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Willow is a beautiful cat! Bird by Bird is a great book and you’ve made me want to revisit it.

Always a pleasure to hear Willow's beautiful meows♥

This video is so cool. I just started to read Russian classics and it made me start to have an interest in Russian history and culture.

Hi. I thoroughly enjoyed another short stories collection by Ted Chiang - Stories of Your Life. Contains the original story which inspired the film Arrival. Stunning collection

Nice! I read We a few months ago and really loved it. Even more than 1984.

👃

He he. I love that you smell books.

Did NOT know that about WE. Haven't read 1984 since high school. Betcha WE is bleaker...

Hello it was a pleasure watching your video. I will be participating in this book tag and will be uploading my video later today!

That was great seeing those shots from the old speccy game, and your love of books is evident. Well done on beating the demon drink

Sounded perfecto to me 😊 (non Russian speaker)

Hey Cams, just became aware of a title that might be fun to throw into your TBR for spooky season…’The Haunting of Moscow House’ by Olesva Salnikova Gilmore. The summer of 1921, two former aristocratic sisters, a haunted house, dark secrets, and murder. Not your usual fare, but sounds like it might be a little spice to throw into the stew!

I've only read the odyssey on this list, loved it! You've tickled my interest in Inanna too as I just picked up snow crash a few days ago so will probably jump into it as well, looking forward to seeing your thoughts on it

I couldn't watch this live due to the time difference but I'll use this as my background video for my reading today😁

Love this idea!

I hadn't realised that the Scrivener app's price was a one-off, and not yearly subscription price, so actually, I think it looks like it might be well worth getting. Also, of course, if friends recommended it to you, you can't beat that for an endorsement that it's a good app.

😊

Love the tbr! I need to curate mine and this reminded me. Have you read Let The Dead Bury The Dead by Allison Epstein? I think you might enjoy it! It’s an alternate history story set in imperial Russia. It wasn’t something I would normally pick up but I really enjoyed it!

You're far too kind Cams! We just added another copy of Jonathan Strange to the collection today 😂

Nice Oasis tickets in the back :,)

Excited for our Jonathan strange & Mr Norell buddy read!

"How does one translate poetry.... I'm not sure you do." Love that. Your reading is inspiring and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on these books. Most interesting recs. 📚

I'm reading The Odyssey along with you this month, and the translator for my Penguin Classics edition, E.V. Rieu mentions the difficulty of how literally to translate The Odyssey, an epic poem (as well as being thought of as the earliest novel, in it's conception and form). He argues, I think sensibly, that meanings are lost when too literal, and that one can just forget about trying to get the rhythm the same. Proust's earliest translator, Moncrieff, was learning French while do the translating, and did a marvellous job, many, including myself think, but we're possibly lucky it didn't come out like an epic poem in Greek, because translating seems to have a lot of the poetic spirit about it!

Impressive stack on the docket for you, Cams. My TBR is a book trolley by my easy chair that's groaning under the ever-increasing weight of books, magazines, comics, and graphic novels...not to mention the e-books in reserve.

You have some very interesting reading coming up and in progress! I’ll be very interested to hear about your Bulgakov reading. I have that same copy on my shelf, also since the 90s! I found your channel through Hardy’s Books and have been enjoying your videos. I am participating in Shorty September, Shaketember and Framed in September, the art book reading event. Currently reading The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan for Shorty September and The Iliad by Homer just because my husband said it was so good. And it is! I’m reading the Fitzgerald translation which is very good, and may even totally nerd out and read the Fagles then the Wilson just to compare. That will take months as I am a slow reader. Anyways, hope you enjoy the fantastic books you’ve selected for the Autumn! Best from Canada.

Well done! Your Russian sounds pretty good to my ear. Poetry translations are always tricky, I find. The poetry seems to lose some of the charm when translated. But still, I have much appreciation for all the translators who attempt it!

My sister was going on a trip to Europe and planned to stop by a couple of Russian bookstores. I made a few requests one of which was a collection of Marina Tsvetaeva’s poetry. What I got was a collection of Anna Akhmatova’s poetry. That was two years ago, and we still argue about who made the mistake. Haha. And I still have not read the copy of Бег Времени she brought back for me, so maybe I’ll dip in and out as your videos come out. I’m trying to work on my Russian too. My comprehension is decent, but I get frustrated with my reading speed especially when I compare it to my reading in English. I just started reading Maxim Gorky’s collection of autobiographical works (My Childhood, etc). Cool project. Good luck!

Why not

Mmm, I might join you, since it's been on my TBR since forever and needed some incentive. I can probably handle the two-month schedule.

I love her poetry! Sadly I haven’t been able to find a good edition of her complete poems. Do you have any recommendations?

I thoroughly enjoyed this! I loved the sound and pacing of the Russian even though I don't understand it. Beautiful poem!

The sound and rhythm of Russian have always fascinated me... 2:40

Congratulations! Well done. 🎉

Love your Russian Cam! well done (telling you as an actual russian)

I might join you. I've read The Odyssey before I think in Robert Fagles prose translation. Definitely a Penguin Classic Prose translation. I've definitely wanted to re-read both it and the Illiad as part of my Ridiculous Reading Canon etc etc reading list.

I've been re-reading bits and bobs of The Odyssey, because I was on a Ulysses kick for Bloomsday, so, yeah, I'm up for this. It's a very modern read, and there are all sorts of things in relation to psychology about it online that are very fascinating as well. It's a very contemporary feeling read, as I suspect a lot of mythological things are, since we tend to recycle all the best stories. This one was, I thought, a really good adventure story, and fun to read in bed, when you want to go to sleep thinking of exciting adventures.

No reading is ever so complete without the canonical foundational texts☑

The Revolution of Marina M sounds right up my street. Anna Akhmatova is one of my heroes. I've got a picture of her that I think I got from the National Portrait Gallery in London above my mantlepiece. Nice to know you're on the Square. I'm reading Crime and Punishment this month, which is I'm looking forward to.

You ever read THE INVISIBLES, Cams? 25:41

Point of interest...since I began limiting my time on FB, my mood has lightened considerably. 22:14

Food for thought. So many books and so little time! Best wishes.

Makes perfect sense, Cams...

I am tempted to read Marina M but so many ppl have DNF'd it due to it being long and dull. But you've made it sound so interesting! Im obsessed with Russian history and their literature and music.

Looking forward to your first substack post on Republic and Last Days of Socrates

I am glad you have discovered Robert Jackson Bennett’s work. His Divine Cities trilogy is my personal favorite of his.

Which version should i buy? im a beginner

Hi Cams & Barge. Firstly many thanks for doing this podcast. I’ve been a huge fan of the Thomas Covenant stories since they first came out in 1976 and have read them many, many times. Over the last few years I have taken to listening rather than reading, simply because I can then enjoy them when I am doing other things, mainly driving. For this I use the Scott Brick audiobooks where I can, which I cannot recommend enough, although he couldn’t do Against All Things Ending, all the others are all available and are exceptional audiobooks. Scott Brick liaised with Stephen Donaldson himself to get the characterisation and pronunciation right, which shines through in the productions. Anyway, I am so glad that you have started this reading and discussion series because, as you say in the introductory podcast, there is a serious dearth of interest in these wonderful books. I hope you don’t mind if I put in my six pen’th from time to time?

I love figes’s books! My first was the one about the Crimean war. I’ve got to say tsar Nicholas is a truly fascinating and tragic character.

Hey, I've discovered you literally couple hours ago while looking for Oblomov review video and now checking the Robin Hobb videos. Is it possible to do smt about the constant pitching noise on the videos?

Weird question, do you need to be a member to buy from this shop. Certain I’ve heard this??