Guest ii Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 What I'm reading, what I'm planning to read... and what I have read as of from now on. Reading: - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - A Venetian Affair by Andrea di Robilant - The Forsyte Sage by John Galsworthy - Un long dimanche de fiancailles by Sébastien Japrisot Next up: - Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins - A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Next up: - a historical book, probably Bleak House by Charles Dickens or The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert I can recommend Madame Bovary and Bleak House - both are memorable novels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I've read Madame Bovary at school, somewhere around years pinecone and cow. I remember it being really good, but that's about it. So it's a reread, really. Although I might read it in English this time, despite the fact that I just brought my French copy home with me last Sunday. But it would be easier to talk about it if I read it in English, my translation skills are not that good. And as far as Bleak House goes, we had a really good TV series about it on some time ago, but the time didn't suit me and for some reason I always forgot to record it and... anyways, I was left curious, and wanted to read the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I wish I was fluent enough in French to read French literature - I'm a big fan of Emile Zola and would love to be able to read it in it's original language. I've always found his writing very modern for the time but then wonder if it's because of the translation that it feels modern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 I haven't read Zola myself, so I can't tell. I must look in to his works (here goes to The Pile again...). French is sometimes rather difficult to translate, although I've found that English does hold up rather well. Well, better than Finnish, at least. In most cases it's the embellished language that's natural to French that makes it sound funny in other languages. Also one unique point I've noticed is that we abhor repetition more than anyone else. There's much more synonyms and equivalence of language used than in many other cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 Added God Delusion and Gods Behaving Badly. And Moved The Forsyte Sage from 'next' to 'current'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 A long over-due report on Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. I liked it. Of course I'm biased because I share a name with a goddess (okay, two actually, if you count my second name Gabrielle which came from Coco Chanel). And I have always loved the Greek mythology. Which is mainly why I picked up this book to begin with! It was a light read, and I didn't expect anything but, but it also had some interesting issues. And it used the characters of the Greek mythology rather interestingly. Set in modern-day London, the Greek gods are fighting to survive. But what happens when a mortal gets tangled up in their world? Trouble, as one can expect. The book dealt with some rather interesting topics, like religion, in a very off-hand way, dressing them up with humor and chick-lit-ish (what? sure that's a word!) cloak of shoes and lipgloss and relationship problems. I do recommend the book. (It's been a really long while since I've last written a book report, so...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 Sounds great, intriguing. Have you read Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, simlar theme but the Aeneid told from the p.o.v of Penelope. Good fun and some great points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Digital Fortress by Dan Brown: As is becoming of me, I never proceed to read in the order (or even according to the list) I've outlined and planned. When I bought this, I was feeling maths, so naturally I had to read it asap. Which I did. Over the weekend. I liked it. It had the twists and turns of Da Vinci Code wihtout the religious humdrum. Maybe it's the style, maybe it's in the story, and maybe, partly, it's the after-effects of DVC, but you were left to constantly question the characters and their agendas. Set in the NSA, the world Brown creates is credible, while of course you cannot really know if it's authentic. Enjoyable read, more credible in my mind than DVC, and the math is fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 I actually thought Digital Fortress was the best of Dan Brown's four books. I still think his writing is very formulaic (enjoyable, but formulaic), but that one just had the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Nice review, ii. I bought this recently and might bump it up the list. I've read The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons so far, and I enjoyed A&D more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nici Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Digital Fortress and Deception Point were my favourites. I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons but religious books aren't really my thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I have been neglecting this in a shameful fashion. I'll do better, I promise. I'll make it an early New Year's Resolution. Okay, to catch up... Spot of Bother - I gave up on this one. While it originally seemed like an interesting book, I had to put it down. For the time when I was reading it, it just wasn't the kind of book that "clicked". There was something about the style of the book, or the story, that failed to hook me up and as time was of the essence, this book got abandoned. The same thing happened to Venetian Affair by Andrea di Robilant. It felt like reading a history book, and not a book about a passionate love affair. And yes, the book was based on these old letters found by the author, sent by the lovers to each other, but I was still hoping it would have had some passion in it. Now it just felt like the author was recaping stock market. No, strike that. There's more emotion in the stock market. This was "he went to the event too. She didn't see him, though. She was sad. They both went home." Boring. Consider the book tossed. What I have been reading, besides loads of school books, is poetry. Sylvia Plath, Chinue Achebe, Aaro Hellaakoski, Victor Hugo, Baudelaire... Also reading: 1984 by George Orwell Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephe J. Dubner Atonement by Ian McEwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 1984 by George Orwell I have always wanted to read this, just never picked it up. I guess I thought it was outdated Seriously though, I really do want to read the book. I'm looking forward to what you think of it big-sis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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