:: Re: [DNG] Please, inform users abou…
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Author: Rick Moen
Date:  
To: dng
Subject: Re: [DNG] Please, inform users about the current 'health' of Devuan.
Quoting aitor_czr (aitor_czr@???):

> Which book (originally written in english and in plain language,
> discarding Charles Dickens and so on) should i carry to a deserted
> island in order to improve my english?


So, so, many choices.

> Roald Dahl springs to mind... Any among you has read Roald Dahl's
> "Tales of the Unexpected"?


Dahl is a surprisingly good choice. He was an ethnic Norwegian
(possibly explaining his deadpan sense of humour) from Cardiff, Wales,
by the way.[1] Perhaps you have a weakness, as I do, for
English-language writers with foreign-language backgrounds, in which
case Vladimir Nabokov and (especially) Joseph Conrad might also be your
cup of tea and could not be bettered as a model for English prose. Try
Conrad's _Lord Jim_. Although written in 1899-1900, its language still
seems very fresh and modern, to my (admittedly pedantic) ear.

Getting back to works by native (and contemporary) speakers of English,
try non-fiction author John McPhee, e.g., a collection of three long essays
collected in a single volume as _The Control of Nature_. The individual
pieces can still be read online at https://www.newyorker.com/ , for
free, and the quiet effectiveness of McPhee's descriptive writing style
will knock your socks off.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/the-control-of-nature

(Listadmins, please pardon this brief digression into Devuan Book Club.
I won't do it often.)


[1] My Tante Bjorg warned me to never trust those Norwegians, though.

-- 
Cheers,
Rick Moen                      "vi is my shepherd; I shall not font."
rick@???                               -- Psalm 0.1 beta
McQ!  (4x80)