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Not possible. Time always goes at the same speed in one direction. This is not negotiable.

A great story by James and one that simply every literate person needs to have read is "Daisy Miller." It is quintessential, without being the tiring, Henry James. Hope you enjoy it.

Hmm, good vampire books... I'm afraid you're out of luck. :-P

Without question--A Wrinkle in Time, by the late genius Madeleine L'Engle.

I first heard of Mervyn Peake through an "essential fantasy" list and made a mental note to track it down; later I came across it recommended as a "book for bibliophiles," so I took the trouble to...

Without contest, I love Sonnet 73.

The fire metaphor gets me every time.

It is curious that the Wife has no children--yet she brags of her sexual prowess. (Chaucer's description of her in the Prologue as being gap-toothed strongly suggests sexuality.) It does not...

I also disliked the movie. I felt it was not remotely based on the book (though the musical wasn't either, really)--and my biggest peeve was the fact that THE PHANTOM IS A TENOR.

Ahem. Thank you.

You're To Kill a Mockingbird!
by Harper Lee
Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you've...

Once I met Vidanric from Sherwood Smith's (rather obscure) young adult novel "Crown Duel." I have no idea how I knew this, and when I went back to read the physical description of the character, the...

I have just finished reading the rather thick stand-alone novel by Iain Pears called An Instance of the Fingerpost. It is a historical mystery set in 1663, wherein an Oxford professor was poisoned...

Auntie--

Ha ha, morbid and delightful.

My favorite Grimm's tale is the rather obscure "King Thrushbeard"--but I liked it so much as an adolescent that I tried to make my own short story out of it.

Well, and "Tales from 1001 Nights" is...

Hmm--I'm an artistic person and tend towards a depressive personality...but my maternal grandmother had untreated clinical depression for many years...so it's rather close to impossible to say...

Literature Network Forums... Blissfully addicting!

I've been on the site for the past forty-five minutes, during which time I have not worked on my statement of intent for graduate school, put...

An emu? Yogurt?

My philosophy is: Hey, why not?

Why don't they just come out and say it...

Dear X:

Your work is dreadful, and we hate it, and we hate you. Also, you fail at being cool. We hope you will never send us your writing / job...

I find that individualism is particularly American, rather than attached to one or another gender. True, women do tend to define themselves in terms of relationships ("mother of..." / "wife of..."),...

What is your favorite translation of the Iliad / Odyssey?

...It's hard to beat Alexander Pope's rhyming couplets for iambic pentametric perfection (if you will), but he's not the only one out...

An excellent discussion! For further reading, do look up "The Madwoman in the Attic" by Sandra M. Gilbert, about nineteenth century women authors and characters.

Oh my. What a question!

...I suppose the funniest (and most piteous) character is Sir John Falstaff from the histories. You can see his forerunner in Sir Toby Belch, but Shakespeare perfected...

Welcome!

(As an employee of a bookstore, I know what you mean--the fact that people sell books does not necessarily mean that they can have good conversations about them...)

The best ever book about writing fiction (and I've read a great number, as well as written my share of novels) is without doubt Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. I found it extraordinarily entertaining...

I liked the book ever so much more than the movie adaptation, as is frequently the case. The thing I most enjoyed was figuring out all the characters' motivations--rather like a mystery.

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is a first-person narrative with an unreliable narrator and (I feel) a distinct message to communicate to the audience. I love all the uncertainties in the...