Welcome to the Book Nook! The weekly thread for all book nerds on The Avocado. This is the place to talk about books you’re currently reading, discuss genres, ask for recommendations, and post serious literary criticism.
This week’s prompt: Translations. Do you read books that have been translated? What are some of the challenges a reader faces when reading a translation? What are the best and worst translations you have encountered? Any other thoughts on the topic are welcome.
Ideas for prompts are always appreciated!
Posting pictures is fine as long as they are book related, but I would like this thread to continue to be a NO GIF/YouTube/social media embed zone. Thanks, and happy commenting!
Today’s literary birthdays:
Christopher Marlowe (1564), English playwright, poet, and translator (RIP 1593)
Quirinus Kuhlmann (1651), German poet (RIP 1689)
Anthony Ashley-Cooper (1671), English philosopher (RIP 1713)
Antoine Augustin Calmet (1672), French theologian (RIP 1757)
Victor Hugo (1802), French novelist, poet, playwright and essayist (RIP 1885)
Camille Flammarion (1842), French astronomer, author of popular science books and science fiction novels (RIP 1925)
Rudolph Dirks (1871), German-American comic strip writer and illustrator, creator of The Katzenjammer Kids (RIP 1968)
Janus Djurhuus (1881), Faronese poet (RIP 1948)
Stefan Grabiński (1887), Polish novelist, short story writer and playwright known for his fantasy and horror fiction (RIP 1936)
Dorothy Whipple (1893), English novelist and children’s books author (RIP 1966)
Jean Bruller (1902), French novelist (including science fiction, fantasy and historical fiction), illustrator and publisher (RIP 1991)
Theodore Sturgeon (1918), American science fiction and fantasy novelist and short story writer, creator of Sturgeon’s Law: “Ninety percent of [science fiction] is crud, but then, ninety percent of everything is crud.” (RIP 1985)
Christopher Hope (1944), South African novelist and poet
Sharyn McCrumb (1948), American novelist and short story writer
Elizabeth George (1949), American mystery novelist
Michel Houellebecq (1956), French novelist, poet and essayist
John Jude Palencar (1957), American illustrator known for his science fiction, fantasy and horror work
All information courtesy of Wikipedia