Tag: Books

  • A Note on Writer’s & Reader’s Block

    A Note on Writer’s & Reader’s Block

    Inspiration has been a hard match to strike this week. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I’m working on a slightly different (and secret!) project at the moment and I’m pumped for that, but when it comes to reading and writing, my usual motivations have simmered. So true to form, I thought I’d write about it (does that mean I’m over it already?!) Writer’s block is something I know all too well and I find mixing projects up helps a lot, but reader’s block is not something I’ve experienced before.

    When it comes to reading I knew my 2018 reading goal of 65 books was going to be tough. So to try and counter disappointment at the end of the year, I thought that if I go super hard in the first couple of months of 2018 then I can take it easy for the rest of the year. I’ve succeeded with this plan, I’m writing this on February 23 and I’m on my 14th book of the year. But this ‘success’ has come at a price. I’m finding it a little hard to concentrate on what I’m reading. Last weekend I found myself not loving Ali Smith’s How to be Both, which surprised me because I loved Girl Meets Boy. I was worried that I would have liked it more if my mind was less on the deadline of how many books can I squeeze into February and more on the content, characters and writing of the book. I think I succeeded in rectifying the problem though: I followed How to be Both with Roald Dahl’s Matilda. I haven’t read it in years but a children’s book demands a little less brain power and offers a lot of entertainment. It shifted my brain back into the reading for pleasure zone. I’m now purposely making slow progress through Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth. However many books I read in March, I hope I stop competing with myself and just enjoy the brilliant books waiting for me on my TBR pile.

    As far as writer’s block goes it’s been a mixed bag. Creatively, things are good – things are happening. I’ve been getting my novels out there to agents and feeling positive about what I’m submitting. I’m even working on a play, as promised. In fact, I’m even more inspired about it after having seen Fran Bushe’s one-woman show Ad Libido at Vault Festival last night, where I had this exact magical Gilmore moment:

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    The problem this week has been with non-fiction and journalism. This poses a slight problem given that it’s my source of income. Last week an article I wrote about pubic hair was published on Repro Justice, you can read it here. I loved writing it and have thoroughly enjoyed the conversations I’ve had because of it, but ideas for the next article and/or blog are playing hard to get. That being said, if there are any blogs you’d like to see from me or reviews you’d like to read, please let me know!

    Get in touch if your brain’s switched off in inconvenient places this week, then I won’t be alone in my frustration, and if you are facing a wall too, I can confirm that there is always a way around it, even if you have to tear it down with your bare hands. Anyway, I’m confident that my normal levels of reading, writing and loving both will be back soon. And don’t worry, if it doesn’t come back soon I’ll be sure to blame it on the pill.

  • My 5 Favourite Potter en Français Translations PART 2

    My 5 Favourite Potter en Français Translations PART 2

    Salut les gars! Now that I’ve finally got my hands on the edition I wanted of Harry Potter 5, 6 and 7, I feel it’s about time I crack on with my favourite English-to-French translations from Harry Potter 3 and 4 – that’s le prisonnier d’Azkaban and le coupe de feu – nothing exciting about the title translations. If you have no idea what I’m taking about, check out My 5 Favourite Potter en Français Translations PART 1.

    I was more prepared this time and wrote down things I wanted to point out on a post-it as I read. Typically though, I lost the post-it for Goblet of Fire… so let’s just dive in and see what happens. Je jure solennellement que mes intentions son mauvaises… 

    Messieurs Lunard, Queudver, Patmol et Cornedrue

    Is it just me, or does “Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs” get stuck in your head? Anytime I think about it, I say it about five times to myself, so I was excited to see how the introduction of the creators of the Marauder’s Map (la carte du maraudeur) would be translated. “Moony” to anything lunar related would be expected, so “Lunard” comes as no surprise. Wormtail is an interesting one, it took me a while to crack. “Queudver” – let’s break it down. “Queue” is tail, “de/d” – of, “ver” means nothing but I’m going to take a wild guess and say it’s just short for “vermine” – so it’s “vermin’s tail” – close enough, I’d say! Padfoot is translated to “Patmol” – “mol” can mean soft or faint. I wasn’t sure about “pat” but a cursory look in the dictionary taught me that “patte” means leg, paw or hoof – bingo! Prongs is an excellent English word, translated to “Cornedrue” in French. “Corne” as in horn, like in unicorn, OK that makes sense, but doesn’t “rue” mean street/road? After an intense google in English and French, I finally discovered that the verb “to buck” in French is “ruer” – et voilà!giphy (6).gif

    Ronronner

    Here’s a French language gem I didn’t know before Prisoner of Azkaban. At some point during one of Ron’s rants about Hermione’s cat Crookshanks (Pattenrond), the verb “ronronner” was used. Thinking it might be some sort of Ron joke, I looked it up and discovered it’s the French for purring. A fabulous example of French onomatopoeia! I’ve since seen it used in the books for purring car engines and snoring Rons.

    Détraquers, Mangemorts, épouvantard & Strangulot 

    Time for few group and creature name translations I enjoyed. Dementor becomes “Détraqueur”, which translates to “perturber” – figures. Death Eater is literally translated to “Mangemort”, which is catchier if you ask me. Boggart becomes “épouvantard.” “Épouvantable” means horrible, horrendous, terrible so I guess that makes enough sense. My favourite is probably “Strangulot”. Any guesses? Grindylow! It makes me think of Hermione in the GOF film when she tells Harry “Fleur never got past ze grindylows” – funny Hermione, but not French! ifinished-last-hermione-slughorns-i1-ig-next-tolast-fleur-never-25643326.png

    S.A.L.E.

    Fans of the books are often disappointed by the omission of S.P.E.W. from the films – S.P.E.W. being Hermione’s house-elf liberation project “The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare”. So how does it translate into French? It needs to keep the society’s actual meaning but still spell out a word silly enough for Ron and Harry to mock. S.P.E.W. becomes “S.A.L.E.” – “Société d’Aide à la Libération des Elfes”. It fulfils its double meaning since “sale” means dirty, allowing the following to conversation take place just as it does in the English text. Translation is magical!

    “Pas sale, répliqua Hermione, d’un ton agacé. Il faut dire S-A-L-E.”

    La Marque des Ténèbres

    I had no idea about this one. It kept popping up in passages about Voldemort and I kept asking myself, “what does “ténèbres” mean?” Turns out, it’s the (brilliant) French word for darkness and obscurity. So the dark mark becomes “la Marque des Ténèbres” and the Dark Lord becomes “Seigneur des Ténèbres”. I like that it’s plural – don’t ask why, it’s just a good word!

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    I’m onto Order of the Phoenix now but its length is looking even more intimidating since it’s in French, so don’t hold your breath for the next of these blogs anytime soon. Méfait accompli!

  • Review: The Cows – Dawn O’Porter

    Review: The Cows – Dawn O’Porter

    Don’t you just hate it when you pick a random book off of your TBR pile and then accidentally enjoy it so much it becomes one of those drastically transformative reads? Me neither. It’s so amazing when that happens, especially when you’re not expecting it. Well recently (i.e. this weekend) Dawn O’Porter’s The Cows did this for me.

    “Bra free, childfree, boyfriend free, have you ever committed to anything other than your laptop?”

    As a piece of contemporary fiction, it’s my kind of mix. Funny as hell, some serious feminist debate, compelling plots (and plot twists), predictable one moment but then totally unexpected the next and, importantly, it has a brilliant balance between messy, drunken, female tomfoolery and sentimentality – it’s the most entertained I’ve been by a contemporary novel in a long while. Having three protagonists (Tara, Stella and Cam) keeps you on your toes, gasping and chuckling with every turn-of-page. You’ll find yourself saying, “noooooo” a lot too, but a minute later you’ll be nodding and wanting to fist bump O’Porter.

     

    It was interesting to me in particular for a couple of reasons. It was jam-packed with discussions of female sexuality, particularly surrounding motherhood (and non-motherhood). The fact that each of the protagonists has a different opinion or experience with the same issues demonstrates a few of the multifaceted forms that twenty-first century femininity, feminism and female sexuality can take. There are plenty more of course, but it’s refreshing to hear multiple perspectives from one source. One of the ‘morals of the story’ is that just as a woman can choose to want or not want children, she also reserves the right to change her mind. Feminism is about choice, as we hear so often, but for some reason we still give women a hard time when they change their mind. Isn’t changing your mind a fundamental part of choice?

    “There’s nothing I can do to make Mum feel better, I am who I am. I’ve told her multiple times not to read my blog but she keeps doing it. If it tortures her so much she should just stop.” (Cracked me up big time, sounds like conversations in my house back when I started #Periodically. Hi Mum!) 

    On a much more personal note I enjoyed The Cows because in it I found a book that sounds a bit like my own novel – bingo! One reason I think I have been struggling with pitching my book is that I wasn’t sure how to categorise it, but now I’ve found a book that I think comes from the same family. I’m hoping reading The Cows might give me a much needed kick up the arse.

    For everything from public masturbation to motherhood, smelling of cheese to overly keen toy-boys, I highly recommend The Cows and following Dawn O’Porter’s other journalism.

    Order The Cows from Wordery with my affiliate link.