The Literature Thread

[Dowbocop]

Also, read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. You will enjoy it. Then try A Million Little Pieces by James Frey; it has a very mixed reaction. It's supposed to be a memoir, but is apparently fabricated in places. Still a very good read though.

The last book I read (Time Traveler's Wife) and the book I'm currently reading (A Million Little Pieces). Hoping to get stuck into some classics when I've done with Mr Frey's work. Rebecca, Pride and Prejudice, maybe re-read Lord of the Flies.

I really hated Lord of the Flies when I read it at GCSE, it was awful.

Oh, facepalm, I get it now. Best book ever...

[Captain Kinopio]

Also, read The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. You will enjoy it. Then try A Million Little Pieces by James Frey; it has a very mixed reaction. It's supposed to be a memoir, but is apparently fabricated in places. Still a very good read though.

The last book I read (Time Traveler's Wife) and the book I'm currently reading (A Million Little Pieces). Hoping to get stuck into some classics when I've done with Mr Frey's work. Rebecca, Pride and Prejudice, maybe re-read Lord of the Flies.

I really hated Lord of the Flies when I read it at GCSE, it was awful.

Oh, facepalm, I get it now. Best book ever...

I wouldn't go that far but for a book to study at GCSE there aren't that many around better.

Saying it's awful just reminds of the "argh books r borin and gooseberry fool" stuff some people at school used to spout. Lord of the Flies is very good.

[Fargo]

Just finished reading Real World by Natsuo Kirino, its about four teenage girls who get mixed up with a guy after he murders his mother and goes on the run. Really enjoyed it and plan on checking out other books by the Author soon.

[Dowbocop]

I read it at the same time and thought it was awesome; made a change from the usual dull stuff we had to suffer through.

I'm of the complete opposite opinion. At GCSE I read An Inspector Calls and absolutely adored it, Macbeth I didn't love but appreciated, but LOTF seemed to drag on forever, and I couldn't get myself in to it. It wasn't, as I first thought, the fact that they made me read it against my will, as I loved AIC despite that. I just didn't like it.

Herb, the above can apply to your post too now you've given a proper reply To add to it though, whilst I didn't familiarise myself with the whole GCSE reading list, LOTF being the best of a potentially bad bunch doesn't necessarily make it a good book. I know Fever Pitch was on that list as suggested reading, and I'd much rather have dissected that than Golding's book. Maybe it's not "awful" as I said, but I don't read books I don't want to anymore (at least not novels anyway), so I suppose I'm spoilt

[Captain Kinopio]

I read it at the same time and thought it was awesome; made a change from the usual dull stuff we had to suffer through.

I'm of the complete opposite opinion. At GCSE I read An Inspector Calls and absolutely adored it, Macbeth I didn't love but appreciated, but LOTF seemed to drag on forever, and I couldn't get myself in to it. It wasn't, as I first thought, the fact that they made me read it against my will, as I loved AIC despite that. I just didn't like it.

Herb, the above can apply to your post too now you've given a proper reply To add to it though, whilst I didn't familiarise myself with the whole GCSE reading list, LOTF being the best of a potentially bad bunch doesn't necessarily make it a good book. I know Fever Pitch was on that list as suggested reading, and I'd much rather have dissected that than Golding's book. Maybe it's not "awful" as I said, but I don't read books I don't want to anymore (at least not novels anyway), so I suppose I'm spoilt

You regain some credibility for liking An Inspector Calls

Excellent play, I saw it performed in Cambridge and it was quality, the set was spectacular.

[Dowbocop]

I read it at the same time and thought it was awesome; made a change from the usual dull stuff we had to suffer through.

I'm of the complete opposite opinion. At GCSE I read An Inspector Calls and absolutely adored it, Macbeth I didn't love but appreciated, but LOTF seemed to drag on forever, and I couldn't get myself in to it. It wasn't, as I first thought, the fact that they made me read it against my will, as I loved AIC despite that. I just didn't like it.

Herb, the above can apply to your post too now you've given a proper reply To add to it though, whilst I didn't familiarise myself with the whole GCSE reading list, LOTF being the best of a potentially bad bunch doesn't necessarily make it a good book. I know Fever Pitch was on that list as suggested reading, and I'd much rather have dissected that than Golding's book. Maybe it's not "awful" as I said, but I don't read books I don't want to anymore (at least not novels anyway), so I suppose I'm spoilt

You regain some credibility for liking An Inspector Calls

Excellent play, I saw it performed in Cambridge and it was quality, the set was spectacular.

Yeah, I saw it at the Aldwych and the Inspector's monologue there was awesome. I think seeing a play in a theatre makes it a lot more understandable to pupils. Plus a lot of the videos seen in schools are film adaptations and therefore inevitably stray from the text in some ways.

[Red]

I wouldn't go that far but for a book to study at GCSE there aren't that many around better.

We studied To Kill A Mockingbird, which was very good. But there is something about reading books at school that manages to suck all the fun and feeling out of them.

[Captain Kinopio]

Slaughterhouse 5 - 9/10

It seems everyone here has already read this so all I'll say is that I really enjoyed it.

[SuperChris]

Lord of the Rings is still my favorite

I also like

His Dark Materials
Riftwar Saga books by Raymond E Feist
Memory Sorrow & Thorn books by Tad Williams
Shadowmarch & Shadowplay Tadwilliams
Harry Potter

i think everyone should try Memory Sorrow & Thorn & Riftwar Saga if you like tolkien!

[DrDoom]

Currently reading "Homicide: A Year on the killing streets" by David Simon.

Around 50 pages in. Very good so far. I've been after this book for a while and they've finally reprinted it with a very "The Wire" inspired cover. Highly recommended for anyone even remotely interested in The Wire.

It is essentially a book version of The Wire (at just under 700 pages too). David Simon (the creator of The Wire) spent a year with the Homicide Unit in Baltimore.

His other book The Corner is re-released in April.

[NGE]

I've 3 books on the go at the moment...

Choke - Chuck Pahlaniak (I've reeeeeally no idea how to spell that). It's OK - by the guy the wrote Fight Club, soon to be a film.

A Million Little Pieces - ****** Frey (can't remember his name) Quite hard going because the main character's not particularly likeable, interesting writing style.

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman : Very good it is too, if a little childlike in tone...not really like the Gaiman I've read in the past.

[DrDoom]

[Captain Kinopio]

Might have to check that out DD cheers

I'm moving fairly quickly through Don Quixote, which is probably good because it's massive, I'm loving it so far. Seems to be a really top notch translation.

[IGM]

Still going through Nocturnes by John Connolly. The stories are pretty entertaining horror. A couple of them have been a bit cringeworthily bad, and where he is trying to emulate Lovecraft he fails miserably, but overall it's been pretty good.

The one about the boarding school (ritual of the bones) is desperately bad, though. The New daughter is a goody, as is Mr Pettinger's daemon (though if you've read any Lovecraft you will see how wishy-washy it is).

Damn it I need my Lovecraft book back!

[Captain Kinopio]

I actually lolled out loud at Don Quixote today, it's brilliant.

[DrDoom]

About a quarter way through Homicide. Some of the situations have been re-produced almost exactly in The Wire.

I also found out that one of the Detectives featured heavily in the book is actually in The Wire as an actor.

[Drawlight]

About a quarter way through Homicide. Some of the situations have been re-produced almost exactly in The Wire.

I also found out that one of the Detectives featured heavily in the book is actually in The Wire as an actor.

Jay Landsman? Who failed the audition for the fictional Jay Landsman for being good, 'but no Jay Landsman'.

The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin is so good I almost feel guilty for reading it- taking it fairly slow as it's worth just soaking in every morsel.

[DrDoom]

About a quarter way through Homicide. Some of the situations have been re-produced almost exactly in The Wire.

I also found out that one of the Detectives featured heavily in the book is actually in The Wire as an actor.

Jay Landsman? Who failed the audition for the fictional Jay Landsman for being good, 'but no Jay Landsman'.

The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin is so good I almost feel guilty for reading it- taking it fairly slow as it's worth just soaking in every morsel.

That's the guy!

[Denster]

Im going to start Moby Dick tomorrow!

[Denster]

I actually lolled out loud at Don Quixote today, it's brilliant.

I started that got about 100 pages in and then got distracted by soemthing else. Really need to get back on that!