Hayley

I thought exactly the same thing until I had to do an essay at uni for it. Doing the research made me realise the amount of detail that had gone into such a short story. There are entire journals just on the use of colour (e.g Gatsby is often associated with gold, Daisy always with white); my tutor told us that in a short story, every word has to really mean something and I think it does in Gatsby! I still wouldn't put it up there with my favourite books but Fitzgerald definitely deserves the prestige the book has gained in my opinion

Have you tried Trudi Canavan's The Black Magician Trilogy? It's more fantasy than sci-fi but it is a little like Harry Potter, only with more adult themes etc. Definitely worth reading if you havn't already

I might be completely over thinking this but while reading David Copperfield recently, a quote brought Alice in Wonderland to mind, which was 'she could not relent towards the London smoke, which, she said, "peppered everything"'. This reminded me of the pig and pepper chapter in Alice in Wonderland, where the Duchess sings "I speak severely to my boy, / I beat him when he sneezes; / for he can thoroughly enjoy / the pepper when he pleases!". In relation to London smoke, I thought there was a chance this particular chapter was referring to the child labour and industrial revolution which was so big an issue in Victorian England. I don't know if anybody else can see the link here but I'd be interested to see if you do

One of mine has to be Ed Kennedy from Markus Zusak's 'I am the messenger'. He is sort of forced to go around helping people but when a girl asks him if he's a saint, he replies 'no, just another stupid human'. This has stuck with me for years as it reminds me what us stupid humans can actually achieve. Also Roald Dahl as I used to have 'the Roald Dahl treasury when I was younger and there was a quote near the front which I'm pretty sure was 'watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.' As I got older I realised this could be applied to real life and the fact that you have to appreciate the world around you and believe in yourself to be happy. Both truly amazing authors.

I once went on holiday to Spain and stupidly left my book on a sun lounger, when I came back I assume the glue on the spine must have melted as all the pages started falling out as I picked it up :/

I think it would be a really nice thing to own first editions of your favourite books, just the same as if your very into films its nice to have film memorabilia or if your a big pottery fan you might pay a lot for a collectable piece. I really would love to have a first edition Terry Pratchett so very jealous! maybe once I'm not on a student budget I can

First book that ever made me cry was Phillip Pullmans 'The Amber Spyglass' but I wont say at which part because it would be a real spoiler if you haven't read it!I wouldn't avoid a book because it's sad, but if one is particularly sad, I read a Terry Pratchett book afterwards and it cheers me up

I felt it with Carlos Ruiz Zaphon's 'The Shadow of the Wind'. I was so surprised by the ending I wanted to re-read it so I could see if there were any clues I'd missed earlier on

I have the same problem being a student, I find it hard to keep track of the books I have in my accommodation and my house, but my general rule is : my favourite books on my bookshelf at home, books I haven't read yet I just stand up on my cupboard, books I don't want to throw away but probably won't read any time soon (like childrens books) in boxes under my bed, books for studying I either leave on my bookshelf at uni or if I need to bring them home I try to keep them in the bag I brought them home in and for any other books I use the top of my wardrobe as a sort of big shelf

If you enjoyed the boy in the striped pyjamas I'd definitely recommend The Book Theif by Markus Zusak.

You could try Angela Carters 'The Bloody Chamber', it definitely is quite disturbing and weird and contains quite a few taboo topics. It's a series of short stories that give a very different view on the traditional fairy tale.