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Post by Rhiflect on Jul 2, 2007 19:51:33 GMT
I'm reading Desire Lines by Someone.
I picked it out because it looked really good, and so far it's been about preachers and geography. I honestly hope it gets better.
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Post by Clare on Jul 2, 2007 19:56:10 GMT
OH MY GOD IT WAS GREAT. LET'S DISCUSS IT ON MSN AND BE ALL LIKE 'WOAH'. The Big Question: Toru Watanabe: Man Whore or just a Lover? Just a Lover! How could you not feel sympathy for that boy?
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Post by hideandseek on Jul 2, 2007 20:13:59 GMT
Just started 'Brighton Rock' by Graham Greene. I'm getting completely hooked. I had to force myself to put it down the other day.
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Post by idrinkmascara on Jul 2, 2007 20:29:47 GMT
I'm reading "Johnny Panic and the bible of dreams" plus other short stories by Sylvia Plath, which are good, imaginative stories for bedtime reading that just really appeal to me.
In the daytime I am reading the brothers karamazov by Dostoyevsky, which is a vintage copy with a really victorian translation that's a bit hard to follow. I haven't got too far in but it's interesting to read if you're into Russian stuff plus the book is all precious and antiqueish which makes it special to read from.
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Post by lastgoodbye on Jul 2, 2007 20:42:12 GMT
I just finished reading How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, which was the single most depressing book I have ever read, but it was amazing anyways. I read it in under two days, ‘twas one of those 'don't stop reading even if you want to' kind of books.
I've started reading a different book now, but it isn't that good and I can't remember what it's called. I'm also reading... 3 other books at the same time, although quite often it's more.
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Post by Lawrence on Jul 2, 2007 20:47:14 GMT
I'm reading this thread.
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Post by idrinkmascara on Jul 2, 2007 20:55:52 GMT
^JOKESssss.
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Post by stentorsrevenge on Jul 2, 2007 21:27:51 GMT
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Tom Robbins
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Post by hark on Jul 2, 2007 22:52:00 GMT
OH MY GOD IT WAS GREAT. LET'S DISCUSS IT ON MSN AND BE ALL LIKE 'WOAH'. The Big Question: Toru Watanabe: Man Whore or just a Lover? Just a Lover! How could you not feel sympathy for that boy? I do. But sometimes it's fun/easy to get up on the high horse and be all like, 'oh my godz, he'll just jump into bed with anyone! My mouth is agape!" but yeah, he is just a lover. I really want to read the whole thing again and make notes in the margains hard core. The whole theme of death really intrigues me in this book.
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Post by blake on Jul 3, 2007 0:55:10 GMT
So, tell us about the book you're reading. DISCUSSION IS MANDATORY. I'm sick of some people talking about themselves and not engaging anyone else. It's quite ridiculous and really, really dull. Word. I'v also been reading THE VONNEGUT. Breakfast of Champions which is like my fifth Vonnegut book of the last few months. I love the fella and his fatalistic, wise cracking bleakly humorous world view. BoC is a bit of a mess I think, but thats how it was intended. He says at the start that the book is his 50th birthday present to himself and theres another (brilliant) speech about how he thinks that stories have lead to people believing some people are disposable in that life has major character, minor characters, moral lessons, and a beginning, a middle and an end. He points out that life isn't like that so he resigned himself to write a book where no piece of information is more important than another. The over riding message is that life is chaos without meaning, but you can adept yourself to the chaos. After my recent dabblings with religious thinking, it's probably good for me to hear that. It's very bleak I think, really simple things like the history of America or poor inner city people taking drugs is explained as if it was from the perspective of an alien, and it really brings it to clear focus how absurd and heart breakingly sad a lot of things we take for granted are.
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Post by Lauren on Jul 3, 2007 0:55:12 GMT
Whenever I finish reading a book, I check to see if there is a book-a-minute parody of it. My favorite:
Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton Ultra-Condensed by Samuel Stoddard
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Narrator I met a man named Ethan Frome. His life sucked.
THE END
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Post by mimicry on Jul 3, 2007 1:27:04 GMT
Book-a-minute is one of my favorite things. I love the one for Catcher in the Rye.
The Catcher In the Rye By J. D. Salinger Ultra-Condensed by David J. Parker
Holden Caulfield: Angst angst angst swear curse swear crazy crazy angst swear curse, society sucks, and I'm a stupid jerk.
THE END
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Post by cheshire on Jul 3, 2007 6:59:08 GMT
This book is responsible for me exacting revenge on my little brother for years of sly kicks, tale telling and the famous night where I awoke from my drunken slumber to find him and six of his mates dancing round the end of my bed with my underwear over their clothes... He was terrified of this book. Scared silly. He used to put the chickens away at dusk and run up the field afterwards, scared that Pennywise would come out of the stream and get him. One night I waited til he was sound asleep, tied a couple of half wilted balloons to the end of his bed and scattered a few home made orange pom poms on his bedroom floor. He woke the whole house screaming. You are officially very, very, cool. And worthy of an exalt. *exalts*
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Post by Jam. on Jul 3, 2007 8:24:51 GMT
I'm reading A spot Of Bother by Mark Haddon. I read The Curious Incident... out of sheer curiosity as to what all the fuss was about, and I loved it. So I bought this one and it's completely different. It's not great, but still different to a lot of books I usually pick up.
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Post by margot on Jul 3, 2007 8:58:39 GMT
Cheshire, I love Dorian Grey, though I thought the ending was a bit too abrupt. I'm reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell... a strange, living and breathing, beautifully written piece of art, (sometimes a bit too human for its own good). Which I never seem to finish, unfortunately. That's one of my recent cheap Amazon purchases, I can't wait! Yours is the fifth good review I've heard. So now I'm reading: The Trial, by Franz Kafka 1984, by George Orwell (I'm really sucked into this one) A Clockwork Orange, by Burgess I've just bought LOADS of new books for the summer. I'm going to do an English language and literature uni course, so I thought I would broaden my literary horizons with pretentiously difficult Tolstoy and others.
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Post by stentorsrevenge on Jul 3, 2007 10:36:14 GMT
Dorian Grey is probably one of my favorite novels ever. That and The Great Gatsby. And Brave New World.
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Post by Clare on Jul 3, 2007 13:34:32 GMT
Just a Lover! How could you not feel sympathy for that boy? I do. But sometimes it's fun/easy to get up on the high horse and be all like, 'oh my godz, he'll just jump into bed with anyone! My mouth is agape!" but yeah, he is just a lover. I really want to read the whole thing again and make notes in the margains hard core. The whole theme of death really intrigues me in this book. Yeah, sometimes you just want to strangle the boy and scream, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS WHEN YOU KNOW NAOKO DOESN'T LIKE IT?!" And then get all moral-y on the poor boy. I wish I hadn't already chosen my dissertation books, because I would so do Norwegian Wood.
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Post by Rhiflect on Jul 3, 2007 16:13:48 GMT
I just finished reading How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, which was the single most depressing book I have ever read, but it was amazing anyways. I read it in under two days, ‘twas one of those 'don't stop reading even if you want to' kind of books. I've started reading a different book now, but it isn't that good and I can't remember what it's called. I'm also reading... 3 other books at the same time, although quite often it's more. Agreed with everything you say here. How I Live Now = Depressing, Scary, Twisted and Odd but very very memorable and good. I am reading..*counts* 3 books at the moment, one main and two on the side.
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Post by cheshire on Jul 3, 2007 16:16:59 GMT
Cheshire, I love Dorian Grey, though I thought the ending was a bit too abrupt. That's one of my recent cheap Amazon purchases, I can't wait! Yours is the fifth good review I've heard. So now I'm reading: The Trial, by Franz Kafka 1984, by George Orwell (I'm really sucked into this one) A Clockwork Orange, by Burgess I've just bought LOADS of new books for the summer. I'm going to do an English language and literature uni course, so I thought I would broaden my literary horizons with pretentiously difficult Tolstoy and others. that's true about the ending. Ever seen the movie Brazil? It's like 1984, only amazingly amazinger by a bit. The movie of 1984 is good too, though.
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Post by hark on Jul 3, 2007 17:09:35 GMT
Dorian Grey is probably one of my favorite novels ever. That and The Great Gatsby. And Brave New World. Dorian Gray and The Great Gatsby are my two other favourite books ever <3
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