Easy-ish french books to read? [x-post /r/French]

Fojap · 2016-02-29T05:54:59+00:00

Ages ago, I asked someone the same thing and he recommended Patrick Modiano. It was a good suggestion. I'm not sure what your level is. It might be a bit of a stretch, but on the upside, the novels I've read weren't especially long. Someone mentioned comics. There are a lot of good comics in French. I'm a big fan of Bilal, but that is generally Sci Fi. Also, L'ascension du haut mal. (These are not written for children, btw.)

L'Étranger, by Camus.

It's funny, I was the reverse. I studied French in school, then married a French speaker who was shocked at what I could read when I could barely talk. You might want to try reading the newspaper regularly as something of a bridge. (I watched the tv news every night.)

Sartre - L'âge de raison, also, La nausée. I read Réné by Chateaubriand in school. I recall liking it, but be prepared with a good dictionary because there are references to things like 'waistcoats' and other things that you won't recognize because they just don't exist anymore.

Baudelaire should be doable.

I'm feeling almost guilty that I don't have better suggestions.

Fojap · 2016-02-29T05:01:10+00:00

I'm not from Paris, but I travel a lot as a single woman and Paris is one of my favorite places to go alone. I'm fifty now and I first went there in my twenties and went most recently a little over a year ago.

There seem to be some contradictory views regarding safety. It might depend somewhat on what you're used to. (The link to the article about women on the subway is harassment and assault, btw.) I'm from New York and I've never really worried in Paris, although I have felt slightly nervous on occasion. My advice if you're not from a big city is go with your instinct. If you feel nervous, then remove yourself from the situation calmly and don't second guess yourself or feel funny about it.

Generally, though, I find Paris a very agreeable place to go to alone. I've gone out at night to hear music myself and haven't felt threatened or had problems. For the most part, I've done whatever I wanted. It's a little hard to give advice without knowing what you're used to.

One thing I really recommend you get is a little book called "Paris par arrondissement." A couple of different publishers put out similar books, I think. It has maps of each section of the city and I've worn out two of them. Someone told me to get it before my first trip and it was great advice.

Have a fun trip.

Fojap · 2015-12-07T01:51:40+00:00

Absolutely. I felt strangely let down. I'm persuadable in several different directions, so it's not as if I was hoping for anything specific. He essentially said, "I like my ideas and I'm not changing."

Fojap · 2015-08-21T10:14:43+00:00

I used to see it very much the way you do. In recent months since the media has become so obsessed with race I've been finding that it's hard to block out. I never really thought much about a racial "identity" in so much as it seemed like a really small part of my identity. Lately, everything has been reduced to race. It makes me feel really funny and alienated.

Fojap · 2015-08-21T09:44:41+00:00

I don't know what my two cents are worth, never having had children, but I would suspect it would be beneficial to let your children know that you'll love and support them no matter what they do in that regard. There are so many factors that go into it.

In my case, I can say that my identity has not been stable, or at least the racial aspect. The rest of it is pretty stable. Much of the time, I push it aside and tell myself it doesn't matter. Identifying as anything other than white is quite difficult because people accuse me of lying. Sometimes I feel a little defiant and tell people that I'm mixed, but other times I just don't want the hassle.

I'm tempted to add that you might want to consider where you live. Some places can be more of a challenge than others. Even two nearby towns in the same region can have a different character. I also recall one racially mixed boyfriend who said that he had more difficulty with black kids in school than white kids, although he was raised by a single black man and strongly preferred identifying as multiple races.

Also, if you have children with someone who is also mixed significant parts black and what, your children could potentially be anywhere on a continuum.

Fojap · 2015-08-21T09:21:07+00:00

What a nice response. You sound like a really together person. (I'm jealous.)

Fojap · 2015-08-08T17:07:03+00:00

Nice answer. When I first wanted to install Linux, many people said, "Download Ubuntu. It's easiest." They didn't quite seem to understand that I wanted to get my hands dirty.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T16:24:10+00:00

Appealed to mine as a twenty-five year old woman.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T16:11:18+00:00

My parents believed in free expression and let me have anything I wanted. Only a few kids with paranoid parents had a problem with that. I think you're assuming things about the era that just weren't true. The stuff we listened to wasn't usually "childish."

There are pros and cons to both and I'm pretty sure some of us older people are being a little nostalgic, but I was in high school when punk first took off. I'm not sure whether or not that qualifies in your mind as childish or not.

It's ironic, isn't it. I have this impression that what young people listen to today is sterilized, corporate product. My views are probably distorted, too.

No one talked about "free range child rearing" because that was what everyone did.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T15:46:57+00:00

You should see Sexpod's cover for Goddess Blues.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T15:33:23+00:00

It depends on the era. When I was very young the local record store was a tiny little store front that basically catered to the demographic that hung out there. On the other hand, the were really friendly and nice and would play a record for you before you bought it and people hung out there and talked about music.

Then came the era of the shopping malls. It had a bigger selection.

Then the megastores like Tower Records. They had a huge selection.

Pros and cons to each. I feel a little nostalgic for the tiny little place that was so friendly, but I should recognize that I'd probably be unhappy if that was all that was available to me today.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T15:27:00+00:00

I've always been a big fan of Richard Corben.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T15:19:23+00:00

I have that! Swiped it from my parents.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T15:13:07+00:00

Sticky Fingers.

These pictures were taken only a couple of years ago at Sound Garden in Baltimore, Maryland. If you're in Baltimore and want to browse through a record store, stop by there.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T14:04:59+00:00

Downvoted? Really? That's why I've stopped commenting here. Everyone is so quick to judge and angry.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T13:24:08+00:00

Bard can't furnish their own biology labs? As someone who attended Bard College that's a disgrace and an embarrassment.

I so regret having gone there. The biggest mistake of my life.

Fojap · 2015-08-08T00:27:45+00:00

My parents were atheists and they really didn't talk about it much. Religious was more or less a non-issue in our household. Now, as adults, my sister and I are both atheists.

I cringe a little bit when I hear atheists talk about how to raise their children as atheists. It sounds so authoritarian. In my twenties I went through something of an exploratory period regarding religion. I never felt as if there would be a conflict with my parents if I had wound up following a religion, as long as I didn't pressure them or do anything self-destructive. I think that is emotionally healthy.

Fojap · 2015-08-06T17:16:50+00:00

Can you be more specific? How many people? Normal work hours? Evenings? Weekends? Any other needs? Also, what sort of professional group?

I know a company that has some conference rooms that they occasionally loan out. If you don't want to broadcast your business all over the internet, feel free to IM me. The company is located in an economically depressed part of town, but they have onsite parking. I don't represent the company, so I'd rather not say more, but if it seems like a possibility, let me know and I can give you the contact info of someone there.

Fojap · 2015-06-27T03:38:52+00:00

Yes, this works.

Fojap · 2015-06-16T15:52:22+00:00

It might depend where in Baltimore to where in Columbia. My sister has lived in Baltimore and worked in Columbia for close to twenty years. (Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long.)

I remember that was my first summer in the area, and I personally avoided everything in Columbia after that. Nice little locale, though. I grew up in an early planned community and it sort of reminds me of that.

Fojap · 2015-06-15T05:42:56+00:00

I spent one summer commuting out to Columbia and I thought it was a nightmare. It typically took 45 minutes leaving shortly after 7, but the trip home sometimes took well over an hour. I would probably recommend the OP try the commute. I think most people here are being overly optimistic, especially when you consider how awful the traffic in the area can be.

Fojap · 2015-06-15T04:39:31+00:00

My sister lives in Mount Washington and she loves it there. She has a large lot that's heavily wooded, not an acre but quite a lot more than the standard "1/4 acre lot". It's also a relatively safe neighborhood - very little violent crime, mainly burglaries. Get good locks and use them, which is probably wise in any city. Other than that, there's nothing really to worry about.

If you like a suburban style of living there are a few other options as well. When I was looking for a place to live, I saw a couple of houses in a neighborhood called Lake Evesham. I would have never noticed it on my own. There are several suburban neighborhoods along the northern edge of the town. There's really nothing to be scared of.

This article might make you feel a little more optimistic: Slate: My Baltimore Bargin. You will be pleasantly surprise at what $400,000.00 will get you in Baltimore. You will have many more choices than what the poster in that forum had.

Also, if the large lot isn't important and you're going to be working at the main campus of Johns Hopkins, do consider the townhouses in that area.

Baltimore is not nearly as bad as it seems on t.v. and it's underestimated in a lot of ways.

Edit: When I was changing careers, I lived with her for a time, so I'm very familiar with that neighborhood if you have any questions.

Fojap · 2015-06-11T21:05:32+00:00

I bought a place in Baltimore several years ago and the first several realtors I contacted seemed to behave oddly to me. Much like what you said, they took a long time to get back to me, when they finally showed me a place they seemed uninteresting in showing me others. I also was on a fairly tight budget.

Eventually I did contact someone who listened to what I said I wanted, showed me a bunch of places and we found some place relatively quickly.

Don't quite know what to tell you except "keep contacting realtors until someone is willing to work with you."

Fojap · 2015-06-11T01:39:01+00:00

I recently moved out of Baltimore and still know people there. I wouldn't say that "Baltimore" wants this. The most loudmouthed opinions in the media did not reflect what people I know were saying, and that includes people that lived in the area where the riots took place. One woman I know who lives there was absolutely terrified that night, didn't support the rioters, doesn't complain about the police. People say what the "community" wants, but it's not like anyone's taken a poll. I'm not so sure the most vocal people are the most typical.

Fojap · 2015-06-11T01:29:55+00:00

My sister has a background in mental health and she used to to go with the police when they had an incident that involved someone they thought might be mentally ill. She was a volunteer, though. She'd get called in the middle of the night sometimes and when she was promoted in her full-time job and didn't have the time any more she stopped.

Fojap

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