Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 1764

astrangerhere · 10-06-2017, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I have a few hours before the drive home, so I am going to start The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock, which caught my eye at the library.

Still working on this one.

During grocery shopping, etc., today, I listened to "The Wedding Ring" by Maurice Leblanc and "Second Variety" by Phillip K. Dick. Both were done on the Classic Tales Podcast.

fantasyfan · 10-06-2017, 03:04 PM

Every so often I get an itch to read literature in English translation. At the moment I am reading The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam. The English translation that is far and away the most famous is that of Edward Fitzgerald, a Cambridge educated Orientalist who published his first edition privately in 1859. It was a complete flop--not that Fitzgerald, who was quite wealthy, minded all that much. It was first offered to the public for half a crown. When no one showed any interest the bookseller reduced the cost to a shilling, and as a last resort it was put in the "penny box" outside the shop. Finally, two friends of Dante Gabriel Rossetti told the latter about "a wonderful little pamphlet" in a bookshop stall. Rossetti and Swinburne bought it showed it to Sir Richard Burton and suddenly Fitzgerald found himself famous.

"Rubaiyat" is the plural of "ruba'i" a four line stanza rhyming aaba. Hence the title. Fitzgerald used a selection of Khayyam's individual stanzas and organised them into a sequence from morning to night. He also linked those with similar subjects together to give the poem an inner consistency and logic which is not nearly as apparent in the work of Omar. That first edition used 75 quatrains. His second edition went to 110 verses and the third, fourth, and fifth settled on 101 quatrains. The last three editions really vary in quite minor ways. So that many copies now give both the first and fifth editions. The first edition has tremendous spontaneity and energy while the fifth is more nuanced. It is more difficult to get that second edition but many copies of the first and fifth do give some of the variations from the second in the notes or back matter.

There have been some attempts to create a translation closer to the original. For those interested Peter Avery and and John Heath-Stubbs did produce one for Penguin. It runs to 235 quatrains. The quatrains are in the four line form but unrhymed. It's good to have it but it is quite inferior in beauty to Fitzgerald's Victorian translation. There is another version, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: A Paraphrase from Several Literal Translations. by the poet, Richard Le Gallienne. It dates from 1916 and is available free from Wikisource. I've been reading it and it does have its moments. Le Gallienne, however, claims that he is no rival of Fitzgerald and simply wished to present an approach "mitigated more frequently by moods of optimism than in Fitzgerald."

Here are the opening three quatrains from Fitgerald's 1859 text:

I.
AWAKE! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultán's Turret in a Noose of Light.

II.
Dreaming when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky
I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry,
"Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup
"Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry."

III.
And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before
The Tavern shouted—"Open then the Door!
"You know how little while we have to stay,
"And, once departed, may return no more."

Now here are the opening verses in Le Gallienne:

“Wake! for the sun, the shepherd of the sky,

Has penned the stars within their fold on high,

And, shaking darkness from his mighty limbs,

Scatters the daylight from his burning eye.

"Awake! my soul, and haste betimes to drink,

This sun that rises all too soon shall sink,--

Come, come, O vintner, ope thy drowsy door!

We die of thirst upon the fountain's brink.

"Poor homeless men that have no other home,

Unto the wine-shop early are we come,

Since darkling dawn have we been waiting here,

Waiting and waiting for the day to come.”

Excerpt From: Khayyám, Omar. “Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám A Paraphrase from Several Literal Translations.”

Personally, I find the Fitzgerald lines more vibrant. But the Le Gallienne is well worth reading in its entirety.

poohbear_nc · 10-07-2017, 07:49 PM

I'm having a real ball re-reading Edith Hamilton's excellent Mythology - an impulse purchase earlier this month when it was offered for $2.99!

This is one of the books I read, and re-read, and re-re-read as a child. I was captivated by the Greco-Roman mythological universe, which led me into future readings of the classic Greek and Roman poets and playwrights, and then into the philosophers and historians.
Fortunately, my high school had a wonderful 'little old lady' Latin teacher, and I took 4 years of Latin, reading many of my favorite authors in the original Latin.

I am happy to report that Hamilton's prose reads just as fresh now as I remember it did decades ago.

This is a trip down memory lane that I will happily retrace again and again.

Dngrsone · 10-09-2017, 06:50 AM

Finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Audio) and now listening to A Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.

CRussel · 10-09-2017, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Audio)

Curious -- which narrator? Both the Jim Dale and Stephen Fry versions are excellent, but definitely different. I know in the US you don't really have a choice, but I was able to get the Stephen Fry ones here with a bit of effort.

Meanwhile, I've been binge reading the Ava Lee series from Ian Hamilton. Fun books, with an ethnically Chinese Canadian, lesbian, forensic accountant, martial arts proficient, main character and a wide range geographical venues, though focused around Hong Kong. Wonderful fun!

astrangerhere · 10-09-2017, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

<snip> ethnically Chinese Canadian, lesbian, forensic accountant, martial arts proficient, main character <snip>

Well sign me up! Just requested the first one from my library.

Fbone · 10-09-2017, 05:52 PM

Finally, finished Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher. I really liked the book's premise. Statues coming to life ... nice. But the mystery/goal was very murky to me. I was left empty and confused. The ending was very dull. Rated D+ [2 stars].

astrangerhere · 10-09-2017, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Started Frankenstein in audio.

Finished this today whilst cooking. Did not enjoy it as much as I remembered on first reading. Tomorrow will be Ray Bradbury's The October Country.

Dngrsone · 10-09-2017, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Curious -- which narrator? Both the Jim Dale and Stephen Fry versions are excellent, but definitely different. I know in the US you don't really have a choice, but I was able to get the Stephen Fry ones here with a bit of effort.

Meanwhile, I've been binge reading the Ava Lee series from Ian Hamilton. Fun books, with an ethnically Chinese Canadian, lesbian, forensic accountant, martial arts proficient, main character and a wide range geographical venues, though focused around Hong Kong. Wonderful fun!

Jim Dale, who tends to voice the children whiny, which is kind of annoying, and his pronunciations are sometimes kind of odd, but I don't know if it's him or me at fault there, hah. The audio book does make my long drives go by, though. I just wish my car stereo would let me skip through the track instead of having to start at the beginning again when I miss a section... these things are packeted in 60-80 minute chunks.

I wouldn't mind giving Fry a chance, though the odds of me finding that over here are minuscule.

CRussel · 10-10-2017, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Curious -- which narrator? Both the Jim Dale and Stephen Fry versions are excellent, but definitely different. I know in the US you don't really have a choice, but I was able to get the Stephen Fry ones here with a bit of effort.

Meanwhile, I've been binge reading the Ava Lee series from Ian Hamilton. Fun books, with an ethnically Chinese Canadian, lesbian, forensic accountant, martial arts proficient, main character and a wide range geographical venues, though focused around Hong Kong. Wonderful fun!

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Well sign me up! Just requested the first one from my library.

I think you might just like them. They have too many product brand names repeated (someone must have told him they lend verisimilitude or something), but other than that, quite enjoyable. And I love the geographic details, which as a life-long diplomat, Ian Hamilton certainly should have accurate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Jim Dale, who tends to voice the children whiny, which is kind of annoying, and his pronunciations are sometimes kind of odd, but I don't know if it's him or me at fault there, hah. The audio book does make my long drives go by, though. I just wish my car stereo would let me skip through the track instead of having to start at the beginning again when I miss a section... these things are packeted in 60-80 minute chunks.

I wouldn't mind giving Fry a chance, though the odds of me finding that over here are minuscule.

Well, you just need to do a bit of geographical traveling.

HarryT · 10-10-2017, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Jim Dale, who tends to voice the children whiny, which is kind of annoying, and his pronunciations are sometimes kind of odd, but I don't know if it's him or me at fault there, hah.

Can you give an example of a pronunciation you'd consider odd?

Dngrsone · 10-10-2017, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Well, you just need to do a bit of geographical traveling.

Actually, my current employer has those plans for me, though I don't know if those plans will include GB.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Can you give an example of a pronunciation you'd consider odd?

Off the top of my early-rising head, "Animagus" with a hard G and "Voldemort"... he keeps dropping the T like it's French.

HarryT · 10-10-2017, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Off the top of my early-rising head, "Animagus" with a hard G and "Voldemort"... he keeps dropping the T like it's French.

I'm with you on the second of those, but the word "magus" assuredly does have a hard "g" (although its plural, "magi", does not). It's singular "may-guss", but plural "may-jie".

JSWolf · 10-10-2017, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Jim Dale, who tends to voice the children whiny, which is kind of annoying, and his pronunciations are sometimes kind of odd, but I don't know if it's him or me at fault there, hah.

I've heard some of Jim Dale's reading of the first Harry Potter book and it's you. Nothing wrong with the reading.

Dngrsone · 10-10-2017, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm with you on the second of those, but the word "magus" assuredly does have a hard "g" (although its plural, "magi", does not). It's singular "may-guss", but plural "may-jie".

Okay, I'm hearing ani-mah-Jus. So that's not a hard G, but a soft?

10-06-2017, 03:04 PM	#26447
fantasyfan Wizard Posts: 1,368 Karma: 26886344 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE	Every so often I get an itch to read literature in English translation. At the moment I am reading The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam. The English translation that is far and away the most famous is that of Edward Fitzgerald, a Cambridge educated Orientalist who published his first edition privately in 1859. It was a complete flop--not that Fitzgerald, who was quite wealthy, minded all that much. It was first offered to the public for half a crown. When no one showed any interest the bookseller reduced the cost to a shilling, and as a last resort it was put in the "penny box" outside the shop. Finally, two friends of Dante Gabriel Rossetti told the latter about "a wonderful little pamphlet" in a bookshop stall. Rossetti and Swinburne bought it showed it to Sir Richard Burton and suddenly Fitzgerald found himself famous. "Rubaiyat" is the plural of "ruba'i" a four line stanza rhyming aaba. Hence the title. Fitzgerald used a selection of Khayyam's individual stanzas and organised them into a sequence from morning to night. He also linked those with similar subjects together to give the poem an inner consistency and logic which is not nearly as apparent in the work of Omar. That first edition used 75 quatrains. His second edition went to 110 verses and the third, fourth, and fifth settled on 101 quatrains. The last three editions really vary in quite minor ways. So that many copies now give both the first and fifth editions. The first edition has tremendous spontaneity and energy while the fifth is more nuanced. It is more difficult to get that second edition but many copies of the first and fifth do give some of the variations from the second in the notes or back matter. There have been some attempts to create a translation closer to the original. For those interested Peter Avery and and John Heath-Stubbs did produce one for Penguin. It runs to 235 quatrains. The quatrains are in the four line form but unrhymed. It's good to have it but it is quite inferior in beauty to Fitzgerald's Victorian translation. There is another version, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: A Paraphrase from Several Literal Translations. by the poet, Richard Le Gallienne. It dates from 1916 and is available free from Wikisource. I've been reading it and it does have its moments. Le Gallienne, however, claims that he is no rival of Fitzgerald and simply wished to present an approach "mitigated more frequently by moods of optimism than in Fitzgerald." Here are the opening three quatrains from Fitgerald's 1859 text: I. AWAKE! for Morning in the Bowl of Night Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight: And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught The Sultán's Turret in a Noose of Light. II. Dreaming when Dawn's Left Hand was in the Sky I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry, "Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup "Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry." III. And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before The Tavern shouted—"Open then the Door! "You know how little while we have to stay, "And, once departed, may return no more." Now here are the opening verses in Le Gallienne: “Wake! for the sun, the shepherd of the sky, Has penned the stars within their fold on high, And, shaking darkness from his mighty limbs, Scatters the daylight from his burning eye. "Awake! my soul, and haste betimes to drink, This sun that rises all too soon shall sink,-- Come, come, O vintner, ope thy drowsy door! We die of thirst upon the fountain's brink. "Poor homeless men that have no other home, Unto the wine-shop early are we come, Since darkling dawn have we been waiting here, Waiting and waiting for the day to come.” Excerpt From: Khayyám, Omar. “Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám A Paraphrase from Several Literal Translations.” Personally, I find the Fitzgerald lines more vibrant. But the Le Gallienne is well worth reading in its entirety. Last edited by fantasyfan; 10-09-2017 at 03:39 PM.

10-09-2017, 05:52 PM	#26452
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,189 Karma: 100500000 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Finally, finished Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher. I really liked the book's premise. Statues coming to life ... nice. But the mystery/goal was very murky to me. I was left empty and confused. The ending was very dull. Rated D+ [2 stars]. Last edited by Fbone; 10-09-2017 at 06:09 PM.

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10-07-2017, 07:49 PM	#26448
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,856 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	I'm having a real ball re-reading Edith Hamilton's excellent *Mythology* - an impulse purchase earlier this month when it was offered for $2.99! This is one of the books I read, and re-read, and re-re-read as a child. I was captivated by the Greco-Roman mythological universe, which led me into future readings of the classic Greek and Roman poets and playwrights, and then into the philosophers and historians. Fortunately, my high school had a wonderful 'little old lady' Latin teacher, and I took 4 years of Latin, reading many of my favorite authors in the original Latin. I am happy to report that Hamilton's prose reads just as fresh now as I remember it did decades ago. This is a trip down memory lane that I will happily retrace again and again.

10-09-2017, 06:50 AM	#26449
Dngrsone Almost legible Posts: 1,457 Karma: 4611110 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: In a high desert, CA Device: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab A (2017), Likebook P78	Finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Audio) and now listening to A Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.

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