Tag: #English

Days Like This by Alison Stewart

Прочитала на английском Days Like This by Alison Stewart.

Отличное начало. Сразу схватывает и не отпускает. Информация выдается постепенно, по крупицам, один факт за другим. Как бусинки нанизываются на ниточку.
И персонажи изумительно реальны. Ты постоянно ловишь себя на мысли, а что бы ты сделал в той или иной ситуации, куда бы бежал, как прятался….
Вообще, я не помню, когда в последнее время с такой жадностью поглощала книжку! Именно – новую книжку, сюжет которой неизвестен. Буквально на краешке стула сидела, сопереживала.

Под конец первой трети книги, однако, описания страданий главной героини несколько поднадоели. А начиная с половины желание было уже только одно – дочитать и закрыть.
Финал положения не спас, к сожалению…

Несколько интересных слов и выражений:
🇺🇲 (En) 👉👉👉 🇷🇺 (Ru)

🔹 Clingwrap = пищевая пленка (…the skin on their hands was stretched like clingwrap with no wrinkles or scarring);
🔹 floodlight = освещать прожектором (She wondered why the Wall had to be floodlit.)
🔹 to go off on a tangent = внезапно отклониться (от темы) (Meredith went off on a tangent.)

И одно интересное выражение. К стыду своему, не знала:
Cross my heart, hope to die = I promise!

Started Reading – 9 October 2022
Finished Reading – 15 October 2022

Najpiękniejszy koń – ta sama książka w różnych językach

“Самый красивый конь” (Najpiękniejszy koń) to bardzo dobra historia napisana przez rosyjskiego autora Borisa Almazova. Jestem jej fanem od dziecka. Czytałam ją wiele razy po rosyjsku.
Teraz znalazłam tę samą książkę przetłumaczoną na angielski: “The Most Beautiful Horse” (tłumaczenie – Janette C. Butler). Właśnie przeczytałam obie książki jedną po drugiej (najpierw w języku rosyjskim, a następnie w wersji angielskiej), żeby lepiej było je porównać.
Co mogę powiedzieć? O wiele bardziej podoba mi się oryginalna wersja (rosyjska). Moim zdaniem, angielska wersja książki trochę traci w tłumaczeniu. Być może tłumacz nie była jeźdźcem. :)

PS. Wiem, że ta sama książka została również przetłumaczona na moje dwa ulubione języki – polski i hiszpański. W polskiej wersji książka nazywa się “Najpiękniejszy koń”, w wersji hiszpańskiej to “El Caballo Mas Hermoso”. Chciałabym kiedyś znaleźć te wersje i przeczytać je. A co najważniejsze – porównać! Ale do tej pory nie udało mi się ich znaleźć.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A few days ago I finished reading A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, and still don’t know what to say. So this my book review will be short. :)

This was a well written but very sad story that left a bitter taste in my mouth after reading it. I’m not sure if I like this book or not, but I’m 100% sure we should read such books from time to time, to remember what war is and do what we can to prevent its repetition.

 “War is not won by victory.”
― Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

Morrow Series by Helen Mary Hoover

Just finished reading the Children of Morrow and its sequel Treasures of Morrow by H. M. Hoover.

I liked the story, especially the first book.
I was really surprised to know that these were author’s very first published books (first and third respectively). The description of these post-apocalyptic communities was so vivid, and the characters were so real. Also, a very good writing style, and this great ability to explain complicated things clearly, in a simple way!
Looking forward to read another book by Helen Mary Hoover. ❤️

Armenia, Cradle Of Civilization by David Marshall Lang (book in English)

This is a good book for all people interested in Armenia and Armenian History. I would really like to read something similar – more books about Armenia, Georgia, Iran.

A quote from the book:

“The Armenian is one of nature’s individualists, a leven for the conformist mass of the human race. Logically he should have given up the struggle and lain down to die long ago. But he refused and still refuses to surrender, and here lies the key to understanding the nature of this dogged, invincible, little people, whose contribution to human civilization is out of all proportion to its numerical strength.”
– David Marshall Lang

Started Reading – 7 April 2022
Finished Reading – 14 April 2022

The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times (books in English)

After my terrible mistake that I made in one of my previous language videos (where by mistake I gave the wrong etymology of the Armenian word and thus confuse my dear viewers), I decided to read as much as possible about the Armenian language and Armenian customs and traditions. Read and learn, and try not to make such huge mistakes again. Of course, all mistakes cannot be avoided, but I want to stop making stupid mistakes.

I found several books about Armenia (written in English) and today I’d like to tell you about these two:

The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times (Volume I and Volume II) by Richard G. Hovannisian (Editor)

These are excellent books, detailed and very interesting. I highly recommend these books to anyone who is interested in Armenia.

My favorite chapter was “Armenian literary culture through the eleventh century” written by Robert Thompson. It was about the invention of the Armenian Script, the first translations and many more.

“The history of the Armenian people is long, complex, and in many ways epic and heroic.”
– Richard G. Hovannisian

The Fireman by Joe Hill (book in English)

Just finished reading The Fireman by Joe Hill. I liked the beginning of the story, it was super interesting and gripping. Unfortunately, the rest of the book wasn’t so good and slightly disappointed me.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of words in this book that I found really interesting. Here are some of them:
🇺🇲 (En) 👉👉👉 🇷🇺 (Ru)

🔹 hopscotch = детская игра «классики» (… occasional hopscotch grid);
🔹 premonition = предчувствие (She had a premonition she would never return to her office…);
🔹 limey = a British person;
🔹 C-section = c/sec = cesarean section = кесарево сечение (“I can deliver by C-section next March”).

I also liked that the main character (Harper) “…associated English accents with singing teapots, schools for witchcraft, and science of deduction”. I totally agree. I absolutely love British accent!

Started Reading – 10 February 2022
Finished Reading – 25 February 2022