Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?

[Gutwrench]

The Colossus - Sylvia Plath

 

[JamesMike]

The Colossus - Sylvia Plath

What do you think of the author's style of writing?

 

[Gutwrench]

@JamesMike - I'm very fond of non metrical poetry. My favorites being Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda, and Sylvia Plath. If you are famialr with her, she writes in a confessional first person voice. She struggled with severe depression until she took her life. Knowing the background of poets adds depth to their work as I read.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Not yet, but will read the rest of the series in the future. I got the cart before the horse, but did not have anything to read and my teammate loaned it to me.

Scott Lynch plans to write a series of seven of these books. Three have been published, and a fourth is - reportedly - in the works, and not all that long from publication. Autumn 2015 had been mooted but I recently read that it has been pushed back to 2016. Scott Lynch himself has struggled with issues of severe depression.

@JamesMike - I'm very fond of non metrical poetry. My favorites being Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda, and Sylvia Plath. If you are famialr with her, she writes in a confessional first person voice. She struggled with severe depression until she took her life. Knowing the background of poets adds depth to their work as I read.

Yes, to my mind Sylvia Plath is a better and more powerful poet than was her former husband, Ted Hughes (who later went on to become Poet Laureate., if memory serves).

 

[LadyX]

There’s something special about eight-year-old Rhoda Penmark. With her carefully plaited hair and her sweet cotton dresses, she’s the very picture of old-fashioned innocence. But when their neighborhood suffers a series of terrible accidents, her mother begins to wonder: Why do bad things seem to happen when little Rhoda is around?

The spine–tingling tale of little Rhoda Penmark had a tremendous impact on the thriller genre and generated a whole perdurable crop of creepy kids. Today, The Bad Seed remains a masterpiece of suspense that's as chilling, intelligent, and timely as ever before.

 

[Gutwrench]

Yes, to my mind Sylvia Plath is a better and more powerful poet than was her former husband, Ted Hughes (who later went on to become Poet Laureate., if memory serves).

I don't know much of Hughes' work only a bit of his personal life. Plath killed herself, a few years later the mistress who he had abandoned Plath for killed herself along with their daughter, and then years later Hughs' son who's mother was Sylvia killed himself.

 

[aaronvan]

I got about half way through before finally giving up. It purported to be noir but read like a M.F.A. thesis project.

Bad Seed

Might like this, too.

 

[LadyX]

Might like this, too.

I read it last year. An excellent gothic noir novel.

 

[impulse462]

Finished reading 1984 the other day. Pretty bleak/chilling book. The first part was a tad repetitive but maybe that was necessary to convey the craziness of the world the book took place in.

 

[AtheistP3ace]

Finishing my second read through of game of thrones right now. Couple hundred pages left then I am off to read Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb. Anxiously awaiting the new Steven Erickson book Fall of Light. His Malazan series was amazing!!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Finished reading 1984 the other day. Pretty bleak/chilling book. The first part was a tad repetitive but maybe that was necessary to convey the craziness of the world the book took place in.

If you haven't yet read it, I'd suggest that you next try 'Animal Farm' which is even better, to my mind, a rare masterpiece of both literature - as it is written in a deceptively clear and easy to read prose - and politics, as it is a work which offers us a devastating insight into politics and political philosophy.

 

[impulse462]

If you haven't yet read it, I'd suggest that you next try 'Animal Farm' which is even better, to my mind, a rare masterpiece of both literature - written in a deceptively clear and easy to read prose - and a work which offers us a devastating insight into politics and political philosophy.

I already have that on my list. I'll definitely get to it in the near future, but I'm diversifying my reading interests at the moment. I'm about to read A Tale of Two Cities. What your opinion on Charles Dickens?

 

[AVBeatMan]

I already have that on my list. I'll definitely get to it in the near future, but I'm diversifying my reading interests at the moment. I'm about to read A Tale of Two Cities. What your opinion on Charles Dickens?

Just jumping in here. Dickens is my favourite author of all time. Love Great Expectations and also try and read A Christmas Carol every December before Christmas to get me in the mood!

 

[bradl]

Well.. ScholarShare day at FairyTale Town was actually pretty fun. Not only were the offers (especially Numeroff - see my previous post) impressed with out many people showed up with Reading Rainbow shirts (again, see previous post about her book and that episode on Netflix), but Numeroff read her latest book to all of the kids there, and it happened to be a new book that finished its final printing the Thursday before the event. In fact, they took a page out of Levar Burton's Kickstarter project, and launched this book as one of their own.

In fact, someone managed to get the entire reading up to Youtube. Enjoy!

Long story short, bought the book, Raising a Hero, Numeroff signed our copy of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and we were all happy, as the kids went off to play on the slide out of Owl's Tree House and walking The Crooked Mile.

I've already had to read Raising a Hero to them 4 times this week.

BL.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I already have that on my list. I'll definitely get to it in the near future, but I'm diversifying my reading interests at the moment. I'm about to read A Tale of Two Cities. What your opinion on Charles Dickens?

I must say that I liked 'A Tale Of Two Cities'.

As with a number of the works of Dickens the opening is unforgettable (this is also the case with Great Expectations and some of his other books). Actually, I was haunted by it - the horrifying and unjust fate of the decent and honourable Dr Manette - for years. I had read it first as a teenager, and then, years later, on a holiday to Paris to stay with old and cherished French friends, I sat through the night and re-read it in an attic apartment on the quays of the Seine in the Ile de la Citié.

As a story and a novel, it is terrific. Now, while it is not history, (and has its own historic bias) there are parts of the book where you realise that Dickens - as a young man - could well have met - indeed, must have met - people who had lived through the French Revolution - in other words, there is a sense of 'living memory' in the atmosphere of the book.

Years later, in 1989, on the two hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution, Mrs Thatcher, then (Conservative) Prime Minister of Britain, perhaps missing the point somewhat, gave a first edition of 'A Tale Of Two Cities' as a gift to Francois Mitterand, the then Socialist President of France.

Charles Dickens was great writer, with a gift for character, setting and story telling, and a superb knack (only equalled in recent times by J K Rowling) of penning extraordinarily apt names for his characters. His best books - such as David Copperfield, are rightly considered classics.

However, to my mind, some of his works could well have done (as books) with the services of a severely competent sub-editor. This is not because Dickens was a flabby or verbose writer - when pushed to produce words to a deadline he was anything but - but the fact was that many of the works that both he and Alexandre Dumas (a contemporary of his) wrote were serialised in periodicals before being published in book form.

This was to cater to a newly literate mass (working-class) audience who might not have been able to afford books, but could certainly afford penny periodicals - and it encouraged the padding and stretching out of the story, in order to make it last longer, and was - moreover - a superb marketing ploy (and proved pretty remunerative, too).

 

[AVBeatMan]

Sometimes with Dickens I just love the prose and get lost in its beautiful construction and "correctness". It doesn't matter what he's writing about its just beautifully written.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sometimes with Dickens I just love the prose and get lost in its beautiful construction and "correctness". It doesn't matter what he's writing about its just beautifully written.

And sometimes, he takes forever to get to the point. This is when you have to remind yourself that this is not Victorian (or nineteenth century) verbosity, but, was rather, the need for the first celebrity writer - Dickens was the first writer to do public and international tours where he gave public readings of his works to adoring audiences in literate societies such as the US - who had successfully made a living and a name and a fortune as a novelist and had to make sure that he was able to continue to do so, which meant satisfying his audience with cliff-hangers at the end of chapters, and drawn out conclusions to some of his books, and going on endless tours to publicise his works.

Alexandre Dumas was the exact same. Not many works are as arresting and gripping as the first 150 pages of The Count Of Monte Cristo. But, my God, the man takes a thousand pages to get to the ned of his revenge.

 

[pachyderm]

I must say that I liked 'A Tale Of Two Cities'.

As with a number of the works of Dickens the opening is unforgettable (this is also the case with Great Expectations and some of his other books). Actually, I was haunted by it - the horrifying and unjust fate of the decent and honourable Dr Manette - for years. I had read it first as a teenager, and then, years later, on a holiday to Paris to stay with old and cherished French friends, I sat through the night and re-read it in an attic apartment on the quays of the Seine in the Ile de la Citié.

As a story and a novel, it is terrific. Now, while it is not history, (and has its own historic bias) there are parts of the book where you realise that Dickens - as a young man - could well have met - indeed, must have met - people who had lived through the French Revolution - in other words, there is a sense of 'living memory' in the atmosphere of the book.

Years later, in 1989, on the two hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution, Mrs Thatcher, then (Conservative) Prime Minister of Britain, perhaps missing the point somewhat, gave a first edition of 'A Tale Of Two Cities' as a gift to Francois Mitterand, the then Socialist President of France.

Charles Dickens was great writer, with a gift for character, setting and story telling, and a superb knack (only equalled in recent times by J K Rowling) of penning extraordinarily apt names for his characters. His best books - such as David Copperfield, are rightly considered classics.

However, to my mind, some of his works could well have done (as books) with the services of a severely competent sub-editor. This is not because Dickens was a flabby or verbose writer - when pushed to produce words to a deadline he was anything but - but the fact was that many of the works that both he and Alexandre Dumas (a contemporary of his) wrote were serialised in periodicals before being published in book form.

This was to cater to a newly literate mass (working-class) audience who might not have been able to afford books, but could certainly afford penny periodicals - and it encouraged the padding and stretching out of the story, in order to make it last longer, and was - moreover - a superb marketing ploy (and proved pretty remunerative, too).

this was great until you mentioned jk rowling...

And sometimes, he takes forever to get to the point. This is when you have to remind yourself that this is not Victorian (or nineteenth century) verbosity, but, was rather, the need for the first celebrity writer - Dickens was the first writer to do public and international tours where he gave public readings of his works to adoring audiences in literate societies such as the US - who had successfully made a living and a name and a fortune as a novelist and had to make sure that he was able to continue to do so, which meant satisfying his audience with cliff-hangers at the end of chapters, and drawn out conclusions to some of his books, and going on endless tours to publicise his works.

Alexandre Dumas was the exact same. Not many works are as arresting and gripping as the first 150 pages of The Count Of Monte Cristo. But, my God, the man takes a thousand pages to get to the ned of his revenge.

two of my all time faves are the three musketeers , the count...

 

[jeremy h]

Very interesting if a bit of a plod in terms of style.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

this was great until you mentioned jk rowling...



two of my all time faves are the three musketeers , the count...

Actually, I quite like - no, if I am honest, I'll admit that I really like - the Harry Potter writings of J K Rowling. However, my point here, is that she has a real flair for naming characters, a knack which was something that Charles Dickens also clearly had in abundance.

 

[impulse462]

And sometimes, he takes forever to get to the point. This is when you have to remind yourself that this is not Victorian (or nineteenth century) verbosity, but, was rather, the need for the first celebrity writer - Dickens was the first writer to do public and international tours where he gave public readings of his works to adoring audiences in literate societies such as the US - who had successfully made a living and a name and a fortune as a novelist and had to make sure that he was able to continue to do so, which meant satisfying his audience with cliff-hangers at the end of chapters, and drawn out conclusions to some of his books, and going on endless tours to publicise his works.

Alexandre Dumas was the exact same. Not many works are as arresting and gripping as the first 150 pages of The Count Of Monte Cristo. But, my God, the man takes a thousand pages to get to the ned of his revenge.

This is an interesting point. I finished the first 6 chapters of A Tale of Two Cities and I can see the verbosity. Interestingly enough, back when i was in middle school, my parents tried to get me to read more and I hated books that were too verbose, but I can see how some people like it. Honestly, in this book I don't mind it that much really. Unlike in, say, Game of Thrones, where he tries to be verbose (and is) but it's just total crap in my opinion.

Also, I quickly finished The Martian last week. Really great book. I really liked the detailed descriptions of experiments and engineering endeavors he had to perform while on Mars; it really gave the book it's charm. I hope the movie lives up to it (and from the reviews it's been getting I assume it will).

 

[Don't panic]

This is an interesting point. I finished the first 6 chapters of A Tale of Two Cities and I can see the verbosity. Interestingly enough, back when i was in middle school, my parents tried to get me to read more and I hated books that were too verbose, but I can see how some people like it. Honestly, in this book I don't mind it that much really. Unlike in, say, Game of Thrones, where he tries to be verbose (and is) but it's just total crap in my opinion.

Also, I quickly finished The Martian last week. Really great book. I really liked the detailed descriptions of experiments and engineering endeavors he had to perform while on Mars; it really gave the book it's charm. I hope the movie lives up to it (and from the reviews it's been getting I assume it will).

i read the book this summer (loved it) and saw the movie last weekend.

the movie is really good.
there are some minor changes and simplifications from the book (mostly cut parts to fit the size) with no significant effect on the story or on its scientific plausibility.
there is one single scene, which i could tell, which is significantly different, but again, it is not detrimental, just different (it might even be better).

i was only disappointed that one of my fav quotes from the book was omitted (possibly for product placement issues): "Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped."

 

[pachyderm]

This is an interesting point. I finished the first 6 chapters of A Tale of Two Cities and I can see the verbosity. Interestingly enough, back when i was in middle school, my parents tried to get me to read more and I hated books that were too verbose, but I can see how some people like it. Honestly, in this book I don't mind it that much really. Unlike in, say, Game of Thrones, where he tries to be verbose (and is) but it's just total crap in my opinion.

Also, I quickly finished The Martian last week. Really great book. I really liked the detailed descriptions of experiments and engineering endeavors he had to perform while on Mars; it really gave the book it's charm. I hope the movie lives up to it (and from the reviews it's been getting I assume it will).

when i first tried to read TOTC i was a punk high schooler who had no sense or gumption to understand it. I read it again about 5 years ago and loved it! one of my all time faves.

the martian is a fun fast read. loved it.

 

[S.B.G]

A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing Kindle Edition
by Lawrence Krauss

Bestselling author and acclaimed physicist Lawrence Krauss offers a paradigm-shifting view of how everything that exists came to be in the first place.

“Where did the universe come from? What was there before it? What will the future bring? And finally, why is there something rather than nothing?”

One of the few prominent scientists today to have crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss describes the staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories that demonstrate not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With a new preface about the significance of the discovery of the Higgs particle, A Universe from Nothing uses Krauss’s characteristic wry humor and wonderfully clear explanations to take us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting the most recent evidence for how our universe evolved—and the implications for how it’s going to end.

Provocative, challenging, and delightfully readable, this is a game-changing look at the most basic underpinning of existence and a powerful antidote to outmoded philosophical, religious, and scientific thinking.

 

[Don't panic]

A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing Kindle Edition
by Lawrence Krauss

View attachment 590701

this seems interesting.
let us know what you think once you are done