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Post by carlott on May 15, 2007 20:06:04 GMT
My Grandson has just finished Ulysses (Homer by the way not Joyce).
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Post by Nuala Bowtitt on May 15, 2007 20:07:00 GMT
My book would have to be Eagle in the Sky by Wilbur Smith. It was handed to me 20 years ago by a male colleague who said it was a 'must read' I did and found it to be an incredible tale that whisked me through countries such as Israel and South Africa. It had pretty well everything and Smith's writing is so graphic in parts - one in particular where David crash lands his Israeli Air force jet into a corrugated field - that he doesn't just invite you in - he grabs you by the scruff of the neck and pulls you right into the page. I found his descriptions of the 'cat fights' in the sky,mesmerizing. Some of the attempts at speech were, I thought, quite dated with more than a few ' Right on Doll' s and the like but that aside, I relished it and went on avidly to read more Wilbur Smith but never quite got the same buzz.
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Post by smiffy on May 16, 2007 6:42:20 GMT
I am a historical fiction fan. I have read Philippa Gregorys books, and enjoyed them. However, I have just read a book about Lady Jane Gray, the 9 day queen, called 'Lady Jane' by Alison Weir. It had me gripped from start to finish. This was the authors first time as a historical fiction writer, she normally writes non fiction (historical based).
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Post by revmichael on May 16, 2007 7:03:00 GMT
I am a historical fiction fan. I have read Philippa Gregorys books, and enjoyed them. However, I have just read a book about Lady Jane Gray, the 9 day queen, called 'Lady Jane' by Alison Weir. It had me gripped from start to finish. This was the authors first time as a historical fiction writer, she normally writes non fiction (historical based). Yes, and there is another one called, 'Lady Jane Grey nine day Queen of England' by Faith Cook. I found this fascinating, and well as horrifying, giving the background and fate of this innocent young girl who was caught up in religious and family strife.
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Post by territalks on May 16, 2007 8:14:52 GMT
My Favourite book I have listened to recently was 'With Love From Ma Miguire' by Mary Jane Staples, this is fiction about a family in Liverpool, and all their ups and downs. She is so discriptive I felt as if I were there and involved! I am a bit of a softie where books are concerned I love family sagas! I hope you don't think I am too sad! I have listened to the classics and enjoyed them also. Like previous readers Black Beauty and Heidi I think are childrens favourites and also the Waterbabies as my 'quote. comes from'. Also Helen Keller this story moves me to tears because I can Identify with her blindness and alos her frustration. Sorry folks that was much more than one book! TT xxxx
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Hugh L B Fayed
TOG
You're not meant to be reading this, it's a soliloquy.
Posts: 615
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Post by Hugh L B Fayed on May 16, 2007 21:17:22 GMT
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
This is a short book, about a young boy who follows his dreams. Without sounding cheesy it's is a very nice story / fable. There are a lot of reviews on the web that will be able to do it a lot more justice than I am able.
I lent my copy to a girl, big mistake....
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Post by adamzappel on May 16, 2007 21:38:03 GMT
My book would have to be Eagle in the Sky by Wilbur Smith. It was handed to me 20 years ago by a male colleague who said it was a 'must read' I did and found it to be an incredible tale that whisked me through countries such as Israel and South Africa. It had pretty well everything and Smith's writing is so graphic in parts - one in particular where David crash lands his Israeli Air force jet into a corrugated field - that he doesn't just invite you in - he grabs you by the scruff of the neck and pulls you right into the page. I found his descriptions of the 'cat fights' in the sky,mesmerizing. Some of the attempts at speech were, I thought, quite dated with more than a few ' Right on Doll' s and the like but that aside, I relished it and went on avidly to read more Wilbur Smith but never quite got the same buzz. My favourite Wilbur Smith, Nuala. The action in Israel is particularly good.
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Post by Nuala Bowtitt on May 16, 2007 22:18:35 GMT
Yes Adam, it amazed me how WS could write like that about something he'd never actually done. His research must have been very thorough but however much you 'borrow' from research, you still have to have enormous talent to string the words together as he did. The crash scene too - I can still see in my mind's eye, the girl running and taking off her skirt at the same time. I could actually feel the woollen material around my face as I read. Brilliant.
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Post by sussexgirl on May 17, 2007 9:34:31 GMT
I hope that someone will maybe suggest literature that wasn't originally written in the English language. I can heartily recommend the following: Marcel Pagnol - My Father's Glory (La Gloire de mon Père) Albert Camus - The Plague (La Peste) Franz Kafka - Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung) Theodor Storm - THe Dyke Master (Der Schimmelreiter) I am currently re-reading the last, as it is the basis of a film screenplay I am currently working on My fave book of all time is "les Miserables" by Victor Hugo. Had to study it at secondary school (in France) and have loved it ever since. It's one of those book which I just HAVE to re-read every few years and I find something different every time. I do skip the 80-100 page description of the battle of Waterloo as the only relevant bit is in the last few pages of that particular chapter. I have seen many of the different cinematographic versions of the book as well as the west end stage production. The stage production is superb and very close to the text, and manages to reduce me to tears. The name "Gavroche" has become a noun in the French Language for a lovable street kid whose heart is in the right place and there is an actual Jean Valjean tomb at the Pere Lachaise cemetery even though he's a fictional character.
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Post by Sir Blimely Windy on May 17, 2007 10:11:14 GMT
The social essays and detailed historical descriptions do put me off a bit, but thank you for confirming that books originally written in another language are a great source of reading pleasure.
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Post by smiffy on May 18, 2007 8:29:07 GMT
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho This is a short book, about a young boy who follows his dreams. Without sounding cheesy it's is a very nice story / fable. There are a lot of reviews on the web that will be able to do it a lot more justice than I am able. I lent my copy to a girl, big mistake.... I wondered where I had seen the title before! I saw it in the library today and stood looking at it for ages, wondering where I had seen the title and author! I had already made my selections, so I put it back!
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Post by Admin on May 18, 2007 11:49:57 GMT
Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. I love it because it captures a single day in a little town with all of the threads of the lives of the people who live in it.
"To begin at the beginning: It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea."
If I had the choice between writing something as wonderful as that or winning the lottery, it would be no contest.
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Post by michaelesterol on May 18, 2007 15:22:48 GMT
Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. I love it because it captures a single day in a little town with all of the threads of the lives of the people who live in it. "To begin at the beginning: It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea." If I had the choice between writing something as wonderful as that or winning the lottery, it would be no contest. *Kerching !* I visited Dylan Thomas' house and the shed he used to write in. You get a real sense of where he derived his inspitation.
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Post by Mo Termouth on May 18, 2007 18:32:14 GMT
Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. I love it because it captures a single day in a little town with all of the threads of the lives of the people who live in it. "To begin at the beginning: It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea." If I had the choice between writing something as wonderful as that or winning the lottery, it would be no contest. I can hear Richard Burton speaking those words ;D
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Post by wenchie on May 18, 2007 23:59:10 GMT
'After The Fire', a Trilogy by John Lockley.
A story of the survivors of a plague. They eventually gather in the village of Ampthill, a place I've visited since reading the books, to satisfy my own curiosity. I was hooked from page one! the book tells of the different attitudes to survival, the challenged faith of a surviving vicar, human nature in a crisis... it's just a realllly good read!
Buxy
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Post by paul Zernikazof on May 19, 2007 16:32:36 GMT
Terry Pratchett is for me one of the funniest writers around today. I too was gripped by Dan Browns Angels and Demons. I dont know how accurate the descriptions of parts of the vatican not seen by the public are, or the procedures for choosing a new Pope but it was fascinating to read and I look forward to the film coming out.
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Post by Fi on May 20, 2007 0:41:36 GMT
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame because it works for me on so many levels. I enjoyed as a child and enjoy it as an adult - I gave counting the number of times I've read it years ago.. It has subtle and not so subtle humour, and is also a social commentary on the early part of the 20th century. The characters are well defined, especially Rat, Mole and Badger, all of which remind me of friends or aquaintances I have been very fortunate to know. The spirituality of the Chapter 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' never fails to move me to tears, because it so perfectly descibes my own wonder at the amazing fauna and flora that the earth abounds with, and abounded during its evolutionary history. Rat and Mole's awe when faced with the power of nature exactly reflects my own feelings. On top of that lot, I love Grahame's style of writing - sometimes fast and furious, other times slow and soothing. Best of all, for reasons I know not, each time I read it it feels fresh, rather than being something of which I could quote large chunks.
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Post by revmichael on May 20, 2007 10:28:10 GMT
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame because it works for me on so many levels. I enjoyed as a child and enjoy it as an adult - I gave counting the number of times I've read it years ago.. It has subtle and not so subtle humour, and is also a social commentary on the early part of the 20th century. The characters are well defined, especially Rat, Mole and Badger, all of which remind me of friends or aquaintances I have been very fortunate to know. The spirituality of the Chapter 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' never fails to move me to tears, because it so perfectly descibes my own wonder at the amazing fauna and flora that the earth abounds with, and abounded during its evolutionary history. Rat and M
ole's awe when faced with the power of nature exactly reflects my own feelings. On top of that lot, I love Grahame's style of writing - sometimes fast and furious, other times slow and soothing. Best of all, for reasons I know not, each time I read it it feels fresh, rather than being something of which I could quote large chunks. It's amazing that you should recommend that book Fi, and for the reasons you give. I knew The Wind in the Willows as a child but I haven't read it since. This morning in church the preacher quoted from it - I think it must have been the chapter you mentioned about 'awe'. I made a mental note to get hold of a copy of that book and read again - through adult eyes this time. I had the same feeling when I read to a young child (many years ago, but when I was an adult) one of the Toy Town Books. I remember thinking, 'I never realized the humour of these books when I was little - and heard Uncle Mac and others reading them on Children's Hour at five o'clock on the BBC Home Service.
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Post by mdarlin on May 20, 2007 10:41:15 GMT
The social essays and detailed historical descriptions do put me off a bit, but thank you for confirming that books originally written in another language are a great source of reading pleasure. I would not call this literature but The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a rollicking good read. Full of atmosphere and suspense and a must for anybody who loves Barcelona.
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Post by scoo on May 20, 2007 19:38:16 GMT
Old Curiosity Sheep??
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