I'm with Halcyon, I don't read much. I prefer to write. But, I've been very slowly navigating Terry Goodkind's Stone of Tears. My word. Probably not the best book to pick up when you're not a veteran. His short sentences bothered me for awhile but once I got used to them it was OK. Up until around page 200. I know I get very immersed when I'm writing. I wonder how he feels when writing, though? I sure hope he never loses his ability to write, else I'd be scared for his neighbors.
I've debated reading that monster from time to time, but never got to it. You should tell me how you like it after you finish it.
I am reading Let the Right One In by John Lindqvist, vampires with a twist, it's quite good. Also dipping into Poe's Children a collection of short fiction edited by Peter Straub. Very good.
War and Peace is fantastic so far! It's not some stuffy old novel that you think it would be, being written so long ago and all, but it's not. It's amazing!
At the moment I'm in the middle of 2 books... I started Twilights Eclipse and have had real trouble getting into it. I found the same with the last book too, so I'm hoping that his one will pick up and grip me like the others did by the end. I'm also in the middle of Martina Cole's The Take which I got into really quickly. Both books are miles apart, but hey I love variety
The Siege by Helen Dunmore. It's pretty depressing/boring so far despite allegedly being a "Tolstoyan epic of love and war.." Anybody recommend some upbeat novels that won't have you reaching for a hanky?
I don't really have many upbeat books..... most of mine have some sort of challenge or sadness in them.
I don't read a huge amount, but I like to mix fiction with biography, and sometimes indulge in both simultaneously. So I'm currently in the early stages of Philip Norman's biography of John Lennon, and also near the beginning of Stephen King's "Under The Dome". Both are huge books though, so I don't expect I'll contribute to this thread again until 2011.
So I finished Paradise Lost by Milton, and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm usually not for this subject matter, nor for British epic poetry, but I have to say that this was the most exceptional epic poem I've read, and stands quite powerfully on my list of literature as a whole. I originally read it so I could understand a lot of the literary allusions that I find in many of the works I generally read (Modernist and Contemporary), but I found myself immersed in Milton's spiritual creation. He took a story that any Christian would know, about 26 lines in the Bible I think, and created an epic poem out of it. But the most striking feature of all was the characterization of Satan, and his degradation from an already fallen state as despair takes him over and turns him into evil, instead of the powerful archangel he had once been. I've never read anything that makes you understand or feel for the anti-christ, and I believe it was quite well and tastefully done. Milton maintains as a literary genius in my book. Now what to read next...maybe something not so heavy, maybe I will. I have The Kite Runner sitting on my shelf, so I should probably read that first. I'll read Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams afterwards.
Last book I read: One Good Punch by Rich Wallace. Short story about a teenager in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Just alright, picked it up in the YA section. Currently reading: Now is the Time to Open Your Heart by Alice Walker. So far, its a little surreal, but I like that. There are no quotation marks in the dialogue, so far anyway. Adjusting to that. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Emma is crazy. Reads like a soap opera. Makes for good discussion, if you aren't too shallow. Happy Reading!
This is one of those books that I always feel like I should read, but terrify me too much. I have Dante's The Divine Comedy on my to read shelf, and I don't dare begin reading it. Can't tell you why. I'm afraid I won't get it, I think.
I need to read Dante's, but I'm not sure if I'm up to the task quite yet. There are still some other novels I want to read before I get to it. But I will probably sometime in the next few years. I'm afraid I'll miss points of it as well, so I'm hoping that one of my classes might require I read it. That would help me quite a bit.
I'm saving it for the summer.. I tend to dive into the more elaborate works of fiction easier when it's scorching hot outside. I don't think I'll read it in one go, but we'll see how it goes. And for some reason, I think I'll get on a list in some high class FBI computer, keeping track of everyone buying or renting Paradise Lost (like in Seven). Before you know it, I'm profiled as a serial killer!
I'm glad to hear that... I havent read too far into it, but am hoping the pace will change soon, as it seems to be similar to the first. I will continue though
"The Tale of the Body Thief" ~ Anne Rice "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" ~ Thomas Hardy I'm a huge Anne Rice fan, enough said. Tess of the D'Urbervilles is good, but slow and as I have a version that hasn't been updated to modern language, I have to be really careful not to misunderstand. But I'm thinking of reading "Dracula" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray" as my next duo.
I'm currently reading a dutch book that was written entirely from the point of view of a painting! Quite refreshing!
