2013 - What are you reading? - Page 24

On March 14 2012 11:00 Diizzy wrote:
what are good books? i liked the hunger games. something kinda like that. light read preferably.

On January 12 2012 04:46 dAPhREAk wrote:
just finished Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy.



now i am re-reading Game of Thrones (I read it a long time ago when it was new (insert hipster meme here), but there were only like 2 or 3 books at that point; excited to read some more books, but have to start from the beginning).

On March 14 2012 11:23 1Eris1 wrote:
Several books atm
+ Show Spoiler +

So far and I think it's overrated. (i.e. not one of the greatest novels of all time) I like the character and idea exploration, but Dostoevsky's writing style just makes me cringe. (Could be the translation, but blahhhhhhh) Hopefully it'll get better.

+ Show Spoiler +

I'm liking this a lot more than C&P. Tolstoy's style seems much more refined, and a lot more coherent. (Again, could just be the translation.) The character development is great, the plot is strong, etc. (Levin ) Definetely see why it's often called the greatest of all time.

+ Show Spoiler +

Got it as a gift, so we'll see how it turns out. Heard some good things about it, but I don't want to get my hopes up and expect ASOIAF or LOTR-esque levels or anything.

On March 14 2012 11:04 Sroobz wrote:


If you liked the hunger games check out Divergent or The Knife of Never Letting Go.

If the pictured ones are actually the two editions of the Russian novels you are reading then yeah, you are getting two very different translation styles. That Crime and Punishment is by Constance Garnett who did the first major translations of most of the Russian classics in the early 1900's. Many people seem to say a lot of her old-style English voice bleeds into them and she wasn't as meticulous and misses some nuance.

The Anna Karenina there is by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky who have done the newest major translations of some of these Russian classics (1990's-2000's). They are a husband and wife team of a native Russian speaker and an American writer. Their work seems to get a lot of praise and seems to be the most favored versions of most of the things they've translated nowadays. (I'm not at all qualified to say whose are the best though.) I know Pevear and Volokhonsky were a lot more meticulous with language and trying to translate each author's distinct style to English. Whether they succeed at that--there's a lot of debate.

Both of the translators have translated both of those works, so if you want to have fun comparing, you can do that.
Also this seems to be a nice thread with some more opinions:
http://www.fyodordostoevsky.com/forum/index.php?threadid=553;start=0

On March 14 2012 13:03 ExcisionExecute wrote:
What are some books in the vein of lord of the flies? Really enjoyed it.

On March 14 2012 12:51 1Eris1 wrote:


You are correct, those are the two editions; and hmm, that's a good point.
I'm just literally seeing paragraphs that consist of phrases like these (all at once that is):
He was a tall man. He had short brown hair. He was wearing a black jacket. *Insert completely ridiculous comment from Raskolnikov's mind. He had big white hands...etc.
...and I'm like, this is the greatest/second greatest Russian novelist of all time? : /
I guess I'll have to pick up a newer translation and compare, because I do think the plot and the character exploration is very good and intriguing, but at the same time I get the feeling Dostoevsky failed middle school english.

On February 28 2012 21:18 Emiko wrote:

Until now, I've never read a novel with a better plot twist/s that the one in A Storm of Swords. Fans, you know what I'm talking about. I literally put down the book for a minute or two when I read it. While I didn't make any noise, my head was screaming "WTF." x9999.

On March 14 2012 13:07 Probulous wrote:


Heart of Darkness by Josef Conrad.

It is more complex and requires more thought but it a fascinating and scary book.

Read it. Now.