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Author Topic: The What Are You Reading? Thread  (Read 317102 times)
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Buckethead
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« Reply #500 on: May 14, 2018, 12:50:31 PM »

It still does in many schools.
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Chocolate Shake Man
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« Reply #501 on: May 14, 2018, 03:23:29 PM »

It still does in many schools.

I guess I shouldn't talk because here we make our kids sing the national anthem in the morning. But making a pledge to be loyal to the State seems to be a whole other level of ridiculousness.
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Buckethead
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« Reply #502 on: May 14, 2018, 07:04:37 PM »

It's not as it used to be. I remember that it was quite mandatory, unless on e was a Jehovah's Witness. But in recent decades, it's typically purely voluntary, with students just required to be silent if they do not wish to participate. In the schools in which I've taught recently, there was not time set aside for the pledge. It may be different in different states or areas, however.
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« Reply #503 on: May 18, 2018, 02:04:27 AM »

2Buckethead: Thanks, really rad answers. At least sth. good about schools here - absence of "homeroom", day begins straight with 3-6 lessons & you're free. :D I see in schools abroad this thing that doesn't exist here, if we compare strictly public schools - you've got pupils dividing during classes, smb. usually says in films "We met in [subject] class, rmbr?" "We're going to the same class". School system here is about 20-30 children sitting in the same cabinet during *every* lesson. Except language but 95% kids study English & 2-3% choose French & German (usually it's these 3 languages). Everything else everybody sits together thru 11 grades. You study many foreign languages, right? Not just French, German, f.ex. Brian studied Spanish but maybe it's sth. to do with him living in California - many Spanish people live there. In state you live in, the choices would be different? Maybe Italian in addition?
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the captain
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« Reply #504 on: May 18, 2018, 06:05:19 AM »

I started reading Walter Bauer's "Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity" after finishing Hans Fallada's great novel "The Drinker."

RRA1 - I know you didn't ask me, but since I'm here, foreign language requirements tend to be a low priority in the USA, especially in public schools. Usually at least for college--and maybe in some high schools, though certainly not mine when I went there--do require a year or two of one language, but that tends to be all many people ever take. Spanish is the most common, with French and German probably the next two. But once you meet adult Americans, they often barely recall whatever (typically minimal) language they took in school and mostly just speak English. Often badly.
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« Reply #505 on: May 18, 2018, 06:54:50 AM »

The Captain and RRA1 -

Yes, I would have to agree that our educational system really does tend to give foreign languages short shrift. I took both French and Spanish, but really can't say I am fluent in either. I live in Pennsylvania, where there were/are traditionally a lot of people of German-speaking origin. As a result,
the majority of my peers opted to take German class in secondary school. A  local station even devotes an evening each week to a call-in show where people speak Pennsylvania German, a dialect  of Low German and English. Things are changing a bit, though, as there are some public schools around the country that offer immersion programs, in which elementary school kids are taught another language, usually Spanish, and some or all classes are conducted in it.  A few local districts now offer Mandarin or Russian in high school.
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« Reply #506 on: May 18, 2018, 06:59:16 AM »

When I was in High School in the early 70s the only options there were Spanish and French. I took 3 years of French, then in college took 4 courses in French reading.
Some of the boys High Schools also offered German.

We have a couple of immersion schools here that use a foreign language (French or Spanish) to teach all subjects other than the English class. Starting with young children, that helps develop true fluency in another language. Learning another language helps develop a greater world view, appreciating other cultures. It's sad how xenophobic so many Americans are.
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"(Brian) got into this really touching music with songs like 'In My Room', and 'Good Vibrations' was amazing. The melodies are so beautiful, almost perfect. I began to realize he was one of the most gifted writers of our generation." - Paul Simon

 "The best thing you can be 'like' in music is yourself." Dr. John
Buckethead
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« Reply #507 on: May 18, 2018, 11:24:26 AM »

NOLA BB Fan -

     Agree. And there are many cognitive benefits. One that particularly interests me, as a woman of a certain age, is that being bi-lingual tends to slow the development dementia as we age.
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the captain
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« Reply #508 on: May 18, 2018, 11:39:18 AM »

I think it might be unfortunate in some ways that Americans (and those from most of Canada, the UK, etc.) have had the "advantage" of much of the world learning English as the lingua franca. It's harder to convince people to learn another language when they know that many or most people outside their country already speak and understand English.

But I have to admit I'm just as lazy as the next guy: I had four years of Spanish in high school and two of Latin in college, but in both cases I've really let them slip. I am considering teaching myself koine Greek, but that's not really of much use in daily life.
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« Reply #509 on: May 18, 2018, 08:00:10 PM »

The Captain - Perhaps not useful in everyday life, but beneficial in others. True Canadians and Americans have benefited from English being the lingua franca  at a cost, although don't Canadians have to learn both French and English in school?
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Chocolate Shake Man
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« Reply #510 on: May 19, 2018, 06:50:51 AM »

The Captain - Perhaps not useful in everyday life, but beneficial in others. True Canadians and Americans have benefited from English being the lingua franca  at a cost, although don't Canadians have to learn both French and English in school?

There are quite a few French immersion schools, yes. I took French from grade one all the way through the end of high school. However, it's not a requirement and there are some English-only schools here just as I'm sure there are French only schools in Quebec. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province but I don't know how that works in terms of schooling. My partner is from New Brunswick though. I should probably ask her.
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Buckethead
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« Reply #511 on: May 20, 2018, 08:22:48 AM »

Chocolate Shake Man-
Thanks for that info.; I was misinformed!
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« Reply #512 on: May 21, 2018, 04:53:42 PM »

Interesting dialogs - thanks, everybody. 2Buckethead: I'd like to ask you new read-related question but 1st, check the painting survey in the other thread. :D
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Short notice: the cat you see to the left is the best. Not counting your indoor cat who might have habit sitting at your left side when you post at SmileySmile.

Who is Lucille Ball & Vivian Vance Duet Fan Club CEO? Btw, such Club exists?

Zany zealous Zeddie eats broccoli at brunch break but doesn't do's & don't's due to duties.
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« Reply #513 on: May 23, 2018, 06:06:30 AM »

2Buckethead: here's the "read" question - Would you say it's true that with new digital book formats, people start going to library less? Or do you think it's zero to do with it? Is it even big difference? People visit libraries today despite digital era. Looks like real books is timeless thing. What say you?
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Short notice: the cat you see to the left is the best. Not counting your indoor cat who might have habit sitting at your left side when you post at SmileySmile.

Who is Lucille Ball & Vivian Vance Duet Fan Club CEO? Btw, such Club exists?

Zany zealous Zeddie eats broccoli at brunch break but doesn't do's & don't's due to duties.
Buckethead
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« Reply #514 on: May 23, 2018, 07:24:03 AM »

Good question. I have read that library usage had been declining in the US (in part due to the digital book format, but also due to somewhat less funding than there used to be for longer hours, special programs, the very latest best sellers), but that has leveled off. I know I went to the library more when there were special kiddie events, but think that there will always be this core of patrons who will use the library in spite of the aforementioned changes. I am one of them. I actually prefer to read hard copies of books. I get a rush of excitement when I walk around the stacks and head for a designated section, then wait for a book to pick me. But I am 58 years old. I wonder what younger people, who have had the digital experience for much of their lives, think. What is the situation in Russia? Have Russians always had libraries available to the public, and how many people use digital formats instead of hard copies of books?
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« Reply #515 on: May 24, 2018, 12:38:28 AM »

Digitalization as anything new appears here with big delay. When did you get the very 1st computers in the U.S. mass market - in the 80s? We got them in the late 90s-2000s. Ditto mobiles. 2 biggest Russian libraries - Russian State Library in Moscow & Russian National Library in St. Petersburg - just recently began digitalizing their book collection, still work in progress. The local libraries followed this path. People still go to libraries, any age but indeed, elder people tend to go frequently. Young people don't seem to visit library to read sth. entertaining (except little school kids), they borrow serious books, to help with school/ university assignments. Many copy the info straight in the Internet but still the many others sit in the libraries to work at these assignments. I see many students sitting & writing when I pass by big reading room with tables & pseudo-leather chairs. Don't you hate when you go to book store, read the annotation & few pages to see what it's about & the admin or smb. interrupts by saying "This is not library"? In Moscow, there's even tables & seats in book shops that people sit & read books right there. When they finish, they put them back to shelf. Isn't it cool? But in little town here, it's disallowed.
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Short notice: the cat you see to the left is the best. Not counting your indoor cat who might have habit sitting at your left side when you post at SmileySmile.

Who is Lucille Ball & Vivian Vance Duet Fan Club CEO? Btw, such Club exists?

Zany zealous Zeddie eats broccoli at brunch break but doesn't do's & don't's due to duties.
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« Reply #516 on: May 24, 2018, 02:18:33 AM »

Libraries have evolved with the times. Our libraries have plenty computers available for free to patrons who have a library card. Printers are available with a small charge per page. There are still many people who don't have home computers - maybe they can afford one but can't afford the cost for the internet connection in their homes. That's why I get ticked off when, during hurricane season, a radio or television station says "if you want more information about evacuation shelters, Please visit our web page." Argh! Granted, a lot have smartphones but many, especially older people, do not.

As for digital books, I used to buy them frequently. Nowadays I need to budget more, and my eyes prefer that I hold a real book. So I am once again frequenting the library. I like to browse the shelves. Or if I want to check out a particular book - for example, I'm interested in reading a new biography of Paul Simon, I can go online and request that it be sent to my branch.
There is interlibrary loan available as well. If you have a library card you can use several apps to request a book your town's library doesn't have, and it will be delivered.

As for reading books at bookstores the larger chainstores such as Barnes & Noble don't seem to mind people reading their books in the store.
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"No White Flags." - Team Gleason

"(Brian) got into this really touching music with songs like 'In My Room', and 'Good Vibrations' was amazing. The melodies are so beautiful, almost perfect. I began to realize he was one of the most gifted writers of our generation." - Paul Simon

 "The best thing you can be 'like' in music is yourself." Dr. John
Buckethead
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« Reply #517 on: May 28, 2018, 11:04:33 PM »

For more information on emergency evacuation shelters visit a website? Is "Brownie" now in charge of NOLA Emergency Preparedness?
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« Reply #518 on: June 29, 2018, 08:21:00 AM »

J.B. Priestley's short "Bright Day". 3/5. It should be shorter. That said, it's written well, Priestley is good writer.
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Short notice: the cat you see to the left is the best. Not counting your indoor cat who might have habit sitting at your left side when you post at SmileySmile.

Who is Lucille Ball & Vivian Vance Duet Fan Club CEO? Btw, such Club exists?

Zany zealous Zeddie eats broccoli at brunch break but doesn't do's & don't's due to duties.
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« Reply #519 on: June 29, 2018, 09:44:16 AM »

Thomas McGuane, Gallatin Canyon.

Brief stories. American West, especially Montana.  Liked him for years.  He appears in the New Yorker now and then.
Not a top-shelf literary light such as is Cormac M. ...

but McGuane has great tone, economics of language, good sense...great read.

Also reading some Nietzsche.  Love reading the philosophy greats.  Even if they get most things wrong.
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Buckethead
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« Reply #520 on: July 02, 2018, 07:07:39 PM »

Poor Nietzsche. His evil sister Elisabeth twisted his writings to support the Nazis and their ilk. Is McGuane's work historical fiction? I'm looking for some short stories that my uninspired students might use as a springboard into the American West of the 19th Century.
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the captain
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« Reply #521 on: July 04, 2018, 08:06:44 AM »

I just picked up a used copy of Nietzsche's "Human, All Too Human." Haven't begun it yet, though, because:

I'm currently midway through Isaac Bashevis Singer's "The Manor," the first in a two-volume set along with "The Estate," which I picked up at the same time as the above. It's a big, sprawling family (or set of families) drama set in late 19th century Poland. As usual with Singer, I'm loving it. I know I mention his books pretty often, and unfortunately I'm almost done with his catalogue, so I won't be able to do it much more. But he really has been--along with Dostoevsky and Knut Hamsun--maybe my favorite author.

Simultaneously I'm working through the easy-to-read "A Brief History of Thought" by Luc Ferry on recommendation and the more challenging, but more interesting, A History of Christian Thought by Paul Tillich. (I might have mentioned the latter before, as I picked it up a couple months ago. But I've interrupted myself on it a couple times for other books in the interim.)
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« Reply #522 on: July 04, 2018, 09:50:23 AM »

Doesn't sound all that much like a brief history of thought! I might check out Singer's work, as I find stories about extended families particularly fascinating.
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D Cunningham
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« Reply #523 on: July 04, 2018, 10:08:48 AM »

Buckethead…the McGuane stories are up-to-date paintings of characters out in Montana, etc.  American lives, rough in their
own particular ways.  Sorry about that.  I'm trying to think of historical West...hm...I'm weak there.  Of course there was Twain
heading out that way as a young man. Roughing it.
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Buckethead
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« Reply #524 on: July 04, 2018, 10:14:57 AM »

D Cunningham - Oh, thank you for the clarification. I can find what I need, I'm sure. I like to use historical fiction along with true history with my reluctant learners. My problem is that I really prefer to read non-fiction, myself, so don't have much already swimming in my head.
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