The Crew answers your questions
In response to Iknowalotaboutnothing, asking who our favourite non-english authors were:
Hmm, well I haven't read many non-english books, so I can't say much on that topic. But I am starting to read an Indian philosopher named J. Krishnamurti's book titled: The Book of Life which is a collection of his philosophical notes and speeches and was published after he'd died.
Back in the seventh grade, for a class project in author studies, I also read Before We Were Free, a book by Julia Alvarez who is a Dominican-American writer. I loved the story as it centred on concepts of freedom which she drew from her own life experiences, making the read even the more realistic.
Angel:
I don't read much foreign translated pieces of literature, though Jostein Gaarder's 'Sophie's World' (originally in Norwegian) is one of my favourite for, despite its length, it is very philosophical and very informative.
However, as a classics scholar, I think I'm allowed to mention the fair number of pieces I've read in Classical Latin and Greek. The thing about classical writers is that they value the placement of words in their sentences, creating a lot for meaning and emphasis.
So, yeah, out of the pieces I have read, I'd have to say that my favourite world be Virgil, especially his descriptive epic, The Aeneid, because, for one thing, I can appreciate that writing an epic in verse must have taken a long time to compose so well!
(Bec: I kind of wish I'd picked Sophie's World now. We read it for Year 11 Philosophy back when I was in high school, and I loved it so much I bought my own copy. I've always loved philosophy and I loved Gaarder's way of putting it, as part philosophical non-fiction book, giving you information on the philosophers, and part philosophical fiction book)
Nadia: I have read a fair amount of books not written in English, but most of them are translation of English novels. Now I've read a book in Vietnamese called Dế Mèn Phiêu Lưu ký by Tô Hoài and did enjoy it a lot. The title means "Adventures of a Cricket" and is a heartwarming children's tale. I practically grew up with the book :D
Another of my non-English favourites would be the Inkheart trilogy and The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, a German author. I've only read the English translation though, so not sure if that counts :D Inkheart has one of the most wonderful worlds that I've encountered in a book, and The Thief Lord is amazing.
Dot: My favourite book in a foreign language has got to be 'The Three Musketeers' by Alexandre Dumas (obviously I read an English translation - my French is appalling!). I love the time period, the sense of adventure and the conspiracy that goes on, and you can never have enough sword fights!"
