favorite book - Page 4

Dom Pedro II · May 13, 2002, 01:09

Actually, I thought the convict USED to be rich and then he got poor and... well, convicted...

I don't know... it was too long ago for me to remember, but that point aside, the way he made the contacts he did and everybody seemed to some how be tied in to somebody else just seemed too contrived to me.

monolith94 · May 13, 2002, 01:12

It's a small world after all...

Imran Siddiqui · May 13, 2002, 03:40

Quote:

Les Miserables is one of the greatest stories ever written, certainly the greatest work of 19th century French literature. And it possesses one of the greatest protagonist-antagonist pairings ever created.

Which other 'famous' author can we critique? hmmm...?

S. Kroeze · May 13, 2002, 06:44

Quote:

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
I would answer, but Snapcase beat me to it.

PS--I've read most of them, and I doubt you've even read all of them. And the Silmarillion is boring tripe. And you listed plays. Those aren't books. You'd think someone as supposedly well-read as you would know the difference between a play and a book.

Most of the books on my list I have read several times, preferably in the original language -though not always from cover to cover. My reading habits are rather unconventional. Usually I begin with page 1, but I never have a problem with skipping some pages. I almost continuously roam back and forth. In this way I will read the parts I like several times. I enjoy rereading far more than reading a book for the first time. The Iliad I have read at least a dozen times, I guess even more.

I have no problem at all to admit that some books on my list I have not yet read 100%. Those are:
'Don Quijote' for about 40%
'Mahâbhârata' for about 50%
'Divina comedia' for about 60%
'À la recherche' for about 60%
'The Bible' for about 90%

The objection that some are plays is irrelevant and highly academic. I have become acquainted with most plays by Shakespeare by reading them -a book in my hand- not by visiting the theatre, though I like that too. How many performances of the 1000 plays by Lope de Vega did you attend?
The Iliad was originally recited.

Which books on my list are rubbish according to your taste?
And why do you dislike The Silmarillion so much?
I presume you would not have formed an opinion before you have read at least the lion's share of the text.

Sincerely,

S.Kroeze

Skanky Burns · May 13, 2002, 10:36

I really enjoyed 'Emma' by Jane Austen. Which is strange, as it is far removed from my normal interests.

Skanky Burns · May 13, 2002, 10:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Dom Pedro II
Actually, I thought the convict USED to be rich and then he got poor and... well, convicted...

I don't know... it was too long ago for me to remember, but that point aside, the way he made the contacts he did and everybody seemed to some how be tied in to somebody else just seemed too contrived to me.

No, he was sent out to Australia as a convict, received his freedom, then built up his riches in Australia (as you do

). I really disliked this book, but probably because I forced myself to read every single, irrelevant word on each page.

Ecthy · May 13, 2002, 10:46

Has anyone here ever heard of Robert Merle? I guess not... he's a master, at least in those of his books that don't deal with loud future melodies about diseases, devastating events etc.

My favourite Merles are Malevil and The Isand (The Isle? dunno...)

SpencerH · May 13, 2002, 13:15

This is not a shot at anyone, but I find it difficult to read fiction written by people who havent done anything with their lives! There's too many works of "great literature" full of "meaning" written by people who barely left their houses. Instead of reading about life get out and do it!

That being said, books are like other forms of art, if you enjoy reading it or looking at it thats what counts, not what others think of it.

My most re-read book(s), the Lord of the Rings. I can always go back to it.

Stefu · May 13, 2002, 13:30

Desert island? Porn porn porn porn porn more porn. What, how else am I going to be spending my time there than masturbating?

My favorite book overall would be Lord of the Rings. Classic that never dies.

Kassiopeia · May 13, 2002, 13:55

Quote:

Desert island? Porn porn porn porn porn more porn. What, how else am I going to be spending my time there than masturbating?

Unimaginitive [insulting noun]

devilmunchkin · May 13, 2002, 15:59

don quixote was so boring i almost cried!

KrazyHorse · May 13, 2002, 17:31

W@nker

monolith94 · May 13, 2002, 17:55

The movie, with Peter O'Toole, is great, however. It's beautiful, even. (Don Quixote)

The reason I liked Great Expectations was because of the whole kid and the girl thing going on, and how he liked her, and it couldn't work out because of that damned Mrs. Havisham. You know, it's too hard for me to describe exactly what it was about it that I liked: I just really liked it.

Jac de Molay · May 13, 2002, 18:25

Wrap your brain around Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum and The Name of the Rose . You won't regret it.

Boris Godunov · May 13, 2002, 23:48

Quote:

Originally posted by Dom Pedro II
C'mon! Dickens is so contrived!

The kid meets a convict, the kid meets a rich lady who happens to be the caretaker of the convict's daughter, and the convict is really in reality rich... I could understand if he met Mrs. Havisham through the convict, but he didn't! He just happened to be introduced to her through a totally unaffiliated party.

Look at A Tale of Two Cities too... A woman goes to pick up her father from the Bastille and when she comes back she just HAPPENS to get on the same boat as the nephew of the marquis who threw her father in prison in the first place.

Its a stretch...

Come on, that's part of the magic of Dickens. It's charming to have such implausible coincidences. His gift was for making 19th century London come alive. You will never get a better sense of what it was like to be alive at that time in England.