Posted on July 18, 2008 in Books
It’ll only took me a couple of days to listen to this next novel in the Holmes canon. I must say, they can be addictive (especially as an alternative to the intense and psychological Crime and Punishment that I am reading). Holmes is developed a bit more in this, but he is still far from being completely humanised. Reading the earlier parts of the novel, I mused that Holmes is gay robot, but then I realised that he was just a an asexual robot with mysognistic tendencies (“Women are never to be trusted entirely,”). Though I think Holmes’s regard for Watson is a winning quality of his. I quite like Watson; he’s very British, stiff upper lip and all, but he is affable. I like the moments of their friendship such as when Holmes plays the violin to help Watson to sleep. This story continues to have rather sensational backstory to the main plot murder that involves a colonial setting, convincts, India, treasure, and a cannibalistic native. As with the previous story, the plot revolves around revenge. Though, one of the antagonists of this story is rather hard to believe when he recounts the tale at the end. One can tell how Conan Doyle reined his technique as he continued to write the Holmes stories. The next one is the first collection of short stories and one of the best of the canon so I’m looking forward to it.
Posted on July 15, 2008 in Books
Not too long ago, I was able to acquire the complete Sherlock Holmes canon by Arthur Conan Doyle in audiobook form as read by John Telfer. I highly doubt I’ll listen to all of it, but I do plan on going through chronologically to the fourth and final Holmes novel Valley of Fear. They should make for some decent listening while I knit. I even finished one project while listening to this.
A Study in Scarlet is the first book that features the literary icon Sherlock Holmes and his companion Doctor Watson. There is considerable introduction to both characters before the murder and mystery of the novel is introduced. I think Watson described Holmes best when he says, “This fellow may be very clever, but he is very conceited.” Which is why Watson is the perfect narrator and foil to Holmes. While the latter is probably a genius, he is also very tactless, peculiar, and eccentric in personality. To be honest, I did not care for Holmes all that much in this novel. We see his abilities as a detective, but his personality is still to be fleshed out by the end of this first novel. He is just an arrogant brain for most of this novel. The book itself is split in two with one half being narrated by Watson and the second by a third person omniscient narrator. The latter half is a story set in pioneer America and reads almost like a sensationalistic historical novel at times. It offered an interesting switch to the style of the first half with different settings, narratives and tones. I think this switch is what made me appreciate the novel the most albeit however unrealistic or melodramatic it is. It is too early for me to say that I like these stories. I certainly think Conan Doyle is an interesting mystery writer, but this is my first novel of his, and I have only been exposed (and loved) Agatha Christie before. Actually it made me want to read or listen to more Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot; I quite like the tv and film adaptations those mystery solvers. I digress, but I will proceed to more Holmes stories and sees if I like them even more.
Posted on May 31, 2008 in Books
This book is 627 pages long, but I listened to the audiobook. It was narrated and read by Davina Porter; unabridged and 32 hours and 30 minutes long on 28 discs. I have been acquiring audiobooks for knitting purposes, and I had heard about this one in particular from Audiobook Knitters group on Ravelry. I am very glad I did listen to the audiobook. Though it took me a bit to adjust to the narrator, I was continually engaged with the story and the characters by her narration and the evident good storytelling.
I only knew a little bit about the story going in. I usually just jump into book, only vaguely knowing what they are about. It is better that way because then I can judge and interpret the story as the author presents it. For Outlander, I knew that it was a historical romance of sorts. It was violent in parts which is appropriate for the era, but it was darker than I thought it would be especially at the end. The book surprised me with its flawed but interesting characters, dark moments, and its ability to be engaging while being very long. It is incredibly well researched; I learned a lot about the time period, Scotland and clans while reading it. Diana Gabaldon was apparently a scientist and professor before becoming a writer which explains how in depth the book and research is.
At the beginning of the audiobook, it was not easy to warm to Davina Porter’s voice because the majority of the characters are male and I felt I was listening to a one woman play rather than muti-character story. I was impatient and wanted to read the books, but then I got more use to her voice and the characters. She is an excellent narrator. Her delivery at parts makes me smile, and I admire her choice in reading styles. It must have taken weeks to make this audiobook, and I’m aware she has done the others in the series as well. I would really like to listen to her narration more. Her British voice is the voice of Claire in my mind. I can see her so much more clearly with Ms Porter’s vocal interpretation. It is unlikely that I will listen to the others in the series because the books are all long, each ranging from 33-47 hours. I’d prefer to read it if that were the case. I’m too impatient for resolution. Abridged versions are not an option as I prefer unabridged, and I’m aware those are read by another narrator.
In conclusion, now I have another series to follow. I will review as I go along, and I am looking forward to the other books.
Posted on February 17, 2008 in Books
It’s been a good week for reading. I finished V for Vendetta after last TSS, finished Eugene Onegin by Wednesday and I listened to Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson yesterday (review below). Today, I started to read Life and Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee. I am about half way through the book now. It is not very long, but there are no chapters. It reminds me a bit of McCarthy’s The Road. I only learned recently Coetzee is South African, and I did not know anything about the book before I started reading it today. With a lot of books, I have no idea what the plot will be. I rather just dive in to the story than look at the synopsis on the cover. It makes the reading experience more interesting. I also find that plots that may sound boring end up being well told and engaging with its characters. A plot summary can seem interesting, but the writing can be slow as molasses.
Now a review of Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson.
I listened to the complete audiobook yesterday. It’s quite a short book about Shakespeare, but it covers many details and the lack there of of William Shakespeare’s life. Bill Bryson is an author I’ve liked for years, and he is consistently an informative and shrewd writer. This was my first time reading a book of Shakespeare’s life, but I’ve been aware of the debates of the doubts of his identity, sexuality, genius, etc. What Bryson sought out to do in the book is to avoid speculation that seems to run rampant among scholars and other biographies about Shakespeare. He evaluates and summarises the small amount of real information about Shakespeare we have at present. The book is a good as a brush up on the Elizabethan and early Jacobite eras. I learned quite a bit about the evolution of the human language, people, dress, and cities of the time. Bryson avoids making any big and blanket statements about the kind of man Shakespeare was, but he does shoot down theories about the idea that William Shakespeare was actually Bacon/ Marlowe/ Earl of Oxford/ your mother, etc. He also provides insights from historians and scholars either directly interviewing them or referencing their work. I think it is a really good introduction to Shakespeare that can provide grounding for further scholarly study about the man and the myth. A quick and recommended read.
Posted on August 4, 2007 in Books
Many people who have read Beowulf are rather turned off by its old style, slow story, and almost complete lack of characterization among other things. I never studied this in school, but I think I would have liked it more if a passionate English teacher had done so especially with this translation of the story. I am not going to lie; I found the story rather long and ardurous. My mind wandered quite a bit while reading this text. It was not the most enjoyable thing I’ve read in awhile. On the other hand, I really appreciated the translation by Irish poet Seamus Heaney. There were some margin notes and the original text on the left page to guide you through the book. There is something in the prose of the translation and the arrangement of the text that makes me aware that Heaney is a poet, and this work has been well thought out.
I love a good translation; it really can make or break the story. When I was 13, I read a very old translation of The Iliad and The Odyssey, but in my last year of high school, I found the best translation in Robert Fagles’s version. I highly recommend his translations if you are undertaking the two Greek texts.
Even with a good translation, this is still Beowulf. I think part of the problem is that these stories are so different from present conventions and not created originally for a literary text form or modern prose. I would have much rather listened to this story as it is meant to be. These stories are meant to be recounted by a talented storyteller with a booming bard voice. I’m pleased to say that Seamus Heaney has recorded an audiobook, and exerpts from it can be heard at Northon Anthology.
In the end, I’m still glad I read this classic as it does give me more ideas of the Dark Ages and the literary traditions that have derived from this era. I doubt I’ll read
Read for the Book Awards Challenge. Text won the Costa/Whitbread award and Seamus Heaney received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995.
Posted on June 4, 2007 in Books
Fourth Day of the month, and I’ve already read two books, both that I named for my summer reading challenge. Need to catch up and prep for some more summer reading. I am currently reading E. M. Forster’s Where Angels Fear to Tread and will finish soon.
Through surfing, I found Arukiyomi’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Spreadsheet from Paul Boxall’s list. I doubt I’ll read all of those books, and I don’t think I would want to either, but the spreadsheet is handy as it calculates how much you have read. I’ve read about 63 which is 6.29% of the list. I’m sure I missed a couple because I did scroll through 1001 titles. Most of the list is comprised of books from the 1900s, and there are about 12 for “Pre-1700” which is sort of sad. I know the novel was invented in the the 18th century, but I would at least think there would be more influences for it than that.
One of the books on the list was The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndam. I tried to remember if I had read it, and I’m 75% sure I did because I also remember vaguely seeing the campy 1960s movie in school. I am 100% sure I read Wyndam’s The Chrysalids which I remember enjoying immensely in middle school. I remember having one of the best English teachers that year too. I recommend the latter for anyone wanting to read a dystopian novel.
Last week while knitting my monkey socks (slowest project ever), I listened to Stephen Fry’s audiobook of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I’ll always prefer a real book, but I’m starting to come around to audiobooks though because I find them really nice to go along with knitting. For most projects, I can’t watch a movie or a TV. I like listening to audiobooks of books I have already read and love, especially if they are well narrated as the UK HP book versions are. Mr Fry is funny, articulate, and executes some good accents. I started out with Book 1 and 6, but today, I got 2-5, and I’m sure to get the seventh when it is released. I most likely will not preorder Book 7 because as with the last few books, I just go early in the morning to Chapters and buy it there. Not once has it looked like the book has sold out the night before. I would preorder it if I knew at exactly what time it would be delivered. For all I know, it’ll come at in the late afternoon. Unlikely since I do live in a city centre. Hmm, maybe I should preorder?
Starting Saturday, I will be rereading all my Harry Potter books each week until Book 7 for the Harry Potter Read Along, and I will be making reviews of the experience with each book. It seems now that I’m going to read and listen to them too.