Book Haven discussion

Tahereh Mafi is my favorite author.
Tahereh Mafi’s writing style is unique. It’s awesome. It’s amazing. It’s incredible. It’s stunningly brilliant. It has a great effect on the reader because it’s so visually dynamic. It’s almost like a psychological novel. I love all those crossed-out lines, because they tell so much about Juliette’s character. They tell the reader about what Juliet really thinks and feels. It was literally like you’re reading every thought that passes through the protagonist’s mind, which is truly fascinating. The beauty of the poetic wordplay was mesmerizing. I must admit, it was a pretty brave move for the author, because introducing a very original writing style like this will only yield extreme reviews: and the stakes are high because it’s either extremely negative or extremely positive. And I can see Shatter Me clearly got both.

NYKen wrote: "Fantastic Nicole! Thanks for the suggestion. And I also appreciate you taking the time writing why you recommended it. Once again, thanks!"

Yeah, you're welcome. It's actually from my review of the book. :D

The only novel which made me do that is the original French of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.. My God! The French was too beautiful for an English translation which sucked big time. I actually wrote long passages in my journal because I do not want to forget such eloquent and exquisite lines.

LOTR, ASOIAF... as for Malazan book of the fallen, I have my phone on, text message ready, and basically when I encounter a page with good quote(s), I type the page number down... for example after reading Deadhouse gates, I might have had like 15 numbers written down... so then I look up the pages, and I usually remember instantly which part it was there

A lot of fantasy books have that effect, because of the great detail and the style of prose, but my favorite was

I also just finished reading

Which had some great quotes from the founding fathers of the United States. And of course, I am often highlighting Shakespeare and poetry books.

Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence; Tolkien's LOTR; Ayn Rand's We the Living, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged; Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray; Gregory Roberts' Shantaram; Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist..are some which I can think of offhand..

Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, Frank Herbert's Dune, and David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel.

Then for stageplays there's Tennessee Williams, Patrick Marber, and George Bernard Shaw.

The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

Beryl Markham's West with the Night, Rafael Sabatini's Scaramouche, and AS Byatt's Possession come to mind.

I'm re-reading Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale right now because I so love so many passages in this book.

I found remarks by heroine in so funny I added them to my favorite quotes and then Facebook'd them.

Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

There are a lot of amazing quotes about honor, combat, soldiering, and leadership.

I'm thinking anything by PG Wodehouse, Oscar Wilde or Terry Pratchett.

All are funny - although Wilde not all of the time - but there is some razor sharp perceptiveness underneath the glitter.

Cheers

MTM

Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford