Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 52

Jerrey nah hiaghtin jeih as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

China's Traditional Kunqu Opera (Zheng Lei)

Ghow mee y lioar nastee shoh ayns thie çhaghteraght Heenagh Vanchuin bleeantyn er dy henney. She coontey jeh drama tradishoonagh "kunqu" t'ayn. Cha nel monney anaase aym er opera as y lheid, shegin dou gra, agh ghow mee beggan soylley jee. T'ee gaa-insh reddyn, er lhiam, as ta beggan ourys aym mychione kuse dy aggyrtyn t'aynjee: "gyn scansh da'n ynsaght oc, ny vuitçhoor ny ny eirinagh, dod cagh goaill arraneyn Kunqu dys y notey hene" as y lheid, wahll cha noddym credjal shen er chor erbee, gyn çheet er ny caghlaaghyn cultoor as çhengey t'ayn 'sy Çheen. Agh t'ee mie dy liooar.

Trysor o'r Dyfnder (Geraint W. Parry)

Rere aght Alastair Mclean, aght gyn blass ard-haghyrtys James Bond hug blass aitt er kuse dy lioaryn liorishyn. She skeeal so-chredjal contoyrtyssyn t'ayn, as son y chooid smoo t'eh croghey er aigh falleil deiney tra t'ad scapail gaue. She karracteyryn neuchramp v'ayn, agh shen yn aght cadjin ayns lheid y skeeal. Va'n skeeal hene as ny haghyr baghtal dy liooar, as ga dy dynsee mee y Vretnish (as ta mee foast gynsaghey) va'n aght screeuee fondagh as baghtal dy liooar nagh by ghoillee dou eh toiggal y skeeal. Lioar 'ondagh trooid as trooid.

Va daa ayrn ayn nagh by vie lhiam. Hoshiaght, hie yn ard-charracteyr er keishtey dy broutagh ec y reiltys Goaldagh as cha hirr eh cooilleen erbee son shen, dy jarroo, ren eh co-obbraghey maroo gyn scuirr erbee choud's hoig mee y skeeal. As eisht, va gaue egin er y ven gyn feme. Ta mee toiggal dy vel shen cadjin, agh va gaue baaish mie dy liooar hannah, er lhiam. Bare lhiam gyn y lheid.

Ga dy dug ad dou daa lioar noa myr gioot Nollick, er lhiam dy vel mee sauçhey nish!

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

China's Traditional Kunqu Opera (Zheng Lei)

I picked this up in the Chinese embassy in Manchester a few years back. It's an account of traditional "kunqu" opera. I'm not really into opera and stuff, but theatre is a bit interesting, and I had a reasonable time flicking through this. It feels a bit repetitive at times, and I'm a bit sceptical of some of their claims, like "everyone from butchers to farmers, regardless of their level of education, could sing famous Kunqu arias note for note" which just seems highly unlikely, especially given the massive cultural variance across what is now China. But it's alright.

Trysor o'r Dyfnder (Geraint W. Parry)

In the Alastair Mclean line, but without the touches of James Bond melodrama that made some of those ridiculous. A relatively plausible thriller tale, relying mostly on chance and human error for the close escapes, and with a pretty believable plotline. The characters were two-dimensional but adequate, the plot and events were clear, and the writing was efficient and clear enough even for a learner like me. A perfectly decent book on the whole. There were two sections I didn't especially care for: the protagonist being brutally interrogated by the British, and the love interest threatened with rape. The first is entirely likely, but I'd have liked some comeback rather than continued loyalty to those same officials. The second just felt unnecessary, as it basically always does - the death threats were fine, thanks.

Despite getting two books for Christmas, I should still be in the clear.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 51

Jerrey kied shiaghtin jeih as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Faggys jeant! Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

The Little Grey Men ("BB")

Skeeal meein as taitnyssagh bentyn rish kuse dy Vooinjer Veggey (ny fir s'jerree ayns Sostyn) ta goll er turrys rish yn awin dys shirrey braar t'er ny choayl. Rere aght "BB", ta'n skeeal lane dy chooishyn as reayrtyssyn najooragh, as ta'n ghraih echey er y teihll najooragh ry-akin dy baghtal. Ga dy nee skeeal paitçhyn t'ayn dy jarroo, ghow mee soylley jeh. Ta blass feie nagh vel ry-akin ayns skeealyn paitçhyn jeianagh dy mennick: ta'n jee Pan ayn, ta'n Vooinjer Veggey marroo fer, as t'ee çheet ny keayrtyn er y doilleeid t'ayn tra ta cretooryn feie caarjyn ga dy vel ad gee y cheilley.

As lesh lhaih y lioar shen, ta'n carnane lioaragh giarrit sheese dys 50! T'eh cooilleenit aym! Barriaght!

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The end of week fifty-one of the Reading Project. So close! Here's what I've read this week:

The Little Grey Men ("BB")

A gentle and enjoyable story about the last few gnomes in England, who go on a journey upstream to find their missing brother. As usual with "BB", there's a heavy dose of natural sights and sounds throughout the book, depicting a world he cared about. There are also some harsh realities that you don't tend to see in more recent children's books, and a taste of wild fierceness that John Masefield or Saki might have approved - Pan makes his appearance, the contradition of wild creatures being friends and yet predators is touched on, and the protagonists actually kill someone.

Y Scaa Harrish Innsmouth: Goan Foslee

Rish geurey 1927-28, chooilleen fir-oik y reiltys Conastagh ronsaghey quaagh as folliaghtagh er shiartanse dy chooishyn 'sy çhenn phurt Innsmouth ayns Massachusetts. Ayns Toshiaght Arree, haink eh dys geill y theay kyndagh rish kuse dy hoiaghyn oikoil foawragh. Ghow ad mooarane cummaltee, as eisht - lesh kiarail cooie - losht ny vleayst ad ymmodee shenn thieyn rish çheu ny marrey. She shenn thieyn tholtanagh v'ayn, as lieh-loau, as ad follym dy baghtal. Cha ghow sleih neuvriaghtagh monney tastey jeh, son b'leayr daue dy nee co-streeu elley 'sy chaggey liggar meereiltagh v'ayn.

Ta sleih elley cur geill s'geyrey da'n naight, as ghow adsyn yindys er y vonney va goit, er y niart quaagh dy gheiney ghow ayrn ayns ny soiaghyn, as er yn aght keiltagh skell ny pryssoonee rish. Cha daink coontey erbee jeh cooish leigh, ny cassid noadyr; chamoo va cappagh erbee jeu ry-akin ayns pryssoon cadjin. Haink coontyssyn neuvaghtal mychione gorley as sleih-champyn, as eisht dy jagh ad er rheynn eddyr pryssoonyn caggee, agh cha daink rieau fys fondagh er y chooish. Va Innsmouth faagit gyn pobble, bunnys, as eer nish cha nel eh gaavioghey agh beggan moal er veggan.

Tra hug stiagh ny sheshaghtyn libraalagh accan er y chooish, hie ad er cuirrey dys coloayrtyssyn folliaghtagh, as shilley y chur er shiartanse dy champyn as pryssoonyn er lheh. Myr eiyrtys, haink ny sheshaghtyn shen dy ve tost as surransagh erskyn cliaghtey. Va ny fir-naight ny s'doillee dy stiurey, agh fy-yerrey ren ad lhiggey lesh y reiltys. Cha nee agh un pabyr-naight baghtagh screeu er fovooirane dowin lhiegg torpaid sheese 'sy çharvaal marrey rish Sker y Jouyll; as ta'n theay jannoo beg jehsyn, son ta sheiltynys raghtal echey. Hooar ad y meer shen dy taghyrtagh ayns thie lhionney marrinagh, as dy jarroo, v'eh ommidjagh dy liooar, son ta'n sker doo injil hene meeilley dy lieh jeh purt Innsmouth.

Va sleih ny çheerey as ny baljyn faggys jee tutleragh nyn mast’ocsyn, agh cha dinsh ad monney da’n teihll smoo. Nagh row adsyn er goloayrt er Innsmouth loau lieh-treigit rish lieh cheead? Cha dod noanid erbee ve ny s’keoie ny ny s’graney na ny v’adsyn er ngra myr sannish ny myr faaue rish bleeantyn. Shimmey red v’er nyn ynsaghey dy ve fastagh; cha row feme erbee nish dy hionn orroo. Aghterbee, cha row agh beggan beg fys oc, son ta curree hailjey 'adaneagh as follym feayn cumrail naboonee jeh Innsmouth er y çheu thallooin.

Agh fy-yerrey neeym’s brishey y sarey tostid t’er y chooish shoh. Ta mee lane shickyr dy daink lesh yn obbyr, do nagh jig arragh assee ny smessey na greain graynoil, my verrym sannish jeh ny hug feoh er ny soiagheryn ayns Innsmouth. As dy jarroo, ta soilsheydys elley ry-gheddyn son ny hooar ad, foddee. Cha s’aym cre wheesh jeh’n lane skeeal t’er ny insh eer dooys, as ta ymmodee oyryn my lhiettal veih ronsaghey dowin. Va mee tayrnit stiagh y chooish shoh ny s’diuney na theayagh erbee elley, as ta’n chummaght jee foast my vroddey dys couyr barbagh.

She mish roie er çhea ass Innsmouth ayns jerrey ny h-oie er Jerrey Souree 16, 1927 as mish er rouyl. She mish hug aghin aggleydagh da’n reiltys, shirrey ronsaghey as jantys, as hug er bun ooilley ny haink dys geill y theay. Va mee arryltagh dy hannaghtyn my host tra va’n chooish aw as neuhickyr; agh she shenn skeeal t’ayn nish, ass anaase as smooinaght chadjin. Nish ta mian quaagh aym dy loayrt – myr sannish, foast – er ny h-ooryn agglagh shid ‘sy çhenn phurt drogh-ennymagh, fo scaa olk as mastey baase as meechummaghyn anchasherick. Ta insh hene cooney lhiam treishtey reesht dy vel m’aigney sunt; nagh row mee jus y chied ass ymmodee goit ec branlaadys goaillagh scoaghagh. As t’eh cooney lhiam foast jannoo briwnys mychione currym atçhimagh ta foym.

(...ny smoo ry-heet...)

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Ass The Shadow over Innsmouth liorish H.P. Lovecraft.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 50

Jerrey jeihoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Ta'n traa aym goan dy liooar nish! Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Roman Chester (T. J. Strickland)

Ny coontey beg jeh shennaghys Romanagh yn Çhaayr. Myr t'eh gra, cha nel eh fo Strickland cur lane choontey, agh soilshaghey poyntyn scanshoil 'sy çhennaghys shen as ny h-oyryn fys t'ain orroo. Lhaih mee y lioar veg shoh rish un traa kirbylagh. T'ee anaasoil dy liooar son y vooadys t'eck (my ta enney ayd er y Çhaayr, ansherbee). Lioar veg 'ondagh. T'ee cleayney rish scoillarys amateyragh ny smoo na ynsaghey theay, myr shen cha nel ee son paitçhyn as y lheid.

African History: a very short introduction (John Parker)

Ny coontey beg jeh shennaghys ny h-Affrick. As shen cooish 'oawragh, ta'n lioar beggan quaagh. Ta mysh lieh jee bentyn rish y çhennaghys hene, as lieh elley loayrt mychione studeyrys shennaghys 'syn Affrick, c'red ta'n Affrick, c'red ta shennaghys ny h-Affrick, mychione sheiltnyssyn shennaghyssagh as yn aght hyndaa adsyn rish ny h-eashyn, as myr shen. Er y fa shen, ga dy row ee anaasoil, dennee mee dy row blass kayagh er y lioar; cha dod mee geddyn greim urree aght ennagh.

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The end of week fifty of the Reading Project. Time's ticking away... Here's what I've read this week:

Roman Chester (T. J. Strickland)

A brief account of Roman history in Chester. As Strickland says, he's making no attempt to give a full acount, but just touch on some of the highlights and our sources of information for historical claims. I read this in a single lunchtime. It's interesting enough considering its size, at least if you're familiar with Chester. A decent little book, with a more scholastic than popular bent, so not really one for the kids.

African History: a very short introduction (John Parker)

A short account of African history. That being a massive topic, the book ends up a bit strange. It's partly about the history itself, and partly about historical theory and practice. It discusses what "Africa" means, and "African History"; historical theories that have come and gone about these ideas and about Africa, and how they interact with its cultural and political change over time. Because of that, although the book's reasonably interesting, I didn't really feel like I had a grip on it; it was a bit like fighting fog.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 49

Jerrey nuyoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie. Va mee son seiy roym son nagh vel monney lioaryn ry-lhaih dys roshtyn y dean, agh haink feayraght hrome agglagh orrym as cha dod mee jannoo monney agh tannaghtyn my lhie as clashtyn rish creelaghyn-fynneigagh rish kuse dy laaghyn:

The Moons of Jupiter (Isaac Asimov)

Skeeal Lucky Starr elley, ny cooish 'olliaghtagh oaylleeagh bentyn rish peeikearys er eayst Yupiter. Ga dy vel contoyrtyssyn aynjee, son y chooid smoo ta'n lioar mychione eabyn Starr y chooish y 'eaysley, as shen liorish ynsaghey ny Leighyn Robotagh erskyn ooilley. Ghow mee ram soylley jeh as mish my lhie nane as y floo aym.

Kionnit er y gherrid:

Genshiken Second Season y.l. 2 (Kio Shimoku)

Skeeal anaasoil as taitnyssagh elley. By vie lhiam fakin ad cur tastey da Madarame reesht. 'Sy chied straih, v'eh beggan thanney, as s'mie lhiam fakin ben goaill anaase ayn. Chammah's shen, er lhiam dy bee shuyr veg Hasahara scanshoil 'sy traa ry-heet. Ta kiangley cramp gaase eddyr Madarame as karracteyryn elley, as ta mee jeeaghyn roym dy 'eddyn magh ny haghyrys.

No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular y.l. 1 (Nico Tanigawa)

Hug ynnyd-eggey ennagh coyrle dou dy by vie lhiam y lioar shoh kyndagh rish lioaryn elley by vie lhiam. S'orroosyn y foill, myr shen. Cha noddym gra dy nee lioar vie t'ayn er chor erbee. Ta'n "skeeal" bentyn rish inneen t'er geau rouyr traa cloie gammanyn as lhaih skeealyn graih geekagh, agh veg marish sleih elley; myr shen rish roshtyn 15 d'eash as yn ard-scoill, cha nel schlei erbee eck dy gheddyn caarjyn erbee. Lhisagh eh ve ny skeeal aitt, gyn ourys, agh s'treih lhiam gra nagh ren mee gearey un cheayrt; dy jarroo, chamoo cha ren mee mynghearey un cheayrt noadyr. Er y fa nagh vel caarjyn erbee eck, cha nel kianglaghyn persoonagh erbee ry-akin agh marish braar s'aegey, as cha nel eh ceau traa maree gyn feme. Cha nel coraa ny coraa aigney ny h-inneen anaasoil ny aitt. Ta'n ellyn, son y chooid smoo, jus caslyssyn jee jannoo dreaghyn quaagh son t'ee er creau ny keoie car y traa - cha nel reayrtyssyn aalin ny lane vree ry-akin. Ta Tanigawa croo cooishyn oddagh ve anaasoil ny trimsagh - myr sampleyr, yn inneen çhemmit ayns thie bee rish possan dy cho-ynseydee çheet stiagh as ish son scapail - as feaysley ad gyn y nah vlass ny'n blass elley. Schlei feer ghoan, dy jarroo. Voir eh orrym, er y fa dy dennee mee dy row ad er çhee cooilleeney red ennagh mie dy mennick, agh hie ad shaghey. Son ymmyrkey yn inneen, cha nod oo goaill ree myr inneen 'aitagh; ta çhingys sheshoil ennagh urree ny t'ee ass e keeayll, as cha nel y lheid bun cooie son spotçhal. Dy beagh eh er nyannoo skeeal trome-chooishagh jeh, foddee dy beagh eh mie; agh cha ren eh.

Cha neeu ee. Gyn çheet er kionnaghey, cha neeu ee dy lhaih. My t'ou son lhaih er aegidee gyn schlei sheshoil, lhaih Oreimo ny Haganai ny Genshiken.

Prince Ivan (Peter Morwood)

Ghow mee toshiaght lhaih shoh. Ta daa doilleeid ayn: 1) cha row ee er y rolley son v'ee ayns thie my ayr as my voir, ga dy chreid mee dy beagh ee er y rolley; 2) ta 60 duillag er coayl as mean ny lioar. Cha nel ad giarrit ny caillt, cha row ad rieau aynjee, s'baghtal shen. Quaagh agglagh. Agh by vie lhiam ny lhaih mee jee!

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The end of week forty-nine of the Reading Project. Here's what I've read this week. It's less than I'd hoped, seeing the goal's so close, but I was struck down by a particularly vicious virus that left me basically prostrate for a few days and unable to do much but listen to podcasts:

The Moons of Jupiter (Isaac Asimov)

Another Lucky Starr story, another scientific mystery. This one involves scientific espionage on the moons of Jupiter (obviously). Although a few adventure bits creep in, it's mostly about Starr's attempts to track down the spy as subtly as possible, largely by probing the Laws of Robotics. Asimov puts in plenty of general astronomy for background and general coolness, though. I enjoyed reading this as a distraction from lying helpless with flu.

And the inevitable new acquisitions:

Genshiken Second Season v. 2 (Kio Shimoku)

Skeeal anaasoil as taitnyssagh elley. By vie lhiam fakin ad cur tastey da Madarame reesht. 'Sy chied straih, v'eh beggan thanney, as s'mie lhiam fakin ben goaill anaase ayn. Chammah's shen, er lhiam dy bee shuyr veg Hasahara scanshoil 'sy traa ry-heet. Ta kiangley cramp gaase eddyr Madarame as karracteyryn elley, as ta mee jeeaghyn roym dy 'eddyn magh ny haghyrys.

No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular v. 1 (Nico Tanigawa)

Some website or other recommended this on the basis of other stuff I'd read, which means it's all their fault. I can't say this is a good book by any stretch of the imagination. The "story", such as it is, is about a teenage girl starting high school without any social skills or friends, having misspent her youth playing niche games and reading unconvincing romances. This is intended to be a basis for comedy, but I have to say I neither laughed nor even smiled once. Because she doesn't have any friends, the book can't spend time covering her relationships, except briefly with a little brother who doesn't want anything to do with this weirdo. Neither the girl's actual voice, nor her internal monologue, are insightful or amusing; there are flashes of believable teenaged thought, but this is drowned out by manic thoughts that leap about wildly.

The art, for the most part, is images of the girl grimacing and sweating - almost every single panel, in fact. There are no impressive vistas here, and the art didn't feel particularly lively or interesting to me. Tanigawa sets up what could be interesting or tragic situations (such as the girl being trapped in a restaurant when schoolmates come in, and desperate to escape without them seeing) but then manages to resolve them in ways that largely avoid both options. It's frustrating because it often felt like the hovered on the edge of being good, but weren't able to find expression. The girl's behaviour isn't convincing as teenage awkwardness, but so extreme that (in the absence of genuine humour) it felt far more like serious anxiety disorder or some other mental health problem, not an appropriate subject for wacky humour of the kind Tanigawa was attempting. It could have made a decent serious story, but didn't.

Not worth reading, let alone buying. If you want to read about socially-awkward teenagers, read... well, just about anything, but I'd recommend Oreimo (convincing) or Haganai (amusing) or Genshiken (generally great).

Prince Ivan (Peter Morwood)

I started reading this, but there were two issues. 1) it turned out not to be on the list, on account of being at my parents' house (my list is wildly inconsistent in this matter); 2) there's a chunk of 60 pages missing exactly where the major plot kicks off, ruining the book. They're not torn out or anything, it's a printing error that's impossible to spot from the cover or anything. Very weird. I'll want to chase down another copy later though, as I was really enjoying it.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 48

Jerrey hoghtoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Pam fi eto, Duw? (John Owen)

Eiyrtyssagh da "Pam fi, Duw, pam fi?" as ny smoo 'syn aght cheddin. Er lhiam dy vel y lioar shoh ny sloo trimsagh, agh t'eh foast bentyn rish cooishyn crampey as doillee da ny sleih aegey. Ta aght screeuee as aigney Rhys foast so-chredjal myr gilley ta çheet dy ve ny dooinney aeg, as eshyn leaystey eddyr appeeys, ennaghtyn as boghtynid kiart gollrish mish as my chaarjyn 'syn eash cheddin (ga nagh row shin loayrt 'sy Vretnish ny smooinaghtyn er y chooish shen monney moadyr).

Ghow mee soylley jeh, agh v'eh beggan moal ny keayrtyn, as dennee mee dy row eh beggan ro-liauyr.

Chammah's shen, shegin dou gra nagh vel mian aym John Owen y lhaih reesht erreish dou feddyn magh ny loghtyn jeant echey. S'treih shen.

As kuse nagh vel ass y charnane, chionnee mee ad er y gherrid:

Azumanga Daiaoh Omnibus (Azuma Kiyohiko)

Lioar 'oawragh, agh cha row ee foawragh dy liooar, son lhaih mee ish ayns laa ny ghaa. Ta'n lioar shoh çhaglym scheimyn aittey 4-kerrinagh ren skeealeenyn beggey. Gollrish ymmodee mangaghyn elley ta bentyn rish cooishyn laa, t'ee mychione inneenyn scoill. She aitt meein neuchramp t'ayn, as ghow mee ram soylley jee. Cha kuse jeu ny share na kuse elley, agh shen cadjin dy liooar ayns reddyn aittey; t'eh jus croghey er yn aittys t'ayd.

Aqua y.l. 2 (Amano Kozue)

Ren mee jarrood ee; lhaih mee y lioar shoh shiaghteeyn er dy henney. She skeeal elley meein t'ayn, gyn monney taghyrt agh taitnyssagh dy liooar ny yei shen.

The disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan y.l. 2 (Tanigawa Nagaru)

Ta'n skeeal shoh beggan laccal taghyrtyn; son y chooid smoo cha nel monney ayn agh yn ard-charracteyr ve nearagagh bentyn rish gilley s'mooar lhee eshyn. Er lhiam dy vel eh croghey rouyr (wahll, rouyr dooys) er y skeeal elley t'eh bunnit er, shen straih cramp Haruhi Suzumiya nagh vel mee er ny lhaih. Cha b'olk lhiam eh, agh er lhiam nagh vel eh feeu dou lhaih ny smoo.

I Don't Like You At All, Big Brother!! y.l. 6-7 (Kouichi Kusano)

Lioar aitt elley 'sy 'traih shoh. Aght ennagh chreid mee dy nee jerrey y skeeal beagh ayn, agh cha nee. Ta ny h-inneenyn foast lieh-chaggey son tastey gilley aeg ard-channooagh. Er lhiam nagh row eh wheesh aitt as yn ym-lioar roiee; er y fa, foddee, nagh vel monney caghlaa 'sy skeeal? Cha s'aym. Mie dy liooar, cha nel mee shickyr my lhaimys ny smoo ny dyn (agh my ta dreeys orrym traa ennagh, lhaihin y nah lioar gyn leaystey erbee).

Genshiken Second Season y.l. 1 (Kio Shimoku)

Aaaah. Cha nel mee rieau er screeu er y chooish, son lhaih mee ad bleeantyn er dy henney, agh by vooar ass towse lhiam Genshiken tra dooar mee ad. Va mee cliaghtey kionnaghey fer y vee, bunnys, myr beggan sheshaght aitt tra va mee my lomarcan. Ta'n straih bentyn rish possan ollooscoillagh as anaase oc er reddyn "otaku" - manga, anime, kiaddaghyn as lioaryn bentyn daue, as y lheid - oh, as ram jeu lane dy chooid cheintyssagh. Agh ta'n straih hene cooie da peiagh erbee, bunnys, as by vie lhiam lhaih er bea laaoil ny sleih shoh, as ny kianglaghyn eddyr oc, as ny cooishyn va scanshoil daue. She sleih quaagh dy liooar t'ayn, gyn ourys, agh nagh vel shin ooilley quaagh 'syn aght er lheh ain? As cha nel wheesh scansh eddyr "otaku" as "geek", ga nagh vel anaase aym er y stoo cheddin hene.

Aghterbee... ta'n "Second Season" erreish da cooid smoo ny karracteyryn er vaagail yn ollooscoill as sleih noa er jeet stiagh. S'mie lhiam fakin dy vel Ogiue ayn foast (as Ohno chammah, agh ta aigney as dooghys jialgagh Ogiue feer anaasoil). Ta'n possan çheet dy ve lane dy vraane, as shen anaasoil lesh dooghys y phossan caghlaa. Rere cliaghtey, ta'n skeeal tayrnit dy jeeragh as bio, lane dy mynphoyntyn ga dy vel yn ellyn cruinn dy liooar. Feer vie.

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

Pam fi eto, Duw? (John Owen)

A sequel to "Pam fi, Duw, pam fi?" and pretty similar. It's a bit less sad, but still dealing with the complicated and difficult affairs of teenagers. Rhys' style and mindset remain believable, swinging from ingenuous honesty to self-conscious self-mockery and between maturity and idiocy in a way that's very familiar to me when I was that age. Although we weren't that worried about the status of Welsh, to be fair.

I enjoyed it, but it felt slow and a bit long sometimes.

It's also impossible (now that I learned about it) to divorce these books from the appalling allegations made against John Owen after they were written. I don't think I could read any more from him. A shame.

And some that don't count, because I bought them:

Azumanga Daiaoh Omnibus (Azuma Kiyohiko)

Massive book, sadly not massive enough because I've finished it too quickly! It's a collection of 4-panel comics forming storylines, about (like so many others) some girls at school. It's simple, gentle fun and I enjoyed it a lot. The experience was a bit variable for me, because like anything aiming for jokes, some just work better than others for me.

Aqua v. 2 (Amano Kozue)

I actually bought and read this some time ago, but noticed I've missed it off the list somehow. It's another slow-paced and gentle story without much going on, but relaxing to read.

The disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan y.l. 2 (Tanigawa Nagaru)

This story, after two volumes, feels a bit light on plot; mostly there's little going on except the protagonist feeling nervous about the boy she likes, and some shennanigans around that. I suspect it's too heavily reliant on the original (a series called called The [various] of Haruhi Suzumiya that I've never read and don't particularly plan to after reading a bit about it. I don't hate this, but I just suspect it's not worth me reading any more, it's probably something only fans of the original would really appreciate.

I Don't Like You At All, Big Brother!! v. 6-7 (Kouichi Kusano)

Another fairly entertaining book in this series. For some reason I had the impression that this would be the end of the story, but it's not. As per, several girls are fueding (playfully and knowingly-ridiculously) over the attention of boy who's an incorrigible pervert. I felt like it was less entertaining than the last one, perhaps because not much changes in the story and it's feeling less fresh as a result? It's okay, I'm not sure I'll make much effort to read more of this series; but saying that, if I get bored sometime I'd probably read it without hesitation.

Genshiken Second Season v. 1 (Kio Shimoku)

Aaaah. I've never written about this, because I read them years ago, but I loved the original Genshiken manga when I discovered them. In fact, they're the first manga I read barring one volume of Ranma when I was far too young to know what manga was. I bought about a volume per month for a bit of cheering-up when I got lonely in my little flat. The story follows a (Japanese) university club for "otaku", i.e. people obsessed with manga, anime, plastic models, games and so on - with quite a heavy focus on adult material, although this doesn't shift Genshiken itself into the adult bracket. I found it really fun reading about the day-to-day happenings, relationships and aspirations of this bunch. They're all a bit odd in their own ways, but to be frank, aren't we all? I don't share their precise interests, but there's a hairsbreadth between "otaku" and "geek" for all that, and I found their personalities relatable. It helps that the protagonist is one of the less extreme examples and offers an introduction to the others.

Anyway... I discovered the existence of "Second Season" very recently and gave in this week. Most of the original characters graduated during or at the end of the original series, which means an influx of new people and a shift of focus. In the place of Sasahara, the original main protagonist, we have Ogiue - a quite natural change as they're similar types and she grew into a sort of viewpoint character during the last series. I've always liked her prickly character, so that's fine by me. The club is now overwhelmingly female, which leads to an interesting shift in focus for the club as a whole. Pleasingly, the old members still make an appearance. As always, the story is well illustrated, with lively drawings filled with detail, despite a deceptively simple style. Just excellent, really.

Shalee lhiah 2013: Jerrey Mee Houney

Jerrey kied vee jeig ny shalee.

Hoshiaght ny bleeaney: 128 lioaryn

Hoshiaght ny mee: 65 lioaryn

• Lhaiht aym:
• Kerroo hiaghtin as daeed:2 (chammah's y 2 chowree mee son Jerrey Fouyir)
• Queiggoo hiaghtin as daeed: 4
• Sheyoi hiaghtin as daeed: 2
• Shiaghtoo hiaghtin as daeed:1
• Hoghtoo hiaghtin as daeed:6 (5 chionnit, atreih)
• Nagh row er y rolley: 1 (chowree mee dy lhiah mee ish tra scuirr mee jee hoshiaght, agh daahoshee mee)
• Goit aym: 5.
• Scryssit er bun elley: 2. Cheau magh mee daa lioar nagh row mee son nyn lhaih.

Myr shen, ta mee er scryssey 11 ass y rolley as ta 54 faagit er. Shen 4 ry-lhaih roish jerrey ny bleeaney - wahll, ny smoo my ta mee son freayll y carnane fo 50 trooid Nollick as laa ruggyree... Gambatte, Shim-san!

• Lioaryn lhaiht aym y vlein shoh (y chied cheayrt): 125 lioaryn!

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End of the eleventh month of Reading Project.

The Beginning: 128 books

The start of this month: 65 books

• Read this month:
• Week forty-four:2 (as well as the 2 I noted for October)
• Week forty-five: 4
• Week forty-six: 2
• Week forty-seven: 1
• Week forty-eight:6 (5 new-bought, alas)
• Not on the list: 1 (restarted and finished reading it after giving up once and marking it as done with)
• New: 5. Yet more manga, of course. So easy and pleasant to read!
• Struck off for other reasons: 2 that I've decided I just don't want to read (see elsewhere for details)

That's another 11 off the pile, leaving only 4 that I need to read by the end of the year - although if I want to reach the new year with under 50 through Christmas and a birthday, I'm going to need to read more than that, methinks.

• Books read (for the first time) this year: 125 books!

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 47

Jerrey hiaghtoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Maya glyphs (Stephen D. Houston)

Nah lioar lhaih mee 'sy 'traih lioaryn shoh "Reading the Past" (by Egyptian Hieroglyphics ee y chied lioar). S'treih lhiam gra nagh vel Houston wheesh mie as Davies myr screeudeyr da'n lught gyn ynsaghey. Ta mysh kied lieh ny lioar mychione shennaghys sleih heear feaysley ny cowraghyn shoh - castreycair, agh cha nel mooarane dy anaase aym er shen. Eisht t'eh goaill toshiaght soilshaghey magh ny cowraghyn hene, agh cha daink lesh eh, er lhiam. She corys screeuee feer chramp t'ayn, ta covestey jallooyn crampey myr un 'ockle, as cha nel ee rieau cur bun mie dhyt trooid soilshaghey beggan er veggan cre'n aght t'ou uss nyn lhaih. 'Sy chied sampleyr hene, t'eh loayrt er cowraghyn ta cur meehastey da ny reillyn as ta caslys jeh tree cowraghyn crampey gyn coontey mie jeh ny t'ad gra. Cha nel eh rieau jus cur caslys jeed as insh dhyt ny t'eh dy ghra as cre'n fa. Myr shen, cha dennee mee rieau dy dod mee toiggal yn aght ta'n corys gobbraghey. Cha nel mee jerkal rish toiggal ny cowraghyn hene, agh erreish dou lhaih obbyr Ghavies chreid mee dy doig mee cree yn aght screeuee Egyptagh. She lioar hirrym t'ayn nagh vel cooilleeney y dean ta foee, er lhiam.

Cheau magh mee daa lioar elley. Gormenghast trilogy (er lhiam nagh vel mee son lhiah eh, as t'eh liauyr ass towse - cre'n feeu?) as Newid Byd, erreish dou feddyn magh dy nee çhyndaays 'sy Vretnish t'ayn ass y Vaarle. Er lhiam nagh neeu eh ceau traa er y lheid.

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

Maya glyphs (Stephen D. Houston)

The second book I've read in this series "Reading the Past" (Egyptian Hieroglyphics was the first). I'm sorry to say Houston doesn't come across nearly as well as Davies as a writer for the lay audience. A big chunk of the early book is about history, but the history of Western attempts to decipher the script rather than its own history - okay, but I have no particular interest in the lives and rivalries of these academics. When he does begin discussing the scripts, it didn't go too well. It's a very complicated system, involving intricate pictures that are combined in clusters to create words, which are themselves arranged in rows. Houston just never spends the time to explain simply how a basic reading goes, by showing you a cluster and breaking it down into parts. The very first example you see, he's making a point about exceptions to the rules and shows a few signs and a reading, but since he's making about three separate points in the same example I couldn't decipher it at all. It's not clear how the transcription relates to the clusters, let alone the individual symbols. As a result I never had a sound basis to follow the further explanations. I didn't expect to come out understanding Mayan writing, but I did hope to come out feeling like I knew how it worked, as I did with the hieroglyphs. Sadly, Davies doesn't pull that off. It's a pretty dry book that doesn't really accomplish its aim, in my view.

I've also slung out two books unread. The first is the Gormenghast trilogy (in one book). I just realised that, from what I know of it, I'm not really interested in reading it, and since it's a massive and rather heavy book it's not something I can plough through quickly so's to have at least read it, nor skim over to get the gist. The other is Newid Byd, which turns out to be a Welsh translation of an English book. Since I got it because it was Welsh, I don't really feel much point in bothering with that.

Cohirrey Skeealaght Laa Ruggyree Himmin Beg

Chaarjyn! Ta my laa ruggyree çheet dy leah, as cre'n gioot share dou agh cooid 'sy Ghaelg dyn lhaih? Myr shen, ta mee kiarail Cohirrey Skeealaght Laa Ruggyree. As ta mee shirrey erriu goaill ayrn aynsyn, my saillt; mannagh jean, cha bee shirrey erbee ry-akin, gyn çheet er y cho-.

Ta aundyryn argid (beg) ry-gheddyn assjeh, dy jarroo.

Nish, reillyn. Shegin dou soiaghey y lheid.

• Shegin diu screeu 'sy Ghaelg!
• Ta mee shirrey skeealyn beggey. Cha nel poyntyn ry-gheddyn ny ry-chosney bentyn rish liurid. Ny screeu harrish 2000 focklyn my saillt. Cha nel "cooid sloo" erbee.
• Ta çhyndaayssyn ass çhengey erbee cooie dy liooar - agh, shegin dou gra my lioarlannagh, cha noddym goaill rish çhyndaayssyn jeh skeealyn nagh vel ass coip-chiart foast!
• Cha nel mee gaggyrt kied elley er ny t'ou screeu, agh by vie lhiam ny skeealyn share y chur er my vlog.
• Verrym jerrey er y cho-hirrey rish jerrey ny bleeaney, as jannoo briwnys laa ennagh ayns Jerrey Geuree.
• My t'ou son goaill ayrn, cur dt'ennym heese, as cur skeealyn dou ec btinternetponkcom fo'n ennym shimminbeg.

Reddyn nagh vel reillyn, agh cur tastey daue ny yei shen:

• Ta mee shirrey skeealyn as blass reddyn yindyssagh oc. S'mie lhiam fansee, feayn-skeealleydaght, far-skeealaght heanse, ny reddyn elley bentyn rish reddyn quaagh.
• Share lhiam skeealyn taitnyssagh. Cha nel mee soit er spotçhyn, agh bare lhiam goaill soylley jeh ny ta mee dy lhaih! My t'ou screeu skeeal bentyn rish sleih boght doolagh surranse, ny "grimdark" ennagh, cha nel monney caa ayd.
• My ta Gaelg schlei ayd, ta caa share ayd. Ny yei shen, cha verrym flout da skeealyn anaasoil screeut dy jeean jus kyndagh rish marranys ny ghaa. Cha nel kied erbee aym myr briwnys çhengey. Failt er paitçhyn, aegidee as sleih aasit goaill ayrn.

As failt ort y naight y skeaylley, my ta caarjyn ayd as Gaelg oc. Cha nel monney sleih lhaih y blog shoh.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 46

Jerrey heyoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Wirral Vikings: The Wider Context (Hrolf Douglasson)

Coontey giare jeh shennaghys ny Wigganee 'sy Wirral. Cha nel eh fo Douglasson soilshaghey mynphoyntyn; t'eh loayrt er sampleyryn as cleaynyn fo hoilshey taghyrtyn mooarey: reeghyn, reeriaghtyn, as cummaltee ny h-ardjyn. T'eh cur tastey da imraaghyn Sostynagh, Bretnagh, Yernagh as Wigganagh (as t'eh çheet er Mannin keayrtyn ny ghaa). Shoh toshiaght vie da sleih as beggan anaase oc er shennaghys y Wirral; cha nel eh ard-scoillaragh ny lane dy har-termeeaght, agh t'eh er bun scoillaragh, er lhiam.

Spies (Michael Frayn)

Nah lioar 'Rayn ren mee eab urree. S'cosoylagh dy row meehreisht aym urree kyndagh rish y chied lioar. Cha dod mee feddyn anaase aynjee, ga dy dooyrt carrey ny ghaa dy vel ee mie. Er lhiam dy row yn aght screeuee ro-liauyr (as shoh mish dy ghra!) as ro-aggyrtagh; agh er y laue elley, cha row yn aght "purple" shen aalin dy liooar dy jannoo ah anaasoil. Va'n ughtar er hene 'sy roie-skeeal bentyn rish ennym lus ennagh, shirrey dy ghoostey anaase er lhiah, agh cha daink lesh eh. Rish lhaih toshiaght y skeeal, ren mee briwnys nagh row eh cooie dooys. Ta'n ard-charracteyr cur coontey trooid cooinaghtyn jeh'n traa paitçhey echey, as nagh dree eh! Gilley boght fo gurneil carrey s'berçhey, lughtyn-thie nagh mie lesh ny lhiams eu... cha row cowrey erbee dy beagh taghyrtyn aitt ny anaasoil erbee ry-lhaih, ga dy row coontey cooyl ny lioar lhiggey er dy nee skeeal contoyrtyssagh v'ayn. Er lhiam shen jus meechormid jerkallys - s'cosoylagh dy row eh baghtal ass towse da'n lught screeuee dy nee "noaskeeal lettyragh" t'ayn, as screeu ad rere shen, gyn smooinaghtyn dy dod peiagh erbee meehoiggal. Agh mish smooinaghtyn er gillyn as spionyn, shen skeeal contoyrtyssyn, nagh nee? Aghterbee... cha mie lhiam lioaryn lettyragh, as cha neeu eh dou.

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

Wirral Vikings: The Wider Context (Hrolf Douglasson)

A brief overview of Viking history in the Wirral. This doesn't make any attempt to detail specifics, but looks at the broad patterns in the context of historical events (kings, kingdoms and settlement patterns) and discusses the evidence from English, Welsh, Irish and Viking sources. A decent taster for someone with a mild interest in Merseyside history, which doesn't delve into technicalities or use academic prose, but still offers a scholarly perspective.

Spies (Michael Frayn)

The second Frayn book I've tried and failed to read. It's likely the first one prejudiced me against this, despite assurances from my family that it's good. I really couldn't get into it. The style seemed unnecessarily wordy and somewhat pretentious, but wasn't satisfying enough in itself to make it interesting. There was an early irritating touch in the protagonist finding out the name of a plant and refusing to divulge it to the reader, presumably an attempt to seem either interesting or mysterious, and achieving neither. After a prologue that was seemed as pointless as prologues usually seem, Frayn moved on to depicting the slightly unsatisfactory childhood of the protagonist through his own recollections. Deducing from the first few pages that the protagonist was likely to be miserable, his affluent older friend domineering, that nothing particularly fun seemed likely to happen, that the style grated on me, and - in short - that it read like a literary novel rather than a story of childhood adventure, I decided it wasn't worth my time.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 45

Jerrey wheiggoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Swordspoint (Ellen Kushner)

Chionnee mee y lioar shoh erreish da carrey aym screeu barel jeean as moylee jee. Va mee son goaill taitnyss jee, gyn ourys. Agh s'treih lhiam gra nagh dod mee geddyn greim aigney urree. Cha nel mee gra dy vel ee moal trooid as trooid, agh cha venn ee rhym. Ta barelyn kenjal er cooyl ny lioar, gra dy vel ee lane dy "aitt neuyerkit", as karracteyryn nagh dod oo nyn nyarrood. Atreih... ga dy nee skeeal cliweyn as marroo as cochialg t'ayn, cha dooar mee anaase aynjee. As c'raad ta'n aitt shen? Ta folliaght ny ghaa ayn, agh cha dennee mee dy row ad feeu feddyn magh: c'raad ass ta'n fer aeg nagh vel jannoo monney as nagh vel oyr aym anaase aym y ve er? nee fer ooasle ennagh goaill ynnyd fer ooasle elley? By gummey lhiam eh, dy jarroo. Shoh y red: er lhiam dy vel y lioar shoh croghey er ny karracteyryn t'ayn, as aght ennagh nagh row anaase aym orroo, as myr shen by gummey lhiam ny yinnagh ad ny haghyragh daue. S'bastagh eh.

Pirates of the Asteroids (Isaac Asimov)

Skeeal contoyrtyssagh far-skeealaght heanse. Rere cliaghtey Asimov, ga dy nee contoyrtys t'ayn, ta aght trome-chooishagh er as t'eh lane dy 'ishag. Cha dug eh monney yindys orrym, hoig mee y firrinys v'ayn leah dy liooar, agh t'eh giare, anaasoil dy liooar, as cha dooar mee monney dy 'accan er noadyr. Cha vow uss aase karracteyryn ny coloayrtys taitnyssagh ayns shoh, agh cha nee adsyn ta dean y liooar, agh contoyrtys beg 'syn 'eaynid mooar.

Philosophy and the Christian Faith (Colin Brown)

Shennaghys tappee jeh fallsoonys Heear as ny h-aghtyn venn eh rish Creestiaght. Cha nel anaase aym er fallsoonys, agh nish ta mee toiggal beggan beg myechione, ny mychione fallsoonee aghterbee. V'eh trome dy liooar, as ta'n screeuder currit da cosoylaghey cagh marish "lhiabbee Phrochrustes". Er lhiam nagh ghow mee monney assjee, trooid as trooid.

The Big Sun of Mercury (Isaac Asimov)

Skeeal far-skeealaght heanse elley. T'eh geiyrt er Pirates of the Asteroids, as t'eh casley ree: folliaghtyn beggey as contoyrtyssyn, as ny karracteyrtyn jannoo ram ymmyd jeh shease dyn veaysley. T'ee giare dy liooar, as ta cormid mie ayn eddyr folliaght as contoyrtys, er lhiam.

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

Swordspoint (Ellen Kushner)

I bought this after a friend enthused about it, and expected and wanted to like it. Unfortunately I've got to say it just didn't grip me. I'm not saying it's awful, but it didn't really do much for me. The cover features various nice quotes like "witty, sharp-eyed... full of interesting people" and promises "remarkable plot twists and unexpected humour". Sadly, I didn't really notice any of those things. Although it's a story of swords and killing and plotting, I couldn't find much to be interested in. There's some mystery, but I couldn't muster much enthusiasm to find out the truth. Where does the mysterious young man come from and why is he in the ghetto? I'm not sure why I'm expected to care about him. Will some nobleman manage to oust some other nobleman, neither of them particularly distinctive or interesting? The thing is, a book like this seems to depend heavily on its characters winning your affection or at least interest, and somehow they didn't - and so I don't really care what they do or what happens to them in the end. Certainly not enough to read another 250 pages about them. It's a shame.

Pirates of the Asteroids (Isaac Asimov)

A sci-fi adventure story. As with most Asimov, although it's an adventure story it takes a fairly serious tone, and is full of hardish science. It didn't really throw up anything unexpected, I'd guessed the main points of the plot fairly early on, but it's quick, fairly interesting and I didn't see much to complain about either. It doesn't feature character development or sparkling conversation, but that's not really what it's going for. Scientific Adventure in Space is what this is.

Philosophy and the Christian Faith (Colin Brown)

A quick history of Western philosophy and its relationship to Christianity. I'm not interested in philosophy, but I now know a little bit more about it, or at least about some philosophers. It's fairly stodgy and the author's obsessed with calling everything a "Procrustean bed". I don't feel like I got that much out of it, to be honest.

The Big Sun of Mercury (Isaac Asimov)

Another science fiction story, following on from Pirates of the Asteroids. It's similar stuff, a mixture of minor mysteries and adventure, with a hefty dose of science in the mix. It's also pretty short, and I found the balance between puzzle and action decent.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 44

Jerrey kerroo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Nausicaa y.l. 1 (Miyazaki Hayao)

Skeeal anaasoil as bio, lane dy reddyn yindyssagh (as treih ec y traa cheddin). Ta aght tayrnee Viyazaki bog dy liooar, gyn linnaghyn doo creoi manga-kaghyn elley, agh by vie lhiam eh. Hug eh orrym smooinaghtyn er caslyssyn ayns lioaryn lhaih mee myr paitçhyn tra v'ad foast cur jallooghyn ayns lioaryn lhaih mee. As ta'n aght cooie da'n skeeal as dowan aght ennagh.

The age of the enlightened despot (AH Johnson)

Coontey jeh reeghyn as çheeraghyn ny h-Oarpey eddyr 1660-1789. Cha row fys erbee aym er y eash shen, as by ghoillee dou ee y hoiggal er yn oyr shen. Ren mee skimmal harrish chooid jee va lane dy enmyn caggaghyn as buill as sleih ass enney aym. Ny yei shen, dynsee mee red ennagh er shennaghys ny h-Oarpey jee, as bentyn rish reddyn nagh smooinnee mee rieau orroo. Chammah's shen, t'ee shenn dy liooar (keead blein!) as myr shen ta'n aght as barel eck ass cliaghtey ain.

Ar drywydd y duwiau (Emlyn Roberts)

Noaskeeal fansee mastey cooid veg 'sy Vretnish, as feeu lhaih son shen hene. T'ee beggan quaagh er coontey'n scansh t'eddyr toshiaght as corp y skeeal. Hoshiaght, she skeeal doo t'ayn: aegidee scapail voish ayr ta jannoo drogh-ymmyd jeh'n 'neen, as ad gyn saase er y fa dy nee ard-saggyrt ny caayrey fo-hallooin t'ayn. Ta'n inneen marroo e hene erreish daue scapail. Stoo trome. Scuirr mee jee rish tammylt, agh daahoshiee mee. Er lhiams, shen er y fa nagh vel monney noaskeealyn 'sy Vretnish as anaase erbee aym oc, as myr shen va brod er lheh aym. Ghow mee yindys dy nee skeeal contoyrtyssyn cadjin eh cooid elley ny lioar, as y guilley as kuse dy chaarjyn shirrey yn Eaghtyr as ny Jeeghyn caillt.

Shegin dou gra dy vel y scansh t'eddyr oc bwoailley ort dy trome. Er lhiams nagh lhisagh oo cur drogh-ymmyd as hene-varroo ayns skeeal mannagh vel oo son dellal roo aght ennagh. Cha nee cooid chooie dhyt faagail ad gyn freggyrt as goll royd. Agh ta Roberts goll shaghad rish cooid smoo y skeeal, gyn agh shallid angstagh nish as reesht. T'eh orrym credjal dy hug Roberts ad stiagh 'sy skeeal myr brod daue scapail, agh ny yei shen cha row eieyn erbee echey er ny oddagh y neen jannoo 'sy skeeal, as myr shen varr eh ish. She cooish ghlen jeh ben 'sy choyr rioee t'ayn. Er lhiams nagh vel drogh-chroiaght cooie myr saase skeealagh ry-cheau ersooyl, as 'sy chooish shoh oddagh oo cooilleeney'n dean cheddin ayns ymmodee aghtyn share. Chammah's shen, cha ghow mee rish freggyrtyn ny karracteyryn elley da'n hene-varroo. Moal.

Çheet er reddyn elley... ta'n skeeal elley ny skeeal contoyrtyssyn fondagh. Cha nel eh ro-noa, as shen un oyr chaill mee anaase ayn: Craueeaght Un-Jeeagh Tranlaasagh nagh vel yn ard-saggyrt hene credjal aynjee (shassoo noi y chraueeaght yl-yeeagh kenjal as firryn), y Streebagh As Cree Dooie Eck, y Dunver Kenjal... as eisht ben co-inçhynagh ta moal ec dagh ooilley red, shenn 'er ass e cheeayll 'sy cheyll as fys echey er najoor as eh ny Yee caillt, as y fer lhaih ny shenn lioaryn as foddee eh soilshaghey dagh ooilley red da'n lhaihder. Cha nel mee gra nagh vel ad feeu, agh cha row monney noa dy my chleayney rish y skeeal. Oh, as bare lhiam dy row un ven 'sy skeeal gyn shennaghys skeilleydagh, as ny share foast, ben nagh row boiragh.

T'eh jeeaghyn dy chowree mee dy row mee er ny lhaih tra scuirr mee jee hoshiaght, as myr shen cha nel y lioar shen caghlaa y towse lhaiht aym.

The stars and under (re. Edmund Crispin)

Çhaglym far-skeealaght heeanse feer vie. Ghow mee soylley jeh dagh ooilley skeeal, as v'ad anaasoil as noa trooid as trooid. Feeu ass towse.

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

Nausicaa y.l. 1 (Miyazaki Hayao)

An interesting and vibrant story, full of fantastical things (and also melancholy). Miyazaki's drawing style is quite soft, without the hard lines of other artists I've read, but I liked it. It reminded me of the illustrations in some children's books when books I read still tended to have illustrations. It also seemed somehow appropriate to the story and the world.

The age of the enlightened despot (AH Johnson)

An account of the countries and kings of Europe from 1660-1789. I didn't know anything about this period outside very vague British history, so it was pretty hard to follow. I skimmed over a lot of sections full of names of wars and places and people I didn't recognise, because that's just a meaningless combination. However, I did learn a bit more about European history, sometimes things that had never occurred to me. Okay but tough unless you already know something about the period - and really quite dated.

Ar drywydd y duwiau (Emlyn Roberts)

One of a very small number of "fantasy" novels in Welsh, and probably worth reading for that alone. It's a bit of an odd fish because the start and rest of the story felt quite different in tone. The early stages are grim, and give the impression the rest will be: it starts with siblings escaping a sexually abusive father who's the oppressive priest-despot of their underground city, fleeing into a filthy and murderous ghetto where the girl hangs herself out of shame. Heavy stuff. I put it down around here, but eventually picked it up again. Let me note that I'm pretty sure the only reason was my reluctance to set aside a Welsh novel that was even remotely fantasy, given how rare they are. To my surprise, the rest of the novel is basically an adventure story, as they flee to the surface both to escape pursuit and to seek the rumoured gods.

I've got to be honest: while the rest of the story is fairly standard fantasy fare, the disjunct between the two sections was very jarring. I'm strongly of the view that you should not put things like sexual abuse and suicide in a book unless you intend to damn well deal with those issues. Instead, Roberts flits lightly over them for the rest of the story, leaving them as very occasional sources of minor angst and an under-explained reason for them to be pursued. The impression I get is that the abuse was dreamed up to give these kids a reason to flee their comfy city, but then Roberts couldn't think what else to do with the character and killed her off to leave the others free to adventure. It's simple fridging. I do not think that abusive incest is something you should use as a throwaway plot device, particularly when there are so many other ways to achieve the same end, and I am quite unhappy about this. It's also clumsy because it has minimal impact on the rest of the book, while the other characters' responses weren't very convincing. This did not need to be there at all.

Leaving that aside, the rest of the book is a decent adventure story with some mildly fantastical elements that are technically sci-fi. It's not groundbreaking, and there were some very familiar elements, which is one of the reasons I lost enthusiasm: as well as that old favourite, the Oppressive Monotheistic Religion Whose Boss Deliberately Made It Up (contrasting with the nice polytheistic religion that's based on truth) we quickly meet a Prostitute With A Heart Of Gold and a Benevolent Assassin. There's also a telepathic woman who's useless at everything, a crazy old man in the woods who knows everything and turns out to be a god, and the one who studied all the old lore that explains everything they find. None of these are bad as such, though several are very overdone in my view, but it did mean there wasn't much original to sink my teeth into. I'd also have liked a female character who at the very least didn't have a traumatic backstory, and ideally was actually likeable.

And for some reason this was marked off as read - I think when I first stopped reading - so I don't get any points for that.

The stars and under (ed. Edmund Crispin)

An excellent collection of short science fiction. I enjoyed every one of the stories, and they're all interesting, creative and generally entertaining too. Very worthwhile.

Shalee lhiah 2013: Jerrey Jerrey Fouyir

Jerrey jeihoo vee ny shalee.

Hoshiaght ny bleeaney: 128 lioaryn

Hoshiaght ny mee: 77 lioaryn

• Lhaiht aym:
• Daeedoo hiaghtin: 7 (5 chionnit)
• Kied hiaghtin as daeed:6 (3 chionnit, 1 jarroodit)
• Nah hiaghtin as daeed:7 (4 chionnit)
• Treeoo hiaghtin as daeed:5 (2 chionnit)
• Kerroo hiaghtin as daeed:2
• Nagh row er y rolley: 1
• Goit aym: 15. Chionnee mee ram manga noa (14), as ny smessey, ren carrey dou cur lioar noa dou - 'sy Çheenish! Wahll, ta mee er lhaih y manga... agh veagh feme er mooarane dy hraa dy lhiah y lioar elley, as cha bee y bree aym, er lhiam.
• Scryssit er bun elley: 1. Cheau magh mee lioar elley bentyn rish Ree Artur hug carrey dou, er y fa dy vel un lioar er y chooish shen dy liooar 'sy vlein, er lhiams

Myr shen, ta mee er scryssey 13 ass y rolley as ta 65 faagit er. Wahll, cha nel eh agglagh!

• Lioaryn lhaiht aym y vlein shoh (y chied cheayrt): 111 lioaryn!

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End of the tenth month of Reading Project.

The Beginning: 128 books

The start of this month: 77 books

• Lhaiht aym:
• Week forty: 7 (5 bought)
• Week forty-one:6 (3 bought, 1 forgotten)
• Week forty-two:7 (4 bought)
• Week forty-three:5 (2 bought)
• Week forty-four:2
• Not on the list: 1
• New: 15. I bought a lot of new manga (14), and worse, a friend has lent me a new book - in Chinese! Well, I've read the manga... but I can't see myself having time or energy to read the Chinese book any time soon. It's full of odd vocab and stuff about current affairs in China - easy to grasp as you can imagine.
• Struck off for other reasons: 1. I'm chucking out another book about the history of King Arthur - one on that topic is plenty, thanks.

So I've crossed 13 off the list, and there are 65 left. Not looking so bad...

• Books read (for the first time) this year: 111 books!

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 43

Jerrey treeoo hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

The Anubis gates (Tim Powers)

Mie dy liooar. Ta blass cleaynagh er, as ga dy vel y cummey eck beggan cramp, dennee mee dy row shen cooie da'n skeeal t'ayn, bentyn rish caghlaaghyn traa as enney. Ta dorraghys dy liooar ayn (Victorianagh son y chooid smoo), as ta Powers lhiggey da cur blass baggyrtagh as agglagh er ny cooishyn ta Doyle tuittym stiagh ayndaue, gyn jannoo skeeal ard-dorraghys assjeh. Agh bare lhiam gyn baggyrtyn egin noi y ven ynrican 'sy skeeal; ta fys aym dy nee skeeal "Victorianagh" t'ayn gyn shen. Ta Powers screeu dy castreycair, beggan moal foddee, as ny keayrtyn cha nel eh lane baghtal. Agh ta sleih quaagh anaasoil as reddyn neughooghyssagh noa ayn.

Ta'n skeeal hene fondagh myr skeeal jurnaaghey traa, ta mee ouryssagh mychione y lheid, son s'aashagh eh y lheid y vrockey. Er lhiam dy ren Powers obbyr chastreycair: cha nel y skeeal plooghey ayns e hoyn hene, ny ceau duillag er duillag liorish meenaghey, as va mee baghtal dy liooar ny er va taghyrt son y chooid smoo. Agh t'eh trome ny keayrtyn. Ny keayrtyn dennee mee dy row rouyr karracteyryn ayn, foddee, as kuse jeu casley rish y cheilley. Va reddyn elley yn-insh-rolaue ayms: ayns lheid y skeeal, shegin da'n fer folliaghtagh lhaih oo er ayns lioaryn shennaghys ve uss hene, as shegin da dagh ughtar goaill stiagh taghyrtys as sleih shennaghyssagh. Choud's ta fys aym cha nel oo rieau feddyn magh quoi va'n Mainshtyr, as ta jus obbeeys Egypagh dy liooar 'sy skeeal (as shen scanshoil) dy vel eh beggan quaagh nagh vel ny smoo. As myr jerrey, bare lhiam dy beagh ny smoo mraane mastey wheesh deiney. Agh ny yei shen as ooilley, v'eh feeau lhaih agh cha lhaihym eh reesht.

Bakuman y.l. 19 (Ohba Tsugumi & Obata Takeshi)

Ta sheer-haghyrtys ayn nish, gyn caa son fea. Cha nel cooishyn cadjin 'sy lioar shoh, agh daa ghoolaneyn s'jerree (er lhiam) son Muto Ashirogi. Shen doilleeidyn ellynagh tra t'eh fo colught anime ass y vanga oc y yannoo, as eisht "scammylt" ta baggyrt keird Azuki. Ga dy vel wheesh taghyrt, hug Ohba as Obata boayl as caa da dagh ooilley charracteyr ainjyssagh (by vie lhiam rieau ny fo-charracteyryn). Er lhiam dy vel Obata roie lesh y gheay; t'eh taishbyney rheamys e schlei voish aitt cartoonagh dys trome-chooishaght vyn, as shimmey reayrtys lheead as mea t'ayn, lane dy vioys as mynphoyntyn.

Bakuman y.l. 20 (Ohba Tsugumi & Obata Takeshi)

Va mee lane ghreesit son yn ym-lioar s'jerree shoh, as chionnee mee ee (ny sleaie ny va foym) lurg drogh-laa. S'treih lhiam fakin jerrey straih ghow mee wheesh soylley jeh, agh she jerrey mie t'ayn. Ta drama taitnyssagh ayn, as dennee mee dy row Ohba as Obata cho jeean er y skeeal oc as va ny karracteyryn oc er ny (far-)skeealyn t'ocsyn; ta'n manga-mooie cloie rere y manga-sthie. Ren ad feaysley dagh strooan y skeeal dy fondagh, as ga dy row jerrey-ny-yei-jerrey ayn, er lhiam nagh row eh anvullee. Shen er y fa dy vel ad er nyannoo shickyr rish 20 lioar dy vel dagh strooan scanshoil, foddee. Ren cochiangley quaagh Azuki as Mashiro, as ny persoonidyn neuchadjin oc, lhiggey da jerrey shaghney ro-veiyghys, as dennee mee dy row eh cooie da'n chubbyl quaagh. Ta mee er ngeddyn soylley ass towse ass y 'traih shoh, as bee'm shirrey ny smoo 'syn aght cheddin. Agh ta mian aym foast dy 'eddyn magh erreeyn ny h-ellyneyryn elley...

The dragon and the griffin (Aidan Meehan)

Lioar ellyn elley bentyn rish ellyn Celtiagh as cummaght ny Wigganee er. Cha nel monney anaase aym er shennaghys ellyn hene, as myr shen cha ghow mee monney assjee. 'Sy lioar elley Veehan aym, ren eh soilshaghey aghtyn as saaseyn feamagh dhyt bentyn rish ny loayr eh er, agh 'sy lioar shoh cha nel eh cur coontaghyn jeh ny caslyssyn t'ayn. Myr shen cha nel ee wheesh ymmydoil, er lhiam.

Chammah's shen, hooar mee nagh ren mee recortys tra lhaih mee fer elley meeghyn er dy henney! Caillt aym liorish marranys Blogger, s'cosoylagh.

Language, thought and reality (Benjamin Lee Whorf)

Screeuyn as obbraghyn çhaglymit Venjamin Lee Whorf, as eshyn ny çhengoayllee amateyragh hug geill da kianglaghyn eddyr çhengey as smooinaght. V'ad anaasoil dy liooar, agh trome ny keayrtyn - ta ram cooid hengoaylleeagh ayn bentyn rish çhengaghyn nagh vel fys ny enney aym orroo, gyn soilshaghey erbee. Screeuit da earishlioaryn ard-scoillaragh, er lhiam. Ny yei shen ghow mee soylley jeh, as ta'n eie echey er "cryptotypes" feer anaasoil.

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

The Anubis gates (Tim Powers)

A pretty decent story all told. It has a lot of atmosphere and its slightly convoluted structure gives it a bit of the feeling that the protagonist would probably have with keeping times and identities in order. There's a reasonable dose of (mostly Victorian) grime and grimness that manages to do its thing in the story and convey the very sinister and wretched things that Doyle is dragged into, without falling into offputting grimdark. There's some onstage gore and darkness, but generally they're narrated rather than depicted. There are some very enjoyable weird people and mystical elements, which felt novel to me. On the whole, decent but not stellar writing; it's a little bit heavy at times and not always entirely clear, which is an issue with a complex story with some very similar characters. Could maybe have been shorter and punchier; sometimes feels like Powers wasn't sure whether he wanted an action-packed yarn or a heavy atmospheric story.

The story itself is reasonable, though I always worry about time-travel plots because they're easy to do badly. In this case I think Powers managed a respectable plot that didn't disappear up its own rear end or turn into Exposition Central, and tied itself up neatly, though I wasn't always clear on what was going on. I got the sense there were slightly too many characters, though. There were also some aspects that I found predictable as soon as I worked out what kind of story it was: the enigmatic historical figure is bound to be yourself in the past, for example, and the compulsion to work in several historical figures is apparently irresistable (though Powers does it reasonably). As far as I can work out we never find out who the Master was, and I slightly feel that there was just enough Egyptian magic in the story to make it strange that there isn't more about it, especially given one major scene. Finally, there's precisely one female character worth mentioning, and while she has a couple of decent scenes I'd have preferred it without the obligatory rape threats. I'm glad I've read it but I don't think I'll feel the urge to reread it.

Bakuman v. 19 (Ohba Tsugumi & Obata Takeshi)

Things have reached a fairly constant level of drama now, so there's no chance of a lull. Instead we have what are likely to be the two final challenges Muto Ashirogi must overcome, namely some artistic concerns as they finally get their anime, and a "scandal" that threatens Azuki's career. Despite this, Ohba and Obata manage to give a little love to just about all the characters, and Obata really seems to be flying, showcasing the range of his art from comical to deadly earnest, and throwing in lots of luxuriant scenes full of vibrant detail.

Bakuman v. 20 (Ohba Tsugumi & Obata Takeshi)

I was really excited for this final volume, and gave in after a bad day. I'm sad to see a series I've so thoroughly enjoyed coming to an end, but they did it well. We get some nice drama, and both Ohba and Obata seem to be about as enthused as their creations are, as the manga parallels the manga-within-the-manga. All the threads wrapped up satisfactorily, in a series of endings that managed not to feel particularly anticlimactic - perhaps because they'd so firmly established the importance of each aspect of the story. Azuki/Mashiro's strange relationship and unusual personalities made the potentially soppy ending feel quite appropriate. Thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I'll be looking for more work by these two. Actually I'd really like to know what becomes of some of the other artists...

The dragon and the griffin (Aidan Meehan)

Another book about Celtic design, this time discussing the influence of the vikings. I'm not interested in art history as such, so I didn't find much to interest me here. The other Meehan book I had discussed how to use Celtic patterns yourself, but this simply shows some nice pictures and describes their features rather than providing any guidance. So I think it's a less useful book in general.

I also found one I didn't record reading months ago - probably lost in one of the several Blogger failures.

Language, thought and reality (Benjamin Lee Whorf)

Some collected writings of Whorf, an amateur linguist who worked on links between language and thought, and on Native American languages. It's fairly interesting, but pretty heavy - a lot of linguistic content aimed at journals, in a slightly old-fashioned style, and focused on languages I'm not familiar with with no explanation. Worth reading though, and I enjoyed the stuff about cryptotypes.

Padjer ny blaaghyn

She coraa ny blaaghyn cheayll mee er y gheay Neeay, y shenn gheay Neear graihagh as litçheragh, sheer-heeidey, lieh-ny-cadley, cour y Ghreag.

"Ta ny keylljyn ersooyl, t'adsyn er duittym as er nyn vaagail; cha nel graih ec deiney orrin foast, as ta shin nyn lomarcan fo hoilshey ny h-eayst. Ta jeshaghtyn foawragh siyraghey harrish ny magheryn aalin, as ny raaidjyn oc creoi as atçhimagh er fud ny çheerey.

"Ta caayryn kanghyraagh skeaylley harrish yn 'aiyr, sheer-'eiyral 'syn oayll oc, as milley yn oie liorish lonraghey.

"Ta ny keylljyn ersooyl, O Phan, ny keylljyn, ny keylljyn. As uss foddey, O Phan, as foddey ersooyl."

Va mee my hassoo ‘syn oie eddyr daa phortagh raad yiarn rish oirr chaayr ayns Mean ny Çheerey. Er y derrey yeh honnick mee traenyn goll shaghym, fer 'sy daa vinnid; as er y jeh elley, daa hraen 'sy queig.

Va ny thieyn-greasey fargagh faggys dy liooar, as va cummey scoaghagh er y speyr er-nyn-skyn, myr t’urree ayns ashlishyn-çhiassagh.

Va ny blaaghyn ayns raad jeeragh ny caayrey vishee, as myr shen cheayll mee ad nyn badjer y ghoaill. As eisht cheayll mee, myr arrane snaue noi y gheay, coraa Phan cur oghsan daue ass Arcaid—

"Fuirree erriu rish tammylt, cha bee y lheid ayn rish foddey."

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Ass The Prayer of the Flowers liorish yn Çhiarn Dunsany, çhyndaait ayms.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 42

Jerrey nah hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

So spirited a town (Nicholas Murray)

Lioar anaasoil, aasagh dy lhaih as lane dy vree phersoonagh. Ta Murray covestey cooinaghtyn, aaraaghyn as shennaghys myr broie blasstal dy liooar, as cha cheau mee agh un laa lhaih ee. Cha vow uss mooarane fysseree assjee, agh cha nee tekslioar t'ayn, agh eab dy ghoaill annym y valley as cur sooill kenjal da.

Twenty thousand leagues under the sea (Jules Verne)

She skeeal anaasoil dy liooar t'ayn, ayns ayrn, as skeeal far-skeealaght heanse "chreoi" leah lane dy eieyn as sheiltynys. Ta taghyrtyn contoyrtyssagh ny anaasoil ayn, y lhied by vie lhiam myr gilley ayns straih X Adventure liorish Willard Price. Er y laue elley - nagh trome eh! T'eh lane as slane dy rollaghyn enmyn eeastyn shliggagh as neuhliggagh, as leaghtyn beggey er shoh as er shen, ny smoo fys na cree. Cha nel eh gra red erbee anaasoil mychione ny h-eeastyn shen, agh credjal dy vel enmyn hene anaasoil dy liooar - cha nel ad. Er y laue elley, by vie lhiam fakin eh gaccan ayns 1870 mychione stroie meeresoonagh 'sy teihll najooragh, as by hreih lhiam smooinaghtyn dy vel ny reddyn cheddin taghyrt foast. Dy beagh reagheyder kenjal ennagh er ngiarrey magh y chooid smoo jeh'n stoo shen, veagh lioar anaasoil as chontoyrtyssagh ain. S'treih lhiam gra nagh dod mee moylley eh agh myr sampleyr shennaghyssagh. Ta lioaryn elley ayn ta bentyn rish stoo cosoylagh as ad ny s'eddrymey er sooill as laue.

I Don't Like You At All, Big Brother y.l. 3-4 (un lioar) (Kouichi Kusano)

Va'n ym-lioar shoh ny share lhiam na'n fer elley, as shen son y chooid smoo er y fa dy vel eh baghtal dy liooar dy nee skeeal aitt faghidagh t'ayn. 'Sy chied lioar, va mee beggan currit ass mychione y chooish ghraih v'ayn; cha row mee shickyr er barel yn ughtar cour y chooish. 'Syn ym-lioar shoh, ta'n lane chooish ny smoo aitt. Ta ny inneenyn hene gymmyrkey myr she gamman t'ayn, maylartey noteyn er ny haghyr tra v'ad speeikey er y yilley as myr shen, as t'ad caarjyn baghtal rish y cheilley. S'mie lhiam ny karracteyryn nish erreish daue goll er jannoo ny smoo baghtal, as y voir erskyn ooilley, foddee.

Toradora y.l. 4 (Takemiya Yuyuko)

Myr smooinee mee, ta'n skeeal leah er coayl aym; she skeeal elley t'er mayrn, bentyn son y chooid smoo rish inneenyn caggey son y yilley boght - wahll, son pooar harrish. As son dy cummal seose yn eie shen, shegin da ny karracteyryn ve ny sloo resoonagh as sneeyn aashagh y ghoaill orroo. Ny yei shen, ta aitt dy liooar ayn.

Toradora y.l. 5 (Takemiya Yuyuko)

Ta beggan ny smoo eddyr-obbraghey 'syn ym-lioar shoh, as cha nel wheesh caggey son y yilley. Ta ny smoo niart ec ny fo-charracteyryn as t'ad reaghey reddyn son y chooid smoo. Ghow mee soylley jee.

Oreimo y.l. 4 (Fushimi Tsukasa)

Ta'n lane ym-lioar shoh bentyn rish argane eddyr yn ard-inneen Kirino as carrey eck ta feddyn magh yn anaase quaagh t'eck. Dy firrinagh, voir eh orrym beggan er y fa dy vel ad ooilley meeresoonagh 'sy chooish shen. She aegidee t'ayn, shegin dou goaill rish, agh t'ad ommidjagh dy liooar. As er lhiam nagh row eh cooie lane ym-lioar y cheau er y lheid. Va mee laccal y bishaghey persoonagh, as eddyr-obbraghyn nagh row ard-haghyrtagh car y traa. Castreycair.

King Arthur : the true story (Graham Phillips, Martin Keatman)

Shoh coontey jeh sheiltynyssyn ny h-ughtaryn er quoi, c'raad as cre'n tra va'n Ree Artur ayn. V'ee anaasoil dy liooar, as by vie lhiam ny meeryn shennaghyssagh aynjee. As ta aght so-chredjal oc myrgeddin. Agh shegin dou gra, 'sy jerrey, dy vel ad troggal sheiltynys er bun yl-sheiltynys, as goaill rish ec dagh keim dy vel y fer s'jerree fondagh. T'ad feddyn sheiltynys so-chredjal as goaill rish dy vel eh cosoylagh. Cha nod oo jannoo studeyrys er lheid y vun, chaarjyn. Myr shen, feeu lhaih, agh ny jerk firrinys ghlen assjee.

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

So spirited a town (Nicholas Murray)

An interesting book, easy to read and with a personal touch. Murray melds memories, quotations and history into a pleasant amalgam, and I easily read it within a day. You won't get a huge amount of hard information out of it, but it's not trying to be a textbook; rather, it's an attempt to capture something Liverpool and cast a loving eye over it.

Twenty thousand leagues under the sea (Jules Verne)

An interesting enough story to some extent, and an example of early "hard" sci-fi full of ideas and imagination. There are interesting and adventurous events in there, the kind I enjoyed as a lad in things like the X Adventure series by Willard Price. On the other hand, it's a bit of a slog. There are many, many sections where the protagonist simply lists the names of species - rarely saying anything about them, and even more rarely anything interesting, but simply listing them as though that should be interesting in its own right. There are little lectures here and there too, largely dry and unable to rouse my enthusiasm, and I say that as a biologist. On the other hand, I'll admit it's impressive that in 1870 Verne was already railing against the thoughtless havoc wrought on the natural world - and depressing to see how little effect it's had. I really do think, though, that it would have benefited from a kindly editor's hand to cut away some of the word-crust, leaving an interesting and adventurous book behind. As it is, I'm afraid I can't really recommend this book as the adventure story it seems to want to be, but only as a historical artefact for people with an interest in the genre. There are other books now that touch on similar content, lighter on the eye and the hand, and for most people I think they'd be a better option.

I Don't Like You At All, Big Brother v. 3-4 (one book) (Kouichi Kusano)

I think I enjoyed this a bit more than the previous book, partly because it seemed to set out its stall more clearly as a ridiculous comedy. In the first book, while I enjoyed it, I wasn't quite sure just how silly it thought it was, especially the sibling romance aspect. In this book, the whole thing is more comedic. The fueding girls shift to handling it as a sort of game, to the point where they're doing joint surveillance and exchanging their reports on the day's attempted flirtations, and maintaining a competitive friendship over it. I'm liking the characters now that many of them have been a bit more fleshed out, especially the mum, for some reason, even though she barely appears.

Toradora v. 4 (Takemiya Yuyuko)

As I suspected, the early story (or the one I thought I was reading, anyway) is gone from the series; what's left is mostly about some girls fighting for a boy, or at least for dominance over him. To my mild irritation, keeping up that story seems to call for the characters to be rather erratic so they can take offence unreasonably and be melodramatic (although in fairness that's sometimes how teenage life goes). However, I still had a reasonable time with it.

Toradora v. 5 (Takemiya Yuyuko)

This book has a bit more interaction between characters, and gives some of them (particularly the protagonist's nominal love interest) some development. It's much less about fueding over Ryuuji, and more just about some hijinks, while I enjoyed seeing the minor characters get some screentime.

Oreimo v. 4 (Fushimi Tsukasa)

This entire volume is taken up by a fight Kirino (the protagonist's sister) and her bezzie when she finds out exactly what Kirino's into (that being porn, mostly). Honestly, I found it a bit tiresome because everyone behaves unreasonably for no obvious reason. Yes, teenagers, but they're being daft even so. I didn't really feel this was worth a whole volume, and in particular I missed the actual character stuff - this one was basically all melodrama. Middling.

King Arthur : the true story (Graham Phillips, Martin Keatman)

An account of the authors' theories about who, when and where was King Arthur. It was fairly interesting, and I enjoyed the historical titbits throughout. They have a persuasive way with them, too. I have to say though, that when you think on it, they're building theory upon theory, assuming with each step that the one before was not merely possible but likely. That's no way to do serious scholarship, and so you can't take this book as such, or its findings as accurate.

Shalee lhaih 2013: Shiaghtin 41

Jerrey chied hiaghtin as daeed ny Shallee Lhaih. Shoh ny lhiah mee yn çhiaghtin shoh chaie:

Mayo Chiki y.l. 2 (Takemiya Yuyuko)

Aitt ommidjagh, agh aitt ny yei shen. S'mie lhiam yn inneen kialgagh, Kanade, ta reaghey ny caarjyn(?) eck car y traa cour deanyn folliaghtagh.

Mayo Chiki y.l. 3 (Takemiya Yuyuko)

Mie dy liooar reesht. Lane dy eieyn ommidjagh er ennaghtyn as aggleyn, agh shen aght lioaryn, nagh nee?

I Don't Like You At All, Big Brother y.l. 1-2 (un lioar) (Kouichi Kusano)

Quaagh dy liooar. T'eh bentyn rish inneen ta feddyn magh dy vel ee ny doltey inneen, as myr shen nagh vel fuill dy lhiettal veih graih rish y braar eck as ee er cannoo ny lurg. Ta'n skeeal jus bentyn rish yn aght t'ee geabbey dy hayrn, as eshyn gyn fys er y doltey, as shassoo noi 'syn aigney echey. Ta aitt dy liooar ny keayrtyn, bentyn rish cleayney keintyssagh as nearey son y chooid smoo - as ghow mee taitnys dy liooar jus son yn aght kiarit as trome-chooishagh t'ee gobbraghey er y dean shen liorish saaseyn aitt - agh quaagh foast. Aitt Shapaanagh, nagh quaagh eh?

The stories of English (David Crystal)

Erreish dou dy lhaih, hooar magh mee nagh row ee er y rolley. Atreih! She lioar hrome t'ayn, ta soilshaghey magh as scrutaghey shennaghys ny Baarle, as shen er aght cooie: gyn croghey er "Baarle Chadjinit" car y traa, agh cur lane tastey da ny caghlaaghyn abbyrt, aght screeuee as keim loayrtagh v'ayn as t'ayn. Ghow mee soylley jeh, ga dy dennee mee dy row eh ro-hrome ny keayrtyn (585 duillagyn!). Ta Crystal currit da goaill stiagh kishtaghyn-lhiattee as sampleyryn ayndaue, as ga dy mie lhiam ad son y chooid smoo, t'ad brishey stoo ny h-arganeyn ny keayrtyn. T'eh cur ram tastey da cooishyn sleih by vie lhieu "aareaghey" as "stiurey" ny "freayll" y Vaarle, neayr's ny 1700yn foddee, as yn aght ta shen er ngoaill toshiaght brishey seose nish. Lioar 'ondagh.

Te yn y grug (Kate Roberts)

Çhaglym dy skeealyn beggey 'sy Vretnish. Agh cha nel monney aitt ry-akin ayndaue, er chor erbee. Ta'n chied 'er doolagh dy liooar, as ta'n daa ny yei gyn monney anaase. Eer my t'ee ginsh skeeal cadjin, ta blass truanagh er. Cha nel aitt erbee ry-akin, as daag mee jee er jerrey'n treeoo skeeal. Hooar mee coontey jee jus nish: "Stories of growing up and loss of innocence, of a child striving to understand the complexity of the world and its people, and accepting that disillusionment is part of life." Bwooise da Jee dy daag mee jee, dy jarroo. Ta bea ro-ghiare dy lhaih lheid y stoo doolagh.

The angel with one hundred wings (Daniel Horch)

Skeeal jeant ass eieyn 'syn Oie As Thousane Araabagh. Cha nel eh cur wheesh geill da ard-charracteyryn y vun-skeeal, agh da bea Abdulhassan, ny 'er-lhee as far-chemmicagh, as ny charrey y Hultan. She shenn dooinney t'ayn, agh t'eh goll er tayrn stiagh ayns skeeal daa pheiagh aegey as ta shen cur erree baase er. Er lhiam dy row ee beggan moal hoshiaght, agh haink ee dy ve feer vie. Son y chooid smoo, ta'n skeeal shoh mychione graih (ymmodee sorçhyn), goll er goaill stiagh ayns reddyn, eash as ve. Er y laue elley, ta contoyrtys as gaue ayn myrgeddin. Ga dy nee lioar 'allsoonagh ayn ny keayrtyn, cha voir shen orrym myr t'eh dy cadjin. By vie lhiam y coontey shoh jeh shenn 'er beggan sondagh, ta jannoo eh chooid share nish dy yannoo mie gyn fys erbee ny feanish baghtal er ny ta mie ny dyn. She coontey ennaghtagh as anaasoil t'ayn, lane dy vynphoyntyn fondagh: neuablid Abdulhassan dy hoiggal y lught-thie echey; doilleeid bea ayns balley fo fer ard-smaghtagh varrys oo dys marroo sannish; smooinaghtyn shenn deiney as y caarjys eddyr oc.

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

Mayo Chiki v. 2 (Takemiya Yuyuko)

Silly fun, but fun anyway. I like the manipulative girl, Kanade, who arranges her "friends" towards her own aims, allegedly in their own interests but mysterious and sometimes sadistic along the way.

Mayo Chiki v. 3 (Takemiya Yuyuko)

Still decent. Full of daft ideas about emotions, especially phobias, but hey, it's light-hearted fiction.

I Don't Like You At All, Big Brother v. 1-2 (un lioar) (Kouichi Kusano)

So, ah, yeah. This is about a girl who discovers she's adopted, which is really handy because she's lusting after her older brother (and vice versa). Mostly the story's about the way she tries to keep his attention, when he thinks they're blood relations and fights against his inclinations. It's entertaining enough, with a mix of embarrassment, comic lust, and the very serious ways teenagers go about things. I did enjoy the very straight-faced and deliberate way she works towards her goal via various quite comical methods - but it's rather strange at the same time. I think the cultural gulf here is broadish, because I really can't imagine the like coming out in English?

The stories of English (David Crystal)

After hammering my way through this brick, I found out it doesn't even seem to have been on the list. Tragic! It's a pretty heavy work in contrast to something like Mother Tongue, examining and explaining the history and diversity of English, without putting the usual emphasis on "Standard English". There's lots of stuff about the varieties that peacefully coexisted through most of history until some stupid ideas about linguistic and moral purity exploded onto the scene in the 1700s-ish. I enjoyed it despite feeling it was tough going at times, and had to settle into a good blend of reading and skimming. It's 585 pages! Crystal includes a lot of "sidebars" with examples, which are often interesting but can break up the flow considerably. He also spends a lot of time on the language reformers, but not actually an unreasonable amount in the end. A good solid book.

Te yn y grug (Kate Roberts)

A collection of Welsh short stories. But there's precious little fun to be had here (why are so, so many Welsh books like this?). The first one's miserable as anything, and the next two were short on interest and full of moping and lack of pleasure from the protagonist. Even when someone's relating anecdotes there's a shadow over the story. There's not a mite of fun to be seen, and I gave up at the end of the third story. Good thing too. I just found this on a page about the stage adaptation: "Stories of growing up and loss of innocence, of a child striving to understand the complexity of the world and its people, and accepting that disillusionment is part of life." Right barrel of laughs, eh? Life's too short to read miserable books.

The angel with one hundred wings (Daniel Horch)

A story based on an episode of theThousand and One Nights. It doesn't focus on the traditional protagonist, but on Abdulhassan, a pharmacist and alchemist who drifted into friendship with the Sultan. He's an old man now, but is drawn helplessly into the story of two youngsters while trying to do the right thing, and his fate is sealed by that. I found it slow to begin with, but enjoyed it very much in the end. The story mostly deals with love (of various kinds), absorption in things, age and life, but there's plenty of action amongst it. I enjoyed the portrayal of an unwittingly selfish old man who's doing his best to do good, without much idea or evidence of what's the right thing to do. It's a touching and interesting story, full of nice details: Abdulhassan's inability to understand his family; the challenges of life in an autocracy where you can be killed simply to quash a rumour; and the thoughts and friendship of old men.

Y Deyrey haink er Sarnath

Ta logh anvaaragh chiune ayns çheer Mnar, gyn alt erbee roie stiagh aynjee chamoo strooan erbee roie magh assjee.  Jeih thousane blein er-dy-henney va ard-valley mooar Sarnath ny lhie rish, agh cha nel Sarnath ayn foast.

T’ad gra, ‘syn eash ass cooinaghtyn rish aegid y teihill, roish my daink deiney Harnath dys çheer Vnar, va ard-valley elley rish y logh; ard-valley cloaie lheeah Ib, cho shenn as y logh hene, as cummaltee aynjee nagh by haittin lesh sooillyn deiney.  By whaagh ad as neuwoyagh; as dy jarroo, shen cliaghtey bioee heihill ta aw as garroo foast.  T’eh grainnit er rollianyn breekagh Kadatheron dy row crackan glass oc, daah ny loghey as ny kay ta girree jee; va sooillyn deamagh oc, as beillyn puissagh bog, as cleayshyn quaaghey, as cha row coraa erbee oc.  T’eh grainnit foast dy daink ad neose jeh’n eayst fo choodagh kay oie dy row, as maroo haink y logh vooar chiune as ard-valley cloaie lheeah Ib.  Lhig da’n skeeal shen ny dyn, t’eh shickyr dy dug ad ooashley da jee-jalloo cloaie mooir-ghlass ayns cummey Vokrug, y jialgheer ushtey mooar, as rish oieghyn ny h-eayst vishee ghaunse ad rinkaghyn graney roish.  As t’eh screeut er pabyr Ilarnek dy dooar ad aile laa dy row, as eisht doad ad aile dy mennick rish ny feillaghyn oc.  Agh cha nel monney screeuit er ny cummaltee shid, son v’adsyn ayn ayns ny shenn shenn eashyn, as s’aeg ad cloan gheiney, as beggan fys t’oc er ny bioee hinney v’ayn. Erreish da ymmodee eashyn, haink deiney dys çheer Mnar: deiney dorraghey bochillagh as ny shioltaneyn keyrragh oc, as hrog ad Thraa, Ilarnek as Kadatheron er yn awin Ai lhoobagh.  As va kynnee ennagh ny s’tramylt na’n cheilley, as seiy ad er oaie dys oirr ny loghey, as troggal Sarnath raad dooar ad meain chostal ‘sy thalloo.  Cha nee foddey voish caayr lheeah Ib dy ren ny clein wandreilagh lhiaghtey kied chlaghyn Harnath, as ghow ad yindys mooar voish cummaltee Ib.  Agh va blass feoh ‘sy yindys oc, son er lhieu nagh cooie eh dy row lheid ny bioee shooyl ayns seihll deiney ‘sy choleayrtys.  Chamoo by vie lhieu ny jallooyn quaaghey v’er leacyn lheeah Ib, as adsyn agglagh son ny h-eashyn v’orroo.  Quoi ec ta fys er y fa dy hannee cummaltee as jallooyn ‘sy teihll cho anmagh, eer rish roshtyn deiney?  Agh she çheer feer chiune ee Mnar, as foddey roish çheeraghyn elley laa as oie. 

Myr s’menkey honnick ny Sarnathee cummaltee Ib, ny smoo y dwoaie hug ad orroosyn; chamoo leodee eh tra dooar ad ny cummaltee faase as bog fo bwoalley claghyn as shleiyghn as sideyn.  As myr shen, laa dy row, ren ny fir chaggee aegey, tilgeyryn as shleiyderyn as sideryn, soiaghey er Ib as marroo ooilley cummaltee ny caayrey, as seiy ad ny kirp whaagh stiagh ‘sy logh liorish shleiyghyn liauyrey, er son nagh row ad arryltagh dy ventyn roo.  As er son nagh by vie lhieu leacyn lheeah grainnit Ib, cheau ad adsyn stiagh ‘sy logh myrgeddin, as goaill yindys rish y doccarys cre’n aght hie ny leacyn tromey er ymmyrkey ass foddey jeh; as shegin daue er ve, son nagh row nyn lheid ry-akin ayns çheer Vnar chamoo ny thallooyn mygeayrt-y-mooee.

As myr shen ass ard-valley shenndeeagh Ib cha row nhee erbee er mayrn agh y jee-jalloo mooir-ghlass grainnit ayms cummey Vokrug, y jialgheer ushtey.  Hug ny fir chaggee eshyn lhieu erash dys Sarnath, myr cowrey ny barriaght v’ocsyn er shenn jeeghyn as cummaltee Ib, as myr cowrey kioneys er Mnar.  Agh yn oie erreish daue ny hroggal ‘sy çhiamble va drogh-haghyrt ayn.  Honnick ad soilshaghyn quaaghey harrish y logh, as ‘sy voghrey hooar ad dy row y jee-jalloo ersooyl, as yn ard-saggyrt Taran-Ish ny lhie marroo, myr fer hooar baase ass atçhim erskyn insh.  As er yn altar chrysolite, ayns linnaghyn garroo er-craa, va Taran-Ish er screeu cowrey DEYREY.

Shimmey ard-saggyrt v’ayn ny lurg Taran-Ish, agh cha dooar ad arragh y jee-jalloo mooir-ghlass.  As shimmey eash haink as daag, tra haink lesh Sarnath dys ard-raah, do nagh by chooin agh lesh saggyrtyn as shenn vraane ny screeu Taran-Ish er yn altyr chrysolite.  Dirree bollagh traghtee eddyr Sarnath as caayr Ilarnek, as vaylartee ad meain chostal ny thallooin son meain elley as eaddee ghoan as clijeenyn as lioaryn as greieyn fir cheirdey as dagh ooilley chooid hoailleeaght t’er fys ocsyn ta cummal rish yn awin Ai lhoobagh as ny çheeraghyn mygeayrt-y-mooee.  Myr shen haink Sarnath dy ve mooar as ynsit as aalin, as hug magh ee sheshaghtyn caggee varriaghtagh dys cur fo chosh ny caayryn faggys jee; as fy-yerrey, she reeghyn ooilley Mnar as ymmodee çheeraghyn ree va nyn soie er stoyl reeoil Harnath.

By yindys as ard-voyrn y teihill as ooilley gheiney ee Sarnath ard-ooashley.  Va ny boallaghyn eck jeh marmyr gloasagh yn ‘aasagh, 300 stundayrt er yrjid as 75 er lheead, do dod fainee deiney goll shaghey y cheilley rish imman er y vullagh.  Skeayll ad rish 500 lane staid, son nagh row ad foshlit agh er y çheu cour y logh; ayns shen ren boalley marrey cloaie glass fendeil y chaayr noi tonnyn, tra dirree ad dy quaagh dagh vlein rish feailley traartys Ib.  Ayns Sarnath roie jeih straiddyn as daeed voish y logh dys giatyn ny caravaanyn, as lhie jeih straiddyn as daeed harroo.  V’adsyn ass onyx, agh raad hooill cabbil as dronnagyn as elefantyn, va leacyn tryal orroo.  As va giatyn Harnath wheesh as ny straiddyn, as ad prashey, as cummaghyn lionyn as elefantyn roo, grainnit ass clagh nagh row er-enney ec deiney foast.  Ass breek fo glonney as agaid va thieyn Harnath, as garey boallit as loghan gollrish crystal ocsyn ooilley.  Er aght quaagh v’ad troggit, son cha row y lheid ry-akin ayns caayr erbee agh ish; as va troailtee ass Thraa as Ilarnek as Kadatheron cliaghtey goaill yindys er ny meillaghyn-mullee hollys oc.

Agh ny smoo yindyssagh foast va ny plaaseyn as çhiambylyn, as garaghyn Zokkar, y shenn ree.  Shimmey plaase v’ayn, as y sloo jeu ny smoo na nane erbee ayns Thraa ny Ilarnek ny Kadatheron.  As ad wheesh ard, dod deiney sheiltyn nagh row mullagh er-nyn-skyn agh y speyr hene; agh fo soilshey doagan lane dy ooil Ghothur, va jallooyn foawragh ry-akin er ny boallaghyn, jeh reeghyn as sheshaghtyn-caggee, as yn aalid oc creeoil as shaghrynagh ec y traa cheddin.  Shimmey colloo v’ayns ny plaaseyn, ass marmyr daahit, grainnit ayns cummaghyn ny share na aalid deiney.  As ayns ny plaaseyn, son y chooid smoo, va ny laareyn nyn mosaicyn ass beryl as lapis-lazuli as onyx jiarg as carbuncle as reih stooghyn elley, reaghit do dod y fakider sheiltyn dy hooill eh er ymmyryn dy vlaaghyn goan.  As va farraneyn ayn myrgeddin, as ad ceau ushtey soaral myr skiootyn aalin kiaddit dy schleioil.  She plaase reeghyn Vnar as ny thallooghyn ghow varriaght orroo ooilley.  Er piyr dy lionyn airhey chroymmit va'n troyn ny hoie, as shimmey greeish v'ayn eddyr eshyn as y laare sollys.  As v'eh grainnit ass un veer dy iuaagagh, ga nagh nhione da fer erbee caid ass haink meer wheesh foawragh.  Shimmey lout-lhiattee v'ayns y phlaase shid, as shimmey preaban caggee v'ayn raad chagg lionyn as deiney as elefantyn son baillish y ree.  Ny keayrtyn vaiht ad preaban caggee ennagh lesh ushtey hayrn ad ass y logh ayns ammyryn ushtey mooarey, as eisht va caggaghyn-marrey breeagh ayn, ny caggaghyn eddyr snauederyn as reddyn marrey marrooagh.

By ard as yindyssagh shiaght çhiambylyn tooragh jeig Harnath, ass clagh gial yl-daahagh ass enney agh ayns shid.  Va'n fer smoo jeu lane thousane stundayrt er yrdjid, as chumm ny h-ard-saggyrtyn aynsyn, as s'goan y scansh v'eddyr ny h-aghtyn beaghee v'ocsyn as v'ec ny reeghyn.  Er y thalloo va hallaghyn wheesh mooar as aalin as hallaghyn ny plaaseyn; as ayndaue chruinnee çhionnalyn son ooashlaghey Zo-Kalar as Tamash as Lobon, ard-yeeghyn Harnath, as va ny h-ynnydyn casherick ocsyn gollrish troynyn reeghyn fo chay thooishey.  Cha row jee-jallooghyn Zo-Kalar as Tamash as Lobon gollrish adsyn v'ec jeeghyn elley; v'adsyn wheesh faggys da bioys dy dod oo vreearrey dy nee ny jeeghyn faasaagagh bwaagh hene va nyn soie er ny troynyn iuaagagh.  As ec kione greeishyn gyn jerrey ass sercon sollys va'n çhamyr hooragh oc.  Assjee yeeagh ny h-ard-saggyrtyn harrish y chaayr as ny thallooghyn as y logh car y laa; as er yn eayst 'olliaghtagh as rollageyn as planaidyn trome-cheeallagh as scaanyn ny loghey er fud ny h-oie.   Ayns shid ren ad y shenn oardagh ard-cheiltagh hug dwoaie da Bokrug, y jialgheer ushtey, as ayns shid va'n altar chrysolite as screeuyn-DEYREY Taran-Ish er.

As by yindyssagh chammah ny garaghyn ren Zokkar, y shenn ree.  Skeayll ad ayns mean Harnath, liauyr as lheead as boalley ard mygeayrt-y-moo.   As va meilley-vullee glonney mooar er-nyn-skyn; rish aalican hoilshee grian as eayst as rollageyn as planaidyn ny hrooid, as rish emshir ghonney hrog ad caslyssyn gialley jeh grian as eayst as rollageyn as planaidyn jeh.  'Sy tourey ren feayraghanyn schlei sheidey geay veeley soaral nyn drooid, as 'sy gheurey ren aileyn follit ad y hiassaghey, do she sheer-arragh v'ayn ayns ny garaghyn shid.  Roie strooanyn beggey harrish shillee yial, dys rheynn lheeantyn glassey as garaghyn yl-ghaait, as shimmey droghad lhie harroo.  Shimmey eas v'ayn 'sy lhiabbee echey, as shimmey loghan lileeagh gheayrt ad stiagh aynjee.  Snaue ollee vaney er strooan as loghan, as va kiaull ushagyn goaney co-heeaney marish arrane ny h-ushtaghyn.  Dirree ny brooinyn nyn ardaneyn glassey.  Ayns shid as ayns shen va grianane ayn, fo viljyn feeney as blaaghyn millish, ny soieagyn as furrymyn ass marmyr as porphyry.  As shimmey çhiamble beg v'ayn dhyt goaill aash ny cur padjer da jeeghyn beggey.

Dagh blein ayns Sarnath ren ad ardeailley stroie Ib, as er yn ardeailley  va slane palçhey dy ‘eeyn, arraneyn, rinkey as ooilley gennallys ayn.  Hug ad arrym da anmyn adsyn v’er cur naardey ny shen cretooryn quaaghey; as ren daunseyryn as looteyryn cheau crooinyn roseyn ass garaghyn Zokkar craidey mysh cooinaghtyn ny cretooryn as ny jeeghyn shenndeeagh oc.  As yeeagh ny reeghyn harrish y logh as guee mollaght er craueyn adsyn lhie aynjee.  Hoshiaght nagh by vie lesh ny h-ard-saggyrtyn ny ardeaillaghyn shoh, son va skeealyn quaagh ry-chlashtyn nyn mast’oc; er yn aght skell rish y jalloo mooir-ghlass, as dy hooar Taran-Ish baase ass atçhim as faagail raaue dauesyn.  As dooyrt ad dy vaik ad lossan ny keayrtyn fo ushtey ny loghey ass y toor ard oc.  Agh rish ymmodee bleeantyn goll shaghey gyn seiyjaght, va ny saggyrtyn hene geayrey as guee as goaill ayrn ayns ronneeaght ny feaillaghyn.  Dy jarroo, ‘sy toor ard oc, nagh row adsyn er gooilleeney y shenn oardagh ard-cheiltagh hug dwoaie da Bokrug, y jialgheer ushtey?  As hie shaghey thousane blein lane dy verçhys as taitnys ayns Sarnath, yindys y teihill as ard-voyrn ooilley deiney.

Va ardeailley thousane blein stroie Ib ooashley erskyn sheiltynys.  V’ad er loayrt er er fud Mnar rish jeih bleeantyn, as rish yn ardeailley tayrn er gerrey haink deiney dys Sarnath er cabbil as dronnagyn as elefantyn – deiney ass Thraa, Ilarnek as Kadatheron, as ooilley caayryn Vnar as ny çheeraghyn myrgeayrt-y-mooee.  Er yn oie phoyntit, roish ny boallaghyn marmyragh, va paalyn prinseyn as paalanyn troailtee currit seose, as dirree arraneyn cummalee vaynrey er feie slyst ny loghey.  'Sy halley-fleahagh echey va'n ree Nargis-Hei ny lhie, er meshtey ec shenn 'eeyn ass sellaryn Phnath castit, as shimmey krink gee as giu mysh, as shimmey sleab roie noon as noal.  Nagh by vooar y bee naightagh goan 'syn 'eailley shid!  Kellee aalin ass ellanyn Nariel 'sy Cheayn Veanagh, mannanyn ass crink foddey Implan, boynyn dronnagyn ass yn 'aasagh Bnazagh, croyn as spiosyn ass keylljyn Chydathria, as pearlyn ass Mtal tonnagh lheiet ayns feeyn geayr Hraa.  Va aunlynyn ass towse ayn, aarlit ec ard-choagyryn Vnar, as cooie da blayst dagh goaldagh.  Agh she eeastyn mooarey ny loghey va reih vee yn 'eailley, dagh nane foawragh, as adsyn currit er moggaidyn airhey roobeenagh as diamanagh.

As y ree as y krinkys jannoo feailley 'sy phlaase, as jeeaghyn er yn ard-vee duirree orroo er moggaidyn airhey, ren fir elley feailley ayns dagh ooilley voayl.  Ayns toor yn ard-hiamble ren ny saggyrtyn ronneeaght, as ayns palaanyn çheumooie ny boallaghyn va flahyn ashoonyn naboonagh jannoo kelloorey.  As by ard-saggyrt Gnai-Keh y chied honnick scaaghyn çheet neose veih'n eayst vishee as goll stiagh 'sy logh, as y chay vollaghtagh ghlass dirree ass y logh, dys skeaylley lesh yn eayst as ceau scaa baggyrtagh harrish tooryn as meillaghyn-mullee Harnath erreeit.  Eisht honnick adsyn v'ayns tooryn ny çheumooie ny boallaghyn sollyssyn quaaghey er yn ushtey; as fakin dy row clagh lheeah Akurion, dirree er ard ass y logh rish y clyst rere cliaghtey, bunnys baiht.  As daase aggle dy tappee, derrey ghow neose flahyn Ilarnek as Rokol foddey ny paalyn as paalanyn oc, as ad y 'illey, as faagail cour yn awin Ai, ga nagh by leayr dauesyn yn oyr hene daag ad.

Eisht, er çhee meanoie, vrish ooilley giatyn prashey Harnath veih my cheilley, as vrooight magh çhionnal er keoie ren y çheer rea doo, do roie ny flahyn as troailtee ghoaldagh er çhea fo atçhim.  Son by leayr er eddinyn y çhionnal baanrid ass scoagh do-hurranse, as er ny çhengaghyn oc va focklyn wheesh agglagh nagh duirree clashtynagh erbee son feanish.  Ren deiney as sooillyn keoie er aggle oc gyllagh ny vaik ad ayns halley-fleahagh y ree, raad nagh nee Nargis-Hei as y krinkys va ry-akin foast, agh sheshaght dy nheeghyn glassey gyn coraa.  Va sooillyn deamagh oc, as beillyn puissagh bog, as cleayshyn quaaghey, as ghaunse ad rinkaghyn graney; as dymmyrk ad ayns spaagyn maaigerey moggaidyn airhey roobeenagh as diamanagh, lane dy aile feohdagh.  As rish roie er çhea ass caayr erreeit Sarnath er cabbil as dronnagyn as elefantyn, yeeagh ny flahyn as troailtee reesht er y logh chayagh, as fakin dy row clagh lheeah Akurion lane vaiht.

Er feie çheer Mnar as ny çheeraghyn mygeayrt-y-mooie skeeayll skeealyn adsyn daag Sarnath, do nagh jagh caravaanyn arragh reesht cour y chaayr vollit as y veain chostal eck.  Shimmey blein hie shaghey derrey hie troailtagh erbee ree, as eer eisht cha b'lhoys agh da fir aegey vraew 'Alona foddey goll; fir aegey chontoyrtyssagh vane as gorrym-hooillagh, gyn mooinjerys erbee da cummaltee Vnar.  Hie ad dy jarroo dys y logh dys jeeaghyn er Sarnath; agh ga dy dooar ad y logh chiune anvaaragh hene, as clagh lheeah Akurion ta girree er ard assjee rish y clyst, cha vaik ad yindys y teihill as ard-voyrn ooilley deiney.  Raad va boallaghyn 300 stundayrt er yrjid er nirree, as tooryn ny s'yrjey foast, she slyst curree follym v'ayn; as raad va daeed millioon dooinney er gummal cha snaue agh jialgheeyryn-ushtey dwoaieagh nish.  Cha row eer meainyn ny meain chostal ry-akin, son va DEYREY er jeet er Sarnath.

Agh lieh-oanluckit mastey ny leaghyryn honnick ad jee-jalloo cloaie mooir-ghlass; jee-jalloo shenn ass towse, fo vrat famlee, grainnit ayns cummey Vokrug, y jialgheeyr-ushtey mooar.  As va'n jee-jalloo currit ayns ard-çhiamble Ilarnek, as neayr's shen hie eh er ooashlaghey fo'n eayst vishee er feie çheer Mnar.

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Ass obbyr Lovecraft "The Doom that came to Sarnath", çhyndaait ayms.