British Literature

[imthefoolonthehill]

for britlit this summer, i have to read + critique 3 books by british authors... so far i'm reading frankenstein... and loving it...

does anyone have any ideas for shallow, yet entertaining medium size (3-6 hundred pages) books by british authors?

count out lord of the rings. :-(...

also: who wrote hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy? and how many are there?

[simon]

Well the author of hitch-hikers guide is Douglas Adams, and it's a trilogy contianing the three following books:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, the Universe and Everything

I also recommend by the same author a book called Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, it is as imaginative, logical, and bizzare as his most known works.

[EAP]

Hmm, 300-600 Pages, light British reads...

Let me rake my brain..


You are loving Frankenstien?

How about 'Alice in the Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll and 'Kidnapped' by Robert Louis Stevenson?


Or are you looking for more modern ones?

[crisaor]

Taking a wild guess on the pages: Dracula, Brave New World, Paradise Lost, Utopia, The Man Who Was Thursday, A Study in Scarlet.

None of them are shallow, though.

[Capnplank]

Oof, I gotta remember to read the Hitchhiker's Guide stuff before the movies come out. Think there are 5 of them in the edition I got that's supposed to have the trilogy in it.

Brave New World's probably too short, unless you can find a rather large-print edition.
Length would also rule out some not-necessarily-shallow-but-still-pretty-entertaining stuff from H.G. Wells, like "The War of the Worlds", "The Invisible Man", and "The Time Machine". The lack of depth thing might rule out Orwell, if he fit into the category in the first place (my mind has a problem geographically defining "British" for some reason).

But I think the Harry Potter stuff might fit right in there. Those are pretty long.

[mike401]

you could try anything by dickens...i'm not a huge fan myself, but then again i haven't read a whole lot by him; hard times was all right. don't read paradise lost until you have to, because while i can appreciate the technique and skill in the text, i can safely classify it as torture to get through.

[verybaddmom]

oscar wilde was born in ireland, but was considered a british writer for some reason. you may be able to read some of his stuff, like picture of dorian grey. fairly easy read and pretty much his only novel, although his plays are published in novella form now, i believe.

[Diceman]

Well the author of hitch-hikers guide is Douglas Adams, and it's a trilogy contianing the three following books:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, the Universe and Everything

I also recommend by the same author a book called Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, it is as imaginative, logical, and bizzare as his most known works.

Actually there are 5 in the HHG "trilogy". Append the following to your list:
So Long And Thanks For All The Fish
Mostly Harmless

I agree with your comments re Dirk Gently. To my mind, that is his best work. Once you've read it, track down a video of the incomplete Dr. Who episode "Shada" and watch it. Does it seem familiar? ;)

Unfortunately I didn't think much of the second Dirk Gently book (Long Dark Teatime Of The Soul).

[poehee99]

Although it might not be so easy to read I suggest Heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad. Originally born in poland but naturalized british, he is seen as a british author. In Heart of Darkness he describes a journey he once made up the congo river in 1890. If you haven't heard of this story yet, you'll certainly have heard of the film that was made based on this story: Apocalyps Now by F.F. Coppola. it is a must!

[emily655321]

Did I hear correctly that they're going to make MOVIES of HITCHHIKER'S??? NOOOooo! No, I say. :( Ruin another one of my favorites for all future generations, why don't you. Does the joy of individual imagination mean nothing to you, Hollywood?

[Capnplank]

Actually I believe Douglas Adams wrote the screenplay(s), and finished them shortly before he died. He's even an executive producer on the film(s). So it's not ALL on Hollywood's shoulders.
Plus it had already been a mini-series or some such thing anyways...

Anyhoo, I don't know if it's a single film or multiple. It's slated for 2005, but I dunno if that means it's when it starts being filmed, or it's when it is released.

[emily655321]

I know Douglas Adams was a radio guy, so I think the miniseries was on the radio. Which I really wish they would start doing on the internet -- radio shows are awesome. The voices enhance the images in your head, rather than replacing them the way TV or a movie does. But ANYway...*sigh* I still say it forebodes much badness.

That or it becomes a cult classic.

Which I doubt.

[Miranda]

I agree with you Emily about the impact that books have when narrated on the radio. It really brings the characters to life, as you say. I read Paradise Lost this way..it was serialized for fifteen minutes every weekday in Britain and it was great! As it was read, I followed it in the book and it was so easy to follow and understand - much easier than just reading it alone. The imagery in Paradise Lost is fantastic, I think and it seems like Milton puts flesh on the bones of the basic story of creation beginning in Genesis...sorry for going off topic...

[emily655321]

I miss listening to shows in Britain. They had a lot of mysteries on the radio. The only show on here is Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" on National Public Radio -- half folk music, half him telling his "Lake Wobegon" stories.

BTW, don't worry about it, Miranda; ;) I think you actually put us closer to back on topic. :p I was the one who interjected with my rant about the Hitchhiker movie.

[nome1486]

hey imthefoolonthehill, I don't know if you've read all the books you needed, but if you like Douglas Adams you should try Terry Pratchett's Discworld series; the ones I've read are Sourcery (try that one), Reaper Man, and Interesting Times.

Wow, it might seem from my recent posts that Terry Pratchett is my favorite author but his books are just on my mind recently for some reason.