malot (Alternatively, 'Alleen op de wereld' in Dutch). This is one book that really made an impression when I was a kid. Forgot about it for several years, but it's always there at the back of my mind.

'The discovery of heaven' by Harry Mulisch (Original title: 'De ontdekking van de hemel'.) This is one of those majestic books that makes you shake your head and say: 'I'm never going to write this good a book.' The book later on became a movie (native English movie), which is... decent, but hardly as good as the novel.

[mikemck]

"Dune."

My mother gave me a copy when I was in grade 5 (1986) and I still continue to reread it every couple of years. I still have that copy in fact. Pages are torn and loose, but it holds sentimental value.

[ImogenRose]

Animal Farm by George Orwell. I have lost count of how many times I have read it... and I will probably read it again!

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by mikemck

"Dune."

My mother gave me a copy when I was in grade 5 (1986) and I still continue to reread it every couple of years. I still have that copy in fact. Pages are torn and loose, but it holds sentimental value.

Haven't read the book but I certainly enjoyed the movie.

[Iphinome]

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

[Magnesus]

Originally Posted by thinkpadx

Haven't read the book but I certainly enjoyed the movie.

Which one? Dune was filmed two times:
- Lynch's Dune - Lynch vision was far from the book and quite silly at some times (screaming Atridies, sick Harkonnen),
- Syfy miniseries was lacking in budget and real sand but was closer to the story in original book (and with great Vladimir Harkonnen portrayal by Ian McNeice - at last he was not only evil but also smart).
There is also Children of Dune - second miniseries based on Dune: Messiah and Children of Dune books - and is also quite good although the small budget is visible.
And a third movie (Peter Berg's Dune) is in the works.

I recommend reading Dune books though. And not only the first one but all six of them - because the last two are the best.

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by Magnesus

There is also Children of Dune - second miniseries based on Dune: Messiah and Children of Dune books - and is also quite good although the small budget is visible.

I've seen Children of Dune and enjoyed it. Will have to add the books to my backlist.

Trying to keep up with the expectations when translating a book into a movie is never easy. The reader will always have there own mental picture of how things should be played out.

[SmartyPants]

Originally Posted by konrads

'Sans Famille' by Hector Malot (Alternatively, 'Alleen op de wereld' in Dutch). This is one book that really made an impression when I was a kid. Forgot about it for several years, but it's always there at the back of my mind..

omg... i never thought i'd hear anyone else mentioning this one!
One of my childhood favourites... still being re-read periodically.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by konrads

'Sans Famille' by Hector Malot (Alternatively, 'Alleen op de wereld' in Dutch). This is one book that really made an impression when I was a kid. Forgot about it for several years, but it's always there at the back of my mind.

Originally Posted by SmartyPants

omg... i never thought i'd hear anyone else mentioning this one!
One of my childhood favourites... still being re-read periodically.

Well, you both have me curious. Since this is in the public domain, I will post it in the upload section this weekend. I think I've found the original French edition and an English translation and will do both. I'm just looking for a copy with illustrations, if one exists.

[altworld]

The Lord of The Rings I read once a year and have done so for the last 24 years of my life. Every year I find something new in the story and it still takes me on a magical journey. Added to the list of once a year reads has been Starship Troopers a surprisingly interesting novel, I've read that once a year now for the last ten years too.



A brand new dark urban fantasy novel - The Tether None Good by Nick Davis

[konrads]

@SmartyPants: I was surprised nobody mentioned it either. Sure, the English language has its own 'orphan' story in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, but Sans Famille has always come across as far superior to that story. Characters like Vitalis, well, you don't see them that often.

@vivaldirules: The book was written in 1878, the copy I read was at my grandmother's and at least several decades old - the cover was worn and torn. One thing it didn't have was illustrations.

On Gutenberg, there does seem to be an EPUB and Mobipocket version of the book with images: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/25102

Note that the title 'Sans Famille' was translated as 'Nobody's Boy' there (opposed to the literal 'Without Family' Wikipedia claimed). Huh. Apparently Malot wrote a novel 'En Familly' as well, translated as 'Nobody's Girl'. That's gotten me curious, anybody read that one?

I checked the ePub version out, the images are there, but there don't seem to be that much.

You know, there's one good thing to be said about e-books: it makes Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment more readable. (Or maybe that's just poor judgement on the publisher of my hardcover.)

[FlorenceArt]

I read Sans famille when I was a child, but I'm afraid it didn't leave a very big impression on me, except for the knowledge that it's a classic. Maybe I should try reading it again.

I knew about En famille but never read it.

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Well, you both have me curious. Since this is in the public domain, I will post it in the upload section this weekend. I think I've found the original French edition and an English translation and will do both. I'm just looking for a copy with illustrations, if one exists.

Just out of curiosity with the whole upload process. Will you take the book from Gutenberg and upload it here at MR or is it more proofreading work involved?