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Hey all,
I'm planning on blasting through all my unread classics in 2021 and I'd love to read Don Quixote.
I'm fully "booked" (he he) for the rest of 2020 but would be keen to start 2021 with a bang and read this classic.
If anyone is keen let me know and I'll get a schedule and plan set up.
Thanks!
L

I’m interested!!

Adele wrote: "I’m interested!!"

Yay! :)

Laura, I would like to join in too.

Hey Shaina,
That's great!

I'm thinking of starting Mon 4th Jan 2021

I'm good with that.

I would love to join, though I do not currently have a copy so I will re-evaluate closer to the start date!

Hey Andy,

That's excellent. Yeah hopefully starting in Jan gives folk time to get organised :) and to mentally prepare!

I would like to join. I just read the first page of the translation by John Ormsby on projectgutenberg.org and like it... I would love to find a good paper copy though, with well-written notes and extra matter, as from Penguin perhaps.

Any idea what translation you're reading?

From reddit:

kenrat
18 points
·
3 years ago
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edited 3 years ago
Grossman - Accurate and renders the humor well

Ormsby - The most accurate, but also the driest for humor. Archaic language. His is also the only one of three translations from the same period to have had many reprints.

Starkie - Accurate and renders the humor well

Rutherford - Less literal than others but renders the humor well

Shelton - Riddled with errors but savored for its fine language

Raffel- Written in informal language but renders the humor well.

Putnam - Contains thousands of his own notes that are useful for scholars but the translation itself is criticized for inaccuracy.

Jervas - Accurate but dry. Follows Shelton too closely in many areas.

Cohen - IDK. All I know his editions has been superseded by Rutherford's at Penguin.

Avoid like the plague

Motteux - "Worse than worthless" - Ormsby

John Phillips - A literal piece of shit

Smollett - Cribbed off Jervas's and made it worse

My library says:

""The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote De La Mancha" that we have is in two volumes. It is a new translation from the Spanish, with A Critical Text Based upon The First Editions Of 1605 And 1615, and with Variant Readings, Variorum Notes, and an Introduction by Samuel Putnam. There was no ISBN attached to the book or book record but it was published in 1949 by the Viking Press, New York. "

So, the one that is huge and also 'criticized for inaccuracy."

My university library has Rutherford. I guess I'll probably read that.

I’m totally in, I have an old spanish copy from my grandpa and would love to join this 🔥

Cheryl wrote: "I would like to join. I just read the first page of the translation by John Ormsby on projectgutenberg.org and like it... I would love to find a good paper copy though, with well-written notes and ..."

Hey Cheryl,

I just have the cheap Wordsworth Classics edition:


The translation is by P A Motteaux.

Thanks for the reddit links!
I also started a subreddit for Don Quixote if anyone's interested.

Chris wrote: "I’m totally in, I have an old spanish copy from my grandpa and would love to join this 🔥"

Wow - in Spanish! I'm impressed! Great :)

I might look for the Grossman one.......

Cheryl, thank you for the translator data. I am reading the Grossman edition after a little research in addition to what you shared.

Laura, I don't think I would have looked up all this information if not for this thread. Thank you for setting this up early enough for everyone to sort out translations they want to read.

Shaina wrote: "Laura, I don't think I would have looked up all this information if not for this thread. Thank you for setting this up early enough for everyone to sort out translations they want to read."

Of course - I'm delighted I'll have some company on the journey :)
I think I'll definitely change my edition now too - so it was worth it.
Thanks guys!

I'm going to join. Will try to find the Grossman translation as well.

Hey Rachel - nice to have you join us :)

I recently read the book, bad timing, but I'm excited for you all. It's a lovely book.

I see you are doing your research when it comes to translations. Don't neglect it. Don Quixote is hard to translate and a bad translator could do a lot of harm to it.
I checked the copies at Project Gutenberg. They have the Ormsby and the Motteaux translations. I skimmed both a bit, the Ormsby one looks solid. Motteaux seems pretty bad on the other hand.

If you like having a bit of context before starting the read, I suggest reading these two Wikipedia articles:

Thanks Kaiser! We may pick your brains as we go. Feel free to join the chats.

I'm joining.

Nicole wrote: "I'm joining."

Glad to have you Nicole :)

Finally just ordered my book! I’m really looking forward to this one!! And glad to see so many people joining!

I've definitely been put off the Motteaux translation that I have so need to get the Grossman one ordered. Might wait until after pay day :)

Remember we're not starting until 2021... ask Santa for a copy!

Ha ha - yeah :)

Hahahah ;) Welcome Saanj! Definitely looks like your sorted for a few months. I too, am glad Laura started this thread otherwise I don't think I would have attempted this book despite it being on my TBR.

I'm amazed you attempted to read a book thrice and better you are courageous enough to try again . I would have just given up. We have a few links which might help you with choosing an edition but I guess the Grossman is the best among them so far.I hope you reach the finish line with us here. I'm sure making a schedule in December which will work for everyone will help.

I’ll be joining in too, I’ve always wanted to read this one since I saw a kid show do a version a long, long time ago.

Welcome, France-Andree! We are happy to have you on board.

Yay - we've got a good wee bunch!
I'm sure we'll be able to cheer each other on and get the book read.

Please join us - we're not starting until Jan '21 so plenty of time to prepare.

Hello, I would like to join, too! I’m so glad I saw this thread, I’ve long been postponing Don Quixote because I have so many books still unread in my shelf but every time I see a copy I just want to dive into it. So January 2021 is just perfect and I’m excited to read it with you all :)

Great - happy to have you along for the read. I think it'll be a great way to start 2021!

Hi,

I would like to join too!
I joined this group only yesterday and glad I stumbled upon this buddy read.
Since I'm from Germany and having a bit of trouble sometimes with reading "old english", I hope I can find a good and priceworthy German translation. Should be doable until January!
Hope you can overlook any spelling/grammar mistakes I make writing in English.

Looking forward to dive into this classic with you all!

Hello, I will join, too. I have this book in Thai language edition but haven't read it yet and January 2021 is perfect time. Looking forward to reading with you all!

Welcome, Aloysius221B and Ning! Happy to have you with us.

If by any chance anyone wants to read something related, before or after, Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene is supposed to be a little easier going and to help a reader appreciate the original more deeply... but also an important book in its own right by a 'master' author. I don't know if I will read it or not... I'm not particularly interested in theology and I'm already overbooked for the rest of this year and next!

The Spanish copy has been sitting on my bookshelf for at least 10 years... So I'd love to join if reading the spanish version is allowed!

Hey @Steph - reading is ANY language is great! It will be really interesting to compare notes on different versions as we go :)

Laura, do we have a schedule for this yet? I want to plan my reading for Jan.

Hey Shaina,
I'd made this schedule, based on my wordsworth classics edition. I've since got a different edition so it may need updated but hopefully the books/ chapters are the same.
SEE NEW LINK in POST 50

I'll try and update for the Grossman edition soon!

Thank you, Laura. This helps even if tentative.

Thanks, Laura. It gives me an idea of how to fit it in.

Hey everyone,
I've updated the schedule sheet. There are 3 tabs.
The first tab is based on Samuel's sheet from our Moby Dick readalong and you can track your daily reading. This is using the Grossman Vintage Classics edition for reference.


The 2nd Tab is a static Grossman edition schedule.
The 3rd Tab is a static Wordsworth Classics edition schedule.


I hope that helps.
I've based them on reading the intros etc by the 3rd Jan and starting the book proper on the 4th.

I've updated the link:

Thank you for all the effort, Laura. This is great!

No problem.. it helped me get organised too!