A little place to just chat about Books.

[McCulloch]

A little place to just chat about Books. What are you reading? Would you recommend it?

[OnceConvinced]

I also like Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia (although they're too easy to read, and short), all books by Ted Dekker and some books by Frank Peretti. Harry Potter and Twilight were good too. Yes, I read Twilight, no, I'm not obsessed with it like most teenage girls are.

I read two Peretti books back in the 80s. This Present Darkness and what was the sequel to that? Great books. I took them very seriously at the time, thinking they reflected reality.

[Fallibleone]

Sorry mate I haven't been around here lately.

I am addicted to books. I'll read anything as long as it's not a western or a romance. I have just finished Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky and am currently reading Nineteen Twenty-One by Adam Thorpe.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, by Susanna Clarke. A very literary novel about the revival of "traditional English magic." Fantastic. Think Harry Potter for intelligent grownups.

Ha! The first time I tried to read this, I got about 200 pages in and then gave up. It came across as unrelentingly dull. I thought to myself 'how can a book about magic and supernatural creatures be so boring?' I put it aside for more than a year. The second time went much better. I finished it, and was actually slightly sad that it had come to an end. On reflection I did rather enjoy it after all.

I thought it was wonderful, but I tend to take books as I do people - I accept them for what they are and expect them only to be that. I thought it was great fun from the start.

I should imagine that something had happened in my life which was significant enough to intrude on my thoughts and distract me from the book when I tried to read it the first time. This often happens with me. Something will occur which occupies my every waking moment and it becomes pointless to try to concentrate on anything else. I'm glad I gave it a second chance though.

Possession, by A. S. Byatt. Also literary, and a masterpiece. A romance that puts "romance novels" to shame, an adventure, and a historical mystery, with an ending you will never forget. If you like poetry, this is a novel not to be missed.

Oops and I just said I won't read romances. Well as you say, this puts romance novels to shame.

I'm about to break your aversion to Westerns, too. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Trust me. I don't do Westerns either, but this book is in a class by itself.

Well since it's you, I'll take your word for it. My birthday is coming up in February and I always get money which I immediately blow on Amazon. I will give it a try.

The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco. Forget the movie. The book is a historical mystery par excellence and a literary tour de force.

Agreed. And if you want your mind turned inside out and back to front, try Foucault's Pendulum. When I had finished it I had a very strong sense of having enjoyed it immensely, but I couldn't say for the life of me why.

I agree there too. I don't think it's as accessible as the other - it expects a lot of the reader - but it's worth the effort.

The other one of his I have is The Island of the Day Before. It has bested me several times, but I'll be back.

And if you've actually never read The Lord of the Rings, do it. You're missing one of the greatest experiences in the English language after Shakespeare. It's not just the story - it's the magnificent language and the breadth of imagination. Tolkien all but invented fantasy, and most of what has followed him is cheap imitation by comparison.

Agreed. You think the films were too long as it was? Heh - they actually left loads out. Poor old Tom Bombadil, for example. The man constructed an entire mythology and language virtually alone.

Agreed on all points, but I think the movies were magnificent and virtually flawless. Tolkien would have loved them - probably. I understand that he himself did not much like one of his most beloved characters, Sam Gamgee. A strange man, but most towering geniuses are.

Tom Bombadil would have been so wildly out of place in the movie, such a bizarrely different "separate reality," that it would have destroyed the flow of the story at the very start. In the book, that weird little island of peculiarity that surrounded Tom was rather the point; in a movie, I don't think it would have been workable. Tolkien had pages to explain who and what Tom was. A movie would have minutes. No doubt the screenplay adapters decided the effect wouldn't be worth the time or contribute enough to the final product.

Other than myriads of small incidents, I can't recall any other major sections or characters that were deleted, but it's been years since I read the book.

Well, maybe the Barrow-downs, and Old Man Willow, and Namarie, and . . .

Never mind.

Yes, he and the barrow wraiths and the Willow do not really impact on the story that much as I recall, and there was clearly so much that did that could not have been left out.

Some recommendations for others:

Margaret Atwood - Oryx and Crake, Alias Grace and loads more.

Anything by Michel Faber, but especially The Crimson Petal and the White and Under the Skin.

Sarah Waters - The Fingersmith, Affinity and The Night Watch.

Night Watch, Day Watch, Twilight Watch and The Last Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita

David Mitchell - Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas, Number 9 Dream and Black Swan Green.

Albert Camus - The Outsider (The Stranger)

Chuck Palahniuk Lullaby, Choke, Haunted.

Henry James The Turn of the Screw.

Sheridan Le Fanu Uncle Silas, Green Tea.

E.M. Forster A Room With a View, A Passage to India.

Evelyn Waugh A Handful of Dust, Vile Bodies.

F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby.

I have more.

I'm off to Half Price Books.

I have been asked what I, personally, hope Heaven will be like, if there is one. My answer is always, "Half Price Books, but everything is free and there is infinite time to read."

Have you ever heard of a book or story called "The King in Yellow"?

I haven't. What is it?

[Fallibleone]

I have just finished Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I too finished that a couple weeks ago. I absolutely loved it.

I thought it was fabulous. There seems to be something about Russian literature that appeals to me a lot. I'd take Fyodor over Dickens any day (I don't like Dickens, I really really don't).

[Homicidal_Cherry53]

I have just finished Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I too finished that a couple weeks ago. I absolutely loved it.

I thought it was fabulous. There seems to be something about Russian literature that appeals to me a lot. I'd take Fyodor over Dickens any day (I don't like Dickens, I really really don't).

I wish I was well-read enough to agree with you (outside of Crime & Punishment, my exposure to Russian literature is...well, non-existent ). I can agree, however, that Dickens is quite overrated. He's a good author, but Crime & Punishment is head and shoulders above anything I've ever read of his.

[cnorman18]

Sorry mate I haven't been around here lately.

S'cool. Not everyone is as compulsive as I am.

I should imagine that something had happened in my life which was significant enough to intrude on my thoughts and distract me from the book when I tried to read it the first time. This often happens with me. Something will occur which occupies my every waking moment and it becomes pointless to try to concentrate on anything else. I'm glad I gave it a second chance though.

That happens to me, too. More often than not I don't get back.

I'm about to break your aversion to Westerns, too. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Trust me. I don't do Westerns either, but this book is in a class by itself.

Well since it's you, I'll take your word for it. My birthday is coming up in February and I always get money which I immediately blow on Amazon. I will give it a try.

I'm told the prequel, the name of which I don't recall, is good too.

I agree there too. I don't think it's as accessible as the other - it expects a lot of the reader - but it's worth the effort.

The other one of his I have is The Island of the Day Before. It has bested me several times, but I'll be back.

The most memorable book I ever bogged down in was Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. I remember thinking two things: (1) This guy has sold his soul to the Devil to be the greatest writer ever, and (2) I'm not ready to read this yet.

Much the same experience, minus the Devil, with John Fowles's Daniel Martin. At the time, the theme struck a little too close to home - I know a bit about "passion rekindled in middle age." I've carried the paperback around for 20 years. Someday I'll read it.

Yes, he and the barrow wraiths and the Willow do not really impact on the story that much as I recall, and there was clearly so much that did that could not have been left out.

I think it was Tolkien's friend C. S. Lewis who described it as "as long as the Bible and not half long enough." I have always agreed.

Have you ever heard of a book or story called "The King in Yellow"?

I haven't. What is it?

I've read more than once that it's the most chilling horror story ever written. Never read it.

[cnorman18]

I can agree, however, that Dickens is quite overrated. He's a good author, but Crime & Punishment is head and shoulders above anything I've ever read of his.

I used to ask the students in my "gifted" classes a simple question:

"Charles Dickens wrote very long books. Why?"

I would get all kinds of answers: he created lots of characters, he spent a lot of ink on descriptions, he used complex plots, etc., all true, but at bottom incorrect.

The correct answer?

He was paid by the word.

The point of the lesson, of course, was not to overlook the obvious.

His best-known and most beloved book, of course, was quite short - "A Christmas Carol." Worth reading, no matter how many movie versions you've seen. It's surprisingly funny from the first paragraph.

[Homicidal_Cherry53]

His best-known and most beloved book, of course, was quite short - "A Christmas Carol." Worth reading, no matter how many movie versions you've seen. It's surprisingly funny from the first paragraph.

That was actually the first books of his I read, and it remains my favorite.

[justifyothers]

I just read "The Shack".
A short fiction about a man's struggle with God. Normally, I wouldn't read a book like this, but what prompted me to read it was a (calvinist) friend of mine gave it to me, then mentioned how she liked it, but didn't agree with some of it.

This sent me off into reading land, and I didn't return until I finished it, 5 hours later. It's amazing to me how many christians have enjoyed this tale of a man's discovery of God and how 'religion' has nothing to do with it. It was a refreshing tale, for sure. If you are opposed to religion, you may especially enjoy this.

Has anyone read this?

[otseng]

I just read "The Shack".
A short fiction about a man's struggle with God. Normally, I wouldn't read a book like this, but what prompted me to read it was a (calvinist) friend of mine gave it to me, then mentioned how she liked it, but didn't agree with some of it.

This sent me off into reading land, and I didn't return until I finished it, 5 hours later. It's amazing to me how many christians have enjoyed this tale of a man's discovery of God and how 'religion' has nothing to do with it. It was a refreshing tale, for sure. If you are opposed to religion, you may especially enjoy this.

Has anyone read this?

Yes, I've read it. And I thought it was a fantastic book.

It's a deep book on many levels. But, a very fast and engaging book to read. It'll probably end up being one of the most influential Christian fictional books ever.

[Fallibleone]

Sorry mate I haven't been around here lately.

S'cool. Not everyone is as compulsive as I am.

I am compulsive, but unavoidable problems have kept me away.

I should imagine that something had happened in my life which was significant enough to intrude on my thoughts and distract me from the book when I tried to read it the first time. This often happens with me. Something will occur which occupies my every waking moment and it becomes pointless to try to concentrate on anything else. I'm glad I gave it a second chance though.

That happens to me, too. More often than not I don't get back. [/quote]

I have this thing about wanting to mostly read new (to me) books. If I have attempted them previously and 'failed', I go off them. I am an odd creature.

I'm about to break your aversion to Westerns, too. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. Trust me. I don't do Westerns either, but this book is in a class by itself.

Well since it's you, I'll take your word for it. My birthday is coming up in February and I always get money which I immediately blow on Amazon. I will give it a try.

I'm told the prequel, the name of which I don't recall, is good too.

So many books, and only approximately 40 or so years to fit them into.

I agree there too. I don't think it's as accessible as the other - it expects a lot of the reader - but it's worth the effort.

The other one of his I have is The Island of the Day Before. It has bested me several times, but I'll be back.

The most memorable book I ever bogged down in was Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. I remember thinking two things: (1) This guy has sold his soul to the Devil to be the greatest writer ever, and (2) I'm not ready to read this yet.

Much the same experience, minus the Devil, with John Fowles's Daniel Martin. At the time, the theme struck a little too close to home - I know a bit about "passion rekindled in middle age." I've carried the paperback around for 20 years. Someday I'll read it.

Yes, he and the barrow wraiths and the Willow do not really impact on the story that much as I recall, and there was clearly so much that did that could not have been left out.

I think it was Tolkien's friend C. S. Lewis who described it as "as long as the Bible and not half long enough." I have always agreed.

Have you ever heard of a book or story called "The King in Yellow"?

I haven't. What is it?

I've read more than once that it's the most chilling horror story ever written. Never read it.[/quote]

Another to add to my list. No wonder I'm poor.