To Finish or Not to Finish?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Hey Thanks Dennis!

BTW I did a conversion of the LRF to both epub and mobi for my Readers...

But glad to have yours as well!

Ouroboros is available elsewhere, from Manybooks and Munseys, and Project Gutenberg Australia, as well as the Internet Sacred Text Archive sources I used. But I wanted a version with the illustrations, as well as a slightly more complete text, and it was an excuse to play with Book Designer and Mobi Creator.

If other folks find it useful, I'm pleased. For that matter, if someone ants to grab the sources and produce an improved version for other platforms as well, I'll be delighted. I'm still learning this art, and am not the craftsman some of the other MR uploaders have become.
______
Dennis

[Ea]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

That's fascinating. There are enough similarities between modern Danish and old Norse that you can get some sense of it?

I can somewhat make my way through old English, but it will be limited, and a glossary will be advisable. The structure of teh language will be similar, but the vocabulary will not.
______
Dennis

I can get some sense - but it does help to know the story beforehand, it gives you some pointers. In comparison to others I know, I seem to have a natural sense of language, of being able to understand words that are only vaguely 'like' words I know. I can get the point of a Dutch text, even if I only know German and Danish.

To me, it's a question of recognising the words, or just parts of them - enough to get to an earlier root word. Not ancient of course, but it's quite interesting how many English words that are rather like their Danish counterparts And there's lots of words I don't know, but this is where knowing the story helps. After all, I learned most of my English vocabulary and grammar from "just" reading English. I learned very little in school (my mother, an English teacher, but not mine, can confirm so )

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Ea

I can get some sense - but it does help to know the story beforehand, it gives you some pointers. In comparison to others I know, I seem to have a natural sense of language, of being able to understand words that are only vaguely 'like' words I know. I can get the point of a Dutch text, even if I only know German and Danish.

That was about what I thought. Having a sense of what the story is about before reading will help in picking it up, even if the language is not very familiar.

My SO has a similar natural sense. She was once reasonably fluent in about a dozen languages. these days, she's still effectively bi-lingual in English and Spanish, and quite fluent in French if the conversation is about cooking. She can listen to people talking, and if she does so long enough, will begin to get a sense of what is being said, even if she doesn't know the language.

To me, it's a question of recognising the words, or just parts of them - enough to get to an earlier root word. Not ancient of course, but it's quite interesting how many English words that are rather like their Danish counterparts And there's lots of words I don't know, but this is where knowing the story helps. After all, I learned most of my English vocabulary and grammar from "just" reading English. I learned very little in school (my mother, an English teacher, but not mine, can confirm so )

English has the largest vocabulary of any language I'm aware of, with something like 850,000 words. Many were simply adopted from other languages because they conveniently expressed a concept. There's an old joke about an American tourist in Germany who sneezes, and a passing German says "Gesundheit!". The American says "Oh! You speak English!" There are any number of words commonly used by English speakers who've quite forgotten (if they ever learned) that the word originated elsewhere.
______
Dennis

[Ea]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

English has the largest vocabulary of any language I'm aware of, with something like 850,000 words. Many were simply adopted from other languages because they conveniently expressed a concept. There's an old joke about an American tourist in Germany who sneezes, and a passing German says "Gesundheit!". The American says "Oh! You speak English!" There are any number of words commonly used by English speakers who've quite forgotten (if they ever learned) that the word originated elsewhere.
______
Dennis

That was a funny joke

English and Danish have the same roots, they are both Germanic langauges, English has then also picked up a lot of French later, but a number of words are much the same - but their spelling and/or pronunciation - or even meaning - now differ so much that they they are harder to recognise. An example is the word 'harder' I just used. You'd have to catch the central 'idea' of the word - which is much the same in Danish, even though the words would be used in different contexts nowadays - and English have more alternatives. Anyway, to me it's sort pf compering this word with that, finding the central idea. It's difficult to explain

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

...

... There's an old joke about an American tourist in Germany who sneezes, and a passing German says "Gesundheit!". The American says "Oh! You speak English!" There are any number of words commonly used by English speakers who've quite forgotten (if they ever learned) that the word originated elsewhere.
______
Dennis

yeah and Americans are so oblivious to it!

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by kennyc

yeah and Americans are so oblivious to it!

There's a similar joke:

What do you call someone who speaks several languages?
Multilingual

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual

What do you call someone who speaks one language?
An American...



In fairness, however, I think geography plays a part. The United States is a big place, where English has long been the official language, and the only close directly connected neighbors which aren't English speaking are Quebec and Mexico. Even in Quebec, English is the second language and you are likely to be understood there without speaking French.

Individual European countries are smaller, and directly connected to neighbors that speak different languages. Being able to speak languages other than your own will be a more useful skill and more frequently encountered.

I'm effectively mono-lingual. At one time or another, I've studied Latin, French, and Spanish, but remember next to none of it, because I've had no call to maintain fluency. I sometimes think this is unfortunate, but it is the case.
______
Dennis

[fuzzy_dunlop]

Non v' maggior ladro d'un cattivo libro. There is no thief like a bad book.

[geneven]

If you decide a book is crappy, it is evil to finish it.

When I leave a book unfinished for awhile, I frequently start from the beginning again. I started War and Peace seven times before I made it thru the party in the beginning. It's one of my favorite books now.

It is rare for me to permanently abandon a book, because I am usually relying on the opinions of others as to whether it's good, and I tend to believe them. You have to be in the right mood for some books.

I have abandoned a few books just before the climactic end, because I could care less what happened. It was a great feeling; you should try it.

[Lemurion]

I don't finish every book I start: I find some books actively repellent and stop reading very quickly, others just fail to hold my interest and I just don't bother to pick them up again after I put them down.

I rarely go back and finish books I really disliked. Life's too short. However, if a book just failed to grab me I may go back and look at it later. It depends on the book and why I lost interest. I'm much more likely to have another try at a well-written book than a book I thought was a waste of brainwaves.

It's simple - I won't waste my time reading something I don't like when I have books I probably will like waiting for me to read them. Reading time is a limited resource, and I don't want to waste it on something I don't enjoy reading.

[sbin]

I must admit: I'm a bit tightfisted
So: if I paid a pretty penny for a book, I kick and struggle until I finish it. If I got it for free or if it came cheap, I don't put as much effort in the task of reading it

(And that's why I usually get my books from the library )

[Falbe Publishing]

If I don't like a book, I stop reading it. This happens if I am not getting into the characters or the story bores me. I see no reason to continue when I can easily move on to another book that I might like more.

I DO give books a chance. It's not like the instant I dislike something I stop. I basically have a 100-page rule (I know that's a very paper oriented measurement, but I came up with it before I started ebook reading.) If I'm not enjoying it within a 100 pages, I move on. Does not bother me to stop a book. If something about it was capturing my interest, I would have read it.

[Mrgauth]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

An author who can't impress you with his/her story, characters or style in a first chapter doesn't deserve your attention for a second chapter. Reading time's too precious to waste. It's the author's job to interest you, not your chore to complete what an author wants to put your way. I'd rather throw away or delete a book after a few disappointing pages than see it as some kind of marathon challenge that takes up valuable time that could be better spent on a more deserving work. Good authors with worthwhile offerings will grab you within five hundred words and hold you spellbound right the way to an unwelcome *The End*. Neil

Totally agree. Not gonna waste one minute if the author isn't holding my interest. May or may not be their fault. Could just be my mood, but I am not gonna force myself. Life is too short to read for ANY reason than pleasure or important information.