Someone pelase teach me how to love Ernest Hemingway. I respect his skill as a writer, but I cannot stand his books. At all. The Sun Also Rises is so... aimless. And I get the whole theme of aimlessness for the war veterans and such, but could he not have picked a more interesting way to write about it? :gonk: Gyah, I don't like this book at all...

So, yeah. I'm stuck reading The Sun Also Rises right now, but I really want to get back to Watership Down. XD It's a pretty cute story, and while I'm not digging the writing style, the author is great at writing about rabbits and making them likeable characters, but keeping the reader mindful of the fact that they are, indeed, rabbits. Like when the cleverest of them got the idea of using a a log as a raft, and the others just couldn't understand, even after he showed them. I'm really pleased that he's thouroughly keeping them animals, and not writing about humans in rabbit bodies with a few leporine tendancies.

Sizzla- Congrats! :) What book did you start?

Agent- Haha, I know I've gotten plenty from cheaper sources, but that's still the way I'd look at it. XD

Surprisingly, I've never read any Hemingway. I don't know how I got through school without it. :ninja:

I have read some of his poetry, though. God awful stuff. The only reason he was ever able to get it published was because of his name, but the poor guy was never meant to be a poet. It was actually pretty hard tracking down a copy of his work because no one bothers to publish it anymore. :lol:

Awesome Sizzla. ^^ G'luck on your personal reading goal. I'm on book 23... So I've almost made it to 25. I started really early this yr though. By the end of the yr I will definitely have completed the 50-book goal.

Hi, Magenta. I used to watch Big O when it was on cartoon network. lol. xD
I was kinda into that show until it was canceled, I was like "Wtfff?? Bring it back!" But nope.
Is the Devil you Know a good book? Wankers... I've always loved that word. hahahaha.

Thats awesome, Knerd. 8) I like funny comics. I'm surprised you haven't read Hemingway before... During high school they made me read 1 of his novels in Honors English.
Yeah, I haven't read Hemingway's poetry but I'm not surprised that his poetry sucks... He's not very imaginative, I mean his fiction is good, but all of his stories are based on real-life events.... He probably would suck at science fiction.

I love Hemingway, Iltu!!! I own 3 of his novels... My favorite still being "For Whom the Bells Toll." Thats a classic! I own the fish book too when the old man goes fishing, but I didn't like that one as much and I own the novel about the ambulance driver in Italy during ww2.
The book you read was so-so of his.... I recommend you read "For whom the bells toll." Yes, its a war-related novel, but the main character is a dynamiter who blows up bridges & trains... How cool is that?

///This is my longest post ever in this thread. xD

Knerd and Thoth- Never read his poetry myself, though I really enjoyed his short stories. About the boy called Nick, I think, those were really great. :) In fact, I was really looking forward to reading The Old Man and the Sea by the time we got to it, but I think his style is one I can't handle after a few pages, if that makes sense.

I might give For Whom The Bell Tolls a shot, but it'll probably be low on my list. That is pretty cool, Thoth, and sounds like it could be interesting. Wish we were reading that instead.

Agent HEY-LEE's 50 Book Challenge (ends 8/15/10):
1) Fragile Eternity by Melissa Mar (good)
2) No! I Don't Want To Join A Book Club by Virginia Ironside (good)
3) Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (bad)
4) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (good)
5) Peeps by Scott Westerfield (good)
6) The New Policeman by Kate Thompson (good)
7) Max by James Patterson (good, but it was part of a series xD)
8) The Intruder by Peter Blauner (bad)
9) Frozen Fire by Tim Bowler (good)
10) Firmament by Tim Bowler (good)
11) Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce (had its moments)
12) Wasted by Marya Hornbacher (good)
13) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (always good ^^)
14) Genius Squad by Catherine Jink (a favorite author)
15) The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (<3)
16) Crank by Ellen Hopkins (a favorite author)
17) Ready for Romance by Debbie Macomber (OK)
18) The Big Question by Chuck Barris (I liked the idea of their game, but I didn't like all the racism and stuff.)
19) Blind Sight by James H. Pence (good)
20) The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott (Awesome...! But it's also part of a series. o.o)
21) The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott
22) The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott
23) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (good)
24) The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One by Patrick Ness (good)
25) The Ask and the Answer: Chaos Walking: Book Two by Patrick Ness (good)
26) The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean (OK..)
27) Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Loved!)
28) Eyes Like Stars: Theatre Illuminata, Act I by Lisa Mantchev (good)
29) Glass by Ellen Hopkins (good)
30) The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods, Book 4) by Melissa De La Cruz (<3)
31) The Last Child by John Hart (Loved!!)
32) Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen (I can't freaking believe who will be playing James DX)
33) Under The Dome by Stephen King
34) A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

Currently reading:
---

Next read:

Thoth: I used to watch The Big O on Cartoon Network too. When they suddenly stopped showing it I just assumed they'd stopped bothering to show it in the UK altogether (it was on at about 7am to start with) rather than realising it had been cancelled. To be honest, it never made much sense anyway.
R. Dorothy isn't even in the first two chapters of the manga and she's my favourite character.

It took me a while to get into The Devil You Know but now I really want to find out whodunnit (or in this case whatdunnit). It's the first of the Felix Castor novels and I think he has the potential to be a really good character.

+ We never really read any 'classic' novels in school other than To Kill a Mockingbird. :/

Greetings Agent!

Have you ever read anything by Dostoevsky before? I adore a lot of his works, but have never had the chance to read Crime and Punishment.

Hey! ^^ No, I haven't read any of his books before. Or any like it, I don't think. I mostly just picked my current two up on a whim (they had convenient tassels), and after I read the description I decided to check them out.

Ah, tassels. Even the strongest reader is powerless against them. :lol:

Today I picked up an old book that always used to make me laugh - Lord Vishnu's Love Handles by Will Clarke. I guess you could describe it as a psychic mystery thriller, where the final dramatic scene takes place at Disney World.

If that doesn't give my brain a break and make reading fun, I don't know what will.

@Knerd: The title of that one would be enough to make me buy it.

Knerd- I'm going to have to agree with Shadowfoot. :lol: I think I'll have to read that.
Also, looking at your booklist, I spy Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell! I bought it a Half-Price Books last time I went, it caught my attention, the plot seemed good, I liked the writing style, and I just haven't read a really good, long fantasy book in a long time. Did you like it?

I am in -heaven-! I got a whole bunch of new books. *W* ~dreamy happy sigh~ This is like crack for me. XD

Yay, Bishie! Any of your new books you're particularly looking forward to reading?

I finally finished The Devil You Know (the ending makes me want the next book!) so I can start The Damned United now.

This sounds like quite a fun thing to do! I've been a huge bookworm ever since I was a child. I can't wait to introduce this to my friends and get them started in on it too! <3

Yays, I finished my first book! ^__^ Now, on to the second! 8D

About Lord Vishnu's Love Handles:
I'd recommend it to anyone who isn't bothered by (a lot of) profanity.

The story itself isn't too amazing, but it's very well written. It's the kind of book that works on a ton of different levels. You can read it just to get a laugh and enjoy the sheer absurdness of it all, or you can look deeper into the writing and enjoy the social and religious commentary that comes from it.

Originally Posted by Iltu

Sizzla- Congrats! :) What book did you start?

I LOVED Watership Down. XD My boyfriend made me read it, and it was a great story. I was never terribly interested in anthromorphosized (sp?) animals, but I think the writer did a great job in WD. :D

I've never read Hemmingway, and I have NO desire to either. XD Yeah, I totally wrote him off, but I've skimmed chapters of several of his books, and I don't think I could get through them.

Anyways, I started the Memory Keeper's Daughter and am on page 258 already. It's been a good, quick read. :D After this I have the Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho. I loved the Alchemist, so I thought this might be a good book to try.

Originally Posted by Thoth Star

Awesome Sizzla. ^^ G'luck on your personal reading goal. I'm on book 23... So I've almost made it to 25. I started really early this yr though. By the end of the yr I will definitely have completed the 50-book goal.

Thank you. :D Good luck to you too! XD You can do ettt!

Originally Posted by KatMagenta

Yay, Bishie! Any of your new books you're particularly looking forward to reading?

I finally finished The Devil You Know (the ending makes me want the next book!) so I can start The Damned United now.

Probably The Darkest Part of the Woods. It's supposed to be good.

Originally Posted by Iltu

Knerd- I'm going to have to agree with Shadowfoot. :lol: I think I'll have to read that.
Also, looking at your booklist, I spy Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell! I bought it a Half-Price Books last time I went, it caught my attention, the plot seemed good, I liked the writing style, and I just haven't read a really good, long fantasy book in a long time. Did you like it?

Oops, sorry I missed this before.

I enjoyed it a lot - I actually brought the book with me while I studied abroad in Poland this summer. I needed a book that was long enough to last me about 6 weeks and something that would hold my attention for that entire time, and it was just perfect. I'd usually read a chapter each night and was always excited to find out what happened next.

The way she develops her characters is just amazing. It's one of the best relationship-driven novels I've read (and I don't mean that in a romantic way). You can watch as these two magicians grow into friends and then are driven apart by their different world views.

It's pretty great - pick it up if you enjoy that period of the Napoleonic wars.

Bishie: I hadn't heard of The Darkest Part of the Woods and now I've just read a hilarious review of it. XD

+ Congrats on Admin's Pick Knerd. ^^

I thiink I might try this.
But I'm reading classics right now.
And they take me waaay longer than a week.
So I'll start this challenge when I'm done my current book. :3

Lunettes, what are you reading right now?

For the most part, I'd say that I stick with "classics" too. I have a thing for Nobel Prize winners - It feels like the average person doesn't read enough of them, so I tend to pick a Laureate whenever I can and read a few of their pieces. So off-the-beaten-path classics are always the best. :yes:

I am read Great Expectations by Charles dickens right now.

Great Expectations is a great book! I read it back in 9th grade for my Adv. Enlgish class and fell in love with it.

Are you enjoying it?

Wow, I'm impressed with myself! I finished my second book in less than 2 days. :D

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next... Maybe Fruits Basket since I have all of them now. :3