What are you reading now?

[Michael]

I've enjoyed reading all the Sherlock Holmes works, too! What others would you recommend by Doyle?

"The Lost World and other Stories" is available in the Wordsworth editions. The title novel was published in 1906 and is indeed about dinosaurs. There are a number of extremely good historical novels: "Sir Nigel" "The White Company" "Micah Clarke".
And if you can get hold of any of the Brigadier Gerard short story collections - about a French soldier in the Napoleonic wars - you are in for a real treat.
Doyle had a legitimate reason to be annoyed by the fact that Sherlock Holmes drew attention away from his other work. The man was a master in a large number of genres; no wonder he killed off Holmes.

[Joy]

"The Lost World and other Stories" is available in the Wordsworth editions. The title novel was published in 1906 and is indeed about dinosaurs.
Doyle had a legitimate reason to be annoyed by the fact that Sherlock Holmes drew attention away from his other work. The man was a master in a large number of genres; no wonder he killed off Holmes.

'The Lost World' by Doyle was also made into a movie in 1925 and was dirested by the same guy (can't come up with his name right now) who directed 'King Kong' and he came up with the idea for using stop action photography. Also there was a TV show in the late 90's.
Boy, from Holmes all the way to dinosaurs what a spectrum of ideas!

[Joy]

It's "The Wordsworth Collection of Irish Ghost Stories". My copy is from the library and it's over a 1000 pages in length, so I may have to renew it a few times. I don't know if the "Wordsworth" publications are available in the USA but they publish a huge selection of classics in paperback editions which are extremely cheap but very well presented. They concentrate mostly on 19th century fiction (which is conveniently out of copyright).
I think they provide a valuable service nowadays. For example, you can get the two volumes of "Les Miserables" for about six euro (six dollars? I don't know the rate of exchange.)
Anyway, you can get a nice book to hold in your hand instead of trying to read it off a computer screen. Here is a link:

http://www.wordsworth-editions.com/

It's on Amazon.com and it's price ranges from $4.99-$10.00 so a very reasonable price tag for such a lengthy and obviously good read. Our library might even have it too.

'instead of trying to read it off a computer screen'...or for that matter an electronic book or a kindle!

[Sorrano]

It's on Amazon.com and it's price ranges from $4.99-$10.00 so a very reasonable price tag for such a lengthy and obviously good read. Our library might even have it too.

'instead of trying to read it off a computer screen'...or for that matter an electronic book or a kindle!

The kindle isn't so bad; it's very near to reading a real book (in fact, I find myself trying to turn the pages on occasion). The text is made of electronic ink, so to speak, and instead of being bright like a typical monitor, the background is a dull grey and is pretty easy on the eyes. You need sufficient lighting to read from it as you would from any other book.

(Also, many of these classics out there are free on Gutenberg and Feedbooks.com, among several sites that feature electronic books.)

[Michael]

The kindle isn't so bad; it's very near to reading a real book (in fact, I find myself trying to turn the pages on occasion). The text is made of electronic ink, so to speak, and instead of being bright like a typical monitor, the background is a dull grey and is pretty easy on the eyes. You need sufficient lighting to read from it as you would from any other book.

Ah, but does it smell like a book, Sorrano? I still can't kindle any interest in it.

[Sorrano]

Do not misunderstand, Michael. I have not gotten rid of my books by any means, and still have a massive reading pile. What the kindle does is expand my resources and gives them to me in a format that is very much like a book. There are hundreds of thousands of books online that are very readable in the kindle format and they are free.

[Michael]

I suppose I will have to see one. Maybe with new technology they can add the scent of an old second-hand bookstore to it.

[Bonn1827]

Michael, there's something arcane about the whole business of finding, reading and treasuring books that many people don't understand, ever. Holding something of value, perhaps once owned by somebody important, can never be replaced by electronic media. Same with the LvB scores available online - imagine that replacing holding the real thing in one's hand????!!! No way.

[Peter]

Michael, there's something arcane about the whole business of finding, reading and treasuring books that many people don't understand, ever. Holding something of value, perhaps once owned by somebody important, can never be replaced by electronic media. Same with the LvB scores available online - imagine that replacing holding the real thing in one's hand????!!! No way.

Absolutely - I've built up a much treasured library of books and it gives me pleasure just to look at them, let alone read. Browsing on line can never replace the thrill of finding what you're lookinf for in a dusty old second hand bookshop!

[Peter]

Reading the Peloponnesian war by Donald Kagan - fascinating to see the parallels with modern times, how true it is that we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of history.

[Michael]

It's (Irish Ghost Stories) on Amazon.com and it's price ranges from $4.99-$10.00 so a very reasonable price tag for such a lengthy and obviously good read. Our library might even have it too.

Well worth getting, Joy, if you like ghost stories. Quite a few of the stories are actually folk tales but the book is so large that there is still room for a large amount of fiction. The term "Irish" is loosely applied: some are by British writers but the story may be set in Ireland, others are by Irish authors but not necessarily set in Ireland.
The first story in the book "Green Tea" will give you the flavour of the book. Don't be put off by the first page of pseudo-scientific gobbledygook; Le Fanu is just trying to present the story as an actual occurrence that may have a rational explanation. He does this with most of his tales.
The only thing missing from this book is information about the authors but you can get all that online.

[Bonn1827]

That's a big wager, Philip and yes, size does matter!!

[Peter]

And the above posting makes me think about Peter's comments to Preston about certain dissonances in the Eroica, and further how Peter lamented that one of his piano students could not really hear the different notes of a dissonant chord when each note was emphasized. Well, this was in part precisely my point when I mentioned that Peter (in the Eroica passage in question) heard (or rather, "read") an F major triad with added seventh, and my ears told me something quite different : an A minor chord with added 6th, which is much more clashing, or "poignant", if you will, and far better suits the progression to the dominant of E minor.

Likewise with the "triplet" opening of B's 5th : Peter suggests we are not hearing correctly the quaver rest. I say this : play this piece to any literate musician (without the score) and who has NEVER heard the work before, and I would bet that they imagine a triplet for the first 4 bars. Its rhythmic vagueness is only clarified in the following measures. And I would wager this was exactly intended by Beethoven.

Surely a contradiciton as any 'literate' musician who hasn't heard those 4 bars hardly merits the term? As for your wager, a pretty safe bet since we can't ask the person in question!

[Sorrano]

Likewise with the "triplet" opening of B's 5th : Peter suggests we are not hearing correctly the quaver rest. I say this : play this piece to any literate musician (without the score) and who has NEVER heard the work before, and I would bet that they imagine a triplet for the first 4 bars. Its rhythmic vagueness is only clarified in the following measures. And I would wager this was exactly intended by Beethoven.

I remember distinctly, as a child, that that is precisely how I heard those opening notes to the 5th Symphony. As I learned to read music I was quite surprised to find that they were eighth notes and not triplets.

[Sorrano]

Well worth getting, Joy, if you like ghost stories. Quite a few of the stories are actually folk tales but the book is so large that there is still room for a large amount of fiction. The term "Irish" is loosely applied: some are by British writers but the story may be set in Ireland, others are by Irish authors but not necessarily set in Ireland.
The first story in the book "Green Tea" will give you the flavour of the book. Don't be put off by the first page of pseudo-scientific gobbledygook; Le Fanu is just trying to present the story as an actual occurrence that may have a rational explanation. He does this with most of his tales.
The only thing missing from this book is information about the authors but you can get all that online.

Le Fanu is a good writer of horror (was?) and I've been able to pick up several of his books, some online (free!) and others in a more conventional format (not so free). But regardless of the format they are worth reading.