It's a great book. How has it become something that's become cool to like? I'm pretty sure it's been popular for quite a while now, and for good reason.
Books The BOOK thread
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Any John Fowles fans here? Just reread The French Lieutenant's Woman. Excellent book.
1984 is probably only second to Catcher in the Rye when it comes to popularity among hipster types. It still great though, unlike CitR.
Just read a book called "Brightside" by Mark Tullius.
I liked the concept.
Hope that helps
I liked the concept.
Hope that helps
The premise does seem very good, MUM dear.
Annoying self-indulgent crap (turned into an annoyingly crap film with Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep). Fowles' only good book is 'The Collector'.
Gawd 'elp you, Ma'am!
I'm quite excited, to be honest !Even if you end up hating it, please let me know your opinion, as this will (hopefully) help me improve. x
Incorrect. The Magus, French Lieutenant and The Collector are all great. Haven't seen the Jeremy Irons movie.
I can't find my copy of "Of Mice And Men", I watched it last night and want to read through it again, it's my all-time favourite book. (Not much of a reader )
)Just finished Jeffery Deaver's "Carte Blanche". A new-ish James Bond novel. Pretty decent easy-to-read romp.
I've never read any of Ian Fleming's Bond books so can't compare unfortunately.
I've never read any of Ian Fleming's Bond books so can't compare unfortunately.
I can't find my copy of "Of Mice And Men", I watched it last night and want to read through it again, it's my all-time favourite book. (Not much of a reader
Class book. I think it's been mentioned here before. Grapes of Wrath too is excellent.
It's the only book that has ever provoked an emotional response from me. I really didn't expect George to shoot Lennie, burst into tears the first time I read it and it fecked me up for a week. (I was 14 when I read it first, and I'm PROUD). I don't get the same reaction when I read it, sometimes I do when I watch the movie. (92' Sinise version)
Is Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck too? I really should check out his other stuff, I just don't want to be disappointed and I can't see him topping OMAM.
Whenever I travel/live/work somewhere else, my favorite conversation starter is "what 3 books from your country should I read". When they reply back asking what 3 American books they should tackle, "Grapes of Wrath" is the first I mention. Honestly of the great American authors, I think Steinbeck might be the most accessible. Not at all dated and his style is easily translated (neither Hemingway terse, nor overly florid, and not steeped in any particular vernacular like Twain or Faulkner).
It's certainly a bigger read than Of Mice and Men, but it's worth it. A great American tale set in the depression era. He's at his best when writing with a populist indignation. The end is shattering as well.
I hope you try it.
It's certainly a bigger read than Of Mice and Men, but it's worth it. A great American tale set in the depression era. He's at his best when writing with a populist indignation. The end is shattering as well.
I hope you try it.
I'll make sure I do just that, thanks!
What are the other two you normally say, brad?
Agree completely.
Aaaand downloaded and reading. Mucho grassy ass!
Fowles was all the rage when I was a student. I agree with ps that Magus and French Lieutenant are a bit self-indulgent. Iirc motivations can be obscurely 'intellectual'. The Collector is very cold. His books don't give you any great desire to meet the author.
That really varies. It's tough because I'm not just wanting to shovel what's considered the "best" or most distinguished novel (like Moby Dick), and don't want to saddle someone with something too dated ("The Scarlet Letter"). I also want to pass along something that's really reads somehow uniquely American, and I really like the way America is portrayed in "Grapes of Wrath", and by Steinbeck in general. BTW, speaking of Steinbeck, if you want a quick rollick of a read, "Cannery Row" is good fun. Anyway, I always want to say "Huck Finn", but I can just imagine how butchered the translation of "We was powerful afeared of that pack of flatheads, so me and Jim skedaddled and lit out of the river". If they're already got a good handle on English then I might. Faulkner for me is brilliant, but again, unless they're steeped in some notion of the old South, it's likely that a lot of that sweaty perversion will be lost. If they're young, then maybe "On the Road". "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a good all around choice, but honestly lots of folks have already read it (including this Cambodian kid out in the middle of nowhere??). "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is a good one. There's a fantastic collection of narratives put together by ex slaves in the 1930's, but it's hard to find that overseas I should think. When I was a kid I really liked James Webb's (perhaps the next president of the USA) novel "Fields of Fire" about a squad in Vietnam . It's perhaps a bit pithy, but lost of the vets I knew liked it and recommended it.
Mostly though, when I'm on the spot, like now I sort of mumble around as I can't remember. I'd go check my bookshelves, but my Abbott's on my lap.
Cheers for the response! Do you like The Great Gatsby? I didn't like it all when I read it a few years ago but its name normally comes up in discussions of the best American novels. I might have to give it another chance at some point.
Read it a long time ago and don't recall getting much out of it. Sometimes it's like that though. I think a lot of it just depends on what sort of mood or mind space you're in. Like you said, folks say it's good and all...
I'd say for English speakers Faulkner is a really rich vein as well. "Light in August" was probably my favorite. He often seems to loathe the old South as he's so good at finding the dark side of it, while at the same time he's addicted to it. Generally speaking I think the standard definition of good American lit has steered us pretty well. Twain, Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck, etc. I really do like them all very much and have honestly read just about everything of theirs.
Oh and another one I'd recommend in my travels would be Bukowski. Probably "Post Office". A wretched lifestyle, well documented. God damned if he isn't funny as well.
I can't find my copy of "Of Mice And Men", I watched it last night and want to read through it again, it's my all-time favourite book. (Not much of a reader
My 11th grade language arts teacher the day we started a full on unit on the book, literally when he pulled it out to tell us what it was called:
It's this really cool book about these two guys; this short guy named Lennie and this big, dumb guy named George... and Lennie shoots George in the end."
Fowles isn't half as clever as he thinks he is. If you want to read someone playing with the post-modern novel then read Raymond Queneau's 'Zazie dans le métro'.
I can't think of many authors I'd really want to meet. Tim Parks is my favourite author, yet he strikes me as a very intense guy - I'd probably be nervous chatting with him. Nick Hornsby on the other, whose work I loathe, is probably a perfectly amiable chap.
Even if you end up hating it, please let me know your opinion, as this will (hopefully) help me improve. x
Just finished it, Steve, and want to say I really enjoyed it !
It isn't a genre that I usually read but after reading yours I will look out for more.
Let me know when you do another.
Just finished it, Steve, and want to say I really enjoyed it !
It isn't a genre that I usually read but after reading yours I will look out for more.
Let me know when you do another.
Well done, MUM.
Greater love hath no woman than this, that she lay down her time for her friends.
Yep, it takes a very brave woman to read the most pretentious book of all time.
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That's a lot more impressive than the book, Lord Muffy. Longer too.
Just as creepy though.
Finished A Storm of Swords part 1. Another great read. Now onto part 2. Hope I dont OD on these!!
Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.
Still flying through the books at an alarming rate, read Stephen R Donaldson's 'Mordants Need' series last week, this is actually the 3rd time I've read these two books but the last time was about 20 years ago so they felt like new reads to me, enjoyable read, though in my opinion not as good as Donaldson's 'Thomas Covenant' series which is one of my all time favourite fantasy series. I'm also up to book 9 in Peter Robinson's 'DCI Banks' series, I really like these books, they are very easy to pick up and get in to quickly they wouldn't be as gritty as some other British crime fiction such as Ian Rankin or Val McDirmid but Robinson has a great eye for detail and I have enjoyed them greatly, I would describe them like slipping on a favourite pair of old slippers, I have just started to intersperse them with Robert Crais's 'Elvis Cole' series, read the first book in the series last night and found it to be very enjoyable, it felt a bit dated being set in the 1980's (felt like an episode of Miami Vice lol) but it was a decent yarn and the Cole character was quite witty.
I'm now up to book 138 for the year in my Goodreads challenge, I think I should complete my 150 book target easily http://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/387011
I'm now up to book 138 for the year in my Goodreads challenge, I think I should complete my 150 book target easily http://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/387011
Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach is absolutely brilliant. Can't lie, other than GRRM, which might be parcial nerdism in me, it's one of the best modern books I've read. Theres Baseball terminology in there, but you don't need to like the sport to appreciated this book, kind of like with Field of Dreams.
Finished 'A Feast For Crows', now onto 'A Dance with Dragons'!
Halfway through 11/22/63 at the moment. Enjoyable read so far