amthysteyes2

Exactly what it says on the tin. *Has to be after 1901 *No Harry Potter *Give a reason Also, what do you think qualifies as literature? I think it has to include more than one theme, a decent plot and good characters. I think the best is Life of Pi. It has everything and also demonstrates the differences in writing styles of now and the past. Its also has a fantastic character and it made 7 months in a life boat not boring. I also wrote my coursework on it and I still like it. 1984 and To Kill a Mockingbird come in close seconds.

Hi. I've finished reading 'Daughter of the forest', a rendition of the six swans fairy tale, but very dark. Anyway, the blurb is so completely inaccurate that I wonder if the writer actually read the book. Basically it says the main character gets caught up in a raid and falls in love with the 'warlord' that captures her. This never happened. Anyway, whats the most innacurate blurb you've seen.

sounds good- I found brand new world and i've vaguely heard of the hand maidens tale...

Im fascinated by the idea. Ok, so maybe it started from Half-life 2, but then I read 1984, and I want more... what other dystopian books are there? Thanks in advance.

the beanbag next to my heater

Hi! I've just finished reading the shining. brilliant book, scary, ect. ect. I just don't know what I want to read next. Heres the short list: Dark Water, The hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy, Witch Child. The only one I haven't read before is Dark Water, so do I want something scary, funny, or that i've read so many times that I can practically recite it? I just dont know...

Cinderella and other assorted fairy tales.

Hello! Im slightly less new than you! Its fun here- nobody knows where you live.

I dont know if you've already mentioned this, but he got the name from 2 separate cases of cannabilism at sea. One was real, the other was a story by Eadgar Allen Poe- written 40 years BEFORE. The poor sod's name was Richard Parker on both occasions.

Anywhere I can. So whenever I go past a bookshop, procrastinate in the school library or accidentally wind up on amazon.

Yes. Sometimes they can be a real disappointment (the other Phillip Pullman series/ Celia Rees's other books) but sometimes they can live right up to their predecessors (Terry Pratchett/ Jhosten Gaarner- when the headache goes away, that is)

After the soul crushing disappointment of the Harry Potter movies, I couldn't bring myself to watch The Golden Compass.

Actually, you probably all know this by now, but in case you don't: Following the success of Hogfather, Sky One has commissioned the same people to do mini-series on The colour of magic. Pratchett himself will be the astro-zooligist and David Jason plays Rincewind. Christopher Lee as Death. But I suppose you all read wikipedia... still... Im pleased.

Yay, it works now. Twas just a hiccup.

I think this is a relevant question. I have found, for instance, that on average the best fantasy writers seem to come from Australia, and the worst (not being mean or racist) come from America. But there are quite a few other things people do that influences their decision- Media interest, Previously written books, references by other authors, what wikipedia has to say about them, their education or outspoken beliefs can all affect whether I look at a book or not. What about you?

Last year I discovered Pratchett and Fforde. This year I hope to find a thourogly engrossing, gigantic series of books, probably fantasy and probably Australian. That will consume half the year before I blearily come out of a book coma and read Pratchett again. Thats the best case senario. I'll probably just re-read my favorites until a new Pratchett/ Croggon / Canavan / Pullman (I heard rumors) comes out.

Gah! I've managed ten posts (was easy, lots to talk about) and tried to make my signature, but even when i tried a single letter with default text, it complained the BB code was too large. Help?

Hmm, maybe I should have read the other comments first. I mean no disrespect, I can understand why a lot of people wouldn't like the book. I like marmite, too. This is why I like other peoples opinions though-- even though Freewheeling Andy doesn't actually like the book, the colour comment he put was actually very useful to me. (Thanks)

How can you read this book and not love Pi? I read this book originally because it meant I could use the super Contemporary Novel coursework title I cooked up: Compare how the authors of 'Life of Pi' and 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' convey the concept and perception of reality. AND as an added bonus, I could slip in the phrase 'time as a linear concept', so I sounded smart. Pi had me in with the first sentence 'My suffering made me sad and gloomy' . Look it over again and just realize how confiding and revealing the phrase is. Sad and gloomy are synonyms, so you have the effect of repetition. Suffering is a very harsh and emotional word, where as gloomy is only a word you would use when speaking to a friend. Thus, I loved Pi at the first sentence. I Love how sarcastic and witty Pi can be whilst at the same time I think you really understand the suffering Pi is going through. Did you notice that in the first section of the book Pi appears to be speaking as an older man and slowly lapses back into the little boy he was, and how in the second section you get the impression of real time? I don't know about you, but it really didn't occur to me until the very end of the book that Pi might be telling porkers. The passion behind the narrative voice drives the suspicion away. [[Realising I sound like a pompous git showing off]] Anyway, reading the book was an enjoyable experience, I found all the characters relevant and intriguing and the only bit that really confused me was .

I doubt i'm going to beat my record of 51 books this year. Mostly because most of these books were by Pratchett. This year I want to slow down and savour them... Best books read this year were Night Watch- Terry Pratchett Life of Pi- Yann Martel The Riddle- Alison Croggon Worse Half-A-Book (I couldn't bare to reach the end)- Gods Behaving Badly

Top gear is fantastic! My favourites are the specials- The American, Polar and African Ones, and the Toybota. The stig is fantastic, I wonder if its the racing driver or just an actor that did the public transport one. 'Meanwhile on the underground car the stig was exploring a whole new world...'

Have you watched that movie? Better yet, did you UNDERSTAND that movie? I mean I though it was a great movie- the ending was satisfyingly bitter sweet, and the concept was great, but I can't tell if it was 'real' or if he was just reading her book... Anyway, what do you think of the movie as a whole, and what was it trying to say? I like opinions!

Yay! I got my profile to work! Look! It's a piggy!

Thanks all!

Thanks! You can't spend all your time buried in facts, your brain will burn. I love English literature because of the chance to give my own opinions. I'm good at that.