What's everyone been reading?

[sweet_sparrow]

Yep. It's that time again... What's everyone been reading in... Oh, wait, I didn't ask last month, did I? Since I've last asked then. I think that makes in 'in May and June'.

Anyway, what's been on your reading palate and would you recommend it? ^-^

I've had a good reading month the past June, but May wasn't quite as spectacular. But in the interest of brevity and reading-list-friendliness, I'll leave more detailed responses for in a comment. I want to see how/whether that works better for people than a cut. ^-^

Comments

[sweet_sparrow]

*waves* Hello! ^-^ First posts are scary, no? I hope they weren't too bad for you! ^-^

It seems to have been quite the month for Sherlock Holmes reading... *grins* I watched the new movie myself, though I doubt that really-really counts. ^-~

*looks the story up* Are you sure that's not just the translation being poor? There doesn't seem to be more than one and I don't see anyone saying anything nice about it... *curious*

[hareguizer]

*waves back* It wasn't so scary once I jumped in and did it. ^__^

I got the feeling it might be a fairly faithful translation based on what might be a fragmented manuscript. There are several places where the narrative jumps just when things were getting interesting. The story could have been better told for a modern audience, though. There are what looks like some strong characters struggling to come through.

Ah, the Holmes movie! Heh heh. I've been working my way through a pile of free books from Project Gutenberg and the Holmes stuff is generally the most easy to dip into.

[sweet_sparrow]

Yay! ^-^ Not scary is good.

Mmm. Are you reading a translation of the original manuscript or of the novelisation? (Because I didn't realise, until just now, that the novel is based on an actual manuscript. *dim*)

Project Gutenberg is lovely. ^-^ I'm supposed to be reading something off it for one of my classes, but since it's a book I'd been eyeing a while, I just went ahead and ordered myself a physical copy. Much easier to read.

[(Anonymous)]

Good point, it is the novelisation, which was written in the early fifties, then translated 'for an English speaking audience' which meant large chunks were left out because they were deemed interesting only to Japanese readers. The main problem with readability seems to be due to the curiously episodic nature of the chapters, especially in the beginning. It's an enjoyable read once it gets into its stride.

And yes, it is still so much nicer to relax with a dead tree book!

Hare