Does anyone else irriate themselves by doing this?

[ButWhyIsTheGinGone]

When I read a book that is set in a foreign country, or has foreign characters, I tend to read their dialogue in their relative accents, driving myself insane in the process.

Have just spent a few brilliant weeks worth of evenings reading the Millennium Trilogy (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, etc) and although I was totally engrossed, I couldn't help silently reading the whole lot with a ridiculous Swedish accent! (I don't even know what a Swedish accent sounds like!) Please tell me other people do this, as well?!

Er no.

.....noooo

Oh damn, was hoping someone would tell me I'm not abnormal!

I read the title as "does anyone IRRADIATE themselves by doing this".......

Nobody said you were abnormal - it's just looking like you are unique

Oh bugger! So not only am I mad, I've also lost the ability to spell... exits stage left with a sigh!

On the other hand, if anyone could point me towards a really good epic, maybe post-apocalyptic type book, I would be extremely grateful! I loved Stephen King's "The Stand," for example. Anything like that? Thanks!

The Passage by Justin Cronin is great. Also The Road by Cormac McCarthy (my DH favourite book).

I don't do the accent thing..yet. If I start, I will coming to shoot you done in a suitably post-apocalyptic fashion

Ha! Thanks, FreeButtonBee - I've noticed others on here are talking about The Passage. I'm always reluctant to read reveiws from others though in case someone drops in a nice big spoiler!
I will have a look...

No, but you just gave me a great big laugh so thanks for that :o

When I read autobiographies, I can 'hear' the lines being read by the author.

I'd be really disappointed to find out they were written by ghost writers

For other books though, no I don't do accents.

Hahaha :o yes. And I have to get their names just right, or it bugs me.

Yes, I do Maybe not the whole way through but I do notice it.
Remember reading a book called Sheepshagger which was in phonetic Welsh. THAT was weird. You almost had to read it aloud to understand!

www.amazon.co.uk/Sheepshagger-Niall-Griffiths/dp/0099285185

Read it about 7 yrs ago I think and all I remember is thinking how I had never realised Wales was so druggy. Prob gave me a warped view tbh!

I do! I love the Sookie Stackhouse books for that, with the great Southern accents.

You're not weird. I do it too. Especially if the character happens to be Irish

I do it for a while then get tired so regress back to my northern accent.

I'm so pleased I'm not alone in this! :-) There is a plus side to it - when I read a story to my pupils I love getting into character, accent and all, and it really involves them.

NikkiSix - funny you should say that. I just finished reading a book called In the Woods by Tana French (8 out of 10) and it was set entirely in Ireland. I was quite exhausted by the end - I put the book down and even by the afternoon was thinking my usual mundanities such as, "I must give the kitchen floor a good scrub" with a bloody Irish accent....!

ha ha! I read this recently too. No I didn't read it like that, but thanks for making me giggle - must have driven you bonkers! When a book is written in a dialect I probably do but I've never really thought about it!

I can not stop myself! In fact if I can't do the accent convincingly enough I dont enjoy the book. I like to get into character as well - but thats another story!!!!

I do it with Sunset Song (Lewis Grassic Gibbon). I come over all Doric for the duration of the read (ie, all my other thoughts are in Doric too).

I'm too bad at accents to do it with any other books!