Literature thread

[Cianyx]

Listen up plebs. We shall revive the art that is reading. Starting from niow.

What this place is
A place to discuss your favourite authors, books you're reading at the mo' and other stuff

What this place is not
A magician/vampire/werewolf/religious conspiracy circle jerk.

I'm currently reading Thoreau's Walden. Absolutely beautiful writing, filled with wondrous metaphors albeit dry or confusing at times. The novel is an Thoreau's account of living in a small hut, in the woods (technically, it was on the edge of town), in order to obtain an objective view of society. It's quite an interesting account where he outlines his stay, everything from the methods used to survive to the sounds of the woods. It's an extremely personal and passionate book which I recommend if you need inspiration, to live a life of meaning. Unfortunately, he died at the age 44 from tuberculosis (TB, olololol, piss off). Really, after reading his work, I get the impression that he has lived more in that short life than most have in the entirety of their lives. Now to signify my condolences, here's a sad face    <--- see the tear running horizontally across his face? (oh look, VN has fixed that defiance of gravity)

Some of my other favourite books:

The Idiot
Crime and Punishment
Through the Looking Glass
The Silver Locusts
100 Years of Solitude

What are you reading now?

[Russ]

I strongly disliked Walden, but people keep telling me to try it again so I might eventually bow to peer pressure. Right now, I'm reading one of Borges' collections of short stories (Labyrinth from memory) and it's...intriguing. Some of the stories are much better than others but they're all pretty damn unique and idiosyncratic. I gave Christos Tsolkias a shot the other day and thought he was a bit subpar.

Recently: Wuthering Heights (rereading, love it), Anna Karenina, The Cherry Orchard + other stuff by Gogol/Chekhov
That's my literature snob reading list, I also read a lot of crap but you'll probably just hate on me if I post it.

How many replies are you really expecting here?

[sillysmile]

some of my favourite books include: the sword of truth series and sir gawain and the green knight

[TrueLight]

awesome series

the sword of truth (stopped reading but will resume when i finish exams!)... too bad the tv show got cancelled
the wheel of time
the view from the mirror
the well of echoes
ha of course harry potter  
hm ive read that brandon sanderson's books are good...

[sillysmile]

awesome series

the sword of truth
the wheel of time
the view from the mirror
the well of echoes
ha of course harry potter 
hm ive read that brandon sanderson's books are good...

you know what you are talking about

[TrueLight]

haha yep i love fantasy (the good fantasy think lotr... not fairies and pixies fantasy)

[Greggler]

attempted reading brother's karamazov. started reading in the holidays, hoping i could get it finished before school sarted again. didnt. now its in that limbo where i ceebs starting again, but if i jump back to where i last left off i wont have much clue whats going on. hate that.

anyway, come summer holidays, ive got a list of about 20 books to read including lol

[Russ]

I also love fantasy and Sword of Truth is predominantly shit. Honestly. If you want to read Rand, actually read Rand not TG's atrocious crap. The series has a couple of great books and a lot of very average, tired material.

Sanderson writes very well, Way of Kings (first book in his new series) is extremely good and could probably actually hold its own with people who don't usually read fantasy.

@Greggler, finish Brothers Karamazov, you'll thank me for it. It's much better than Crime and Punishment, which he's better known for

[EvangelionZeta]

Between VCE Literature and English, I haven't had a lot of time for independent reading lately, unfortunately.  With that said, some of my favourites over the past few years:

ANYTHING Shakespeare (except for his crappier comedies/histories, I guess...) - favourites are King Lear, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice
Similarly, anything by Tom Stoppard - I'm a massive fan of Arcadia, in particular
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - gothic romanticism at its best
Roald Dahl's short stories - he's a master of twists
Kafka - Insane and wacky, but <3
Lord of the Flies - Just a classic

On the VCE lists (lols), I actually really enjoyed Ian McEwan's "Enduring Love" as well.  In balance, I also particularly enjoy Dan Simmons' science fiction (Hyperion Cantos especially) and George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire especially).

[sillysmile]

well that's a pretty common opinion of some people. they say that his stuff gets progressively worse, but from what I have read so far, I don't think I have enjoyed any other series so much.

[Cianyx]

How many replies are you really expecting here?

Until it dies out.

How did you find Anna Karenina? It's on my To-read list. It's just that it keeps getting pushed back everytime I find something else which catches my eye. Might try out Gogol's other stuff considering my only experience with him is The Duel =p

Also, here's the best site ever
http://booko.com.au/

It would usually link you Book Depository which is fine, as that's where I get the vast majority of books I purchase

I like crap as well. Usually, only after I had a hearty meal. It provides as a relaxing and satisfying release. But see, the problem is I've got a huge belly and am often constipated. "You like what you like. Make no apologies for it (unless it's really embarrassing (like a Backstreet Boys poster on your wall))." - Me

[TrueLight]

I also love fantasy and Sword of Truth is predominantly shit. Honestly. If you want to read Rand, actually read Rand not TG's atrocious crap. The series has a couple of great books and a lot of very average, tired material.

Sanderson writes very well, Way of Kings (first book in his new series) is extremely good and could probably actually hold its own with people who don't actually read fantasy.

no way i love sot at least it doesn't ramble on as much as wot

hmm yeah i might actually start reading his new series when i have the time.. don't know his style but his completing wot, so uve read his new book in his new fantasy series

[ninwa]

finish Brothers Karamazov, you'll thank me for it.

Really?? I started it and got to about 1/3 before I had to return it and it didn't seem overly interesting. Should I try again?

[Russ]

well that's a pretty common opinion of some people. they say that his stuff gets progressively worse, but from what I have read so far, I don't think I have enjoyed any other series so much.

What fantasy have you been reading, that SoT is the best thing you've read? Go read GRRM if you want real, gritty fantasy (it's never being finished though)

@EZ, I tried Ilium by Simmons and didn't like it so much. Would have preferred it much more if it focused only on the retelling of the Iliad, rather than his alternate story that accompanied it.

no way i love sot at least it doesn't ramble on as much as wot

RJ has a whole host of issues, namely that his entire series can be summarised by this image:

[IMG]http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/7021/1ff36838ce9302096bbf68b.gif[/img]

But then...SoT...the 60 pages where Richard has a vision of the sacking of Galea is just 60 pages of TG expounding his agenda. And TG is the man who said that if you don't like his work, then you're not mature enough to understand it.

Sanderson's new book is brilliant, can't recommend it highly enough. Get it.

How did you find Anna Karenina?

Better than War and Peace, which I couldn't finish. AK starts pretty slowly, but it really picks up towards the end. There are some lovely scenes contemplating futility right at the end, when Anna has her big moment (not spoiling it, if you don't already know it). I'd recommend it if you like the style, but I do think that it suffers from a lot of hype about how brilliant it is. Same problem that Joyce has.

At points I felt like it did seem to drag, but a lot of the book is really just a commentary on humanity, which I really did enjoy. There's one character (forgotten the name and "lenin" is stuck in my head, which isn't right lol) who is apparently a self insert of Tolstoy, so he could just express honest opinions without having to work them into the personalities of his characters.

And there's a really beautifully written scene at a horse race.

Really?? I started it and got to about 1/3 before I had to return it and it didn't seem overly interesting. Should I try again?

If you read that much of it and didn't like it, then not unless you have some spare time over summer. It's great but it won't suddenly grab you just because I said so. Sadly, it was meant to be part of a much longer series but he died after completing it

[Cianyx]

We made more than 10 posts. Congratulations. Enjoy