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Post by Eowyn on May 27, 2005 20:59:01 GMT -5
I have a question for all you book lovers. Do you like non-fiction or fiction? I personally can't stand reading fiction. I don't know what it is but knowing what I'm reading never happened or will happen in real life is a big turn off for me. I like both! What about historical novels, skinz?
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Post by TheBo on May 29, 2005 7:10:12 GMT -5
I have a question for all you book lovers. Do you like non-fiction or fiction? I personally can't stand reading fiction. I don't know what it is but knowing what I'm reading never happened or will happen in real life is a big turn off for me. I always had a tough time in my english class because it was mandatory to read fiction to learn the format of telling a story. Watching a fictional movie is a different story because I'm into any story that is told right on screen. What makes you think what happens in fiction "never happens" in real life? That's not true. Fiction is an illumination of "real life"--even science fiction and fantasy have their bases in what people really do or might do, or even what has happened in the past. A good book or story is always "true" in its most absolute sense, consistent with fact. As for nonfiction, that's still filtered through a human being, you've no guaranty that it's absolutely what happened than you do that a politician is only thinking of your personal good. People say that history is being rewritten all the time, but it's not--only opinions of what happened are reformed. Since those opinions are being reformed and rewritten, and people say that the previous opinions are in error, are you saying that history never happened? Of course not, that's absurd. Fiction is just another point of view about what happened or what is presently happening. I like both fiction and nonfiction; I especially love reading history. But as a sometime writer, I must take issue with those who believe that fiction is "untrue"--good writers always write the truth. Bo
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Post by chigirl68 on May 31, 2005 7:59:28 GMT -5
I have always read more fiction than non-fiction. My curiosity is peaked now by the dramas we watch to search more for the history recorded that inspired what we are seeing.
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Post by BungalowDweller on Jun 1, 2005 7:41:06 GMT -5
I have a question for all you book lovers. Do you like non-fiction or fiction? I personally can't stand reading fiction. I don't know what it is but knowing what I'm reading never happened or will happen in real life is a big turn off for me. I always had a tough time in my english class because it was mandatory to read fiction to learn the format of telling a story. Watching a fictional movie is a different story because I'm into any story that is told right on screen. I'm like you, Skinz. I prefer non-fiction but have done a 180 concerning historical fiction since homeschooling my kid. I'm using what 19th century educator Charlotte Mason called the "Living Books" approach to teaching history. Rather than textbooks, I rely on both biographies and historical fiction which are carefully chosen. Historical fiction for kids, btw,is an almost extinct form of juv. writing (in English, anyway). Two important principles in teaching history are biography and chronology. Kids are interested in the "who"--they can identify with other historical figures and analyze the wisdom and folly of their actions. Chronology is important because most elementary curricula spend anywhere from 4 to 6 years teaching American history exclusively--thus taking one year or so of cramming down the other few thousands. Doesn't make much sense to me. This year we've "lived with" the Middle Ages--from 600 through the 1600s. There is always overlap between Medieval Times and the Renaissance and the Reformation, which some prefer teaching separately (me included). I've just finished these-- (yeah, ALL of them) Architecture Cathedral - David Macaulay Castle - David Macaulay The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History Literature Beowulf Canterbury Tales Documents Magna Charta Quality historical fiction is rapidly disappearing from the shelves in libraries. It's a shame. Many of them are Newberry winners and excellent reads. Some of the best I've read and taught this year are: Sondok - Sheri Holman 595 A.D. Tells the story of a Korean princess, set in Shilla, one of the 3 kingdoms existing in Korea at the time. Outcast - Rosemary Sutcliffe 600 A.D. Viking slave on Roman galley ship (excellent treatment of slavery) If All the Swords in England - Barbara Willard 1170 A.D. A story of Thomas Becket Adam of the Road - Elizabeth Janet Gray1300 A.D. The Trumpeter of Krakow- Eric P. Kelley 1461 A.D. I envy you all, reading strictly for your own personal pleasure altho I love what I'm doing. BTW, are there any writings of YSS in English. My kid's latest historical hero is YSS and she wants to read something!
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Post by skinz on Jun 1, 2005 8:46:18 GMT -5
If only I had a teacher like you when I was in school. That's great what you are doing for your kid. Historical fiction is the best way to teach history to kids since they don't have to worry so much about dates and concentrate on the story.
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Post by moreshige on Jun 1, 2005 12:01:56 GMT -5
Hey, BD I think you could get a hold of YSS's war diary. I think it's translated in English but I'm not sure. In fact, I'm gonna get a copy for myself if I can find one! The libraries don't have books I want especially primary sources in English. I guess you would have to contact University libraries. Beowulf and Cantebury tales.....great books even though it was required reading for HS and College. May I recommend another? "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a good medieval novel. It was also a book used by my medieval English professor in the curriculum.
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Post by moreshige on Jun 1, 2005 12:35:17 GMT -5
Bo wrote:
"Of course not, that's absurd. Fiction is just another point of view about what happened or what is presently happening."
Bo, I wouldn't take it that far with the definition for fiction but I see what you mean. We know the events of CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia never happened but the subject of inspiration for his novels (Christianity) really did happen.
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Post by TheBo on Jun 1, 2005 12:45:08 GMT -5
BD, when I was in college, I read an excellent book that perches between historical fiction and nonfictional history. It's called The Armada. The copy I had was all dusty and old, so when I looked it up on Amazon, I was surprised to see it was published in 1987. However, a look at the copyright page showed it was actually from 1959, so that's probably the edition I had. Here's Amazon's "peek inside" - The Armada "peek"It shows some chapters, for a taste of the writing. I don't know if you're studying English and/or European history, but this was a good intro for me. Bo
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Post by TheBo on Jun 1, 2005 13:08:59 GMT -5
Bo, I wouldn't take it that far with the definition for fiction but I see what you mean. We know the events of CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia never happened but the subject of inspiration for his novels (Christianity) really did happen. I didn't mean it as a definition of fiction, only a way of looking at it. I meant that it concerns occurrences, feelings, political situations and any number of other factors that are firmly rooted in the real world. Your example of the Chronicles of Narnia, for instance, is apt. Heart of Darkness, for another example, is not just the story of a trip into the Congo. It is also 'a powerful indictment of the evils of imperialism' (I lifted that from a Washington State University course guide, by the way). Writers of quality fiction are not just concerned with laying out some buzz trip from their heads--they have something to say, and this is their method of saying it. The really good ones just don't let you realize it. Bo
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Post by BungalowDweller on Jun 1, 2005 16:02:51 GMT -5
Hey, BD I think you could get a hold of YSS's war diary. I think it's translated in English but I'm not sure. In fact, I'm gonna get a copy for myself if I can find one! The libraries don't have books I want especially primary sources in English. I guess you would have to contact University libraries. Beowulf and Cantebury tales.....great books even though it was required reading for HS and College. ;) May I recommend another? "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a good medieval novel. It was also a book used by my medieval English professor in the curriculum. Thanks Moreshige! Sir Gawain is an excellent book. It was one of the first we used this year. It was tough reading for my daughter, though, so we ended up doing it as a read-aloud. She told me that she "sees" the story in her mind's eye if we take turns reading it aloud. Sometimes the language gets in the way for a kid,but I'm surprised how much she understands. I will be looking for the YSS war diary as soon as I get the chance. I can't wait to begin reading it. Certain things we will read aloud as a family. It constantly amazes me how much we retain that way. I also want to thank Skinz and others for their comments and book suggestions.I'm constantly on the lookout for any or all book suggestions. I STILL don't know how to add multiple quotes to a single post, but I'll keep plugging away.
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Post by BungalowDweller on Jun 1, 2005 16:12:23 GMT -5
BD, when I was in college, I read an excellent book that perches between historical fiction and nonfictional history. It's called The Armada. The copy I had was all dusty and old, so when I looked it up on Amazon, I was surprised to see it was published in 1987. However, a look at the copyright page showed it was actually from 1959, so that's probably the edition I had. Here's Amazon's "peek inside" - The Armada "peek"It shows some chapters, for a taste of the writing. I don't know if you're studying English and/or European history, but this was a good intro for me. Bo Thanks Bo! I just took a look. We're studying the Middle Ages from a World History perspective and I've got to say that it's a challenge finding resources about Korea. According to a Middle Ages Time Line that I bought, between 750 and 800 A.D., the "flowering of Korean civilization" took place. Yet it says nothing else! Every other Asian notation is about Japan or China!
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Post by seven stars on Jun 1, 2005 16:51:40 GMT -5
re-reading Romance of the Three Kingdom (hey, its a must to read that book again, what can I say?) Here here!
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Post by moreshige on Jun 1, 2005 18:16:01 GMT -5
BD, when I was in college, I read an excellent book that perches between historical fiction and nonfictional history. It's called The Armada. The copy I had was all dusty and old, so when I looked it up on Amazon, I was surprised to see it was published in 1987. However, a look at the copyright page showed it was actually from 1959, so that's probably the edition I had. Here's Amazon's "peek inside" - The Armada "peek"It shows some chapters, for a taste of the writing. I don't know if you're studying English and/or European history, but this was a good intro for me. Bo Thanks Bo! I just took a look. We're studying the Middle Ages from a World History perspective and I've got to say that it's a challenge finding resources about Korea. According to a Middle Ages Time Line that I bought, between 750 and 800 A.D., the "flowering of Korean civilization" took place. Yet it says nothing else! Every other Asian notation is about Japan or China! Books like those don't do justice for histories like Korea. The reason is that it has something to do with the history of writing and researching histories themselves as well as supply and demand for books in American book stores. Ever wonder why there's too much or too little coverage for certain historical periods or for certain countries? I notice this because whenever I go to a Barnes&Noble or any other book store, there are usually little, if any sections on Asian histories. And as far as any book on history is concerned there are a zillion books on the American Civil War. Why is that? ( I suspect it's plain economics that there's a lot of demand for books on the civil war period. lol ) Among the Asian history books I've seen the Korean coverage is 80% about the Korean war or the modern period. Even the book I'm going to recomend to you, Korea Old and New A History by Ki-baik Lee et al. has "more than half of the 419 pages of text...devoted to the ..period 1864-1910" according to the book's editor, E. Wagner. That alone should tell you that 1.) there may have not enough western research done on earlier periods and/or 2.)there may not have enough good english works or translations on Korean history (non-Korean war histories). The answer is that there is very good reaserch being done on the development of Korean history. But in relation to China and Japan, western study of Korean history had started fairly late. You have to understad that for the longest time, Korean history in the western world was interpreted through China and Japan which did more harm than good. For example, I skimmed through a recent book published in Britain around 2003 covering the Olympics. I noticed that it had erronously printed "Ki tae Son"'s nation, Japan as the winner of the 1936 marathon in Berlin. But Sohn Kee Chung was a Korean not a Japanese. Of course we have to remember that Korea at that time was annexed by Japan as a colony. So technically, yes, Sohn ran for Japan. But what the world didn't know was that a Korean newspaper daringly blotted out the photo of the Japanese flags on the uniforms of Sohn and his compatriot who won the bronze into Korean flags. And of course some of us remembers how this dramatic story unfolded in the 1988 Seoul games. The IOC officially rewrote Sohn's entry as a representative of Korea. But what amazes me is that you still see this type of "typo" being printed in the most recent books. This is particularily true of pseudo-academic books that are geared for the general public who would really care less about pinpoint accuracy. That's why I don't trust "world" history books and "world" timelines of any fashion because the writers can only include certain events, dates or people in which they think are significant in world history. So don't be surprised if someone like YSS is not included in world history even though he's a huge figure in Korean history. And I suspect there are numerous examples of these discrepancies between world history and other national histories as well. I would further argue from a political angle that the less powerful or prominent a nation is, it's history is less likely will be important on the world stage.
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Post by luvarchfiend on Jun 1, 2005 18:35:34 GMT -5
there are two books that i am aware of available in english and are diaries of YSS.
1. "Nanjung Ilgi".....this is his personal war diary.
2. "Imjin Changch'o".....this is a book of 'memorials' to the court, his formal reports of the war.
i ordered these from hanbooks.com.
and by the way, these are the only books i am currently reading, well "Nanjung Ilgi" anyway. so i am certainly on-topic. imagine that. ;D
i used to read a fair amount of fiction, but i have always been an avid reader of biographies.
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Post by moreshige on Jun 1, 2005 18:58:45 GMT -5
there are two books that i am aware of available in english and are diaries of YSS. 1. "Nanjung Ilgi".....this is his personal war diary. 2. "Imjin Changch'o".....this is a book of 'memorials' to the court, his formal reports of the war. i ordered these from hanbooks.com. and by the way, these are the only books i am currently reading, well "Nanjung Ilgi" anyway. so i am certainly on-topic. imagine that. ;D i used to read a fair amount of fiction, but i have always been an avid reader of biographies. So I guess in a way, you're reading his autobiography.
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