Reading the Classics discussion

I'm reading - originally because I thought it was Salem as in The Scarlet Letter, but it's not - it has, however, completely changed my opinion of Stephen King, who I thought would be a hack. Turns out this is basically Twin Peaks with vampires.

I just finished reading the Great Gatsby! Again, I absolutely love that book. Up next I'll be taking on Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky... hope I can get through it faster than Anna Karenina :P

Phil wrote: "I'm reading - originally because I thought it was Salem as in The Scarlet Letter, but it's not - it has, however, completely changed my opinion of Stephen King, who I ..."
I loved Stephen King's early work, 'Salem's Lot and The Stand. Then he just started writing too much -- about anything that popped into his head -- Cell. Maybe some authors should return to using a pen instead of the computer to write -- slow them down a bit!!

I need to read The Great Gatsby again. I read it when I was a kid and hated it. So many people love it so I must have missed something.

Cami wrote: "I just finished reading the Great Gatsby! Again, I absolutely love that book. Up next I'll be taking on Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky... hope I can get through it faster than Anna Kare..."

I studied the Great Gatsby last year and loved it. :)

This is my first post with this group. I'm not always reading classics so I don't wish to feel out of place. But some of the books showing here are not any more classics than my regular lot. To respond on The Great Gatsby, it is a treasure to me. I've re-read it as an adult and I'm looking forward to the re-make of the movie. As to earlier posts regarding Death Comes to Pemberley -- I loved it! I'm a huge fan of Austen & her best -- Pride & Prejudice. Also a fan of PD James. When the 2 came together there was magic. I wasn't expecting Jane Austen to be writing again. It was the marriage of the 2 authors that was so enjoyable. James has her own voice that went very well with Austen's. Sorry to disagree.

As to the member who wanted recommendations on a good place to start with PD James -- I have a few favorites from the Inspector Dalgliesh series -- Omnibus: Cover Her Face / A Mind To Murder / Shroud For A Nightingale and also loved A Taste For Death. Few were bad but maybe not a good idea to read too many at a time.

Working on The Name of the Rose

I read A Thousand Splendid Suns a few months back and loved it. I came away amazed at how robust and yet delicate the entire story is. It's one of my favorite books.

Another book set in the same part of the world (next door, in Pakistan) is In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, by Daniyal Mueenuddin.

Right now I'm reading Ruth Prawer Jabhwala's A Love Song for India, which is a collection of short stories.

Susan wrote: "I read A Thousand Splendid Suns a few months back and loved it. I came away amazed at how robust and yet delicate the entire story is. It's one of my favorite books.

Another book set in the same p..."

ATSS was one of the best books I've ever read. Given what you've listed, you should check out 'Brick Lane' by Monica Ali.

Thanks, Brian. I've added it to my list.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction. My 30th VSI. I suppose I'll read 'em all, eventually.

Currently reading "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights"

Meghan wrote: "Currently reading "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights""

I just recently finished Wuthering Heights and loved it. I can't wait to start Jane Eyre, but have to finish what's on my plate first.

Oh I know, I have a habit of picking up another before I finish what I'm currently reading.

Martha wrote: "Meghan wrote: "Currently reading "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights""

I just recently finished Wuthering Heights and loved it. I can't wait to start Jane Eyre, but have to finish what's on my pla..."

I haven't read Wuthering Heights since high school, when it felt like we spent the entire year on it. I loved it but I do feel it was seared into my memory. Perhaps someday I'll read it again.

I love Wuthering Heights. Every single character is despicable yet somehow Bronte makes it work. It's dark, depressing, and just so painfully beautiful. I just read it, but would love to re-read it again!

I will have to try it again one day. I tried to read it in college and gave up after about 5 pages. So dull. I might like it better now tho.

I'm currently reading War and Peace by Tolstoy,
Great story, with great characters, with varied emotions (excitement,love,stress,noise of war) everything.

And i'm reading tyranny of words by stuart chase , Wow i need to learn more about the subject of semantics , languages and communication.

Just finished The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It's a short one, like The Picture of Dorian Gray, but very heavy language and a very strange story. Not one I'd recommend as light reading, for sure, but it's interesting.

I've given up trying to read Dickens, even the Christmas stories I wish I could get through. I'll have to find Christmas through some other means this year. Instead, I'm reading The Hobbit, The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and way out of my comfort zone- Gone Girl - which I'm not enjoying at all. Can't wait to get back to the classics now that I've learned to enjoy them!

I am currently reading Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. I am really loving it!

Denise wrote: "I've given up trying to read Dickens, even the Christmas stories I wish I could get through. I'll have to find Christmas through some other means this year. Instead, I'm reading The Hobbit, The Lio..."

I quite enjoyed the Tales of Beedle the Bard, I have to say. Good, light fun. Gone Girl was picked out by a group or I never would have read it. It's very different, but very clever writing. It was a little too twisted for me, but I still appreciate the amazing way of telling a story.

Kelsi wrote: "I love Wuthering Heights. Every single character is despicable yet somehow Bronte makes it work. It's dark, depressing, and just so painfully beautiful. I just read it, but would love to re-read..."

I agree, very well put!

The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Short Stories (I love this book) and The Portable Voltaire.

Meghan wrote: "Currently reading "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights""

Oh Jane Eyer My all time fav I think it is the only book in my library I have read 3 times and i never get tired of it,

I'm reading The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt. Pretty interesting.

I'm reading "Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle" by Nabokov. I've been on a Nabokov kick lately, having just finished "Lolita" and "Pale Fire"... I can't believe I'm only learning how amazing he is now.

I'm nearing the end of "A Lovesong for India" by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, a collection of short stories set in India and the West. These are gentle stories about odd encounters that reshape a person's life. The first story, about a young woman from Connecticut living and studying in India feels so natural that I almost thought it was autobiographical (but the author is European).

Camil wrote: "I'm currently reading War and Peace by Tolstoy,
Great story, with great characters, with varied emotions (excitement,love,stress,noise of war) everything.

And i'm reading tyranny of words by stua..."

I'm reading War & Peace too! Love it. I consider it the best book ever written.

Finally reading the last pages of the third book of Gulag Archipelago and I find myself reading it very slow and carefully, this is the kind of book you just don't want to finish.

Finished Prayers for Sale, which is kind of a follow up book to The Diary of Mattie Spenser, but they really are stand-alone novels. Set in Colorado primarily in the Depression-era, but containing stories from the Civil War onward. It's definitely geared towards women, but if you're into history, you should find it interesting. Here's my review, if you're interested:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I just picked up Katherine Boo's [Behind the Beautiful Forevers], which I should have done ages ago since I write about India. She goes deep into the lives of a group of people who live in a slum near the Mumbai international airport. It's riveting.

Ulysses and Catcher in the Rye.

Martha wrote: "Camil wrote: "I'm currently reading War and Peace by Tolstoy,
Great story, with great characters, with varied emotions (excitement,love,stress,noise of war) everything.

And i'm reading tyranny of..."

Have you read Anna K yet?

I'm close to finishing The Woman in White, which I started reading at the beginning of November. After that I hope to join in on Brothers Karazamov group read.

I read Anna Karenina some years ago and realized that my interpretation of the ending depended a lot on the translation I used. I was moved by the ending whereas a friend of mine was not; we discovered that only one line made the difference. It's a remarkable book and well worth reading and reading again.

Jenny wrote: "I'm close to finishing The Woman in White, which I started reading at the beginning of November. After that I hope to join in on Brothers Karazamov group read."

Are you enjoying The Woman in White?

Are you enjoying The Woman in White?

I have enjoyed reading it. It hasn't been a complete page turner for me, like some other books, but the book has been interesting, filled with unexpected twists and turns, and very readable. I'm definitely looking forward to finding out how it ends.

Starting

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all small stuff ...

Jenny wrote: "I'm close to finishing The Woman in White, which I started reading at the beginning of November. After that I hope to join in on Brothers Karazamov group read."

Hi! I'm a bit more than half of the way through "The Woman in White," and I too am enjoying it. In my opinion, the novel had somewhat of a slow start, but I thought that once Marian Halcombe's narrative was presented, the plot really began developing and it became very interesting. I am currently reading Eliza Michelson's narrative. I am anxious to see how everything turns out!

I loved The Woman in White and The Moonstone. Currently a tantalising 11 chapters away from finishing Nicholas Nickleby!

Stuart wrote: "I loved The Woman in White and The Moonstone. Currently a tantalising 11 chapters away from finishing Nicholas Nickleby!"

I would like to read "The Moonstone" someday, as well as "Nicholas Nickleby," as I am a Dickens fan. Did you find that "The Moonstone" also had the intriguing element of mystery and suspense that "The Woman in White" has?

It did - although it has a lot more humour in it and is less sinister!

I'm almost finished with Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, And Hope In A Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo. This is a riveting story about families living in a slum by the Mumbai international airport.

Stuart wrote: "It did - although it has a lot more humour in it and is less sinister!"

Good to know! Thanks!

Superfolks It is an interesting book that exists in an alternate reality with some similarities to our world.

In the middle of Dostoevsky's most hilarious and bizarrely prescient book: Demons.

I am reading Dostoevsky for the group read. And Tolkiens The legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. I really like this one.

Nelleke wrote: "I am reading Dostoevsky for the group read. And Tolkiens The legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. I really like this one."

I love Tolkien, and this is one I have not read. I will have to add it to my TBR..I'm re-reading the Hobbit before the end of the year, and I cannot wait :)