another reason why we need to read good books
please don't get me wrong..but it depresses me a bit to find out that we have so many well intentioned book worms here...great lovers of books... but sadly based on the threads here many seems to be clueless of what good books to read...i don't mean to say that we should not read pulp fictions and genres like romance and the like..but ...one way to look at a nation's maturity is to see what they read...if we read sidney sheldon or harry potter say ..just to quote two examples...and expend such amount of energy discussing it..then god help us...we are a nation of air heads!!...but ni dekat hari raya so maafkan lah saya...don't get me wrong as i say...but i belive book worms should read 'good' books...well anywayhere's a link to an excellent Orhan Pamuk's speech on what reading novels is all about...that appears in the guardian's newspaper 28/10
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1601997,00.html flogging a dead horse...
hem...these r nice ones...excerpt from the link...
What I am trying to do here is to speak of this shame as a whispered secret, as I first heard it in Dostoevsky's novels. For it is by sharing our secret shames that we bring about our liberation: this is what the art of the novel has taught me. It is by reading novels, stories and myths that we come to understand the ideas that govern the world in which we live; it is fiction that gives us access to the truths kept veiled and hidden by our families, our schools, and our society; it is the art of the novel that allows us to ask who we really are.
We have all known the joy of reading novels: we have all known the thrill of going down the path that leads into someone else's world, and engaging with that world, and longing to change it, as we engross ourselves in the hero's culture, in his relationship with the objects that make up his world, in the words the author uses, in the decisions he makes and the things he notices as the story unfolds.
When we retire to a corner, when we lie down on a bed, when we stretch out on a divan with a novel in our hands, our imaginations travel back and forth between the world in that novel and the world in which we live. This novel in our hands might take us to another world we have never visited, never seen, and never known. Or it might take us into the hidden depths of a character who seems on the surface to resemble those we know best. Sometimes I try to conjure up, one by one, a multitude of readers hidden away in corners and nestled in their armchairs; I try also to imagine the geography of their everyday lives. Then, before my eyes, thousands, tens of thousands of readers will take shape, stretching far and wide across the streets of the city, and as they read, they dream the author's dreams, and imagine his heroes into being, and see his world. So now these readers, like the author himself, are trying to imagine the other; they, too, are putting themselves in another's place.
These are the times when we feel humility, compassion, tolerance, pity and love stirring in our hearts: for great literature speaks not to our powers of judgment, but to our ability to put ourselves in someone else's place. Modern societies, tribes and nations do their deepest thinking about themselves through reading novels; through reading novels, they are able to argue about who they are; so even if we have picked up a novel hoping only to divert ourselves, and relax, and escape the boredom of everyday life, we begin, without realising, to conjure up the collectivity, the nation, the society to which we belong.
This is also why novels give voice not just to a nation's pride and joy, but also to its anger, its vulnerabilities, and its shame. It is because they remind readers of their shame, their pride, and their tenuous place in the world that novelists still arouse such anger, and what a shame it is that we still see outbursts of intolerance - that we still see books burned, and novelists prosecuted. Well i agree that we should read books that broaden our minds
But personally, i feel that if we were to confine the purposes of reading, then there isn't much variety in life already, eh?
People read for different reasons, be it to be entertained, to run away, to knwo more, to feel emotions, to understand, or simply just for fun
For me, it doesnt matter the purpose, as long as people are reading, i am happy!
The material and content is immaterial as long as the reader gets whatever satisfaction he or she wants to achieve, then thats the thing that matters most.
When i was younger, I used to loove reading fiction and materials which probably i consider to be quite poor when i decided that i wanted something more when i read. Nowadays i still read a fair bit of both be it insightful ones or merely entertaining ones. There are great joys in both and like i said... as long as people are reading and are not just confined to the square box , i am happy! i hate english!!!! nada bahasa lain lagi kah kan kamu kurapaki ...here we go again....http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/laugh.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/laugh.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/laugh.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/laugh.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/laugh.gif agree with miss_sherlock!!! hana kan..teringin sgt mengarang panjang2 mcm korang tulis nie...
mcm mana korang leh tulis panjang2 mcm nie? sbb baca buku inggeris ke..baca paper?
leh kasi tips tak? mcm mana nak tulis karangan bhsa inggeris mcm korang tulis..
hana tanya serius nie..
sorry ekk..cik mod..salah parking..tapi, pertanyaan pada timing yg betul kan??
flogging a dead horse...
btw..quote kat atas tu..makna dlm melayu ape ek?? Originally posted by Hana at 31-10-2005 02:25 AM
hana kan..teringin sgt mengarang panjang2 mcm korang tulis nie...
mcm mana korang leh tulis panjang2 mcm nie? sbb baca buku inggeris ke..baca paper?
leh kasi tips tak? mcm mana nak tulis karang ...
...hana...try reading lots of books and any other reading materials in english...doesnt have to limit your choice of reading materials actually...to me...as long as u can get some amount of knowledge from what u read is good enuff...try conversing in english more often as well...
...books by sidney sheldon are very interesting...like his novels alot...dont noe about harry potter cos ive never read one before...but from what ive heard...harry potter sounds like an interesting piece of work too...greenie must be cursing and swearing rite now...but what the heck!!...i like what i like...and he cant change that...betul tak greenie sayang???http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/E10.gif
..ps...btw...flogging a dead horse...eerr...kalau dalam bahasa melayu cam apa ek??...hmmm...perhaps seperti mencurah air di daun keladi???...or...arang abis besi binasa???..http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/grin.gif blackmore... hang ni nak bagi aku 'kurus puasa ke?'...betul ke awak minat sydney sheldon?...actually orang macam sydney sheldon ni memang very capable dan pintar... dia tau macam mana nak kosongkan poket pembaca..give more of the same... forget about serious stuff.. forget about literary pretension... bagi mereka makan junk food for the mind... Originally posted by Greenbottle3 at 31-10-2005 12:52 PM
blackmore... hang ni nak bagi aku 'kurus puasa ke?'...betul ke awak minat sydney sheldon?...actually orang macam sydney sheldon ni memang very capable dan pintar... dia tau macam mana nak kosongkan ...
Some may like it because of its plot...he's a spellbinder...tale-spinner...
mungkin dia bukan sasterawan...tetapi pandai spin a tale...cuma lama-lama agak
menjemukan bila guna the same formula...over and over again...dah writer's
block kot...habis dah idea yg kreatif utk plot dier... Originally posted by Greenbottle3 at 31-10-2005 12:52 PM
blackmore... hang ni nak bagi aku 'kurus puasa ke?'...betul ke awak minat sydney sheldon?...actually orang macam sydney sheldon ni memang very capable dan pintar... dia tau macam mana nak kosongkan ...
...yes greenie...saya minat ngan sidney sheldon...macam saya minat kat awak jugak....http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/kiss2.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/E10.gif...like youve said...sheldon nie memang pandai nak kosongkan poket orang...aku kalau beli buku dia...tak cukup satu...kadang2 skali 5 at one time....but...puashati...aku suka ngan citer2 dia...he is a great tale spinner...greenie dear...nanti aku suruh dia buat citer pasal kita ok???...http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/jerangkung.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/blackmore/emots/grin.gif lets get back to the topic...heheh..kembali ke pangkal jalan..
for me, good books mean books with moral story to learn. well, i had a few books dat depict d lives of 19th century burmese. Glass Palace - Amitav Ghosh and Piano Tuner - David Manor(something like dat). i learnt the truth about PEOPLE. there were people who really did prostitution as a need, as the current clerical jobs mcm gov jobs were taken by those of higher ranks. i learnt that omputih ni agak kurang ajar in terms of nak gak org lain dgr ckp dia. yeah, maybe its a fiction but still show what they think of those oppressed people. Burmese in 19th century represents the rest of South East Asia gak time tu. so i felt sad by their treatment towards our people also. :onf:
since i read basically anything, i love another political book by V.S. Naipaul titled Beyond Belief is another good book. u never realize the truth about Malaysia n this region till u read it. :hmm:
my choice of books might be on tether ends but i still read anyting dat differ from whatever i had bought in my closet.
hmm...any good books to ponder nowadays? i might want sum recommendation!! :) Salam buat semua....
memandangkan saya sedang dalam proses blajar BI....saya nak mintak pendapat u all...
sebagai permulaan....
1)Apakah buku-buku dalam BI yang patut di baca sebagai permulaan untuk menguasai BI untuk writing,reading,listening,speaking?
2)Apakah jenis-jenis buku yang di maksudkan dengan bahan bacaan yang baik?
SEBAB...saya pernah mendengar kata-kata"Apa yang membezakan seseorang ialah apa yang di baca" Kak siti...
kalau anda beginner dlm BI the safest and surest way to learn good english ia lah baca newspapers...tapi saya suggest sori tertekan sent...
here it is again....
Kak siti...
kalau anda beginner dlm BI the safest and surest way to learn good english ia lah dgn baca newspapers...tapi saya suggest JANGAN baca local newspapers macam nst atau STAR...sebab papers ni are very shallow...ia tidak akan menajamkan minda anda...saya suggest anda baca papers online especiallyGUARDIAN UNLIMITED, TIMES (london) , THE INDEPENDANT atau NEW YORK TIMES terutama dalam section 'BOOKS'.
Book section dalam nespapers misal nya GUARDIAN UNLIMITED is highly reccomended kerana buku2 yang di review adalah buku2 yang 'intellectually stimulating'...
here is the link
http://books.guardian.co.uk/
Kalau nak baca fiction saya suggest start with classics...macam buku2 henry james atau bronte sisters misal nya wuthering heights atau jane eyre, atau somerset maugham misal nya of human bondage atau buku2 EM Foster...dari ingatan saya mereka ni mengarang dengan 'standard english'...bukan guna banyak istilah2 'colloquial'...buku macam 'mark twain's huckleberry finn banyak guna istilah macam ni so kalau anda tak kuat penguasan bahasa anda akan 'lose some of the subtlelties and nuances of the story...'..buku2 contemporary oleh v.s naipul pun guna bahasa yang standard...
kalau cik siti dah kuat penguasaan bahasa..saya suggest boleh baca buku2 'literary fictions' oleh julian barnes dsb nya...kalau nak syle yang lebih 'convoluted' boleh bacabuku2 will self atau Martin amis....tapi bagi saya buku2 yang penulisan nya antara yang paling 'stylish' dalam bahasa inggeris ada lah karangan Vladimir Nabokov dan to a lesser extent salman rushdie....this is quite ironic since both are non english.... Terimakasih ,satu saranan yang amat baik...
Saya akan cuba mengikuti saranan awak itu.
Saya baru mengikuti 2x kelas Bahasa.Di mana guru tersebut memberi penekanan grammar,nampaknya selama ini banyak grammar saya banyak yang lintang pukang.Apa pun memandangkan saya berazam mahu menguasai Bahasa ini kena lah saya belajar semula dari awal.
Oh ya,saya suka sangat hendak membaca dan memahamkan Sajak(Poem),Astrology,Horoscope.Bahasa yang di gunakan saya rasa sedikit pelik,sukar saya hendak jumpa dalam kamus.
Kamus yang bagaimana boleh saya jumpa ayat-ayat yang terdapat dalam bab tersebut? Originally posted by Akak_Siti at 2-11-2005 09:13 AM
Oh ya,saya suka sangat hendak membaca dan memahamkan Sajak(Poem),Astrology,Horoscope.Bahasa yang di gunakan saya rasa sedikit pelik,sukar saya hendak jumpa dalam kamus.
Kamus yang bagaimana boleh saya jumpa ayat-ayat yang terdapat dalam bab tersebut?
Akak...bawah ni link bod Languages...ada cara2 camna nak improve ur English...
http://forum.cari.com.my/forumdisplay.php?fid=177
yg nih ada yg tanya pasal dictionary...
:dia:http://forum.cari.com.my/viewthread.php?tid=137159&extra=page%3D1&page=2
hope this will help... hmm...any good books to ponder nowadays? i might want sum recommendation!!
redsinner...hope this would be useful...n the link given below...
Orange Prize for Fiction's "50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors"
A Prayer For Owen Meany John Irving
A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth
American Pastoral Philip Roth
Atonement Ian McEwan
Being Dead Jim Crace
Birdsong Sebastian Faulks
Captain Corelli's Mandolin Louis De Bernieres
Cloudstreet Tim Winton
Disgrace J. M. Coetzee
Enduring Love McEwan
Faith Singer Rosie Scott
Fingersmith Sarah Waters
Fred and Edie Jill Dawson
Fugitive Pieces Anne Michaels
Girl with a Pearl EarringTracy Chevalier
Grace Notes Bernard MacLaverty
High Fidelity Nick Hornby
His Dark Materials Philip Pullman
Hotel World Ali Smith
Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie
Misery Stephen King
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow Peter Hoeg
Money Martin Amis
Music and Silence Rose Tremain
One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Jeanette Winterson
Riders Jilly Cooper
Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
The Blind Assassin Margaret Atwood
The Corrections Jonathan Franzen
The Golden Notebook Doris M. Lessing
The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood
The House of Spirits Isabel Allende
The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco
The Passion Jeanette Winterson
The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
The Rabbit Books John Updike
Regeneration Pat Barker
The Secret History Donna Tartt
The Shipping News E. Annie Proulx
The Tin Drum Gé»±ter Grass
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami
The Women's Room Marilyn French
Beaker Jacqueline Wilson
Trainspotting Irvine Welsh
Unless Carol Shields
What a Carve-Up Jonathan Coe
What I Loved Siri Hustvedt
White Teeth Zadie Smith
http://listsofbests.com/lists/1
[ Last edited by seribulan at 2-11-2005 12:15 PM ] Originally posted by seribulan at 2-11-2005 11:40 AM
Akak...bawah ni link bod Languages...ada cara2 camna nak improve ur English...
http://forum.cari.com.my/forumdisplay.php?fid=177
yg nih ada yg tanya pasal dictionary...
:dia:
Wow...Thanks.Saya yakin ia akan banyak membantu saya kelak dalam menguasai Bahasa Inggeris.Lebih-lebih lagi Sastera Inggeris.
hmm,..
Originally posted by Greenbottle3 at 2-11-2005 12:01 AMsori tertekan sent...
here it is again....
Kak siti...
kalau anda beginner dlm BI the safest and surest way to learn good english ia lah dgn baca newspapers...tapi saya suggest JANGAN ba ...
how about Austen - like it a lot..especially Pride and perjudice - I recommend aka Siti To read Jane Austen - too bad she died young-
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