posted
I read Slaughterhouse Five a few months ago--I highly recommend it! It was unlike anything else, and I liked it so much, I read a whole bunch of Vonegut's other books. I also recommend Breakfast of Champions (after Slaughterhouse Five).
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Vonnegut strikes me as one of those "really cool at a certain point in your life but not as interesting if you read him at the wrong point" kind of authors. I've read a couple of his books, but I can't say I'm really a huge fan.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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I kind of see what you're saying Eryk, and I've agreed with you on the past that both 'Lord of the Flies' and 'On the Road' definitely fall into that category.
But I don't think I'd go that far with Vonnegut. His books strike me as his own way at lashing out against his perceived social ills of the world, and his writing style shatters any normal narrative structure. I think you can kind of relate to Vonnegut at any point in your life in terms of age or circumstance. He definitely expresses a frustration with governments, popular culture and people in general, and if you're feeling more optimistic than pessimistic at the time you're reading him, you might be turned off. Despite that string of pessimism though, I think Vonnegut expresses some really beautiful ideas and characteristics about humanity in his works.
Obviously, I was in a more sentimental, existential state of mind when I read his works than you were. So yeah, I guess you're right--your reaction to his work depends a lot on your mood at the time.
But I wouldn't rope it in with Lord of the Flies, which I think is really a book for teenagers.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I'm reading The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber. It's extremely gothic. An ethereal heroine, a Byronic hero, ghosts everywhere, and it's even set during the Jack the Ripper murders. It should be complete drivel, but I'm loving it. The author really knows the time period and there are little references to "true" ghost stories, which are fun easter eggs if you're into that stuff. It's also an interesting take on classical mythology, at least so far.
-------------------- arachne3003.deviantart.com Current Obsession: Birds of Prey/Secret Six
From: Canada | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Arachne: I'm reading The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber. It's extremely gothic. An ethereal heroine, a Byronic hero, ghosts everywhere, and it's even set during the Jack the Ripper murders. It should be complete drivel, but I'm loving it. The author really knows the time period and there are little references to "true" ghost stories, which are fun easter eggs if you're into that stuff. It's also an interesting take on classical mythology, at least so far.
I'm not really into those type of books but for some reason your description there has gotten me quite interested in reading it, Arachne. I might have to look for it next time I'm in need of a book to read.
Which will unfortunately probably be a long way away as I already have a massive pile waiting to be read next to my bed -
* The Name of the Rose * Netherland * Revolutionary Road * The New York Trilogy * Everything is Illuminated * My Name is Red * The Letters of Jessica Mitford * Cloud Atlas * A Brief History of Time ... and many more.
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
I'm reading "One Thousand White Women" by Jim Fergus for a book discussion group ... a fictional account of a "Brides for Indians" program back in the 1870's ... very clever story with a well-developed array of characters eager to give up their unhappy lives and take "savages" as their husbands to help ease U.S./Native American relations ...
-------------------- Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...
From: The waters off eastern Long Island | Registered: Jul 2003
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i am re-reading the gathering storm by brandon sanderson/robert jordan. it gives me courage.
From: Ninja Land | Registered: Nov 2004
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larson.
Stieg Larson unfortunately died after completing these three novels, so no more stories about the maddeningly strange Lisbeth Salander.
Lisbeth is a peculiar young woman, anti-social to the point of being considered retarded by some people, angry and extremely violent in her own or others' defense, with an extemely troubled past. But she's also a brilliant hacker and analyst with her own strict moral code. She works as a free-lance investigator for a Stockholm security company.
Mikael Blomkvist is an investigative journalist, working primarily on financial crime cases.
The two come together in the first book to investigate a 40-year old unsolved murder, and uncover sensational corporate crime along with a modern-day serial murderer.
The second novel finds Lisbeth implicated in three murders, and she goes on the run as she tries to solve the mystery and clear her name. Blomkvist believes her innocent and works the case from his own end. The two are plunged into the worlds of sex trafficking and Sweden's most hidden security agency.
The third book continues the story... I'm mid-way through it.
There's a movie out based on the first book. It's pretty faithful to the novel, although much less complicated, with fewer characters. Lisbeth and Mikael are very faithfully depicted.
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Wow... Some really interesting books being read by everyone here.
I'm reading The Outline of the History of the World by H.G. Wells.
From: Durban, South Africa & Auckland, New Zealand. | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I liked the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo quite a bit (think I talked about it earlier on this thread), but never read the other two. Are you enjoying those, FC?
Maybe I'll check them out. I found Lisbeth to be a great character I wanted to read more about.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
They're all real page turners. Lisbeth reminds me somewhat of the Secret Six characters; although she's not a villain, she's pretty wild and dangerous and a little nutty in her own way, and I adore her - on paper, I don't think I could handle her in person.
The final book (Hornet's Nest) I'm enjoying more than the middle one. There was a lot of Lisbeth's personal story uncovered in the middle book, but this third one has a nicely complex tangle of secret agency hijinks, spies spying on spies.
posted
Just finished From Hell, With Love and now I'm burning though Terrific Garden Tonics. I'm also working through DIY plumbing and patio, decks and pool books as well.
-------------------- Damn you, you kids! Get off my lawn or I'm callin' tha cops!
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"The Lion" by Nelson DeMille, "The Prince of Mist" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins ... the first book for diversion, the latter two YA books for "research," for lack of a better word ..."The Hunger Games" is surprisingly moving so far ... not what I expected ...
-------------------- Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...
From: The waters off eastern Long Island | Registered: Jul 2003
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![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
So yeah, I guess you're right--your reaction to his work depends a lot on your mood at the time.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
