| Author |
Message |
|
|
 Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 08:38 AM |
|
Joined: Oct 15, 2005
Posts: 530
Location: Russia, Far East Siberia, Irkutsk
|
|
Hello, guys!
I would like to read some good literature to improve my English. Could you tell me names of such authors? Requirement: the text must contain "ideal" grammatical language if it's possible.
Some work I've done. I was recommended to read Jerome K. Jerome. But I would more to have a choice.
Any good movies are appreciated too)
As a part of my learning I listen to BBC Radio when I'm at work (of course I do my work too)))) and read some news.
But I still feel that I do many many many grammatical mistakes. I don't feel your language well as you do 
Sorry if I've written something rude... And thank you so much for your help  |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 10:34 AM |
|
Joined: Nov 09, 2011
Posts: 419
|
|
Almost all novels published by mainstream publishers will contain gramatically correct English. There might be a few exceptions where the language is deliberately non-grammatical - for example, something might be told from a first-person's point of view, and the author wants to emphasise the spoken language of the narrator.
I don't think you'll find that there's a form of English that is widely accepted as "ideal". Within the range of grammatical English, the differences in writing are mostly due to style, and that's something driven by personal preference rather than any supposed "ideal" style.
Here are some suggestions, that mostly reflect my own likes.
Iain M Banks - good science fiction. He has a straightforward style.
Patrick O'Brian has a long series of Naval themed novels set in the Napoleonic wars. His writing is rather formal, and some of the language used is a bit dated.
Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun" is a rather challenging but very enjoyable science fiction series. The language in it is not difficult to understand. The challenging aspect is understanding the first person narrative and deciphering the underlying meaning.
As for online websites, major newspapers published in English speaking countries usually have good, contemporary writing styles. However, you might need to be a little bit wary - some sections of such sites may not be edited very carefully, and some sites have notorious reputations for embarrassing errors (especially the "Grauniad" . I'd lean towards journals that aren't published daily - I've found that the less frequent journals tend to have better writers. My recommendations here would be http://www.theatlantic.com and http://www.economist.com
- S |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 01:00 PM |
|
Joined: Jul 18, 2005
Posts: 62944
Location: (using avr-gcc in) Finchingfield, Essex, England
|
|
| Just get the entire series of "DiscWorld" novels by Terry Pratchett and have a good giggle. Quite a lot of his humour depends on play on words which probably makes a good exercise in learning English. (of course you may read some bits and completely miss the underlying meaning I guess). |
_________________
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 01:59 PM |
|
Joined: Mar 27, 2002
Posts: 18757
Location: Lund, Sweden
|
|
Since this is about bettering your English:
You don't say "recommend a good literature", you say "recommend good literature". (Just as you don't say "I eat a food" but rather "I eat food".)
For a very good online glossary, I would reccomend Wiktionary ( http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/literature ).
I try to keep the English I post under control by using a browser with a spell-checker (this post is done w/o that, BTW).
I've found that not-so-current litterature have been excellent teaching material for me:
For an easy but still amusing read I would recommend "The Wind In The Willows" by Kenneth Grahame. Personally I swear by "Winnie The Pooh" (A.A. Milne) to but that is because I was fostered on them. (If you ever decide to learn Swedish the translations are excellent!)
Not sure that it qualifies as litterature (in the snobbish sense) but all "Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle (short stories and novels) are good reads IMO. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 02:35 PM |
|
Joined: Apr 20, 2007
Posts: 6212
Location: Long Island New York
|
|
Do what most american kids do to learn 'english'... Watch TV
No joke. |
_________________
Jim
I have decided that I am no longer going to plan anything in advance. In a court of law this is called Pre-Meditated, and does not look good for the defense.....
I am trying to 'C' the light. One function at a time.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 02:42 PM |
|
Joined: Jul 18, 2005
Posts: 62944
Location: (using avr-gcc in) Finchingfield, Essex, England
|
|
|
Quote:
but all "Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle (short stories and novels) are good reads IMO.
If you want to talk like a Victorian 
"Upon my word" and "Good Heavens" it's elementary that would be a most singluar solution. It is, upon the face of it, not an impossible supposition! |
_________________
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 03:06 PM |
|
Joined: Oct 04, 2008
Posts: 413
|
|
I suggest you search this website for "zbaird".
He is one of the best living poets of the free world in my opinion. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 03:06 PM |
|
Joined: Oct 15, 2005
Posts: 530
Location: Russia, Far East Siberia, Irkutsk
|
|
Oh, so much answers and recommendations Thank you so much! I digest it all)
BTW, I forgot to say: I also like songs of Celine Dion, ABBA, Baccara, Nightwish and other bands. Are their lyrics grammatically correct? I's just simpler to memorize the poem as an example of good speech. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 03:43 PM |
|
Joined: Nov 17, 2004
Posts: 13961
Location: Vancouver, BC
|
|
Except that poetry is one of the places where it is acceptable to throw good grammar out the window. There are often reversals of word order, unusual contractions and intentional misspelled/misused words in order to meet the cadence or meaning to be conveyed.
I would recommend Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski). He didn't learn English until later in life, but wrote in it beautifully. It will not only get you good grammar, but inspiration that it can be done. |
_________________
Regards,
Steve A.
The Board helps those that help themselves.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 03:58 PM |
|
Joined: Nov 11, 2003
Posts: 4042
Location: Chicago Illinois USA
|
|
hehe
Not sure you'd want to learn grammar from poetry.
What kinds of books would you like to read? I've been reading 19th or early 20th century novels lately. |
_________________
Discursive design,
Torby
Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 04:31 PM |
|
Joined: Jun 19, 2002
Posts: 989
Location: SF Bay area
|
|
I'd recommend "Juvenile" literature aimed at teens and young adults. Harry Potter, perhaps.
A simpler plot. I remember my "advanced" German class in highschool, where we read a German Mystery novel. Trying to follow a complex story line when I could barely keep up with the vocabulary was ... AWFUL. :=(
I wish I had read more foreign children's books.
(For instance, someone recommended Ian Banks. Bleh. He can be difficult to follow even if you're a native english speaker.) |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 06:20 PM |
|
Joined: Nov 17, 2004
Posts: 6144
Location: Great Smokey Mountains.
|
|
|
clawson wrote:
Just get the entire series of "DiscWorld" novels by Terry Pratchett and have a good giggle. Quite a lot of his humour depends on play on words which probably makes a good exercise in learning English. (of course you may read some bits and completely miss the underlying meaning I guess).
I've read all of Pratchett twice and will likely do a third run. But I'm pretty sure some of his puns will prove difficult for non-English folk. For instance he describes something 'as hot as a stolen volcano' to me this is laugh out loud funny, but if you don't know that hot refers to both heat and something that has been stolen you might not get it.
I second the motion on Harry Potter. Even though I am an adult near senescence I loved it. The language in this series doesn't get in the way of the story, and that really is how English should be written.
Hunger Games is good also and the movie is making lots of noise at the moment.
If you want a really long book to fall into then you might try another of my favorites: The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet.
Oh, and I've read some Dostoyevsky which reads very well in English so I wonder if getting some popular Russian book and reading the English translation might not help more than anything? I recently read Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and that translation read like it was written originally in English.
Smiley |
_________________
FREE TUTORIAL: 'Quick Start Guide for Using the WinAVR C Compiler with ATMEL's AVR Butterfly' AVAILABLE AT: http://www.smileymicros.com
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 06:29 PM |
|
Joined: Nov 11, 2003
Posts: 4042
Location: Chicago Illinois USA
|
|
| I've lately been on a Kipling kick. Burned through both Jungle Books, Stalky & Company, and now on Captain's Courageous. Yes, I know, most American boys read that when they were 10, but I had all these cool "Happy Hollister" books. |
_________________
Discursive design,
Torby
Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 06:50 PM |
|
Joined: Mar 01, 2001
Posts: 4960
Location: Rocky Mountains
|
|
| I will also recommend the Harry Potter series. Good, fun read. The language doesn't get in the way, and you can tell that the author increased the vocabulary level as the series went on, and as the children in the story, and the children reading it, get older. |
_________________
Eric Weddington
Marketing Manager
Open Source & Community
Atmel
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 07:07 PM |
|
Joined: Oct 23, 2010
Posts: 25
|
|
| The last two books I read were "Sirens of Titan" and "Slaughterhouse 5", both by Kurt Vonnegut. I enjoyed them both. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 28, 2012 - 01:18 AM |
|
Joined: Apr 20, 2007
Posts: 6212
Location: Long Island New York
|
|
Back to my TV kick, my three year old uses Wow Wow Wubbzy!!
I like James Patterson |
_________________
Jim
I have decided that I am no longer going to plan anything in advance. In a court of law this is called Pre-Meditated, and does not look good for the defense.....
I am trying to 'C' the light. One function at a time.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 28, 2012 - 02:45 AM |
|
Joined: Jul 10, 2006
Posts: 2656
Location: Minneapolis
|
|
| I've no time for fiction anymore, but my favorites are James Clavell, Tom Clancy, Tolkien, and Ayn Rand. All good stuff. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 28, 2012 - 03:06 AM |
|
Joined: Jun 19, 2002
Posts: 989
Location: SF Bay area
|
|
sixty pages of John Galt speech in a foreign language? OMG!
Do you think it's useful for there to be a native-language translation of the book you're trying to read? (speaking of Harry Potter: translated into 67 languages!) On one hand, if you get stuck, you can go figure out what is going on. On the other hand... less motivation to struggle on, and possible source of confusion. (There was a fascinating discussion on r.a.sf.w some years ago where the translator for the Italian version of some popular SF Novel (Bujold) was describing how difficult it was to translate descriptions of "subtle hand gestures" into something that made sense in Italian. A translated novel is not the same as simply translating the text...) |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 28, 2012 - 04:56 AM |
|
Joined: Jan 09, 2007
Posts: 1919
Location: Arlington, Texas, U.S.A.
|
|
|
smileymicros wrote:
Oh, and I've read some Dostoyevsky which reads very well in English so I wonder if getting some popular Russian book and reading the English translation might not help more than anything?
Maybe not. A Russian PhD student was studying at a US university. From the university's library, he read some English translations of Russian classic novels and was appalled at the poor translations. He stated that a reader of Russian needs more than the words; i.o.w. there's meaning behind and between the words (likely difficult unless one lives Russian). When the opportunity appeared to create the English translation of the Russian Anastasia series (English is Ringing Cedars), he enthusiastically offered his effort. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Apr 28, 2012 - 06:42 AM |
|
Joined: Jan 03, 2006
Posts: 4447
Location: Hemel Hemsptead, UK
|
|
|
Torby wrote:
Stalky & Company
You said the magic words and may now gloat!
As others have said, most published English is grammatically correct - but beware those published in the last few years which can suffer from an excess of zeal of the spell-checker...
A good source of material is Gutenberg - just look at their hundred most popular (http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top) and you'll find plenty in there which is both eclectic in taste and excellent in style. There's nothing wrong with Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) and Burton (The Karma Sutra) in one sitting... beware though Dickens - a great read but a lot of dialect and accented speech spelt phonetically. Tricky the first time you come across it...
(Strange but true: I have over a hundred peer-reviewed published papers on the subject of spelling. Not one is free from spelling mistakes in the text...) |
_________________
Neil Barnes
www.nailed-barnacle.co.uk
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Register
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Maximize
RSS
