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Pauline

Favourite book(s)

Which is your favourite book / are your favourites? Please write an introduction /explanation of this book and then we can know which books we'd like to read. Thanks

(Of course, don't tell the entire story)

For sure Fredrik will tell us about Thomas Mann LOL !!

I like many books, but always I forget the titles The Enlgish Patient by Ondaatje is really a wonderful book. Kes by Barry Hines is very good as well; this is a child's book I think, but nevertheless it's worth it to read.

I like autobiography and all types of books except for scary ones.
Uriel

Right now I'm reading Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. It's a modern version of how the Wicked Witch of the West grew up and came to be who she was -- her birth, her childhood, her education at a boarding school (with Glinda for a roommate, followed by her own crippled sister -- who will become the Wicked Witch of the East, of course). Although it's set in Oz, it's really a very shrewd analysis of such real life matters as racism (she is, after all, green), class and ethnic conflicts, politics, religion, economic and ecological exploitation, animal rights, inhumanity, and manipulation -- very interesting stuff!

I started out reading the sequel, Son of a Witch -- also an excellent book.

Wicked was also made into a Broadway musical.



Here's a review of the book:

http://inkscrawl.blogspot.com/200...ew-wicked-by-gregory-maguire.html
Shouga

Lol, for me, the only thing that stands out from that poster is that glaring grammar mistake - 'Its'. I wish that I didn't notice grammar mistakes so easily...
I didn't realise that it was a book before it became a musical... all I know is that the musical is supposed to be incredibly good.
Uriel

A Night In The Lonesome October is another book that makes masterful use of other people's fictional creations in a fresh and interesting way -- this time, using every classic character there is -- a certain English detective, a certain Transylvanian gentleman of nocturnal habits, a lady who uses her broom for more than just sweeping, a mysterious man named Jack who likes to harvest body parts, a German doctor and his experimental man, a mad monk, an American werewolf in London -- half the joke is that they are never actually named, but you know exactly who they are!

All of them are gathered for some great supernatural Game, and it is the nature of that Game and what its object is (as well as what parts all the characters are playing in it) that is revealled slowly, page by page, throughout the novel -- so it reads as both an homage to the great literary horror characters of yesterday, as well as a page-turner mystery in its own right.

(The title is taken from an Edgar Allen Poe poem, and some of the aspects of the Game definitely involve H.P. Lovecraft.)

The story is narrated by the aforementioned Jack's familiar, a dog (appropriately) named Snuff.

Roger Zelazny was one of the few fantasy writers who could give the fantastic an entirely commonplace, ordinary, tongue-in-cheek side -- I loved his "voice". And believe it or not, he was also a New Mexican -- at least for most of his life.

http://www.lyonsmorris.com/Morris...ws/CW_Reviews/lonesomeOctober.htm

Fredrik

Hm, I will keep still about Thomas Mann this time, but point you to a book of a similar spririt, but with less complicated language and a more clear theme:
"Reunion" (both in German and English) by Fred Uhlman, who also wrote "The Making of an Englishman". "Reunion" is a real minor masterpiece about the intense friendship between two teenage boys in charmingly bourgeois Stuttgart. It would have remained an adolescent idyll if Nazism had not come crashing into their world and made enemies out of them for something as irrelevant as race...

And then something from my own coasts:
"Hunger" ("Sult" in the original Norwegian) by Knut Hamsun. A modernistic classic, the literary euqivalent of Edvard Munch's angst-ridden paintings and the much shorter version of James Joyce's "Ulysses", which it inspired. Its about the surrealistic experience of wandering hungry around in fin-de-siecle Kristiania (= Oslo) with its colourful inhabitants, not at least the sensual mystery woman Ylajali...
Porthos

I love James Clavell books, and his Asian saga. Loic, I know for a fact that you will love his books, like "Shogun", "Tai Pan", "Gai Jin", and "Noble House", and one of his books takes place in Singapore during the Japanese occupation in WWII. That book is called "King Rat", but it's one of my least favorite in the series. I also like Michael Curtis Ford, who writes a lot of historical fictions which take place in the Roman imperial era or the Hellenic period. He does one fictional work on the life of Emperor Julian, "the apostate". I also like Agatha Christie's mystery novels like, "And then there were none" or "Three blind mice". "The Good Earth" is a classic that I love. There's a historical fiction book called "Aztec" that I really like.

As much as I like Tom Clancy movies, I can't ever get into his books. They're far too technical and boring for me.

And of course I love all the classics of American literature like "To Kill a Mocking Bird" and such.
Joanne

My favorite books are The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, and The Pearl by John Steinbeck. I like stories that show the dark side of human nature, where the protagonists slowly succumb to the inherent crappiness of the world they live in, helped along their road to destruction by their own character flaws.

Happy endings...bah!
Uriel

To Kill A Mockingbird is a wonderful book. I had to read it three different times in school, and each time I got something else out of it. Amazing to think that it was Harper Lee's very first novel, won her a Pulitzer Prize, and then she never wrote another novel again!

Of course, it might just be one of those books that mainly appeals to an American reader, given its subject matter.
Benjamin [inactive]

Uriel wrote:
To Kill A Mockingbird is a wonderful book. I had to read it three different times in school, and each time I got something else out of it. Amazing to think that it was Harper Lee's very first novel, won her a Pulitzer Prize, and then she never wrote another novel again!

Of course, it might just be one of those books that mainly appeals to an American reader, given its subject matter.

It's actually very popular here as well. I read it about two years ago and found it fascinating, although admittedly I probably didn't fully understand the context in which it was set. What I found very bizarre was that the children addressed their father by his first name.

It's actually a very typical novel to study at school, although I actually didn't.
Akoni

I'm reading the Koran, just finished the bible. just sniffing some culture and religion They are not my favorite books though (by far), I like books about the 2nd world war. Like The forgotten soldier by Guy Sajer.
Deborah

Uriel wrote:
To Kill A Mockingbird is a wonderful book. I had to read it three different times in school, and each time I got something else out of it. Amazing to think that it was Harper Lee's very first novel, won her a Pulitzer Prize, and then she never wrote another novel again!

Of course, it might just be one of those books that mainly appeals to an American reader, given its subject matter.

It's one of my favorite books, I guess -- I've read so many books in the last 50 years that I can hardly remember what I've read! But I remember the first time I read To Kill a Mockingbird very well. I was 11 or 12 and had recently seen the movie of the same name (which I loved). I read the opening paragraph and was captivated:

Quote:
Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.

I hadn't been to the South yet at that point, but I'd spent enough time visiting relatives in the town of Porterville, in California's San Joaquin Valley (hot!!) to feel that I knew just what she was talking about. I thought that "soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum" was the perfect description of my older female relatives.

I also like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Mark Twain in general.
Loic

I like a book that allows me to drift off into an idyllic world where man is free of all troubles that plague civilisation in general.

I do not have a favourite book, but I have a favourite author and he is Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse - otherwise simply known as PG Wodehouse to his readers.

Wodehouse is a class act and his Jeeves and Wooster canon are the crown jewels of English literature.

I think Charles Dickens is a bit too verbose for my liking. He is still an extremely good writer, though. But he would fare well if he had been more economical with his words.

As for Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a Jane Austen book, must be in want of some better entertainment.

Suffice to say, I never read past the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice - I am too proud and prejudiced to complete it (Extremely lame, I know!).

Amongst american writers, I like Anne Rice for her dreamy and lazy description of New Orleans in her Vampire Chronicles; I am a bit embarrassed to say that I perused the Babysitters' Club series and it is through the books that I became aware of an american state called Connecticut. For more embarrassing confessions, I also sometimes read the Sweet Valley High series of my cousin's when I was at her place. Thank god I didn't read Nancy Drew as well or I'd start questioning my masculinity.

Christopher Pike was a staple of my teenaged years, alongside Stephen King. Sex and the macabre makes an explosive combination and Christopher Pike weaved both elements into all his stories seamlessly: a female character could be having sex one minute and lying in a pool of blood the next. I find it very fascinating.

Oh yes, I also read Enid Blyton but it was mainly confined to the Secret Seven and the Famous Five series. She is a genius as she is able to tap into the reader's fantasy and to provide the reader with a carefully constructed world where adult interference is minimal and where children are given free rein to play super duper sleuths, talk to fairies, witness toys come alive at midnight, etc. Enid Blyton possessed an abundance of imagination that is manifested in the prodigious output churned out in her life.
Deborah

loic wrote:
As for Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a Jane Austen book, must be in want of some better entertainment.

Very good! (I completely disagree, of course.)

Quote:
Suffice to say, I never read past the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice - I am too proud and prejudiced to complete it (Extremely lame, I know!).

That's right, single out my favorite of her books.
Uriel

I was forced to read Pride and Prejudice once, and I have despised Jane Austen ever since.

Quote:
It's actually very popular here as well. I read it about two years ago and found it fascinating, although admittedly I probably didn't fully understand the context in which it was set.


Like what?

Quote:
Amongst american writers, I like Anne Rice for her dreamy and lazy description of New Orleans in her Vampire Chronicles


You might like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, then, loic -- it's supposed to be the book to read to get a feel for the equally weird and decadent city of Savannah:



I've only seen the movie, but I flipped through the book once, and it looks pretty evocative -- plus it's a murder mystery -- always fun! I also had the pleasure of visiting Savannah with a native once -- it's one of the few cities that really has its own quirky little character. (Spanish moss, palmettos swaying in the sea breeze, and antebellum architecture will do that!)

Icke

Uriel wrote:
I was forced to read Pride and Prejudice once, and I have despised Jane Austen ever since.


lol, I'm not a real fan of Jane Austen's books either (sorry, Deborah )
Once I had to read 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Emma' for an oral examination. I began to read a few pages, but I couldn't struggle through them any further, so I got some summaries from the internet.
Though, my greatest fear was that I would mix those different stories up (let alone those thousands of names), but at the end the examiners only asked for Jane Austen, her life and her works in general...fortunately
Harrenys Targaryen

The nonfiction book that I like best is R.R. Palmer's History of the Modern World:



After a brief introduction to Greco-Roman civilization, the book segues into the Middle Ages and continues up to the time it was written, around the middle of the 20th century. Its focus is unabashedly Eurocentric, yet when it discusses non-Western cultures, it does so with remarkable insight and unusual sensitivity. What sets this tome apart from other textbooks is the style of writing, which is some of the most vigorous and rigorous that I have ever encountered. (The book used to be standard for advanced European History classes in U.S. high schools.)

The fiction book that I like best is actually a tie between two series, His Dark Materials and A Song of Ice and Fire:





The former is a philosophical adventure by Philip Pullman, consisting of three novels: The Golden Compass (alternately called Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. It involves youngsters, corrupt clergymen, seasoned sidekicks, and mystical familiars (a familiar is a witch's pet).

The latter is a brutal and sophisticated epic that is as of yet unfinished: the author, the honorable George R.R. Martin, has completed four books as of now: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows. It takes place in a land called Westeros during an era similar to the Middle Ages, with each chapter shifting to a different character's point of view. If you have ever wondered how I came up with my name here on Langcafe, just know that the House of Targaryen once ruled over Westeros. ^_^
Akoni

Harrenys Targaryen wrote:
The nonfiction book that I like best is R.R. Palmer's History of the Modern World


Good book indeed, it's large, around 1200 pages.
Pauline

Akoni wrote:
Harrenys Targaryen wrote:
The nonfiction book that I like best is R.R. Palmer's History of the Modern World


Good book indeed, it's large, around 1200 pages.


Akoni

Do you read many books in english? Can you read so well english since longtime, and is it difficult for you reading such things when they're not in dutch? I've read a book in german and it was *very* difficult!!
Akoni

I read more English books than I read Dutch books. I've been reading and writing English since I was 10 or 11 so more than 12 years now. I even think my English is better than my Dutch. I also read German books sometimes but not as much as I read in English or Dutch, so I don't know German as well as I'd like.
Uriel

Quote:
The former is a philosophical adventure by Philip Pullman, consisting of three novels: The Golden Compass (alternately called Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass.


An excellent series, based on Milton's works, that discusses the nature of sin and innocence and the workings of religion -- both the institutional variety and the spiritual variety -- and spares neither.

Quote:
It involves youngsters, corrupt clergymen, seasoned sidekicks, and mystical familiars (a familiar is a witch's pet).


Actually, the daemons struck me not as familiars, but as tangible extensions of the individual's psyche. If you recall, daemons were almost always of the opposite sex, although there was mention made of rare people whose daemons were of the same sex (which I interpreted to be an indication of homosexuality). It was also mentioned that touching another person's daemon was highly taboo, and only at truly intimate moments -- such as during sex -- did such a thing happen.

The daemons also interacted with each other, often at odds with their owners' interactions, in much the same way that two people may say one thing to each other, but be thinking something very different. The daemons also took forms that seemed to symbolize something essential about their owners' personalities, and could shapechange while the owners were children, but locked into one form as they matured into adults.

And remember the experiments where the connection between children and their daemons was cut? Similar to brain surgery or electroshock therapy -- the children either suffered and died slowly, or behaved as if lobotomized or emotionally distant, and people were horrified to see a person without a daemon. When Lyra met Will (who was a boy from our world) she was horrified that he had no daemon accompanying him, but then realized that "yours is inside your head".

I took daemons to be something like a Freudian ego, as they often modulated their owners' id-like desires, but did not actually function as a superego (conscience). Although they were sometimes Jiminy Cricket-like, too....
Shouga

Harrenys Targaryen wrote:

The fiction book that I like best is actually a tie between two series, His Dark Materials and A Song of Ice and Fire:





The former is a philosophical adventure by Philip Pullman, consisting of three novels: The Golden Compass (alternately called Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. It involves youngsters, corrupt clergymen, seasoned sidekicks, and mystical familiars (a familiar is a witch's pet).


I've never heard of Northern Lights being called the Golden Compass before - although that name makes more sense I love that series, I should really read it again sometime. I always love books like that though - about parallel worlds and universes and the afterlife.
Uriel

That's because in the UK it was titled Northern Lights, but in the US it was marketed as The Golden Compass. Which does make more sense, since then each book title corresponds to the major artifact that figures in that volume. But I would assume that the author picked the original UK title, since he's British. Maybe he didn't really foresee what the pattern would be with the subsequent books.
bruce

You guys do not know how REFRESHING it is to see a thread labeled "Your Favorite Book"

No one I know in my age group or my social circle reads books for pleasure! I admit that I find it difficult to pick up a book nowadays, because of school and work and all, but still, I do find time to read.

My favorite book of all time is "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It's a relatively short novel because it's written at the sixth grade level, but I read it once every year or so, and every time I read it, I get something more out of it. It's amazing. It has so much symbolism and it's themes are so universal and the list goes on.

Basically, it's about this kid who lives in a perfect world where everything is regulated and controlled. It's so perfect that people don't feel pain, and of course, with the loss of pain comes the loss of happiness.

All the pain and pleasure and sadness and joy are preserved as memories which are contained by a single person in the entire community. The kid in the novel was chosen to be "The Receiver of Memories," so he ends up being burdened with all the pain and suffering that humankind once suffered from. But also, he was also graced with the joy and happiness that the people in his society will never be able to experience.

An awesome read! Albeit short, but awesome!
Yelina

Quote:
My favorite book of all time is "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It's a relatively short novel because it's written at the sixth grade level, but I read it once every year or so, and every time I read it, I get something more out of it. It's amazing. It has so much symbolism and it's themes are so universal and the list goes on.


Hey, I read it! It is some years ago, but I remember I haven't been captivated by it. I found it rather strange and I was glad to finish it. (I usually always finish the books I start, even if I don't like them. The only book I couldn't finish was "Lords of the Ring. Nor I could finish to watch the movie either! )

By the way, welcome here Bruce!

I couldn't say what's my favorite book. The vast majority of those I read were all interesting and I really enjoyed them.
However, I remember I particularly enjoyed "The pelican brief". It was the first time I was reading a book in English, and it may have given a part of "charm" to my reading.
I read some books of Mary Higgins Clark. I think she's a very good author.

I almost always read suspense books when I'm in holiday and I really like it!

Does any of the Americans here know an American author called Leslie Kelly?
bruce

Yelina wrote:
Quote:
My favorite book of all time is "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It's a relatively short novel because it's written at the sixth grade level, but I read it once every year or so, and every time I read it, I get something more out of it. It's amazing. It has so much symbolism and it's themes are so universal and the list goes on.


Hey, I read it! It is some years ago, but I remember I haven't been captivated by it. I found it rather strange and I was glad to finish it. (I usually always finish the books I start, even if I don't like them. The only book I couldn't finish was "Lords of the Ring. Nor I could finish to watch the movie either! )

By the way, welcome here Bruce!

I couldn't say what's my favorite book. The vast majority of those I read were all interesting and I really enjoyed them.
However, I remember I particularly enjoyed "The pelican brief". It was the first time I was reading a book in English, and it may have given a part of "charm" to my reading.
I read some books of Mary Higgins Clark. I think she's a very good author.

I almost always read suspense books when I'm in holiday and I really like it!

Does any of the Americans here know an American author called Leslie Kelly?


How could you not have fallen in love with The Giver?! It was amazing! Haha, I guess "to each his own," huh?

I agree with you about Lord of the Rings! I don't know how anyone can read through that! I tried watching the movie(s) too, but I fell asleep in the middle. T_T I don't know what makes Lord of the Rings so special. It's just like any other book that deals with fantasy stuff =X

I haven't read Mary Higgins Clark, but I know a lot of people who do. I don't really like reading modern books...I prefer classics, but I'll read a "modern" book once in a while.

And no, I haven't heard of Leslie Kelly. Why do you ask? Is there something important/interesting about her books that I should know?

Oh, and by the way, thanks for the warm welcome :)
Walker

Quote:
I agree with you about Lord of the Rings! I don't know how anyone can read through that! I tried watching the movie(s) too, but I fell asleep in the middle. T_T I don't know what makes Lord of the Rings so special. It's just like any other book that deals with fantasy stuff =X


I'm stunned... Lord of the Rings is a fantastic work of art. It takes you to a totally different world. You're interested in linguistics and LOTR offers you new languages. I don't know what to say... I guess we can't all be fans of escapism.
Yelina

Quote:
How could you not have fallen in love with The Giver?! It was amazing! Haha, I guess "to each his own," huh?

Well, sorry to disappoint you, guy! Yes, that's what I'd say "to each his own"!

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I agree with you about Lord of the Rings! I don't know how anyone can read through that! I tried watching the movie(s) too, but I fell asleep in the middle. T_T I don't know what makes Lord of the Rings so special. It's just like any other book that deals with fantasy stuff =X

Ohh, I do no longer feel alone! I don't know anyone in my surroundings who doesn't like Lords of the Rings. You're the first one and in a way it "relieves" me as I started to wonder whether I wasn't abnormal!


Quote:
And no, I haven't heard of Leslie Kelly. Why do you ask? Is there something important/interesting about her books that I should know?

Well, if you read classic books, then, I wouldn't say you could be interested in her stories! Actually, Leslie Kelly is my first American penfriend's mother. When I corresponded with her, she talked to me about her mother's job. Then, I decided to visit her website and I found out she wrote a particular kind of book. She's sorta erotic author. After this, I wondered if she was famous in the States or not. Recently, she started to write children books. I think she does in the extremes!

Quote:
Oh, and by the way, thanks for the warm welcome :)

You're welcome!
Yelina

Quote:
I'm stunned... Lord of the Rings is a fantastic work of art. It takes you to a totally different world. You're interested in linguistics and LOTR offers you new languages. I don't know what to say... I guess we can't all be fans of escapism.

I don't deny that it's a fantastic work of art. But as far as I' concerned, I haven't appreciated at all! Still today, if I were asked on a Saturday night to watch the movies or go early to bed, I'd rather go early to bed (as in both situations I'd fall asleep! ) I think we can all be fan of escapism, but in different ways and in the cicumstances, I didn't find my escapism with this story.
Walker

Yelina wrote:
Quote:
I'm stunned... Lord of the Rings is a fantastic work of art. It takes you to a totally different world. You're interested in linguistics and LOTR offers you new languages. I don't know what to say... I guess we can't all be fans of escapism.

I don't deny that it's a fantastic work of art. But as far as I' concerned, I haven't appreciated at all! Still today, if I were asked on a Saturday night to watch the movies or go early to bed, I'd rather go early to bed (as in both situations I'd fall asleep! ) I think we can all be fan of escapism, but in different ways and in the cicumstances, I didn't find my escapism with this story.


Whatever... maybe you were too old when you first read... attempted to read those books/see those movies. I was about 14 when I first read the books. I know another person who also fell asleep when watching LOTR (and Star Wars) and she was over 20 on both occasions. Naturally I was shocked and disappointed to hear about it. I'm going to have to calm down.
Yelina

Quote:
Whatever... maybe you were too old when you first read... attempted to read those books/see those movies. I was about 14 when I first read the books. I know another person who also fell asleep when watching LOTR (and Star Wars) and she was over 20 on both occasions. Naturally I was shocked and disappointed to hear about it. I'm going to have to calm down
.
No, that's not a problem of age as I was exactly like you, 14. Besides, I enjoyed Harry Poter, which is (in my opinion) the same kind of story, I mean fantasy and magic story. But I agree the age can play a role in the appreciation of a book, film, music, ect. Nevertheless, many grown-up people enjoyed it! In December, I went to see a film which was said to be for children. Personnaly, I really enjoyed it and I'm convinced it wasn't only for childern but for adults as well. I say this because there were sentences and puns children wouldn't understand. I don't know if you heard of it, but the name is "the minimoys" by Luc Besson.
Benjamin [inactive]

Walker wrote:
I know another person who also fell asleep when watching LOTR (and Star Wars) and she was over 20 on both occasions.

Lol — I fell asleep whilst watching the first Lord of the Rings film, and I was about 12 or 13 at the time.
Walker

Yelina wrote:
Quote:
Whatever... maybe you were too old when you first read... attempted to read those books/see those movies. I was about 14 when I first read the books. I know another person who also fell asleep when watching LOTR (and Star Wars) and she was over 20 on both occasions. Naturally I was shocked and disappointed to hear about it. I'm going to have to calm down
.
No, that's not a problem of age as I was exactly like you, 14. Besides, I enjoyed Harry Poter, which is (in my opinion) the same kind of story, I mean fantasy and magic story. But I agree the age can play a role in the appreciation of a book, film, music, ect. Nevertheless, many grown-up people enjoyed it! In December, I went to see a film which was said to be for children. Personnaly, I really enjoyed it and I'm convinced it wasn't only for childern but for adults as well. I say this because there were sentences and puns children wouldn't understand. I don't know if you heard of it, but the name is "the minimoys" by Luc Besson.


No, I haven't heard of that movie, I'm afraid. I haven't read the Harry Potter books but I've seen the first three films and they were pretty entertaining. I can see why the books have become so popular.

Benjamin wrote:
Walker wrote:
I know another person who also fell asleep when watching LOTR (and Star Wars) and she was over 20 on both occasions.

Lol — I fell asleep whilst watching the first Lord of the Rings film, and I was about 12 or 13 at the time.


Mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen?
bruce

I don't know what it is about me--maybe I have a subconscious anti-conformity complex, but I didn't like Harry Potter either!

I had the first book of the series read to me in fifth grade. Then I read the second, third, and fourth books because everyone else was doing it. I thought to myself "When does it start to get good?!" I read up to the fourth one and then realized that if it had not gotten good by then, it would never get good. XD

Same thing with Pirates of the Caribbean (the movie trilogy). I saw the first one, didn't care for it much. Saw the second one--still bored. I decided not to waste my money on the third one.

I guess I have subconsciously taken the whole "individuality" thing to its extreme. =P
Walker

bruce wrote:
I guess I have subconsciously taken the whole "individuality" thing to its extreme. =P


I don't think so. There's no point in pretending to enjoy something that you find boring. It's a matter of interest and taste, and as we say here, smaken är som baken - the taste is like the butt (divided).
Porthos

Quote:
the taste is like the butt


Do Swedes eat butt on a regular basis?
Uriel

You haven't lived 'til you've tossed some salad, Porth.

I don't know about you all, but I read all the frickin' time. Always have, since I was a kid.

Just finished "Lords of the North" by Bernard Cornwell. Historical novel, set in the Danelaw part of the UK back in 800 AD, in the time of King Alfred, when the Vikings held part of the British Isles. Told by a Danish warrior, and like many of Cornwell's protagonists, he has a sly wit and a wry sense of humor that make the story fun. And nice and bloody, too, of course!

I love the conversations they have in his books:

Quote:
Ragnar and I were waiting for the king and we sat on the newly-scythed grass in a courtyard and Ragnar watched a monk carrying a pile of parchments to the royal scriptorium. "Everything's written down here," he said, "everything! Can you read?"

"I can read and write."

He was impressed by that. "Is it useful?"

"It's never been useful for me," I admitted.

"So why do they do it?" he wondered.

"Their religion is written down, " I said, "ours isn't."

"A written religion?" He was puzzled by that.

"They've got a book," I said, "and it's all in there."

"Why do they need it written down?"

"I don't know. They just do. And, of course, they write down the laws. Alfred loves making new laws, and they all have to be written in books."

"If a man can't remember the laws," Ragnar said, "then he's got too many of them."


He has a way of slipping in little fun tidbits of information without seeming pedantic, too -- which few authors do well:

Quote:
They could more or less speak to each other because I had noticed that in Northumbria the Danish and Saxon tongues were becoming muddled. The two languages were similar anyway, and most Danes could be understood by Saxons if they shouted loud enough, but now the two tongues grew ever more alike. Instead of talking about their swordcraft the Saxon earslings in Guthred's household troops boasted of their "skill" with a sword, though they had none, and they ate eggs instead of eating eyren. The Danes, meanwhile, called a horse a horse instead of a hros and sometimes it was hard to know whether a man was a Dane or a Saxon. Often they were both, the son of a Danish father and a Saxon mother, although never the other way around.
Porthos

Uriel wrote:
You haven't lived 'til you've tossed some salad, Porth.

I don't know about you all, but I read all the frickin' time. Always have, since I was a kid.

Just finished "Lords of the North" by Bernard Cornwell. Historical novel, set in the Danelaw part of the UK back in 800 AD, in the time of King Alfred, when the Vikings held part of the British Isles. Told by a Danish warrior, and like many of Cornwell's protagonists, he has a sly wit and a wry sense of humor that make the story fun. And nice and bloody, too, of course!

I love the conversations they have in his books:

Quote:
Ragnar and I were waiting for the king and we sat on the newly-scythed grass in a courtyard and Ragnar watched a monk carrying a pile of parchments to the royal scriptorium. "Everything's written down here," he said, "everything! Can you read?"

"I can read and write."

He was impressed by that. "Is it useful?"

"It's never been useful for me," I admitted.

"So why do they do it?" he wondered.

"Their religion is written down, " I said, "ours isn't."

"A written religion?" He was puzzled by that.

"They've got a book," I said, "and it's all in there."

"Why do they need it written down?"

"I don't know. They just do. And, of course, they write down the laws. Alfred loves making new laws, and they all have to be written in books."

"If a man can't remember the laws," Ragnar said, "then he's got too many of them."


He has a way of slipping in little fun tidbits of information without seeming pedantic, too -- which few authors do well:

Quote:
They could more or less speak to each other because I had noticed that in Northumbria the Danish and Saxon tongues were becoming muddled. The two languages were similar anyway, and most Danes could be understood by Saxons if they shouted loud enough, but now the two tongues grew ever more alike. Instead of talking about their swordcraft the Saxon earslings in Guthred's household troops boasted of their "skill" with a sword, though they had none, and they ate eggs instead of eating eyren. The Danes, meanwhile, called a horse a horse instead of a hros and sometimes it was hard to know whether a man was a Dane or a Saxon. Often they were both, the son of a Danish father and a Saxon mother, although never the other way around.


Sounds like a good book. What other books has he written?
KSa

Walker wrote:
Quote:
I agree with you about Lord of the Rings! I don't know how anyone can read through that! I tried watching the movie(s) too, but I fell asleep in the middle. T_T I don't know what makes Lord of the Rings so special. It's just like any other book that deals with fantasy stuff =X


I'm stunned... Lord of the Rings is a fantastic work of art. It takes you to a totally different world. You're interested in linguistics and LOTR offers you new languages. I don't know what to say... I guess we can't all be fans of escapism.


Totally agree. Anyway, I can somehow understand people who are not fond of it. I mean, you can either love it of hate it. I never met people who'd say "I like it a little". It's quite specific literature, but what I appreciate the most in LOTR is that it can be read by children, youths, adults and veeeeery old peoople and everyone can get out something for themselves. I also love it for Christian message.
Walker

Porthos wrote:
Quote:
the taste is like the butt


Do Swedes eat butt on a regular basis?


No, only when we celebrate something really special.
Uriel

Bernard Cornwell's written a buttload of books. I've only read a few. If you want the list, here's his site; he breaks them down by time period.

http://www.bernardcornwell.net/

He's most famous for his Sharpe series, which takes place during the Napoleonic Wars, which mean nothing to me because I only vaguely know what the Napoleonic Wars were. Most of his books are set in Britain because he's British, but he's married to an American so he also has a series (I think the Starbuck ones) set during the Civil War, where the protagonist is a Yankee who goes down South to fight for the Confederacy (a copperhead), and one book set during the American Revolution but told through the eyes of a redcoat. So he likes to show the other side. He also seems to like doing meticulous research on weapons, strategy, lifestyles, and the historical minutiae of everyday life in various periods, from the building of Stonhenge on down.
Walker

Note to self: Bernard Cornwell

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