libri vermis

Wooo Hoooo! Since I will be working on Christmas, I got my gifts from my folks and my sister early. Two $25 gift cards for Borders and Amazon. This is what I ordered: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough Tess of the D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy Beauty by Robin McKinley The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath My family is awesome!

There's a big moon glowing in the sky, a swollen circle of silvery-gold light that looks as though it is sitting right on top of the old Clark Building, balancing there on the northeast corner where the twisted remains of a smokestack rises up from the roof like a long, tottery flagpole, colors lowered for the night, or maybe like a tin giant's arm making some kind of semaphore that only other tin giants can understand. The Ivory and the Horn by Charles De Lint

It was definitely Jane Eyre for me. It was not a book I would have picked up on my own, and I loved it so much that my ideas for what books I will choose to read have expanded even more. A thank you must be given to the two ladies who suggested I read this book, Bookjumper and Vanwa.

I just finished The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz. Not bad. Could have been better. I am reading The Ivory and the Horn by Charles De Lint next.

Definitely do not get the Hurley translation. Borges' works lost all of their beauty in that translation. I had it, and got rid of it, as I found it unreadable. I don't know of any other translation with his complete works. But if you find one, please let me know, as I would like a copy as well.

Excellent! I am looking forward to reading that one, then.

I read Cat's Cradle a long time ago in high school, and I don't remember much about it. I picked these because they are the three I have heard the most about.

I just received these in the mail today: The Plague by Albert Camus Bleak House by Charles Dickens Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre Cat's Cradle, The Sirens of Titan, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Somehow, I will find the time to read all the books on my shelves.

Hmmm, if you like Tom Robbins, you might want to try Thomas Pynchon. I haven't read him yet, but I have heard he is wacked in a similar way. Tom Robbins is the more accessible of the two, though. You may also like Christopher Moore. I don't enjoy him quite as much as Tom Robbins, but he is more prolific. Try either Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal or Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Oh, and another author you might like is Philip K. Dick. His style is definitely a bit "off". Less humor and more science fiction than the previous two mentioned. Try UBIK or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

Last five books I read and my ratings: False Memory by Dean Koontz 3/5 Memory and Dream by Charles De Lint 3/5 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence 3/5 VALIS by Philip K. Dick 4/5 The Stranger by Albert Camus 5/5 The next ten books I am reading: The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz The Ivory and the Horn by Charles De Lint The Birthday of the World and Other Stories by Ursula Le Guin Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad Darkfall by Dean Koontz Jack of Kinrowan by Charles De Lint Solaris by Stanislaw Lem Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land by John Crowley Demon Seed by Dean Koontz Trader by Charles De Lint There is a lot of De Lint and Koontz on my list because over the past year I collected all the books I could find by them, and now want to get through them, as they both have a large catalog.

I am almost through half of The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz. This one is a bit confusing thus far, although it is holding my interest better than False Memory.

[quote name='Los Ping

I have heard that Against the Day, although longer than Gravity's Rainbow, is more accessible than the latter. Therefore, I intend to read that one first. Both books are in my TBR pile. Judging by reviews and synopses, the other Pynchon books did not appeal to me.

There were some scenes in the book that I found breathtaking. My biggest issue was the ending. It seemed rather abrupt. It is worth a re-read. My rule is if I rate a book 3 stars or above, I will hold on to it and perhaps read it again years from now. 5 stars books will definitely get a second visit, and possibly more.

Since I am now working full time, I don't have the time to give full reviews of books. I finished False Memory by Dean Koontz, and it was merely okay for me. Much of it was predictable and written for shock value. 3/5 stars After that I read Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence. Again, merely okay. Some of it was beautiful, some of it I found to be ridiculous and monotonous. 3/5 stars I finished The Stranger yesterday by Albert Camus. While I find the philosophy behind the book disturbing, that doesn't mean the book was not a thought-provoking read. 5/5 stars Oh, I also read Memory and Dream by Charles De Lint. Not one of the better ones I have read by him. 3/5 stars I really should stick to the order I say I am going to read my books in.

Here are quite a few that stick with me: The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. - The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. O Palicrovol, with death and vengeance in your eyes, I write to you because over the centuries there are tales you have forgotten, and tales you never knew. - Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card On a certain day in June, 19--, a young man was making his way on foot northward from the great City to a town or place called Edgewood, that he had been told of but never visited. His name was Smoky Barnable, and he was going to Edgewood to get married; the fact that he walked and didn't ride was one of the conditions placed on his coming there at all. - Little, Big by John Crowley The story of Terisa and Geraden began very much like a fable. - The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson A great city is nothing more than a portrait of itself, and yet when all is said and done, its arsenals of scenes and images are part of a deeply moving plan. - Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. - Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. - 1984 by George Orwell The magician's underwear had just been found in a cardboard suitcase floating in a stagnant pond on the outskirts of Miami. - Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins Dante stared and stared at the corpse, but a blindness waited behind his eyes. It was as if he couldn't see the body; couldn't grasp it, or what it meant. - Resurrection Man by Sean Stewart

I love Bookjumper's signature. The sentence is powerful and evokes emotion gorgeously. Bookjumper, am I being too forward in asking if I may read more of what you have written? Are you published? If so, where may I purchase one your books?

Just finished watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas for about the 100th time. :lol:

garrulous...

Mark Helprin John Crowley John Irving I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road and I wasn't that impressed. I much prefer Jose Saramago, whose style is similar, but superior.

Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. Lady Chatterley's Lover - D.H. Lawrence

I just finished Memory and Dream by Charles De Lint and have now started Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence.

Hello and welcome.