Sabin > Recent Status Updates

Finally returned to reading this novel and I'm continuously amazed by the author's capacity to strip the English language of everything that makes it enjoyable. He keeps hammering the reader with the present simple and it gets even worse when he changes tenses.

"On several winter mornings [...] the boy has left the house when it is still dark and climbed the steep lawn [...]"

I mean why? I just don't get it.

Traducerea in limba romana mi se pare extrem de slaba. Propozitiile sunt lipite una de alta in toate modurile posibile. Nu exista macar o cadenta a insiruirilor, se pierd intelesuri, o targa scoate sunete. Probabil ca ceha e mai greu de tradus ca portugheza, sau cel putin traducatorul lui Saramago este mai atent cu sunetele si ritmul cartii. Trec pe engleza.

Long overdue!

Have to hand it to Harari. He has a knack for statements that are easy to understand and easy to pass on. There's no need to even rigorously prove these statements. They're just instant insights:
"[...] you cannot organise masses of people effectively without relying on some fictional myths. So if you stick to pure reality, without mixing any fiction with it, few people would follow you."

"There are three phrases that make possible the world of writing about the world of not-yet (you can call it science fiction or speculative fiction; you can call it anything you wish) and they are simple phrases:
What if . . . ?
If only . . .
If this goes on . . ."

How to read Gene Wolfe:

5) Reading Gene Wolfe is dangerous work. It's a knife-throwing act, and like all good knife-throwing acts, you may lose fingers, toes, earlobes or eyes in the process. Gene doesn't mind. Gene is throwing the knives.

Because apparently it's uncool for somebody to say that they have not read this book already. I guess I'll have to rectify this so that next time it comes up I can do more than just nod politely.

Cuz' it's about time I studied this stuff

This is going to have a very interesting review coming to get it when I'm done.

I feel that I've finally settled into the Goodreads rating system, and it works. 1 star is just a waster of time, 2 stars is ok, but not for me, 3 and 4 stars are varying degrees of liking balanced with things I didn't like, and I can keep the 5 stars for those special books which actually changed how I look at world.

Now, if I could just find the time to go back and re-rate about 3/4 of my read shelf.

Cititul unei cărți tradusă în limba română mă aduce pe culmile disperării câteodată...

I think dr Sacks along with his editor are having trouble remembering what went in the book previously. It's the second time I heard about his accident and his Mendelsohn "therapy".