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Frankie Reads 2011


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I'm definitely not a fan of series that have such similar book titles. irked.gif I think it's important for a reader to remember the names of the books and the order they're in, otherwise a reader could find it off-putting. The Sookie Stackhouse books, for instance, all have 'dead' in the title. I have no idea which book contains which plot, except for Living Dead in Dallas, which actually gives the hint that it's set in Texas.

Okay then, here's my book haul from yesterday. I spent a happy day in a charityshop, two library sales, one flea market and one secondhand bookshop. I'm currently in Lappeenranta, visiting BF and I usually do this trip everytime I'm here. And usually I take the bus to the center where the shops are, and back, which costs me money, but this time I walked there and back, saving my precious euros and getting a good 10-12 kilometers walk :smile2: The weather was fine, I tell you!

 

Yay for saving bus money to buy more books! :) My comments are in green...for envy. (Hehe, I chose the colour and only realised later what it represented).

 

~Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1001, RG and my Cult Fiction list. Unfortunately this book is in Finnish which bugs me quite a lot but I thought I'd support the library with the euro, and maybe I'll read it and if I like it, I'll order an English copy later and can then pass this copy on)

Excellent! I really loved this book and I'm kind of scared that you won't. If you don't like it I'll just blame it on a poor translation. ;)

~Elie Wiesel: Twilight

Ooh, what's this about? I wondered if this was a Finnish version of one of the Night trilogy books, but then I realised that the second two books are Dawn and Day, and neither of those can be translated as Twilight. mocking.gif I had to Wiki it, and sure enough it's a separate book altogether.

 

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises (1001, RG)

Jealous! Hopefully I'll get to read all of Hemingway's works one day.

 

~James Herbert: Haunted (Nollaig has been raving about this author so when I noticed this one I thought I'd give it a go)

Sounds good. He also wrote The Secret of Crickley Hall, which has been raved about by members here. I very nearly bought it the other day but I already had about 20 books in my arms and it had a very bland cover so I passed it up.

 

~Nicky Marone: How to Father a Successful Daughter (will go to my ever-expanding psychology collection)

They didn't have How to Mother a Successful Daughter? :P

 

~Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious (RG. I was particularly happy about finding this one!)

I'm *very* jealous of this!

 

~R. L. Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories (I've already read DJ&MH and loved it, this will go on my permanent collection. This copy also includes the story Olalla, which I am really thrilled about, Tristan gave it a great review on his reading blog)

Awesome! My copy has other stories as well, but I don't remember one called Olalla. Have we discussed Jekyll and Hyde before? If we did, I had forgotten you liked it. I loved it too. :)

 

~J. W. von Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther (1001, 501. This is the book I'm most pleased about, I've been wanting to find a copy for ages. The copy I found was surprisingly cheap and it's absolutely beautiful!!)

I'm so curious about the cover of this edition! This is one of those books I often see mentioned on lists but have no idea what it's about. I'll be interested in your thoughts.

 

~Janet Fitch: White Oleander (RG)

*Thumbs up*

 

~Scott Frost: The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper - My Life, My Tapes (I already have a copy of this but it's a hardback and in Finnish, this one I found is a paperback and in English, so will be a replacement copy)

Hehe. You're buying replacement copies. giggle.gif

 

~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!)

Great! It really is an excellent book. I hope you like it. You have to then watch the cheesy 60s version of the movie. Certain fans of the book here *hate* the movie. As adaptations go, it's terrible. But it's a great movie in its own right (and don't let Raven tell you otherwise :P).

 

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds

Yay! This is supposed to be a really good book; an Aussie classic. Remember how thrilled I was to find the as-new edition with the pretty cover? It was also in the bookshop that you mentioned earlier in my thread. :)

 

~William Styron: Sophie's Choice (RG, 501)

Very jealous! I've gotten very curious about this book recently and I've been wanting to buy it. It's very high on my wish list (and yet it's not actually on my wish list).

 

~Henri Troyat: Dostojevski (also very happy to have found an interesting biography about this great author)

Ooh. Now that I'm all into biographies (thanks in part to you), I would be interested in reading this.

 

 

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I'm definitely not a fan of series that have such similar book titles. I think it's important for a reader to remember the names of the books and the order they're in, otherwise a reader could find it off-putting. The Sookie Stackhouse books, for instance, all have 'dead' in the title. I have no idea which book contains which plot, except for Living Dead in Dallas, which actually gives the hint that it's set in Texas.

 

Me too! But then again, for example the Karin Slaughter books have different kinds of titles (mostly one word) and I can't seem to remember their correct order either. :blush: Kylie, when you get to my age you might find yourself in the same boat with me. Please don't be upset and thrash the water, I'm afraid of it. Let's just paddle along nicely and talk book! :friends3:

 

Yay for saving bus money to buy more books! My comments are in green...for envy. (Hehe, I chose the colour and only realised later what it represented).

 

No, my mission on my book shopping tour was not to make Kylie envious, but I am kind of happy about it now that it's happened, because you Kylie have lately bought so many books I've wanted for myself!! Hehe. The good part about it, though, is that I'll get more motivated to get my own copy of, let's say, Mr Chartwell. And the best part is that eventhough I envy some of your purchases, I'm more happy for you to find books you've looked for for ages. And I know you're the same way :friends3:

 

~Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1001, RG and my Cult Fiction list. Unfortunately this book is in Finnish which bugs me quite a lot but I thought I'd support the library with the euro, and maybe I'll read it and if I like it, I'll order an English copy later and can then pass this copy on)

Excellent! I really loved this book and I'm kind of scared that you won't. If you don't like it I'll just blame it on a poor translation.

I'm a bit scared too, because I really want to love this book. I haven't started it yet and there's nothing to suggest that I might not like it, but I am a bit anxious. Yes we'll just blame the poor translation!

 

~Elie Wiesel: Twilight

Ooh, what's this about? I wondered if this was a Finnish version of one of the Night trilogy books, but then I realised that the second two books are Dawn and Day, and neither of those can be translated as Twilight. I had to Wiki it, and sure enough it's a separate book altogether.

Yep, a whole book on it's own! I'd forgotten that he doesn't write in English, and I had to spend quite a few minutes to find the right English title. Here's the wikiblurb:

Twilight is the fictional story of a Holocaust survivor named Raphael Lipkin who is now a psychologist living in America. He visits a psychiatric ward called "The Mountain Clinic," where he interviews several psychiatric patients who believe themselves to be various characters from the Old Testament. Interwoven with these accounts are Raphael's own memories of his life before and during The Holocaust.

 

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises (1001, RG)

Jealous! Hopefully I'll get to read all of Hemingway's works one day.

I hope your jealousy will diminish when I tell you this: I got the book as a Finnish translation in a charityshop. I didn't even like the cover that much but wanted it anyways. After that I went to a secondhand bookshop and found an English copy, a nicer one. I was so annoyed!! So annoyed was I that I didn't even try and see if the owner of the place would let me swap and pay the difference.

 

~James Herbert: Haunted (Nollaig has been raving about this author so when I noticed this one I thought I'd give it a go)

Sounds good. He also wrote The Secret of Crickley Hall, which has been raved about by members here. I very nearly bought it the other day but I already had about 20 books in my arms and it had a very bland cover so I passed it up.

I didn't know about TSoCH. My copy is in Finnish and it's a hardback and not a very enticing one but I was happy to buy it all the same, it might be good.

 

~Nicky Marone: How to Father a Successful Daughter (will go to my ever-expanding psychology collection)

They didn't have How to Mother a Successful Daughter?

No :D I'm also having more issues with my Dad rather than my Mum, at least atm :lol:

 

~Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious (RG. I was particularly happy about finding this one!)

I'm *very* jealous of this!

I thought this might be the book that made you jealous. It seems like a good read. I was absolutely thrilled yet surprised to find it. Too bad it's in Finnish, but I'll cope.

 

~R. L. Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories (I've already read DJ&MH and loved it, this will go on my permanent collection. This copy also includes the story Olalla, which I am really thrilled about, Tristan gave it a great review on his reading blog)

Awesome! My copy has other stories as well, but I don't remember one called Olalla. Have we discussed Jekyll and Hyde before? If we did, I had forgotten you liked it. I loved it too.

I don't think we've discussed J&H. Usually I'm very frustrated with short novels, I always want more meat in my books but it didn't seem to trouble me with this one, it was great as it was.

I was particularly happy to find a copy with Olalla! Before finding this edition, I'd found another J&H and had contemplated buying it, but it only included the J&H story. The price on the two books was the same so of course I got the one that had the extra stories. I'm mighty happy I got so lucky!

 

~J. W. von Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther (1001, 501. This is the book I'm most pleased about, I've been wanting to find a copy for ages. The copy I found was surprisingly cheap and it's absolutely beautiful!!)

I'm so curious about the cover of this edition! This is one of those books I often see mentioned on lists but have no idea what it's about. I'll be interested in your thoughts.

I'll see if I can find you a picture of the copy. It won't do it justice though, because the title glimmers when the light hits it from a perfect angle. Even Valtteri was impressed. You have no idea what it is about? Apparently it was hugely popular in it's time. I'll write (or rather copy+paste) more stuff about it at the end of this post) .

 

~Scott Frost: The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper - My Life, My Tapes (I already have a copy of this but it's a hardback and in Finnish, this one I found is a paperback and in English, so will be a replacement copy)

Hehe. You're buying replacement copies.

Shush Kylie, Shush!!! :lol: You've totally ruined me and my modest ways!!!

 

~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!)

Great! It really is an excellent book. I hope you like it. You have to then watch the cheesy 60s version of the movie. Certain fans of the book here *hate* the movie. As adaptations go, it's terrible. But it's a great movie in its own right (and don't let Raven tell you otherwise ).

I think I'll like it. And I'll promise to watch the movie if I can find a copy of it. Thanks! :)

 

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds

Yay! This is supposed to be a really good book; an Aussie classic. Remember how thrilled I was to find the as-new edition with the pretty cover? It was also in the bookshop that you mentioned earlier in my thread.

I knew the book before we talked about it at the bookshop, but I had had no idea it was an Australian book, and I think I forgot about that after you bought it :blush: I do remember how thrilled you were, though! :) I found this in the bookshop, it's a nice paperback and it was only 1e. And it said that it's an Australian classic, so of course I had to get it!

 

~William Styron: Sophie's Choice (RG, 501)

Very jealous! I've gotten very curious about this book recently and I've been wanting to buy it. It's very high on my wish list (and yet it's not actually on my wish list).

Do you know anything about the book? I've seen bits and pieces of the movie and there was this most harrowing scene I've ever witnessed in anything relating to the Holocaust. Very disturbing. My copy has a rather cheesy cover, and it almost looks like a Harlequin novel which bothers me to some extent but it was cheap and I've been wanting to find a copy for ages.

~Henri Troyat: Dostojevski (also very happy to have found an interesting biography about this great author)

Ooh. Now that I'm all into biographies (thanks in part to you), I would be interested in reading this.

I was reading the foreword in the queue for the cashier and the author wrote that Dostojevski led a very eventful life, one that might be seen as a fictional plot itself. I'm quite intrigued!

 

 

Now the info on The Sorrows of Young Werther (courtesy of Wikipedia, as always):

The Sorrows of Young Werther (Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) is an epistolary and loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774; a revised edition of the novel was published in 1787. Werther was an important novel of the Sturm und Drang period in German literature, and influenced the later Romantic literary movement.

 

The book made Goethe one of the first international literary celebrities. Toward the end of his life, a personal visit to Weimar became crucial to any young man's tour of Europe.

 

The Sorrows of Young Werther was Goethe's first major success, turning him from an unknown into a celebrated author practically overnight. Napoleon Bonaparte considered it one of the great works of European literature. He thought so highly of it that he wrote a soliloquy in Goethe's style in his youth and carried Werther with him on his campaigning to Egypt. It also started the phenomenon known as the "Werther-Fieber" ("Werther Fever") which caused young men throughout Europe to dress in the clothing style described for Werther in the novel.[citation needed]

 

It reputedly also led to some of the first known examples of copycat suicide. The "Werther Fever" was watched with concern by the authorities and fellow authors. One of the latter, Friedrich Nicolai, decided to create a satiric—and happier—ending called Die Freuden des jungen Werthers ("The Joys of Young Werther"), in which Albert, having realized what Werther is up to, had loaded chicken blood into the pistol, thereby foiling Werther's suicide, and happily concedes Lotte to him. And after some initial difficulties, Werther sheds his passionate youthful side and reintegrates himself into society as a respectable citizen.[citation needed]

 

Goethe, however, was not pleased with this version and started a literary war with Nicolai (which lasted all his life) by writing a poem titled "Nicolai auf Werthers Grabe" in which Nicolai (here a passing nameless pedestrian) defecates on Werther's grave,

thus desecrating the memory of Werther from which Goethe had distanced himself in the meantime (as he had from the Sturm und Drang). This argument was continued in his collection of short and critical poems, the [4]Xenien, and his play Faust.

 

Edit: Wow, I couldn't find one single copy of this book in Finnish on adlibris.com or either of the two big Finnish bookstore chains. And I could only find a tiny picture which does not do the cover any justice but here it is anyway.

Edited by frankie
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I have 15 books to review, so I'll keep it short:

 

Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery 3/5

A food critic is on his death bed, trying to remember a certain taste from his past and uncover the secret behind why it is bothering him. Meanwhile, his children are trying to get to grips with why their father was such an a-hole towards them. A decent read, but not very memorable.

 

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1001) 3/5

I finally got to reading this classic piece of literature and have to say I was quite mesmerized by it. The not-so-great rating is due to the other writings that accompanied TYW.

 

Hissillä neljänteen kerrokseen by Maria Gripe 3/5

A good read but it has nothing on Gripe's The Secret series

 

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski 5/5

Excellent work by Bukowski. In this book he's focused on Henry Chinaski's (Bukowski's alter ego) childhood and teenage years which make a much more fascinating read than the usual drink/bang/look-for-a-job thing he's got going on.

Please Kill Me - The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain (RG-b) 5/5

Really fascinating stories about the music scene. I learnt loads about different bands and the people and grew absolutely fascinated by Andy Warhol.

Swimming Underground. My Years in the Warhol Factory. by Mary Woronov 4/5

I read this to continue on with the Warhol theme. A great read, I liked Woronov's personal style. Will read more on Warhol when have the chance.

Killer Clown - The John Wayne Gacy Murders by Terry Sullivan with Peter T. Maiken 3/5

A true crime recommended and lent to me by a friend. Very harrowing stuff, but not the best I've read.

Watchmen by Alan Moore & David Gibbons (1001) 5/5

My first venture towards a graphic novel. Very fascinating. I liked the alternation between the comic and the written story.

 

Tumman veden päällä by Peter Franzén 5/5

An excellent debut novel by one of Finland's best known actors (who's even had a small role in True Blood). I confess, I was positive his book got published only because it's Franzén the actor, but I couldn't have been more wrong. One of my favorite Finnish reads.

 

The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry 3/5

Lots of name dropping, mostly of people I know nothing about. I did recognise Ben Elton, Rowan Atkinson and Rik Mayall (accompanied by his friend, that Edmondson dude, and his wife, Jennifer Saunders). And oh of course Emma Thompson. Lots of TV shows which I've heard of but have never seen. Expected to read about Jeeves but I suppose it'll come later. There's a rather funny story about a fax machine. And a really annoying teaser at the end, which will definitely make me read the next autobiography. Good stuff.

 

Factotum by Charles Bukowski 2/5

After Ham on Rye this was so boring.

 

Incidences by Daniil Harms 5/5

Absolutely superb! I was laughing all the way through the book. I'll read anything by Daniil Harms now, and want to start reading other Russian authors.

 

Sata tapaa tappaa sielu - narsismin uhrit kertovat by Tuija Välipakka 5/5

A really fascinating book on narcism and some really harrowing true stories written by people who've been victimized by narcissistic people.

 

Popular Music from Vittula by Mikael Niemi 4/5

A great, funny book, reminded me in so many ways of the Franzén novel, because of the young age of the narrator, the fact that they live in the North and all.

 

A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham (April reading circle) 4/5

A re-read for the reading circle. Not as captivating as when I first read this but good anyways.

Edited by frankie
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Okay then, here's my book haul from yesterday. I spent a happy day in a charityshop, two library sales, one flea market and one secondhand bookshop. I'm currently in Lappeenranta, visiting BF and I usually do this trip everytime I'm here. And usually I take the bus to the center where the shops are, and back, which costs me money, but this time I walked there and back, saving my precious euros and getting a good 10-12 kilometers walk :smile2: The weather was fine, I tell you!

 

~Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1001, RG and my Cult Fiction list. Unfortunately this book is in Finnish which bugs me quite a lot but I thought I'd support the library with the euro, and maybe I'll read it and if I like it, I'll order an English copy later and can then pass this copy on)

~Chelsea Cain: Heartsick (this will be a re-read and will go on my permanent collection)

~Elie Wiesel: Twilight

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises (1001, RG)

~James Herbert: Haunted (Nollaig has been raving about this author so when I noticed this one I thought I'd give it a go)

~Nicky Marone: How to Father a Successful Daughter (will go to my ever-expanding psychology collection)

~Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious (RG. I was particularly happy about finding this one!)

~R. L. Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories (I've already read DJ&MH and loved it, this will go on my permanent collection. This copy also includes the story Olalla, which I am really thrilled about, Tristan gave it a great review on his reading blog)

~J. W. von Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther (1001, 501. This is the book I'm most pleased about, I've been wanting to find a copy for ages. The copy I found was surprisingly cheap and it's absolutely beautiful!!)

~Janet Fitch: White Oleander (RG)

~Scott Frost: The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper - My Life, My Tapes (I already have a copy of this but it's a hardback and in Finnish, this one I found is a paperback and in English, so will be a replacement copy)

~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!)

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds

~William Styron: Sophie's Choice (RG, 501)

~Henri Troyat: Dostojevski (also very happy to have found an interesting biography about this great author)

 

All the books ranged from 0,50e to 2,50e, averaging maybe 1,50e per book. I was really lucky to find so many books on my lists! :D

 

Ooo I have wanted to read The Day of the Trffids for a long long time - you'll have to let me know what it is like

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~Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1001, RG and my Cult Fiction list. Unfortunately this book is in Finnish which bugs me quite a lot but I thought I'd support the library with the euro, and maybe I'll read it and if I like it, I'll order an English copy later and can then pass this copy on) - I wanted to like this more than I did, most of it went over my head. It's a must read though.

~Elie Wiesel: Twilight - You've intrigued me about this author already .. I must read 'Night' soon.

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises (1001, RG) - I want to read more by Hemingway, what little I have read I've loved .. and I love the Vintage covers :) .. except I don't think they've done one yet for this book .. come on Vintage pull your finger out.

~Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious (RG. I was particularly happy about finding this one!) I'm putting this on my wishlist.

~R. L. Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories (I've already read DJ&MH and loved it, this will go on my permanent collection. This copy also includes the story Olalla, which I am really thrilled about, Tristan gave it a great review on his reading blog) - Another one I need to read, such a classic story.

~J. W. von Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther (1001, 501. This is the book I'm most pleased about, I've been wanting to find a copy for ages. The copy I found was surprisingly cheap and it's absolutely beautiful!!) - Yay from the 1001 .. again I want to read this so very jealous.

~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!) - Another must read ... will help me bump up my scif-fi tally which badly needs it.

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds - I'm sure I read this in the dim and distant but I have no recollection other than the cover, it's said to be great though.

~Henri Troyat: Dostojevski (also very happy to have found an interesting biography about this great author) - I am luxuriating in the gorgeous prose of 'Crime and Punishment' at the moment. I love his writing so would like to find out more about him. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

All the books ranged from 0,50e to 2,50e, averaging maybe 1,50e per book. I was really lucky to find so many books on my lists! :D

I think we can call that a successful day's shopping :D

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Ooo I have wanted to read The Day of the Trffids for a long long time - you'll have to let me know what it is like

 

I think it might take a while before I get to reading it but I usually post my thoughts on each book I read on this blog :) Kylie and Janet have read the book so if you want to have some immediate input on the book, I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you how they liked it :)

 

Let's take out the frankie-poppyshake-frankie dictionary!:

 

~Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1001, RG and my Cult Fiction list. Unfortunately this book is in Finnish which bugs me quite a lot but I thought I'd support the library with the euro, and maybe I'll read it and if I like it, I'll order an English copy later and can then pass this copy on)

- I wanted to like this more than I did, most of it went over my head. It's a must read though.

Uh-oh, now I'm even more worried I might not like it. Maybe all this talk will hopefully lower my expectations and I'll enjoy it immensely. It's really weird how we want to really enjoy certain books, and want to hate certain books, and then again we have no idea how we'll really react to them when we read them.

 

~Elie Wiesel: Twilight - You've intrigued me about this author already .. I must read 'Night' soon.

I recommend you read it soon :) I was really pleased to find a Wiesel novel, I think he is one of those authors whose books I'll buy when I have a chance, and I've only so far read one! He makes quite an impression.

 

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises (1001, RG) - I want to read more by Hemingway, what little I have read I've loved .. and I love the Vintage covers :) .. except I don't think they've done one yet for this book .. come on Vintage pull your finger out.

I'm so jealous of the Vintage cover and how you guys have a good chance of finding them wherever. Over here the variety is much more limited. I'm a bit on the fence with Hemingway, I've only read his Garden of Eden which I didn't particularly like, but then again I hear it's not one of his best novels.

 

~Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious (RG. I was particularly happy about finding this one!) I'm putting this on my wishlist.

Do you know anything about the book, did you look it up just now? I mean, I didn't say much about the novel :blush:

 

~R. L. Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories (I've already read DJ&MH and loved it, this will go on my permanent collection. This copy also includes the story Olalla, which I am really thrilled about, Tristan gave it a great review on his reading blog) - Another one I need to read, such a classic story.

Oh you definitely need to read this one, it's so great! And Treasure Island, if you haven't read it already! :)

 

~J. W. von Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther (1001, 501. This is the book I'm most pleased about, I've been wanting to find a copy for ages. The copy I found was surprisingly cheap and it's absolutely beautiful!!) - Yay from the 1001 .. again I want to read this so very jealous.

It is so rare that someone is jealous of some book I've bought because of the limited variety of the books in Finland, but maybe this time it's due to it not being an English novel but a German one. I remember my German teacher telling us about this German classic, she once tried reading it and said it was so miserable and it felt like pulling teeth :lol: I think I'll like it though, I tried reading it once and liked it fine but didn't finish it for some reason. It will be quite a melancholic novel but I think in a good way.

 

~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!) - Another must read ... will help me bump up my scif-fi tally which badly needs it.

I feel you, I should also get reading some serious sci-fi. I'm so jealouse of Kylie's ease with the genre, I usually fear the whole genre is too complicated for me, which bums me out because I'm sure they would make great reads otherwise.

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds - I'm sure I read this in the dim and distant but I have no recollection other than the cover, it's said to be great though.

I'll take it to mean you didn't seriously hate it then, because you'd remember that :D I've seen the book so many times in the library and secondhand bookshops, but I've never really given it a conscious thought. I think it's supposed to be great though, yes.

 

~Henri Troyat: Dostojevski (also very happy to have found an interesting biography about this great author) - I am luxuriating in the gorgeous prose of 'Crime and Punishment' at the moment. I love his writing so would like to find out more about him. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Jealous! I've been too intimidated to start reading C&P so far, it's one of those books I'd like to like/love and yet feel I might not.

Do you enjoy other Russian authors? I've just discovered Daniil Harms (his English name is Daniil Charms, I have no idea why the spelling of the Russian names vary so much from one language to another!), his book Incidences was full of absurd yet hilarious little stories. They didn't make much sense but they were really funny, and I think that if one really puts their mind to it, they'll open up and will expose Harm's critique on the society and such.

Edited by frankie
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~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!) - Another must read ... will help me bump up my scif-fi tally which badly needs it.

I feel you, I should also get reading some serious sci-fi. I'm so jealouse of Kylie's ease with the genre, I usually fear the whole genre is too complicated for me, which bums me out because I'm sure they would make great reads otherwise.

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds - I'm sure I read this in the dim and distant but I have no recollection other than the cover, it's said to be great though.

I'll take it to mean you didn't seriously hate it then, because you'd remember that :D I've seen the book so many times in the library and secondhand bookshops, but I've never really given it a conscious thought. I think it's supposed to be great though, yes.

 

 

READ The Day of the Triffids! Cannot emphasize this enough. READ The Day of the Triffids. It is a wonderful story, not only sci-fi wise, but humanity wise. It is on my top 10 ever books. :D

 

Also read The Thorn Birds centuries ago, don't remember it at all to tell the truth, except that I generally enjoyed it. Of course it was only 30-odd years ago..... :huh::)

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Hehe, thank you for contributing to the Triffids convo :D That should convince Habeebi, I shall definitely read it because it's now on my TBR :cool:

 

I'm now looking more forward to reading The Thorn Birds as well. Which takes me to a whole other matter:

 

In the beginning of the year my TBR was somewhere between 340-350. And I made a decision to really try and reduce that number by reading in the same pace as last year and concentrating on reading my own books. After that I've faltered. I've borrowed loads of books from the library and while they've been good reads and some of them have been challenge reads, I really need to cut back on the library reading, and I need to get back on track with my own personal library. I've even been extra good this year, not buying that many books as last year. My TBR is now at 380 :blush: And I haven't even counted Popcorn and the Dennis Lehane book I found last week!

 

When I get back home I'll have to be really strict and take all my library books back (well, except for a few titles which I really really want to read... :giggle:) and get busy with MAH BOOKS!!

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~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!)

 

Another must read ... will help me bump up my scif-fi tally which badly needs it.

 

I feel you, I should also get reading some serious sci-fi. I'm so jealouse of Kylie's ease with the genre, I usually fear the whole genre is too complicated for me, which bums me out because I'm sure they would make great reads otherwise.

I know Pontalba's done a brilliant job of selling this, but let me just say that the Sci-fi factor put me off (I read it when I was about 15 for school but couldn't really remember much about it) as sci-fi is really not my thing, but this is fantastic, so please don't let it put you off! :)

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~Jack Kerouac: On the Road (1001, RG and my Cult Fiction list. Unfortunately this book is in Finnish which bugs me quite a lot but I thought I'd support the library with the euro, and maybe I'll read it and if I like it, I'll order an English copy later and can then pass this copy on)

- I wanted to like this more than I did, most of it went over my head. It's a must read though.

Uh-oh, now I'm even more worried I might not like it. Maybe all this talk will hopefully lower my expectations and I'll enjoy it immensely. It's really weird how we want to really enjoy certain books, and want to hate certain books, and then again we have no idea how we'll really react to them when we read them.

You'll probably be fine, it's a bit of a marmite book I think .. though I didn't hate it, I just felt .. what's the fuss about.

 

~Elie Wiesel: Twilight - You've intrigued me about this author already .. I must read 'Night' soon.

I recommend you read it soon :) I was really pleased to find a Wiesel novel, I think he is one of those authors whose books I'll buy when I have a chance, and I've only so far read one! He makes quite an impression.

That's a sign then that once I've read 'Night' I'm going to want to read everything else he's written .. that's ok, I love collecting authors.

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises (1001, RG) - I want to read more by Hemingway, what little I have read I've loved .. and I love the Vintage covers :) .. except I don't think they've done one yet for this book .. come on Vintage pull your finger out.

I'm so jealous of the Vintage cover and how you guys have a good chance of finding them wherever. Over here the variety is much more limited. I'm a bit on the fence with Hemingway, I've only read his Garden of Eden which I didn't particularly like, but then again I hear it's not one of his best novels.

I don't know whether I like his writing or not, I've only read 'The Old Man and the Sea' and I loved it, but I do love novels about the sea. I guess I need to read another two of his and see if he passes the best of three test. I saw a lovely Vintage 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' today .. and I just thought .. what a waste of a good cover :lol:

~Dave Eggers: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious (RG. I was particularly happy about finding this one!) I'm putting this on my wishlist.

Do you know anything about the book, did you look it up just now? I mean, I didn't say much about the novel :blush:

Yes I did quickly look it up, I love writers memoirs and I like what I've read already by him so it's a must for the wishlist.

~R. L. Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories (I've already read DJ&MH and loved it, this will go on my permanent collection. This copy also includes the story Olalla, which I am really thrilled about, Tristan gave it a great review on his reading blog) - Another one I need to read, such a classic story.

Oh you definitely need to read this one, it's so great! And Treasure Island, if you haven't read it already! :)

I haven't read it ... but I'm getting into the classics much more lately so it's on the list.

 

~J. W. von Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther (1001, 501. This is the book I'm most pleased about, I've been wanting to find a copy for ages. The copy I found was surprisingly cheap and it's absolutely beautiful!!) - Yay from the 1001 .. again I want to read this so very jealous.

It is so rare that someone is jealous of some book I've bought because of the limited variety of the books in Finland, but maybe this time it's due to it not being an English novel but a German one. I remember my German teacher telling us about this German classic, she once tried reading it and said it was so miserable and it felt like pulling teeth :lol: I think I'll like it though, I tried reading it once and liked it fine but didn't finish it for some reason. It will be quite a melancholic novel but I think in a good way.

I don't mind wallowing in a bit of misery, it can be quite cathartic as in .. 'life's not so bad after all'. I'm intrigued by this book, it may well make me want to self destruct but then I managed Anna Karenina without wanting to throw myself in front of a train (it was a close call with Madame Bovary though :) )

 

~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (1001, 501. Along with Eggers and Goethe, I'm so pleased about finding this one, and in English as well!) - Another must read ... will help me bump up my scif-fi tally which badly needs it.

I feel you, I should also get reading some serious sci-fi. I'm so jealouse of Kylie's ease with the genre, I usually fear the whole genre is too complicated for me, which bums me out because I'm sure they would make great reads otherwise.

That's me as well, I quiver at the thought of sci-fi and am hopeless with all the really modern complicated stuff (my mind doesn't so much wander off as go for a five mile hike in the opposite direction :lol: ) I seem to be ok with the old classics though.

 

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds - I'm sure I read this in the dim and distant but I have no recollection other than the cover, it's said to be great though.

I'll take it to mean you didn't seriously hate it then, because you'd remember that :D I've seen the book so many times in the library and secondhand bookshops, but I've never really given it a conscious thought. I think it's supposed to be great though, yes.

I think I liked it, it's a bit of a bodice ripper isn't it? .. I read it somewhen in the 90's .. and the 90's are a blur to me now :lol:

 

~Henri Troyat: Dostojevski (also very happy to have found an interesting biography about this great author) - I am luxuriating in the gorgeous prose of 'Crime and Punishment' at the moment. I love his writing so would like to find out more about him. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Jealous! I've been too intimidated to start reading C&P so far, it's one of those books I'd like to like/love and yet feel I might not.

Do you enjoy other Russian authors? I've just discovered Daniil Harms (his English name is Daniil Charms, I have no idea why the spelling of the Russian names vary so much from one language to another!), his book Incidences was full of absurd yet hilarious little stories. They didn't make much sense but they were really funny, and I think that if one really puts their mind to it, they'll open up and will expose Harm's critique on the society and such.

I'm finding it pretty easy going, I mean it is dark and brooding and everything you would expect from a Russian novel but utterly compelling. I have only read a tiny bit of Tolstoy (if you can call Anna Karenina tiny) and I enjoyed it but I'm enjoying Dostoevsky more. I want to read some Gogol and Nabakov too and will definitely look into Harms/Charms/Kharms also. I love books that are slightly absurd and the Russian novelists seem to excel at it. Dostoevsky in particular writes similarly, and every bit as well, as Dickens but without the overt sentimentality that Dickens is prone to. That's not to say that I hate Dickens, when he gets it right, he's sublime. Translations can be a problem though (and I guess you know all about this.) I've got two versions of 'Crime and Punishment' and they differ enormously. I've gone with the Vintage ... something that looks that good couldn't lead me astray.

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~Jack Kerouac: On the Road

You'll probably be fine, it's a bit of a marmite book I think .. though I didn't hate it, I just felt .. what's the fuss about.

I'm currently reading The Sun Also Rises and while it's not the same thing as On the Road, I think it might be helping me to get to the kind of mindset that might help me now enjoy OtR as my next read.

~Elie Wiesel: Twilight

That's a sign then that once I've read 'Night' I'm going to want to read everything else he's written .. that's ok, I love collecting authors.

It's too bad I hardly ever see any of his books in secondhand bookshops, I hope you have better luck :)

~Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises

I don't know whether I like his writing or not, I've only read 'The Old Man and the Sea' and I loved it, but I do love novels about the sea. I guess I need to read another two of his and see if he passes the best of three test. I saw a lovely Vintage 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' today .. and I just thought .. what a waste of a good cover

Like I said, I'm currently reading The Sun Also Rises, and I'm enjoying it rather a lot! Certainly more than I thought I would. It's a definite improvement from The Garden of Eden, and Hemingway now has the potential to become one of my favorites. I'm certainly going to read The Old Man and the Sea and a lot of the others, partly because they're on some of my reading challenges but also because, well, they were written by Hemingway :D

 

~J. W. von Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther

I don't mind wallowing in a bit of misery, it can be quite cathartic as in .. 'life's not so bad after all'. I'm intrigued by this book, it may well make me want to self destruct but then I managed Anna Karenina without wanting to throw myself in front of a train (it was a close call with Madame Bovary though )

I also don't mind a bit of wallowing every now and then, if the mood is right. It might make us want to self-destruct but who knows it might also want us to throw the book in the bin and enjoy our lives :giggle: And tell Goethe to bugger off, the book was crap. Don't come and tell that to me :D

 

~John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids

That's me as well, I quiver at the thought of sci-fi and am hopeless with all the really modern complicated stuff (my mind doesn't so much wander off as go for a five mile hike in the opposite direction ) I seem to be ok with the old classics though.

I'm hoping I'll pick stuff up from this book and it'll make my venture on other sci-fi books easier and more enjoyable... :blush:

 

~Colleen McCullough: The Thorn Birds

I think I liked it, it's a bit of a bodice ripper isn't it? .. I read it somewhen in the 90's .. and the 90's are a blur to me now

Hm, I'm not sure what a bodice ripper is but let me guess, a sort of a Harlequin novel where women get all neeeeked all of a sudden? :giggle: Doesn't really up the ante for me but hopefully it isn't all that bad!

 

~Henri Troyat: Dostojevski

I'm finding it pretty easy going, I mean it is dark and brooding and everything you would expect from a Russian novel but utterly compelling. I have only read a tiny bit of Tolstoy (if you can call Anna Karenina tiny) and I enjoyed it but I'm enjoying Dostoevsky more. I want to read some Gogol and Nabakov too and will definitely look into Harms/Charms/Kharms also. I love books that are slightly absurd and the Russian novelists seem to excel at it. Dostoevsky in particular writes similarly, and every bit as well, as Dickens but without the overt sentimentality that Dickens is prone to. That's not to say that I hate Dickens, when he gets it right, he's sublime. Translations can be a problem though (and I guess you know all about this.) I've got two versions of 'Crime and Punishment' and they differ enormously. I've gone with the Vintage ... something that looks that good couldn't lead me astray.

I don't mind dark and brooding! Sounds like a good read, that one. Translations can certainly be a problem, but I don't think I've ever really compared two different translations of a single book so that's kind of new to me. I'm still rather new to the basic fact that certain books have been re-translated more than once or twice, I usually just go with a copy that seems to be the easiest to handle and read.

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37. First, Second by Daniil Harms 4/5

Another great collection of absurd and hilarious stories by Harms. Not as good as Incidences, but great anyways.

38. Popcorn by Ben Elton 4/5

A light quick comical read. Not much of a brainer but enjoyable nonetheless. The ending offered a bit of food for thought, which made me change my initial rating of 3/5 to 4/5.

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Ooo I have wanted to read The Day of the Trffids for a long long time - you'll have to let me know what it is like

 

It's brilliant Habeebi. A real page-turner. I loved it. Frankie you have a treat ahead of you!

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The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway

(1001 Books, Rory book)

 

Amazon: The Sun Also Rises first appeared in 1926, and yet it's as fresh and clean and fine as it ever was, maybe finer. Hemingway's famously plain declarative sentences linger in the mind like poetry: "Brett was damned good-looking. She wore a slipover jersey sweater and a tweed skirt, and her hair was brushed back like a boy's. She started all that." His cast of thirtysomething dissolute expatriates--Brett and her drunken fiancé, Mike Campbell, the unhappy Princeton Jewish boxer Robert Cohn, the sardonic novelist Bill Gorton--are as familiar as the "cool crowd" we all once knew. No wonder this quintessential lost-generation novel has inspired several generations of imitators, in style as well as lifestyle. Jake Barnes, Hemingway's narrator with a mysterious war wound that has left him sexually incapable, is the heart and soul of the book. Brett, the beautiful, doomed English woman he adores, provides the glamour of natural chic and sexual unattainability. Alcohol and post-World War I anomie fuel the plot: weary of drinking and dancing in Paris cafés, the expatriate gang decamps for the Spanish town of Pamplona for the "wonderful nightmare" of a week-long fiesta. Brett, with fiancé and ex-lover Cohn in tow, breaks hearts all around until she falls, briefly, for the handsome teenage bullfighter Pedro Romero. "My God! he's a lovely boy," she tells Jake. "And how I would love to see him get into those clothes. He must use a shoe-horn." Whereupon the party disbands.

 

But what's most shocking about the book is its lean, adjective-free style. The Sun Also Rises is Hemingway's masterpiece--one of them, anyway--and no matter how many times you've read it or how you feel about the manners and morals of the characters, you won't be able to resist its spell. This is a classic that really does live up to its reputation. --David Laskin

 

Thoughts: A beautiful, simply written novel. There was nothing lacking in it, and there was nothing that could've been omitted. It was pure and precise and well balanced. It really is quite something for an author to make me read tales of fishing and bull fights without cringing or getting bored. I truly enjoyed the variety of characters. And I couldn't help but

compare Brett to the bull fighter: all the men wanted to have a go with her (well, a different kind of go than the bulls, though) and she toyed with them til she was done with them and finished them off. It was quite approriate that she fell for the bull fighter herself and got burnt.

 

 

5/5, and will definitely look forward to reading more Hemingway!

 

 

 

 

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The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway

(1001 Books, Rory book)

 

Amazon: The Sun Also Rises first appeared in 1926, and yet it's as fresh and clean and fine as it ever was, maybe finer. Hemingway's famously plain declarative sentences linger in the mind like poetry: "Brett was damned good-looking. She wore a slipover jersey sweater and a tweed skirt, and her hair was brushed back like a boy's. She started all that." His cast of thirtysomething dissolute expatriates--Brett and her drunken fiancé, Mike Campbell, the unhappy Princeton Jewish boxer Robert Cohn, the sardonic novelist Bill Gorton--are as familiar as the "cool crowd" we all once knew. No wonder this quintessential lost-generation novel has inspired several generations of imitators, in style as well as lifestyle. Jake Barnes, Hemingway's narrator with a mysterious war wound that has left him sexually incapable, is the heart and soul of the book. Brett, the beautiful, doomed English woman he adores, provides the glamour of natural chic and sexual unattainability. Alcohol and post-World War I anomie fuel the plot: weary of drinking and dancing in Paris cafés, the expatriate gang decamps for the Spanish town of Pamplona for the "wonderful nightmare" of a week-long fiesta. Brett, with fiancé and ex-lover Cohn in tow, breaks hearts all around until she falls, briefly, for the handsome teenage bullfighter Pedro Romero. "My God! he's a lovely boy," she tells Jake. "And how I would love to see him get into those clothes. He must use a shoe-horn." Whereupon the party disbands.

 

But what's most shocking about the book is its lean, adjective-free style. The Sun Also Rises is Hemingway's masterpiece--one of them, anyway--and no matter how many times you've read it or how you feel about the manners and morals of the characters, you won't be able to resist its spell. This is a classic that really does live up to its reputation. --David Laskin

 

Thoughts: A beautiful, simply written novel. There was nothing lacking in it, and there was nothing that could've been omitted. It was pure and precise and well balanced. It really is quite something for an author to make me read tales of fishing and bull fights without cringing or getting bored. I truly enjoyed the variety of characters. And I couldn't help but

compare Brett to the bull fighter: all the men wanted to have a go with her (well, a different kind of go than the bulls, though) and she toyed with them til she was done with them and finished them off. It was quite approriate that she fell for the bull fighter herself and got burnt.

 

 

5/5, and will definitely look forward to reading more Hemingway!

 

'The Sun Also Rises' sounds good Frankie, I have only read 'The Old Man and the Sea' by Ernest Hemingway, which I enjoyed, I would to read more stuff by him, and this sounds like a good starting point. :)

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I would recommend it if you'd like to read more Hemingway. I definitely want to read more by him and will also look into The Old Man and the Sea :)

 

Thanks Frankie :)

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The Sun Also Rises is one of those I keep thinking I would like to read one day - it has definitely moved up my wish list now! :)

 

Excellent! I can't wait to hear what you think of it :smile2:

 

Thanks Frankie :)

 

You're welcome :friends3:

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Great review Frankie, it's going on my wishlist. It sounds similar to 'The Old Man & the Sea' which was very lean also, at the time I couldn't believe how much I was enjoying a story about an old man trying to catch a fish!

I'm jealous because you've crossed another one off of the 1001 but yay for you :yahoo:

 

Btw your definition of 'bodice ripper' was spot on but to be fair to 'The Thorn Birds', now I think about it, it was more steamy than anything .. there was a lot of repressed sexual tension with people trying not to get neeeeked although they very much wanted to :)

 

I like the thought of us telling Goethe his book was crap :lol: hopefully we won't have to but if we do, he's only got himself to blame.

 

I've long thought that at least three quarters of the books in charity/secondhand bookshops are books that are a bit throwaway, really good books are hard to find there because of course no-one wants to part with them. When I go in my local one's I am guaranteed to see legions of books by Kinsella, Holden, Binchy, Collins, Cooper, Steel, Fforde (alas Katie not Jasper) and Keyes with all their girly pink twinkly spines looking at me (and there's nothing wrong with them .. I indulge often in a bit of Binchy/Keyes therapy) but a real gem is hard to find.

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Great review Frankie, it's going on my wishlist. It sounds similar to 'The Old Man & the Sea' which was very lean also, at the time I couldn't believe how much I was enjoying a story about an old man trying to catch a fish!

 

Excellent decision :wink: I'm also making a mental note to look out for The Old Man and the Sea, I won't write it down because I'll remember it, and I'll pretty much buy all the Hemingways I can find from now on.

I'm jealous because you've crossed another one off of the 1001 but yay for you :yahoo:

 

I'm jealous because you have already read so many books from the list! Certainly more than I have.

Btw your definition of 'bodice ripper' was spot on but to be fair to 'The Thorn Birds', now I think about it, it was more steamy than anything .. there was a lot of repressed sexual tension with people trying not to get neeeeked although they very much wanted to :)

 

Hehe don't worry, I do realise that it wouldn't make such a classic, widely read and popular book if it was really all about people getting neeked :giggle2: On a relating note, the cover of my copy of Sophie's Choice looks like that's a real bodice ripper :rolleyes: Not pretty but it was cheap and by buying the book I could put the money towards charity.

 

I like the thought of us telling Goethe his book was crap :lol: hopefully we won't have to but if we do, he's only got himself to blame.

 

It might make a pretty vexing task, though. Who knows what's happened to his soul after he died. If he's gone to heaven, we'll have to wait til we get there (and I'm not probably going anyways), if he's reincarnated how do we know who he is at the moment, etc! Ooh I dare say we'd better enjoy the book! :giggle:

 

I've long thought that at least three quarters of the books in charity/secondhand bookshops are books that are a bit throwaway, really good books are hard to find there because of course no-one wants to part with them. When I go in my local one's I am guaranteed to see legions of books by Kinsella, Holden, Binchy, Collins, Cooper, Steel, Fforde (alas Katie not Jasper) and Keyes with all their girly pink twinkly spines looking at me (and there's nothing wrong with them .. I indulge often in a bit of Binchy/Keyes therapy) but a real gem is hard to find.

 

At least this problem is universal, whether one is frequenting an English secondhand bookshop or a non-English one. There are certain books that I see everytime I pop into a secondhand bookshop. We also have loads of Steel, Cookson and Roberts and then the Finnish equivalents. In this light, my recent book hauls have been extremely successful.

 

Which leads me to the trip I had yesterday: BF and I walked to the center of the town, a good 6 kilometers, and we decided to pop in the Red Cross charityshop, which I'd already been to, a week ago. I was certain the selection hadn't changed at all in a week but holy heck, I spotted a copy of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver! Woooo! I also found a Tom Clancy for BF for his Birthday and a biography of Einstein. And I also got me a book by a Finnish linguist and a traveller, it's actually his letters from 1845-1889. I've never even heard of him before but apparently he had loads to do with stuff. Isn't that a vague description :D Just mine, though.

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I like the thought of us telling Goethe his book was crap :lol: hopefully we won't have to but if we do, he's only got himself to blame.

It might make a pretty vexing task, though. Who knows what's happened to his soul after he died. If he's gone to heaven, we'll have to wait til we get there (and I'm not probably going anyways), if he's reincarnated how do we know who he is at the moment, etc! Ooh I dare say we'd better enjoy the book! :giggle:

True, I've read 'The Moomins' .. so I'm definitely not going to heaven (or has that theory been disproved now?) having said that I'm not sure Goethe is there anyways .. he might be roasting elsewhere .. and if we all meet up down there .. . well, there's nothing like being barbecued to make you forget the last crap book you read :lol: Perhaps the book may give us an insight into what or who he may have been re-incarnated as .. but it'd be a nightmare task, I mean he may have lived a further two lives .. more if he's been careless. As you say, we have no option but to enjoy it for all it's miserableness.

Which leads me to the trip I had yesterday: BF and I walked to the center of the town, a good 6 kilometers, and we decided to pop in the Red Cross charityshop, which I'd already been to, a week ago. I was certain the selection hadn't changed at all in a week but holy heck, I spotted a copy of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver! Woooo! I also found a Tom Clancy for BF for his Birthday and a biography of Einstein. And I also got me a book by a Finnish linguist and a traveller, it's actually his letters from 1845-1889. I've never even heard of him before but apparently he had loads to do with stuff. Isn't that a vague description :D Just mine, though.

Well done, that's a result. I loved 'The Poisonwood Bible' .. bit of a tome but well worth it .. though why I should be worrying about the size of books I don't know, it's a terrible reason to buy or not buy/read or not read a book .. Alan says that sometimes I read books as if I have to rid the world of their evil and get them read and done with as soon as possible :lol: ergo .. thin books are more desirable .. and the competetive freak in me has to acknowledge that he's right but I do try and fight against it and have read three monsters recently (Moby Dick, A House for Mr Biswas and currently Crime & Punishment.) Also Alan is reading 'The Book of Lost Things' by John Connolly but he does like to be read to (men!! .. they like everything done for them!) so, despite having read it recentlyish, I've read at least half of it to him as well. I am eying the bookshelf now with trepidation and am definitely going to pick a thinnish book next .. bother!! I've just remembered a neighbour has lent me a book and I feel like I have to read it asap .. I looked at it and my first thought was (weighed down by having being aboard the Pequod for a while and worrying about whether Mr Biswas was ever going to be able to have his own house) .. it's a lot bigger than I would like :D .. still it's not the sort of thing that I would normally read and that makes it intriguing.

 

I bet the biography about Einstein will be fascinating, such a genius and I like the sound of the Finnish linguist who had 'loads to do with stuff' ... much better to read his letters than to read the letters of people who had nothing whatsoever to do with stuff. I love letters anyway and would read practically anyone's. I used to think that it gave you a real insight into someone's mind if you read their letters but then I read Virginia Woolf say that when you write letters you are acting a part and 'spraying an atmosphere around one' which is obviously true .. we seldom write the exact truth in letters we flower it up a bit, but I still love letters anyway, there's always bits of truth that leak out and, unless the person is a complete dolt, they're always engrossing.

 

I'm jealous because you've crossed another one off of the 1001 but yay for you :yahoo:

I'm jealous because you have already read so many books from the list! Certainly more than I have.

This is another sign of how horribly competetive I can be .. I won't be happy until I've read the 1001 and then of course I shall die and be sent to some awful place where the only access to a library is across a river of burning sulphur (actually in this respect thank God for Julian Barnes's 'Flaubert's Parrot' which I have tried to read and abandoned (wasn't a happy subject for me anyways) .. as long as this remains on the 1001 I think I'm safe.

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