books | What're you reading?

What're you reading?

I'm curious, what's everyone reading right about now?

I'm currently doing some more of my university course prep reading because "Read this small section of the book" means "read the whole book" to me. (I mean, if you're not going to read the whole thing, what's the point?)

I've recently finished up Two Medieval Outlaws by Glyn Burgess, which translates two romances about outlaws and which was a lot of fun. I've also finished up The Alliterative Morte Arthure, which just proves, again, that I don't get along with medieval texts and am staring at The Stanzaic Le Morte Arthur before delving into Malory's more well-known Le Morte d'Arthur.

In between I've been reading The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett (well, I was until I finished it. ^-~) It was a lot of fun. Now I know why I've seen comments along the lines of "Austen, but with magic!" and the like. It's, obviously, more nuanced than that (and certainly not like, say, Pride and Prejudice and ZombiesThe Harp of the Grey Rose by Charles de Lint and I also need to reread Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising at some point so I can take notes and figure out if I can get enough out of the book to write an essay on it. And I should really, really pick up Kay's The Last Light of the Sun some time soon. I promised a friend to read it ages ago. >> Plus there's the group read too...

(Oh, and I should be rereading Shakespeare for that course too. I have too many books...)

So... what're you reading this month? ^-~

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Oooh, which Discworld book are you going to start with? It took me ages to get into Pratchett. When I was a teen, I just kept on wanting to throw the (library) books against the wall after the first three paragraphs or so. Now I'm hooked/sold and slowly winding my way through the lot. ^-^ My first completed Discworld book was The Last Hero, but I used to play the games made based on them a lot. ^-^

I think I'm going to read them in publishing order, which is what my flatmate thinks I should do. I'd kind of like to do it in story groups, maybe someday, but my flatmate said that she thought I should follow the progression of writing style, etc, etc. So I'm starting with The Colour of Magic.

*nods* Sounds sensible. I'm reading them more or less in story groups. I've started books in three of them. Most people seem to prefer a recommendation to start with his fourth book just because it's so much better than the previous three.

But, of course, reading them in publication order would also be a good way to pick up on all the things Pratchett's developed and changed over time. I think there are some things that are inconsistent, but don't pin me on that. I've got it all mixed up with the games on top of everything else. >>

I thiiiink I read the first five or so books when I was a child, so I think I'm retreading old ground here, but I'm not sure. I'll know better when I actually knuckle down to reading, haha.

Alsoooo, reading this post again I don't know why I didn't go !!!Arthur!!!, since King Arthur is one of my big things... though I've never heard of or read the Alliterative Morte Arthure, or the Stanzaic Morte Arthure (sadly, I mostly know modern versions of the story -- so far). How old are they? Are they English or French or something else in origin? Are they in translation? What language are they in originally? I'm guessing if they're medieval and English, they're in Middle English? If you don't mind, can you tell me anything you know about them?

...Sorry, I'm a lit student who specialises mostly in medieval texts (and translating them), and I'm planning on doing the course at my uni focused on King Arthur next year. References to Arthur always make me a biiiit overexcited.

Also, I know I could certainly write essays on The Dark is Rising -- it's one of my favourite books. The whole series, or just the single book? What kind of essay are you thinking of writing about it? *nosy*

And Guy Gavriel Kay! ♥ I recently reread... most of his books. I've got The Lions of Al-Rassan on my reread soon list.

Ooooh. It'll be fun to explore how you feel about them now! ^-^

Hee! They're from somewhere between the 1350-1400, I think, and part of the sources Malory used (or so I'm told). Both're Middle English poems based on a French one. (Morte Artu, I think, but I'll have to check.) The edition I have is a translation of both - with the author's stated claim being to bring them out of the highly specialised field of "Malory studies" or something to that effect and present them as (translated) poetry in their own right.

It's this volume, if you're curious. My copy is a (slightly) battered old thing, all turning brown about the edges and obviously well-read and unannotated by previous owners. Which I'm mentioning because if you're willing to wait until I finish the second poem I'd be happy to send it along if you're interested. ^-^ I like Arthurian legend, but it's more of a casual interest than a specialisation/hobby.

The whole series, I think. I'll have to reread them all for note-taking ideas before I decide. The idea is to write about Merriman. The course I'm taking is a wizardry course and, well... You can do the math yourself, I'm sure. ^-~ Beyond that, though, I haven't got a clue yet. I've only read the series as a whole once and was in the middle of a season-timed reread when I had this idea, so I've no concrete ideas as such yet. Possibly comparing Merriman to the Merlin in the literature we're reading for the course.

XD I really, really need to get around to the rest of Kay's books. I have several lying around, but they come together with almost 200 other books. >< (I was making decent progress in reducing the pile and then the new semester started up. Now I'm more less back to where I was at the beginning of 2010.)

Yeah, I think so! I think judging from the 20 pages I just read I might've liked them more when I read them when I was younger than I do just now... but I do like Terry Pratchett's writing in general, so I'm going to keep going with it. If I really don't get into it, I might try dipping into the books in other ways, e.g. by story groups.

Heee. I've studied Malory, but only sections, and briefly, so we didn't look much at his sources or anything. I thiiiink I've got a copy of a translation of the French poem.

If you would send it to me, that would be amazing! I like having pre-owned books, they come with a mini-history of their own, haha.

Ooooooh. Merriman's a bit more difficult to write about than some of the aspects, 'cause he's kind of elusive, really. I keep meaning to somehow get my hands on this essay and read it -- I don't know how relevant it would be to you, or whether maybe you've seen it already, but from what I can gather, it has bits about how Will learns his magic and the Anglo-Saxon influence on that, which could be interesting/relevant for you!

What have you already read by Kay? He's got a new book coming out in April or so, I'm so excited.

(Also, I just looked at your profile, and you sound interesting, and hey, I have synaesthesia too! Can I add you/have access? I need more friends on Dreamwidth!)

Edited (Some of my sentences were not proper sentences! What?) 2010-02-20 11:24 (UTC)

The good thing about Discworld is that there's a lot of entry points. If one method doesn't work another might. I think for me it was just that I wasn't 'ready' for the books when I first tried to read them. (I'm still painfully dense when it comes to satire, but at least I can enjoy the story for everything else now too.)

We'll only be studying Morgan le Fay bits of Malory in class, but I'm going to read the whole thing anyway. If only because it's been on my 'want to read' list since I've heard about it and this is a better excuse than most. ^-~ (I'm so, so bad at reading classics. I enjoy so many of them and never get around to them unless they've been mentioned on my courses.)

I'll let you know when I've finished it (and whether I'm also inclined to use it for essay reasons. I doubt it, but... fair warning.) ^-^ I doubt I'll be rereading the book and if you're interested in having it, at least I know it'll be going to a good home. ^-^

Cool! I hadn't heard of that essay before, no. Merlin seems to be a pretty elusive figure through-out literature, though, which is part of the fun. Since I'm technically following a course on wizards, though, I'm sure I'll have leeway to discuss Will instead/along with if needed. I just need to make notes first! (Technically I'd have until September to write it and the tutor's already informed me he'd rather have less words and more quality than more words and less quality if it comes to that.)

I know! It's on my "Must get my hands on!" list! I've read... *thinks* Beyond This Dark House, Tigana, The Lions of Al-Rassan, A Song for Arbonne, The Fionar Tapestry... I think that's it. I have Ysabel, The Last Light of the Sun and Sailing to Sarantium lying around here somewhere too.

(Of course you can! ^-^ *goes do so* And no worries on the sentences front. I mess up all the time!)

Yes, that's what I thought. It probably helps to be in the right mood for them, too. Not sure I am right now, much as I want to be reading.

I read the whole thing, too, although my version was somewhat abridged (the lecturer assured me I wasn't missing anything spectacular, haha). I'm pretty bad at getting round to reading classics too, sigh.

Thank you! Yay.

That's true, he is. You think of the Arthurian legends, and you tend to think of Merlin as a central figure, but, aside from the BBC Merlin tv series, I can't think of any Arthurian lit I've come across recently that does have Merlin at the very center. One of my lecturers, Stephen Knight, recently published a book, Merlin: Knowledge and Power Through the Ages, which I really want to take a look at, if not buy for myself. (He also writes on the Robin Hood tradition and crime fiction, and I need to get my hands on more of that, too -- I did a module on Robin Hood last semester, and I'm doing Crime Fiction this semester.)

Heee, I'm glad someone else I know is looking forward to it as much as I am (apart from my mother, who, in the way of mothers, doesn't really count). I think you're missing the sequel to Sailing to Sarantium, which is Lord of Emperors, unless you have a collected edition of some sort? It's a duology and they don't really stand alone, but oh, it's amazing. Which I say of almost all of Kay's work. Probably ranked in terms of my favourites, best to worst, ignoring the book of poetry, it goes: The Fionavar Tapestry, Tigana, Sailing to Sarantium/Lord of Emperors, The Lions of Al-Rassan, A Song for Arbonne, The Last Light of the Sun, Ysabel. But most of them are so closely ranked it's so haaaard. Ysabel is my least favourite, I think, but I still loved parts of it. It's a sequel to The Fionavar Tapestry that miiiight have been better if he'd worked a bit harder to separate it out and make it new.

(Yay! Subscribed and given you access back.)

Oh, definitely. Pratchett read at the wrong time is disastrous.

Ah, like Clarissa? (Okay, probably not quite. We abridged the abridged version because nothing happens.)

Thank me when it's safe and arrived. ^-~

Oooooh... That's a good question (and a fascinating sounding book!) I read a Dutch take on Merlin's story back in... 2006, I think. But that's probably the most recent I've seen. (*sigh* I envy you having course options. If my government wasn't made up of a bunch of morons, I might've been studying in Wales now. T-T And have choices! We're lucky to get as many as we do.)

I've a friend who's also really looking forward to it? So you know two people by extension. And, no, I'm missing the sequel. I'm probably going to buy a new copy, though. Otherwise the sizes (and covers) won't match and... *twitch* Hate that so much.

^-^ My first Kay encounter was A Song for Arbonne (in Dutch, though), so I'll always have a soft spot for that one. ^-^ Tigana is definitely my favourite, though I suppose that might change when I get around to rereading it.

I've heard pretty mixed comments on Ysabel, but I'll see when I read it. ^-^ (That said, I'll be honest and say the reviews are such that I'm not sure I'd be bothered by not reading it if Kay weren't on my list of "Authors I want to read all books by". And, hey, the lower my expectations going in, the more I'll enjoy it when it rises above them, right?)

(I kind of feel obliged to apologise for the current lack of interesting posts, though. ^-^; I Fail at opinion-giving.)

Good Omens, the book he wrote with Neil Gaiman, is one of those books I'm always in the mood for, but with the rest of his writing I've had to pick my moments, really. My mind isn't on reading very much at the moment because I've started replaying one of my favourite RPGs, and the nostalgia (and addiction) are strong...

Haha, if nothing else you brought it to my attention and I can get my own copy! So thank you for that.

I can't think of anything apart from the BBC series, off-hand, but I'm sure I must have read something sometime. I'll have to look... I'm curious now.

My course has a shocking amount of choice even compared to other courses in the UK, I think. There's basically nothing compulsory after the first year, which meant I picked an amazing set of modules this year (I'm in second year). Robin Hood, Creative Writing, Intro to Old English, Tennyson, Children's Literature, Crime Fiction, Myth & Saga, Old English: The Exeter Book, Myth & Modernism, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Women's Poetry. (Can you, ah, tell where my interests lie...? Hahaha.) Not to rub it in your face or anything -- there's downsides! Like the fact that each course is only about eleven weeks long, so if there's a lot of texts, we don't go into as much depth as I'd like.

I liked A Song for Arbonne a lot more the second time I read it, which surprised me. Actually, I've found it the same with almost all Kay's books except Ysabel -- I realised how good it was the second time through. Almost all of his stuff is excellent -- and I still gave even Ysabel four out of five stars, I think. It's good, it's just not up to Kay's standard, which is why it disappoints a lot of his fans.

(I post... every day. Sometimes twice a day. About things going on in my life. I'm told that I make it interesting, but sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Anyway, feel free to comment at any time, even if it's only barely relevant -- I really like chatting with people, and you've been a lot of fun so far!)

Aaaah, games... Is it FF8 you're replaying, by chance? Most of my time is currently going into playing Arcanum for the first time. I should be replaying Dragon Age, really, but...

You're welcome. ^-^

I'd love to hear what you come up with! French prose Mort Artu is the source of these poems, now that I've managed to find the title of it, but that's all it says in the preface. (Minus the whole history of the Matter of Britain condensed into a few pages.)

Mmm. I remember from looking up your university... I'd have gone to Cardiff or Aberystwyth if I could have afforded it. *smiles* No worries about 'rubbing it in'. I'm happy you get to follow so many courses that really interest you. ^-^ We've always had about 12 books per semester for our literature courses, and I've encountered a lot of authors I'd never have tried or heard of this way. ^-^ It's just if I had a choice between my university and one with courses more closely related to my interests, I'd have gone there. (Worst, though, is the 'philosophy of sciences' course I thankfully don't have to take. It's 14 different philosophies, some overlapping in terms. In 12 weeks. *dies*)

Mmm. One thing I like about Kay is how much you can get out of rereading his works. Part of why you realise how good it is, I think. When I grow up, I want to be that skilled too. Even if that does mean 'below my standards writing' disappoints my fans...

(Thank you! So have you! It's a lot of fun talking with you too! ^-^ I tend to talk about whatever strikes my fancy, though I've fallen out of the every day habit a bit.)

Yep! I love FFVIII. I just downloaded it for my PSP, and my girlfriend's replaying it too at the same time, so we're having a lot of fun with it.

Cardiiiifffff. ♥ Says the very biased Welsh girl. *grin* I have... probably more than twelve books per semester, though it depends. Because I do a lot of translation, that's just one book in which a lot of different things are collected. (That course sounds... deadly.)

Yes! There's always something new or something you can look at from a different angle... They're really good for discussions, too, because of that. I want to be as skilled as Kay, too. I was writing in his style for a bit last week, which was amazingly fun.

I can't believe that throughout this thread I haven't used any Merlin icons. Look at his cute wee face, as my flatmate would say.

Oooh, that's awesome! I tried playing FF8 on the PC way, way back when the library had a copy, but we didn't really get along. I appreciate the effort to make it a PC game too, but the controls were awful and completely counter-intuitive (compared to what I was used to, perhaps).

*grins* Nothing wrong with a little bias. ^-~ It looked like a gorgeous city when I was there. (But I'm biased too.) Do you do the translation because the courses require it or just because you enjoy it? *curious*

Mm. For us it depends a little on the course and on the rest of your courseload. I'm taking two literature courses this semester, so I have about 24 books to read in total. It could've been 36 if I'd been insane enough to sign up for a third.
(I was amazed to see that they haven't adapted the format. Granted, the exam consists solely of multiple choice questions and we're relatively spoiled when it comes to workload, but...)

Oooh, it sounds it! ^-^ And now I'm torn between singing and writing...

Hee! He looks so happy and adorable! *still needs to get her hands on the seasons and sit down to watch it properly ^-^; *

FFVIII was my first ever RPG. ♥ Suuuch nostalgia playing it now. I never tried it on the PC -- I had an awful feeling it wouldn't adapt well...

Cardiff feels like home to me, which is why I'm so biased. I grew up away from Wales, so it's wondrous to be home. Heh.

A bit of both, when it comes to translation. I love translating and I do more than I have to, but some of the translation is for my course. E.g. we only had to translate three riddles, I did all of them I could find, and I'm about five weeks ahead of everyone else... Our exam just after Christmas was heavy on translation, so I did extremely well. *grin*

I need to watch more Merlin... I've only seen five episodes.

Eeeeeeeee! Mine... *thinks* Mine must've been Might and Magic 3. I was hopeless. XD And no, it really, really didn't adapt well. I think it'd have been much better if they'd taken the time to write in an option to change the keyboard layout around. Then the awkward original layout would be completely void because all players could set the keys they're used to.

*smiles* I'm glad you're getting a chance to live there, then. ^-^ Long may you continue to be home!

Neat! ^-^ I have a love-hate relationship with translation myself. But I did enjoy the Old English we did. I'd have signed up for that course last semester or this semester if there'd still been room.

I think I've seen more than that, but I've been watching them haphazardly, so I'm happily oblivious as to plot developments. ^-~

Yeaaah, that would suck. It took me a while to figure out the new controls for the PSP, 'cause that wasn't exactly self-evident either, ugh.

Indeed! And hopefully the rest of my family will move back here, in time.

I have quite a methodical mind, in some ways, and I do love carefully piecing together a translation.

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