A bookstore opened here this week, this is good news not only because a new bookstore is always a good thing but also because we didn't have a decent one in town. There was an old one but nobody ever knew how the books were organized and to find a specific book could be a difficult task.
This bookstore is part of the national Lyon Bookstores chain, I haven't visited it yet but I plan to soon. It's true that I make most of my book shopping online or at Fnac and Bertrand but this makes it easier to spend some time every week browsing new books.
I'm not sure how much actual buying I'll do there, books are becoming an expensive thing around here and I think they only sell books in portuguese. Just to give you an example Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth is going to be translated to portuguese. The same book that costs less than USD 10 (GBP 6 at Amazon UK it's roughly EUR 9) at Amazon will be divided in 2 volumes costing EUR 18 each. And Elizabeth Chadwick's Lords of the White Castle that costs GBP 3 at Amazon UK costs here EUR 27 in it's portuguese version. For us reading in the original version it's a necessity rather than a luxury...
However I really like to enter a bookstore and see the new covers, read the back blurbs, smell the new books... so I'm really happy with this opening around the corner.
Not to mention that most translations are really awful (Editorial Presença is an exception) and I cringe at the thought of spending more than 20 € on a book that has a crappy translation. I'd rather spend the same amount on two English books!
ReplyDeleteI never saw Chadwick translated, not that I'd buy it, historicals are part of a genre that lately I prefer to buy in English.
I have the Chadwick because a friend gave it to me for my birthday. I actually liked the translation but like you I prefer the original english version. But it was nothing like a Nora Roberts I read a while ago in which the translation was pretty bad, I kept being jarred out of the story.
ReplyDeleteThere's a Lyon Bookstore in Castelo Branco, Ana and I visit it early this year. I was happy to see another bookstore in town, there's only 3 of them but I was a bit disappointed with the book selection, mostly classics and a and some bestsellers.
ReplyDeleteI still cannot believe they are going to split Pillars of the Earth in two and sell each book 18EUR. This is absolutely outrageous! Each time I return to Portugal, I want to buy several new books in portuguese to keep up with new authors and built my stock for the year. But with the prices, I only manage to bring 4-5 and mostly portuguese historical non-fiction. In the end, I have to bring some from my library at my mother's house.
Yep, it's very expensive to be a voracious reader in Portugal. Regarding historical fiction authors have you ever tried Fernando Campos?
ReplyDeleteEu adoro Fernado Campos, sobretudo A Cada so Pó. O ultimo que li foi O Prisioneiro da Torre Velha mas li que entretanto ele escreve outro livro. Ja o leste?:)
ReplyDeleteOk, I only noticed now answered you in portuguese... I am reading D.Sebastião e o Vidente by Deana Barroqueiro and I think I got carried away.:)
ReplyDeleteLOL you can answer in any language :-) I loved Casa do Pó but haven't read O Prisioneiro da Torre Velha yet. I have A Esmeralda Partida in my TBR pile, have you read that one?
ReplyDeleteA Esmeralda Partida is a good one too but I read it several years ago. I'll have to bring it home next time I go to Portugal.
ReplyDeleteDo you know other good portuguese historicals?:)
From the top of my head there's Agustina Bessa Luis's A Corte do Norte, Alvaro Guerra's Razões do Coração, Cristina Norton's O Segredo da Bastarda and there's one or two about Inês de Castro that I'll have to look up the authors. And of course Saramago's Memorial do Convento ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are many more because it's been a growing genre here, I just haven't followed the new authors very closely...
I have two Fernando Campos in my TBR pile but never got around to reading them. I've hated Agustina Bessa Luís since I had to read Sibila in school, it was such a boring and confusing book. I've never read anything by any of the other authors you mentioned, I have to confess I'm not a great fan of Portuguese writers, but there's one or two exceptions.
ReplyDeleteHave either of you read João Aguiar? He's one of my favourites, even his non historicals are good. I've read A Voz dos Deuses (here) and not one of my favourites but still good is Inês de Portugal (here). He has other historicals that I have yet to read.
Oops I loved Sibila when I read it at school!! I can't remember it anymore but I know I loved it...
ReplyDeleteI have João Aguiar in my TBR pile, I'll have to look for his books. And after posting I remembered Freitas do Amaral's D. Afonso Henriques which is also in the TBR pile...
Huh... I cannot stand Agustina Bessa Luis since The Sibila.
ReplyDeleteI tried to read some her books a couple of years ago but to be honest, I really dislike her style. It always seems very distant and intentionally confusing. Maybe I'm still traumatized!;-)
Memorial de um Convento is a favorite, I'll have to reread it one of these days. The only author I don't know is Cristina Norton. Have to check her out.
João Aguiar is great! I only read A Voz dos Deuses, Os Comedores de Pérolas and A Deusa na Bruma. Can't wait to read some more.:)
I haven't read anything by Saramago, I'll have to look for Memorial do Convento.
ReplyDeleteBy João Aguiar I read A Voz dos Deuses, Inês de Portugal, Os Comedores de Pérolas, O Jardim das Delícias, O Diálogo das Compensadas (really funny) e o Dragão de Fumo (sequel to Os Comedores de Pérolas), all of them very good. I still have a couple of them in my TBR pile though like Uma Deusa na Bruma and O Homem Sem Nome.
And I'll have to look for João Aguiar ;-)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Saramago's sense of humour in Memorial do Convento. Maybe it's time to find another one by him to read...
How is Inês de Portugal, Ana V.? I'll have to buy O Diálogo das Compensadas next time I return to Portugal.:)
ReplyDeleteInês de Portugal was an okay read but a little bit confusing as at first you're thrown in the middle of the action without any warning. The story is remembered not so much as told and it's too short. I enjoyed it but he has better books!
ReplyDeleteO Diálogo das Compensadas is one of his society criticism but it's funny (see here).
Wasn't Inês de Portugal the book that they based that last movie about her?
ReplyDeleteI guess so, I confess I didn't know about the movie, but after searching the net I found this.
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