Rosemarie, I Have a Question?

[Jay]

Oh, I see. Thank you for the details. I've seen on the Goodreads profile for 'We' that it was not published in Russia until 1988. Perhaps, that was the main reason.

[Bernard]

I suspect We is overlooked in USA and UK (and Canada!) simply because it is Russian. Many cultural artefacts fell victim to the Cold War, and now Cold War II in the Putin era.

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

This was on Patrick's list last year. Here is a link:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Jay]

Jay wrote: "Oh, I see. Thank you for the details. I've seen on the Goodreads profile for 'We' that it was not published in Russia until 1988. Perhaps, that was the main reason."

Oh yes, that is very insightful, Bernard. Not to mention the endless oppression during the Cold War and the ban as well. Hence, why the book couldn't be published.

[Jay]

Thank you very much, Lesle. I shall go through that link to have a look.

[Tr1sha]

Rosemarie, I am sure you know about this, especially as you read books in various languages. I’m sorry if it’s a very basic question.

I have started to read War and Peace, using 2 different editions. I am using War and Peace, a Kindle version that allows me to adjust the font size & comes with an audio version (which I haven’t used yet). In addition, I got the paperback War and Peace so that I could refer back easily when necessary & also check the extra information about characters, history etc. Different translators were used, so I expected some changes to the wording, including more of the French sections being translated to English.

Each time I read the Kindle book, I also move my paper bookmark to the correct place in the paperback. Last night I moved the bookmark & saw that I didn’t recognise anything on the previous page which I thought I had just read. Going back, I found the chapters are divided differently. It doesn’t matter - but it was unexpected. Is it usual for translators to change the organisation of a book? Obviously page numbers vary for many reasons, but I had assumed that the structure of any translation would be the same as in the original language. I also wonder if this sometimes causes problems in Goodreads discussions - for example, a spoiler about chapter 15 may affect someone who hasn’t read chapter 17 in their edition.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I have noticed that ebooks do vary, depending on the publisher, maybe. The version I read was the Aylmer and Louise Maude translation, done while Tolstoy was still alive and with his approval.
I read a 60s translation by David Magarshak the first time I read it, a Penguil book. This was in the 80s so I don't remember the details, but I liked it.

Do the chapters have titles?

Regarding translation: many people love Pevear and Volkonsky, but I don't. They may be accurate but there style is stilted and the vocabulary awkward. I started reading a book by Gogol, which they translated, and didn't like their style at all; fortunately it was a library copy so I didn't spend any money on it.

[Tr1sha]

Thank you, Rosemarie. I just checked - the Kindle version I have is the Maude translation & the paperback (Penguin) is translated by Anthony Briggs, with copyright to him in 2005. Neither version has titles for the chapters, only numbers. It doesn’t matter, but it’s interesting to learn more about the background so I can make better choices when deciding which version of books to read in future. I suspect that my initial dislike of some classics may be partly due to making bad choices about the edition to read.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

That is most likely the case, Trisha. I find that if I don't like the way an author writes, I generally don't like the book as much, or not at all(if I even finish it).

[Karin]

I didn't even hear about We until Goodreads, or it could have been Shelfari, which I joined first, and I thought I had read the earliest 20th century ones by reading Brave New World and Anthem by Ayn Rand. I have read We now, of course.

I first heard of We in a SciFi group.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I liked We a lot but basically loathed Anthem, for numerous reasons, not just her ideology.

[John]

Rosemarie wrote: "I liked We a lot but basically loathed Anthem, for numerous reasons, not just her ideology."

My reactions to Rand's books were much like yours, Rosemarie.

Apart from the fact that she is a truly awful writer, it astonishes me that anyone can refer to her as a philosopher.

[John]

I'd never heard of We until seeing it on this post, but I've just bought a copy; I'm hoping to squeeze it in as a 2021 read.

[Samantha, Creole Literary Belle]

You still have plenty of time for 2021 reads, John!

[Karin]

Rosemarie wrote: "I liked We a lot but basically loathed Anthem, for numerous reasons, not just her ideology."

I had mixed feelings about it--not keen on her ideology, but I read it at a young age when having my own identity was really important, so the bit about not having a personal pronoun was moving for me.

My grandparents escaped the Soviets, so I didn't totally hate the book she wrote about the young women trying to escape, but when I finally read Atlas Shrugged I was miffed--it was the very first novel I skipped a chunk out of it in that insanely long speech by that founder of a "utopia"--my word for it. Needless to say, I never read The Fountainhead.

I am not sure why my parents owned all of her novels, either, but I found them on one of their bookshelves. That said, they had an eclectic collection.

[Pam, Southwest Enchanter]

I read We in 2017 and gave it 4 stars. I think it was a group read in one of my GR groups. I’ll probably revisit it in 2022. I just started Brave New World today. I had marked it read in GR but I was mistaken. This is definitely my first time reading it!

WRT Ayn Rand, I liked both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I’m planning on reading We the Living in early 2022. Has anyone read it? It looks more interesting than Anthem.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I liked Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead more than Anthem, but I remember having mixed feelings about them. I read We the Living a long time ago, and I still remember being angry when reading it- but it's still better than Anthem.

You will notice there are some similarities between
We and Brave New World, but there are even more differences.

[Karin]

Pam wrote: "I read We in 2017 and gave it 4 stars. I think it was a group read in one of my GR groups. I’ll probably revisit it in 2022. I just started Brave New World today. I had marked it read in GR but I w..."

Yes, I have. This is the one where a woman makes an escape attempt (will not tell you whether or not she succeeds.) Since my grandparents fled the Soviets I think I liked it, but I was only around 20 when I read it, so I remember only the escape scene now and can't tell you anything else about it. To put this in perspective, my youngest child is 21 and I hadn't met my husband yet, so it's been a long time since I read it.

[John]

Rosemarie, I'm not sure which thread would be best for the information below, from the Guardian. I thinks it sounds like fun, and I'll be trying to listen to the recordings.

One hundred years ago, in February 1922, Sylvia Beach, owner of the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company, published James Joyce’s Ulysses, in full, for the first time. Now to mark the centenary of the seminal novel’s publication, the publisher and bookseller she ran is set to release an ensemble recording of its complete text, featuring major names ranging from Eddie Izzard to Margaret Atwood.

More than 100 writers, artists, comedians and musicians are coming together to read a section from Ulysses for Shakespeare and Company, including Will Self, Jeanette Winterson, Ben Okri and Meena Kandasamy. The recordings will be released as a free podcast, starting on 2 February and ending on 16 June, the date also known as Bloomsday in honour of the day in 1904 when Leopold Bloom wanders the streets in Ulysses

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

John, you could post in Daily Happenings and What classic are you reading now? to start with.
It sounds like it will be a fascinating project.

[Samantha, Creole Literary Belle]

John, did you happen to see the name of this podcast or where it will be found (which apps, websites, etc), once it's released?

[Mike]

I have just finished reading Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, a 777 page Pulitzer Prize non-fiction winner in 1980. At 42 years old, is this a candidate for the 700,000 page reading challenge? I figured best to ask before adding it if it turns out it's a rule breaker and many corrections are needed.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

According to our criteria, non-fiction books need to be published at least 50 years ago, but there are some exceptions.
Can you answer Mike's question, Lesle?

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

Rosemarie wrote: "According to our criteria, non-fiction books need to be published at least 50 years ago, but there are some exceptions.
Can you answer Mike's question, Lesle?"

Unfortunately Rosemarie is correct for Non-Fiction work needs to be 50 years.

Appreciate you checking Mike.

[Mike]

Glad I checked, thanks for letting me know. At least Dombey & Son will add 817 pages when I finish it in the coming weeks.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Enjoy your book, Mike!

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

Mike wrote: "At least Dombey & Son will add 817 pages when I finish it in the coming weeks."

That is great Mike! Enjoy :)

[Jim]

Good afternoon! Don't know if this fits the topic. I have the 1981 revised edition of The Lives of the Great Composers by Harold C. Schonberg, originally published in 1970. Is it a classic?

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I would say yes, since we generally go by the original date. And 1981 is over 40 years ago anyway.

[Chad]

Hey, I didn’t know exactly where to ask this so I figured I’d drop it here. Do you ever cover your books? I mean with mylar or something else that resembles those great library covers? I have both hardcover and paperback books that I would like to cover and am just now looking into it. I just watched a few promising YouTube videos but figured that I’d also ask here.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I don't personally, but I know that if you want to protect books, there are lots of different ways to do it-and that you need to carefully follow instructions. Way back in high school I just used plastic wrap to keep the paperbacks clean, but that doesn't wear well.

[Tr1sha]

Chad wrote: "Hey, I didn’t know exactly where to ask this so I figured I’d drop it here. Do you ever cover your books? I mean with mylar or something else that resembles those great library covers? I have both ..."

Some of my older hardback books are still covered in plastic as I used to cover books years ago, using a fairly stiff clear plastic that was sold here specifically for covering books. I didn’t bother to cover paperbacks. But I don’t think that the covering has made much difference as I look after my books. The only exception is a favourite old recipe book which has been protected from splashes in the kitchen so was definitely worth covering as it still looks almost new despite a lot of use.

(Sorry Rosemarie, I hope you don’t mind me commenting here, I hoped more feedback might help. Feel free to delete this if you want.)

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Trisha, your comment is most welcome-anytime! Additional feedback is always appreciated.

[Karin]

Rosemarie wrote: "I would say yes, since we generally go by the original date. And 1981 is over 40 years ago anyway."

I thought we judged it as 50+ years ago unless it is y/a. Is that only for certain things?

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

Karin wrote: "I thought we judged it as 50+ years ago unless it is y/a. Is that only for cer..."

Karin I think you missed where he said "originally published in 1970"

Which is what we use as they re-issue editions all the time. Our original dates for the 50 yr is 1972.

[Karin]

Lesle wrote: "Karin wrote: "I thought we judged it as 50+ years ago unless it is y/a. Is that only for cer..."

Karin I think you missed where he said "originally published in 1970"

Which is what we use as they..."

Yes, I saw that. I figured I was missing something, but your sentence "And 1981 is over 40 years ago anyway. " confused me a bit.
Rosemarie wrote: "I would say yes, since we generally go by the original date. And 1981 is over 40 years ago anyway."

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I'm glad we got it straightened out, Karin. Sorry for the confusion.

[Karin]

Rosemarie wrote: "I'm glad we got it straightened out, Karin. Sorry for the confusion."

No problem :) I figured it was me.

[Cosmic]

I have a question and do not know if this is a good place for it but here it goes..

In literature, what are some of your favorite mothers?

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

That is a great question!

I have to think about that for a while, but I will let you know.

[Jim]

Are there classics set on or about St. Patrick's Day or Easter?

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Cosmic wrote: "I have a question and do not know if this is a good place for it but here it goes..

In literature, what are some of your favorite mothers?"

Gorky wrote a novel called The Mother. It's not necessarily my favourite mother in literature, but it is a worthwhile read.

There are so many more books about bad mothers!

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

Jim wrote: "Are there classics set on or about St. Patrick's Day or Easter?"

The only books that come to mind are Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ and The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas, and those are about the first Easter.

[Karin]

Cosmic wrote: "I have a question and do not know if this is a good place for it but here it goes..

In literature, what are some of your favorite mothers?"

Favourite because we admire them, or favourite for various reasons?

My favourite inane mother is Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, but I don't admire her, which is why I am asking. However, her antics do lead to some funny situations.

Literature doesn't seem full of mothers to admire, does it? However, there must be some, and I'll have to give it some thought.

[Tr1sha]

Cosmic wrote: "I have a question and do not know if this is a good place for it but here it goes..

In literature, what are some of your favorite mothers?"

One favourite is Marmee (Mrs March) in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. She looks after her family & also cares for others who need help.

[Cosmic]

Yeah there are a few too many bad mothers, but i thought i was just picking the wrong books. Lol. I haven't read the books listed so i will put them on my tbr list. Thank you for the suggestions.

The one book i am reading now has a mother that is trying to protect and care for her child that is mentally challenged in Barnaby Rudge. I am enjoying her. Her name is Mary. They don't mention her name very much and i had to look her up. The book is very good!!

[Nidhi]

Katie Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and

Fantine in Les Miserables


I can think of these two right now, will add more later.

[Tr1sha]

A question about the group rules, for Rosemarie or Lesle.
I have just read The Silent Miaow by Paul Gallico, originally published in 1964. It has 159 pages, but at least a third of the book has photos. Should I include it in the Page Challenge?
For those who like cats, it’s a fun book. I read it again mainly for a challenge in another group, though have owned my copy for many years. Yes, Lesle - I read a hardback book for a change!

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I've included children's picture books that are classics, so I think it counts, because the photos are like illustrations.

[Tr1sha]

Thank you, Rosemarie. Yes the photos are like illustrations as they help to tell the story in this book.