Originally Posted by Quark
Of course he repeated himself, he's hit that topic several times, but the way Tolstoy presents the whole thing is incredible. Nabokov thought it was the greatest short story ever written, and I almost agree (Chekhov, in my mind, has some stuff in front of it.)
I meant that there are too much similar things between Anna Karenina and War and Peace.
At thunder and tempest, At the world's coldheartedness,
During times of heavy loss And when you're sad
The greatest art on earth Is to seem uncomplicatedly gay.
To get things clear, they have to firstly be very unclear. But if you get them too quickly, you probably got them wrong.
If you need me urgent, send me a PM
I thought of another one.
The Complete Unabridged Sherlock Holmes, oddly enough. Got me interested in old English mysteries and on the road to Anglophilia.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
Malcolm X Autobiography, Macbeth (Shakespeare), To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee), Master and Man (Tolstoy), Confessions of a Condemned Man (Hugo), War and Peace (Tolstoy) and
Rough Crossings (Schama).
One more title my to my above list is The Prince (Machiavelli)
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
This book really made me re-examine my life, my community and my world.
Where are we going?? It's worth thinking about.
Also, The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm. This book affected one aspect of my life in a very strong way. I no longer buy tabloids.
I used to think, oh well, you're famous and rich, I deserve to hear about your drunken misbehavior and see all your pimples, but after this book, I felt a real self loathing for that kind of desire to see the 'mighty' fall.
I guess I just came away from the book feeling really sorry for Ted Hughes and his kids. (please don't hate me Plath-lovers for siding with Hughes...)
Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain
I have understand that you liked the 'name of the rose' so.. you will like the 'Sibumi' from Travenian and 'Cengiz Khan' from Homeric but everbody must read the 'Misrabelles' from Victor Hugo also you must read 'the grape of wrath'.
Hope I did my help
In sort of chronological order because these books changed my life in different ways
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Yep. I read it when I was nine and it was my first real book I guess. Before that I only read the baby-sitters club (remember those?) Since Harry I've never looked back.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - When I was 14. The prologue blew me away and it showed me there was more to reading than just entertainment.
1984 by George Orwell and Wild Swans by Jung Chang - I don't think 1984 would have impacted me in the same way if I hadn't read Wild Swans first. For those who don't know, Wild Swans is an autobiography by a woman who grew up during the Cultural Revolution in China. When I read 1984 afterwards I was amazed by how much Orwell predicted became true in China.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - made me see modern life in an entirely different way. I can't believe this was written in the 30's - and I think that modern life is actually closer to huxley's dystopia than Orwell's.
Yeah...so that's it really. The Metamorphosis by Kafka should be in there as well for introducing me to Existentialism and Absurdism but there you go.
Make Tea, Not War
The reason I am responding to this message is that during my Library Tours where I spoke about my life experiences as well as the why and how I wrote my memoir,that was exactly what the Librarian said after reading my memoir.
I attended many events at Libraries and Universities, but the Librarian from Sinking Springs,PA. was so taken that she thanked me for writing my memoir titled "I Wouldn't Die." as it changed the way she views life and her family after reading it.
This may sound pretty powerful, but kindly visit Amazon or just type my full name(Franco Antonetti)on Google or Yahoo and see what others have said.
Huckleberry Finn, Catcher in the Rye, If The River Was Whiskey (TC Boyle), Welcome to the Monkey House (Vonnegut), The Things They Carried (Tim O'Brien), Camp of the Saints (Raspail)
Waiting for Godot ( Samuel Becket )
I thought it was amazing how he applied the motifs conveyed to the reader.
"You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!"
--------------------------
Nervous conditions: check!
Currently reading: Metamorphosis
The Lord Of The Rings changed my life by opening my imagination & transported me to other places.
-Sharita
Oh my god, you actually liked that? In spite of the vivid imagery and the amazing plot, I really believe that the book's wonderful composition was overshadowed by the horrible description. At times, I was forced to skip chunks of the book (full of descrpition) just to contrain myself from throwing the book at my dog (who loves eating books, literally)
"You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!"
--------------------------
Nervous conditions: check!
Currently reading: Metamorphosis
Sidartha...
ere..I slept
Last edited by Captain Pike; 05-10-2007 at 05:09 PM. Reason: I spelled Sidartha,sinartha! The singing mobster Buddha!
Ничего нет лучше для исправления, как прежнее с раскаянием вспомнить.
The Lord of The Rings was the biggest bittersweet series I have ever read. To me, writing is immensly important because its an excercise in creating an alternate reality, which is probably the most spectacular thing a human being can do. On the other hand, the story was compormised by writing that was too lengthy and appologetic.
Anyhow... When I was in my teens I read "Memories, Dreams, and Reflections" by Carl Jung. Not a fiction, but it definately changed my life.
"Writing is nothing more than a guided dream"
-Jorge Luis Borges
Yeah, I love LOTR too. heart and soul. even with the huge descriptions. Every time I read it, though, I think I read some more of the descriptions, so eventually I'll have gotten thru the whole thing.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
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