Jules Verne Forum

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Re: Reading Jules Verne--any takers? (fwd)

From: Brian Taves <btav~at~loc.gov>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 19:35:46 -0400 (EDT)
To: jvforum <jvf~at~math.technion.ac.il>

Thanks to the films the bookstores stock volumes that they otherwise
wouldn't, and publishers issue new editions. This is even true when the
film is as bad as Jackie Chan's version of 80.

Perhaps not in Europe, but in the US the Disney 20K has clearly helped the
explosion of new readers and new editions (just look at the artwork, for
instance, on the Bonner paperbacks issued over decades).

There has been an even clearer direct link between the rising popularity
of Voyage au centre in the English-reading world and the 1959 film.

Brian Taves
email: <btav~at~loc.gov>


Disclaimer--All opinions expressed are my own.

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004, [iso-8859-2] Jan Rychlík wrote:

> What if the reason why the younger generation doesn't know Verne is
> that his works are no longer readable? Sorry for such a poor joke, but
> that's what I revealed from a recently published Czech children
> encyclopedia of writers. Just imagine the paradox, that a Czech
> publishing house that issued some 40 books by Verne over last 50 years
> can publish a book whose authors state that "VINGT MILLE LIEUES SOUS
> LES MERS are now wholly unreadable"!
>
> But now more seriously: don't you think that film adaptations of
> Verne's novels can discourage readers. VINGT MILLE LIEUES SOUS LES
> MERS, VOYAGE AU CENTRE DE LA TERRE and apparently also LE TOUR DU
> MONDE EN QUATRE-VINGTS JOURS, to name only the most recent films, are
> so stupid that their viewers can really think that Verne was totally
> mad and thus unworthy of reading.
>
> Jan Rychlik
>
> ================= Pùvodní zpráva =================
> Od (From): BGYKRAUTH~at~t-online.de
> Komu (To): "JV Forum Zvi Har'El" <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>
> Kopie (Cc):
> Pøedmìt (Subject): Re: Reading Jules Verne--any takers?
> Datum (Date): 21. 9. 2004 9:47
> ==================================================
>
> > I think the question of Norm was going to the point of "under 30" in nower days, and not in some other time where we've been in the teens (which is in my mind not far away, and my wife would say also not in my behaviour...).
> > When I was in the teens (1980s) almost everyone (here in Germany), old or young, knew the name of Jules Verne and most of them the best known works, althought a lot of them only by the films. If I am going to talk about Jules Verne today I very often have first to give an explanation of what person I am talking, because less and less people, especially younger ones, knew him. Mostly shocked I was some months ago in a library when I asked a young bookselling woman for a new edition of a Verne- novel and EVEN she never heard of Verne!! Working with books, selling them - and then even not knowing the best known authors of the world! I was really hit by that! I thought to ask her if she knows who Goethe was, but then - let it be...
> > No, my impression is, that due to the developements in our times the kids still read, but less, and the content of a book is important, not the writer behind it. Simply look at Harry Potter - the smallest number of its readers really look toward the life of the writer - even she's still alive... Today you make a good thing, the people pay you for that - that's it. If another doing better, you are out, he's doing the money. And so on...
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Bernhard
>
>


Brian Taves
Motion Picture/Broadcasting/Recorded Sound Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20540-4692
Telephone: 202-707-9930; 202-707-2371 (fax)
Email: btav~at~loc.gov


Disclaimer--All opinions expressed are my own.
Received on Wed 29 Sep 2004 - 01:48:41 IST

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