Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin Book Club - Page 2

Luffy · 07-09-2016, 09:39 AM

I bought the French version of M&C to spruce up on my dexterity with the language. Though I learned a lot of new words, I simply couldn't follow the story. I don't know how will I react with the English version.

issybird · 07-09-2016, 10:54 AM

I was rooting around last night during a spot of insomnia when I found this potentially illuminating site, The Patrick O'Brian Mapping Project. Quite simply, it shows the routes of all the voyages taken by Jack Aubrey in his adventures, book by book.

I have a decentish sense of geography, but I already can tell that this site will help me be much better grounded as I follow the course of Jack's travels. I hope some others find this fun, also.

Conan46 · 07-09-2016, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Hmmm. Not one I know. By all means, let us know what you think of the narration as well as the book.

He does the general narration quite well. I think he is a bit over the top when he does Captain Jack's voice, but overall I like the reader.

CRussel · 07-09-2016, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

I was rooting around last night during a spot of insomnia when I found this potentially illuminating site, The Patrick O'Brian Mapping Project. Quite simply, it shows the routes of all the voyages taken by Jack Aubrey in his adventures, book by book.

I have a decentish sense of geography, but I already can tell that this site will help me be much better grounded as I follow the course of Jack's travels. I hope some others find this fun, also.

Great site. This is going to really help with the geography. Thanks for the find!

CRussel · 07-09-2016, 05:29 PM

So, issybird and I have been chatting about this, and we're thinking that rather than wait until everyone has either read the current book, or decided not to, that we should open up the discussion a bit earlier, so folks can discuss the book AS we read it, and also to let folks ask questions about details that might not be clear. We'd all have to try to be good about using SPOILER tags if we were getting a bit ahead of things, but issy thought it might improve the overall discussion, and I think she's right (as she often is!) We'd likely open up the discussion thread in the next few days, rather than waiting until August 1st.

I'd be curious what folks think? Good idea? Bad idea? Concerns?

Dazrin · 07-09-2016, 05:51 PM

It seems like discussing as you go has worked well for the Literary club.

Maybe we should include a "I am in chapter 4" or "I am 23% complete" at the beginning of your statement rather than having everything in spoilers though. Spoilers can make going back through the discussions to find something rather difficult if there are a lot of them - like there might be here.

CRussel · 07-09-2016, 06:33 PM

Interesting idea, Dazrin. I haven't been involved with the Literary Club, so haven't seen it in practice there. I get your concern about spoiler tags, however. I'm certainly open to any idea that works and that people are happy with.

badgoodDeb · 07-09-2016, 08:10 PM

I'm 42% through, and I'm not impressed yet. Plus, a hard copy version of the first Nevada Barr book just arrived in my mail today. I read #18-ish on sale, and liked it -- and it had been recommended to me.

The book that just arrived draws me more than Aubry/Maturin. Dunno if I'll get back to it, either.....

issybird · 07-09-2016, 08:19 PM

I'm sorry it wasn't for you, Deb!

I hope you'll look in on the discussion once it kicks off and perhaps we'll lure you back. In any case, I'd be interested to hear why you didn't like it. The discussion thread should be up tomorrow.

jgaiser · 07-09-2016, 09:40 PM

I made it as far as book 9. Life got it the way and I'm in the process of starting over. I have both ebooks and audio and I'm interested in a book club. And if the Naval terms become too much, remember Steven Maturin is just as confused as you are.

“NO MAN COULD EASILY surpass me in ignorance of naval terms,” claims Stephen Maturin early on in Master and Commander.

CRussel · 07-10-2016, 01:18 AM

Great, Jerry. I need to get cracking myself on a re-read of [U]Master and Commander. [/I] I'm going to give the Simon Vance narration a try, since I was able to check it out of the BC Library. Gotta give issybird a chance to convince me, after all.

jgaiser · 07-10-2016, 11:18 AM

I started with Simon Vance. Everybody tells me Patrick Tull is sooooo much better. Tried Patrick Tull. Went back to Simon

Unfortunately if you haven't already got the Vance books in your library, you are out of luck. They are no longer available on Audible. Through the luck of sales I managed to get all the Vance books prior to their disappearing. Nearly finished my reread/listen of M&C.

issybird · 07-10-2016, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

I started with Simon Vance. Everybody tells me Patrick Tull is sooooo much better. Tried Patrick Tull. Went back to Simon

Unfortunately if you haven't already got the Vance books in your library, you are out of luck. They are no longer available on Audible. Through the luck of sales I managed to get all the Vance books prior to their disappearing. Nearly finished my reread/listen of M&C.

I suspect most of us have a predilection for the first narrator we tried. I'm with you, Jerry, in that I gave my loyalty to Vance and couldn't be converted to Tull, although I did give him a try. For me, Tull's real strength is his voice for Stephen Maturin, which objectively speaking I think is superior to Vance's. But I prefer both Vance's Jack Aubrey and his overall narrative style and I'm used to his Stephen.

Charlie convinced me to buy the Vance books when they went on a super sale (even though he prefers Tull himself) and I've been grateful ever since!

Twitchly · 07-10-2016, 01:35 PM

Sounds like fun. I read these some years ago but couldn't bring myself to finish the last one or two; I didn't want it to end. I'll at least try to give them a re-skim to refresh my memory.

The friend who got me into these had great advice: Just let all the nautical details wash over you. Don't let them bog you down. Worked a charm for me.

CRussel · 07-10-2016, 02:12 PM

That was good advice, Twitchly. If you let yourself try to follow every bit of sailing and ship minutia, you will lose track of the story. Unless, of course, you're a sailor, in which case it adds to the story, I'm told.

What I discovered over time is that by just letting it wash over me, it eventually started to make some sense. But it's the least important part of the narrative.

On the question of readers, it's true that I like Patrick Tull best. I started with him in the in the 1980's when I was listening on Books on Tape, and so he'll always be the voice of these stories for me. But I've listened to the Vance narrations, and they are very good. He is a much faster reader, whereas Tull is more of a narrator, IMHO. This is easily seen by looking at the length of the books - Tull's are about 20% longer than Vance's. Which I like - it gives me time at those narrative pauses to catch up in my own head with where we are. Some folks find Tull too slow. Obviously, I'm not in that group. I will say that I rarely feel "rushed" with the Vance ones, so he hasn't crossed over into that side of the narrative equation.

I'm going to be reading the Vance narrative for most of this first book, at least, just for some variety and to see if he grows on me. And since my Library had it available for immediate borrowing.

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07-09-2016, 09:39 AM	#16
Luffy Wizard Posts: 4,461 Karma: 429063498 Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Mauritius Device: Kindle Paperwhite 4	I bought the French version of M&C to spruce up on my dexterity with the language. Though I learned a lot of new words, I simply couldn't follow the story. I don't know how will I react with the English version.

07-09-2016, 10:54 AM	#17
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,101 Karma: 234185759 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	I was rooting around last night during a spot of insomnia when I found this potentially illuminating site, The Patrick O'Brian Mapping Project. Quite simply, it shows the routes of all the voyages taken by Jack Aubrey in his adventures, book by book. I have a decentish sense of geography, but I already can tell that this site will help me be much better grounded as I follow the course of Jack's travels. I hope some others find this fun, also.

07-09-2016, 05:29 PM	#20
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,282 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	So, issybird and I have been chatting about this, and we're thinking that rather than wait until everyone has either read the current book, or decided not to, that we should open up the discussion a bit earlier, so folks can discuss the book AS we read it, and also to let folks ask questions about details that might not be clear. We'd all have to try to be good about using SPOILER tags if we were getting a bit ahead of things, but issy thought it might improve the overall discussion, and I think she's right (as she often is!) We'd likely open up the discussion thread in the next few days, rather than waiting until August 1st. I'd be curious what folks think? Good idea? Bad idea? Concerns?

07-09-2016, 05:51 PM	#21
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,720 Karma: 75825105 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	It seems like discussing as you go has worked well for the Literary club. Maybe we should include a "I am in chapter 4" or "I am 23% complete" at the beginning of your statement rather than having everything in spoilers though. Spoilers can make going back through the discussions to find something rather difficult if there are a lot of them - like there might be here.

07-09-2016, 06:33 PM	#22
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,282 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	Interesting idea, Dazrin. I haven't been involved with the Literary Club, so haven't seen it in practice there. I get your concern about spoiler tags, however. I'm certainly open to any idea that works and that people are happy with.

07-09-2016, 08:10 PM	#23
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,536 Karma: 64201357 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	I'm 42% through, and I'm not impressed yet. Plus, a hard copy version of the first Nevada Barr book just arrived in my mail today. I read #18-ish on sale, and liked it -- and it had been recommended to me. The book that just arrived draws me more than Aubry/Maturin. Dunno if I'll get back to it, either.....

07-09-2016, 08:19 PM	#24
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,101 Karma: 234185759 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	I'm sorry it wasn't for you, Deb! I hope you'll look in on the discussion once it kicks off and perhaps we'll lure you back. In any case, I'd be interested to hear why you didn't like it. The discussion thread should be up tomorrow.

07-09-2016, 09:40 PM	#25
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	I made it as far as book 9. Life got it the way and I'm in the process of starting over. I have both ebooks and audio and I'm interested in a book club. And if the Naval terms become too much, remember Steven Maturin is just as confused as you are. “NO MAN COULD EASILY surpass me in ignorance of naval terms,” claims Stephen Maturin early on in Master and Commander.

07-10-2016, 01:18 AM	#26
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,282 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	Great, Jerry. I need to get cracking myself on a re-read of [U]Master and Commander. [/I] I'm going to give the Simon Vance narration a try, since I was able to check it out of the BC Library. Gotta give issybird a chance to convince me, after all.

07-10-2016, 11:18 AM	#27
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	I started with Simon Vance. Everybody tells me Patrick Tull is sooooo much better. Tried Patrick Tull. Went back to Simon Unfortunately if you haven't already got the Vance books in your library, you are out of luck. They are no longer available on Audible. Through the luck of sales I managed to get all the Vance books prior to their disappearing. Nearly finished my reread/listen of M&C.

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07-10-2016, 01:35 PM	#29
Twitchly Bookish Posts: 18 Karma: 2698942 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kindle Voyage, Sony Pocket Reader	Sounds like fun. I read these some years ago but couldn't bring myself to finish the last one or two; I didn't want it to end. I'll at least try to give them a re-skim to refresh my memory. The friend who got me into these had great advice: Just let all the nautical details wash over you. Don't let them bog you down. Worked a charm for me.

07-10-2016, 02:12 PM	#30
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,282 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	That was good advice, Twitchly. If you let yourself try to follow every bit of sailing and ship minutia, you will lose track of the story. Unless, of course, you're a sailor, in which case it adds to the story, I'm told. What I discovered over time is that by just letting it wash over me, it eventually started to make some sense. But it's the least important part of the narrative. On the question of readers, it's true that I like Patrick Tull best. I started with him in the in the 1980's when I was listening on Books on Tape, and so he'll always be the voice of these stories for me. But I've listened to the Vance narrations, and they are very good. He is a much faster reader, whereas Tull is more of a narrator, IMHO. This is easily seen by looking at the length of the books - Tull's are about 20% longer than Vance's. Which I like - it gives me time at those narrative pauses to catch up in my own head with where we are. Some folks find Tull too slow. Obviously, I'm not in that group. I will say that I rarely feel "rushed" with the Vance ones, so he hasn't crossed over into that side of the narrative equation. I'm going to be reading the Vance narrative for most of this first book, at least, just for some variety and to see if he grows on me. And since my Library had it available for immediate borrowing.