Kylie

Today I've started Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. This will be my 10th classic for the year, which I'm pretty happy with! There are probably 5 more on the list that I really want to read before the year is out, so I'm going to set myself a target of 15, which also happens to be how many I read last year!

I only found out the other day that Brando was in a musical. I still can't believe it! I can't wait to see this movie - I really can't imagine him singing and dancing.

I love classics, and for a lot of the reasons that other people don't. I adore the wordiness and different use of language. I find it very poetical and it greatly enhances my pleasure of reading. I do find that it sometimes takes me longer to read them but I always feel very gratified at the end. I don't really get it when people say classics don't interest them. They cover all genres so there should be something that grabs you and you can almost always be guaranteed a good read because these books have clearly stood the test of time and have been loved and enjoyed by many, many people before. Of course, some books will be enjoyed by people more than others but there should be something there to appeal to you!

I have a note on my iPod that has a list of books I want. I've even priced them online so I can see whether I'll be getting them for a good price. Currently on the list are: Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood (there are other Atwood books I also want) The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde (I also want the other Thursday Next books) I, Robot - Isaac Asimov Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons Ulysses - James Joyce (probably won't get around to this for a while) Crome Yellow - Aldous Huxley We - Yevgeny Zamyatin There are probably others that I've forgotten to put on there.

I like to read Trixie Belden mystery novels. Trixie's a kind of younger version of Nancy Drew. I'm still trying to collect them all.

Thanks for the lyrics Wrath! I could just hear William Warfield singing as I read the words - what a wonderful voice! I thought I'd seen a fair few musicals but this thread has been me realise I've been missing out on a lot! I think a trip to my local video shop is in order!

What about the greatest musical of all - HAIR! I love that movie so much! Also the Sound Of Music, Grease, and many others that will come to me later. I saw Show Boat the other day for the first time, and what a show-stopper Ol' Man River is! I had goosebumps. My sentimental stage favourite is Jesus Christ Superstar. It was the first musical I ever saw (when I was 10) and it had some big-name Aussie celebrities in it. A couple of years ago I bought it on CD and play it a lot. What a fantastic soundtrack!

Well, I didn't realise The Alchemist was going to a fable, and even though I know a fable is supposed to be a simple story, I was still disappointed. It just seemed that I'd read this before. The ending was way too cliched for my liking. When you take the character and his journey into consideration, the ending just didn't seem appropriate - I thought it would be a little more imaginative than that. With Black Beauty, although I did learn some things about horses, I found it be too preachy and repetitive. I hate being preached at about anything, and the whole 'horse meets bad person, horse meets good person etc' was pretty annoying.

I also hold my book in my left hand with the thumb and pinkie holding it open. Although lately, because I've been reading brand new books and trying not to damage the spine, I've been holding it in two hands. I'm kind of relieved to be reading a second-hand book at the moment so I don't have to worry about the spine! It's not too tiring holding the book open with one hand. Once I get to bigger, heftier tomes, I'll hold it in two hands and rest it on my lap. As to reading positions, if I'm reading at work, I like to rest my feet on the edge of my bin (sometimes if I'm not careful my feet'll end up IN it rather than ON it ) In bed, I'll usually lay on my left side to read the right-hand page (while the left side is flat on the bed) and then roll over to read the other side )

A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess Rating: 10/10 Published: 1962 Number of pages: 141 ISBN: 0141182605 Summary (taken from blurb): Fifteen-year-old Alex doesn't just like ultra-violence - he also enjoys rape, drugs and Beethoven's Ninth. He and his gang rampage through a dystopian future, hunting for terrible thrills. But when Alex finds himself at the mercy of the state and subject to the ministrations of Dr Brodsky, the government psychologist, he discovers that fun is no longer the order of the day... The basis for one of the most notorious films ever made, A Clockwork Orange is both a virtuoso performance from an electrifying prose stylist and a serious exploration of the morality of free will. Comments: A Clockwork Orange is a frightening and sad look at a future society in which gangs are rife and no one can be trusted. Not being one that can stomach much in the way of violence and rape, I was a bit wary about reading this book; but my desire to read another dystopian classic won out. There were a couple of disturbing scenes, but it wasn't too bad overall. Burgess has done a great job with the language in this book; the narrator, Alex, and his friends ('droogies') speak a slang language referred to as 'nadsat'. If this had a been a made-up language, it probably would have detracted from the story, but Burgess, a linguist, has based a lot of these words in Russian or Cockney rhyming slang. It took a while to get used to (a bit distracting early on) but I found a good translation of nadsat on the web which I referred to when needed. By the end of the book, nadsat had become almost second nature and it was a lot of fun to read. You would think that Alex would be a very unsympathetic character, and he certainly is, at first. By the middle of the book, however, I found myself feeling very sorry for him, which I suppose can only be understood when you read the book. This is a terrific read and quite touching in some places, and funny in others. Very highly recommended. Now to decide whether I can stomach the movie... Started: 29 May 2007 Finished: 4 June 2007 A Clockwork Orange (at librarything.com)

Two that I would never recommend: The Alchemist - Paul Coelho Black Beauty - Anna Sewell I know I lot of people love these books but I couldn't stand them!

I have The Grapes Of Wrath and East Of Eden on my shelf to be read (I actually bought them before Of Mice And Men). I've gotten into a couple of discussions about Steinbeck in the last couple of days and The Grapes Of Wrath has been very highly recommended, so I guess I'll read that one next (well, after I get through a few others on my TBR pile!). Can you get through re-reads without crying Kell? I can't imagine it getting any easier to read - in fact, I'd probably start crying earlier on because I'd know what was coming B)

Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck Rating: 9/10 Published: 1937 Number of pages: 121 ISBN: 0141023570 Summary (taken from blurb): Streetwise George and his big, childlike friend Lennie are drifters, searching for work in the fields and valleys of California. They have nothing except the clothes on their back, and a hope that one day they'll find a place of their own and live the American dream. But dreams come at a price. Gentle giant Lennie doesn't know his own strength, and when they find work at a ranch he gets into trouble with the boss's daughter-in-law. Trouble so bad that even his protector George may not be able to save him... Comments: I read a lot of rave reviews beforehand but still wasn't sure what to expect from such a short book. By the end I was bawling my eyes out B) Steinbeck goes a great job of building up the relationship between these two characters so that by the end you come to feel very deeply for them. The rest of the characters are also portrayed very vividly. What a heartbreakenly emotional read. Highly recommended. Started: 28 May 2007 Finished: 28 May 2007 Of Mice And Men (at Penguin.co.uk)

I hope your daughter enjoys it as much as we did Judy! I woke up at night a couple of times at the wrong end of my bed and all disorientated. I don't know if it was because of the book or because I was really tired at the time but it was definitely freaking me out a little bit. And I don't even live in an Edwardian house! B)

I was thinking about this topic when reading A Clockwork Orange this morning. Alex and his mates confront someone coming out of the Public Biblio and take his books from him: Actually, having said I don't think I could bring myself to write in a book, I'm seriously considering take a pencil to this one. Burgess uses his own kind of language, Nadsat, which according to Wikipedia is 'a mix of modified Slavic words, Cockney rhyming slang, derived Russian (like "baboochka"), and words invented by Burgess himself'. It would be handy to make notes throughout so I don't keep wondering what the heck is going on. Hmm, maybe I'll just print out a glossary from the net and keep it handy instead. B)

Dracula Bram Stoker Rating: 10/10 Published: 1897 Number of pages: 402 ISBN: 0141024976 Summary (taken from blurb): Count Dracula's castle is a hellish world where night is day, pleasure is pain and the blood of the innocent is prized above all. Young Jonathan Harker approaches the gloomy gates with no idea of what he is about to face... And back in England eerie incidents are unfolding as strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck...Can Harker's fiancee be saved? And where is the evil Dracula? Comments: This is a wonderfully told story and Stoker certainly knows how to build tension; I was hooked from the beginning. This novel has stood the test of time well, and it's no wonder that it's still one of the greatest horror novels ever written. The characters are lovely and the dialogue is beautifully written. When I started reading Dracula, I realised that I never actually knew much about the story, other than that Dracula is a blood-sucking vampire. The book was quite different to what I was expecting, and in a good way. Not being much into the horror genre, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I very highly recommend it. Started: 16 May 2007 Finished: 27 May 2007 Dracula (at Penguin.co.uk)

Thanks Liz and Kell on your views of Looking Glass. After I read Of Mice And Men and A Clockwork Orange, I might get into Looking Glass. I just had a quick look at the Jabberwocky poem but didn't read it all the way through. The words 'tulgey wood' and 'mome raths' jumped at out me - in the Disney movie, Alice winds up in Tulgey Wood and I do believe the mome raths were the little critters that pointed the way for her. I never knew they incorporated part of Looking Glass into the movie! That's cool B)

Anthem Ayn Rand (ebook on iPod) Rating: 7/10 Published: 1938 Number of pages: 147 ISBN: 0452281253 Summary (taken from Wikipedia): Anthem is a dystopic science fiction story taking place at some unspecified future date. Mankind has entered another dark age as a result of what Rand saw as the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the word "I" has disappeared from the language). Comments: Anthem is an interesting dystopian novella in which the word 'I' (and individuality, by extension) does not exist. As most dystopian novels, it gets you thinking about the future of society and humankind. My first impression was that the book could have been made full-length, but in retrospect, Rand manages to say all she needs to in a short amount of space, which I guess enables it to pack a more powerful punch than if it had been drawn out. I don't feel like I absorbed this book as much as I could have; maybe because I was reading it on my iPod and rushing a bit to get it finished that day. I look forward to re-reading it in the future so I can analyse it a bit better. If you like dystopian novels, you should definitely read this. Started: 11 May 2007 Finished: 12 May 2007 Anthem (at Wikipedia.org)

Night Shift Stephen King (re-read) Rating: 7/10 Published: 1978 Number of pages: 409 ISBN: 0450042685 Summary (taken from blurb): A collection of terrifying stories that reveal a shudderingly detailed map of the dark places that lie behind our waking, rational world. These are tales to invade and paralyse the mind as the safe light of day is infiltrated by the creeping, peopled shadows of night. As you read, the clutching fingers of terror brush lightly across the nape of the neck, reach round from behind to clutch and lock themselves, white-knuckled, around the throat. This is the horror of ordinary people and everyday objects that become strangely altered; a world where nothing is ever quite what it seems, where the familiar and friendly lure and deceive. A world where madness and blind panic become the only reality. Comments: This is a collection of King's short stories, first published in the late 70s. This is the first and only Stephen King book I have read. I borrowed it once off my brother quite a few years ago, and decided to read it again before I get started on any others (I have The Stand, and also borrowed Different Seasons from my brother). The stories are pretty varied and some are a bit gruesome (Graveyard Shift, The Mangler), while others aren't too scary. The Children of the Corn and Trucks are two stories that I always remembered from the first time I read it. Overall, a pretty good read. I'm looking forward to reading more of his work. Started: 5 May 2007 Finished: 10 May 2007 Night Shift (at Amazon.com)

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland Lewis Carroll (re-read) Rating: 8/10 Published: 1865 Number of pages: 108 ISBN: 086112457X Summary (taken from blurb): When Alice follows the White Rabbit down the rabbit-hole, she finds herself in a wonderland of amazing characters where anything can happen. There is a Mad Hatter, a March Hare and a sleepy Dormouse who hold a never-ending tea-party; a Cheshire-cat who appears and disappears at will; a sad Mock Turtle who enjoys dancing with a Gryphon; a Caterpillar who gives invaluable advice on how to shrink and grow and a Queen of Hearts whose constant command is 'Off with their heads!' Comments: I got my edition of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland when I was quite young, and its illustrations of Alice are based on the original inspiration for the story, Alice Liddell. This is the first time in many years I've read this story - usually I just watch the Disney movie (one of my all-time favourite movies) - and I was interested to see the similarities and differences between the two. Lewis Carroll has a wonderful way with words. I liked some parts (tea party, croquet game) more than others (Duchess and screaming baby - glad they left that out of the movie!), and the poems/songs were great. Alice is a terrific character and says some pretty amusing things; I like Carroll's play on words. I intend to read Through The Looking Glass soon, which I've never read before. Started: 3 May 2007 Finished: 5 May 2007 Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (at Amazon.com)

The Lightless Kindom (Book 2 of the Unbalanced Earth trilogy) Jonathan Wylie (re-read) Rating: 8/10 Published: 1989 Number of pages: 351 ISBN: 055328147X Summary (taken from blurb): After restoring the magical balance of the rocking stone, Gemma begins her search for the remarkable valley that she has saved - and longs to be reunited with Arden. During their travels together, she had been shown the different futures which could exist for her world, and must now decide how to use her unreliable wizardry for the best. She knows that the Guild in Great Newport must be overthrown, and cannot bear to consider the alternative. But other, unforeseen forces are at play on the southern continent - and what is the Lightless Kingdom? Comments: Many years ago I randomly picked up the first book in this trilogy and was hooked from the first page. I've since re-read this trilogy many times. Outside of this author and Tolkien I've read few, if any, other fantasy novels; not because I have anything against the genre but because I wouldn't know where to start. I think it can be very hit and miss with fantasy (it irritates me when authors feel they have to use the strangest, most unpronounceable names for their characters and places - it feels like they're trying too hard). Happily, this book is unpretentious and it's just a good, fun read - nothing too heavy. The heroine of the book is Gemma, who receives a calling to go the southern continent, where she discovers she has magical powers and must learn to use them to overthrow a powerful evil force. The characters are diverse and likeable (well, except for the evil ones of course). I have a bit of a soft spot for these books; I guess they are 'comfort' books to me, and ones that I turn to every couple of years so I can revisit the characters and their adventures. I would recommend them if you can find them! I re-read the first book at the end of last year, and will re-read the third book shortly (probably won't have much of a review for that one - this review pretty much covers it all). A funny anecdote regarding this story: in the first book, Gemma meets up with a tribe of meerkats (see my avatar) who become her familiar; she can communicate with them via thought. I was about 12 when I first read this book and I had no idea that meerkats actually existed. I thought they were just a cute animal made up by the author (it is a fantasy novel after all!) Imagine my surprise when I went to Taronga Zoo one day and walked up to an enclosure to find it full of real live meerkats! B) I was so happy! I think that's where my love of meerkats has come from - one moment they were a mythical creature to me and the next moment they were real! Started: 29 April 2007 Finished: 4 May 2007 The Lightless Kingdom (at Fantasticfiction.co.uk)

Wow pontalba, that's some high praise! I bought Cloud Atlas last week - I better go and bump it up the reading list!

The only time I've written in books is for school. I found it handy when doing Shakespeare and poetry; it enables you to analyse each line. Otherwise I never do it. I'm not totally against it though - I kind of like the idea of writing down your thoughts as you go along, but I don't think I could ever bring myself to do it. I've been buying a lot of second-hand books lately, and almost every single one of them has the previous owner's name at the front. I can't believe so many people used to do that! And why do you need to, really? I think this question will produce some interesting answers. Thanks Kell!

These are some of the books I remember reading: The Harp In The South - Ruth Park Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare Macbeth - Shakespeare Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee Looking For Alibrandi - Melina Marchetta Tomorrow, When The War Began - John Marsden The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

Hi etheline! B) Welcome to the forum! Everyone here is very friendly What books/genre do you like to read? My pile of unread books has grown huge since I joined this forum because of all the great recommendations. I look forward to discussing books with you!