EPTWhat Are You Reading 2018 - Page 7
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RvB
Netherlands6269 Posts
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
On February 24 2018 09:22 RvB wrote: Is it read outside the US? I don't know anyone who actually read Moby Dick (I'm planning to but still didn't read it yet). It's not nearly as popular outside of the US. It's still decently well read though since it's once of the strongest contenders for "Great American Novel". | ||
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123Gurke
France154 Posts
On February 24 2018 10:50 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: It's not nearly as popular outside of the US. It's still decently well read though since it's once of the strongest contenders for "Great American Novel". I think that very few people in germany have read Moby Dick. I think I am essentially the only one I know (not bragging, it was more a stupid accident but that is a story for another day). One reason might be that until quite recently there was no good translation from what I read. And reading the original is very hard for a non-native reader in my opinion. Another reason is that of course every country has its own canon of books to read. For a German there are just not many compelling reasons to read Moby Dick, at least certainly less than for an american. There are many abridged versions in German, though. Also children's book, comics and I have seen at least two pop-up book versions. So I think that most people know the story without having read the actual book. | ||
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Jerubaal
United States7684 Posts
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
On February 27 2018 01:52 Jerubaal wrote: To me it seems like that book that everyone knows about but very few people have read. Even among circles of very well read people, I don't think many have read it. They're not that well-read then. The problem is, the vast, vast majority of people, even "readers," are not well-read at all. Reading is very much a tertiary (or even lower) form of entertainment these days, and within reading, actual capital-L-Literature is read by a very small number of people. But you simply can't call yourself well-read if you haven't read a good chunk of core canon works. So really, not that many people are well-read, period. | ||
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farvacola
United States18855 Posts
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
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IgnE
United States7681 Posts
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
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Jerubaal
United States7684 Posts
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
On February 27 2018 02:26 Plansix wrote: Also the evolution of storytelling in novels and the existence of editors makes the books like Moby Dick seem plodding at best. That novel can be work to get through even by the most dedicated readers because of its pacing. I was never been able to make it straight through Moby Dick. On February 27 2018 02:45 Plansix wrote: I put it down for months at a time and then would go back to it. How do you read books that are poorly paced? When faced with teh prospect of reading Moby Dick or The Lies of Locke Lamoria, I'll pick The Lies any day. You just don't like literature that much if you can't sit down and read Moby Dick. There's nothing wrong with that per se, but you make the mistake of assuming you're a "dedicated reader." On February 26 2018 06:23 123Gurke wrote: Another reason is that of course every country has its own canon of books to read. For a German there are just not many compelling reasons to read Moby Dick, at least certainly less than for an american. Yea this is certainly true. Englund drew a lot of criticism for calling American readers parochial and insulated, which I think was a fair observation. A lot of American cultural output diffuses to Europe/rest of the world thanks to American hegemony over most of the past ~80 years, but taken in isolation of that, a lot of American literature is very particular to American customs, concerns, experiences, and norms. And America is similarly not particularly engaged with European canons. Barely anyone reads Faust in America, for example. | ||
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
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Jerubaal
United States7684 Posts
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
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farvacola
United States18855 Posts
On February 27 2018 04:49 Jerubaal wrote: What European literature from the last century would you say is comparable to Steinbeck, Hemingway and Faulkner? One issue with the comparison, though, is that these three writers were quite prolific. Woolf, Joyce, Forster, Proust, and Conrad, to name a few. | ||
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
On February 27 2018 04:49 Jerubaal wrote: What European literature from the last century would you say is comparable to Steinbeck, Hemingway and Faulkner? One issue with the comparison, though, is that these three writers were quite prolific. Faulkner has an easy comparison in the likes of Woolf and Joyce, though the latter is far superior. Steinbeck can probably be compared to people like Ford Maddox Ford, W. Somerset Maugham, and E.M. Forster, or even someone like Joseph Conrad. Hemingway is an interesting case because he's very European in his experience, influence, and general style. He's not really representative of someone who's narrowly focused on a wholly American experience. He was very close with Joyce, for example. On February 27 2018 04:54 Plansix wrote: When you say that I don’t like literature, do you mean that I do not seek it out and read it recreationally? I don't know. It doesn't sound like it? | ||
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
On February 27 2018 04:59 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: Faulkner has an easy comparison in the likes of Woolf and Joyce, though the latter is far superior. Steinbeck can probably be compared to people like Ford Maddox Ford, W. Somerset Maugham, and E.M. Forster, or even someone like Joseph Conrad. Hemingway is an interesting case because he's very European in his experience, influence, and general style. He's not really representative of someone who's narrowly focused on a wholly American experience. He was very close with Joyce, for example. I don't know. It doesn't sound like it? I am attempting to better understand you are asserting. If you are going to voice your assumptions if I like something, please do me the courtesy of expounding on what you mean. I may even agree with you. | ||
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
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IgnE
United States7681 Posts
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