books

[lazarus]

Yes, in fact I was planning on rereading some of his stuff this summer, not that there aren't stories by him I haven't read, but I'm a huge fan of Two Cities, Great Expectations, etc. He was such an amazing storyteller.

I just finished this last week, actually. I was surprised to read it was considered minor Dickens, even though it was obviously shorter than some of his other classics.

I will say, it was pretty clear to me once Carton appeared in France what was going to happen at the end. It didn't make it any less moving, but wasn't as dramatic.

 

[powerhour24]

I try to avoid dwelling on criticism be it literary, music or film so I guess I'm surprised that A Tale of Two Cities is compared minor, its one of the most powerful stories ever, even though yes its not all that surprising at the end.

 

[No spoken words]

I just finished this last week, actually. I was surprised to read it was considered minor Dickens, even though it was obviously shorter than some of his other classics.

I will say, it was pretty clear to me once Carton appeared in France what was going to happen at the end. It didn't make it any less moving, but wasn't as dramatic.

I still cannot believe that you read this for the first time now. Wow. Better late than never, though.

 

[corianderstem]

The only Dickens I've read is Great Expectations, which I had to read back in ... ninth grade maybe? I remember skimming a lot of it.

That being said, I do want to go back and read it again, and potentially another Dickens. Oh, and I've read A Christmas Carol ... which I doesn't think counts as having "read Dickens."

 

[cobl04]

Almost finished The Kite Runner, and while it's been intriguing (one of the better books I've read in a while) it has lagged at times, and I enjoyed the first half (childhood etc) much more than I'm enjoying this second half, with all the wars, and constant descriptions of dilapidated towns, Assef, violence...

Got about 60 pages to go.

If anyone's looking for an interesting, anti-war novel that focuses on the psychological rather than the physical, check out Regeneration by Pat Barker. Didn't like it at first but after studying it I became fonder of it.

The Importance of Being Earnest is still my favourite piece of literature though

 

[lazarus]

The only Dickens I've read is Great Expectations, which I had to read back in ... ninth grade maybe? I remember skimming a lot of it.

That being said, I do want to go back and read it again, and potentially another Dickens. Oh, and I've read A Christmas Carol ... which I doesn't think counts as having "read Dickens."

I think that counts. If you had only seen Patrick Stewart's one-man-show of ACC, I'd cry foul.

We read Great Expectations in 9th grade as well, Honors English. I'm pretty sure I Cliffed my way through that test as I was bored to tears trying to slog through it. Probably because I was reading too much sci-fi and fantasy on the side.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Anyone read Infinite Jest? That was 1,000 pages well worth the trip.

Too bad David Foster Wallace hasn't written another novel since.

Did you read his essays, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again"? The title piece, which is about his experience on a cruise ship, is one of the funniest things I've ever read in my life. I just died, died laughing throughout and could not put it down. I think I like his essays better than his fiction but I don't care what he writes next, I just wish he'd write something (that doesn't have anything to do with math).

 

[lazarus]

That's a great collection. I also love his book of short stories, The Girl With Curious Hair.

While I like his non-fiction, I sure wish he'd get back to doing something besides essays. It's been a while. As difficult as it must be to follow something like IJ, the guy's gotta have something more in his imagination.

 

[powerhour24]

I've been interested in picking up IJ for a long time, but keep wanting to read too many things to commit myself to such a long, strange book.

 

[lazarus]

It's funnier than you could possibly imagine. It's not a chore like other long books.

 

[meegannie]

We're getting 75+ free books. (Though that does mean we need to buy at least two new bookcases.)

 

[Dalton]

Alright. I bought my books for my camping trip. I am going to read:

1. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon and
2. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Is there a website out there that recommends books in the "If you liked this author, you may like ..." or "If you like this book, you may like ...", or again "If you like this subject, try ...."

I know amazon does that a little bit, but I once had a Janet Jackson album recommended to me because I liked a Leif Enger book. Phail.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

The Sun Also Rises is one of my very favorite books. I reread it every few years. In fact, I'm due for a reread soon. The ending kills me every time. I credit that book for teaching me how to be a writer.

 

[Dalton]

The Sun Also Rises is one of my very favorite books. I reread it every few years. In fact, I'm due for a reread soon. The ending kills me every time. I credit that book for teaching me how to be a writer.

I learned both how to be a writer and my sense of capitalism from the hand scribbled signs of the homeless.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Another T.H. Huxley biography, a very relatable character.

 

[cobl04]

Well, finished The Kite Runner. The very ending was nice, with the whole interrelation running kites thing, but it seemed a little contrived to me. There was a bit of predictability about it. Also too, when Amir went to hospital and the doctor told him Assef had split his upper lip right down the middle - so he had a harelip just Hassan did. There were a lot of those type moments.

Sohrab trying to commit suicide frustrated me, and the ensuing "barely living child" thing was annoying as well, because it broke Amir and Soraya. I would have prefered the book to end with Soraya ringing Amir and telling him there was a way to bring Sohrab back to America prior to him trying to kill himself, so they all would have been happy, and then maybe a tragic turn coming at the end with Assef coming back or sending one of his cronies to America.

Overall though, it kept me interested throughout, it's just a shame that we're reading this book for English and my class is full of half-wits who won't understand half the words and will have struggled to read 100 pages, despite having two weeks of holidays. I want to discuss the book, as you can see here, but sadly I won't get to.


Now reading Hunting the Wild Pineapple, a collection of short stories about a seemingly self-loathing monoped in Queensland, by Thea Astley. It's proving quite hard to read, any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

 

[corianderstem]

I liked The Sun Also Rises more than I liked the few other Hemingway books I read, so there you go. Take that for what it's worth.

#48 Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

Ehhhhh. It read like a history of early 20th century American history, with some fictional characters thrown in. The second half of the book dealt more with an actual plot with those fictional characters, but the first half seemed to read like an interesting, possibily fictionalized history book.

It was interesting, but by the time it picked up with the fictional plot, I didn't care by that point and wanted to know more about Ford, J P Morgan and Houdini.

 

[cobl04]

That's exactly how I felt with The Kite Runner.

 

[Saracene]

I've just finished "The Histories" by Herodotus. Very entertaining read, although as with all historical books at times I felt overwhelmed by the endless barrage of names and facts. Also, I got tired of referring back and forth to the notes at the back that corrected or questioned Herodotus' writing so I just read it as it was. It lost me somewhat in the middle chapters that dealt with the endless and tedious squabbles between the Greek city states, but once it got to Darius and Xerxes and the Greco-Persian wars it was back on track.

 

[lazarus]

I liked The Sun Also Rises more than I liked the few other Hemingway books I read, so there you go. Take that for what it's worth.

#48 Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

Ehhhhh. It read like a history of early 20th century American history, with some fictional characters thrown in. The second half of the book dealt more with an actual plot with those fictional characters, but the first half seemed to read like an interesting, possibily fictionalized history book.

It was interesting, but by the time it picked up with the fictional plot, I didn't care by that point and wanted to know more about Ford, J P Morgan and Houdini.

The movie adaptation is actually very good, don't know if you've seen it or not. It was directed by Milos Forman, the guy who did Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It definitely focuses more on those fictional characters, but it's got some great actors (Mary Steenburgen, Mandy Patinkin, Howard E. Rollins, Brad Dourif, Jeff Daniels, Norman Mailer, and James Cagney's farewell performance). Randy Newman did the fantastic score.

I have a couple Doctorow. books but haven't got around to reading them yes. There's one written about Julius & Ethel Rosenberg's son that I've heard god things about.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

I learned both how to be a writer and my sense of capitalism from the hand scribbled signs of the homeless.

You're probably better off and definitely far less in student loan debt than I am.

 

[corianderstem]

Huh, I had no idea there was a movie adaptation of Ragtime. Never heard of it!

 

[corianderstem]

#48 Queen of Babble In the Big City by Meg Cabot

Oh, I do love me some Meg Cabot, who seems to write a bazillion books each year between her adult chick-lit series and her YA stuff.

Most of it, I love. Including this one.

 

[cobl04]

Can I ask what the numbers are for, cori? Are you reading a set number of books per you and posting as you finish?

 

[corianderstem]

I'm just tallying up the books I read; I've been doing it for the past few years. I don't have a goal as to how many I read each year.

 

[corianderstem]

#49 Home: A Memoir Of My Early Years by Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews is the most awesomest person ever.

That is all.

 

[Thora]

I heart Julie Andrews! When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be just like her. I didn't know she had written a book. Might be worth checking out.

 

[corianderstem]

It's a very interesting read. It stops just as she's going to Hollywood to make Mary Poppins, so I really, really hope she's planning on a second book.

The book focuses a lot on her upbringing in vaudeville with her mother and stepdad in post-war England, and I admit to have skimmed a little bit in the beginning, but I found the bits about her years in New York doing My Fair Lady and Camelot fascinating.

 

[lazarus]

That sounds like a good read. The only actor biographies I've read are Errol Flynn's My Wicked ,Wicked Ways, which was a FANTASTIC and very candid book, and Katherine Hepburn's Me, which I doubt I even need to comment on, as she's like an icon of icons.

I have Marlon Brando's Songs My Mother Taught me lying around somewhere, and even though I find the guy fascinating, I haven't had the urge to crack it open yet.

 

[lazarus]

Oh yeah, congrats on finishing the draft of your novel, Cori!