While substitute teaching I came across a book of Mark Twain's short stories. "The Diary of Adam and Eve" was hilarious. Witty beyond belief. I now understand more why Mark Twain is so famous. Actually, Dr. Gray (I think his name is) who wrote "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus" was able to turn such psychological and behavioral characteristics into a multi million dollar enterprise. Twain presented the issue long ago.
Man's Fate (La condition humaine) by Malraux. Some parts are extremely good and very hard (IE crushing, violent...). Sadly on the whole it's sort of unequal but still the use of multiple main characters gives the naration an interesting twist.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I thought the first two chapters were quite slow but then in the third one the momentum really picks up and it's almost too quick. I'll have to read it again though, to really think about it. It's interesting but I still think Apocalypse Now is better. The repetition of the word darkness is a bit overdone.
Wow. I think Mark F. finished Heart of Darkness in 3 minutes. Very impressive.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. I liked this one quite a bit, although I thought the third and final chapter felt a bit off compared to the first two. Just my quirky observation.
Last edited by chmpman; 06-23-2005 at 10:29 PM.
Double Act by J. Wilson
Struggles of 10 year old twins Ruby and Garnet as they try to get used to a life without their Mom, their father's new girlfriend and living in a small town while realising that they have to develop separate identities and become individuals.
While reading the book, I realised that I had watched a TV adaptation couple of years ago on BBC.
Girls in Love by J.Wilson
Growing up pains of 13 years old Ellie and her best friends Magda and Nadine. They feel pressures of being 'cool' and trendy while trying to keep up with the expectations of grown ups: being good students, daughters, sisters...
I enjoyed reading both books. Wilson seems to have develop the perfect style for younger readers to keep them turning pages. She is creative and witty, and seems to have an understanding of how the young girls mind work! I can imagine teens and even some younger readers enjoying these books very much. No wonder they are in BBC Big Read list.
7/10 KitKats for both of them!
I also loved "The Diary of Adam and Eve," finding its dark humor of the utmost satisfaction. I once purchased The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain, taking some time to read it, with such a quantity of stories, but found it well worth the read; I highly recommend "The Stranger."Originally Posted by byquist
He he, I'm a fast reader. The Metamorphosis is very good, I'm thinking of reading some more by Kafka, any ideas?
Well, the last book I`ve read was "Martin Eden" by Jack London.
It`s a kind of an autobiographical novel in about 400 pages. I really liked it as a whole. Although I was very disappointed in the beginning , the end was precious.I think the first 320 pages are rather boring but the other 80 pages are extremely dynamic and meaningful.They told me things I knew but in a kind of a different point of view.
About 7/10 (because the translation was awful)
Radix malorum est cupiditas!
I've seen the movie version of The Trial. That's what got me interested in Kafka - it was directed by Orson Welles. It's very eerie but great.
Earlier this evening, I finished Diary of a Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley. It had its "highs" and "lows," where some places I felt entirely involved with the stories, and other parts I felt increasingly lost. Crowley, like Dante Alighieri in The Divine Comedy, sectioned this novel into three parts, but in a separate order from Dante: Paradiso, Inferno, and Purgatorio, and, as with The Divine Comedy, I would have to call Purgatorio my favorite, written in the first person, but by two people (a married couple, "Peter" and "Lou Pendragon").
As mentioned, the novel lost me in a few areas where, it seemed, Crowley attempted communicating an analogy that went far over my head, but the end summarized everything, and I call Diary of a Drug Fiend an absolutely incredibly inspirational work - one of the most touching I have encountered.
Additionally, I think I will begin a thread of good quotes in the 'Quotes' area of the forum.
My rating: 10/10 (really)
Hi, Newbie here.
I just finished reading "Gone with the Wind" a few days ago. The movie has always been one of my favourites, but the book is superb. Loved the characters, and Mitchell's backdrop of the civil war. The 1000+ pages seemed like nothing and the book was over far too quickly.
The Testament by John Grisham
The second Grisham book I have read (first one was A Painted House, which was very good: 9/10). It is about a will settlement of an eccentric rich man, who commits suicide. As usual, there are greedy, no-use off-springs who want to get their hands on the money however the old man has other plans for his fortune and a recovering alcoholic lawyer reluctantly becomes the person who is to see that things go according to plan.
It is a page-turner like other Grisham books but lacks the originality and strength of his some other stories (A Time to Kill, Rainmaker, The Client, The Firm, Last Juror, The Pelican Brief etc... How is it possible that one man can write so many books which are made into good movies as well?) 6/10 KitKats
HEIDI by Johanna Spyri
One of my childhood favorites. I am very glad that it is in BBC's Big Reads so I have had the chance to read it again. It is a feel good story about a little orphan who starts to live with her reclusive grandfather. As a child, I hadn't noticed that the book has many religious references; I have still enjoyed reading it and could not help wondering at the difference between the classic children's books and the modern ones. 9/10 KitKats!
Last edited by Scheherazade; 06-27-2005 at 07:12 PM.
I just read To Kill A Mocking Bird, and I loved it. It was an easy read for me. It was othing like I thought it would be. I should have read it years ago in my hayday, but couldn't sit still long enough to read anything good then.
The last book I read was "Pandora" by Anne Rice and I loved it! Pandora was an amazing character and once again Anne Rice hypnotized me with her work.
I'm reading my own book right now, A Man Named Beatrice. I want to figure out how I can take depraved comedy to an all new, brave level. I was thinking about dancing ninja disco zombies, and how they could be incorporated into a musical.
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