wrathofkublakhan

Gracious me, I loved those books! By golly, it's been 30 years since I've read those and I still remember them ... great choice, pontalba!

Howdy Dave, I knew I'd be the subject of a science project eventually; I just didn't think it'd be as simple as a book poll. Hmmmm ... as of this posting, here's my top twelve - not ranked. * The Time Travelers Wife - Audrey Niffeneger * Tarzan - Edgar Rice Burroughs * The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling * M*A*S*H - John Hooker * Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card * Dragonsinger - Anne McCaffrey * Obsidian Butterfly - Laurell K. Hamilton * My Life and Hard Times - James Thurber * Interview with a Vampire - Anne Rice * Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut (esp. in honor of his recent passing) * Battlefield Earth - L. Ron Hubbard * Manchild in the Promised Land - Claude Brown Once upon a time, Eric Clapton said that if you didn't know who Robert Johnson was, Eric wouldn't even talk to you. I'm of a kinder ilk, I feel if you've read one of my top books -- you are an instant good friend because we have that shared experience.

Two stand out: Finding Neverland and Bridge to Terabithia. Both made me cry and cry and cry. My napkins secured for buttery-popcorn-fingers were all used up, tears into my beard, sobbing-aching-racking-sniffling-my-god-this-feels-good crying. As a rather reserved private individual, I've never embraced a good crying jag until recently: it's great. I even blogged on the experiences, while I'd not recommend dragging anyone through one of my tedious blogs - in all fairness to this thread, I'll post the links. http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-BlcO1OkmaafE59rSofPiKvw3S9JD9WXz?p=41 http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-BlcO1OkmaafE59rSofPiKvw3S9JD9WXz?p=523 http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-BlcO1OkmaafE59rSofPiKvw3S9JD9WXz?p=36

For me, no. However, I would buy one if the forum was in need of support. Does that make sense?

Lol, don't carry that guilt too far; it can be a load. BTW, I love the food, cooking and recipe threads!

Oh Maureen, now you've made me all sad. Many memories of family dinners; turkey, dressing, roasts, funky little side dishes, I even remember my grandma making me a chocolate cake with the pieces cut to look like cars on a train with lifesavers for wheels and a dime or two hidden in the cake as a surprise. Now? I live alone. I don't have anyone to share the special days with, the closest I might come could be hot dogs at the Super Bowl party. Making an over-the-top meal for just myself doesn't appeal to me though I do make some fine and fun meals unrelated to holidays. This Easter, like Thanksgiving will come and go with barely a nod.

That is an interesting idea about crossover. Now I'm wondering if it was one of the first books written from an animals point of view. If so, very cool and a break-through for literature. Written in 1877, could Black Beauty be one of the first? I'll pose the question to the forum - which is the earliest book written from an animal's point of view? I'll jog your memory with some books that are more recent: Ben and Me (1953) -- a mouse who helps Ben Franklin. Redwall (1986) -- all animal characters. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1972) -- the tale of a field mouse. The Jungle Book (1894) -- which includes Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a mongoose who saves the day. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) Animal Farm (1950ish) Tarzan (1912) I suppose we can't ignore Parables like The Tortoise and the Hare (600 BC) but the intent was different, so let's set those aside. I agree, kell, that is quite lovely, a perhaps a unique for it's time device in literature.

I suppose, "it's an instant classic" is an oxymoron? I have to laugh every time I hear a critic or a media monger shouts praises to the sky. I think the idea of a canon of classic literature is terribly fascinating: so, thank you for that, kell. Yep, Black Beauty is one that I'm glad I'm in the reader's circle, since it's a classic. My next will be Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. A choice taken by seeing how popular it is on so many in this forums favorite reading lists. I'll be curious about the use of 'madding' and why it's not 'maddening'? Perhaps I'm just terribly naive.* *Yep, naive. I just looked up the word madding - it means insane or wildly gay. I reckon the context of the story will clear that up for me.

My edition is illustrated! It's published as a Penguin Classic and illustrated by Charlotte Hough. If I were to guess, they'd be "pen and ink" drawings; not quite abstract but with a broad enough stroke to allow you to read into the drawing or infer meaning from the context of the narrative. Personally, I think it's charming. If I were King of the World, all books would have illustrations tucked in, even it they were symbols or silhouettes or a suggestion of an element in the story. I just feel that it adds to the presentation of the material and, when done well, is very satisfying. Kinda like adding butter to your popcorn or icing on the cake - it enhances the experience.

Perchance to dream, for some reason "mighty revealing" appeals to me in a post-modern artistic commentary ... okay, I'm a guy. Nowadays, Modern Dance is pretty much the same as Contemporary Dance; I'd be thinking of Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham or Alvin Ailey. I might believe Merce as "The Little Dutch Girl", but that's another story....

National Dance? Wotthehell? If I were to guess, some kind of Traditional Dance specific to a region? Flamenco, Balinese, West African, Javanese are all Traditional Dances: mebbe you do clogging or some kinda Riverdance stuff. Tell us more! Belly Dancing bragging needs some photographic support, I think.

I know this road. I know every pizza joint, fish and chips place, hot dog palace, take-out chinese, thai restaurants (and their beers) and steak houses in my area. I have to challenge myself to fend for myself and cook something decent because; indeed, it's just for me. I'm a lonesome soul. I'm proud of four of my abilities, that's it: I can make a good pot roast will several variations. I can make an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms. I can make a crockpot of ham and beans, which is awesome. I can make my OWN recipe of beef enchiladas that will leave you sated and clicking the remote on the TV for three hours, non-stop. I'd love to try baking or cooking fish, but it scares me. I've done some candy things by melting chocolate bark and dipping pretzels and chips and strawberries. And really ... anyone can cook a steak or a hamburger... And ... I've made myself sick with my cooking. Blowing groceries two hours later wondering what-the-hell I did wrong with the baked chicken; it didn't taste THAT bad!

What a funny little story; I think I'll see if I can find National Velvet since I kinda thought that's what the book would be about, color me naive. Is it my imagination or do all the creepy characters have creepy names and all the nice characters have robust names? Now, I wish I'd highlighted the peoples names as I'm reading. One thing I should hold the reins on is that I tend to skip over words I don't know and just glean from the context. Since this is a Circle, I think I might serve better by looking up the odd words. One of the grand things that appeals to me is that this is indeed: a classic. I can safely mention it in conversation at work and know that there will be several people who've read it and we can have a chat about the book and it will lead on to more bookish areas. This is a nice advantage being on such a journey because telling someone that I'm reading Black Beauty, I am sharing something with someone who's been down that lane and it puts them in the saddle as an expert and they feel they can guide me. This is awesome for me since, typically, I am the teacher to my students. Sadly, no one has told me I have a "soft mouth." How cool would that be?

If you in the morning Throw minutes away You can't pick them up In the course of the day. You may hurry and scurry, And flurry and worry, You've lost them forever, For ever and aye. ................... Jerry Barker's poem in the story, Black Beauty - April's Reading Circle Book

I've read this book. For me: it was mostly just a good idea. The fun part for me was that the god's magical loci were the tourist hot-spots in America. I felt that the narrative was devoid of emotional content so I could only enjoy just how clever the author was, which left me wishing for just a little bit more from the book. I don't regret reading it, it was entertaining - but I really don't feel the need to read more by this guy.

Ya mon, let's talk about food! I've read this thread (backwards, I love it) and my experience has been that eating at the high end restaurants or name restaurants that the exposure to unusual fare is what it's all about. Little bits of this and that that are unexpected tastes that are quite unique are a lot of fun. With such a hefty price tag, the presentation is crucial. The best food ever, however, was my grandmother's cooking - literally fresh off the farm fare; home-grown tomatoes, onions, local eggs, butchered meat that was grown on the very farm that we lived and worked on. Catfish that you caught yourself from the creek, food that was worked for and earned and enjoyed all the more because of that - and she was brilliant at the stove with a hundred folksy sayings, "farmers spice their food in the skillet, city folk spice their food on the plate." One last bit: one time when I was maybe seven years old, my grandfather at the dinner table caught my eye and picked up an onion and took a big bite out it and munched it like one might an apple. Not to be daunted, I did the same --- whoa! He laughed and laughed at my expression as I "manfully" followed suit.

Well done, I feel safely administered. Ditto on the broadening - it is the true strength of this forum; the respect for all books and genres and the passions each individual brings to the fore. Never would I have imagined reading books recommended in this forum - yet, have thoroughly enjoyed. All in Good Taste, dontcha know.

There is a little restaurant in the Best Western Inn in Winslow, Arizona that serves up the best pork chops I've ever had. It does not have options (fries, baked potato, mashed) it has to be mashed and comes with apple sauce. I always order it with some breaded deep-fried mushrooms. Nothing against Winslow, I just drive through this town twice a year - but it's a small dreary town; the nearest movie theater is 60 miles away in Flagstaff. Yet, the pork chops are to die for! Since then, I've tried cooking pork chops myself (fair to middlin') and ordered the same in some fine restaurants in Los Angeles ... nothing compares to this bitty little restaurant tucked into a motel in a small city in the middle of Arizona, where the waitress calls you darlin' and the coffee cup is never empty.

I see in my copy that Black Beauty was first published in 1877. What was going on in 1877? Here is the wikipedia link to the year, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877 And here is the wiki-link to literature in 1877, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_in_literature it's nice to see our book proudly listed! Also ... it is the year that Swan Lake premiered! http://www.soundventure.com/web/footnotes/episode1.html

In my opinion, the theme for the book is "transformation." In this, I mean that several of the characters are in a poor way and manage to climb out of their problems with the help of new friends. The grand metaphor is the secret garden which echoes the blooming and growth of the children. Each delicate bud coming to bloom is akin to the fair blush of youth kindled by friendship, activity and nurturing the growth within the garden. The metaphor is continued by the closing off of Colin's father's emotions by closing the garden as well. The charm of the book is that we can see these 10 year old children try new things for the first time and be successful at it; this makes for them to replace behavior that was negative with positive; and the results are wonderful as we see this success blossom in their lives. Fundamental themes that we can relate to as adults are all through this book: the pain of loss, the need for help, the fear of moving to a new place and the price of grief. We are reminded of the wonder of childhood: the magic of a secret, the wonder at a baby animal, the nurture of a mother and joy of discovery. My version of the book was illustrated. I recommend that issue, since part of the return to topics childlike includes stories that have drawings to help along the way.

Waiting for the April book, Black Beauty (not quite April yet) I decided to try another kids book - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and illustrated by Tasha Tudor. First published in 1911! I felt quite contrary when I began reading it - a story for a child! Since then, I've not been able to put it down. I read walking from my car to the restaurant, I read in the restaurant and then read walking back to my car. I sneak in a few lines at stop lights. It is such a charming tale. Now, I near the last 50 - 75 pages and am slowing down, enjoying each page and each little drawing. What a wonderful gift this book is to the entire world. I'm gonna punch my sister in the nose, betcha SHE knew about this book for years!

Okay, I went and bought my copy of Black Beauty today. I was vaguely aware of the book (and a movie, I think though I might be confusing it with National Velvet and E. Taylor). My first thought as the lad from the Information Desk was leading me to the Children's Classics section of the bookstore was, "okay ... I fell for the Book Club Forum April Fool's Joke." Oddly enough, he asked me if I wanted the "adult version" of the book! My eyes opened wide and asked, "er...an adult version about a horse?" I got to laughing at just how silly this sounded and we ended up discussing Ann Rice's Beauty series....yikes! So, here I was faced with the Children's Classics section and I saw the title Anne of Green Gables. Since I'd just read the thread on Member's Blogs I'd read that it was a favorite of one of our members. So I bought that one too. Inspired by that book blog, I remembered a title that has always sounded interesting, Far From The Madding Crowd. So, I asked the lad to hunt that one down too. Thomas Hardy! I had read Tess of the d'Urbervilles maybe thirty years ago and so figured if it was a favorite, it must be worth a read. So I bought that one too. Y'all may be pulling a fine prank by saying that a kid's book is the choice for this Reading Circle and I'd relish a fine joke on my behalf. However, I'm a self-professed book 'lady of the night' ~ I'll read anything. So, Black Beauty, Anne of Green Gables, Far From the Madding Crowd and ... The Secret Garden will be my new adventures. And with that, I give fine thanks to this Forum; take me to new worlds and give me common shared experiences. The ladies at the cash register were all a-flutter that I was buying books that they've read many times and loved each and every one!

I like going to the Bookstore! Once there were seven bookstores in my neighborhood; now there are none. I have to drive farther to the big chains; only two for me now: Borders and Barnes & Noble. I miss my locally-owned stores and their owners with knowledge and the love of reading. My Dad used to imagine opening a Used Book Store when he retired. I had no idea when I was a kid just how poor my family was but there was a long time when our Big Treat was a trip to the used-book store and we could each get between five and ten books! Picking from the fare offered in the Kid's Section was like digging for treasure. Now I know the other big advantage of used books is one can find old favorites from decades ago, something not offered in Borders unless very successful. Still, I enjoy a trip to the Book Store. I'll browse Sci-Fi, Mystery, Westerns and even occasionally into Romance! I've many favorite novelists, I can spend hours in the Fiction section. I'm not one to sit in the stuffed chairs with my fancy coffee - I like the walk. They put the popular releases right at the front door, so y'can't miss what's out and new. Typically, I'll buy two books and one CD.

Hi George, There have been many superhero novels. The most recent I've read is It's Superman by Tom de Haven. Good stuff.

I've a whole box of business cards I never use, ideal for keeping place. Also, I use the little paper sleeves they put around drinking straws!