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All the books I've ever read
Aug. 2nd, 2007 11:40 pmDid you ever try to come up with a list of everything you've ever read? I think I tried a few times, but there are memory issues and young people aren't too good at keeping up with things. However, I have a VERY short list of books that I have read in French, so I'm going to try to keep the whole thing. Are you ready?
It's not a long list, nor is it terribly impressive, but it is mine. Interestingly enough, I have not listed Le petit prince because I have not read it in its entirety in French. I have read it straight through in English, but in French I tend to read it in brief extracts. After all, I already know the story - which is why I chose the Harry Potter. I have the next two novels as well, but I think I'm looking for something meatier for now. I could start on the Jules Verne, especially as I'm going to a sci-fi convention this week. However, I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for it. I really want to start Le Comte de Monte Cristo but it is two large volumes and I'm not sure that I'm up for it yet. Then again, I do somewhat know the story already... Sigh, and a large part of me really wants to start digging into the Proust.
As an aside, I am not saying that I have understood everything that I have read. I have a rule for my leisure reading that I am not allowed to look up anything. If I remember it later, and it bugs me, that's ok, but there is no highlighting, margin scrawl or vocab lists in my books. For one thing, I'm in school for that kind of nonsense. This is what I do on my own time. There is also the example of my notebook for the Les Liaisons Dangereuses read-along community which only goes up to the first week of the novel. I would feel guilty about not having looked up the words for the previous reading and depressed about the amount that I would have to add my stack with the next reading. Then there is the way that it affects my reading itself. I feel oddly relaxed reading French and I lose that when I am trying to determine whether I *really* know a word. Lastly, I have a formidable vocabulary in English and what I did to gain it was read till my eyes were bleeding. I cannot help but think that this is the right course with French as well. Wish me luck. I have an entire language worth of literature in front of me.
La chair est triste, hélas ! et j’ai lu tous les livres.
the flesh is sad, alas! and I have read all the books.
-Mallarmé
Thank goodness it is going to be a long time till I get to this point again. However, I would like to ask all English writers to hold off for a few years so I don't get too far behind. kthx :).
Rowling, J.K - Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de - Vol de nuit
It's not a long list, nor is it terribly impressive, but it is mine. Interestingly enough, I have not listed Le petit prince because I have not read it in its entirety in French. I have read it straight through in English, but in French I tend to read it in brief extracts. After all, I already know the story - which is why I chose the Harry Potter. I have the next two novels as well, but I think I'm looking for something meatier for now. I could start on the Jules Verne, especially as I'm going to a sci-fi convention this week. However, I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for it. I really want to start Le Comte de Monte Cristo but it is two large volumes and I'm not sure that I'm up for it yet. Then again, I do somewhat know the story already... Sigh, and a large part of me really wants to start digging into the Proust.
As an aside, I am not saying that I have understood everything that I have read. I have a rule for my leisure reading that I am not allowed to look up anything. If I remember it later, and it bugs me, that's ok, but there is no highlighting, margin scrawl or vocab lists in my books. For one thing, I'm in school for that kind of nonsense. This is what I do on my own time. There is also the example of my notebook for the Les Liaisons Dangereuses read-along community which only goes up to the first week of the novel. I would feel guilty about not having looked up the words for the previous reading and depressed about the amount that I would have to add my stack with the next reading. Then there is the way that it affects my reading itself. I feel oddly relaxed reading French and I lose that when I am trying to determine whether I *really* know a word. Lastly, I have a formidable vocabulary in English and what I did to gain it was read till my eyes were bleeding. I cannot help but think that this is the right course with French as well. Wish me luck. I have an entire language worth of literature in front of me.
La chair est triste, hélas ! et j’ai lu tous les livres.
the flesh is sad, alas! and I have read all the books.
-Mallarmé
Thank goodness it is going to be a long time till I get to this point again. However, I would like to ask all English writers to hold off for a few years so I don't get too far behind. kthx :).
