What are you currently reading?

[Florestan]

I have read only 3 Ibsen plays so far (Peer Gynt, A doll's house and John Gabriel Borkman) and I've enjoyed him immensely (Peer Gynt and Borkman had their bit awkward moments, though, although they're splendid plays). Doll's house has aged very well, I can't believe it was written in 19th century! It is easily my favorite of those three.

A Doll´s House is very good, but my favorites are An Enemy of the People and The Pillars of the Society.

Of his more poetical and symbolic plays, I just loooove Peer Gynt and I would just loooove to read Brand. If you happen to know of an online English translation please let me know. TIA.

[North Star]

A Doll´s House is very good, but my favorites are An Enemy of the People and The Pillars of the Society.

Of his more poetical and symbolic plays, I just loooove Peer Gynt and I would just loooove to read Brand. If you happen to know of an online English translation please let me know. TIA.

Only a Finnish translation on Project Gutenberg. :/
I've only read A Doll's House from  Ibsen, in either elementary or jr. high school. I certainly thought (still do) highly enough of it already back then.

[Ken B]

Only a Finnish translation on Project Gutenberg. :/
I've only read A Doll's House from  Ibsen, in either elementary or jr. high school. I certainly thought (still do) highly enough of it already back then.

What is the status of Swedish in Finland these days? Sibelius grew up speaking Swedish I believe, because the upper class did back then. Is that right, and is it still the case?

[North Star]

What is the status of Swedish in Finland these days? Sibelius grew up speaking Swedish I believe, because the upper class did back then. Is that right, and is it still the case?

It's taught to everyone in jr. & sr. high school, and there's one mandatory course in university. Swedish is definitely a very small minority as a mother tongue these days, there might be more Russian speakers. My Swedish is not on the level it should be for reading fiction, though, and I'm not really that interested in reading Swedish fiction anyway. Not sure how well I'd cope with Bergman sans subtitles..

[Florestan]

Only a Finnish translation on Project Gutenberg. :/
I've only read A Doll's House from  Ibsen, in either elementary or jr. high school. I certainly thought (still do) highly enough of it already back then.

I read a selection of Ibsen´s plays in my first (out of four) high school year (NB, it was in 1987, two years before the fall of the Communism), to the recommendation of my Literature teacher (God bless his soul!) and I was spellbound. The Communist censorship must have been sleeping while allowing An Enemy of the People and The Pillars of the Society to be published. They are still among the most passionate pleas for Freedom and Truth (two notions Communism is irreconcilably antithetical to) I´ve ever read. 

[North Star]

I read a selection of Ibsen´s plays in my first (out of four) high school year (NB, it was in 1987, two years before the fall of the Communism), to the recommendation of my Literature teacher (God bless his soul!) and I was spellbound. The Communist censorship must have been sleeping while allowing An Enemy of the People and The Pillars of the Society to be published. They are still among the most passionate pleas for Freedom and Truth (two notions Communism is irreconcilably antithetical to) I´ve ever read. 

And the only Romanian book I remember seeing in a (university) library in Finland is an organic chemistry book (perhaps polymer chemistry, don't remember..) by Elena Ceausescu. 

[Florestan]

And the only Romanian book I remember seeing in a (university) library in Finland is an organic chemistry book (perhaps polymer chemistry, don't remember..) by Elena Ceausescu. 

Polymer chemistry, yes! 

There were lots of untranslatable jokes about her ´´knowldege´´ of Chemistry... 

Trust me, my friend: she could barely write her name, let alone write down the chemical formula of water...

All of ´´her ´´ bools were written by prostituting scientists. 

[North Star]

Polymer chemistry, yes! 

There were lots of untranslatable jokes about her ´´knowldege´´ of Chemistry... 

Trust me, my friend: she could barely write her name, let alone write down the chemical formula of water...

All of ´´her ´´ bools were written by prostituting scientists. 

I know, the books were put in the library in return for something, don't remember what. Dad would probably know..

[Drasko]

http://www.amazon.com/Harum-Scarum-Spiffy-Adventures-McConey/dp/1560972882

[Cosi bel do]

Great choice. Evrything by Trondheim is killing, starting with Lapinot (apparently "McConey" in English )
His first Lapinot volumes were better though, more in the style of graphic novels, and published at L'Association (a publisher created by a few artists themselves). These Dargaud books are more recent and some of them remakes of the previous ones.

[Drasko]

Great choice. Evrything by Trondheim is killing, starting with Lapinot (apparently "McConey" in English )
His first Lapinot volumes were better though, more in the style of graphic novels, and published at L'Association (a publisher created by a few artists themselves). These Dargaud books are more recent and some of them remakes of the previous ones.

I completely agree re Trondheim, I've yet to read something poor by him.

I'm actually reading it in Croatian translation, where Zekan is basically direct translation of Lapinot.
Just posted English translation picture and link, so that if there's anyone interested here could check it out.

Unfortunately I can't find those first three books by L'Association in any language that I can understand, only Dargaud's single book Slaloms which I believe is some sort of recomposition of those.


actual book that I have

[Cosi bel do]

More a shortened version that a recomposition. The very first Lapinot (Lapinot and the carrots of Patagonia) is fascinating as it was completely improvised as an exercise, for Trondheim to learn basically how to draw, as he was only a scriptwiter up to this point.

[kishnevi]

A Doll´s House is very good, but my favorites are An Enemy of the People and The Pillars of the Society.

Of his more poetical and symbolic plays, I just loooove Peer Gynt and I would just loooove to read Brand. If you happen to know of an online English translation please let me know. TIA.

Here is the complete Ibsen listing from the Online Books Pages
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Ibsen%2c%20Henrik%2c%201828-1906

Brand is available, but not for download, at the Hathi Trust site....and at least some of the entries are US only access.

[stingo]

There's also this for Kindle for $2.51 from Amazon US.

[asin]B00BKNAPEC[/asin]

[Drasko]

Lapinot and the carrots of Patagonia

I'd love to read that if I ever get the chance.

Have you read Ile Bourbon 1730? Local bookshop is having it on sale at the moment.

[Ken B]

Just finished rereading Entropy and the Second Law by Arieh Ben-Naim. Very high recommendation. Requires a modicum of mathematical sophistication and some knowledge of thermodynamics, but not that you be a physicist or math major. Nate could handle it comfortably.

[Cosi bel do]

I'd love to read that if I ever get the chance.

Have you read Ile Bourbon 1730? Local bookshop is having it on sale at the moment.

No, not this one. I have not read many comic books for quite a long time, I can't seem to find enough time

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Reading Sam & Max: Freelance Police comics. I originally fell in love with Sam & Max franchise when I played Telltale games. I still haven't finished Hit the road, though. The jokes are witty, comedic sociopathy of these two is amusing and while I don't necessarily laugh out loud all the time (I relatively rarely do so anyway unless it happens to be a certain kind of joke) but it gets me in the really good mood. And that's all that matters.

Still wishing Telltale would make season 4...

[Drasko]

Been yesterday evening to Belgrade Book Fair. It's an annual thing, rather large, lasts a week and attracts about 150-200 thousand visitors. Publishers tend to give nice discounts and in the past I used to spend couple hundred euros and need a cab to carry the haul back. Nowdays I'm much more moderate, but I still got few things:




Elias Canetti - Crowds and Power
Theodor Adorno - Minima Moralia
Rastko Petrovic - People Talk
Anton Chekhov - Uncle Vanya
Boris Vian - The Dead All Have the Same Skin
Franquin - Gaston Lagaffe (integral first four books)

[milk]

Just starting this one. It seems that people like it.