The Reading Room

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9:07 AM

@Bookworm HNQ.

Excellent question, one which many other readers have wondered and on which probably some academic writing exists. I hope someone can provide a good answer here. — Rand al'Thor ♦ 37 mins ago

^ with a quiet suspicion that "someone" may be named Gareth :-)

2 hours later…

Gareth Rees

11:18 AM

@Randal'Thor I did Wuthering Heights at A level so I feel that I've written enough essays on Heathcliff's ethnicity to last a lifetime. Better for someone else to have a go

Gareth Rees

12:17 PM

@Bookworm I am not impressed by the close votes on this question.

Bookworm

1:11 PM

Q: Was it common that the bridges of ditches or creeks had guarding gates in 1929?

In "The Funeral Pyre" in Dr. Thorndyke's Case-Book by R. Austin Freeman "1929", Thorndyke found a dental plate of a dead man by a gate at the crossing of a ditch, and he wanted to know whether he come through this gate or was he only passing it. “We had better not make too many assumptions while...

Rand al'Thor

1:44 PM

@GarethRees The OP originally posted it as an 'answer' on What was Faust's purpose? I'm not even sure if it could be a duplicate. Also, the new question was automatically flagged as low-quality just for being short, which put it into two review queues for gathering close votes before anyone even saw it.

2 hours later…

Bookworm

3:15 PM

Q: How do I add technical exposition in my fiction novel?

I have written a fiction novel about an adolescent who commits suicide. The story explores the childhood abuse from her father that pushed her to suicide, what she and her mother have done to try to overcome her trauma, and why those attempts failed. In the story, I explained why psychotherapy re...

style

Rand al'Thor

@Bookworm And it's closed. Maybe someone with a little more knowledge of Faust than me can edit it to a state that will more readily attract reopen votes?

Gallifreyan

4:02 PM

I just came here to say the same

I don't even know what comment to leave, to be honest. The question looked acceptable to me

Faded Giant

"Question closed" translated to the words of Faust: "Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor! Und bin so klug als wie zuvor;"

b_jonas

4:18 PM

Nice, a question that doesn't require familiarity with literature, so I can answer.

@Randal'Thor That one is about Goethe's Faust, which I think is somewhat popular at least as reading assigned in schools in Germany, so there'll probably be someone here who knows it.

Rand al'Thor

@Gallifreyan Well, a couple of the close-voters are pingable in here.

1 hour later…

Tsundoku

5:36 PM

What was Faust's goal in the first book? was closed without a single suggestion for improvement. Indeed: "Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor! Und bin so klug als wie zuvor".

Rand al'Thor

@b_jonas Alas, it was outdone by Gareth's answer of more specific relevance.

b_jonas

6:00 PM

@Randal'Thor Even better. I wouldn't have been able to give an answer specific to England.

Napoleon Wilson

6:24 PM

I guess Goethe is the only one allowed to say "als wie". ;-)

Faded Giant

;-)

1 hour later…

Tsundoku

7:34 PM

@Brahadeesh Instead of deleting your account, did you consider changing the password and throwing it away, so you would only be able to log in again using the "forgot password" function?

North Læraðr

8:19 PM

@Tsundoku I closed it only because I thought it was too vague in the question

I probably should've commented, but I had like 5 other queues to get through, sorry about that

North Læraðr

8:32 PM

I'm also happy to reopen it once the question becomes more specific in its goal. Or maybe it's bc I haven't really read Faust, so asking "What does he really want?" seems really vague to me.

Oh, btw @Tsundoku if in the future I ever write something like tag with [indian-literature] feel free to fire me XD

Tsundoku

[indian-literature]?? Yeah, India has only 122 major languages.

North Læraðr

Yeah, I have a feeling I might accidentally do something dumb like that

Rand al'Thor

A: Is [german-literature] about literature in German or from Germany?

I think we should use language-based tags over country-based tags. This is because language-based tags are much easier to define. If a book is set in country A, written in country B by an author from country C, and becomes a classic in the culture of country D, then which of those countries shou...

^ the meta where "language not country" was established

North Læraðr

@Randal'Thor No, yeah I know about that. It's just I'm kind of stupid so I'm saying don't be too shocked if I ever write like [indian-literature]

I did write once ""Questions about works of literature originally written in the Gaelic literature."

Rand al'Thor

I know you know, just wanted to include the link in the conversation :-)

Tsundoku

8:45 PM

You can have some Pommes Penyeach ;-)

North Læraðr

Huh. I actually did not know that USA didn't have an "official" language

Rand al'Thor

@NorthLæraðr And "Questions (...) should be used in conjunction with the author" :-)

North Læraðr

@Randal'Thor Okay, well that was just bad grammar on my part :p

Tsundoku

Just came across this unconventional author: Isabelle Eberhardt (1877 – 1904): Swiss explorer and author who moved to Algeria, dressed as a man and converted to Islam.

Rand al'Thor

... survived an assassination attempt and was killed by a flash flood at the age of 27.

What a full life packed into those few years.

North Læraðr

8:51 PM

Damn I want my life to end that way

Tsundoku

I have been looking for new suggestions for reading challenges, especially woman writers; that's how I found her.

Rand al'Thor

Fascinating life, but what did she write?

North Læraðr

Pachinko (novel)

Pachinko is the second novel by Korean-American author Min Jin Lee. Published in 2017, Pachinko is an epic historical novel following a Korean family who eventually migrates to Japan, The character-driven tale features a large ensemble of characters who become subjected to issues of racism and stereotypes, among other events with historical origins in the 20th-century Korean experiences with Japan.Pachinko was a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for fiction. Apple Inc.'s streaming service Apple TV+ has purchased the rights for a television adaptation of the novel. == Overview == The novel...

Min Jin Lee

Min Jin Lee (born 1968) is a Korean American writer whose work frequently deals with Korean American topics. She is the author of the novels Free Food for Millionaires (2007) and Pachinko (2017). == Background == Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea. Her family came to the United States in 1976, when she was seven years old, and she grew up in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. Her parents owned a wholesale jewelry store there. As a new immigrant, she spent much time at the Queens Public Library, where she learned to read and write. She attended the Bronx High School of Science, and later studied history...

I actually own Pachinko. I might propose it as a topic challenge

Rand al'Thor

With some of her short stories freely and legally available online. I'd upvote her as a topic challenge.

Tsundoku

@Randal'Thor E.g. The Oblivion Seekers and In the Shadow of Islam. And diaries.

Writings from the Sand, Volume 1 and Writings from the Sand, Volume 2.

@NorthLæraðr Don't hesitate to post that as a suggestion.

North Læraðr

9:01 PM

@Tsundoku Yeah. When I get the time to. I'm working on some physics assignment right now

Tsundoku

@NorthLæraðr John Perry: Structured Procrastination.