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Chinese Writer by trainchinese
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Learn how to write thousands of Chinese characters - it's educational, entertaining and addictive! ...
Sensitivemuse (246 KP) rated A Hero Born in Books
Sep 25, 2019
Great plot but translation isn't so good
Despite what you read on the covers (e.g. “It’s like Lord of the Rings”) ignore all of that. It’s nothing like it. There is no epic adventure to fight evil (at least not yet - this is the first book in the series). So before you get all disappointed in what the outside quotes say, completely disregard them.
Translation will always be an issue with these kinds of books. It’s hard to keep it true and coherent. Sometimes you get a good one that is completely comprehensible and makes the reading a journey well worth it. Then you get one like A Hero Born and it’s not the greatest translation. The writing style is dry and hard to get into. Sometimes it gets too descriptive, but other times it’s not descriptive enough. It can be a little long winded at times and it drags - I’m not too sure if that’s because of the run on writing style or the plot itself. Either way by the last third of the book it was getting to be tiresome.
Speaking of the plot, it was good! There’s plenty of action, a bit of intrigue here and there. If you don’t mind something akin to Chinese historical fiction movies with classic martial arts fighting then perhaps this is for you. There are small elements of political intrigue which keeps the story interesting, however keep in mind there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but luckily there is a cast of characters in the beginning of the novel so that should not be a problem. This isn’t a book to put down and turn back to later, this needs to be consistently read you will easily lose your place.
There’s also several plot arcs that happen throughout the novel so it’s best to keep track of them carefully. They are all intertwined at some point. It’s a great plot and if it wasn’t for the horrible writing/translation.
I don’t know if I could recommend this one to anyone. I would under normal circumstances but the writing just do the plot justice. It’s too bad, it would have been such a great series.
Translation will always be an issue with these kinds of books. It’s hard to keep it true and coherent. Sometimes you get a good one that is completely comprehensible and makes the reading a journey well worth it. Then you get one like A Hero Born and it’s not the greatest translation. The writing style is dry and hard to get into. Sometimes it gets too descriptive, but other times it’s not descriptive enough. It can be a little long winded at times and it drags - I’m not too sure if that’s because of the run on writing style or the plot itself. Either way by the last third of the book it was getting to be tiresome.
Speaking of the plot, it was good! There’s plenty of action, a bit of intrigue here and there. If you don’t mind something akin to Chinese historical fiction movies with classic martial arts fighting then perhaps this is for you. There are small elements of political intrigue which keeps the story interesting, however keep in mind there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but luckily there is a cast of characters in the beginning of the novel so that should not be a problem. This isn’t a book to put down and turn back to later, this needs to be consistently read you will easily lose your place.
There’s also several plot arcs that happen throughout the novel so it’s best to keep track of them carefully. They are all intertwined at some point. It’s a great plot and if it wasn’t for the horrible writing/translation.
I don’t know if I could recommend this one to anyone. I would under normal circumstances but the writing just do the plot justice. It’s too bad, it would have been such a great series.
Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Orange is the New Black - Season 1 in TV
Aug 3, 2017
The range of different characters (2 more)
The cast are all great
The writing is sharp and witty
Life on the inside is different
My girlfriend was actually the one to talk me into trying this show and I am so glad she did. This first season is great. The storyline is engaging, the characters are instantly memorable and the writing is fast and razor sharp. This is another high quality show produced by Netflix and at this point their track record shows more hits than misses. The strange thing though, and the only thing that stops me from scoring this show a 10, is the main character, Piper Chapman.
She is obnoxious, self absorbed and consistently dislikeable and I don't get why. The show is based on a book written by real life prison inmate Piper Kerman. Why would she show herself to be an insensitive, irritating idiot? This isn't the actors fault though, Taylor Schilling does a good job with what she is given, but Piper as a character is genuinely the worst thing about the show.
She is obnoxious, self absorbed and consistently dislikeable and I don't get why. The show is based on a book written by real life prison inmate Piper Kerman. Why would she show herself to be an insensitive, irritating idiot? This isn't the actors fault though, Taylor Schilling does a good job with what she is given, but Piper as a character is genuinely the worst thing about the show.
Hannah (22 KP) rated The Witches: Salem, 1692 in Books
Sep 12, 2017
No map of the village (1 more)
The footnotes, so many footnotes
Some interesting points made, but...
Narrative history that sometimes misses deeper analysis of why it happened. It seems well researched, using the accounts of the period. I don't generally have an issue with footnotes, but I think the author overuses them sometimes, and many of the footnotes could be incorporated into the text or dropped entirely as they sometimes go off at a tanget. Not always a fan of her writing, it's quite wandering and tries to mix an accesible history style with more of an academic writing style. It doesn't really give the reader a great sense of the period atmosphere and concentrates very heavily on what happened at the trials. She was apparently deliberately avoiding explainations, however she attempts to explain the instigators' "hysteria" that originally prompted the accusations of witchcraft; that the symptoms occured in the parsonage, the most repressive environment. The accusations gained the "victims" attention and a respite from chores. I was surprised that there was no map of the village.
Leah Green (6 KP) rated The Great Alone in Books
Apr 26, 2018
Extremely well written. (1 more)
It's Kristin Hannah
Phenomenal
As always Kristin Hannah does it again. I swear I can not read one of her books without becoming a blubbering baby. Ugh Why??????
Anyway. I love The Great Alone. The story of a family moving to rugged Alaska. The father, Ernt, a flakey, unpredictable, POW. The Mother Cora timid, loving, and clueless. Then Lenora. The teenage girl who throughout the story is tried and tested. She has to navigate not only the rugged world of Alaska. Also the tumultuous home and family life. You will love all the character's. Reading this book will have you googling Alaska. Dreaming of trips to the Kenai Peninsula.
You really can't go wrong with anything Kristin Hannah. I can't seem to get enough. The worst part is waiting for the next one. Please not so long this time Ms. Hannah. I know you are busy. But writing like yours doesn't come along very often. Your books transcend time and place. They transport us into the world you create. Please just never stop writing.
Anyway. I love The Great Alone. The story of a family moving to rugged Alaska. The father, Ernt, a flakey, unpredictable, POW. The Mother Cora timid, loving, and clueless. Then Lenora. The teenage girl who throughout the story is tried and tested. She has to navigate not only the rugged world of Alaska. Also the tumultuous home and family life. You will love all the character's. Reading this book will have you googling Alaska. Dreaming of trips to the Kenai Peninsula.
You really can't go wrong with anything Kristin Hannah. I can't seem to get enough. The worst part is waiting for the next one. Please not so long this time Ms. Hannah. I know you are busy. But writing like yours doesn't come along very often. Your books transcend time and place. They transport us into the world you create. Please just never stop writing.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Young Bess (Elizabeth Trilogy, #1) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
While I was reading this book I had my moments where I was thinking “this is nice…this is cute…” the writing was very eloquent and good. However the plot was just… nonexistent. By page 85 not much had happened. I had no urge to continue reading and even though I enjoyed it while I was reading it, I had to force myself to sit down and read it. And you should never have to force yourself to read a book (except for school). I felt the same way about The Midnight Charter. Both of these were similar in that they both had a bit of politics in them.
I did like the characters (Loved Tom Seymour!) and the writing, again, was great. But nothing made me want to keep reading.
I didn’t get far enough into the book to be able to say what content was in it.
Young Bess was re-published by Sourcebooks March 1st. Please know that I am in the minority for those who didn’t like/finish it. See other reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
I did like the characters (Loved Tom Seymour!) and the writing, again, was great. But nothing made me want to keep reading.
I didn’t get far enough into the book to be able to say what content was in it.
Young Bess was re-published by Sourcebooks March 1st. Please know that I am in the minority for those who didn’t like/finish it. See other reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.