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And that is one of the things that makes Russian novels so very hard to read.
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Did you hear about the Russian novelist who killed himself by leaping from atop his suicide note?
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I understand
I'm researching some Oswald details right now. You have no idea about verbose until you spend a week or two reading a Russian purchase order slip.
I finally decided to start skimming. It took less than a week to read a thank you note.
I was just glad it was already translated.
I'm researching some Oswald details right now. You have no idea about verbose until you spend a week or two reading a Russian purchase order slip.
I finally decided to start skimming. It took less than a week to read a thank you note.
I was just glad it was already translated.
As long as there's only one Alexei in the novel, it would be clear to anyone familiar with Russian naming conventions who was being referred to.
No different than if a character named James was variously referred to by other characters as James, Jamesy, Jim, Jimmy, Jimbo, Jimster . . . we'd all know it was the same character, right? Maybe someone else would call him Jamie or Jiminy Cricket or Diego and we'd need some more context to make the connection.
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Just like my name is Steve, but it has not been unheard of for people to refer to me as "s**thead". But you probably wouldn't need much more context to figure that one out.
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This is very typical of Russian culture...when I was taking Russian, we actually had a test once where we were given a name, and had to list what various people in the person's life would call him...parents, friends, spouse, nieces/nephews, etc.
It's interesting, but confusing as hell for some of us simple Americanfolk.
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Hello...
To completely change the topic,
What are everyone's thoughts on flash fowards in novels? I'm pretty sure I've seen them before, though I can't remember where. Either like something that fuctions like a prologue, in the front of the book that details an event that will either eventually take place that we see or don't see, or something from a scene we get later (these would have to be short, I imagine?). I see why most people won't use them, and they mostly won't be necessary, but has anyone seen any particularly good instances?
To completely change the topic,
What are everyone's thoughts on flash fowards in novels? I'm pretty sure I've seen them before, though I can't remember where. Either like something that fuctions like a prologue, in the front of the book that details an event that will either eventually take place that we see or don't see, or something from a scene we get later (these would have to be short, I imagine?). I see why most people won't use them, and they mostly won't be necessary, but has anyone seen any particularly good instances?
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Flash forwards?
Tricky if you don't have an old Gypsy fortune teller doing 'em, and you aren't in a time-travel plot.
But, outside of those, you can find a good one in The Outback Stars by my friend Sandra McDonald (no relation). (Buy one, buy a dozen, they make excellent gifts.)
Tricky if you don't have an old Gypsy fortune teller doing 'em, and you aren't in a time-travel plot.
But, outside of those, you can find a good one in The Outback Stars by my friend Sandra McDonald (no relation). (Buy one, buy a dozen, they make excellent gifts.)
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It's Saint Nicholas Day!
So, in honor of the holy saint, and because it's that time of year, it's time for this year's Christmas Challenge!
Okay. Go to a used-book store. (This is fun all in itself.) Go to the box where they keep the Really Cheap books. Look through it until you find a book that's labeled as having been a Best Seller or major Award Winner. (Not "by the best-selling author" or "by the award-winning author" -- the book itself has to have won the award or sold the copies.) This should be a book you've never read; preferably one you've never heard of.
Buy it. Try not to pay over fifty cents.
Read the book. Outline it. Chapter by chapter. Keep a list of the characters with a brief description of what each does in the book.
Go, my friends. Finish the outline and character list by Christmas Day.
So, in honor of the holy saint, and because it's that time of year, it's time for this year's Christmas Challenge!
Okay. Go to a used-book store. (This is fun all in itself.) Go to the box where they keep the Really Cheap books. Look through it until you find a book that's labeled as having been a Best Seller or major Award Winner. (Not "by the best-selling author" or "by the award-winning author" -- the book itself has to have won the award or sold the copies.) This should be a book you've never read; preferably one you've never heard of.
Buy it. Try not to pay over fifty cents.
Read the book. Outline it. Chapter by chapter. Keep a list of the characters with a brief description of what each does in the book.
Go, my friends. Finish the outline and character list by Christmas Day.
Good grief Uncle Jim. Where am I supposed to find an English-, German-, or French-language award-winning used book in Madrid? 
(I'm stuck here until the 18th and my Spanish is lousy, thanks for asking.) I guess the scavenger hunt will keep me busy for a while. *shrug*
(I'm stuck here until the 18th and my Spanish is lousy, thanks for asking.) I guess the scavenger hunt will keep me busy for a while. *shrug*
Niamh1882:
Second-hand bookstores in touristy areas often contain a small collection of books in various languages, courtesy of those tourists. Finding a best-seller or award-winning book shouldn't be impossible since those tend to be the books that can be bought at airports. And since you read three languages, your odds will be even better. Give it a try!
I know I love any excuse to go to the second-hand book store...
Perle
Second-hand bookstores in touristy areas often contain a small collection of books in various languages, courtesy of those tourists. Finding a best-seller or award-winning book shouldn't be impossible since those tend to be the books that can be bought at airports. And since you read three languages, your odds will be even better. Give it a try!
I know I love any excuse to go to the second-hand book store...
Perle
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Was it last Christmas that we did the, merge Mary Shelly's Frankenstein with, (choices),I did Sherlock Holmes vindicating Justine Moritz written in the style Doyle. Or was that 2 years ago?
Off to the bookstore.
Off to the bookstore.
Necronomicon
Hi Uncle Jim,
The information that I found on the Necronomicon is that it was invented by HP Lovecraft and many authors and movies have used that book as if it is real. With that being said, it would bad manners to mention said book in a story featuring witches. Would it be just something that's been said and done so many times it's better to come up with something else?
Hi Uncle Jim,
The information that I found on the Necronomicon is that it was invented by HP Lovecraft and many authors and movies have used that book as if it is real. With that being said, it would bad manners to mention said book in a story featuring witches. Would it be just something that's been said and done so many times it's better to come up with something else?
He wants me to live dangerously, does he? If I'm not out by Christmas, folks, send out the search party. I'll probably be perfectly happy, but more than a little hungry, as I often forget to eat when I'm lost in a good book or hundred.
Hi Uncle Jim,
I've been catching up on my reading. In the past 2 weeks I have read:
Ernest Hemmingway
Debra Doyle & James Macdonald
Raymond Carver
Flannery O'Connor (Short Stories)
All the classics, really.
I haven't been able to make any sense of Carver's short stories. Not a one of them reaches any sort of conclusion. I reckon if I wrote a story like that, everyone would say: "That's not a story at all. Where's the ending?"
I suppose I must be missing the point, as usual. I know how highly regarded he is.
Flannery O'Connor I LOVE. I love everything about the way she writes. Everything. She is a wonderful writer. I reckon I learnt more about writing by reading her stories than from all of the "how to write" books I have consumed recently.
Heading out to the second-hand-book-shop tomorrow to find that Nebula Award winner.
I've been catching up on my reading. In the past 2 weeks I have read:
Ernest Hemmingway
Debra Doyle & James Macdonald
Raymond Carver
Flannery O'Connor (Short Stories)
All the classics, really.
I haven't been able to make any sense of Carver's short stories. Not a one of them reaches any sort of conclusion. I reckon if I wrote a story like that, everyone would say: "That's not a story at all. Where's the ending?"
I suppose I must be missing the point, as usual. I know how highly regarded he is.
Flannery O'Connor I LOVE. I love everything about the way she writes. Everything. She is a wonderful writer. I reckon I learnt more about writing by reading her stories than from all of the "how to write" books I have consumed recently.
Heading out to the second-hand-book-shop tomorrow to find that Nebula Award winner.
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HP Lovecraft was building on earlier work by Ambrose Bierce and Robert W. Chambers.
Lovecraft created the Necronomicon, as part of the Cthulhu mythos, but he allowed his friends to play in his universe. More than that, Lovecraft worked as a copyeditor for pulp magazines during the 'twenties, and he would insert Cthulhu material into stories by other people (without their permission--such was the happy, carefree life of the freelance writer back in those days). The mythos has since taken over an entire sub-branch of horror (I've used it myself--Land of Mist and Snow and "Philologos"). Various books purporting to be the Necronomicon have been published.
The Necronomicon first appeared in 1922, (and Lovecraft himself died 70 years ago in 1938) putting it well into the public domain.
You can use it, but if you do you should be aware that your readers will expect that your book is part of the Cthulhu mythos and will have certain other expectations as well. (Including, but not limited to, Arkham Asylum (yes, the current incarnation of Batman is located in the Cthulhu mythos), Miskatonic University, and the seafood festival at Innsmouth.) If you are going to use the Necronomicon, know what it is supposed to be, and use it in a manner that is not inconsistent with others. This will keep your readers from throwing your book across the room.
(At one point in my life I owned a "It's The Great Old Ones, Charlie Brown!" tee shirt.)
(In "Philologos," which was written as my entry in one of this thread's Christmas Challenges (and subsequently published by F&SF, thanks very much), our hero, William R. Sharps (the "R" stands for Romeo, but he doesn't ever tell anyone that) winds up in Castle Dracula (which is never called by name in the story ... but long-time readers of fantastic literature will instantly recognize it), but nothing there fazes him -- for he went through Finals Week eight times at Miskatonic U, after which facing the undead and unholy religions is ... well, those unholy undead didn't know what hit 'em.)
Lovecraft created the Necronomicon, as part of the Cthulhu mythos, but he allowed his friends to play in his universe. More than that, Lovecraft worked as a copyeditor for pulp magazines during the 'twenties, and he would insert Cthulhu material into stories by other people (without their permission--such was the happy, carefree life of the freelance writer back in those days). The mythos has since taken over an entire sub-branch of horror (I've used it myself--Land of Mist and Snow and "Philologos"). Various books purporting to be the Necronomicon have been published.
The Necronomicon first appeared in 1922, (and Lovecraft himself died 70 years ago in 1938) putting it well into the public domain.
You can use it, but if you do you should be aware that your readers will expect that your book is part of the Cthulhu mythos and will have certain other expectations as well. (Including, but not limited to, Arkham Asylum (yes, the current incarnation of Batman is located in the Cthulhu mythos), Miskatonic University, and the seafood festival at Innsmouth.) If you are going to use the Necronomicon, know what it is supposed to be, and use it in a manner that is not inconsistent with others. This will keep your readers from throwing your book across the room.
(At one point in my life I owned a "It's The Great Old Ones, Charlie Brown!" tee shirt.)
(In "Philologos," which was written as my entry in one of this thread's Christmas Challenges (and subsequently published by F&SF, thanks very much), our hero, William R. Sharps (the "R" stands for Romeo, but he doesn't ever tell anyone that) winds up in Castle Dracula (which is never called by name in the story ... but long-time readers of fantastic literature will instantly recognize it), but nothing there fazes him -- for he went through Finals Week eight times at Miskatonic U, after which facing the undead and unholy religions is ... well, those unholy undead didn't know what hit 'em.)
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The problem with library books, euclid, is you can't mark 'em up, which is something I might want to do for this assignment.
Well you can, but neither the librarian nor I (and I would almost certainly be the next borrower in this case) would thank you for it.
Well you can, but neither the librarian nor I (and I would almost certainly be the next borrower in this case) would thank you for it.
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That's why sometimes I really like the books with page-and-a-half to two-page chapters. It's easy to find a point to stop for a quick snack and not have to search for which paragraph it was. Of course, that's just me. Besides food, I am also frequently distracted by my seven year-old. And this thread. Dang you, Uncle Jim, for this wonderful place of refuge for those of us with an unfathomable well of questions!He wants me to live dangerously, does he? If I'm not out by Christmas, folks, send out the search party. I'll probably be perfectly happy, but more than a little hungry, as I often forget to eat when I'm lost in a good book or hundred.
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I went to our secondhand bookshop. Couldn't find any award-winning books. I bought "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman. 632 pages, for $5. (Quite a bit more than the 50cents you suggested, Jim. She did have a box of books: 3 for $1, but they were dog-eared and in really poor shape, and nothing even remotely award-winning.)
For the purpose of the exercise, I think I will read and analyse another book that I have been waiting to start: "Doors Open" the latest book by Ian Rankin, if that's okay.
For the purpose of the exercise, I think I will read and analyse another book that I have been waiting to start: "Doors Open" the latest book by Ian Rankin, if that's okay.
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That's the right price range, and dog-eared and in poor shape doesn't matter. No best-sellers either?
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