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Books for the beach

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Nin
Post subject: Books for the beach
Posted: Mon 06 Jun , 2005 11:30 am
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Okay - I booked my holiday in Corsica from july 16th to july 30th, and we will be in a little house within walking distance from the beach, but without TV, Computer or even phones - so what else can be done besides reading?

Who can recommand me some good holiday lectures - page-turning books without too much literal pretention, not too difficult, not too precious to have some sand spilled in them, not all of them fantsy or my husband will go nuts?

I prefer to read in French or German... it's so much easier than in English...

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Berhael
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Posted: Mon 06 Jun , 2005 11:42 am
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I read The Da Vinci Code last summer during my visits to the swimming pool in Madrid... it's not a good book by any criteria, but good fun and a page-turner, definitely summer reading!

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Mummpizz
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Posted: Mon 06 Jun , 2005 12:13 pm
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Do you know Wladimir Kaminer? Funny, wise, russian, short stories.

Whodunnits: I recommend Fred Vargas (if you are about 2 mm into reading crime literature, it's a must-read), I've read the good German translation, but she (yes, "Fred" must be something like "Friederike") writes in French as she is French.
"Die schöne Diva von Saint-Jaques" works good as an entry drug. When Ms M and her husband went to Majorca and I brought only my fat book on semiotics, this was the perfect remedy.

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ToshoftheWuffingas
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Posted: Mon 06 Jun , 2005 12:18 pm
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A German man I met once said he enjoyed Elizabeth George's mysteries. He couldn't speak English so I guess they are in translation. Ruth Rendell who also writes as Barbara Vine has prompted a couple of good French films and is another good intelligent thriller writer who might be translated into French or German. Minette Walters is also a respected psychological thriller writer. Or Marguerite Duras, Isabel Allende or Catherine Millet. ;)

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Nin
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Posted: Mon 06 Jun , 2005 1:41 pm
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I read Fred Vargas: Pars vite et reviens tard, but I did not really get hooked to her. The DaVinci is done.... and Elizabeth George is great - but I think I have read most of her novels by now. (And yes, her German translator is doing a great job, unlike the French one) -mh.... yes I do like crime novels maybe even too much all through the year to have many left...

Tosh - for Rendell/Vine - any titles? I have read some in both pseydonomies, but not as much as Elizabeth George.

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ToshoftheWuffingas
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Posted: Mon 06 Jun , 2005 2:09 pm
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Ruth Rendell/Vine has written scores of books, too many to list. I hope it is not too difficult to find one you haven't read. Try also Nikki French.

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Posted: Tue 07 Jun , 2005 8:33 am
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Any Terry Pratchett. Good fun, unpretentious with just the right touch of everything. His books have all been translated into French and German but I'm not sure how much he suffers from bad translations.

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truehobbit
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Posted: Tue 07 Jun , 2005 2:51 pm
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I was going to say Terry Pratchett, too! :D

I'm reading "Lords and Ladies" right now, whenever I'm on the bus or train - often giggling loudly in spite of being in public. :D

I'm not sure whether it contains difficulties if read in English - I think there are a few puns and allusions.
You can get them in German translations, too, but I don't know if they are good, I haven't read any.
And you can begin with the later books - the earlier ones are a bit repetitive, IMO, about the fantasy world they create, the later ones hardly bother about it. They are more satires of the real world in a fantasy setting than fantasy books, that's why I prefer the ones that don't contain so much about the nature of the discworld.

I don't read much crime, I've read one Elizabeth George - good, but unbelievably heavy in problems, IMO. Donna Leon is good, too. Both available in good German translations.

If you want crime with a sense of humour, nothing beats Dorothy Sayers, though, IMO! :D

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