A language learners’ forum

DaveAgain wrote:

jmar257 wrote:@DaveAgain Thanks, I didn't see that on Kindle but I did add it to my Amazon wish list...I will probably buy the hard copy eventually.

On Amazon UK the Kindle edition ref is ASIN: B07VL9JLRB.

Weird...it's not available for sale on Amazon US in that format. Has anyone here had experience buying from other Amazon domains and it still going to your Kindle?

jmar257 wrote:

DaveAgain wrote:

jmar257 wrote:@DaveAgain Thanks, I didn't see that on Kindle but I did add it to my Amazon wish list...I will probably buy the hard copy eventually.

On Amazon UK the Kindle edition ref is ASIN: B07VL9JLRB.

Weird...it's not available for sale on Amazon US in that format.

Must just be a rights thing then, European and USA rights being sold separately.

Max Gallo looks interesting!

Can hardly wait for people to write their reviews.......

Just for the record folks I am usually a prolific book reader of French literature however I have subscribed to
BienDirehttps://biendire.com/en/.

It is a bi-monthly magazine for language learners that Peter Mollenberg suggested, and I am finding it very worthwhile. But nothing beats a book.

Just a reminder to people that books come in many flavors like bande dessinée such as Tintin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpkxOmkSH94&list=PLQ3FAhtRAkD6Ez5Hl74GGj5W9O0MXaWvz

Merci beacoup, Carmody!

Patricia Geneste is someone I follow regularly and here she is talking about books:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-Sj3Bi38G0

Carmody wrote:Mork the fiddle, Welcome Back! We missed you!

Thanks, Carmody, I appreciate the sentiment. I think I'm back for awhile.

Soumission

After hearing how divisive it was, I expected I would either love or hate this Michel Houellebecq novel about a Muslim takeover of French political and academic life, but I ended up somewhere in the middle. I didn't particularly dislike it, but it didn't leave me wanting to read any more of Houellebecq's writing. I never grew to like his misanthropic protagonist, although it may be that much of the satire simply went over my head. I did like some of the middle sections of the book, where I think he nicely captured what it would feel like to live in a country where the political situation is suddenly shifting, and no one knows what the future holds.

I found the French to be quite easy compared to other (mostly nineteenth-century) things I've been reading. Unlike many of the other French books I read, I didn't have an English translation to rely on for help, but I turned out not to need one.

Soumission

After hearing how divisive it was, I expected I would either love or hate this Michel Houellebecq novel about a Muslim takeover of French political and academic life, but I ended up somewhere in the middle. I didn't particularly dislike it, but it didn't leave me wanting to read any more of Houellebecq's writing. I never grew to like his misanthropic protagonist, although it may be that much of the satire simply went over my head. I did like some of the middle sections of the book, where I think he nicely captured what it would feel like to live in a country where the political situation is suddenly shifting, and no one knows what the future holds.

I found the French to be quite easy compared to other (mostly nineteenth-century) things I've been reading. Unlike many of the other French books I read, I didn't have an English translation to rely on for help, but I turned out not to need one.

Thanks for your book review; most interesting. I read La Carte et le Territoire by M. Houellebecq and must confess that I came away with the same response that you did. Usually it is fun to disagree and discuss (which the French love to do) but I really do agree with your review as regards by own experience and will definitely not be reading any more of his books.

Thanks again.

Just a note to people as to my book reading style; for what it is worth.

I usually read each book at least two times; first time I breeze through for general plot lines and the second time an in depth dive into the book.

I have actually just finished reading Une pièce montée by Blandine Le Callet for the third time, after an interlude of about 4 months, and am finding it very rewarding as to vocabulary, grammar, idioms, etc.

The reading level is B2-C1. With Blandine Le Callet you get no Passe Simple……(.Yeh!) … She is very contemporary and one gets a real introduction as to the culture and customs of the country; the vocabulary and idioms. Also, she is a great author that no one else ever talks about.

All books of fiction are essentially verbal Rorschach pictures to enjoy or not at a chosen time in one’s life. Timing and planetary alignment is everything when it comes to whether or not a book clicks.

I have also read La Ballade de Lila K, by the same author, which is a rather dark scifi story that I couldn’t get into and don’t recommend. However, following my most recent re-reading of Une pièce montée, I come away giving it a definite:
9/10.