What are you reading?

[White Raven]

I'm reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. and one of Diana Palmer's books at any given time.

[ally-san]

paradise lost.
good for analyzing

[Kaori]

This past week I've only been reading textbooks for class, most notably The Liberated Imagination: Thinking Christianly About the Arts, by Leland Ryken. It's a fairly interesting work of literary theory, although the author discusses music and the visual arts in addition to literature. My class will be reading Paradise Lost later this semester, which I am looking forward to.

[ally-san]

This past week I've only been reading textbooks for class, most notably The Liberated Imagination: Thinking Christianly About the Arts, by Leland Ryken. It's a fairly interesting work of literary theory, although the author discusses music and the visual arts in addition to literature. My class will be reading Paradise Lost later this semester, which I am looking forward to.

i hope u enjoy paradise lost. its really good. its good to have your bible ready just for a reference and to compare. im on book 5 right now. the perspectives milton puts on satan are very interesting.

[umathurmanlover]

Scar Tissue, i got it for christmas and just finished it, its' an awesome read but sorta graphic at times

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I read the first 50 pages of Paradise Lost and had trouble reading and understanding it, as its in Old English. It was interesting, just complex. It also didn't help that I'm not used to reading one page poems, let alone 400+ page poems! Please summerise what happens in the book!
Thanks!

[ally-san]

I read the first 50 pages of Paradise Lost and had trouble reading and understanding it, as its in Old English. It was interesting, just complex. It also didn't help that I'm not used to reading one page poems, let alone 400+ page poems! Please summerise what happens in the book!
Thanks!

o but its soooo good. seriously if u just analyze it and use your bible even go to sparknotes if u need to, its really worth reading, trust me!
i would happily help u understand it if u want im not done w/ it tho but i could help u w/ it thus far

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Thanks! That would be great! Its just that I have dyslexia and even Shakespeare was a chore for me, and Paradise Lost was also, but unlike Shakespeare's stuff I found PL interesting.

[ally-san]

yea shakespeare can get old it just matters what ur reading of his.
i like paradise lost becuz its about the creation of man and the fall of man. i just find it so interesting because the Bible doesnt talk about before the creation of man so its cool to see a theory on what had happened.
so do u want help w/ it or not? i would gladly help u thru pm but u have to tell me what parts u need help understanding:)

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Yeah, I enjoy it because of the creation of man and fall of man also. Very fascinating stuff. Yes, it would be great if you could help me through PM but as it was a library book it may be a week until I can get it again. Then I'll tell you what I don't understand. Thanks!

[ally-san]

ok well just tell me when u get it and i'll be happy to discuss it w/ u
no prob
just pm me when u get it

[Jasdero]

Mythology by Edith Hamilton

[Photosoph]

Triss -one of the Redwall books by Brain Jacques. I'm enjoying it so far. Generally it's about an escape slave with some friends, but that's all I know so far. Also, like in all the Redwall series, the characters are human-like animals, with typical places that feature in most of the stories: e.g, Redwall abbey, Salamandastron etc.

[Kaori]

I just finished The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula LeGuin. The concept of the book is fascinating, although it is neither her cleanest book nor my favorite among those that I have read.

[uc pseudonym]

*gasp* Think ye no evil of the fair Lady Austen!

Then I believe I shall remain largely silent. Having reached chapter 40, I am not particularly impressed with the book, or with the style in which it has been written.

Meanwhile, I wish that I were able to read a greater number of books for my own pleasure, but my schedule as of late has not permitted it.

[JoyfulSongs]

Then I believe I shall remain largely silent. Having reached chapter 40, I am not particularly impressed with the book, or with the style in which it has been written.

*looks at her silly post and rolls eyes, she must have been tired...*

Must you remain silent? I only know people who have read and enjoyed them, so I would like to hear a different side. Please tell me what you think!

[Technomancer]

I remember reading Pride and Prejudice in high school, and finding it more than a little boring. I'm told that I was lucky; we weren't doing Wuthering Heights that year.

Anyways, I'm currently reading 'The Border: Canada, the U.S. & Dispatches From the 49th Parallel'. Essentially it's a discussion of past and current border issues and how they have shaped Canadian attitudes and history. The book was written in the wake of Sept 11th, and has plenty of musings on its role as well as the future of Canadian sovreignty. An excellent read.

[uc pseudonym]

*looks at her silly post and rolls eyes, she must have been tired...*

Must you remain silent? I only know people who have read and enjoyed them, so I would like to hear a different side. Please tell me what you think!

Certainly. On the positive side, I have found Mr. Bennet somewhat humorous and Austen's social commentaries at times well done; occasionally the banter is witty. But these things are awash in a sea of negativity, due to several reasons:
1) Jane Austen is not, in a modern sense, a good writer. She tells her story extremely flatly.
2) I am willing to give the characters some leeway, in that there only real hope of having a decent life is to be married to someone, but they still ultimately seem shallow and flaky. Put simply, I do not care about the characters in any way.
3) Social propriety is not the best of topics for a novel.

To end on a positive note, the title fits the book very well.

[Lady Arianrod]

I also read Pride and Prejudice. I enjoyed the book to some degree, but as uc said, the narrative style is rather dated. I found the book light and sometimes humorous, but I couldn't fully appreciate it because of the overall shallow portrayal of the characters.

The attacks on the upper class were often accurate, however.

[Hitokiri]

Lord of the Rings: Two Towers for the thousandth time

[uc pseudonym]

I have read all but the end of the novel now, and I would add an additional rational for my dislike to the list (this was merely omitted in my first post, not unpresent):
4) There is no character handling; characters are thrown about far too easily.

On the positive side, my dislike of Lydia's general brainlessness provided at least minimal reason to continue reading (more so than the rest of the novel).

If this counts for this thread, I strongly considered reading Terry Goodkind's Out of the Darkness but ultimately left it on the shelf simply because I did not have any pure motive for reading it.

[Maledicte]

I'm reading Lee Strobel's A Case for Faith. I don't care too much for the author's questions and comments, but the interviews are insightful and very (to use an imprecise term) cool.

[Technomancer]

Right now I'm reading "Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution". Basically, it's a natural history of everyone's favourite Paleozoic fossil, and the important role it's played in various paleontological controversies. I've only just started the book, but I've heard it's very good.

[plutogrl03]

I have just started reading The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm only in the second chapter but it hasn't really gotten my attention. Even if I find the story completely boring, I'm going to make myself finish it. I need to read the "Classics".

[Indigo_Eyes]

I have just started reading The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm only in the second chapter but it hasn't really gotten my attention. Even if I find the story completely boring, I'm going to make myself finish it. I need to read the "Classics".

I read The Count of Monte Christo for school last year as a book to fill the 'classic' list. I had seen the movie (which is awesome, by the way) first, so I probably am prejudiced in saying that the movie is better than the book, although the book wasn't that bad itself. A cousin of mine, however, read the book first and then saw movie, and she loves the book and didn't care for the movie. They're different from each other, especially in the way that they end (I like the movie's ending a lot better).

[_Sin_]

I'm currently into the Disworld Books. They are written in a pretty funny but are still philosophical enough to provoke thoughts about things you usually wouldn't think about. It's pretty interesting to see how humans could have evolved under different circumstance (i.e. the existance of real mythological persons like the Snow Father (a.k.a. as the Santa Claus) or the Tooth Fairy.

Anyone else reads these books and can recommend any of them?

[Technomancer]

I'm currently into the Disworld Books. They are written in a pretty funny but are still philosophical enough to provoke thoughts about things you usually wouldn't think about. It's pretty interesting to see how humans could have evolved under different circumstance (i.e. the existance of real mythological persons like the Snow Father (a.k.a. as the Santa Claus) or the Tooth Fairy.

Anyone else reads these books and can recommend any of them?

Of Terry Pratchett's novels the absolute best were 'Good Omens' (with Neil Gaiman), and 'The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents'. I'd also greatly recommend

Hogfather
Small Gods
Carpe Jugulum

Realistically, all of them are excellent books but these ones stand out.

[Scribs]

I just finished Shadows of the Empire and will probably start reading Something Fresh by P.G Wodehouse. Though I have been reading Martin Chuzzlewit by Dickens on and off since the summer. I also have a book on auditioning I should read. Plus I want to read Micheal Chrichton's new book. Oof! so many things to read and so little time!

[uc pseudonym]

I'm currently into the Disworld Books. They are written in a pretty funny but are still philosophical enough to provoke thoughts about things you usually wouldn't think about. It's pretty interesting to see how humans could have evolved under different circumstance (i.e. the existance of real mythological persons like the Snow Father (a.k.a. as the Santa Claus) or the Tooth Fairy.

Anyone else reads these books and can recommend any of them?

I read them when I can]Thief of Time[/i] the most, probably because of the general style and orientation.

[FadedOne]

hmm...i'm reading 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card at the moment.