BookJumper

No problem sometimes it's just not the right time to read a book; there's volumes I've had for years which changed my life when I eventually got round to reading them - but one cannot rush life-changing experiences I feel, they'll happen they're good and ready. I look forward to offering my recommending services on your forthcoming thread . I take it from your grin that you are in possession of enjoyment regarding this marvellous Neil novel? First, congrats on your haul secondly, may I be nosey and inquire as to what edition your Shakespeare is?

It sounds like a fun evening was had by all, I'm ever so slightly jealous but as you say - alas.

There's loads of things I like in there, both thematically (theology, evil vs. good, the issue of free will, anti-heroes...) and stylistically (I, like the Romantic poets, put Milton up there with Shakespeare in terms of ability to move me through the sheer power and awe-inspirting beauty of the English language). I remember recommending it to a Christian Union rep from my soon-to-be-ex uni once, but alas he did not agree with my statement that surely anything recounting the events of Genesis in a more engrossing fashion that is to be found in Genesis had to be good because it got people thinking about the great themes . I heartily agree it is one to re-read, but then, I think that all literature that speaks to us (especially poetry, as it is so saturated with layers of meaning) warrants re-reading.

Delighted you loved Neverwhere, it's one of my favourite books ever! Have you read/do you plan to read any other Gaiman novels?

Congrats on finishing Paradise Lost how'd you find it, apart from difficult? Did you think it was worth the effort or? It's one of my favourite ever pieces of poetry so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Influential, motivational, light, not too depressing, can be read in bed? How about Danny Wallace, Join Me: The True Story of the Man Who Started A Cult by Accident?

Small Gods - Terry Pratchett.

I just had carrout soup with cream cheese, melted cheese and a raw fennel .

I was dragged into one of these once however I found the coffee undrinkable and half of the dishes were spelt wrong on the menu, which didn't bode well so I ended up starving!

Only 33 pages to go 'til the end of Generation Dead!

Turns out it was a fish restaurant, I don't really like fish so I told the lovely waiters so, I was about to expand that sushi, sashimi and molluscs were fine though but I was told not to confuse the poor things so I shushed and obviously, half of the courses were the poshes sashimi platters you've ever seen !

Otherland - Tad Williams.

@ Vanwa - that's precisely the point, she's not my cup of tea at all (my musical tastes and expertise were born in the rockin' mid-fifties and retired around the hairy mid eighties), yet that one song speaks to me, in the same way that I find Goethe tedious yet a single poem by him I studied in school (I was going to post it but I can't find it, it was about a soldier's grave, I think the soldier might have been a pilot) affected me deeply. My connected point was that while we all have our Goethe-Lavignes, i.e. poets who aren't our cup of tea minus a single piece or two, we all have our Beatles-Byrons, i.e. poets who'll speak to us every single line of the way . Ps. my other one-off dark secrets include four songs by Blink 182, seven by Eminem, Boyzone's hideous cover of Father and Son and Ballad of Lemmiwinks off South Park... .

After six hours of drawer 'spring' cleaning, I've unearthed the following traditional and untraditional bookmarking means: - A wooden Harry Potter bookmark, with Hedwig on top, followed by a red 'G', the Gryffindor colours, and a stack of magical tomes - A bookmark with koalas a childhood friend got me about ten years ago when she went to Australia - Four laminated fake

Shelley's Frankenstein is a magnificent book (one of my very favourites, in fact) Nightingale, however given its age and style it's perhaps better read once one has already become an 'avid' reader. If you go to our 'Looking for a Book' section here and post describing the kind of book you think might be easier for you to get into at this stage, I'm sure you'll receive many brilliant recommendations . If you can't get through Frankenstein, chances are it's not the book for you right now; I'd return to it at a later stage... it does deserve it, I promise .

Ooops I so hope you enjoy it now!

Company dinner with dad's firm, so something restaurant-y for me tonight... w00t w00t.

I read the books first and then saw the cartoons when in England for the summer holidays, so the Moomins were a staple of my childhood - they are so cute! I even have a shirt with a tree-hugging Moomin and a pink Moomin-shaped felt handbag so needless to say, I'm glad you liked it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Possession - I'm really interested by it, but as I'm really interested by its

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but... if by 'worse' you mean 'more difficult', then yes it is . As you won't be reading Dante in the original, a lot will depend on the translation (my dad recommends the one done by Dorothy Leigh Sayers as the most faithful, though I myself have never read him in English), however in Italian at least the language, style and metre are fairly archaic - it's a 14th century text, and Italian is a far more rapidly changing language than English is so it reads even older. Paradise Lost, for instance, reads to me pretty much like modern English, give or take the occasional word that's fallen out of use; ok the language is heightened and there's rethorical figures galore but the syntax is pretty much what it is now - so if you found Paradise Lost difficult, you will indeed find The Divine Comedy even worse, as the syntax of the text can appear quite dense. As well as that, the historical, literary, etc. references are numerous and you will need footnotes to understand how these fit into the text as a whole. This is not to discourage you; Inferno (Purgatory and Paradise are the tedious ones in pretty much everyone's opinion, 'cos all the interesting people are damned ) is a masterpiece of poetry, a fascinating work of theology and the amazing testimony of the conflict between the poet's Catholic faith and his empathy for his fellow human being - there's figures he couldn't help but condemn, yet you feel in his voice pity and admiration. Definitely recommended, then; just, make sure your edition is furnishing you with the best tools to appreciate it . @ Frankie: 'The Divine Comedy' a novel ?

Thanks for the hugs but as it says in our rules: 'please do not join just to ask for help with your homework / dissertation / survey etc. These are also only allowed for regular, active members' We don't mind helping members of the community if we can but most people whose first post is to ask for help with homework etc. are never seen again, so I'm sure you can appreciate why this rule is there.