- Joined
- Oct 22, 2010
- Messages
- 62,851
Thanks for the tip, mate.
I read Silas Marner at school and thought it was dire. Turned me right off Eliot. I may give her a second try though.Just finished 'Middlemarch' by the fantastic George Eliot.
Amazing read, I think she could be my favourite English writer of the 19th century.
And that's high praise.
She's not everyone's cup of tea, but Middlemarch is amazing.I read Silas Marner at school and thought it was dire. Turned me right off Eliot. I may give her a second try though.
Hey, nothing wrong with a bit of Wilde!Middlemarch is considered by many to be the greatest English novel. Needless to say, I haven't sampled it yet because I'm always reading rubbish stories about ghosts and Oscar Wilde.
He's my hero - killingly funny sometimes, serious and thought-provoking at others. A man of boundless imagination.MG said:Hey, nothing wrong with a bit of Wilde!
*thinks* I wonder if the bookshop will let me exchange Peter Ackroyd's utterly drab Tudors: A History of England Volume II for Middlemarch?MG said:But yeah, I'd agree with it being the best English novel. It's simply outstanding.
I'd agree with your assessment of Wilde. Great writer. Lord Henry is meant to speak for him in the Picture of Dorian Gray... a dandy, witty and clever. I did a topic on the fin de siècle last year at Uni and that was one of my favourite books we did.He's my hero - killingly funny sometimes, serious and thought-provoking at others. A man of boundless imagination.
*thinks* I wonder if the bookshop will let me exchange Peter Ackroyd's utterly drab Tudors: A History of England Volume II for Middlemarch?
Do you read historical fiction? I realise it's considered a bit 'girly' but some of them around the Tudor period are really good.Weir's The Lady in the Tower is absolutely wonderful, mate. Henry VIII: King and Court is very thorough, a little prosaic but interesting enough. The Princes in the Tower is really good, but terribly biased against Richard III (there seems to be tremendous in-fighting amongst historians and passionate amateurs regarding the alleged murders...).
Dorian Gray is one of my favourite books, read it while I was quite young and it left a great impression. As you say Lord Henry if the voice of Wilde and some of his speeches are just brilliant.I'd agree with your assessment of Wilde. Great writer. Lord Henry is meant to speak for him in the Picture of Dorian Gray... a dandy, witty and clever. I did a topic on the fin de siècle last year at Uni and that was one of my favourite books we did.
I've never brought any of Ackroyd's stuff. My favourite historical non-fiction writer is Alison Weir. I love her 'Elizabeth - the Queen' book about Elizabeth I (by far the most interesting monarch imo), and I want to read more of her stuff.
I'm much more of a fiction fan though.
I'll give it a go and see what I think. I'm not sure why but some of the imagery and characters in Silas just didn't get my attention and struck me as ridiculous. Could be because I was 14 and really not into reading at the time.She's not everyone's cup of tea, but Middlemarch is amazing.
I read Crickley Hall a few years ago. I enjoyed it for a scare alright but not brilliant. He died very young!I was sorry to read of James Herbert's passing yesterday. James was always a bit of a 'hit-or-miss' writer for me, to be honest. However, some scenes in his novels are as genuinely frightening as anything I've read.
RIP James.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/boo...ll-thanks-for-the-scares?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
Just finished this one and have to agree. On the surface it's about baseball, but really it's a love story. Cracking book that I flew through in 4 days (it's over 400 pages).Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach is absolutely brilliant. Can't lie, other than GRRM, which might be parcial nerdism in me, it's one of the best modern books I've read. Theres Baseball terminology in there, but you don't need to like the sport to appreciated this book, kind of like with Field of Dreams.
Try Blood Meridian. McCarthy's best work IMO.Read Cormac McCarthy's The Road prior to my Grisham frenzy, fantastic novel and then No Country For Old Men. Will revert back to McCarthy when my Grisham obsession wanes.
Try Blood Meridian. McCarthy's best work IMO.
Don't expect the same type of easy read that you get with No Country for Old Men and The Road, though. Definitely the type that you'll go back and re-read paragraphs, pages and chapters quite frequently to make sure you haven't missed something.Will get a copy, thanks. Have a copy of All the Pretty Horses so will give that a go first.
Reading a great novel right now called, Snow Falling On Cedars by David Gutterson.
Finishing up a book I started before The Cold Six Thousand before I start Blood's A Rover, butBlood's A Rover is even more jarring but a fantastic read. Ellroy really captures all the shit that was going down back then.
Yeah I was thinking about who could play the characters in a film as I got more into it. Would love if the Coen Brothers gave it a shot.The Sisters Brothers was great. Can't wait for the movie adaptation -- I think it lends itself perfectly to a screenplay.
I think John C. Reilly bought the rights and intends to take the leading role himself.Yeah I was thinking about who could play the characters in a film as I got more into it. Would love if the Coen Brothers gave it a shot.
I actually quite like him, can certainly imagine a lot of people worse suited to the role.I think John C. Reilly bought the rights and intends to take the leading role himself.
If you have an e-reader, I can e-mail you over a file containing most of Kings books? Obviously it will disgust you and you will want to delete it straight away.I gave away all my old paperbacks when I was back last year. I'm beginning to regret that now.