Massimo Siena itibaren Killawarra VIC , Australia

massimosiena

11/21/2024

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Massimo Siena Kitabın yeniden yazılması (11)

2018-06-27 08:40

Osawa Ht-35 Masa Kürsü Mikrofonu TrendKitaplar Kütüphanesi

Tarafından yazılmış kitap Tarafından: Osawa

I love books like this, even though they are meant to depress, or at least anger us at our own stupidity. It seems you can compare any country to the U.S. infrastructure wise, and we will fall short. We like to build things quickly and cheaply, then tear it down in about 30 years cause its wore out, then build it the exact same way again. Mr. Rudolfsky wants us to learn that quality of life is directly affected by the quality we put into our surroundings. His focus here is on the public realm of the streets. I understand he has another book on architecture that is pretty good. We tend to think of a street as being for vehicles only and only as a means of getting from point A to B, but there is a huge variety of what a street can be. It can serve as an open market(though most of the streets used as markets are covered in some way). It can be something that the community identifies with and actually takes pride in. A place of social or commercial interaction. Whatever specific function it serves, it is first a place for the public, and the public usually decides its function. Here, the street is a place for cars, end of story. One interesting point that comes up throughout the book is the reactions that Americans have when they encounter these old world pedestrian thouroughfares. Some involve awe and appreciation, but most decide that any culture that would live so lavishly will never amount to anything. It's almost as though they can't put a dollar amount to such a thing, so it must not be worth anything. I will say that Mr. Rudolfsky tends to preach about our culture at large beyond our infrastructure. You get the feeling he wants us all to become Italian, breakfasting at cafes each morning and attending operas at night. He's not even happy with the way we have block parties, though if it were to happen in Italy it would probably be another story. In the end though, this book is kind of depressing, since most of us would have to actually go to Italy to find anything close to what is described in this book.

2018-06-27 12:40

Son Ejderha Günlükleri - Buz Ateşi-Chris D'Lacey TrendKitaplar Kütüphanesi

Tarafından yazılmış kitap Tarafından: Artemis Yayınları

This is a fun, long reimagining of history, giving Shakespeare a questionably central role. In Turtledove’s book, the Spanish Armada conquered the English (and the Dutch) to take over England, interrupting Elizabeth I’s reign (and locking her in the Tower of London). So, the English are under Spanish, Catholic and Crusader rule. Yuck, right? It’s especially difficult for Shakespeare as his plays still need to entertain and sell, but now he has to also worry about not raising the ire of the Inquisitors. This is where Turtledove’s history gets a little grand with the Bard. Turtledove – who is a legendary historical fiction writer – imagines Shakespeare being forced to write two plays that could change the course of this imagined history. One is for Spanish King Philip, who is dying; the Spanish conquerors know WS is a great writer, so they assign him to glorify their dying monarch. The other is a retelling of Boudicca, a mythology about a 1st century queen who defied Roman rule (Shakespeare’s mysterious English patron hopes this one play will raise up the inhabitants to force out their oppressors). This is where Ruled Britannia stretches the bounds of plausibility. What I‘ve always understood was that Shakespeare was only a playwright – toward the end of his life, he was even highly regarded – but he didn’t change the social or political landscape. The idea that a stage work could rally an immediate rebellion (whether successful or not) is a funny and entirely impractical one. Remember, theatre was considered a cruder, immoral, base profession – even Shakespeare noted English official hostility - except for Elizabeth I, who liked theatre - and his contemporaries often commented that actors were on par with prostitutes and thieves. Given the conceit that a play can lead an instant uprising against the powerful, though – and let’s be honest; this is speculative fiction, so it can take some license – Ruled Britannia is a frolicsome and crafty novel with lots of lively (if characterized) players. There is a lothario Spanish captain, a budding playwright, who must spy on his literary hero Shakespeare between his many dalliances. Shakespeare will, of course, give this lovable cad a spot on stage. There is Hungerford, a gritty company dresser who helps Shakespeare plot the political alliances of writing and rehearsing two incendiary plays with opposite aims. Rival playwright Christopher Marlowe makes a splashy, wonderful showing. In fact, the book is chock full of enjoyable, labyrinthine tangents provided by the many colorful actors, soldiers, politicians, clergy and common people. What adds to the tension is Shakespeare’s work ethic, and his commitment to creating two great – if politically opposite – plays. Their strengths and weaknesses will help decide whether the Spanish or English will have control over the island by the end of the novel. Turtledove knows he doesn’t have a gift with Shakespearean iambic pentameter, and yet he does a commendable job recreating the two plays. For those of us who know WS well, we’ll hear bits of Hamlet and his other King plays. Boudicca is mostly based on WS’s contemporary writer John Fletcher’s unfinished version; it also shows Fletcher wasn't always as subtle as Shakespeare. Probably the most wincing aspect of these neat stage sections is that Turtledove doesn’t understand the meter of iambic pentameter, making for some sloppy, hard-to-read prosy. The rest of the long novel – did I mention the tangents? – is written in a modernized version of Shakespearean common language. Being the historian he is, Turtledove shoehorns a little too much fact and artifact into these sections, grandstanding a bit. It definitely shows the author did his homework, and the reader gets a clear feel of the world, even the re-imagined bits. It also bogs down an already epic story at times. Still, if you’re looking for a long, winding reinvention of Shakespearean and Elizabethan history, Ruled Britannia is certainly an enjoyable dive.

Okuyucu Massimo Siena itibaren Killawarra VIC , Australia

Kullanıcı, bu kitapları portalın yayın kurulu olan 2017-2018'de en ilginç olarak değerlendirdi "TrendKitaplar Kütüphanesi" Tüm okuyucuların bu literatürü tanımalarını tavsiye eder.