ValenCina

I will be 25 in July.

I am pretty much the only reader in my house. My dad has never read anything except school books - I remember him buying a copy of Treasure island, he kept reading the first 20 pages over and over because he couldn't remember what he'd just read... My mum rarely reads, maybe 2 or 3 books in the summer, she keeps herself busy with her thousand other hobbies!

I accidentally began Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series from book 2, Drawing of the three. I would have preferred reading them in order, but I enjoyed them anyway.

Risotto with mushrooms

Here's your answer -->

There will be blood OST, by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood

I agree with you on this. I think the hype is a consequence of marketing, and not directly linked to JK Rowling's writing ability. As a matter of fact, before the movies were made, Harry Potter's success was a product of word-of-mouth, there wasn't any massive commercial campaign (at least here in Italy).

Event though I'm not the biggest JK Rowling fan (nor a big fan of fantasy in general), I recognize that the story is very well written. You can clearly see that the plot was very carefully planned and structured, every single detail makes sense in the end. She is also very imaginative in the use of the language, which makes the books a very pleasant and entertaining reading.

After having to read Foe for a literature exam, I vow never to touch any of Coetzee's novel again!

Well, this is a classic to me, I was surprised not to find it in the forum so I thought I might share: THE RIGHTS OF THE READER by Daniel Pennac 1. The right not to read 2. The right to skip 3. The right not to finish a book 4. The right to read it again 5. The right to read anything 6. The right to mistake a book for real life 7. The right to read anywhere 8. The right to dip in 9. The right to read out loud 10. The right to be quiet I especially love the right number 3! I know many people who feel terribly guilty leaving a book unfinished, but I never feel obliged at all to finish a book I don't like... Why should I spend my time on that one when there are thousands of better books waiting to be read?? Besides, I always like to think it is not entirely my fault, had the author done a better job, I would have been more than happy to finish it! hahahah So, what about you? Do you have a "favourite" right or one you use very often? Or else one you don't agree about? Please share V. PS: You can also find a cute illustrated poster here.

I don't mind at all, I'm very flattered actually!

Here are the ones I've read: 1. Fury

The little prince: I read this for the book club I attend with my friends and it got very mixed reviews. Some of us liked to be brought back to childhood and see everything afresh through the little prince's eyes; others thought that it was not actually a book for children, but a book for adults who idealizes childhood, since real kids are nothing like the little prince. Personally I agree with the second analysis and I think most of the book is pretty corny to an adult reader - especially the ultra-famous episode about the fox domestication. There are however some pretty good passages with really interesting characters, but I don't want to spoil the surprise for you so we may discuss this after you read it if you wish! Foe: Well, I have also read Waiting for the barbarians and Disgrace by Coetzee, I have liked neither of them and this one is no exception. Coetzee's flaw I notice ever time is that his female characters are not believable, they do not seem women at all to me, but rather the male projection of what a woman should be. Other than this, I find this work too cerebral and academic, nothing about it really appealed to me. Well, let me know your thoughts when you read them!

1. The movable parts - Wang Meng 2. The carpenter's pencil - Manuel Rivas 3. The little prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery 4. Tomorrow in the battle think of me - Javier Marias 5. Fox Volant of the snowy mountain - Jin Yong 6. L'élégance du herisson - Muriel Barbery 7. Fictions - Jorge Luis Borges 8. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll 9. Foe - J.M. Coetzee 10. Chaka - Thomas Mofolo 11. Kin dei Monti - Piero Burzio 12. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys 13. The Master And Margarita - Michail Bulgakov 14. Disillusion - Mao Dun 15. Imaginings of Sand - André Brink 16. Away - Jane Urquhart 17. Trilogy of The Family - Athol Fugard 18. A Garden of Repose - Ba Jin 19.

When I read I just HAVE to underline and take notes on margins, and I don't really feel like this is "ruining" the book, to me this is all about making it mine. And I love reading my thoughts on a book years later I first read it. Of course, no notes or underlining if the book is not mine, that's why I try to avoid borrowing books as much as my finances allow me to!

Thanks for the advice March, I don't know any Malaysian nor Singaporean writers so I would definitely take it into consideration. I haven't found any book entitled A leap of love on Amazon, but the other titles by Lim seem pretty interesting. Have you read any other of her books?

quiche lorraine & spinach leftovers

Thank you all for welcoming me!! I am enjoying my time on the forum already, too bad over the last couple of days I have spent more time online than actually reading... @nicnic: the cat in my avatar is my own. He is chartreux mixed with russian blue, he is 12 now and still a much lively big guy! @JudyB: my favourite Italian author ever is Italo Calvino, although I haven't read all of his books. As I put in my profile, my favourite books by Calvino are those in the trilogy of Our ancestors: The Cloven Viscount, Baron in The Trees and The Invisible Knight. I would recommend any one of them, but Baron in the Trees is my absolute favourite.

Wow, I am totally in for this! My university exams surely help me: this year I am taking Italian literature, Chinese literature and Post-Colonial English Literature hehe . red: books I plan reading green: books I have already read (since December) pink: books I am currently reading * Afghanistan * Albania * Algeria * American Samoa * Andorra * Angola * Antigua and Barbuda * Argentina --> Fictions, Jorge Luis Borges * Armenia * Aruba * Australia * Austria * Azerbaijan * Bahamas * Bahrain * Bangladesh * Barbados * Belarus * Belgium * Belize * Benin * Bermuda * Bhutan * Bolivia * Bosnia and Herzegovina * Botswana * Brazil * British Virgin Islands * Brunei * Bulgaria * Burkina Faso * Burundi * Cambodia * Cameroon * Canada --> Away, Jane Urquhart * Cape Verde * Cayman Islands * Central African Republic * Chad * Chile * China (PRC) --> Disillusion, Mao Dun * Chinese Taipei (TPE) --> Crystal Boys, Bai Xianyong * Colombia * Comoros * Congo DR * Congo Republic * Cook Islands * Costa Rica * Côte d'Ivoire * Croatia * Cuba * Cyprus * Czech Republic * Denmark * Djibouti * Dominica --> Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys * Dominican Republic * Ecuador * Egypt * El Salvador * Equatorial Guinea * Eritrea * Estonia * Ethiopia * Fiji * Finland * France --> L'élégance du herisson, Muriel Barbery * Gabon * The Gambia * Georgia * Germany --> A Clown's Opinions, Heinrich Boll * Ghana * Great Britain --> Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll * Greece * Grenada * Guam * Guatemala * Guinea * Guinea-Bissau * Guyana * Haiti * Honduras * Hong Kong, China --> Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain, Jin Yong * Hungary * Iceland * India --> The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie * Indonesia * Iran * Iraq * Ireland * Israel * Italy --> Kin dei Monti, Piero Burzio * Jamaica * Japan --> I Am a Cat, Soseki Natsume * Jordan * Kazakhstan * Kenya --> A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi wa Thiong'o * Kiribati * Korea, South --> Our twisted hero, Yi Munyol * Korea, North * Kuwait * Kyrgyzstan * Laos * Latvia * Lebanon * Lesotho --> Chaka, Thomas Mofolo * Liberia * Libya * Liechtenstein * Lithuania * Luxembourg * FYROM * Madagascar * Malawi * Malaysia * Maldives * Mali * Malta * Marshall Islands * Mauritania * Mauritius * Mexico * Micronesia * Moldova * Monaco * Mongolia * Montenegro * Morocco * Mozambique * Myanmar * Namibia * Nauru * Nepal * Netherlands * Netherlands Antilles * New Zealand * Nicaragua * Niger * Nigeria --> Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe * Norway * Oman * Pakistan * Palau * Palestine * Panama * Papua New Guinea * Paraguay * Peru * Philippines * Poland * Portugal * Puerto Rico * Qatar * Romania * Russia --> Master and Margarita, Bulgakov * Rwanda * Saint Kitts and Nevis * Saint Lucia --> Omeros, Derek Walcott * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines * São Tomé and Príncipe * Samoa * San Marino * Saudi Arabia * Senegal * Serbia * Seychelles * Sierra Leone * Singapore * Slovakia * Slovenia * Solomon Islands * Somalia * South Africa --> Foe, Coetzee; Imaginings of Sand, André Brink * Spain --> Tomorrow in the Battle Think of Me, Javier Marias * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Suriname * Swaziland * Sweden * Switzerland * Syria * Tajikistan * Tanzania * Thailand * Timor-Leste * Togo * Tonga * Trinidad and Tobago * Tunisia * Turkey * Turkmenistan * Tuvalu * Uganda * Ukraine * United Arab Emirates * United States * Uruguay * Uzbekistan * Vanuatu * Venezuela * Vietnam * Virgin Islands, US * Yemen * Zambia * Zimbabwe Updates coming soon