Coldrainwater's Log

[coldrainwater]

FWIW, I was once told by graduate students in philosophy that when German students read Kant, they read him in the English translation by Walter Kaufmann. I can't say whether that is true, but I myself have read Critique of Pure Reason in Kaufmann's translation. It is bracing and challenging.

I am willing to bet there is some truth to it that doesn't scale with general reading trends. Shrewd students will often use any tool available to them when it comes to courting an advantage in learning.

The unknowns in my case include when I will read Kant and which second language to choose. I appreciate the mention of Kaufman and will keep his translation in mind as English is probably the strongest initial contender. I doubt my German would be strong enough to read it alone in the original with the right level of comprehension. With more choice of language also comes more temptation. Even modest second language support can tip the balance of understanding, making several cat 1 languages as well as not-yet-studied Germanic languages a possible temptation. My personal interest in Kant is tied broadly to his influence with a nod to the many learning paths that lead to or pass through his thinking. One of them in particular is the tie to quantum mechanics, general relativity and the current environment surrounding physics, which was my primary field of study as an undergraduate. This study was excellent but involved too little extracurricular reading.

As a comment apart, in the back of my mind is the growing list of powerful original works in English along with a shorter but significant list of translations that also seem too hard to ignore. It is a good problem to face, even as my personal interest in foreign languages broadens.

[coldrainwater]

I report in arrears at the closing of the year, reconstructing a recent and wretched part of my literary past. It happened in the latter part of November that I found myself in need of a long book, choosing finally...

Les Misérables (Victor Hugo)

What can I say for myself and about the book? First, I am happy to have met Jean Valjean and to know his story and I now have a more keen sense of what it means to be hunted. The characters and storytelling provided plenty of motivation to progress and complete the read. Memorable quotes and solid vocabulary stood out in equal proportions, fueling the usual language obsessions. Time to read was roughly 22 days involving many runs and taking advantage of numerous late nights. My overall impression is positive, and I recommend reading Les Mis either in whole or in part. The multiple volumes have reasonable break points. It is the type of book where having a reading strategy might be helpful.

The work showcases an excellent range of character development that can manifest in a rapid sudden or via methodic trial, but always in line with the demands of a harsh life. It is long with many digressions and poetic interludes. The setting varies from sewer to cemetery to rooftop, from galley to convent and, with due imagination, between heaven and hell. Each is separated by surprisingly little distance with the presentation order often juxtaposed in-novel supplying plot twists at various junctures. The conjunction of setting contrasts nicely with an otherwise narrow geographic focus to give the microcosm extra layers of scope. Also, the tomes taken in set have a very Pillars of the Earth sort of feel that spans and bridges generations.

Aux alentours d'un cimetière, une pelle et une pioche sont deux passeports. It is accurate to say, in certain places, Hugo really nailed it. Embedded also is a short section containing some interesting words justifying the use of argot. I am surprised they were needed. Expect ample poetic verse, but not confusion in that Hugo is out to teach and makes plain his ideas, despite the sprawling length of exposition. His tone came across as avuncular to me. An ironic respect for the past is captured in no uncertain terms: Quant à nous, nous respectons çà et là et nous épargnons partout le passé, pourvu qu’il consente à être mort. Similar lines of thought jump out at me in an ongoing personal effort to explain my attraction to older literature and history in general. Many of the descriptions that Hugo uses are universal and very easy to imagine cross-culturally and cross-era. I like as a character example: Elles semblaient debout toutes les quatre aux quatre coins de la vieillesse qui sont la caducité, la décrépitude, la ruine et la tristesse. An impressive display of optimism.

Though noted as apocryphal on the en.wiki page, I found the following entertaining:

Hugo was on vacation when Les Misérables was published. He queried the reaction to the work by sending a single-character telegram to his publisher, asking ?. The publisher replied with a single ! to indicate its success.

For my part, it was in Les Mis that cnrtl.fr became a meaningful resource, assisting with words absent from my usual vocabulary springs. Reading was done in Anki using my iPad, where the difference in responsiveness was considerable which translated to a smoother faster experience. When the dust cleared, I had roughly doubled my page-count of French reading with one big book.

[coldrainwater]

I said I would update my journal this weekend, but I only mentioned it to myself. Fortunately, this time, that was sufficient. I have been up to most of my usual antics. On the coldest of running days, I have taken to using a stylus to advance my reading device, but the rest of my routine has remained steady.

Livre
Tout ce qui est intéressant se passe dans l'ombre. - Louis-Ferdinand Céline. One of the books I recently finished is Voyage au bout de la nuit. Céline certainly introduced me to a new and interesting form of darkness. I was a little concerned that the cynicism might bleed right through the page. Luckily, I was able to look beyond it and find quite a talented author and storyteller with a unique voice. He could measure a man by how far he went into the darkness, an interesting concept. The cynicism was actively countered by pleasure, something Céline couldn't live without. A lot happened after the vertical hours. Rating the book overall is a challenge. At the moment perhaps 3.8/5, so quite solid.

Goodreads
What I read...might as well be public. I finished a little mini-project and added over 200 books to my Goodreads profile. It is a work in progress. My main effort was to initially catalogue many of the books I read while learning Spanish, German and now French. Others were added as well to the extent that I could recall them. Most are currently unrated and all lack reviews, so there is work still to be done. Overall, I have had a good experience with the site recently. It is a powerful tool for discovery. We have a LLORG goodreads thread where several members have also shared their profiles.

Vocabulary
I have a tidy collection of vocabulary now, stuck neatly in little cells, waiting to be acquired. They trace a path from novel to note to sheet to card. And I want more. Recent experience has shown me that alternating between fiction and non-fiction is a reliable way of controlling the rate of vocabulary exposure. I tend to collect the interesting and infrequent, mainly sourced from fiction. The alternation has proven synergistic. cnrtl.fr has gained broader use and is now my preferred reference. Very pleasant and simple website layout.

LL Gadgets
I have devices that I use daily and I think a few of them might enhance the experience for other language learners also, so I thought I would round up a few links. My newest physical acquisition is a tablet holder (the spider) that has afforded me numerous hours of reading enjoyment on the old iPad. I pair it with an equally old pair of ear muffs for sound blocking. The trusty B-Land cellphone holder that I have had for years now has a partner in crime, the gooseneck. On first impression, it seems superior in all respects. And like a broken record, I still swear by over-ear headphones for listening and this pair has made it over a year now. It swivels for listening while lying down and has managed all-season exercise without breaking.

[qxz]

Vielen Dank fuer die Goodreads-Profile! Ich hoffe, dass ich in zwei oder drei Monaten Buecher lesen kann. Was empfehlen Sie/empfaehlst du am ersten von ihrer/deiner Liste (auf Deutsch natuerlich)?

[coldrainwater]

Vielen Dank fuer die Goodreads-Profile! Ich hoffe, dass ich in zwei oder drei Monaten Buecher lesen kann. Was empfehlen Sie/empfaehlst du am ersten von ihrer/deiner Liste (auf Deutsch natuerlich)?

Hallo qxz! Danke für die Kommentare und übrigens auch danke für den Beitrag mit yt-dlp. Mir gefällt die Idee, den gesamten Kanal in einem Rutsch herunterzuladen. Ich habe diese Anwendung schon früher mit großem Erfolg eingesetzt. Die angegebenen Anwendungsfälle sind sehr vielversprechend.

Auf meiner Goodreads-Liste gibt es zwei Bücher, die mich mehr ansprechen als andere. Das erste Buch ist Das Parfum von Patrick Süskind. Für mich ist es bereits ein Klassiker und für ein sehr gutes Beispiel für den Sprachgebrauch. Ich würd In Stahlgewittern von Ernst Jünger als eine gleichwertige Empfehlung bewerten wenn auch aus ganz anderen Gründen. Beide Bücher waren für mich besondere Leseerfahrungen, die ich auch nach Jahren noch schätze.

[coldrainwater]

Michel de Montaigne - Essais

What I once fled from in school, I actively seek as an adult. Essays are far more pleasant when the task is to read them rather than compose them, which happened often under duress and against volition. Overcoming years of purposeful avoidance, I decided to devour all of Montaigne's published essays, which took a good three weeks. Though I read a more modern French rendition, hyperessays is one convenient way to access English and Middle French text. Here is a direct link to his translated section on books. To many, the section on on children's education will likely also be of interest. The brief tour he gives us of his privileged education is well worth the read.

Through his essays, Montaigne sends us his regards courtesy of the 16th century. The chapters are heavily laden with anecdotes from antiquity supporting his line of thinking. I found it an excellent personal overview, though the pattern was heavy and the examples often too numerous. Latin was like a native language for him though he lost his active abilities through attrition. He made it roughly to the apprentice stage with Greek as I recall, his temperament being inclined to the more accessible. He stated directly that he read Latin better than French. When discussing books, his reading recommendations mirror modern reviews quite closely and are both specific and clear. Taken as a whole they even provide a path, which I am tempted to follow, at least in part.

He led a life of ease and tranquillity, valuing above many other qualities, judgment and discernment. He was open and honest about all the aspects of his life that he could safely divulge. Paraphrasing, 'I use no makeup, I don't wear one expression on my face and hide another in my heart.' His preferred mode of travel was via horseback. The dangers of the hunt were almost as deadly for him as the game he chased as he was involved in one major collision, luckily escaping with his life. There is extensive meditation on death, giving a reflective overtone. As a whole, the essays are an easy recommendation while studying French. His writing was intentionally straightforward and the vocabulary gentle. This is my current favourite quote from his essays:

On évite de voir naître l'homme, et on accourt pour le voir mourir. Pour le détruire, on cherche un champ vaste et en pleine lumière; pour le construire, on se cache dans un coin obscur, et le plus resserré possible. -Montaigne

Literature

Beyond the essays, much of my free time has been spent perusing booklists and gathering literary resources from multiple genres. Though I use a broad resource base, one of the most promising new websites I came across is thestorygraph. After searching for a book, I liked that it gives recommendations based on a short summary along with a helpful mood breakdown (reflective, challenging, dark, etc.) which speaks to the type of reader the book would be appropriate. Accompanying user reviews are often brief and to the point (in contradistinction to the sprawling reviews and outright expositions found on Goodreads). The site seems to be gaining momentum quite rapidly and I see it as a complement to Goodreads/LibraryThing, though it is marketed as a competitor. Importing my list from Goodreads was simple and gave the new site more immediate utility. I liked even their introductory questionnaire, prying but not too far into my personal literary preferences.

I managed to read a couple of books in English as a result of these explorations, the best of which was In Praise of Folly, a very rich satire by Desiderius Erasmus. I would give it at least four stars for the wit and insight alone.

[lichtrausch]

Michel de Montaigne - Essais

Did you have a favorite essay?

[coldrainwater]

Michel de Montaigne - Essais

Did you have a favorite essay?

Hi lichtrausch. I don't have a favourite essay, but do lean a bit towards his third book overall. He was a very talkative individual and I liked his comments on how he approached having conversations. Likewise how he explained his isolated nature and could reconcile that with said loquacity. The portion about how he created a library space, and his penchant for reading history on account of how pleasant it was written compared to other genres was also interesting. In short, much of what made me like the work included how many relatable details, still relevant today, were interspersed throughout. Event-wise, I wouldn't want to miss the section where he described being robbed as I suspect there is some truth to his opinion that his temperament and disposition may have turned the tides in his favour to avoid a lethal result. Many of his thoughts that I took note of were dispersed across chapters and books, so are not so easy to isolate. The many references to philosophy may have been some of the most useful to me, but they are not in one location.

[MorkTheFiddle]

I share your high regard for Montaigne and his thoughts and his writing.
You probably know he served often in diplomatic missions, especially in service for King Henri 4.
Thanks for the link to hyperessays.net

[coldrainwater]

I am going to go effort-in and try for three French book reviews in one post. It won't catch me up, but it will certainly narrow the gap. Lately, I have also been sneaking some English reading into the mix which isn't an easy task given a mind tuned to French. The sneakiness is motivated by a preponderous and unwieldy multi-genre TBR. Multiple books in my NL seem to be added to the pile for each TL book (and both sets are large when taken individually).

Le Rivage des Syrtes de Juilien Gracq (Louis Poirier)
My review and rating of Le Rivage des Syrtes is quite mixed and thus falls in the mid-ranges. Upon completion, I better understand tacit complicity and premonition, welcoming both as parting gifts paid for in baroque currency. As a result, I am now more wary of verbose text, not necessarily to avoid reading it, but to know in advance what I am getting into. The text is surreal and poetic, both of which fit well in a language-learning repertoire. I learned that Gracq likely sourced his material from the drôle de guerre, which helps to explain context, motivation and timing. It is one to read in the original and when the mood strikes. Tactically, I got on better with it once I increased my reading pace to match the content I needed to absorb per poetic refrain.

Pantagruel de François Rabelais
Pantagruel is the first book of a pentalogy, allowing for a satirical path to more fluent reading, if you are so inclined. In addition to having protection, I get the impression that Rabelais likely was pretty deft in his engagements with society and that he knew how not to overstay his welcome (there were times to skedaddle). Miraculously, he seems to have lived a full life and escaped the Inquisition. Pantagruel is easy for me to recommend on account of the many and varied language innovations and terminology that he introduced. Much of it caught me as quite original, even after taking into consideration a few highly recurrent themes.

Pensées de Blaise Pascal
Dave's recent mention of Pensées reminded me that I have yet to give it a full review. I found Pensées a fascinating read, especially since it was presented in fragments posthumously. The thoughts presented are often raw, but highly perceptive. He was adept at juxtaposing contrasting elements and from outside readings of his life story, I can see where that pattern emerged. I appreciated the in-book reading about the Pari de Pascal as well. The greatest value that I took from Pensées personally is an appreciation for how he recorded his thoughts, the very fragments themselves. In conjunction with my reading of Wittgenstein, the two taken together have strongly encouraged me and highlighted the value in recording my thoughts in a meaningful way. Pensées tipped the scales. In closing, I will share what I believe is his most famous quote:

J'ai découvert que tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui sest de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans un chamber.

App-Check
My hem haws and meanderings haven't led to gold, but I did run across an alternative. I mainly use the free version of Grammarly for editing purposes but managed to scout out the hemingwayapp as well. It will tell me what it doesn't like about my scribblings without having to sign up and also provides slightly different suggestions than Grammarly. Stubborn and cost-conscious as I am, I didn't test any of the rewriting features. We are already overloaded with AI tools for that purpose. I can see using the hemingwayapp from time to time to make me aware of alternative writing choices.