Angury

I've read up to A Dance With Dragons. I hope it's out by next year.. or at least before I graduate!

Ah, I've turned into a bit of a book collector now - I guess that's why I've started buying hardbacks. I don't usually reread books but I love seeing them sitting on the shelves. It gives the room a lovely atmosphere I find.. unless you're living in student accommodation the size of a cardboard box. It's also why I've started buying collections of works by certain authors. It's convenient to have all of their works in one big book, but it's also nice to see such collections sitting on a shelf to be admired.

That's a nice idea, having different bookmarks for different types of books. I've started buying hardback books recently and I feel a bit guilty folding their pages because they appear more durable and I feel like I'm ruining them. I've ordered that zipper bookmark, I really need to get into a habit of using bookmarks. I do hope it doesn't keep falling out though - maybe I'll have to resort to old train tickets as well (of which I have plenty).

Do you guys use a bookmark when you are reading or fold the corner of the page? What bookmark do you use if you do use one? I have always folded the corners of my pages when I'm reading - I used to hate using bookmarks because the one I used always kept falling out. I know a lot of people who can't stand the sight of pages being dog-eared; they claim it ruins the book. I like to think it means the book is loved. I have so many books from my childhood with pages creased from all the folding, and I love it. It shows how much they've been used and read. I've started borrowing more and more books from the library now though, and I would never ruin someone elses book. So I've started searching for bookmarks. I've had a lot of fun looking at some very creative bookmarks, but I've set my sights on this: A zipper bookmark! Anyway, I'm curious how everyone here marks their pages. Are you obsessed with keeping everything pristine and new? Or do you always spill tea and coffee over your pages like I do?

I read the series so long ago, I think I will need to read a quick summary of what has happened so far before beginning the new book - once it is released. Has a publication date been released?

Thanks very much - I've heard some lovely things about Bath. It's great to hear you were able to visit the city while you were in the UK. Did you visit Wales by any chance (it's where I go to university)? How interesting - how come you chose that particular topic (or did you have a say in what to write about)? What were your conclusions from your essay? I'm actually enjoying the research for my essay at the moment - it makes you realise that it's a clinical disorder which requires treatment rather than prevention. What you just described sounds beautiful. I've wanted to go to Italy for a long time, I've just always been worried about the language barrier. Also, do you mind me asking how you got involved with your Book Club? I'd love to join one, I'm just not sure how to go about it. There is one offered in my university, but it's mainly full of English Literature students and I think I'd feel a bit out of my depth!

Yay, it's my birthday in August! I don't celebrate birthdays anyway but I guess it's worth mentioning when it's your 21st. Although it's your 18th birthday which is more significant here in the UK. Anyway, I've been working in a lab over summer so will be continuing with that. I am also writing two essays at the moment: one on Paedophilia and another on Suicide Prevention in India compared to the UK. So I will probably continue to work on those. Oh yes, and I need to get back to my French language learning - that's been on a bit of a break the past few weeks. I go back to Uni on the first of September so I really want to enjoy this month. I might take a trip to the UK city Bath sometime, I've heard some wonderful things about it. Here's a picture for those of you who haven't heard of it:

I can't believe it's August already. I'm currently reading Madness and Civilization by Michel Foucault. I've acquired an interest in Medical Anthropology recently so have had a lot of fun buying books like: History of Madness by Michel Foucault The Impact of Culture on Human Experience by Liah Greenfield Steps to an Ecology of Mind by Gregory Bateson Only problem is that these books can become a bit dense so I'm trying to find a nice fictional novel to read side by side. I've recently joined an online classics group and I think we'll be reading The Stranger by Albert Camus next.

I've been reading ebooks for a long time now, but my friends recently bought me a £50 Waterstones gift card (Waterstones is a book shop for those not from the UK). I am now back to becoming obsessed with books. I spent ages in Waterstones yesterday trying to decide what to buy. Ultimately it makes more sense for me to buy ebooks because as a student I don't have much room to store paper books. But Waterstones have classics with some beautifully illustrated covers, along with some collections of an authors entire work (I recently bought a Shakespeare collection). If I read an ebook and know it is something I will read again then I will buy it in its paper version.

I guess if you consider the fact that Holden has depression it can be read in another way. When I first read it I just assumed he was an annoying teenager. Or perhaps it is supposed to show how frustrating it can be as an outsider looking at someone suffering from depression. Or maybe it's just not a good book..

I'm going to try and learn Dulce et decorum est by Wilfred Owen off by heart: Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime... Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. And Funeral Blues by WH Auden: Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead, Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good. I like depressing poems. Although I would also like to learn William Blake's Auguries of Innocence it may be a bit much for me.. I'm just concentrating on Dulce et decorum est at the moment. I find that as you speak the poems out loud to try and memorise them the words take on a new meaning. Particularly with the first poem, you can almost feel as if you're standing in the trenches with the way each syllable slips off the tongue and joins the next. Plus you can experiment with different ways to say the poems out loud in terms of pace and tone, and place emphasis on different words to give each sentence a different meaning - it's rather fun! I would love to be able to speak poetry like this:

This is what I'd be worried about - being seen as pretentious, and I would probably make that judgement as well if someone were to start quoting poetry in front of me. I think I'd like to remember some poems that have stuck with me just for my own pleasure of mind. There are poems that have really resonated with me at certain points in my life, and it'd be nice to have those in the back of my mind which I can come back to whenever I am having difficulties. Plus there's a lot of nostalgia associated with some poems I have read in the past which bring up emotions. It's amazing how powerful words can be.

I remember reading a review somewhere saying that Holden was depressed - I guess that explains quite a few things. I read the novel as an adolescent and I couldn't relate to it at all. I guess it's the type of novel you have to read at a certain point in your life in order for it to resonate with you.

It's interesting how many people can't stand this book, me being one of them. What makes this book so popular and deemed a classic? Maybe it's something you need to read at a certain point in your life in order to appreciate it? I often wonder if I just need to reread the novel to get a different perspective.

I would really like to start doing this. There are a few poems I've come across which I'd like to keep in my kind. I've been thinking of writing them on my bedroom wall. Has there ever been a conversation where your memorised poems have come in useful? I remember Christopher Hitchens illustrated his point beautifully once by reciting 'Dulce et decorum est.'

I would recommend By Heart: 101 Poems to Remember by Ted Hughes. I'm new to poetry as well, and was unsure where to begin. This book is a collection of various poets from different times. It's a good way to delve into a variety of works and see what sticks out to you.

I haven't read this book in years, but regarding your second comment

I saw A Fault in Our Stars a few days ago at the cinema. Can't say I was a fan, it was far too cheesy for me, plus I didn't like the acting. It seems to be quite popular though.

I have small ears and have this problem of trying to find earphones that fit. I just buy earphones that fit over your ear rather than go into them to get past this problem. And I'm not a fan of headphones either, or those would be a good option.

Do you think languages are taught well in schools where you are from? Can most people speak two languages, or just their native language?The UK has quite a bad reputation for its poor ability in foreign languages - mainly due to the fact that English is an international language. We are also not taught languages until we are 12/13, whereas it may be more efficient to begin learning them at a younger age. It's interesting how there are expressions in other languages which you just can't translate into English - I often wonder if such expressions say something about that particular culture. Here's an interesting list of words which cannot be found in the English language: http://www.rosettastone.co.uk/blog/10-awesome-words-that-dont-exist-in-english/

I noticed there are a couple of bilingual members on this forum, and was wondering whether anyone is learning a language at the moment? I've only learnt Spanish to GCSE Level (two years of learning for those not from the UK), but I went to Spain twice this year and was surprised at my ability to converse with the locals despite my mediocre ability. These visits to Spain have stimulated my desire to learn languages now - it is such a different experience when you can converse with people in their native tongue. I've started learning French now alongside Spanish. I'm currently using a website called DuoLingo, which consists of various levels of vocab which you need to practice through - a bit like a game. It makes learning languages more enjoyable. As for Spanish, I have been listening to some Spanish music, watching films (with subtitles) and reading the news everyday in Spanish to try and improve my vocabulary. When we learnt languages in school, we spent a lot of time learning words which would never be spoken on a day-to-day basis (my Spanish presentation in school was on Global Warming!). So I've been trying to improve my everyday Spanish by using the media. My French isn't good enough to understand full sentences at the moment, so I am just going to stick to DuoLingo until I feel more comfortable with the structure and grammar. Bringing this thread back to books, I have been planning to read One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez for a while now. However, I wonder whether a translated version of the story can really be the same as the original? Surely by translating it, you are taking away some of the meanings behind the sentences? I have bought the english translation of the book and will get around to reading it soon, but I do wonder how different the experience would be, reading the novel in Spanish. What is everyones experiences of learning languages? What methods did you use? My main weakness is pronunciation, as I have little opportunity to practice French or Spanish here in the UK. I think I may start talking to myself just for practice.

I finished Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett a few hours ago. As with all of Pratchett's books, it was a good read, although not his best. My next book by him is going to be Going Postal, but first I'm going to read a few chapters of Sarah Hall's book The Electric Michelangelo.

I currently subscribe to the Student BMJ (British Medical Journal) and Writers Digest, which is helpful for getting tips on creative writing. I don't really read magazines anymore though. I sometimes have a peak at the Asiana magazine though (Asian Women Fashion magazine).

I like the idea of displaying your books like this: Although I think I'd rather sort my books by theme, and then by author just to make it more practical. I want to live in a small house when I finally get a house of my own. But I will definitely have a large space for a library - it will be my main room! I tend to have most of my books on a kindle atm, but once I get my own house, I'll make sure to have a copy of every book I have read. It's like being surrounded by memories, I find there's a lot of nostalgia associated with the books I've kept. I'd like my library to be in a big open room; big windows and a lovely fireplace. And of course some leather sofas to curl into, along with a study desk. I'd be more interested in an antique design than something modern; mainly wooden decorations with perhaps a rich maroon carpet. Ooh, and what about a chandelier?! Perhaps I'm going a bit far now.. It's nice to dream about all the books I'll have in the future and where to put them. I also write journals, so I'd like to have a separate bookcase somewhere in the corner with my own writing.