Grandpa Arsène's book Club!

[Cyo']

I posted about it the other day, and a lot of you seemed to be really into it!
What should we do and HOW?
At first I was thinking about a simple thread for people reading the Arsène Lupin books, to talk about them, theorise, share our findings
(and share our collections, for book collectors!)
But HEY!! Why not make it a thread about books in general?
What do you think? Please feel free to share your ideas and opinions on the subject so we can do something fun together

 

[Tsushi]

As an idea of how it could work?

A book club style is usually once per month, you pick a book. In this case maybe you can make a thread saying which Lupin story we’re reading that month, then we have a couple of weeks to read it and talk about it. Then we post a new thread the next month for the next story? Rinse and repeat? I was thinking of doing a videogame “book club” here on the forum.

Maybe I should make a monthly activity board for ideas like these and the art trades that were suggested? If you want to run it the main responsibility would just be picking which Lupin story people are reading that month and making a thread for it!

 

[Cyo']

As an idea of how it could work?

A book club style is usually once per month, you pick a book. In this case maybe you can make a thread saying which Lupin story we’re reading that month, then we have a couple of weeks to read it and talk about it. Then we post a new thread the next month for the next story? Rinse and repeat? I was thinking of doing a videogame “book club” here on the forum.

Maybe I should make a monthly activity board for ideas like these and the art trades that were suggested? If you want to run it the main responsibility would just be picking which Lupin story people are reading that month and making a thread for it!

OOooow Yes great Idea! Thank you so much! I think I'll do that! And since February is coming soon I can start working on the first post (to make it easier for those who would like to discover the Arsène Lupin books I'll try to find pdf's of them and share them on the thread) I could also research interesting infos about the book we'll be going to read, like a trivia!

And I'm all for the VideoGame book club I've been loving sharing Tangle Tower with people on the forum, and it would be lovely to share even more games monthly hehe

Let's go for the Monthly Activity Board!

 

[Tsushi]

Sounds good!! I’ll make the board in an hour or so! Here’s at least some resources to get started for accessing the books in the US! I dunno if these all work for other countries but fingers crossed?

Librivox Maurice LeBlanc section, Free Audio books

Archive.org Arsene Lupin Search

 

[Cyo']

Sounds good!! I’ll make the board in an hour or so! Here’s at least some resources to get started for accessing the books in the US! I dunno if these all work for other countries but fingers crossed?

Librivox Maurice LeBlanc section, Free Audio books

Archive.org Arsene Lupin Search

WOW thank you so much! I found this website but yours look way more practical!

 

[Tsushi]

Gutenberg is a great one too! All of these would probably be good to help

 

[HixyStix]

Just out of curiosity, are you thinking one short story a month? Or more frequent? Because the stories - at least in the first book, that's as far as I've gotten - are pretty bite-sized and could probably be discussed more frequently imo.

(Also if you want any help, let me know. I've never run a book/story club before but I'm very willing to chip in.)

 

[Cyo']

Just out of curiosity, are you thinking one short story a month? Or more frequent? Because the stories - at least in the first book, that's as far as I've gotten - are pretty bite-sized and could probably be discussed more frequently imo.

(Also if you want any help, let me know. I've never run a book/story club before but I'm very willing to chip in.)

I think the first book is one of the only made out of short stories (I haven't read the entire collection of Arsène Lupin books, but most of them tell one big story instead of a lot of short ones!)

We could start with the first book and do one story per week or two, to get into it! I find it's one of the easiest to read and really makes you want to learn more!
And then , when this one's finished, we can go on with the other books that tell longer stories, and do one per month
I'll probably use this website as a reference, it gives you the perfect chronological order for the books!

OH and thank you! I would love to get your advice and experience on it! It's a first one for me hehe

 

[HixyStix]

That sounds like a good plan - and what a great reference site! I'm honestly looking forward to having a reason to finish reading all the books, so thank you for suggesting and organizing this!

 

[Tsushi]

I’m open to other’s thoughts to weigh in, but as a very slow reader with a busy schedule, my vote would be even though they’re short stories, tbh I think we should still give it at least 2-3 weeks.

 

[HixyStix]

Maybe 2 weeks is good, then? I know the longer it is between check-ins or discussions or whatever, the less likely it is I'll actually read the assignment. 3 would probably have me dropping out after the first story.

It's hard to figure out a schedule that works for everyone! And I can quit sticking my nose in, I'm just excited about the idea.

 

[Cyo']

Hmmm so do we go for 2 weeks at first, for the first book's short stories? Of course we can change it later if it ends up being too short of a notice

Can't wait to try it out and share this with other people! I've already read some of the books, but this will be the occasion to read them in English
and learn some new vocabulary

 

[Tsushi]

Sounds solid to me Cyo!

 

[Tintalle]

I haven't read any of the Arsene Lupin books yet even though I have a few - this would be a good ocasion to actually read them and see if they are for me

 

[Cyo']

I haven't read any of the Arsene Lupin books yet even though I have a few - this would be a good ocasion to actually read them and see if they are for me

YAYYYY another bookclub member!
I'll try to create the thread during the weekend, se we can start with no stress in February

 

[UntramenTaro]

Oh I cannot wait to have people read some more Arsene Lupin, because I want people to share the LupinxGanimard brainrot I have. And then subsequently despair when LeBlanc freaking shelves Ganimard in the later books . I've only read up until 813 because the ending infuriated me so bad, but I made my new year's resolution this year to read 4 books so maybe this will get me back to reading them again.

I'd like to point out in the website that @Cyo' linked for the "chronological order" is more publishing order than chronological in the series, and it omits the novelization of the play for some odd reason. The play is directly referenced in L'Aiguille Creuse/The Hollow Needle, so I would recommend reading that after vs Herlock Sholmes (or vs Holmlock Shears, if you read a very specific English translation).

My personal preference for vs Herlock Sholmes is Alexander Teixeira De Mattos's translation, because I like the book a normal amount (read: absolutely not normal amount) I actually read the book a second time with George Morehead's translation. There's one scene in particular that I love in the book but for some reason the positioning of the characters is different in them and I'm sure it's due to some ambiguity in the original French. De Mattos's translation has Lupin stand in between Ganimard and Sholmes and attempts to goad Ganimard into shooting him, while in Morehead's translation Lupin uses Sholmes as a human shield and goads Ganimard into shooting him. Yeah. I'm really not sure why that is, but it really changes the tone of the scene depending on Lupin's positioning. The reason why I prefer De Mattos's translation in particular is because that scene is far gayer/homoerotic if Lupin is standing between the two LOL and I'm basing a whole fic based on that scene if that gives you any info on how normal I am about it.

Some of the books and the play novelization are available on wikisource. Also if you wanna buy the books I actually got the beautiful illustrated version of the first book published by Magnetic Press, it is so pretty I am so excited to read it because I'm normal™ about it and want to see how yet another translator handles the book. I have read the first story in it before real life kicked my ass again so I'll prob join and read along with this copy if we get this book club going.

 

[Cyo']

Oh I cannot wait to have people read some more Arsene Lupin, because I want people to share the LupinxGanimard brainrot I have. And then subsequently despair when LeBlanc freaking shelves Ganimard in the later books . I've only read up until 813 because the ending infuriated me so bad, but I made my new year's resolution this year to read 4 books so maybe this will get me back to reading them again.

I'd like to point out in the website that @Cyo' linked for the "chronological order" is more publishing order than chronological in the series, and it omits the novelization of the play for some odd reason. The play is directly referenced in L'Aiguille Creuse/The Hollow Needle, so I would recommend reading that after vs Herlock Sholmes (or vs Holmlock Shears, if you read a very specific English translation).

My personal preference for vs Herlock Sholmes is Alexander Teixeira De Mattos's translation, because I like the book a normal amount (read: absolutely not normal amount) I actually read the book a second time with George Morehead's translation. There's one scene in particular that I love in the book but for some reason the positioning of the characters is different in them and I'm sure it's due to some ambiguity in the original French. De Mattos's translation has Lupin stand in between Ganimard and Sholmes and attempts to goad Ganimard into shooting him, while in Morehead's translation Lupin uses Sholmes as a human shield and goads Ganimard into shooting him. Yeah. I'm really not sure why that is, but it really changes the tone of the scene depending on Lupin's positioning. The reason why I prefer De Mattos's translation in particular is because that scene is far gayer/homoerotic if Lupin is standing between the two LOL and I'm basing a whole fic based on that scene if that gives you any info on how normal I am about it.

Some of the books and the play novelization are available on wikisource. Also if you wanna buy the books I actually got the beautiful illustrated version of the first book published by Magnetic Press, it is so pretty I am so excited to read it because I'm normal™ about it and want to see how yet another translator handles the book. I have read the first story in it before real life kicked my ass again so I'll prob join and read along with this copy if we get this book club going.

Thank you so much for correcting me about the chronological order! I must admit that I've been reading them in a quite chaotic order, and don't know much about the best way to read them

Owwwww about the vs Herlock Sholmes book, I do own the original French version! I don't remember how the scene you're talking about goes in it, but if you're curious about it I could check it out and tell you which translation is closer to the original book!
But daaaamn I can already tell you that even in the original french version, you can find a lot of homoerotic scenes huhuhuhu, I mean just the WAY Lupin talks to some of his male counterparts!

And thank you for the links! You seem to know a real lot about the Lupin books, can't wait to learn more hehe

 

[UntramenTaro]

Thank you so much for correcting me about the chronological order! I must admit that I've been reading them in a quite chaotic order, and don't know much about the best way to read them

Owwwww about the vs Herlock Sholmes book, I do own the original French version! I don't remember how the scene you're talking about goes in it, but if you're curious about it I could check it out and tell you which translation is closer to the original book!
But daaaamn I can already tell you that even in the original french version, you can find a lot of homoerotic scenes huhuhuhu, I mean just the WAY Lupin talks to some of his male counterparts!

And thank you for the links! You seem to know a real lot about the Lupin books, can't wait to learn more heh

To be fair, I've been reading the books in publishing order because I felt it's PROBABLY the way to go about this, but some stories jump around like in one of the later books Lupin meets the Countess of Cagliostro but timeline wise it fits prior to some of the other books. Haven't actually read up to that point myself but I saw a website that actually put the events of the books in order at some point during my internet surfing. I wish I was further along in the series since it's so long but alas, 813 genuinely made me mad and made me have to quit reading for a bit LOL but there was whole segments of really great homoerotic tension but it doesn't make up for how I felt about the ending.

Also the scene in question is in the second story of the vs. Herlock book (chapter 2 of the Jewish Lamp). Keep in mind that De Mattos has translated Herlock Sholmes as "Holmlock Shears" mostly due to the fact this was originally published in the UK, and "Herlock Sholmes" is a little TOO close to Sherlock Holmes for any standard English citizen too ignore when Conan Doyle was still active and expressed displeasure at his detective popping up in the Arsène Lupin series in the first short story compilation.
De Mattos:

He made a bulwark of his body for Shears and, standing up in the boat, facing Ganimard:

"There, now I don't mind!... Aim here, Ganimard, straight at my heart!..."

Morehead:

He stood behind Sholmes, facing Ganimard, and said:

“Now, Ganimard, I am ready! Aim for his heart!..."

Both translations Lupin is taunting but I prefer De Mattos because what's gayer than this? A gentleman thief "valiantly" defending one of his rivals (Holmlock Shears) while facing down another (Ganimard), then thumping his chest and challenging him to shoot through his heart?? Meanwhile Morehead's translation is kinda goofy to me it feels just a bit slapstick with him ducking behind Sholmes and doing a teehepero while Ganimard is trying to figure out a way to aim around Sholmes.

 

[WateredWillow]

I haven't read any of the original Lupin books, so count me in for this book club, I think this is such a cool idea; and gives me another reason to read these.

 

[Tsushi]

To be fair, I've been reading the books in publishing order because I felt it's PROBABLY the way to go about this, but some stories jump around like in one of the later books Lupin meets the Countess of Cagliostro but timeline wise it fits prior to some of the other books. Haven't actually read up to that point myself but I saw a website that actually put the events of the books in order at some point during my internet surfing. I wish I was further along in the series since it's so long but alas, 813 genuinely made me mad and made me have to quit reading for a bit LOL but there was whole segments of really great homoerotic tension but it doesn't make up for how I felt about the ending.

Also the scene in question is in the second story of the vs. Herlock book (chapter 2 of the Jewish Lamp). Keep in mind that De Mattos has translated Herlock Sholmes as "Holmlock Shears" mostly due to the fact this was originally published in the UK, and "Herlock Sholmes" is a little TOO close to Sherlock Holmes for any standard English citizen too ignore when Conan Doyle was still active and expressed displeasure at his detective popping up in the Arsène Lupin series in the first short story compilation.
De Mattos:

Morehead:

Both translations Lupin is taunting but I prefer De Mattos because what's gayer than this? A gentleman thief "valiantly" defending one of his rivals (Holmlock Shears) while facing down another (Ganimard), then thumping his chest and challenging him to shoot through his heart?? Meanwhile Morehead's translation is kinda goofy to me it feels just a bit slapstick with him ducking behind Sholmes and doing a teehepero while Ganimard is trying to figure out a way to aim around Sholmes.

Lol tagging @AlexisRoyce for talking about De Mattos