i'm dyslexic so reading is a bit of a challenge at times but I find the pictures being painted in my head by words are very powerful. And I see it as a creative gift now. How bout graphic novels and comics? Love em! I still haven't seen a copy Voodoo Child, has anyone else?
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the shadow is the greatest teacher for showing us how to come to the light ram dass
Quote: "I know as a child it was books that fired my imagination the most, took me away to far away places."
lol. I know. A lot of my literature inclined friends have said the same thing; however unfortunately for me, I did not experience books in the same way as a child - one of the downsides to growing up in a migrant family. I couldn't read until I was in year 4 and did not take up reading seriously until I was in high school. Also I was not eased into books; normally you go through baby books, picture books, junior novels, youth novels, adult novels, etc... you get the point. I basically went straight from illiteracy to youth novels, so er... my appreciation of books is not as well developed as my appreciation for stories told in the moving medium (be it TV or movies).
That's basically why I want to become better aqcuainted with books now, so that my reading level will hopefully be able to catch up with my viewing level (of shows and movies). I'm not using my background as an excuse for not getting into books, but I will have to admit that I am more reluctant than most other English Majors. LOL. I did major in English, but mainly along the lines of Linguistics and Semiotics, rather than that of Advanced Literature.
oooh Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, that takes me back to my sixth form days many years ago lol! A great play, we went to see it in London, I remember enjoying it far more than Hamlet, where the characters are from.
Rarely do I read books for education, sometimes to be entertained but mostly to be MOVED !! In whatever direction! lol Interesting that you feel shows are more entertaining than literature Rosemary. I find it hard to decide what moves me more, film, literature or art? I know as a child it was books that fired my imagination the most, took me away to far away places. But when I studied literature the lit crit element destroyed my ability to enjoy books to some extent, and I found film to be the best way to experience that same feeling I had as a child. When I saw Wild at Heart for example I was in a different space for about a week! It also depends on the type of film, art, book, how much is given to you on a plate, how much meaning you have to find for yourself. I prefer stuff I can engage with on a heart level or even a soul level, which transcends my head! If that makes sense.
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the shadow is the greatest teacher for showing us how to come to the light ram dass
Er... Sort of. Again, it was for school, but I don't remember it very well as I don't think I ever finished it; I just read what was required for class, and we only worked on parts of it.
I really like Emily Rodda; she's Aussie so you guys may or may not have heard of her. I also like Danielle Steel. My favourite Steel book is "The Gift", it just kind of fits very well, the plot.
Er... Embarrassingly, the only Christian themed books I've really read are the ones by Dan Brown ('Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels and Demons') - don't kill me for it The movie came out and I wanted to see it but knowing what they did with the Harry Potter movies, I decided to read the book first.
As far as Shakespeare is concerned, I really like 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead', by Tom Stoppard. I like Hamlet too, but the companion piece is really good. I like the movie version with Gary Oldman in it; and also one that we saw live @ Enmore Theatre.
You guys have given me a good mix of books to look at. Now I know what I've been missing out on! But I will have to admit that as far as entertainment is concerned, I'm still mainly a TV and cinema girl. I do read occasionally, but mainly to educate myself. I know I shouldn't draw the line but subconsciously I do. I think books are better @ educating us and shows are better @ entertaining us. But that's just me.
Have you read Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' Soldier Girl? I love the vampire sensibility but weirdly have not explored vampire literature that deeply. Maybe I should! I'm more drawn to mystical, magical, mythical novels. I love mythical creatures, future worlds, magical fantasy. I'm not really into the twee stuff though! Lol. Maybe you would enjoy some mystical stuff Rosemary!? I love Doris Lessings novels, especially 'Shikasta'. My favourite Tolkein novel is 'Silmarillion'. Marion Zimmer Bradley the Avalon series is great, especially the second one I think its that one anyway, that has an atlantis theme. 'The amulet of Samarkand' jonathan Stroud The 'Illuminatis' Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton are amazing! Or how about 'the Maracot deep' by Arthur Conan Doyle? Oooh I've gone off on one now...!
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the shadow is the greatest teacher for showing us how to come to the light ram dass
I myself, am a huge fan of Ann Rice, that being said..I was tickled three shades of pink upon reading this today!
"One more book." Those are the words Anne Rice fans have been dying to hear about the Vampire Chronicles ever since her shocking and dismaying to many of his followers turn to religious writing. Long seen as a committed atheist, four years ago the best-selling author drove a stake through the hearts of her followers when she vowed to abandon her sinister stories and instead write only of the Lord.
Turns out, vampires aren't that easy to kill. In an interview with TIME, the best-selling author of Interview with the Vampire and The Queen of the Damned, has revealed that she plans to write one last book about Lestat, the feared, yet beloved, blood-sucking main character in her gothic novel series. "When I published my first book about the Lord I said I would never write about those characters again," Rice acknowledged. "But I have one more book that I would really like to write. It will be a story that I need to tell."
Upon returning to the church after a more than three decade absence, the author in 2005 dramatically and publicly declared that she would never again return to writing about vampires. Said Rice in an interview with Christianity Today: "I would never go back, not even if they say you will be financially ruined. I would be a fool for all eternity to turn my back on God like that."
But never say never. While Rice justifies her decision by saying the book will have a definite Christian framework and a focus on the theme of redemption, she admits that the future chronicle will once again involve the character Lestat and a fictional organization known as the Talamaska that is responsible for investigating the supernatural. Much like the author herself, Lestat will be wrestling with the existence of God throughout the story. "I don't see it as a violation of my promise, because I won't be writing about vampires in the same way," Rice maintains.
Still, it is difficult to see it as anything but a change of heart. Rice says her next book will be a continuation of her multi-part series chronicling Jesus Christ's life; the second novel in that saga, Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, comes out March 4. She plans to write a third installment in that series before tackling what she now claims to be her final vampire book. For a prolific author who writes a book approximately every 15 months, that means it may be at least another three years before we once again see blood dripping off her pages.
-- Edited by The Soldier Girl at 00:26, 2008-02-25
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"My heart beat thrice, twice, once...and then no more the moment a passing comet bespoke of your fall from grace".
You don't 'alf ask 'em Rosemary! Lol. 'Flowers for Algernon' is a very moving amazing book. I studied literature and read many a book from many an era, from ancient literature to lesbian detective fiction (!) and I loved some of it and disliked some of it. But we're all different and making recommendations is very difficult! I have to say, many works of literature transcend the times they were written, and in a sense are 'Timeless'. And as you say, translate very well. So why update something which already speaks perfection? I find older books all the more fascinating because of this and their ambience. I do agree with Corelli, the classics are a good place to start. Dickens is one of my favourite writers, and I would suggest 'Great Expectations' and 'Bleak House' have never been surpassed by modern literature. One of my favourite all time novels is Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights', a very powerful and moving novel. Who wouldn't love it?! I think you might enjoy 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley. 'Don Quixote' is a great book from the saturnalian tradition and I love it for its bizarreness and humour. You won't find a more moving tragedy than Shakespeares 'Othello'. A few other books I love from different periods 'The sorrows of young Werther' by Goethe 'The Trial' and 'Metamorphosis' by Kafka 'The Alchemist' and other books by Paul Coelho.
And pretty much at the other extreme... I've said before on the forum that I specialised in feminist science fiction and utopian/dystopian fiction. Some of my favourite utopian dystopian literature is actually quite old but stands the test of time. 'Brave New World' Aldous Huxley '1987' and 'Animal Farm' George Orwell 'a clockwork orange' Anthony Burgess; And dealing more with gender issues, 'The Left Hand of Darkness' and 'The Dispossessed' Ursula Leguin 'The Handmaids Tale' Margaret Atwood (her 'cats eye') is really good too.
However, 'studying' literature actually did alot to kill my ability to just enjoy a good read, which was a bit of a crisis which led me to really discover film Nic's in particular! I kind me rediscovered it by starting again, the last few years I've really enjoyed reading so called 'childrens' literature, because it truly takes you on a magical journey. Things like the Narnia Chronicles, Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, Tales of the Arabian Knights, Gullivers Travels, Philip Pullmans 'Northern Lights', to name but a few.
I think thats about all I can manage for now Rosemary! I'm not sure if that's anything like what you were after!
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the shadow is the greatest teacher for showing us how to come to the light ram dass
you were right, I was looking for fiction. We do have genre arrangements in bookshops but the libraries are stubbornly sticking with author's surnames.
I er... I was looking for more "modern" so to speak authors; sorry, not calling you old. I've read Flowers for Algenon though and that's pretty old (and only because our school made us, for English class - but I don't regret it at all; it was a good read).
I'm a firm believer that all stories have universal themes and can be "updated" so to speak to fit in with the times. That's why when movies do really well they get a "remake" almost every generation I wish they're allowed to do that with books, but that would be totally against the law!
That's unusual Rosemary...over here in England all libraries group books by genre and not author!
What type of books are you interested in? Fiction, non fiction?
Personally I would reccommend classic reading such as Dickens, Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) and Oscar Wilde but maybe you're looking for more modern literature?
Autobiographies and biographies are good too.
Hopefully some of our members can help with more up to date books!
I'm trying to get myself into reading but when I go to the library, I feel like I'm looking for a needle in a haystack. I wish the books were grouped in genre and not author's name because it's so hard to find something I like because I don't know who writes what.
Do you guys know of any really good books and/or authors that you could recommend me?
But I will have to admit that as far as entertainment is concerned, I'm still mainly a TV and cinema girl. I do read occasionally, but mainly to educate myself. I know I shouldn't draw the line but subconsciously I do. I think books are better @ educating us and shows are better @ entertaining us. But that's just me. 
