Meme - Get Bookish!

[indira14]

Gacked from hungrytiger11

BOLD the books you have read.ITALICIZE the ones you’ve heard of/only read part of. The BBC says if you've read more than seven, you've read more than the average person.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Ring s- JRR Tolkein
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter Series- J.K. Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird

Comments

[hungrytiger11]

You've read a lot!

So, Gone with the Wind is well over 1,000 pages, and when it was written in the 1930s it was the Harry Potter of its time, no exaggeration. People went nuts over the book. I've never read it all the way through; however, the movie does in fact follow it very closely by all accounts, and the film is considered by many the greatest ever made. It is four hours long. I'd say watch the film and then decide if you want to read the book, but then I'm a classic film fan so...might be biased!

Anyway, its about one rich, southern woman's experiences during the Civil War and Southern Reconstruction and it written by a southern woman.

The Conte of Monte Cristo is one o my all time favorites. Adventure and drama. It is originally in French, so it might depend on what translation you get if you do not read french. I remember working for two weeks translating one chapter in my French class only to walk into my English class, where we were reading the book, and finding that chapter condensed into a paragraph (the book was

[indira14]

Ah, yes, thank you~! Devouring any book within two feet of me is an ingrained habit, which is exactly why i don't have a book collection. I borrow most of it from the library.

So, Gone with the Wind is well over 1,000 pages
It is four hours long

;_; I'm very excited to see it described as the "Harry Potter of its time", but what is really intimidating is the length. That, and between the excange and all the request fics still pending, I don't think I can manae much time for it. D: However, I shall still buy the book if for nothing more than the fact that I fell in love with the front cover. (And yes, I shall finish reading it... even though it's a 1000> paes long. D:) Hopefully, it's one those booksthat are so attention-grabbing that reading through it is not a tedious business at all. I do hope it's one of those books that makes time fly by...

I remember working for two weeks translating one chapter in my French class only to walk into my English class, where we were reading the book, and finding that chapter condensed into a

[hungrytiger11]

His Dark Materials starts in an alternative universe where people have what they call "deamons," animals that, while having a seperate body from you are still a part of you (and these daemons can talk) You might call it your anima if you read Carl Jung. The animals shape says something about the person. Anyway, a girl Lyra lives in Oxford when a string of strange kidnappings pulls her to the North and into an epic battle of religious oppression versus free thought

[trek_girl42]

That's a great reading list- I've read 39 and many more are on my too-read list. I'll echo the recommendations for 1984 and suggest following that one up with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, for something completely different.

Jane Eyre is also one of my favourite books and if you like it I recommend following it up with "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde, which plays with the Jane Eyre story quite gleefully. :D

[indira14]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Um, if I may ask, what is it about? The title is very unusual, to say the least.

And yes, I'll start reading Jane Eyre today and decide if the character is as "bonchito" as my friend tells me she is! The the Eyre Affair sounds interesting but I don't think I'll follow through if I don't like Jane Eyre. Let's hope I do!

[trek_girl42]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is about a guy named Arthur Dent whose house is about to be demolished to make way for a new bypass but then he realizes that his best friend, Ford Prefect, is an alien. Then the Earth is demolished by aliens called the Vogons in order to make way for a superspace bypass because in the scheme of things Earth doesn't count for much. Of course before the Earth is blown up Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent Hitch a ride off Earth and then all the wacky adventures really begin, and Arthur travels the universe in his pajamas and dressing robe and it's all hysterically funny and very clever.

There's also a theatrical movie based on the book, but while the movie is fun in its own way, it really doesn't do the book justice. It's one of those cases where the movie isn't bad, it's just that the books have so much more to them.

[indira14]

So, basically, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is science fiction with a dose of hilarity? Awesome! Because all the science fiction I read nowadays it seems that each and every science fiction book has subject matter that are too dark, a spin-off of the stereotypes (robots taking over the world, biobot and human falling in love, under surviving human refugee etc.) or just complicated rants that vent some of the author's fascination with future technology. And I like the protagonist's name: Arthur - reminds me of lots of - pleasant - things.

And I agree - in my experience, the books always tend to be better than the movies! Because "the books have so much more to them". :)

[red_rapture]

I finished Gone With the Wind last summer after it'd been sitting on my shelf for more than a year and a half. I LOVED it. The first chapter or two were pretty dry but after that it picks up. Scarlett is one of my favourite heroines, ever. And I liked the ending. It was so perfect and tragic, not to give anything away. I skimmed the movie afterward because I wanted to see how it compared, but all my favourite scenes in the book were slightly changed in the movie which I didn't like. But yeah, this book is in my top 5

[red_rapture]

And Catch-22!!! It's not on the short list you made, but it should be. It's my favourite book of all time. It also takes a few chapters to get into, and can be kind of confusing if you don't know army jargon (who outranks who, etc), but it's hilarious and frightening all at the same time. HIGHLY recommended.

[indira14]

Army jargon? Did you just say army jargon? Because I'm so reading this book now! Your recommendation is HIGHLY heeded and very much appreciated!

[red_rapture]

It takes place during World War Two, about a U.S. bombardier who's trying to get out of flying more missions. The phrase "Catch-22" comes from this book: basically, the main character tries to plead insanity to try to get out of flying, but by even asking to get out of it it proves that he's sane, because no sane person would want to go.

There's a high level of absurdity throughout, and I don't think any real battles or anything, so it's not exactly a typical war story. It's probably more similar to 1984 in theme, but it's really good. I actually think I might reread it now. :)

[violet_ambition]

I've read... 15 of these... if I counted correctly. I'll give you my opinion on all of the ones I've read that you haven't

[indira14]

Oh dear, that's a long list!

I'm guessing I won't have to go in the New Market bazaars for To Kill a Mockingbird or The Hobbit, but HDM is a different story. I'm going to scrounge around for all the dystopian novels mentioned above, since I do have a penchant for dark stuff.

And I wouldn't mind reading all those books that have allusions to religion - I'm an atheist, but from a totally unbiased point of view, I find religion and symbolism fascinating. I've already read both the Arabic and English translation of the Quran (and was appalled by some of the paras, but that's just my opinion) but since Islam and Christianity are supposed to be closely related, I suppose I would like to read through the Bible and consider the parallels. I don't know if I'll be reading The Hobbit before I go through the other books in my to-read list, because I've heard that Mr. Tolkien's style is a bit... draggy, for lack of a better word.

And I'll think about The Catcher in the Rye - the title is interesting

[violet_ambition]

The hobbit is a bit less draggy then the Lord of the Rings which is why I preferred it personally. :)

If you like dark, The Catcher in the Rye might be more interesting to you than just the title. It's really about a teenage boy mentally unravelling in a way. Very good stuff.

I'm glad I was able to help, even just a little. :)