Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 29

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

13oo - 19oo Jerrey Souree

Jerrey nuyoo shiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

妖怪のお医者さん y.l. 2 (佐藤 友生)

Ny smoo skeealyn er fer-lhee da beishteigyn Shapaanagh. Ta'n straih croghey er feayn-skeaylleydaght ny Shapaan, as myr shen s'doillee dou toiggal eh ny keayrtyn! Er lhiam dy row y chied lioar ny share; ta'n fer shoh goaill stiagh kuse dy spotçhyn keintyssagh nagh vel mee coontey monney jeu, agh t'ad cadjin dy liooar ayns manga, atreih. Ta cooid elley lane ard-ennaghtagh, agh foddym surrane y lheid dy mie.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar, va 82 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 81 faagit dou nish. Shegin dou lhaih 31 lioar ayns 23 shiaghteeyn.

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English version

13th - 19th July

The end of week twenty-nine of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

妖怪のお医者さん y.l. 2 (佐藤 友生)

More stories of the ghost doctor. Their dependence on Japanes mythology means they're sometimes a bit hard for me to follow, despite the explanatory notes (in tiny, tiny writing). I found this volume a bit less interesting than the last, despite the fact it has some more origin story in. That's at least partly because it contains the kind of sex-themed "jokes" that are annoyingly common in manga.

Afterword

I read 1 book this week, I had 82 last week, so 81 are left over. I have 31 books to read in 23 weeks.

Shenn chooinaghtyn: More by Luck than Judgement

Cheayll mee jeh shenn charrey er y gherrid, as hug eh gys my chooinaghtyn dy row shin tayrn caslys-skeealyn er feie ny leaghtyn foddey er ny henney.

Hooar mee kuse jeu (ghow mee toshiaght aahayrn ad keayrt dy row) as, wahll, shoh blass y traa t'er ngoll shaghey.

Recently, an old friend got back in touch, and reminded me that we used to squander time in boring lectures drawing silly cartoons. For some reason I entitled these "More by Luck than Judgement", in honour of a ceilidh band who played at my cousin's wedding (it's a good name, what can I say?).

I managed to track some of them down, which I started redrawing a few years ago, and well, here's a taste of the old days.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 28

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

6oo - 12h Jerrey Souree

Jerrey hoghtoo shiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Some Chinese ghosts (Lafcadio Haern)

Çhaglym dy skeealyn scaanjoon as feayn-skeeayllaght anaasoil. Cha nee çhyndaays hene t'ayn, agh aascreeu rere y skeeal Sheenish ('syn Çhapaanish!) dys lhieggan noa 'sy Vaarle. Ta kuse jeu lane whaagh (feayn-skeeal bun tey, myr sampleyr) agh ghow mee soylley jeu.

A view from the Imperium (Jody Lynn Nye)

Ta mee er lhiah obbraghyn elley Nye as ghow mee soylley jeu. Shoh y lioar share jeu, er lhiam. T'ee screeuit dy meein, as ny focklyn scughey ass y raad as lhiggey dhyt goll shaghey. Ta schlei lettyragh dy liooar ec Nye myrgeddin. T'ee cur sheese rassyn y bun-skeeal foddey roish my t'ou toiggal y scansh oc, as cha row mee jerkal rish fer erbee jeu. She seihll anaasoil bioyr t'ayn, agh cha nel ee jummal stiagh mynphoyntyn as jerkal rhyt cur ad gys cooinaghtyn. Ta ny karracteyryn cleaynagh dy liooar, myn- as ard-charracteyryn y jees. Ta Nye dy kinjagh screeu mraane anaasoil, as by vie lhiam y Chooinseilagh erskyn ooilley, ga dy nee ben-oik t'ayn gyn blass hene caggee urree. Shen yn aght!

Shegin dou cur moylley er lheh da'n ard-charracteyr. S'doillee agglagh eh screeu ommidan ooasle as ard-chied echey, as jannoo shen y credjallagh, gyn croo fer nagh by vie lesh peiagh erbee eh. Ta screeu ass y chied reayrtys ny smessey foast. Ta Nye croo cormid jesh eddyr foill as mie; ta Thomas jannoo reddyn ommidjagh, agh t'eh cooilleeney reddyn scanshoil myrgeddin. Cha nee feniagh caggee t'ayn as laue niartal echey, agh cha nel eh jummal traa sleih neuooasle as cur orroo eh y hauail noadyr. Ta'n skeeal gra dy nee fer kenjal as cleaynagh t'ayn, as chreid mee shen. Ga dy nee anoayllagh t'ayn, ta cree as mian echey dy jannoo e chooid hare, as imlid dy liooar dy hoiggal feeu sleih cadjin. Kionneein y nah lioar nish mannagh row mee cummmal veih kionnaghey lioaryn.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 2 lioar, va 84 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 82 faagit dou nish. Shegin dou lhaih 32 lioar ayns 24 shiaghteeyn.

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English version

5th - 12th July

The end of week twenty-eight of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

Some Chinese ghosts (Lacfadio Haern)

An interesting little collection of ghostly short stories. They're based on Chinese stories that circulated in Japan while he lived there, though according to his notes, he's essentially rewritten them rather than simply translating a Japanese version. They're characterful and appealing.

A view from the Imperium (Jody Lynn Nye)

I've read and enjoyed Nye's work before, but I wasn't prepared for how enthralling I found this book. Technically, it's very impressive. Plot seeds are regularly planted well in advance, so smoothly that I never saw them coming. The setting is detailed enough to feel vibrant and new, but not crammed with aliens to memorise. Minor characters were nicely articulated, while Nye has always written good, interesting female characters without resorting to arbitrary badassness - the Councillor was excellent.

I was particularly impressed with the protagonist. A character who's a spoiled, privileged aristocratic twerp is very difficult to write convincingly without making them unlikable. First-person perspective makes it even worse. Nye balanced this nicely between flaws and virtues, competence and cluelessness. He's neither an action hero, nor a time-waster in constant need of saving. Thomas is supposed to be kind, likeable and charming, and I really felt that that charm seeped out of the page, so that even his foibles felt endearingly human rather than irritating. I'd buy the next book right now if I wasn't not buying books.

Afterword

I read 2 books this week, I had 84 last week, 82 are left over. I have 32 books to read in 24 weeks.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 27

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

29oo Vean Souree - 5oo Jerrey Souree

Jerrey shiaghtoo shiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

聲の形 y.l. 1 (大今良時)

Ta ellyn mie er bashtal 'sy lioar shoh; atreih, cha ghow mee taitnys jeh'n skeeal hene. V'eh orrym lhaih lheid ny lioar ayns Lettyraght Vaarle 'sy scoill, as cha by vie lhiam eh eisht noadyr. Skeealyn sheer-ghroamagh, lane dy "rieughid" (dy ghra myr shen, groamid), karracteyryn nagh by vie lesh peiagh erbee ad, as soilshaghey magh nagh vel peiagh kenjal erbee ayn as nagh vel bea agh doccarys as surranse. Ta daa pheiagh mie ayn: moir yn ard-charracteyr Shouyra, as Nishimiya. Cha nel rheamys currit da'n voir agh tra t'ee boirey er Shouya. Ta Nishimiya balloo bouyr ny h-ourallagh da braggartys Houya, agh cha nee karracteyr hene ayn; she greie bun-skeeallagh ("plot device") t'ayn. Cha nel aittys chamoo aash erbee ayn, as cha nel kied ec peiagh erbee agh Shouya aase aght erbee. Atreih, ny yei shen, cha by vie lhiam eh er chor erbee. Va mee jerkal rish skeeal anaasoil mychione caillin wouyr as gilley ta kiangley rish as cooney lhee. Agh shoh dooin Very Special Episode, as cha nel bea hene ec Nishimiya; cha nel ee ayn agh son dy chur cummaght er bea Shouya.

妖怪のお医者さん y.l. 1 (佐藤 友生)

Skeeal scoill neughooghyssagh anaasoil ta croghey er feayn-skeealeydaght Hapaanagh. Ta daa ard-charracteyr ayn as ablid oc dy 'akin spyrrydyn. T'eh ginsh meer toshee y skeeal daa cheayrt, jeh reayrtys ny caillin as eisht jeh reayrtys y yilley. Ta'n nah lhieggan cur stiagh stoo noa, as aght ennagh t'eh beggan quaagh dy daag ad y lheid jeh'n chied lhieggan, agh, wahll. By ghoillee dou toiggal ny keayrtyn; chammah's croghey er cultoor ny Shapaan, t'eh jannoo ymmyd jeh fontyn ellynagh nagh dod mee lhaih ad dy baghtal! Ghow mee taitnys jeh ny yei shen. Ta'n gilley quaagh dy liooar; ayns ayrn, shen kyndagh rish y bea v'echey roish y scoill, agh ta kuse elley gyn soilshaghey foast. Cha nel mee shickyr, son ta manga dy cadjin goaill stiagh ram aittys keintyssagh ta quaagh da ny Goaldee.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 2 lioar, va 86 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 84 faagit dou nish. Shegin dou lhaih 34 lioaryn ayns 25 shiaghteeyn.

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English version

29th June - 5th July

The end of week twenty-seven of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

聲の形 v. 1 (大今良時)

This book is full of lovely, realistic artwork. Unfortunately, it's not my sort of story at all. This is the kind of book we were forced to read in English Literature - full of misery, "realism", characters nobody could like, and heavy moral messages about how everyone is basically awful and life is crap. There are precisely two likeable characters: the protagonist's mother, who gets minimal pagetime, and the victim Nishimiya herself, who is essentially a plot device in this volume at least. Most of the volume consists of bullying. There is no humour or relief from the misery, and no characters other than protagonist Shouya are allowed to develop, which is a problem given that he's completely unlikeable. It's a huge shame, because I thought this was going to be a really interesting series about the experiences of a deaf kid and this boy who gets involved in her life. But no, she's essentially a Very Special Episode plot device as far as I can tell, serving only to motivate the protagonist in various ways.

妖怪のお医者さん y.l. 1 (佐藤 友生)

An interesting supernatural school story based on Japanese folklore. It has two protagonists who can see ghosts. The first part of the story is told twice, from each character's perspective, which was interesting. The second version adds a fair bit of new stuff, and it seeks a bit odd somehow that this particular stuff was omitted from the first. Some of this was hard to follow, particularly as it uses artistic fonts in places that are harder to read than usual. Still, I enjoyed it. The male protagonist is odd, and while some of that oddity is explained by his background, some is still unexplained. I'm not sure yet if it's just the usual manga tendency to use a lot of sex jokes, or something else.

Afterword

I read 2 books this week, I had 86 last week, 84 are left over. I have 34 books to read in 25 weeks.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 26

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

22h-28oo Vean Souree

Jerrey sheyoo shiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

The Night land (William Hope Hodgson)

By vie lhiam dy by vie lhiam dy skeeal shoh, agh va'n aght screeuee dy my lhiettal. Cha s'aym my she skeeal mie t'ayn ny dyn, myr shen. Ta'n aght screeuee jus do-lhaih. Cha nee prose bardagh (shen mie ny keayrtyn) chamoo shenn aght t'ayn (ta mee lhiah y lheid dy jeean) - t'eh neuyeeragh as yl-chast, as ta grammeydys lane whaagh ayn (abbyrt ennagh? shenn aght nagh vel fys aym er? marranys hene?) myr scansh eddyr uss as y skeeal. Lhaih mee daa chabdil roish my scuirr mee jeh. Cha s'aym eer cre'n genre t'ayn: t'eh mastey straih farskeealaght heanse, agh v'eh jeeaghyn shennaghyssagh dy liooar. Cha dod mee surranse eh. As ta eieyn lane shenn-emshiragh ayn mychione currymyn deiney as mraane, as ta shen jus dree.

Friend Island (Francis Stevens)

Ny skeeal giare, dy jarroo. Cha noddym cur genre baghtal er: ta FSS (far-skeealaght heanse) 'sy teihll hene, agh cha nel shen bentyn rish y skeeal t'ayn, as ta reddyn yindyssagh ayn nagh vel fansee cadjin noadyr. Ta Stevens maylartey ynnydyn mraane as deiney gyn cur wheesh trimmid er y chooish, as by vie lhiam eh shen. Y skeeal hene, cha nee agh beggan aitt t'ayn. Ghow mee taitnyss jeh, agh cha nee The Citadel of Fear t'ayn er chor erbee.

The Terror (Arthur Machen)

Cha row fys aym cre'n lioar veagh ayn, agh va mee er glashtyn jeh. She lioareen t'ayn, 90 duillagyn. Wahll, she folliaght t'ayn, as fer lane quaagh. Hoig mee red ny ghaa rish lhaih y skeeal, agh cha dod mee roshtyn y freggyrt hene er chor erbee derrey ghow ny karrecteyryn toshiaght soilshaghey magh y chooish. Chreid mee dy nee far-skeealaght whaagh v'ayn - ta sannish jeh cummaghtyn joarree dy leah - agh cha nee, 'sy cheeal chadjin. Ta moralaght Victoriagh echey, as cha nel eh lhiantyn rish cliaghtaghyn far-skeealaght whaagh.

Voir eh orrym dy vel eh croghey er sleih gyn rheynn fyssyree ymmydoil, eer marish ny caarjyn oc. As cha nel y dunverer feer tushtagh, myr shen lhisagh ny smoo sleih er scapail baase, as eisht er doiggal bun y chooish. Myr shen, er lhiam dy vel y chied 80 duillag lane 'eeu, agh cha nel mee shickyr mychione y jerrey!

Magic for Beginners (Kerry Link)

Hooar mee y lioar shoh nastee aght ennagh, myr shen cha vaik mee rieau coontey giare ny red erbee myr shen. Chreid mee rere yn ennym as y coodagh dy nee fansee baljagh v'ayn - da'n aeglee, foddee - mychione ynsaghey druiaghtys. Cha nee. She teihys skeealyn t'ayn, as cha dod mee coontey monney jeh. She sorçh dy feeynaidyn lettyragh fansee v'ayn, er lhiam. T'ad quaagh jeh yioin, as shen dy schlei, agh cha chreid mee dy row dean baghtal oc. Lhaih mee daa as scuirr mee jeh. Va blass far-skeealaght laue-lioar RPG oc, er lhiam: soilshaghey magh seihll ennagh dy mie, agh ny share shen na skeealaght. Ghow mee taitnys jeh kied lieh y chied skeeal derrey hoig mee nagh beagh feasley erbee er ny reddyn quaagh aynsyn. V'eh gollrish prowaltyssyn screeuee ennagh, cloie marish eieyn quaagh, agh gyn eie fondagh er cre'n skeeal v'ayn. Wahll, va lhaihderyn elley jeean dy liooar - mooarane jeu! - myr shen, ny crog orryms ynrican.

Two Keys vol. 1 (Chloe Chan and Aliena Shoemaker)

Skeeal noir fansee bajagh mie. Ta'n ellyn garroo dy ellynagh, as ta shen cooie da'n ghenre er lhiam; t'eh cur trimmid er cummaghyn as gleashaght, agh t'eh baghtal ny yei shen. She skeeal cleaynagh er lhiam, as lhaihym y naa lioar nish. Cha nel mee toiggal cre'n fa nagh vel kiartyn erbee ec sleih pishagagh - veagh ad ymmydoil dy liooar da'n reiltys, er lhiam, as er lhiam dy beagh pishagys hene ny kaart dellal ymmydoil myrgeddin. Agh, shen y seihll t'ayn.

Two Keys vol. 2 (Chloe Chan and Aliena Shoemaker)

Cha hoig mee taghyrtyn y skeeal shoh wheesh mie as y chied lioar. Shimmey reayrtys lane ghleashaght t'ayn, as er lhiam nagh vel yn ellyn wheesh cooie da shen. Cha hoig mee ny keayrtyn ny va taghyrt, as erskyn ooilley tra va pishagys 'sy chooish. She skeeal mie v'ayn, agh v'eh orrym gobbraghey ny smoo 'sy lioar shoh na 'sy chied lioar. Er lhiam dy vel shen, ayns ayrn, croghey er ny bun-skeealyn t'ayn. Ta arc baghtal as jerrey echey ec y chied lioar, as eisht arc elley hayrn harrish dys y nah lioar. 'Sy nah lioar, ta'n arc shen çheet gys jerrey neuhickyragh, as ta'n nah arc beggan moal er lhiam. Ta jerrey ard-haghyrtagh echey, agh dooys she "c'rad hig ass shen, hmm?" v'ayn, cha nee "cur y nah lioar dou kiart nish!" v'ayn.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 6 lioar, va 92 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 86 faagit dou nish. Shegin dou lhaih 36 lioaryn ayns 26 shiaghteeyn.

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English version

22nd-28th June

The end of week twenty-six of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

The Night land (William Hope Hodgson)

I wanted to like this, but the writing stopped me. I have no idea whether it's a good story or not. The writing style is incredibly hard to read; not purple prose (which can be good) nor simply archaic, but very roundabout and fussy and thoroughly getting in the way of whatever story may be there. I got two chapters in and then gave up at the prospect of more. I don't even know what genre it is - it's part of a sci-fi series, but everything I saw looked like historical fiction to me. I have a high tolerance for archaism and dense prose, but I couldn't stomach this. It also starts as it (I'm told) means to go on, with some depressingly antiquated ideas about gender roles, which apparently turns into alarming possessiveness later.

Friend Island (Francis Stevens)

Actually a short story, not a book. It's hard to genre-pigeonhole this one - it's got a setting that's some kind of sci-fi, but barely comes into it, with fantastical elements too. I liked how it flips gender roles just in passing while setting up the story. The actual story is just a bit of fun really. It's a far cry from The Citadel of Fear, though.

The Terror (Arthur Machen)

I had no idea what to expect from this - haven't read any before, only heard of it. It's actually a novella, a mere 90 pages. It's good, very peculiar. I had inklings of things that were part of the mystery, but could not see my way to the answer, and it was only once the characters themselves put things together that I would be able to. I thought this was going to be a weird tale, and changed my mind about what kind of weird tale as the revelations came along, but in the end I think it actually isn't. It's got a very Victorian sensibility and doesn't really seem to fit the frame of the weird tale. It seemed early on as though it might bring in alien influences on almost Lovecraftian lines.

It does rely in a couple of places on the slightly annoying device of characters failing to share information that would have helped them put the facts together. There's also a slightly weird thing going on where essentially, lots of people are being killed, but there are remarkably few unsuccessful attacks; this is actually a bit unlikely once you know the solution, and you'd expect the truth to come out quite easily. The attacker is not intelligent enough to only attack when success is likely, and there should really be far more attacks in general.

Magic for Beginners (Kerry Link)

I got this as a free bonus ebook for backing something on Indiegogo, so bear that in mind. I didn't buy it, nor did I see a blurb to evaluate at any point.

The title and cover gave me the impression this would be an urban fantasy, possibly YA title, about learning magic. It isn't. It's actually a collection of short stories. I couldn't really get into it. It seems essentially like literary fantasy vignettes. The two stories I read were knowingly weird, and very successful at it - my problem was that they didn't seem to have anything else in mind. On reflection, they remind me strongly of RPG game fiction, evoking a distinctive setting well but not particularly going anywhere. I enjoyed the first half of the first story, until I realised none of the weirdness would ever be resolved. The second one did nothing for me. It seems like a set of writing experiments in being weird, not apparently going anywhere. Some people absolutely raved about it, so hey.

Two Keys vol. 1 (Chloe Chan and Aliena Shoemaker)

A decent urban fantasy noir. The artistically-rough art style works well for the genre, emphasising shades and impressions, while still being pretty clear to the eye. The story intrigues me so far, though there are a number of unanswered setting questions - not least, why do magic people apparently have no rights? Given they're a potential asset to the government, and also magic tends to be a useful bargaining chip... ah well, it's a setting assumption. I'm interested to see where this goes.

Two Keys vol. 2 (Chloe Chan and Aliena Shoemaker)

I found this one a little harder to follow than the first. There's quite a lot of action scenes early on, and I don't feel the art style is quite as suited to that. Sometimes it wasn't clear to me what was happening, particularly as a lot of magic flies around. This was still a good volume, but not quite as satisfying as the first. I think it's partly because it's setting up a longer-term storyline for next volume. The first volume had one conclusive arc (finding the prisoner) and led into the next; here, the first arc sort of peters out with a stalemate, while the second felt rather slow to me. The ending is a dramatic splash, though not a cliffhanger as such. It's cool, but more of a "huh, I wonder where this is going?" than a "wowza I need the next volume right now!" for my part.

Afterword

I read 6 books this week, I had 92 last week, so 86 are left over. I have 36 books to read in 26 weeks.

Language Myths: Cha nel kuse dy hengaghyn corrym rish

Ta'n art shoh ry-lhaih lesh kied kenjal Ray Harlow, Laurie Bauer, Pheter Trudgill as Phenguin. T'eh er ny screeu er son ny lioar Language Myths, ny lioar vie er bashtal as cagh ny share son lhaih ee.

FEAYN-SKEEAL JEES

Cha nel kuse dy hengaghyn corrym rish

Liorish Ray Harlow

My veesmayd jeeaghyn er ny çhengaghyn ta goll er loayrt ‘sy teihll jiu, vermayd my ner nagh vel yn ymmyd cheddin jeant jeu. Y chooid smoo dy hengaghyn, she kied çhengey heshaght ennagh t’ayn, as t’ad cooilleeney currymyn ny sheshaght shen lane vie. Ta rheam obbragh sloo ec shiartanse jeu; myr sampleyr, derrey’n gherrid, va Ladjyn lhiettalit da ymmydyn er lheh ‘syn Agglish Chreestee Raueagh, erskyn ooilley stiurey shirveishyn as çhaghteraghyn sthie eddyr-ashoonagh yn Agglish. Ta rheam eer ny sloo eck jiu, as cha nel feer ymmyd jeant jee agh son lhaih ny va screeut aynjee dy bunneydagh.

Er y laue elley, ta obbraghyn s’lhea na coraa laaoil ec kuse dy hengaghyn. T’ad nyn jengaghyn oikoil son reagheydys lane ashoonyn, ta ymmyd jeant jeu er son ynsaghey dys ny keimyn s’yrjey, as er son dagh ooilley sorçh dy screeuaght. Fir elley, ta currym eddyr-ashoonagh oc; she Baarle ee y sampleyr share ec y traa t’ayn, foddee. She çhengey hraaght aer eddyr-ashoonagh, ghellal, as hoilshaghey oaylleeagh ee, as lingua franca turrysaght.

Dy meeaighar, er y fa dy vel lheid ny scanshyn eddyr rheamyn çhengaghyn, ta kuse dy ‘leih credjal, mannagh vel rheam lheead ec çhengey, nagh noddagh ee cooilleeney lheid y rheam. Er lesh kuse dy ‘leih, cha nel kuse dy hengaghyn corrym rish. Cha nel ad nyn jengaghyn oaylleeaght, çhaghteraght eddyr-ashoonagh as screeuaght, as er y fa dy vel ad moal, cha nod ad cooilleeney ny currymyn shoh.

Ta lheid y varel ry-akin smoo baghtal ayns sheshaghtyn raad ta myn-hengey goll er loayrt marish ard-hengey. Myr cooish hampleyragh, smooinee er Maorish, çhengey ghooie Pholaneesagh ny Seelan Noa. Rere briwnyssyn çhengoayllee, ta Baarle ny kied çhengey ec mysh 95 ‘sy cheead jeh’n phobble as ny çhengey ynrican ec mysh 90 ‘sy cheead. Ta beggan ny smoo na 12 ‘sy cheead jeh’n phobble cur enney Maorish daue hene, ass 3 millioonyn. Ny yei shen, ga dy vel ad cur trimmid er scansh ny çhengey son enney Maorish, cha nel agh mysh 30 000 loayreyder glen eck. Er coontey caghlaaghyn sheshoil ‘syn Teelan Noa rish ny queig jeih-bleeantyn s’jerree, ta rheam Vaori er ny lhiettal beggan er veggan, as ayns ymmodee buill, cha nel ee ry-chlashtyn jiu agh ayns cruinnaghtyn formoil cliaghtagh.

Rish ny feed blein s’jerree, va ventyr ny ghaa ec politickaght, ynsaghey as scaalheaney dys castey y hroa shen. Myr eiyrtys jeusyn, she çhengey oikoil ny Seelan Noa t’ayn nish. T’ee ry-chlashtyn ayns scaalheaney radio as çhellveeish, as ayns kuse dy scoillyn as eer un ollooscoill, cha nel ny cooish studeyrys ynrican, agh ny çhengey ynsee.

Rish immeeaght ny ventyryn shoh, va’n varel cheddin dy row mee çheet er ry-akin ec ymmyrkey kuse dy leih: cha nel y jargaght ec Maorish dy ve ny çhengey oikoil ny ny çhengey ynsee erskyn y cheim s’inshley. Ny keayrtyn, lesh fockley magh y varel shoh, t’eh ry-akin nagh vel bun resoonagh echey. S’cooin lhiam barel ayns pabyr-naight ny Seelan Noa blein ny ghaa er dy henney, as foee shickyraghey nagh row Maorish ny çhengey 'eeu, er y fa dy row feme eck er eeassaghey ass y Vaarle er son eieyn noa. Cosoylaghey rish shen, she çhengey vreeagh as so-lhoobagh ee Baarle dy baghtal, er y fa dy dod ee er n’eeassaghey focklyn jeh ymmodee çhengaghyn car ny bleeantyn son eieyn noa.

Agh ta’n eie cheddin, nagh vel kuse dy hengaghyn feeu, ry-akin ayns cooishyn elley. She oraatagh, politickagh as fallsoonagh Romanagh v’eh Cicero, ‘sy chied eash RJC. Screeu eh obbraghyn fallsoonagh ayns Ladjyn, ayns ayrn dys cur fallsoonys Greagagh cour sleih nagh row agh Ladjyn oc, agh myrgeddin, dys taishbyney dy row eh yn-yannoo. Shen er y fa dy row ourys ec ny co-emshiree echey dy dod Ladjyn cur eieyn as aghtyn smooinaghtyn ny Greagee da sleih! Er lhieu, cha row Ladjyn corrym rish. Agh shen çhengey vees ny çhengey ard-scoillarys, oaylleeaght, diploamys eddyr-ashoonagh as lettyraght rish milley bleeaney as ny smoo! Y Reejerey Isaac Newton, ard-scoillar mie er enney ny shiaghtoo eash jeig, hoilshee magh eh ny eieyn echey ayns Ladjyn.

Haghyr lheid y red reesht ‘syn Europey Heear ec jerrey ny Mean Eashyn, lesh ny çhengaghyn dooghyssagh (myr hie ad er enmys) cosney obbraghyn va fo ream Ladjyn roish shen. Ec y traa shen, va sleih ayn as er lhieu nagh dod ny çhengaghyn ardjeeagh, myr Frangish, Baarle, Iddaalish as nyn lheid, jannoo yn obbyr shoh. V’ad ro-gharroo, ro-neuappee, as laccal cooid; cha dod ad fockley smooinaght neuloaghtagh as fys lhean myr ny shenn-hengaghyn, Ladjyn as Greagish. Lhig dooin resooney magh ny ta ry-laccal ec çhengaghyn er lhieu, ny faghyn nagh vel ad corrym rish, as y fesht: “Corrym rish cre?”.

Ny keayrtyn, t’ad reih troyn troggalagh çhengey myr fa dy vel çhengey elley ennagh ny share son obbyr ennagh. 'Syn Elveeish hiar-yiass, ta çhengey ec ymmodee sleih as ish jeh sliught Ladjyn ny coloinee Romanagh. She Romansh t’ayn, as ish çhengey ny theay ayns kuse dy h-ardjyn as baljyn beg, ga dy vel Germaanish er vrishey stiagh 'syn ard neayr's eashyn er dy henney. Myr t’eh son Maorish, as dimraa mee roish, rish ny jeih-bleeantyn s’jerree, ta gleashaght ayn dy vooadaghey ream as paart Romansh.

Nish, foddee Germaanish cur focklyn ry-cheilley dy aashagh, as jannoo co-ocklyn jeu (breearyn, marenmyn as fir elley, cha nel ennymocklyn ynrican). Cha nod Romansh shen y yannoo cho aashagh; t’ee jannoo ymmyd jeh raaghyn dys cochiangley eieyn. Kuse dy Romansheyryn, t’ad er vreggyrt y lhiettrimys shoh lesh credjal nagh vel Romansh corrym rish magheryn bea feer chrampit, er y fa: “foddee Germaanish jannoo focklyn nyn lomarcan son eieyn çhaghnagh, as meenaghey baghtal oc; cha nod Romansh”.

Ta’n barel shoh faagail magh dy vel çhengaghyn elley, myr Frangish as Iddaalish, ‘syn un vuckagh. Agh cha nel doilleeid erbee oc lesh loayrt dy baghtal er cooishyn çhaghnagh. Chammah’s shen, by Romansh ee çhengey dooghyssagh yn ard rish eashyn, as dagh ooilley cooish ayns sheshaght eirinagh alpinagh jeant lioree, as fir jeu feer ‘çhaghnagh’. Lheid ny barelyn, t’adsyn casley rish yn ‘’eayn-skeeal’ t’ad resooney magh ayns Feayn-Skeeal 10: Cha Nel Grammeydys Ec Kuse Dy Hengaghyn. Rere’n ’eayn-skeeal shoh, er coontey scanshyn eddyr troggalyn çhengaghyn, ta lhiettrimyssyn eddyr oc bentyn rish jargaght dy ‘ockley magh kianglaghyn resoonagh eddyr focklyn as eieyn.

Ny keayrtyn elley, cha nel çhengey ennagh ‘corrym rish’ er y fa dy vel eh “graney, barbagh, dewil”. Shoh fer jeh ny h-oyryn, er lesh sleih ennagh, nagh dod ny çhengaghyn dooghyssagh goaill orroo hene obbyr Ladjyn. Myr screeu ard-scoillar ennagh, va blass “soar check as ollish yn ‘er caggee” orroo. Va Dante ny chione-fenee ny çhengaghyn dooghyssagh, as t’ad gra dy dug eh er bun Iddaalish jeianagh. Ny yei shen, lesh creearey abbyrtyn Iddaalagh lesh shirrey fer cooie son ny shaleeyn lettyragh echey, daag magh eh yn abbyrt Romanagh, er y fa: “jeh ooilley abbyrt Iddaalagh, ta’n sheean moal feie oc y fer smoo feodagh – as cha nyrrys, fakin dy vel eh rere trulleeaght as garrooid nyn gliaghtaghyn.”

Ta’n daa hampleyr shoh cowraghey magh ny ta goll er dy feer. Ta ny smoo resoonaght er y chooish shoh ayns Feayn-Skeeal 11: S’aalin Ee Iddaalish, S’garney Ee Germaanish. T’eh taghyrt dy mennick dy vel sleih cur er çhengey ny abbyrt ennagh y varel t’oc orroosyn ta dy loayrt. Myr shen, va’n abbyrt Romanagh feie as moal er lesh Dante er y fa dy nee shen y varel v’oc er ny Romanee v’ayn ec y traa. Y treeoo oyr ta sleih gra nagh vel çhengey ennagh corrym rish, t’eh ny s’trimmey; shen y coyrle: “Cha nel X corrym rish er y fa nagh nod shiu loayrt er fishag çheshveanagh aynjee”. Ta shen keeayllaghey dy vel Baarle (ny çhengey ennagh elley myr Germaanish ny Rooshish, myr sampleyr) ny share na X, er y fa dy vel cooishyn ayn nod oo loayrt orroo ayns fer jeu, agh cha nod ‘syn ‘er elley.

Er y chied reayrtys, t’eh jeeaghyn dy ve ny argane mie. Ta reddyn ayn nod oo jannoo ayns çhengey ennagh nagh nod oo jannoo ayns çhengey elley; myr shen ta shiartanse dy hengaghyn ny share na fir elley; myr shen, cha nel shiartanse dy hengaghyn corrym rish shiartanse dy h-obbraghyn, er y chooid sloo.

Agh ta’n varel shoh cur mee-enney er tro hengaghyn kyndagh rish y çhennaghys oc myr tro undinagh hengaghyn. Dy ghra myr shen, rere’n varel shoh, er y fa nagh row oyr ny feme erbee rieau dy loayrt er (myr sampleyr) fishag çheshveanagh ayns Maorish, cha nod oo jannoo eh arragh er coontey lheamys undinagh ennagh t’er Maorish. Agh lesh beggan smooinaghtyn, heemayd nagh nodmayd cummal seose yn argane shoh.

Cha loayr ad er co-earrooderyn ayns Shenn Vaarle; ta Baarle Yeianagh yn un hengey as Shenn Vaarle, agh ny s’anmey; myr shen, lhisagh shin credjal nagh nodmayd loayrt er co-earrooderyn ayns Baarle Yeianagh. Shen ommidjys, gyn ourys. S’baghtal eh ny haghyr; rish ny bleeantyn, ta Baarle er ngiennaghtyn y chooid ta feme ain urree dys loayrt er co-earrooderyn, as ymmodee cooishyn elley nagh row fys orroo ain ayns ny shenn laghyn. Dys resooney magh cooish ennagh ayns çhengey er lheh, ta feme ain er focklyn dys çheet er mynphoyntyn y chooish; dy ghra myr shen, tasht-fockle cooie.

Gyn ourys, shegin dooin dy vel y çhengey lhiggey dooin ny fockley y chochiangley ayns jeean-loayrtyssyn, feyshtyn, as myr shen. Agh ta ny h-aghtyn shoh ec dagh çhengey. Ta cabdilyn elley loayrt er y chooish shoh, Feayn-Skeeal 10: Cha Nel Grammeydys Ec Kuse Dy Hengaghyn, as Feayn-Skeeal 4: She Çhengey Resoonagh Ee Frangish. Dy giare, ta scansh eddyr çhengaghyn bentyn rish obbraghey troggal ny çhengey, agh foddee ad ooilley fockley y ream cheddin dy cheealyn troggalagh.

Cha nel y tasht-fockle cheddin ec dagh çhengey. S’feer eh dy vel kuse dy hengaghyn er naase tashtyn-fockle bentyn rish cooishyn nagh vel sleih loayrt orroo ayns kuse dy hengaghyn elley. As she “aase” eh y fockle breeoil shoh. Foddee oo loayrt er fishag çheshveanagh ayns Baarle, er y fa dy vel y tasht-fockle eck er naase rish aase smooinaghtyn oaylleeagh; cha row eh ayn er son dy bragh myr tro undinagh ny Baarle. Ren Baarle mooadaghey y tasht-fockle eck, ayns ymmodee aghtyn rish ny h-eashyn, dys cooilleeney ny femeyn noa v’eck. Foddee dagh çhengey mooadaghey y tasht-fockle eck ‘syn aght cheddin, dys goaill stiagh cooishyn erbee as feme ec ny loayreyderyn oc dy loayrt orroo. Lesh jeeaghyn er ny focklyn t’ad jannoo ymmyd jeu ‘sy Vaarle dys loayrt er cooishyn çhaghnagh, as ymmodee fir neuhaghnagh neesht, heemayd dy vel y chooid smoo jeu ass çhengaghyn elley, as er nyn govestey stiagh ‘sy Vaarle. T’ad cur “eeassaghey” er shen, ga nagh vel eie erbee dy jed ny focklyn er cur erash! Ta dagh çhengey jannoo shen er shlee, agh s’cosoylagh dy vel tasht-fockle “eeassit” Vaarle y fer smoo ‘sy teihll, mastey ard-hengaghyn er y chooid sloo.

Ny yei shen, cha nel eeassaghey yn aght ynrican dy nod çhengey mooadaghey y tasht-fockle eck. Dy mennick, ta’n tasht-fockle goll er aase “veih’n çheusthie”, dy ghra myr shen, liorish y chooid t’eck hannah. Ny keayrtyn, agh cha nel dagh keayrt er chor erbee, ta çhengey as ny loayreyderyn eck jannoo shen er y fa dy vel ad credjal dy jinnagh eeassaghey aggair jee. Oyr elley son aase tasht-fockle lesh cooid ny çhengey hene, shen dy by vie lesh screeudeyr ennagh dy nod y lhaihderaght chiarit toiggal ny ta screeut echey dy aashagh, as veagh ram eeassaghey nyn gumrail, foddee.

Shen ny ren Cicero. Son dy screeu ayns Ladjyn er eieyn fallsoonys Greagagh, begin da tasht-fockle Ladjynagh y aase, as shen corrym rish ny h-eieyn by vie lesh soilshaghey magh. Son y chooid smoo, ren eh shen liorish goaill fockle Ladjyn as cur keeal er lheh er dy jioinagh. Sampleyr feer scanshoil, shen yn ymmyd jeant echey jeh’n ‘ockle Ladjyn ratio son ‘resoon’, as haink yn ymmyd shoh da Baarle myr reason. Ny keayrtyn elley, chroo eh focklyn noa jeh bun Ladjynagh; myr sampleyr, chroo eh qualitas (haink shen y ve quallid ‘sy Ghaelg, quality ‘sy Vaarle) dy jioinagh dys çheet er eie Greagagh.

Ta myn-hengaghyn, myr sampleyr Maorish as Romansh, jannoo y red cheddin jiu ren Cicero son Ladjyn. T’ad jannoo tasht-fockle ass cooid t’ec ny çhengaghyn hannah, do nodmayd jannoo ymmyd jeu dy loayrt er cooishyn nagh row shin loayrt orroo ayndaue monney roie, myr co-earrooderyn, leigh, oaylleeaght as reddyn elley. Cha cosoylagh eh dy jig y daa hengey shoh y ve nyn jengaghyn oaylleeaght ny diploamys eddyr-ashoonagh, agh dy beagh shennaghys elley ayn, veagh ad, foddee, as eisht veagh shin resooney magh, foddee, my ta Baarle “corrym rish” ny dyn.

Language Myths

Baarle: "This illuminating and highly readable collection of essays explores some of the myths, for example: standards of children's speech and writing have declined; women talk too much; the 'purity' of the English language is under threat; some languages are more attractive to the ear or are harder to learn than others; the media has a detrimental effect on language. These widely held views are questioned and shown to be based on inadequate or false information, or simply, not to be true. Other essays explore spelling problems, attitudes towards accents, controversies over changes in language, and the belief that some languages have no grammar."

Fys lioar-oaylleeagh:

• Enmys: Language Myths
• Soilsheyder: Penguin, 1998
• Reagheyderyn: Laurie Bauer & Peter Trudgill
• ISBN-13: 978-0140260236
• Kiangley: Er ynnyd-eggey Phenguin (kiart ec y traa screeuee)

Screeudeyryn

Ray Harlow

She Ray Harlow eh screeudeyr yn art shoh. She çhengoayllee eh, as anaase echey er ymmodee çhengaghyn. T'eh cur geill er lheh da Maorish as Polaneesish, as t'eh cur cooney da obbyr freayll çhengaghyn 'sy Teelan Noa, chammah's da sheshaghtyn Europagh ta jannoo eab myn-hengaghyn ardjynagh y 'reayll.

Laurie Bauer

Ta Laurie Bauer ny cho-reagheyder ny lioar. She çhengoayllee eh, as anaase mooar echey er jalloo-oaylleeaght (kiaddey focklyn, er lheh) as sorçhyn dy Vaarle harrish y teihll (Baarle y Teelan Noa, er lheh).

Peter Trudgill

Ta Peter Trudgill ny cho-reagheyder ny lioar. She çhengoayllee eh, as anaase mooar echey er sheshengoaylleeaght as abbyrtyn. T'eh er nyannoo ram obbyr er abbyrt Norfolk as t'eh ny eaghtyrane onnoragh ny sheshaght Friends of Norfolk Dialect.

Penguin Books

She soilsheyder lioaryn eh Penguin Books.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 25

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

15oo-21oo Vean Souree

Jerrey queiggoo shiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

An introduction to Elvish : and to other tongues and proper names and writing systems of the third age of the Western Lands of Middle-Earth as set forth in the published writings of Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (ymmodee)

Ta'n lioar ard-scoillaragh dy liooar. As anaase aym er çhengaghyn Celtiagh (bun obbyr Holkien) hug mee shilley ny trooid, as er lhiam dy vel ee fondagh dy liooar. Agh dy jarroo, cha nel oo lhaih lhaih ny lioar mannagh vel oo jannoo studeyrys er y chooish. Cha neeym monney ymmyd jeh mannagh bee feme çhelleeragh aym dy screeu Elvish chiart, ny red ennagh myr shen.

エマ (y.l. 1) (森薫)

Ghow mee taitnys jeh'n skeeal shoh, bentyn rish cooish ghraih (dy baghtal) eddyr caillin hie as fer aeg ooasle. She skeeal shennaghyssagh t'ayn, as myr shen ta'n aght loayrtys wheesh scanshoil as ny focklyn hene; er y fa shen by ghooillee dou toiggal ny keartyn, cha nel Shapaanish vie dy liooar aym son lheid ny mynphoyntyn. Ta mian aym dy 'eddyn magh ny vees taghyrt. Son y chooid smoo she manga da aeglee ta ry-akin 'sy Vaarle, as shen ny ta mee er lhaih, agh shoh skeeal da sleih aasit as ta scansh baghtal eddyr oc. Shegin dou gra dy vel eh quaagh nish as reesh. Ta flah Injynagh ard-verçhagh ayn as t'eh ard-haghyrtagh dy liooar, markiagh trooid Lunnin er elefantyn as dossan dy vraane daunse marish; er lhiam dy vel scansh genre ayn eddyr eshyn as y drama thie cadjin ta cooid smoo y skeeal. Dy jarroo, s'doillee dou goaill rish y ghaa 'sy skeeal cheddin. S'treisht lhiam dy beagh eh ny share ny s'anmey.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 2 lioar, va 94 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 92 faagit dou nish.

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English version

8th-14th June

The end of week twenty-five of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

An introduction to Elvish : and to other tongues and proper names and writing systems of the third age of the Western Lands of Middle-Earth as set forth in the published writings of Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (ymmodee)

This isn't the sort of book I'm going to *read* per se, it's somewhere between a reference and a scholarly tome. I've had a reasonable look through it (I'm interested in Celtic languages and linguistics) and it seems well-done, but equally I'm not going to get much use out of it unless/until I suddenly need to use Tolkeinesque languages accurately.

エマ (y.l. 1) (森薫)

A very pleasant read. I found it a bit difficult to catch the nuances; as a classic historical story, the way things are said is as important as what's said, and my Japanese isn't up to that yet. However, it's an interesting setup and I'm intrigued as to what will happen. Some of the elements are rather odd: the larger-than life Indian prince and his antics (racing through London on elephants accompanied by a dozen dancing-girls) seems to belong to a different genre from the serious family drama, and honestly it's hard to reconcile the two. I sort of brushed it off, and I'm hoping the gap will either work itself out later, or not be important.

Afterword

I read 2 books this week, I had 94 last week, so 92 are left over.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 24

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

8oo-14oo Vean Souree

Jerrey kerroo shiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

レベル別日本語多読ライブラリー にほんご よむよむ文庫 レベル2 (ymmodee)

Atreih, cha row y lioar shoh er y rolley! Shen er y fa dy row mee er ny rang-oardraghey myr "lioar studeyrys" as cha row mee cliaghtey cur lheid ny lioar er y rolley ry-lhaih - she greie t'ayn, cha nee noaskeeal. Agh, wahll, cheau mee ram traa urree... She yl-lioar vie t'ayn, as queig ym-lioaryn eck. Ta dagh ym-lioar ny skeeal elley: feayn-skeealaght, shennaghys, dagh ooilley red. Ghow mee soylley jeu, as er lhiam dy vel ad er y cheim chiart myrgeddin.

Thraxas at War (Martin Scott)

Shoh aayeeilley son y fer heose. Hooar mee dy row mee er lhaih yn lioar shoh nurree! Cha gooin lhiam dagh mynphoynt, agh s'cooin lhiam dy nee skeeal fondagh v'ayn.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar nagh row er y rolley, hooar mee dy row lioar elley lhaiht aym hannah, va 95 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 94 faagit dou nish.

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English version

8th-14th June

The end of week twenty-four of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

レベル別日本語多読ライブラリー にほんご よむよむ文庫 レベル2 (ymmodee)

Annoyingly, this Japanese reader is another book that I read before finding it wasn't on the list. I'd assigned it to my pile of study materials, which I don't consider part of the "to read" pile because just reading them isn't really the point. Sigh. Anyway, I spent time on it so I'm recording it here. It's a good book, actually five small individual volumes sold in a package. They offer a range of reading from mythology to history, keeping things fresh. They seem well-judged in terms of level, and I enjoyed reading them.

Thraxas at War (Martin Scott)

As a bit of compensation for the above, I found I'd already read this book last year, without noting it. I don't remember the details enough to review here, but I do remember it was a solid read.

Afterword

I read 1 book that wasn't on the list, I found one was already read, I had 95 last week, so 94 are left over.

Shalee lhiah 2015: shiaghtin 23

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

1d-700 Vean Souree

Treeoo shiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Lioar Hapaanish nagh row er y rolley er oyr ennagh (cre'n fa!?!?!?) chammah's kuse dy vanga chionnee mee eh erreish dou cur jerrey er scrutaght.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee ram lioaryn, agh atreih, cha row ben erbee jeu er y rolley! Myr shen ta 95 faagit aym foast.

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English version

1st-7th June

The end of week twenty-three of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

A big pile of manga I bought to celebrate a successful exam, none of which was on the list, plus a Japanese book that wasn't on the list for some reason... gah.

Afterword

I read lots of books, but sadly none of them were on the list! So 95 are are still left over.

Shalee lhiah 2015: shiaghtin 22

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

25oo-31d Vee ny Boaldyn

Jerrey nah hiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

ひだまりSchool Life (日暮茶坊 & 蒼樹うめ)

Shoh "noaskeeal eddrym" noa 'sy 'traih 「ひだまスケッチ」. Cha nel ooilley ny skeealyn shoh shoh screeuit er bun y vanga, as myr shen ta reddyn neuyerkit ry-lhaih aynshoh. Ghow mee ram soylley jeu; t'ad screeuit dy mie as lane dy vree. Shegin dou soilshaghey magh un foill: shimmey coloayrtys t'ayn ayn enmys erbee, as myr shen va mee er coayl dy cadjin! My ta three ny kiare dy 'leih loayrt gyn ennym er ny t'ad gra, s'doillee eh toiggal ny keayrtyn!

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar, va 96 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 95 faagit dou nish.

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English version

25th-31st May

The end of week twenty-two of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

ひだまりSchool Life (日暮茶坊 & 蒼樹うめ)

Another collection of pleasant little school stories. Unlike the other light novel in the series, this one isn't entirely based on the manga, and so there were a few surprises. It's all very enjoyable, written with feeling. My one criticism would be that I found myself getting lost in many of the conversations - there are sometimes long strings of dialogue between several characters with no indication who's saying what, which can be confusing.

Afterword

I read 1 book, I had 96 last week, so 95 are left over.

Tree Benreinyn

Nod oo feddyn y baatey follit 'sy chaslys-soilshey shoh?

Queen Elizabeth ayns Lerphoyll - ny share lhiam na'n ven elley aghterbee.

Ta slyst Virkenhead jingit lesh sleih, agh er fa ennagh cha smooinee y chooid smoo jeu dy gholl sheese er y traie.

Queen Elizabeth hoshiaght, as eisht Victoria as Mary.

Caslys lane reayrtagh dhyt.

Lerphoyll argid.

"Hoi, yillyn, bee y ven roayr ain dy leah! Cur aile da'n lostan, gow-jee ny muscadyn as kiare-jee ny baatyn!"

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 21

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

18oo-2400 Vee ny Boaldyn

Jerrey kied shiaghtin as feed ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Jobnik! (Miriam Libicki)

Ta'n lioar chaslyssagh shoh ny bea-skeeal caillin hie stiagh 'syn Armee Israelagh. Eie mie, er lhiam, as smooinee mee dy doiggin ny smoo mychione y lught quaagh shen, agh dy jarroo she obbyr ayn-ass t'ayn. Ta cooid vooar jeh bentyn rish bea keintyssagh y ven, as e h-ennaghtyn hene er keintys as persoonid. Ta shen lane phersoonagh (as meegherjoilagh - t'ee feddyn deiney neuchooie car y traa) agh shegin dou gra nagh row eh feer anaasoil. Va mee jerkal rish smooinaghtyn er yn armee as y lheid, cha row mee shirrey "hene-veashnys insh y clane"! Cha nel bea cadjin anaasoil agh dhyt hene as da dty chaarjyn, son y chooid smoo, my vea hene noadyr. Ta naightyn çhellveeish er y chaggey gientyn aeraght dy mie, agh ta rouyr jeu as chaill mee anaase dy leah. Va ayrnyn elley soilshaghey magh bea laaoil 'syn armee (myr ben-oik), as nish as reesht hug ee shilley er lught-thie Israelagh ennagh - shen ny va mee jerkal rish, as ghow mee soylley jeh. Ny yei shen, shimmey cowag t'ayn gyn monney bree, nagh vel anaasoil chamoo t'eh soilshaghey magh red erbee da'n lhaihder. Veagh laue reagheyder lane ymmydoil, foddee. Er lhiam nagh vel y lioar shoh ny t'ee cur urree hene.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar, va 97 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 96 faagit dou nish.

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English version

18th-24th May

The end of week twenty-one of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

Jobnik! (Miriam Libicki)

This is a very personal account of an American girl who joined the Israeli army. The art is appropriately low-key realistic, and rather bleak, although this felt less appropriate to the lighter interludes. It offers some sense of what it might be like being part of that rather strange institution in a war-torn land. Unfortunately, I felt the personal side was overwhelming - this reads more like a diary than a book, and most diaries aren't thrilling. A huge chunk of pagecount is dedicated to the author's rather troubling sex life (she chooses poorly, it seems) - highly personal, but not very interesting, nor what the blurb leads you to expect. Many more pages are news broadcasts about the conflict, which help portray the atmosphere but soon outstay their welcome. There are some interesting interludes meeting other Israeli families, but a lot of the conversation is bland and doesn't seem informative either. This book just doesn't feel like what it purports to be, and seems like it could use an editor.

Afterword

I read 1 book, I had 97 last week, so 96 are left over.

Yn Scaa Harrish Innsmouth: Sker y Jouyll

Hug mee y boteil da Zadok, as slug eh y bine jerrinagh jeh. By whaagh eh nagh row y jough ry-akin er; cha cheayll mee blass plooghit hene ‘sy choraa ard pheeaghanagh. Shliee eh mwannal y boteil as tuittym eh ‘sy phoagey echey, as eisht ghow eh toshiaght snoggal as loayrt myr sannish meen. Chroym mee rish dy eaishtagh son fockle so-hoiggal erbee. Er lhiam dy row mongey sharroo ry-akin ergooyl yn ‘aasaag hallagh skeabagh. V’eh loayrt dy jarroo, as va’n chooid smoo jeh ry-chlashtyn aym.

“Matt boght—v’eh dy kinjagh n’oi—jannoo eab dy haglym feallee marish, as loayrt dy liauyr rish ny sharmanee—gyn bree—raoie ad y saggyrt Cohionnalagh ass y valley er çhea, as scuirr y fer Saasilagh jeh—cha vaik mee rieau y saggyrt Bashtagh Resolved Babcock reesht. Farg Yahvey!—mish my eean aeg dy liooar, agh cheayll mee ny cheayll mee, honnick mee ny honnick mee— Dagon as Ashtoreth—Belial as Beëlzebub—Lheiy Grainnit as jee-jallooyn Chanaan as ny Philistinee—feodyssyn Vabylon—Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin—”

Scuirr eh reesht, as rere y jeeagh ‘sy tooill fluigh gorrym va aggle orrym dy tuittagh eh my-neealloo. Agh tra hug mee laue meein er e yeaylin, hyndaa eh orrym dy tappee thanvaneagh as deayrtey magh raa quaagh elley.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 20

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

11d-17oo Vee ny Boaldyn

Jerrey feedoo shiaghtin ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Moonlight Kreuz (Hazaki Yasumi)

Reih mee y lioar shoh gyn tort, myr shen t'eh so-chredjal nagh nee skeeal lane chooie t'ayn. T'eh bentyn rish conreeaghtyn - 'syn aght cheddin ta Twilight bentyn rish sooderyn-folley, foddee? Dy ghra myr shen, ga dy nee "conreeaghtyn" t'ayn, cha nel ny h-ard-charracteyryn caghlaa cummey. Ta'n fer soaral dy niartal, as ta'n chaillin... jannoo ben aasit aalin jee hene as niart neughooghyssagh eck? C'red? Ta ny noidyn lieh-chaghlaa - king voddee oaldey as y lheid. Ta'n ughtar jannoo eab er leshtal, agh phobble, m'ockle er...

Cha noddym moylley eh, atreih. Ta'n skeeal beggan neuvaghtal, gyn soilshaghey magh reddyn dy fondagh. Cha nel eh corrym-cheimagh noadyr: tra erbee ta reddyn scanshoil taghyrt, cha nel rheamys chamoo traa dy liooar currit daue, myr shen ta sleih çheet rish ass yn aer hene car y traa gyn soilshaghey erbee. Cha nel blass corrym echey noadyr: shoh duillag lane dy spotçhyn clichéagh mychione y çhennayr quaagh, as eisht ta conreeaghtyn geabbey peiagh ennagh y ghoaill ersooyl son geddyn sliught. Ta scansh cultooragh ayn, foddee, agh cha nel raipey as spotçhyn nyn biyr cooie er lhiam. Cha ghow mee soylley jeh skeeal, aght screeuee chamoo ellyn, myr shen cha lhiahym ny smoo.

As shoh red elley: cha nel moddee oaldey ny stroshey chamoo ny smoo tramylt na deiney. Myr shen, cre'n aght hooar lettyraght bishaghey jeh "fer ta jannoo moddey oaldey jeh hene" dys "fer ta geddyn niart as aalheimmaght neughooghyssagh voddey oaldey, gyn boirey er granaghey as y lheid"? Mannagh vel oo caghlaa cummey er chor erbee, cha nel oo dty conreeaght. Ta feme er y "chon", eh?

僕だけがいない街 (三部 けい)

Chionnee mee y lioar shoh ayns shapp er son y choodagh, dy firrynagh. Va mee jerkal rish skeeal mychione paitçhyn as scoillyn, s'cosoylagh. Wahll... marranys, chaarjyn. Marranys anvaaragh. Cheau mee ram traa roish my dod mee toiggal taghyrtyn y skeeal shoh: t'eh cast dy liooar, as cha dod mee er nyarkal rish er chor erbee. Ayns beggan focklyn, ta pooar ec y dooinney shoh traa y "aahogher" er son dy lhiettal baaseyn. Cooish anaasoil, nagh nee? Bun mie son skeeal contoyrtyssyn. Agh ta daa skeeal elley ayn myrgeddin! Hoshiaght, t'eh son cur gys cooinaghtyn yn amm paitçhey echey hene, as cre'n fa nagh dod eh kiangley rish sleih elley - er son y yioot, foddee? As ny s'anmey, ta treeoo skeeal çheet rish bentyn rish kimmee gaueagh. Rish jerrey'n skeeal, ta'n trass er nyn sniemmey ry-cheilley myr un skeeal lane chraueagh.

Va mee moal dy liooar rish y chied lieh, son v'eh orrym lhaih beggan er veggan dys toiggal ny va taghyrt as myr shen y skeeal hene. Lhaih mee y nah lieh gyn scuirr erbee, as y kerroo s'jerree gyn tayrn ennal er lhiam. T'eh jeeaghyn nagh vel y nah lioar ry-gheddyn ayns ny h-Inshyn Goaldagh, as t'eh angaishagh dou. Cha ren lioar cur wheesh greesaghey orrym rish eashyn.

Language Endangerment in the 21st Century: Globalisation, Technology and New Media (re. Tania Ka'ai)

Lioar vie dy liooar. T'eh goaill stiagh ymmodee artyn, kuse jeu lane phersoonagh, kuse jeu lane ard-scoillaragh. V'eh castreycair, agh cha ren art erbee geddyn greim orrym, er lhiam. Ta kuse ayn bentyn rish y Yernish as loayr ad er y Ghaelg nish as reesht!

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 3 lioaryn, va 100 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 97 faagit dou nish. Ta mee goaill cree lesh fakin ad lheie ersooyl. Va mee boirey er y gherrid, agh ta mee er ngoll tessen scansh aigney, er lhiam. Un doilleeid: ta ram lioaryn ayn nagh vel 'sy Vaarle, agh ta mee er lhaih y jees oc lieh-as-lieh, bunnys. Myr shen, ta cooid ny Baarle leodaghey dy tappee, as ta mee foddey ny s'melley lhaih ayns çhengaghyn elley!

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English version

11th-17th May

The end of week twenty of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

Moonlight Kreuz (Hazaki Yasumi)

I picked this up more or less at random, so I suppose it's be expected that it wouldn't be a fantastic match. The story is about werewolves, in the same sense that Twilight is about vampires: the hero is just athletic, and the schoolgirl heroine turns into a stunning adult with superhuman strength (yeah...). Spurious handwaving is applied to try and explain this away, but seriously guys. The antagonists, however, do get all wolfy.

It's hard to tell what's the writing and what's the translation, but the story felt rather incoherent, quite generic, and not very well paced. The tone is also hard to judge: one page full of joky asides with the (manga cliché) loony grandfather, the next page a plot to abduct one or other character as breeding material. I think this is getting into cultural differences to some extent. Either way, neither story, writing not art sold me on this, so I won't read any more.

Random aside: Given that wolves *aren't* stronger or tougher than humans, how did this mythology go from "turns into just an actual wolf" all the way to "gains the superhuman strength and resilience of a wolf, without any of that awkward not-being-sexy stuff"?

僕だけがいない街 (三部 けい)

I picked this up on spec in a bookshop because the cover looked pretty cool. I was expecting probably a story about being a primary school (middle school in Japan, I suppose) kid. This is... not that. Very much not that. It took me a long time to get to grips with what it actually is, because it's both unexpected and complicated. To cut a long story short, the protagonist has a strange "rewind" ability that lets him skip back in time to prevent disasters. However, the story has two other major plot strands, which complicates matters. One is his ongoing attempt to understand his inability to connect with people, and to revive buried memories of the past. Later, a third strand appears involving a dangerous criminal. As the volume finishes, these three strands have converged into a single pulse-pounding story.

I was slow reading the first half, taking a good while to understand where things were going and so to get immersed in the story. I read the second half without stopping, and the last quarter without breathing. I am tormented by the fact that almost certainly no copies of the next volume exist in my country. I have not been this excited about a book for ages.

Language Endangerment in the 21st Century: Globalisation, Technology and New Media (re. Tania Ka'ai)

A decent read, with a fairly varied array of articles from the very personal to the very academic. Interesting enough, but I don't think any particular article really grabbed me.

Afterword

I read 3 books, I had 100 last week, so 97 are left over. It's nice to see them going down. I was feeling fairly despondent about my book mound only recently, but now it feels like I've broken some kind of psychological barrier. They fit on one page of my LibraryThing account now. On the (possible) downside, because so many were non-English to begin with, and I've read a fair few English ones, the proportion is rapidly becoming overwhelmingly non-English, which means slower reading.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 19

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

4oo-10oo Mee ny Boaldyn

Jerrey nuyoo shiaghtin jeig ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Waking in Dreamland (Jody Lynn Nye)

Ta'n skeeal shoh soit ayns Çheer ny h-Ashlishyn, crooit ec sleih nyn gadley. Chionnee mee yn lioar shoh erreish dou lhaih skeealyn Tildi Summerbee ayns 2013. As nagh dug ee gys cooinaghtyn y chied lioar shen, An Unexpected Apprentice!

• Ard-charracteyr gyn cosoylaght er y fa dy vel tro quaagh eck/echey ✔
• Noid keoie as nhee druiaghtagh niartal echey ✔
• Noid by vie lesh jannoo red ennagh, as bee y jannoo shen cur jerrey er y teihll s'cosoylagh, as t'eh jeean ny yei shen ✔
• Possan dy 'eniee geiyrt er y noid er turrys liauyr tessen y teihll, shirrey luirg ny druiaghtys ✔
• Ta drogh-ymmyd druiaghtys caghlaa as leodaghey yn çhymbyllaght ✔
• Red niartal follit ayns mean sleityn ✔
• Druiaghtys ta bentyn rish caghlaa reddyn son y chooid smoo ✔

Ta scansh elley eddyr y daa skeeal, dy jarroo, agh t'ad casley rish y cheilley gyn ourys. Ta JLN screeu skeealyn taitnyssagh dy liooar, as t'ee er ngientyn seihll anaasoil noa. Ta blass gennalys er y skeeal shoh nagh row er AUA, as ghow mee soylley jeh. Agh shegin dou gra dy row yn ennaghtyn orrym dy mennick dy row mee er lhaih y skeeal shoh hannah! S'treisht lhiam nagh bee y lioar elley lioree chionnee mee y red cheddin myrgeddin...

By vie lhiam ny karracteyryn son y chooid smoo, agh shegin dou gra dy row yn ard-charracteyr lane chiart mychione ny ven-phrinse. As ish gyn schlei ny oayllaght ymmydoil hoshiaght, she sondid hene eh soie er goaill ayrn 'sy turrys as gaue naardey er y lane teihll, as dy jarroo t'ee ny doilleeid daue ooilley rish tammylt. T'ee gynsaghey as gaase dy ve ymmydoil ny s'anmey, agh cha nel shen caghlaa firrinys ny dooyrt eh. By hreih lhiam fakin dy vel eh cur meehastey da shen wheesh tappee, as lieh jee - dy jarroo, t'eh gaghtey myr va kiart ecksh as eshyn er nyannoo brock ennagh as shirrey lieh!

Kwaidan: stories and studies of strange things (Lafcadio Hearn)

Skeealyn beggey çhyndaait ass yn Çhapaanish, ny screeuit liorish Haern hene rere sannish ny cowag ennagh. Ghow mee soylley jeh, ga dy vel mee er lhaih lhieggan Gaelg cooid jeu liorish Rob y Teare. T'eh beggan quaagh ec y jerrey, as screeuyn mychione shey-chassee jingit stiagh 'sy lioar shoh... ta art mychione snienganyn nyn moylley derrey oddagh oo credjal by vie lesh jannoo sniengenan jeh dagh ooilley pheiagh! As ta blass fallsoonys quaagh far-skeealaght heanse 1970yn er as eshyn loayrt er aafilleydys.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 2 lioar, va 102 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 100 faagit dou nish. Ta blass caarjoil ec shen, er lhiam... agh aght ennagh, ta "100 lioar ry-lhaih" gennaghtyn ny smoo na "159 lioaryn ry-lhaih"...?

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English version

4th-7th May

The end of week nineteen of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

Waking in Dreamland (Jody Lynn Nye)

This is a fantasy quest story set in the titular Dreamland, a self-aware world where everyone knows they only exist in someone's dreams. I bought it after reading the Tildi Summerbee duology in 2013. I've got to say, it was uncannily similar to the first of those, An Unexpected Apprentice, in some respects - not identical by any means, but I had a constant flow of deja vu while I read, feeling that despite the obvious differences they were very much akin. Both are fantasy quest stories set in a world where magic changes things, featuring a mad rebel 'wizard' who has obtained a powerful magical artefact and intends to use it in a ritual he knows to be dangerous that may destroy reality. In both stories, a party of heroes follow the madman using the trail of magical distortion left by the artefact's presence; they include a protagonist with a highly unusual trait, who is also a wizard, as well as a taciturn yet likable guard captain whose stony exterior conceals their deep love for another party member. An adventurous young man who carries out missions for the king is in love with a princess, and angers her through trying to juggle his love with his obligations to the king, but is eventually forgiven as their joint efforts bring the quest to a successful conclusion.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of original touches, both in the world and in the story. For example, this one features a whole party of antagonists, who suffer from internal bickering; while both books are light-hearted, Dreamland is more openly humorous with its focus on dream logic. The characters were pretty likeable, and the book as a whole mostly very readable, so I barely stopped from start to finish. I enjoyed it, but found some sections dull - it opens with a substantial infodump full of setting jargon, which very nearly put me off entirely.

One problem with dream logic is that it makes for low consistency, and allows a lot of author fiat. This is okay in a pure comedy book, but problematic is more serious stories like this. There were a couple of times where it felt like the antagonists only escaped because the author wished it, with the questers becoming suddenly ineffectual and failing to use their resources, and the rules of the setting conveniently arranged to let the bad'uns get away. The scene where Roan is arrested was particularly irksome, and though the courtroom and testing scenes were reasonable observations of dream logic, they also seemed a bit of a waste of time. The test was very long for a diversion, and quite dull in my opinion, and I ended up skimming it. I can't help feeling that either Nye had the idea and was determined to shoehorn it in somewhere, or suddenly felt the urge to add more depth to Roan's philosophy and his feelings for Leonora and couldn't work out a way to do this in the actual story - sorry! If it was meant to be a humourous diversion, it didn't feel funny enough to do that, and it seemed to sit oddly in the story's pacing.

I also found the handling of Leonora's escapade somewhat frustrating. Right in the beginning, Roan points out that she's a liability to the party - and he's absolutely right. Her wish to somehow contribute to their efforts doesn't give her any right to do so, nor grant her any actual ability, and looking at things dispassionately it's a desperately selfish action on her part to force herself on them. As predicted, she delays them and allows their enemies to gain ground. While she does contribute later in the quest (and allows for the romance sideplot!) there was no reason to think this would happen, so Roan's objection remains sound. Her main contribution is her mere presence: the antagonists pull their punches to avoid hurting her out of sheer monarchism, and one adores the Lovely Princess enough to spark a fatal crisis of conscience. Roan is perfectly right, but frustratingly abandons his ethical position at the first hurdle, and begins to act as though he was in the wrong, even seeking her forgiveness. The guards, who should be pragmatic, apparently choose loyalty to the Princess over common sense, despite the fact that she's leaving without the King's permission, so they're probably actually going against their own orders and allegiance to the royal family and the realm... it's all rather peculiar. Makes perfect sense from the point of view of writing the story, mind, you need her along for the plot. I really wish Nye had deal with this better, as it undermined my sympathy for the characters (and the author) right from the start by putting the two main characters clearly in the wrong, yet refusing to acknowledge it.

Kwaidan: stories and studies of strange things (Lafcadio Hearn)

An interesting little collection of short folk-tales and bits of legend, translated and explained by Hearn. There's a good mixture of stories and I enjoyed them. The closing section is rather random - a set of little musings on insects, including a distinctly weird piece which ends up speculating on how evolutionary and societal advances could allow humans to reach the ethical perfection of ants, and perhaps become near-immortal. Sounds like a quote from a transhumanist character in a bit of 1970s sci-fi.

Afterword

I read 2 books, I had 102 last week, so 100 are left over. A nice number! But somehow, it feels almost more than the 159 I started with. Something about hundreds, I suppose...

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 18

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

27oo Averil-3oo Vee ny Boadlyn

Jerrey hoghtoo shiaghtin jeig ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Citadel of Fear (Francis Stevens)

She far-ennym t'ayn - screeu Gertrude Barrows Bennett y skeeal shoh.

Cha row mee shickyr er ny va mee jerkal rish, agh cheayll mee reddyn mie mychione Stevens liorish HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast. She skeealaght whaagh t'ayn ('sy cheeal sar-oaylleeagh). Hoshiaght, t'eh jeeaghyn dy ve ny skeeal contoyrtys - ny skeeal er creau shicklaagagh, foddee - agh dy leah t'ou toiggal dy nee neughooghys t'ayn. Ta'n ard-charracteyr feddyn Balley Caillt 'syn 'aasagh raad as cultoor er lheh echey, beggan gollrish obbraghyn H. Rider Haggard ny Conan Doyle. As eshyn credjal dy nee branlaadys paays as çhingys v'ayn, ta'n skeeal goaill toshiaght ass y noa bleeantyn ny s'anmey, as eisht myr skeeal er creau neughooghyssagh.

Ta Stevens gientyn aeraght vaggyrtagh as ouryssagh. Ga dy vel feanish dy liooar da'n lhaihder dy nee neughooghys t'ayn - wahll, s'cosoylagh! - ta ourys dooghyssagh er ny karracteyryn. Ta boayl garroo ny ghaa ayn, agh son y chooid smoo dod mee credjal nagh vel O'Hara kiangley cooishyn y laa rish ashlish bleeatyn er dy henney, as eshyn gyn mian dy smooinaghtyn er y traa agglagh shen noadyr. Ta aght screeuee baghtal eck ta soilshaghey magh reddyn dy cruinn, gyn çheet dy ve yl-chast (noi, m.s., H.P. Lovecraft hene). Ta ny karracteyryn neuchramp dy liooar, as cha nel monney bishaghey ayn er-nyn-son, agh t'ee cur coontey giare as baghtal daue, as ta dooghyssyn ny karracteryn scanshoil goll er soilshaghey magh er feie yn skeeal. Er lhiam dy nee y ven 'olliaghtagh ta'n karracteyr s'annooiney; er y fa dy nee folliaght ish, cha nod Stevens cur dooin monney fys urree dy leah. Ny s'anmey, ta'n skeeal roie dy tappee as lane dy anhickyrys, as dy jinnagh Stevens brishey stiagh son karracteyrys, chaillagh shin keimyragh y skeeal.

金魚屋古書店 y.l. 2 (芳崎 せいむ)

Ny smoo skeealyn beggey bentyn rish shapp shenn vanga. Ta dagh skeeal kiangley stayd beaghee peiagh ennagh, as ny cooishyn smoo oc, rish cooid vanga mie er enney. Shegin dou gra nagh dod mee toiggal y clane - cha nel skeeal erbee foast er mentyn rish manga ta lhaiht ayms! - agh ghow mee soylley jeh ny skeealyn hene. Y doilleeid smoo, shen y fa nagh vel yn ellyn lane baghtal ny keayrtyn, as t'eh cur orrym cur yn enney foasley er karracteyr ennagh. Ta ny skeealyn dy mennick goaill stiagh aachooinaghtyn as y lheid, myr shen ta eash as eddyn ny karracteyryn corragh.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 2 lioar, va 104 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 102 faagit dou nish.

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English version

27th April-3rd May

The end of week eighteen of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

Citadel of Fear (Francis Stevens)

A surprisingly engrossing weird adventure story. I went back and forth on this a couple of times. The early stages have two explorers encountering a classic lost city in the desert, where Aztec gods are still worshipped. When a fifteen-year time-skip intervened, my interest waned as it usually does in those circumstances. However, Stevens soon gets things going again, now in weird thriller mode. This is good stuff, keeping things weird enough to signal the reader that it's all Aztec all the time, but equally just plain weird for the characters trying to understand it.

The decision not to use amnesia per se is fairly sound, I think. O'Hara hasn't forgotten everything, but it's been fifteen long years and he has good reason to think his whole fabulous experience in the desert was simply hallucination and dreams, brought on by a terrible journey that killed his partner, which still causes him guilt. Presumably he doesn't want to think much about it either. As such, he doesn't immediately assume a connection between that time and the present peculiar events. Meanwhile, Kennedy has changed enough that it's not surprising O'Hara doesn't recognise him. I will say, though, that there are a couple of times where O'Hara is kept in the dark because other characters don't quite manage to say something that would make all clear. I disliked this device ever since Romeo and Juliet, and I felt it was a bit unsatisfactory here too.

I have no idea how accurate any of the Aztec mythology is, but once I'd got into it, I found this an enjoyable and novel story. Stevens maintains a good foreboding atmosphere, and I half-expected it to turn into a horror story. Nevertheless, the writing remains very readable. The characters are simple and see minimal development, but play their parts perfectly well.

金魚屋古書店 v. 2 (芳崎 せいむ)

Another interesting collection of stories, tied to a used manga shop in some way, and each one themed around a specific manga and its resonance. Not knowing anything about the original manga is of course an issue for me, but I found them worth reading nonetheless. Yoshizaki depicts characters well, giving an array of new characters a touch of life even in the few pages each chapter permits. My one criticism would be that artwise, it's not always easy to tell characters apart, and this has particularly been a bit confusing when older characters recur. It doesn't help that stories often include flashbacks, and so age can also vary considerably. On the whole though, good.

Afterword

I read 2 books, I had 104 last week, so 102 are left over.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 17

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

20oo-26oo Averil

Jerrey shiaghtoo shiaghtin jeig ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

A Plague of Demons (Keith Laumers)

Çhaglym dy skeealyn far-skeealaght heanse Laumers bentyn rish çheet quaiyl joarreeyn. T'ad goaill stiagh noaskeeal hene, chammah's kuse dy skeealyn liauyrey elley. She çhaglym mie t'ayn er lhiam. Shegin dou goaill rish dy vel blass shenn aght orroo, as foddee oo gra rolaue ny vees taghyrt (faggyssagh) erreish dhty lhaih beggan. Agh cha nel mee coontey shen noi dy jarroo. Ta Laumers çheet erash da ny eieyn cheddin: geddyn ablid aigney erskyn dooghys deiney liorish fer elley cur stiaght ort, as jannoo ymmyd jeu noi yn noid hene; un foill scanshoil t'ec y Chruinney as shegin da un 'er coadey eh noi joarree noidagh; joarree nagh dod oo resooney maroo as aght beaghee gollrish snienganyn oc. Agh t'eh screeu mie dy liooar, as ga dy dooar mee loght ny ghaa, cha nee'm accan er shen.

Y red smoo scanshoil: ta'n daa skeeal toshee boirey orrym. Ta'n chied ny lane noaskeeal ta caghlaa cummey trooid as trooid 'sy vean, veih skeeal peeikearys joarree ta cur er creau dys sorçh dy chontoyrtys caggee lane whaagh, as ren shen brishey cleayney y skeeal er lhiam. Ta'n nah skeeal castreycair, agh t'eh 100% ry-insh rolaue as groamey myrgeddin. Er lhiam dy vel ny skeealyn elley ny share dy jarroo.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar, va 105 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 104 faagit dou nish.

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English version

20th-26th April

The end of week seventeen of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

A Plague of Demons (Keith Laumers)

A decent collection of stories, which bafflingly includes a full-length novel. They all deal with alien contact, and are pretty decent on the whole. Laumers tends to reuse certain themes, including alien hiveminds who can't be negotiated with, an Earth wih one fatal weakness which one brave man must protect, and Our Hero developing amazing mental powers through alien tampering which he then turns against them. It's a bit old-fashioned (which I don't mind) and tends more towards square-jawed talking than either the hippy school of philosophy-fi or the recent turn for woobly quantum metaphysics (which I also don't mind) - although I have to say that while I enjoyed the stories, most were fairly predictable.

I'd actually say the weakest stories are the award-winners that kick off the collection. The first, the novel A plague of demons, begins as a great alien espionage thriller, but switches gear dramatically to a war thriller after some major plot events I won't spoil - I found the shift jarring and the second half frankly less interesting and overlong. The second story is a well-executed one of its type, but is very much a Type and not a cheery one at that. I read a lot of boys' own adventures in my youth, what can I say... The rest of the collection proved fairly easy reading and worth a look.

Afterword

I read 1 book, I had 105 last week, so 104 are left over.

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 16

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

13oo-19oo Averil

Jerrey sheyoo shiaghtin jeig ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Dirgelwch yr Ogof (T. Llew Jones)

Shoh skeeal anaasoil mychione roie liggar as yn aght t'eh bentyn rish pobblaght y balley; ta cummaght er sleih gollrish jannooyn gang kimmee erbee. S'treih lhiam gra, ga dy row yn aght screeuee mie dy liooar as blass rieaughid er, er lhiam nagh ren y skeeal shoh geddyn greim fondagh er reih chooish. Ta Jones cur coontey giare jeh taghyrtyn ynrican dy schlei, as soilshaghey magh karracteyryn dy tappee hoshiaght, as aght ennagh cha nel shen cochruinnaghey dys karracteraght fondagh beayn. Shimmey karracteyr ta goaill shayll myr loayreyder y skeeal, agh cha nel fer erbee jeu ny ard-charracteyr baghtal y skeeal. Cha nel fer erbee jeu dod mee coennaghtyn marish noadyr. Ta'n dooinney maail jannoo brock jeh, myr shen er lhiam dy bare lesh dy vel shin son ny roiederyn, agh she thuggyn neuoayllaashagh t'ayn gyn ourys erbee, as ad cur aggle er y lane valley. Cha nel y skeeal shickyr cre'n genre t'ayn noadyr: contoyrtys, shennaghys, folliaght, skeeal ta cur er creau, cooish ghraih hene, t'ad ooilley ayn 'sy lioar shoh. Cha nel dean baghtal ec y lioar shen, as ta shen jannoo assee jee er lhiam.

ひだまりスケッチアンソロジーコミック (ymmodee)

Çhaglym dy skeealyn loggyr liorish ymmodee ughtaryn. By ghoillee dou toiggal kuse jeu! Cha nel ad soit dy fondagh er cooishyn ny skeealyn bunneydagh, chamoo t'ad oikoil noadyr, as ta kuse jeu jus aitt hene gyn boirey er jannoo monney keeall. Ghow mee taitnys jeu ny yei shen. Atreih, hoig mee ro-anmagh nagh row eh er y rolley Ry-Lhaih...

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar (as 1 elley nagh row er y rolley), va 106 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 105 faagit dou nish.

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English version

13th-19th April

The end of week sixteen of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

Dirgelwch yr Ogof (T. Llew Jones)

This book is fairly well-written, and quite evocative. I found it an interesting depiction of some of the social pressures surrounding smuggling, which had a lot in common with other gang-type activities to be honest. However, it feels very unfocused. Jones paints particular scenes and moments quite well, and gives quick snapshots of characters, but doesn't manage to build this up into long-term characterisation. The story jumps about between multiple viewpoint characters, and doesn't seem to know what genre it wants to be: it flirts with adventure, historical novel, thriller, mystery and romance, but none of these dominates and the result is a bit nondescript. There's no particular protagonist, and none of the characters is very sympathetic either. Because the excisemen are completely ineffectual I sense we're supposed to root for the smugglers, but they're clearly shown to be a bunch of violent thugs who have the rest of the village terrified into silence. This book doesn't really know what it wants to do, and suffers for it.

ひだまりスケッチアンソロジーコミック (ymmodee)

A fun little collection of bonus stories by various authors. The variety (and being non-canonical) made some of them hard to understand, as they didn't necessarily follow events in the stories nor fit the normal tone and themes of the series. But I enjoyed them. Unfortunately, it turned out I'd never put this on my To Read list...

Afterword

I read 1 book (plus one that wasn't listed), I had 106 last week, so 105 are left over.

Shalee lhaih 2015: caghlaa

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

Caghlaaghyn

Ta mee er smooinaghtyn rish tammylt, as er scughey kuse dy lioaryn jeh'n rolley Ry-Lhaih aym. She lioaryn nastee jeh Project Gutenberg v'ayn.

Hoshiaght, va strooys orrym kyndagh rish ooilley ny liooaryn va ry-lhaih aym.

Chammah's shen, hoig mee fy-yerrey nagh row mian lajer orrym dyn lhaih. Cha deeck mee er nyn son, as cha nel ad jummal rheam erbee as ad lectraneagh. Va mee jus feddyn magh ny va ry-gheddyn er Project Gutenberg. Va mian aym dy 'akin obbyr Chambers as Hawthorne as ghow mee lioar ny ghaa lioroosyn; wahll, ta mee er lhaih lioar liorish y derrey fer chammah's y fer elley. As Wodehouse, wahll, honnick mee dy row kuse dy lioaryn ayn nagh vel mee er nyn lhaih foast, shen ooilley. Cha ren mee reih ny lioaryn shoh hene dy lhaih.

T'ad ry-gheddyn gyn boirey tra erbee by vie lhiam ad y lhaih. Cha nel mee son lhiggey daue boirey orrym nish. Ta mee er nyn scughey dys y Rolley Mian ayns caa by vie lhiam fakin ny h-enmyn reesht sy traa ry-heet, agh ta jerrey orroo ec y traa t'ayn.

Cur branglash er my share lhiat; s'cummey lhiams!

Shoh ny lioaryn scugh mee:

• In search of the unknown (Chambers, Robert W.)
• The gorgon's head (Hawthorne, Nathaniel)
• A prefect's uncle (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The gold bat (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The head of Kay's (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The intrusion of Jimmy (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• Indiscretions of Archie (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The pothunters (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The Prince and Betty (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The swoop! And other stories (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• Tales of St Austin's (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The white feather (Wodehouse, P. G.)

Shen 12 lioar goll er scughey; va 118 moghrey jiu, myr shen ta 106 faagit dou nish.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar, va 119 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 118 faagit dou nish.

---

English version

Changes

After much thought, I've removed a number of ebooks from my To Read list. All of these are free Project Gutenberg works.

Partly, I admit, the reasoning is just that I'm feeling oppressed by the number of books I own and my slow progress this year.

Partly, I realised that I'm not desperately keen to read any of them any time soon, but I also haven't paid for them and they're not taking up any space. Basically, I dug around to see what was available on PG, and grabbed some stuff. In some cases (Chambers, Hawthorne) I just wanted to sample their work; the Wodehouse is simply an assembly of books I haven't otherwise read. I didn't specifically pick any of these titles to read.

They're readily available any time I want them. I don't want to feel guilted by these books. I've moved them over to my Wishlist for future reference, if I ever do want to read them, but for now I'm counting them out.

Consider it cheating if you want; I don't mind.

The books are:

• In search of the unknown (Chambers, Robert W.)
• The gorgon's head (Hawthorne, Nathaniel)
• A prefect's uncle (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The gold bat (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The head of Kay's (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The intrusion of Jimmy (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• Indiscretions of Archie (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The pothunters (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The Prince and Betty (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The swoop! And other stories (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• Tales of St Austin's (Wodehouse, P. G.)
• The white feather (Wodehouse, P. G.)

Afterword

There are 12 books here being sidelined; I had 118, so this takes the total down to 106.

Shalee lhiah 2015: shiaghtin 15

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

6oo-12h Averil

Jerrey queiggoo shiaghtin jeig ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Steampunk Cthulhu (re. Jeffrey Thomas)

Çhaglym mie dy skeealyn quaagh, scoaghagh as contoyrtyssagh bentyn rish far-Victorianaght as Lovecraftaght. Va skeeal ny ghaa ayns shoh nagh row lane vie er lhiam, as va feme er kuse jeu er reaghey reesht. Ny yei shen, hooar mee ymmodee skeealyn anaasoil noa ayns shoh. Ga dy nee cooish er lheh t'ayn, shimmey sorçh dy skeeal ta ry-akin ayns shoh: contoyrtyssyn, skeealaght whaagh, as graih hene.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar, va 119 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 118 faagit dou nish.

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English version

6th-12th April

The end of week fifteen of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

Steampunk Cthulhu (ed. Jeffrey Thomas)

A set of weird and horror tales at the intersection of steampunk and the Cthulhu Mythos. There were a few things here that didn't really do much for me, and sadly a few could have done with more rigorous editing. However, there are a lot of novel, well-written stories that I enjoyed very much. I was particularly pleased by the variety of the collection, given its limited theme. There's everything from adventure to romance to classic weird tale in here.

Afterword

I read 1 book, I had 119 last week, so 118 are left over.

Recortys jeh Cleiy Picadilly

Ren mee recortys jeh Cleiy Picadilly. T'eh ry-chlashtyn ayns shoh: Archive.org

Shalee lhaih 2015: shiaghtin 14

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

30oo Mayrnt-5oo Averil

Jerrey kiarroo shiaghtin jeig ny Shalee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

The Wizard's Dilemma (Diane Duane)

Gollrish ny hym-lioaryn elley, shoh skeeal trome-chooishagh fansee baljagh, bentyn rish druiaghtys lieh-sheanseagh as crampyssyn bea aeglee. Ta Duane soilshaghey magh cooishyn aigney dy mie. Ta'n skeeal soit er arganeyn ta ommidjagh tra ta lane fys ayd orroo, agh so-hoiggal çheusthie. T'ad troggal beggan er veggan er taghyrtyn so-chredjal: focklaght gyn thort, gyn freggyrt da çhaghteraghtyn, as reddyn elley t'ou uss cur dty scansh hene orroo. Chammah's shen, ta'n druiaghtys hene anaasoil; s'baghtal eh dy vel eie fondagh ec Duane er ny ta druiaghtee jannoo car y traa.

Shegin dou gra, voir eh orrym dy vel cooid smoo y skeeal bentyn rish kanghyr. Hoshiaght, t'eh er ny yannoo hannah reesht as reeshtagh; shen cooish chagh tra t'ad son ard-haghyrtys. Cre'n fa nagh vel peiagh erbee loayrt er, oh, aacheoid? Ta stroos as doilleeid dy liooar da cagh ta dellal rish lheid ny çhingyssyn beayn... Agh red elley, cha nel mee shirrey y lheid ayns fansee baljagh. Ta'n genre soit er cormaghey. Ta lught-thie as bea persoonagh gientyn drama persoonagh; studeyrys, reih staartaghyn, arganeyn marish caarjyn as y lught-thie. Ta druiaghtys gientyn contoyrtyssyn as gaue. S'mie lhiam y strughtoor shen. Dy beign shirrey sheer-angst mychione mooinjer çhing, ta shen ry-lhaih boayl erbee dy jarroo.

Chammah's shen, va taghyrt "s'cummey lhiam uss" ny ghaa ayn. Myr sampleyr, hooar karractyer by vie lhiam eh baase er teaym hene, choud's noddym toiggal eh; as ny s'messey, er lhiam nagh vel yn taghyrt jannoo keayll, er nonney beagh cagh marroo. Dy noddagh y Noid Mooar marroo sleih gyn boirey, cra'n fa nagh jinnagh? Va blass crout ghraney er er lhiam, son eiyrtys ennaghtagh ynrican. S'treih lhiam gra nagh mie lhiam y straih shoh wheesh as by vie lhiam eh.

Fockle s'jerree

Lhaih mee 1 lioar, va 120 aym yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie, myr shen ta 119 faagit dou nish. Er lhiam dy vel mee laanaghey beggan er veggan...

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English version

30th March - 5th April

The end of week fourteen of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week:

The Wizard's Dilemma (Diane Duane)

In a similar vein to the previous books in the series: a fairly serious take on urban fantasy, with rather scientific wizardly problems to deal with, as well as the demands of life as a teenager. Duane did a good job of articulating the psychological side: misunderstandings that seem silly and obvious from the outside, yet are built on understandable and reasonable steps. The wizarding is also interesting, as Duane has obviously thought hard about what it is her wizards actually do.

On the downside, I could have done without the cancer plotline. One, because it's ubiquitous and boring. Two, because it's so dramatic. Why is it never serious diabetes, or crippling arthritis? Chronic diseases provide plenty of stress and difficult decisions for the family, and are underexplored. But three, it's not what I want from my YA fantasy. The whole point of balancing family and magic is that family is a source of personal drama while magic provides the adventure, and I'm fine with that. I'm not really looking for pages of angsting over sick relatives, because I can get that anywhere, frankly.

Oh, I was also unhappy about a couple of what felt like "screw you" moments, like one character I quite liked being wiped out on a whim. It doesn't entirely make sense to me that the metaphysics works that way (everyone would be dead if it's that easy), and it also just felt like a cheap shot for emotional impact. My enjoyment of this series is definitely declining, sadly.

Afterword

I read 1 book, I had 120 last week, so 119 are left over. Just coming out of the cold-exhausted-busy valley now, I hope...

Shalee lhaih 2015: kied cherroo-vleeaney

Go here for English version. Note, this is rewritten from scratch, not a direct translation.

Wahll, shen tree meeghyn. Cre'n eiyrtys derrey nish?

Va 159 lioarym aym hoshiaght, as ta mee er lhaih 39 jeu. Shen obbyr vie, er lhiam. My noddym cummal seose shen, chooilleenym y dean gyn boirey.

Atreih, er lhiam nagh noddym. Erreish da toshiaght vie, shimmey red t'er my lhiettal jeh lhaih. Ta mee cur stiagh dy jeean son staartaghyn, as ta shen soo y bree assym. Ta mee troailt dys co-akinyn, as gaarlaghey er nyn son, as shen jummal traa (cha chossyn mee staartey foast, myr shen, jummal traa). As er y gherrid ta mee er surranse tree feayraghtyn gyn agh beggan scuirr eddyr oc! Ta mollaght orrym, s'baghtal... My ta shen shareaghey, s'treisht dy roshym y dean.

'Sy cherroo shoh, reihym Forward the Mage myr y Reih Lioar.

English version

First Quarter

So, what have I managed over the past three months?

I began with (more or less) 159 books, and I've read 39 of them. That seems like decent progress, and if I can maintain that sort of rate, I'll hit the target all right.

Unfortunately, I probably can't. I started promisingly, but I've had a lot of setbacks recently. I'm spending a lot of time applying for jobs, which is pretty soul-sucking, and a fair bit of time is being squandered on jobsearching, interview prep and actual interview days. I say "squandered" because no joy yet, alas. Oh, and I'm doing some freelance work to tide me over. Plus, recently I'm constantly assailed by hideous colds, leaving me lethargic and apathetic. Some kind of curse, clearly. If I can shake those off, things will improve, I hope!

For this quarter, I'll pick 'Sy cherroo shoh, reihym Forward the Mage as Best Book.