The Library Nook Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I plan to explore a new genre in my reading (haven't decided what yet!) because I normally stick to what I would call 'normal' fiction. Is anyone else planning to explore anything new? I would quite like to read some more non-fiction as well! Quote
Janet Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I'm planning on reading some Dickens this year. I read A Christmas Carol over the holidays and I really enjoyed it. Quote
Karen1 Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I tend to stick to the same kind of genres and authors too, so I'm going to try and widen my reading habits this year. I've had a fair few suggestions and recommendations over on my reading blog so I'm going to try and use them as a basis to start with. Quote
The Library Nook Posted January 2, 2008 Author Posted January 2, 2008 Janet- I would like to read some more classics this year, that is one of my other goals! Karen- since blogging I have got loads of book ideas but I have been a bit lapse with blog lately. Will head over to check out yours though and get some more ideas! Quote
Kell Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I'll be trying out some "new" classic authors this year (well, new to me - LOL!) including Chalres Dickens, Joseph Conrad, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Victor Hugo, Rudyard Kipling, Choderlos de Laclos,Lew Wallace, Tolstoy, Thackeray and John Bunyan (I have books by each of them waiting to be read!). I'll also be trying out more foreign authors. Quote
kitty_kitty Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I'm planning on reading some Dickens this year. I read A Christmas Carol over the holidays and I really enjoyed it. Me too Quote
The Library Nook Posted January 2, 2008 Author Posted January 2, 2008 I have never been able to get into Dickens, I must try harder. Quote
Oblomov Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I want to have another go at Alistair MacLean's books. I first read them between the late 60s & late 70s and was rather critical at his poor contemporary characterisation marring the often good plots. I still feel tha same way about the unrealistic squeaky cleanliness of his "good guys", but feel that I am now able to read through those and enjoy the story for what it is. I am going to start with one of his later books - Circus. Quote
Heather Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 'What would i like to discover this year apert from new authors is more dea relatives and more living relatives. Quote
Echo Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I'm planning on reading some Dickens this year. I read A Christmas Carol over the holidays and I really enjoyed it. Dickens is one of my favorite authors! My recommendations, if you're just starting out with him, are David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist. All of them are great stories and are not as dense as some others, like Bleak House or Dombey and Son, both of which I also really like. But I wouldn't recommend reading them until you've had a chance to get used to Dickens and to decide if you really like him. Quote
KW Posted January 2, 2008 Posted January 2, 2008 I'm sooo picky, I'd like to 'discover' a book that I really fall in love with. Quote
The Library Nook Posted January 2, 2008 Author Posted January 2, 2008 I'm sooo picky, I'd like to 'discover' a book that I really fall in love with. I love when that happens! I love when I find a book that when it finishes I am crushed and yearn for more:smile2: Quote
Kylie Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 I'm looking forward to discovering some new authors, such as the Brontes, Capote and Thackeray, and also reading more modern literature (of the past 10 years), because I tend to neglect that a bit. I'm also hoping to read a bit of crime; a genre I've never really explored before. Quote
Guest fireball Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 I'll be trying out some "new" classic authors this year (well, new to me - LOL!) including Chalres Dickens, Joseph Conrad, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Victor Hugo, Rudyard Kipling, Choderlos de Laclos,Lew Wallace, Tolstoy, Thackeray and John Bunyan (I have books by each of them waiting to be read!). I'll also be trying out more foreign authors. Fair play to you Kell. The maybe "oldies" but you've a helluva selection to chose from, just pace yourself though, those writers can be overwhelming. Just enjoy and have a ball.! Quote
Kell Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 I'll most likely be reading them at a pace of only one or two a month (I average 8-10 per month, so that's not too bad, I reckon). Seeing as how I have a whole host of different challenges to work on, I think they'll get balanced out a fair old bit. Looking forward to getting stuck into them though. Quote
Freewheeling Andy Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 I'd like to discover another excellent modern author who thinks about outside the box - therefore probably someone foreign. Someone who'll fit my collection of John Lanchester and Tibor Fischer and Haruki Murukami and David Mitchell and Ismael Kadare. Cormac McCarthy looks a good bet, as does Philip Roth, after reading one book by each last year. Quote
Janet Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 Dickens is one of my favorite authors! My recommendations, if you're just starting out with him, are David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby and Oliver Twist. All of them are great stories and are not as dense as some others, like Bleak House or Dombey and Son, both of which I also really like. But I wouldn't recommend reading them until you've had a chance to get used to Dickens and to decide if you really like him. Thanks for the recommendations. I'm pretty sure my Mum has a copy of David Copperfield (it's one of her fave books) so I'll borrow that one at some stage. I've added the others to my Wishlist on Amazon so I don't forget which ones you've suggested. ETA: Amazon have the Wordsworth editions for £1.99!! Quote
amthysteyes2 Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 Last year I discovered Pratchett and Fforde. This year I hope to find a thourogly engrossing, gigantic series of books, probably fantasy and probably Australian. That will consume half the year before I blearily come out of a book coma and read Pratchett again. Thats the best case senario. I'll probably just re-read my favorites until a new Pratchett/ Croggon / Canavan / Pullman (I heard rumors) comes out. Quote
Guest ii Posted January 3, 2008 Posted January 3, 2008 I'd like to discover another excellent modern author who thinks about outside the box - therefore probably someone foreign. I'll offer a name I've brought up several times before and will again, no doubt... Erlend Loe from Norway. Brilliant author! Naive. Super. is one of the most fascinating books I've read in a long while. Also Mikael Niemi's Popular Music is an awesome contemporary book. Quote
Icecream Posted January 4, 2008 Posted January 4, 2008 I have a few new things I bought last year that I want to get to this year. Quote
KAY Posted January 13, 2008 Posted January 13, 2008 I would like to discover that i can read and enjoy a Charles Dickens book but have a fear that i wont be able to get my head around the way it is written. Can anyone suggest a dickens first read? Quote
Angel Posted January 13, 2008 Posted January 13, 2008 A Tale of Two Cities is good. The Old Curiosity Shop, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations won't disappoint either. Hard Times is a short read but not one of my favourites. Although Dickens isn't my favourite Victorian read, do not fear his style. Indeed you will enjoy the tapestry of Victorian life and come to understand why the likes of Dickens and Hardy used the power of their novels to criticize and poke fun at the morals of Victorian life. Sit back and enjoy Quote
JudyB Posted January 13, 2008 Posted January 13, 2008 Great Expectations comes to mind as having some of the most evocative and memorable scenes of Dickens' novels. His books are generally very wordy but if you can get past that, they are a very entertaining and satisfying read. Good luck - hope you find something of his that you enjoy. Quote
Echo Posted January 14, 2008 Posted January 14, 2008 David Copperfield was my first Dickens, and it was outstanding! I thought Great Expectations was boring, and I didn't finish it. A lot of people live it, though. Quote
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