Ilona

Haha, perhaps, but he was working with a bunch of sixteen/seventeen year olds in a small honors class. He probably deamed them mature enough. Anyway, most of them had probably seen the film already.

I use my library occasionally, when I want to read a book but don't currently have the money for it. I haven't been there for a while though, since I owe them money. It's expensive, but I enjoy owning my own books - I like the thought of building my own library.

^Thank you! They were originally supposed to go on two ends of a TV-cabinet/shelf/thing, but we bought them separately and put them together. 'Twas fun. Now I just have to anchor them in case of an earth quake...

Well, there she is. EDIT: Better quality

Thank you - I loved his drug-frenzied dialogue.

^Haha, well said. It could have been showing off, but I think Wilde also lived in the time where writers were paid by the sentence (or something along those lines). He may have just been trying to lengthen the book - a lot of writers back then added in a lot of extra, unneeded details to get more money, which is part of the reason I have a hard time reading works from that time.

I read Fight Club a few years ago (twice) it is a really good story, has to be for me to read it twice. But I cant see it being used in schools:mrgreen: I seem to remember there being quite a descriptive few paragraphs on bomb making! Actually, I remember an English teacher at my school (not mine - I'd been sent to him to take the High School Exit Exam) was reading Fight Club with his junior class.

^I plan on going out of state, actually. I don't get out of here often and would like some change. Actually, I just looked it up, and it is apparently Hungarian (however, I've heard it's become popular in other parts of Europe). It's a take on 'Helen', according to the almighty Internets.

^Thank you! I believe it is from Hungary, or otherwise some area of Europe.

My god - sixty pages in and I now can't leave my room for fear of encountering a room other than our hallway. This book is going to cause me emotional damage.

I'm about to get back to my book after I unglue my eyes from the internet.

I was named Ilona by my parents. God, I'm boring.

Harry Potter. No contest. To be honest, I can't see what people like so much about Twilight. There's no plot, none of the characters are well-developed or equiped with actual personalities, most of the writing centers on Bella fawning over the "adonis" Edward, the themes have a rather unethical feel to them, and it's just boring overall. The only appeal in seems to be that it's - in view of some - "romantic" and "sexy". When you look at it, if that's the only redeamable feature, the book is more akin to soft-core pornography than a work of literature. Harry Potter is not the one of the most advanced or complex works of storytelling, but lord, if it isn't creative, I don't know what it is. Rowling put years of thought into creating a massive, functioning world of her own that never ceases to fascinate. True, it's not completely original, but the way it goes about secretly existing in a version of our modern society is definitely unique. Her books are fast-paced, well-structured, and intriguing from start to finish.

"To keep our practice in its pure form is our purose. Sometimes I feel there is something blasphemous in talking about how Buddhism is perfect as a philosophy or teaching without knowing what it actually is. To practice zazen with a group is the most importaint thing for Buddhism - and for us - because this practice is the original way of life." Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Shunryu Suzuki

I have heard a lot of good words on this book, and have been meaning to read it.

Palahniuk's writing style is one that is so obviously unique that it's hard not to respect him. There are many qualities of his stories I enjoy, particularly that I always find ideas in his books that I've thought in the back of my head before, but could never express in words. So far, I've read Fight Club, Survivor, Diary, Haunted, and Choke. Next on my list is Invisible Monsters. Same here - Haunted has probably had the largest effect on me out of his books. I'm surprised to find someone else who favors it as well; most choose Fight Club.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk has probably disturbed me the most out of all books I've read, if only for the story "Guts". Consequently, it is my favorite book from Palahniuk. 1984 really got to me as well, and I didn't actually read it. My English teacher would thoroughly explain all our assigned reading books, so being the lazy procrastinator I am, I never ended up reading any of them through. Nevertheless, hearing the events of this book caused a few sleepless nights. I have a feeling I'll be able to add House of Leaves to this as well once I finish it - I'm not even far into it and it's already terrifying me.

I loved this book - Wilde's wit and beautiful wording is an impressive sight. This story is the sort that is difficult to get into whenever you pick it up, but gradually becomes absorbing as you read along. Especially as you get deeper into the story, it's hard to put it down until you know how it ends. What I love most about this book is it's dual atmosphere (or at least that's how I view it). Throughout most of it, you find Wilde's trademark style - dialogue riddled with ironic and witty remarks, sharp humor, and the like. But then, when you don't really expect it, scenes come up that take a turn on you. Suddenly, the book goes down the path of classic Gothic fiction, creating a palpable atmosphere of horror and suspense. All I could think after reading this was, 'god, didn't know Wilde had it in him!' It's not a book for everyone, of course. It's quite wordy and doesn't contain a lot of action, and then there are some points where it seems to get a bit off track. Chapter 11 (I think?) is a good example of this; it's purpose is to place a transition through Dorian's decent into extreme Hedonism so we can see what he turns out to be in later years. However, most of the chapter becomes a shopping list, explaining all of the wonderful treasures Dorian would become interested in and listing page after page of items he would buy. There's not much purpose for it, and it gets incredibly boring. Other than that, though, I have no complaint on the book. In my opinion, it was beautifully written and a worthy read.

I normally don't use them, but recently was in need of one when I kept losing my place in a psychobabble book I was reading. So, with some construction paper, glue, and markers, I made a little bookmark for it.

I'm alright with sex in books, but there are times where it annoys me. It really depends on how it's described - if it's utterly corny and babbling about the 'red hot thrusting passion' it fills them with or whatever, it gets to me. If they must talk about their spurning emotions, I can only stand it if it's tasteful. Oddly, I prefer when sex scenes - if they must be described - are clinical. Graphic images don't really bother me, just sappy romantic cr*p. I'm not much of a fan of romance.

This is inevitably going to change, but: Raoul Duke - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and others (Thompson) Howard W. Cambell, Jr. - Mother Night (Vonnegut) The Grim Reaper - The Book Thief (Zusak) The Ruler of the Universe - Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Adams) Lord Henry Wotton - The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde)

I don't think I'm even one hundred pages into this book (whick is over six hundred pages in total), and I am already terrified. It's odd, really - so far nothing particularly menacing has happned, and yet the concept of occurances so contrasting to our perceptions of reality is terrifying.

I've been a fan of King since about middle school - the first book I read by him being Salem's Lot. While his books aren't the deepest additions to literature I have ever read, his premises and writing style alone are impressive. His ideas for stories - as most know - are some of the most creative ones out there. Additionally, his style itself just seems to ooze with suspense; I don't think we'll find many better suspense writers. It's hard to say which of his books is my favorite - IT, The Green Mile, Pet Semetary, and Misery are all high on my list.

Hello to all - my name is Ilona. I am female, recently turned seventeen, and reside in a hellish valley of SoCal. Furthermore, I am a lover of books from any genre (my only requirement being that they are good) and am a fan of complaining/gushing to great lengths about them. Not really much else to say... Well, I look forward to discussing this lovely topic with you all!