Vanwa

Hi Emmylou. Having read the SoT series, and knowing how fast-paced and action-packed the books are, I can completely sympathise with your frustration. Here's a little bit of advice, as soon as Naked Empire arrives, order Chainfire. That way you won't get a bookless gap. Also, Naked Empire is my least favourite of the entire series (actually I thought compared to the rest it was pants), but the last 3, Chainfire, Phantom and Confessor were in my opinion the best three of the entire series.

Can't say I have Habeebi. But two further options are James Patterson (the Alex Cross novels, not the ones) and Mark Billingham. My own mum is an avid crime-thriller reader, and these are her two favourite authors from the genre.

Indeed it's been a while Katrina! Hope all is getting better than it was, per your Anxiety posts. Sorry to hear you've been having difficulties. Provincial, classical, heavily descriptive and quirky are not qualities I dislike at all, I suppose MotF is just one I've never gotten around to. Mind you, I haven't read Middlemarch either. Both are on my lists on definite future reads, I just never have been able to consider myself far enough into that future yet to read them, if you see what I mean! Read MotF quickly won't you, and then give me a nudge towards reading it when you find its pros

I see your point with regards to the bit in the middle VF, made me chuckle though, it's almost a little bit random for the genre eh?

No probs Ladymacbeth, glad I could assist

Ack. I was gifted this by a very close friend, and so far it remains untouched. I've been procrastinating since it arrived, so if you can give me a reason to cease procrastination and actually delve inside, Katrina (or anyone) I would be grateful.

In addition to the points already raised above, modern use of the English language is somewhat abrupt. Modern authors tend to go straight for the punch. For example, King (who I love by the way) opens The Stand, after the intial dialogue, thus: First she glanced at the clock on the night table and saw it was quarter past two in the morning. Charlie shouldn't even be here; he should be on shift. Then she got her first good look at him and something leaped up insde her, some deadly intuition. Immediately there is a sense of suspense and drama. But the language is basic. Look again at A Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - The text here is busy, and elaborate, but it is beautiful. The English language used to the most advanced of its time. We talk of language progressing, evolving, but I think it is the opposite when you apply the theory to fictional writing. We've gone from Dickens using English in this way, to King using the very basics to form his initial first few lines. Both are skilled writers, and are justly famed and reknowned for it. Classical writing uses the text to draw in the reader, but the modern writer doesn't have the need for this. The human race has advanced tremendously since Dickens. Technology, religion, the way we percieve relationships. Dickens could never have begun a novel by having a man wake up his female counterpart. It would have been beyond controversial. Additionally, during the time when Dickens was writing, education would have been extremely basic for the poor. Only the richer would be educated enough to grasp his language, and only the richer would have the money for books in the first place. It was a matter of practicality. Dickens was limited in his target audience, where as King is far less limited. That doesn't make King any less of a writer of course. Rather than look upon classics as a chore, try to view it more as a privilege. You're getting to read something that even at its time of publication most wouldn't have been able to read, by reading the classics you're on a journey to discovery. There will be some you like, some you don't, some you love, and some you don't. But each and every book, whether modern or classic, is both an achievement and a privilege, for the writer, and for the reader.

What books have you found this with Vanessa? I have actually started an immediate reread of a few, the two that spring to mind are The Shining by Stephen King, and Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. There are several others but I can't recall which at the moment!

Mine is War & Peace. After 11 years I'm still not even an 1/8 of the way through!

Genesis is almost a different series altogether, because it is set in our world as it exists today, and explains how Shannara comes to be our future. So these will make sense. Additionally, each and every title in the Shannara series (barring Genesis) can be read as an individual. You may have noticed previously that each of the books you have read has a different story line, and is focussed around different protagonists from the same family, different generations. For example, with the Heritage books (Scions/ High Druid/ Elf-Queen/ Talismans) you don't even need to have read Sword. Hope that helps.

I still live at my parents' house, so most of my books are in my bedroom. I've got 3x6ft shelves, and the top shelf has stacks of books on top of the row of books. These shelves are for my favourite fantasy (Brooks, Goodkind, etc). I've got a 4 shelf bookcase, which has on it my favourite-favourite fantasy books (Tolkien, King, Fforde etc). I've got a two-drawer unit on 1.5ft legs, so there's plenty of room for books under there. These are my children's fantasy books (Rowling, Sage, Lewis, etc). My thrillers are on top of this unit (Ludlum etc). Above the two drawer unit I have another shelf which stores my poetry and drama (Shakespeare, Chaucer, Poe, etc). I've got a two-door cupboard, which stores my special and first editions. My non fiction are kept on top of this cupboard. My bed has full length cupboard space underneath, where I keep horror, family sagas, romance (Stoker, Koontz, Virginia Andrews, Penny Vincenzi etc) and general fiction. Graphic novels are stored in a neat stack next to the computer. And my collections are stored in the attic. These are mostly made up of rare but not first editions. Namely Tolkien. About 12 to 15 boxes in all I think. Additionally, I have a couple of stacks of books on the floor. Mostly borrowed books, either from mum or the library which I've started using again. The living room has a wide window sill where any books I think my mum will enjoy end up on a fairly temporary basis. There are about 2 dozen there at the moment. And we have sharesies in the bathroom on the window sill. Things like Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear, Simon's Cat, and so on. My bedroom has a walk-in closet, and one end of this contains my classics such as Austen, Dickens, Bronte Sisters, and modern classics like Catch 22 and 1984. I've also gotten hold of a couple of two-drawer desk cabinets, which will house any homeless books and any future purchases. Once they're full, I am going to ask my neighbours to move out so I can use their house as my library. Any little nook and cranny can be used for book storage. You just have to sacrifice buying other things.

Definitely not. Last time I visited a bookshop, I went in with the intention of picking up only one book (Hitch Hiker's). I left with: Complete Hitch Hiker's - Douglas Adams Once - James Herbert 3 of the Dark Tower graphic novels - Stephen King Marley and Me - John Grogan A Thousand Splendid Suns The Other Hand - Chris Cleave American Gods - Neil Gaiman - and a few others. I will always find something I want to read, and as soon as I see it I have to buy it.

Like Kell, I've checked the last box, and for me it's only technically true. It's rare that I come a cross a word I don't recognise (and I mean maybe once every couple of years or so). So I don't need to look words up often. However, the reason I don't need to look them up is because I have (oh god I'm admitting this in a public place)... read the dictionary. So also technically, I have pre-looked-up any difficult words I might come across

I'm not a huge fan per se, as I can't bear comics. Even as a kid I hated them, because I found most of them lacked whatever it is that keeps me reading. That and I'm not a superhero person. I can't bear Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Catwoman, or any of the others. After reading Stephen King's Dark Tower books though, I have come to love the graphic novels based on his books. I have also considered on several occasions getting into Gaiman's Sandman, as the concept appeals to me greatly. I find though, that anywhere I look, they are so expensive. On Amazon for instance, one can pay anything from