Expanding my book collection...

[René_Julien]

I just placed on order for several books.

I always was an avid reader, but my collection so far consist mostly of Dutch as original language and and some books translated to Dutch.

Being that I was educated in Dutch, in school I only picked up classic Dutch literature.
And missed out on so much literature originally written in other languages.

Since my grasp of English and French is good enough to comprehend everything that I read I figured I'd indulge myself in some new books in these languages.
My writing in English is often terrible (as you would notice if you encounter my posts), so I guess reading (which was an hobby anyway) in English should improve my skills.

Same for my French which is in worse shape than my English. I speak French rather fluently... well I can get by (which is handy living in Belgium) but spelling and grammar needs some serious freshing up.


This is what I have on the way:

The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
The Difference Engine - William Gibson
The Complete Works of Plato - (Hackett Publishing, could have found each seperate book in Dutch but no complete collection)
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
A La Recherce Du Temps Perdu - Marcel Proust
Le Fantome De l'Opera - Gaston Leroux


10 books... that should keep me occupied for a while.

Thank you Amazon with your cheap paperback collection and deals.


Right now I am reading 3 books at the same time.
Dune, Frank Herbert (science fiction)
In Europe, Geert Mak (historic, non-fiction)
It Started a Midsummernight, Olav Gulvag (classic Scandinavian novel... almost soap-like)

I alway do this, reading 2 to 4 books at the same time and switching over.


I really should get a bigger bookcase for the living room now.
Would look impressive, so I can pass myself of as more distinguished.



If you have recommendations, please shout it out.

I'm looking for great literature in English and French (as the original language, the language of the writer).
I'm pretty much versatile... except I don't like detective stories.


Someday I'll try to learn German too... I should start with German children's books.

[Deluge Of Sound]

For a list of Great LiteratureTM, you sure don't have much Faulkner, Hemmingway, or Vonnegut.

Of course, if you're trying to improve your english writing, I'd stay far, far, away from Faulkner.

[René_Julien]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

For a list of Great LiteratureTM, you sure don't have much Faulkner, Hemmingway, or Vonnegut.

Of course, if you're trying to improve your english writing, I'd stay far, far, away from Faulkner.

Check.

Oh yeah... next time I'll need to order Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five.
Dresden... place of one of the most horrific bombardments in history.

I don't know anything by Faulkner. Suggestion for one?

[Deluge Of Sound]

As I Lay Dying remains the only book to ever give me nightmares, awesome book.

[René_Julien]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

As I Lay Dying remains the only book to ever give me nightmares, awesome book.

Sounds awesome.
added to my wishlist on Amazon

[shackled]

P. Roth
J. Updike

[gkbass13]

For modern writers, I absolutely love Dave Eggers. His "A heartbreaking work of staggering genius" was pretty amazing.

[bassybill]

Moby Dick and The Difference Engine? Wow. Two very challenging books that couldn't really be more different. Hard work, but both worth the effort. I hope you enjoy them!

+1 to the Vonnegut recommendation, excellent stuff. My favourite Vonnegut by far is "Galapagos".

If you like The Difference Engine, then you may enjoy Neuromancer/Count Zero/Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (in fact, you may enjoy these even if you DON'T like the Difference Engine, they're much more readable).

More recommendations from my own favourites - some fairly light reading, and some more challenging, in no particular order.

H G Wells' classic sci-fi
Tolkien
Ringolevio by Emmett Grogan
Some of Neil Gaiman's stuff (for example, American Gods)
I used to read a lot of Pratchett, but got a little bored with his Discworld stuff after about ten books!
Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting is a good start. The Scottish "accent" might make this a bit tricky, though.
Tom Sharpe can be wickedly funny; try "The Throwback" or "Wilt".
Iain Banks novels, or his sci-fi as Iain M. Banks. Use of Weapons is great, but a very disturbing book.
Douglas Adams - you should read everything he ever wrote, the man was a genius.
Everybody should read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig, imo. It's a brilliant examination of so many different aspects of life.
Milkowski's biography of Jaco (quite controversial in some respects)

Some science books:
Any of Richard Dawkins' biology books, especially "Climbing Mount Improbable" or "The Ancestor's Tale" (harder work).
Wonderful Life by Stephen Jay Gould
Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne (better than Hawking's stuff, in my opinion)

I got more if you want 'em!

And René - your English is excellent.

[Deluge Of Sound]

Originally Posted by gkbass13

For modern writers, I absolutely love Dave Eggers. His "A heartbreaking work of staggering genius" was pretty amazing.

I've met Dave Eggers.

Nice guy, a bit full of himself, but funny.

[René_Julien]

Originally Posted by bassybill

Moby Dick and The Difference Engine? Wow. Two very challenging books that couldn't really be more different. Hard work, but both worth the effort. I hope you enjoy them!

+1 to the Vonnegut recommendation, excellent stuff. My favourite Vonnegut by far is "Galapagos".

If you like The Difference Engine, then you may enjoy Neuromancer/Count Zero/Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (in fact, you may enjoy these even if you DON'T like the Difference Engine, they're much more readable).

More recommendations from my own favourites - some fairly light reading, and some more challenging, in no particular order.

H G Wells' classic sci-fi
Tolkien
Ringolevio by Emmett Grogan
Some of Neil Gaiman's stuff (for example, American Gods)
I used to read a lot of Pratchett, but got a little bored with his Discworld stuff after about ten books!
Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting is a good start. The Scottish "accent" might make this a bit tricky, though.
Tom Sharpe can be wickedly funny; try "The Throwback" or "Wilt".
Iain Banks novels, or his sci-fi as Iain M. Banks. Use of Weapons is great, but a very disturbing book.
Douglas Adams - you should read everything he ever wrote, the man was a genius.
Everybody should read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig, imo. It's a brilliant examination of so many different aspects of life.
Milkowski's biography of Jaco (quite controversial in some respects)

Some science books:
Any of Richard Dawkins' biology books, especially "Climbing Mount Improbable" or "The Ancestor's Tale" (harder work).
Wonderful Life by Stephen Jay Gould
Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne (better than Hawking's stuff, in my opinion)

I got more if you want 'em!

And René - your English is excellent.

Thanks Bill.

We seem to share the same taste.

I love reading sci-fi. I am enjoying Dune right now, it is an awesome world Herbert has created.
Early "sci-fi" I also love. Like Frankenstein by Mary Shelly.
Hence why I ordered Jeckyl and Hyde, I love that genre.
Also like steampunk. There will be more of Gibson I will get in the future.

Some great suggestions you made. I will check them out.


I love reading non-fiction too. Especially theology.
But that doesn't necessary have to be in English.
Only for fiction, when the author tries to evoke certain emotions translation can make a big difference. I've seen so many things gone lost in translation.



And thanks for the compliment.
But in my native tongue, I am quite the grammar nazi. You won't ever bust me on spelling and grammar in Dutch.
I often look back at what I post on here, and it bothers me. Several typos and things that I should phrase differently.
Although, since I am a member on this forum my English improved. Mostly cause I have to read all the nonsense here before I post mine.
Although some of the members here set a bad example. I sometimes adapt mistakes.

[MarthaT]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

As I Lay Dying remains the only book to ever give me nightmares, awesome book.

That is a book I will never forget

[burk48237]

I'm a fan of history and books that argue current issues from a theoretical foundational point of view. In other words, what are the basic principles thinking STARTS with? I also like reading opposing view points providing they're not fiction. So with that here's my essential list.

1) Six Days of War by Michael Oren: Michael (a regular contributor to New Republic) also wrote Power, Faith, and Fantasy, a history of the United States in the Mid East. Six Days of War really does a great job of laying the foundation for the current situation in the Middle East. The events that happened before the war (well covered in the book) really shed a light on the forces at work on both sides of the conflict.

2) What's so great about Christianity by Dinesh D'Souza: If you're going to read God Delusion (suggested here earlier). It's only fair that you read a well presented opposing view. And D'Souza does a good job of dealing with many of Dawkins arguments.

3) The Road to Serfdom by Frederick Hayek. At the time this book was released (the early 1940s) it represented the idea and benefits of limited government in a way they hadn't been presented since the early 1800's. Most schools require Marx's manifesto, any one who read that should read this to get an understanding of why the real alternative makes so much sense.

[Deluge Of Sound]

Originally Posted by burk48237

3) The Road to Serfdom by Frederick Hayek. At the time this book was released (the early 1940s) it represented the idea and benefits of limited government in a way they hadn't been presented since the early 1800's. Most schools require Marx's manifesto, any one who read that should read this to get an understanding of why the real alternative makes so much sense.

The Road to Serfdom is about as accurate as The Communist Manifesto, too.

[Vorago]

A la recherche du temps perdu...



You're crazy man

[René_Julien]

Originally Posted by Vorago

A la recherche du temps perdu...



You're crazy man

Yup.

I'll admit, don't expect a review from me on this within the next 10 years.

But hey... it's mainly to impress the chicks, if you have Proust in French in your bookcase.




Bruno... my educated friend... especially in this field,
You probably can suggest me something in French.
?

[The Last Rebel]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

For a list of Great LiteratureTM, you sure don't have much Faulkner, Hemmingway, or Vonnegut.

Of course, if you're trying to improve your english writing, I'd stay far, far, away from Faulkner.

Not to mention Steinbeck. I'm reading thre books right now too, actually. The Grapes of Wrath (which I just finished, actually), The Brothers Karamazov (which is great and making me question a lot I thought I knew about god, morality, and the church), and Ulysses. I'd easily recommend all three of those, Dostoevsky in particular.

[Deluge Of Sound]

Dostoevsky's great (at least, Crime and Punishment was), but the OP wanted books that were originally written in English or French.

[René_Julien]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Dostoevsky's great (at least, Crime and Punishment was), but the OP wanted books that were originally written in English or French.

Yup.

Thank you for bringing that up again.
The main reason I ask for recommendations is because there is a big gap in my knowledge of English literature.
Fiction books that can best be apreciated in their own language.
(Dutch literature isn't that vast off course. A lot of crap was pushed on to me in highshool. There are off course some pearls in Dutch literature.)


For example, I really want to read The Great Gatsby. I can buy the book in Dutch translation, but I want to read it in English.


But hey, any book recommendation is fine anyway. I could buy them in Dutch.

... Or I could decide to learn Russian.

[Pilgrim]

I echo the suggestion above to read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy - and I recommend reading "The Hobbit" first. These have become true classics of fantasy, and they will not disappoint you. Definitely best read in English, as the prose and phrasing of J.R.R. Tolkien carries the flavor of the medieval literature which was the focus of his outstanding scholarship.

Another book I strongly recommend is one of the most honored in science fiction: Robert A. Heinlein's book "Stranger in a Strange Land". It has a couple of slow spots, but it was an extremely influential book in the 60's when it was first published, and it's a fantastic story.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by René_Julien

I just placed on order for several books.

I always was an avid reader, but my collection so far consist mostly of Dutch as original language and and some books translated to Dutch.

Being that I was educated in Dutch, in school I only picked up classic Dutch literature.
And missed out on so much literature originally written in other languages.

Since my grasp of English and French is good enough to comprehend everything that I read I figured I'd indulge myself in some new books in these languages.
My writing in English is often terrible (as you would notice if you encounter my posts), so I guess reading (which was an hobby anyway) in English should improve my skills.

Same for my French which is in worse shape than my English. I speak French rather fluently... well I can get by (which is handy living in Belgium) but spelling and grammar needs some serious freshing up.


This is what I have on the way:

The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
The Difference Engine - William Gibson
The Complete Works of Plato - (Hackett Publishing, could have found each seperate book in Dutch but no complete collection)
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
A La Recherce Du Temps Perdu - Marcel Proust
Le Fantome De l'Opera - Gaston Leroux


10 books... that should keep me occupied for a while.

Thank you Amazon with your cheap paperback collection and deals.


Right now I am reading 3 books at the same time.
Dune, Frank Herbert (science fiction)
In Europe, Geert Mak (historic, non-fiction)
It Started a Midsummernight, Olav Gulvag (classic Scandinavian novel... almost soap-like)

I alway do this, reading 2 to 4 books at the same time and switching over.


I really should get a bigger bookcase for the living room now.
Would look impressive, so I can pass myself of as more distinguished.



If you have recommendations, please shout it out.

I'm looking for great literature in English and French (as the original language, the language of the writer).
I'm pretty much versatile... except I don't like detective stories.


Someday I'll try to learn German too... I should start with German children's books.

the hard part is picking up on the colloquialisms,and idioms that an american might know,but a brit would not,or vice versa