tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25745858.post6625730002824663785..comments2023-11-30T13:49:20.131+00:00Comments on NASIM MARIE JAFRY: ON WRITING, READING and CHRONIC ILLNESS: Skim or skip or give up altogether?nmjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05477643084619789093noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25745858.post-25503935948280621692012-01-09T13:02:39.323+00:002012-01-09T13:02:39.323+00:00Hey Crafty, Old habits die hard, I think I'm s...Hey Crafty, Old habits die hard, I think I'm still studying when I pick up a French book, that is the problem! The vocab doesn't really stop me understanding, I am always able to get the gist, it is probably more idioms that throw me, ones I have forgotten or not familiar with. And it took me a long time to be able to ditch a book (in English) if I didn't like it, I think also comes from studying English lit when you had to study texts you didn't actually like (Martin Chuzzlewit still pains me, having to trek through it). But now I have no qualms about stopping a book, none at all, I no longer force myself. Life is really too short!nmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05477643084619789093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25745858.post-74809365404514343542012-01-09T09:06:05.989+00:002012-01-09T09:06:05.989+00:00Hi Nasim, I try to ignore the dictionary! If there...Hi Nasim, I try to ignore the dictionary! If there are too many words that I don't understand I give up on the book. Mostly I let words slip through without understanding them if that's not stopping me from understanding the whole story. I know that's probably not good practice but it works for me. I do look up words that keep cropping up or that are particularly unusual.Crafty Green Poethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25745858.post-91071771091789136802012-01-06T23:12:07.972+00:002012-01-06T23:12:07.972+00:00Happy New Year to you too, Rick! Am with you on th...Happy New Year to you too, Rick! Am with you on the detail, I just can't absorb lots of description, and it becomes meaningless if it goes on and on. The problem with sex scenes is, I think, that sex should be confined to those who are having it, no one should ever be watching, hence such scenes are excruciating to read *and* write.<br /><br />Hey Crafty, I think the issue with landscapes is that they are lovely to look at but hard to describe in a way that sustains your interest - or maybe it is just my concentration that is the problem. And I am terrible with French novels, I start out full of enthusiasm but if I need my dictionary too much it just becomes tiresome and tiring so I give up (when I was at uni all those year ago I would look up every damned word and write it down in my vocab notebook, geek that I was). And I usually go for very slim books.nmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05477643084619789093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25745858.post-10993471646198783552012-01-06T16:18:48.262+00:002012-01-06T16:18:48.262+00:00I actually like descriptions, but they need to be ...I actually like descriptions, but they need to be relevant, and as a birdwatcher / naturalist, I enjoy long pasaages about nature, though they're best when they create mood or are described from a characters point of view, which can reveal a lot about the character.Crafty Green Poethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25745858.post-21326249730134282982012-01-06T16:16:17.891+00:002012-01-06T16:16:17.891+00:00Oh I hope you enjoy lorsque j'etais un oeuvre ...Oh I hope you enjoy <i>lorsque j'etais un oeuvre d'art</i> as much as I did! <br /><br />Good to read that you enjoyed <i>I'm not scared</i>. I finally found a copy of that in Italian and I'm hoping it will be easy enough (I've seen the film so it should be okay and the book is quite short which helps too....)<br /><br />If I find myself skimming over too much of a novel, I usually give up, specially if it's in a foreign language. <br /><br />Non-fiction I'll try to keep going to the end even if I'm skipping a fair bit, particularly if the topic is interesting enough.Crafty Green Poethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02486633917197181851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25745858.post-80286143776291873482012-01-06T14:39:58.853+00:002012-01-06T14:39:58.853+00:00I have to confess that I often quickly skim over a...I have to confess that I often quickly skim over anything overly descriptive. Unless there's something relevant to the plot in that "dark, empty parking lot," then I don't really care about anything except that it was bloody dark and empty.<br />And if the "dark, empty parking lot" is some kind of metaphor, well OK, please don't beat me over the head with it. If I don't get it, then maybe it's a shitty metaphor!<br />And please, I don't want to read about sex in the "dark, empty parking lot." <br />In fact, I don't want to read about sex at all. I think "And then they had sex..." would be a suitable substitute for about 99.9% of every sex scene ever put to paper. Kind of like "And they lived happily ever after..." you know?<br /><br />Kidding aside, the devil really is in the details--what is interesting/relevant, and what isn't.<br /><br />Oh, and Happy New Year! ;-)Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02630742048605089548noreply@blogger.com