Literature

[TerokNor]

Which books should one have read when it comes to good general education in literature in your opinion?

Also do you think "Clockwork Orange" is a book one should have read, when liking Scifi? Some guys told me I really should read it, though it sounds a very dark envisionment for the future.
Also I wonder, if you have read it, is it better to get it in the native language or is it in English also a book good to read with an intermediate English-level? (Trying to read more books in English for language-improvment.)

TerokNor

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

"A Clockwork Orange" is best read in the original Nadsat.

 

[Mr Silver]

Well if you really want to explore English, you should take a look at some of the classics

*Wuthering Heights
*Jane Eyre
*Pride And Prejudice

These will give you a good idea of formal English, although many words and phrases and clearly outdated, it will give you a good framework of how English has devoloped

For a modern approach,

*Catcher In The Rye
*Fight Club
*Anything by Stephen King, Michael Crichton, etc

You can't go wrong with any of those, Stephen King, although declared "overrated" by many, is a master at adapting popular culture (and indeed language, slang, dialect) to serve as a background for whatever horror scenario serves as the overall theme of his books, the same with Michael Crichton, but in a technological, Sci-Fi sense

Clockwork Orange is more "Cyberpunk" meets "Dystopia" rather than Sci-FI, however, its an excellent book and the language featured with the book combines modern, historical and futuristic tones

As an afterthought, I'd recommend you check out the Trek Lit forum for recommendations, virtually all of the Trek Books are well worded and deliver an excellent fluency of the English Language after all why not combine two interests into one?

 

[TerokNor]

But is it to understand for an intermediate English-speaker without any russian knowledge? When it means it is an created youth-language, that is a lot the playing with words, do I have to be able to get the multiple fine meanings in different situations of the english language to be able to understand those new word creations?

TerokNor

 

[Mr Silver]

But is it to understand for an intermediate English-speaker without any russian knowledge? When it means it is an created youth-language, that is a lot the playing with words, do I have to be able to get the multiple fine meanings in different situations of the english language to be able to understand those new word creations?

TerokNor

I get you TerokNor its a very difficult language to grasp, mainly because of massive amount of regional dialects and of course the fact English itself is a bastardised language made up of French, German, Spanish and Latin

Do you watch any current TV shows in English? These will be able to help get you in the ballpark of common phrases, with a visual context to help you understand, I know its not to everyones cup of tea, but shows such as Friends are very good at helping people (who have a limited fluency with English) understand modern dialects and slang words/phrases

 

[KimMH]

Try Poe. He's widely regarded as one of the fathers of modern fantasy/goth. Your largest issue may be some of the languge he uses is no longer common.

You can never go wrong with the classics - if you are going to wrestle with real sci-fi start with Asimov and Clarke. You'll be astounded at how many ideas that seem new are originally theirs or at least outgrowths of their work.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I would classify "A Clockwork Orange" more as satire than SF. Anthony Burgess was very dismissive of it in later life but I enjoyed it. The only thing I like about the film now is the soundtrack music.

The novels and plays that we were instructed to read in secondary school from age 11-16 included:

Treasure Island
Kidnapped
Lord of the Flies
Of Mice and Men
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Midwich Cuckoos
The Day of the Triffids
Animal Farm
Great Expectations
Huckleberry Finn
Julius Caesar (play)
Anthony and Cleopatra (play)
Macbeth (play)
Henry V (play)

There were plenty more that I don't recall offhand, and I haven't included any poetry selections. I wasn't able to tolerate Jane Austen's or the Brontë family's works until much later in life. I think we would have been expected to have read about 100 texts over six years. In any case, most people in my age group read much more widely than the set list. For example, reading Animal Farm lead me to 1984 and other books by George Orwell.

Apart from Shakespeare's works, I think any of these should be readable by a non-native English speaker with a reasonable understanding of the language. They're not cutting-edge fiction, of course.

 

[TerokNor]

Hmm..maybe I give the classics a try. Reading some Classics right now as well, though picked the ones, that I think are more easy to read in English, as they are also suitable for children, at least I know them from childhood ("The Secret Garden", "Little Women", "A little princess").
And reading "The red badge of courage", which is very interessting to read and also reading "The boy in the striped pyjamas". Those are all right as well for exploring English, aren´t they?

What other books are there you say one should have read (cause I not only try to improve my English, but also my general education in all kind of topics).


TerokNor

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

But is it to understand for an intermediate English-speaker without any russian knowledge? When it means it is an created youth-language, that is a lot the playing with words, do I have to be able to get the multiple fine meanings in different situations of the english language to be able to understand those new word creations?

TerokNor

The Nadsat words are there mainly to make Alex and his Droogs stand apart from mainsteam society. For an native-English speaker, it can be fairly easy to guess the meaning from context, for example, horrowshow (khorosho) meaning good, and gulliver (golova) meaning head. At other times, it can take a lot of effort to decipher. There are several online Nadsat dictionaries, which don't all agree, it must be said.

http://www.soomka.com/nadsat.html

 

[auntiehill]

In my humble opinion:
Of Mice and Men
Lord of the Flies
To Kill a Mockingbird
Treasure Island
Animal Farm
Huckleberry Finn
Oliver Twist
Catcher in the Rye
Brave New World
The Stranger
Pride and Prejudice
Crime and Punishment

For Shakespeare, start with
Romeo and Juliet & Julius Ceasar

Then move on to
MacBeth & Hamlet

Then, King Lear.

If your language skills are strong, by all means read it in English, but if not, it's perfectly OK to read it in your native language.

 

[TerokNor]

The only TV shows I watch in English are DS9 and TNG really, cause these are the only shows I have on DVD (well actually my cousin and my flat-mate ...I borrowed them from them).
In TV I cannot watch English shows, cause everythings translated. And on You tube it is not fun to wait till things are loaded and that every 10 minutes and also to not have subtitles (in English)...I am better in reading English, then in simply understanding the spoken word without seeing it outwritten.

For Shakespeare ...I never read much of him I have to say (though saw some in theatre), but how about starting with his sonnets? Only read one of them (The "Shall I compare thee to a summer´s day?" one) and liked it. However got a bit troubled by the thee, thou and such older things...however it does read so soft, which is nice.


TerokNor

P.S. Oh..Brave New World...that remind me I lend the book to a friend 9 month ago and haven´t got it back yet. :-/ He should be through it by now, shouldn´t he? Its not THAT much to read. Have to ask. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I agree with some of the above choices, especially To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn.

Try out the Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels as well. Sherlock Holmes is a very entertaining character and the mysteries are always exciting. They are written a a simple style so it is easy to read, although some outdated terms may be confusing at first.

If you just read one Holmes story, The most well regarded is Hound of the Baskervilles, one of the full length novels.

I also suggest reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, one of my favorites.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Hmm..maybe I give the classics a try. ... Those are all right as well for exploring English, aren´t they?

Sound fine to me. "Skinhead" or "Airport" might be other ways of exploring -- it depends what you seek.

What other books are there you say one should have read (cause I not only try to improve my English, but also my general education in all kind of topics).

Off the top of my head:

The Sleepwalkers by Arthur Koestler
The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Life on Earth by David Attenborough

ETA: The problem with "Crime and Punishment", which someone suggested, is that it was originally written in Russian (Преступление и наказание), so there are probably several translations available. Similarly, "The Stranger" was originally written in French (L’Étranger).

 

[stj]

I've read that the mystery novels of Agatha Christie have the best record in sales to adult English learners. And the reason for this is the combination of entertainment and comprehensibility.

 

[Omnius]

My first ever English book I read for fun was The Lord of the Rings. Everyone in English class was reading boring stuff like Wuthering Heights, but my teacher aproved my choice. Though the book wasn't on the reading list, he decided that I could read it instead of the required three books from the list. (Everyone else read the three thinnest books).

If you're into SF, I can heartily recommend Dune. It's got it all: politics, intrigue, ecology, religion and big sandworms. It's epic.

 

[TerokNor]

The LOTR books also were the first English books I read for fun.

Mistery novels, horror novels and such are not really what I like... I think I am more looking for books that are..hmm...psychological character studies and society studies of past, present and possible future events/problems or books with a more poetic-profound-life wisdom kind of topics.

I would love to find the book "Distant Winds" and some other books of Bambaren in English, but besides "Dreaming Dolphin" I cannot find them in English, though they have to exist as English titles for them exist.

TerokNor

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" or "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" might be more in your line, perhaps.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I'll stand by To Kill a Mockingbird and One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest.

If you like Lord of the Rings and sci-fi you may want to try out Dune some time. It's not one of my favorites, but It has a large fan base and I can certainly see the appeal.

 

[Omnius]

The LOTR books also were the first English books I read for fun.

Then you ought to have a go at the Silmarillion .

And I agree with Kirkman, Dune might be of interest to you.

 

[sidious618]

The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird are my two favorite "classics" although I hate that term.