literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
What I Read When I Was Growing Up in Belgium
Sometimes, when people are talking about classic books from their childhoods — Anne of Green Gables, say, or Charlotte’s Web — I stay very quiet. I haven’t read a lot of those, and I wish I had. I shouldn’t feel ashamed, though, because there’s a good reason I haven’t. I grew up in French-speaking Brussels in the ’80s and we had a whole different set of children’s classics.
By Claire Amy Handscombe6 years ago in Geeks
"The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I first read “The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Dostoevsky when I was about fourteen years’ old and I’m not going to lie to you, it confused me. It confused me because it was unlike any other Russian novel I had read up to that point and I realised then that things were about to get ever more interesting on my journey in literature. The way in which I discovered this book wasn’t actually at all that interesting. I had heard of it because I had seen the classic movie poster and thought it was a book cover. I looked it up and I got turned towards the book rather than the film (I would only realise some years later that it was actually a film poster I was looking at and not a book cover). I did not yet know, looking at that picture, that this book would come to change everything about my perception of Russian Literature and my perception on the possibilities of human connections in literature. It was almost overwhelming.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
20 Books of 2020 (Pt.26)
Reading books has been the answer to my life. Sometimes I think about how I'm spending my life, getting up every morning just to read books on books on books. I think about how I'm spending my existence reading all these books and that one day I'll die and I'll wonder if it's all been worth it. Well, I can honestly say - life well spent. Everything about reading is brilliant and here are a few reasons you should read if you don't already. And whether it's comic book or classic novel, romance or racing magazines, whatever you like to read it doesn't matter as long as it's for your enjoyment.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy
I first read “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy when I was fourteen years’ old. It took me a while because on hand, I would have a notebook in order to write down how characters were related to each other, words I would look up in the dictionary and concepts I didn’t really understand upon first reading - prompting me to read the book again. The way in which I discovered the book was through the school library. The school library had the book in volumes, but only volume 1-3 was available and so, I had to seek out a full version of the book myself. I had read the blurb to the first three volumes and was convinced that this, though a long read, was going to change my life forever. By the age of fifteen, I was re-reading the book in order to get a better grasp of the characters and concepts and I had noticed that this book had changed my entire opinion on how war impacts human beings. Back then, I understood bits and pieces about PTSD of course, but when it came to people who weren’t soldiers, but just regular people - I never knew that they too, could be that far done by war. It was like staring into the soul of a group of people who were constantly nervous that one day, they would have to pack up and leave everything behind. They would have to run away from the approaching army in order to spare their own lives. It is quite emotional really.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Five Books That Changed My Life
Throughout the years, there have been many books that have changed my existence for the positive. Some of these books I have read multiple times over the years and some of them I have even annotated. When it comes to reading, it is the one pleasure I have in my life in which I have never said to myself 'I don't feel like it' - when it comes to reading, I always feel like it. There's many books I could've put on this list, but the five I have ultimately chosen are extra special.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Midnight sun
Midnight sun By: Trisha Cook
By Rose Pepin6 years ago in Geeks
20 Books of 2020 (Pt. 24)
Recently, I have been looking at translations in fiction and I have noticed that some translations are better than others. For example: JD Smith's translation of the "Mahabharata" is possibly one of the better translations into English that I have seen. Constance Garnett is one of the most famous names in translation literature - possibly most famous for the following translations of hers (some of which are still in print today!). Check these out if you can find them:
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Baptism of Fire by Stephen Argyle
How I came across it? I was in a writers class at one of my local art centres in Banbury and the author, Stephen Argyle was one of the people who I met there. He is a wheelchair user and is a resident of a Leonard Cheshire home near my flat. He was left blind and parylized after an accident when he was nine, but it hasn’t stopped his passion for writing. It’s very admirable and I believe that disabled people deserve to have a voice in the world of fiction.
By Chloe Gilholy6 years ago in Geeks
Lightmaker by Kevin Elliot
How I came across it? I met the author, Kevin Elliott through some writing groups in Oxford. Either through the Oxford NaNoWriMo or Oxford Writers Circle first, but I’ve met him on several occasions. He’s a very nice chap and he’s recently given me some really good advice when I read one of my pieces out to the Oxford Writers Circle recently. Try to mix long and short sentences together and show more instead of tell.
By Chloe Gilholy6 years ago in Geeks
