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rapunzelita) wrote2012-01-02 10:41 pm
rapunzelita) wrote2012-01-02 10:41 pm
Entry tags:
The book rec post !
Here is a post about why I want to start reading again on a regular basis.
The exposition took a little long, so I decided to put it under a cut (tl;dr: I'm an English major who doesn't read. This is deeply wrong. Please send help!)
I. The Sad State of Affairs
Since 2009 I've virtually stopped reading.
Of course, I read what I have to read for classes, most of the time. To my shame I have to admit that I didn't finish Great Expectations, which we studied in British Lit in the second semester of last year. And I'm not done with Moll Flanders yet either, which I have an exam for in 10 days.
The last book I read cover to cover was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, in July. I bought it in a charity shop while visiting Inverness, and in a day and a half I had finished it. So I don't think it's completely hopeless, either.
II. Why It Matters
Well. First off one of my majors is Literature. It's a bit preposterous for a Lit major not to read AT ALL.
Second, I want to be a literary translator. MOAR preposterousness
Third, there was a time when I actually enjoyed reading, immensely. I miss it, immensely.
Fourth (?), I have noticed recently that my writing style isn't so good. It's great for short pieces, but for short story or novel length, it's far from being consistent enough. I've also forgotten a great deal of what constitutes the structure of a story, which sucks a lot. I need to get my act together. If at all possible.
III. What Can Be Done About It
Essentially I just need to kick myself in the arse and stop with the perpetual being stuck to my laptop. I'm bordering on addiction -- no, if I'm being honest, I'm completely hooked. Which is bad enough on its own, but also a huge annoyance, since I can't really read on a screen for very long lest my eyeballs fall off. Basically: more reading and less laptop for bedtime.
What you can do is recommend me some books! I'm not usually very picky about reading, though I'm usually more of an escapist than a realist as far as my fiction is concerned. Just tell me about your favourite books!
If you need more specifications, I like urban fantasy and steampunk best (my favourite writers are Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman, to give you an idea.) At the moment since I'm a little brain dead I'm looking for rather quick and/or easy reads. Maybe children's or YA books? I love children's literature dearly and I don't read quite enough steampunk, so, YA steampunk would probably be the thing I'd most likely read? I'd love to hear about anything, though, really.
The exposition took a little long, so I decided to put it under a cut (tl;dr: I'm an English major who doesn't read. This is deeply wrong. Please send help!)
I. The Sad State of Affairs
Since 2009 I've virtually stopped reading.
Of course, I read what I have to read for classes, most of the time. To my shame I have to admit that I didn't finish Great Expectations, which we studied in British Lit in the second semester of last year. And I'm not done with Moll Flanders yet either, which I have an exam for in 10 days.
The last book I read cover to cover was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, in July. I bought it in a charity shop while visiting Inverness, and in a day and a half I had finished it. So I don't think it's completely hopeless, either.
II. Why It Matters
Well. First off one of my majors is Literature. It's a bit preposterous for a Lit major not to read AT ALL.
Second, I want to be a literary translator. MOAR preposterousness
Third, there was a time when I actually enjoyed reading, immensely. I miss it, immensely.
Fourth (?), I have noticed recently that my writing style isn't so good. It's great for short pieces, but for short story or novel length, it's far from being consistent enough. I've also forgotten a great deal of what constitutes the structure of a story, which sucks a lot. I need to get my act together. If at all possible.
III. What Can Be Done About It
Essentially I just need to kick myself in the arse and stop with the perpetual being stuck to my laptop. I'm bordering on addiction -- no, if I'm being honest, I'm completely hooked. Which is bad enough on its own, but also a huge annoyance, since I can't really read on a screen for very long lest my eyeballs fall off. Basically: more reading and less laptop for bedtime.
What you can do is recommend me some books! I'm not usually very picky about reading, though I'm usually more of an escapist than a realist as far as my fiction is concerned. Just tell me about your favourite books!
If you need more specifications, I like urban fantasy and steampunk best (my favourite writers are Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman, to give you an idea.) At the moment since I'm a little brain dead I'm looking for rather quick and/or easy reads. Maybe children's or YA books? I love children's literature dearly and I don't read quite enough steampunk, so, YA steampunk would probably be the thing I'd most likely read? I'd love to hear about anything, though, really.
no subject
Je ne m'inquiète pas tant que ça, en fait, c'est juste que ça m'agace un peu, parce que c'est juste très con. Je sais qu'en essayant un peu j'arriverai sans problème à lire à nouveau, c'est juste par pure flemme que je ne le fais pas, et j'aime pas faire des trucs par pure flemme. Donc, je m'auto-botte un peu les fesses, quoi ^^
no subject
Bon un pavé qui fait du bien et que j'ai déjà du te recommander : Gagner la guerre de Jaworsky, dit aussi "l'écrivain que j'orthographie n'importe comment". Son recueil de nouvelles qui se passent dans le même univers est aussi génial.
J'ai bien aimé le dernier Fred Vargas mais clairement, elle se fatigue pas des masses, t'as l'impression qu'elle pourrait en écrire mille des aventures d'Adamsberg, tant les comportement et le style d'écriture ne varient pas (heureusement que je suis une quiche pour trouver le coupable).
J'ai commencé A song of ice and fire (oui en anglais) à cause de la série d'HBO mais... bon, on sent que Martin est un américain et qu'il n'a jamais lu le moindre bouquin sur la féodalité ou les mentalité : tout le monde agit comme des américains de la classe moyenne, sauf un ou deux personnages qui détonnent. S'il n'avait pas la manie de tuer (ou ressusciter surpriiiiiise... une fois pas tome --) ce ne serait pas culte. Ou alors c'est moi qui suis trop exigeante.
Il y a un petit écrivain pas connu, Gorges Duchemin, qui écrit des bouquins vraiment sympa, je te recommande chaudement Carmilla (le studio hanté) ou L'Echafaud (une critique de la critique et du savoir universitaire si délectable).
Si tu veux du steampunk, instant auto promo : je suis modératrice sur le forum de la communauté steampunk en France et on a une section Bibliothèque. Et c'est moi qui le gère =D www.steampunk.fr Tu trouveras là bas pleeeeeiiiiin de romans steam (ne fais pas attention au chantier qu'est la section : j'ai commencé à référencer et ... bon procrastination). Allez, viens t'inscrire =D
no subject
En fait c'est pas que je ne peux pas les lire, c'est qu'LJ n'enregistre ma réponse qu'une fois sur deux. Donc Dreamwidth est plus pratique. Merci :)
Gagner la guerre, ça parle de quoi? A part de la guerre, bien entendu...? ^^;
Fred Vargas, c'est sympa, oui, pour se vider la tête, mais pas forcément ce dont j'ai envie en ce moment ^^ Cela dit, on en a quelques uns que j'ai pas encore lus, à la maison, donc à voir.
A Song of Ice and Fire ne me dit qu'assez moyennement, à vrai dire. La série a l'air sympa, mais je ne suis pas sûre que les bouquins me tentent particulièrement. Et puis les séries de fantasy en 15 tomes, ça me dit moyennement... L'Assassin Royal m'a suffi XD
Ooooh un forum de Steampunk! Il faut que j'aille m'inscriiiiire! Effectivement! Surtout que j'ai un cosplay steampunk en tête depuis un moment, ça pourrait me motiver à me bouger les fesses ^^