And now, Bolitho

[bauhiniakapok]

So, I'm on a Revolutionary-to-Regency era reading streak, yes? It started, of course, with everything ever written by Jane Austen, multiple times over. Then I read most or all of the novels she mentioned her characters reading, like Belinda and Cecilia. Then I read the entire Richard Sharpe series, and associated fanfic. Then Hornblower fanfic.

Comments

[bauhiniakapok]

And in other news, I just realized my daughter is singing "Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for me..." Except she's singing it in Mandarin. That's random. She must have learned it at school.

[eglantine_br]

I love the duolingo Spanish. It is not as quirky as it used to be-- but still very good. But I am nowhere near being able to read a novel in Spanish.

I think I know why you want to read Don Q in Spanish... Would it have something to do with a grumpy young man in a Spanish prison?

[bauhiniakapok]

Perhaps two grumpy young men trying to cheer each other up in a Spanish prison?

I got to page 2. Slowly. Then I went away and read half a dozen Horatio/Archie fanfics in a row.

I'm not sure whether it's better to look up each word I don't know (which is about every other word), or just read and let the half-meaning flow over me. Either way, I will probably forget the words I've learned as soon as I turn the page. I hope some learning will take place regardless!

[vespican]

I've read the entire Hornblower series a number of times... twice in order, and the Aubrey/Maturin series twice. I've read bits and pieces of other Naval Adventure series from time to time, including Bolitho, Ramage, and I believe Abercrombie Fox. All have their strengths and weaknesses, but generally I enjoy them. Moby Dick? I'd tried several times to read it, but always found it too much of a task. Something about Melville's sentence construction I guess. I found that I often needed to mentally diagram each one so I could figure out what he was trying to say. It was only a few years ago that I was able to wade through it. It was what I'd decided to read while on my lunch breaks at work, so I just kept at it. I noticed that he did a lot of those things that authors these days are told not to do in writing.

I wish I was fluent enough in another language to be able to read a story in something other than English.
Dave

[bauhiniakapok]

I haven't heard of Ramage or Abercrombie Fox. More for the list!

I read the Hornblower series in chronological order, but next time I think I'll read it in publication order instead. I think the author missed Bush and wanted more of him, and after "Lord Hornblower," so did I.

[vespican]

Over the years I've read the Hornblower stories in varying orders... at random, several times. It was only the last couple of times that I read them in order. Perhaps that was because I actually have them all on hand and am not borrowing what I can find at the library. Purchased Aubrey/Maturin series in order, so...
The Ramage or Lord Ramage ("rhymes with damage") series are by Dudley Pope. Stories of George Abercrombie Fox are by Adam Hardy. Others I've ran across include Alan Lewrie by Dewey Lambdin and Charles Hayden by S. Thomas Russell. A good place to look for Age of Sail/Naval Adventure series is the historic naval fiction web-site at www.historicnavalfiction.com It also includes non-fiction works and many that are borderline naval fiction. It is an intensive and well kept list. Heck if you dig deep enough you can even find my Stone Island Sea Stories and yours truly listed there.
Dave

[bauhiniakapok]

Oh, thank you! I always have that feeling of loss when I get to the end of a series...it is good to have such a long list to work through!

I read the Hornblower series as a teenager, before the movies came out, so I suppose that started it all for me, but so far I like the Aubreyad best - like Hornblower mixed with my beloved Jane Austen. (Of course, she is in a class by herself.) The Sharpe series is next for me in order of favorites, followed by the Hornblower novels. (The really well-written Hornblower fan fiction is often more satisfying to me than the actual novels. Book!Horatio is more adorable than he knows, but he still needs a good spanking.)