Dan_Dare Posted January 3, 2010 Posted January 3, 2010 Read Hamlet from start to finish in about 2 or so hours on Tuesday and didn't really take to it. It's not that I don't like it or understand it as I do but I think the way in which I read it meant that some of it just didn't sink in fully. Still, it's another one to tick off on the list of plays to read. Next I've got to read The Duchess of Malfi, which I don't know much about so should be interesting. Must also track down copies of Frankenstein and Dorian Gray as I'll be studying them after xmas so kinda want to get them read early. despite being an English Lit graduate, I actually hate reading Shakespeare. So much of the meaning and subtlety of the text is actually lost outside of performance that it feels futile and wasteful without the context of a decent production. I think the best way to go is to combine the two somehow so that the performance informs your reading and vice versa. Kenneth Brannagh and The RSC have made films that I'd totally recommend to that end, particularly Brannagh's Othello with Laurence Fishburne.
The Bard Posted January 4, 2010 Posted January 4, 2010 (edited) Kenneth fucking Brannagh? Oh no Dan. Is this a dagger which I see before me? To be fair, I've held a grudge ever since he butchered Hamlet. I partly agree with the performance thing, since Shakespeare is all about the dialogue, and sometimes when you're reading its harder to contextualise then it is in performance where (hopefully) some indications are given. Even then though, you get a sense for it after you've read enough. Man, I haven't seen a play for so long. Boo Oh yeah! And, reading, as prescribed by the wonderful Supergrunch, Steven Pinkers "The Language Instinct." I'm only about 170 pages through, but it is so amazingly enlightening and such a great tool, and at times, the ways in which I think it succeeds best is that it objectivises and gives me a descriptive vocabulary for trends and phenomena that I had some kind of inkling of, but no real way to describe. On top of that it just heaps it on with awesome stuff everyone should know. Might describe later in another thread in much detail. God, the book is like a slow drip of opiates for the brain. So far. Edited January 4, 2010 by The Bard Automerged Doublepost
Pit-Jr Posted January 4, 2010 Posted January 4, 2010 Gerald's Game- Ok so i actually havent read a book in years but this was the last one and im bored. Moving on, i almost couldnt finish reading it because its the most terrifying book ive ever read. Theres no supernatural evil at work here like many of Stephen King's books, just a helpless protagonist in a very bad situation and it works
Dan_Dare Posted January 4, 2010 Posted January 4, 2010 Kenneth fucking Brannagh? Oh no Dan. Is this a dagger which I see before me? I think he's a quality actor. Check out BBC's Wallander effort from last night for a knockout performance.
jayseven Posted January 4, 2010 Posted January 4, 2010 Bard - Pinkers? A simple read... Thought you'd delve deeper than that! EDIT: Good introductory books though. I only read about how much you did though. Bored.
Cube Posted January 23, 2010 Author Posted January 23, 2010 I've just finished reading Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton. I absolutely loved it. A great tale with a ton of stuff happening, and loads of great scenes. It manages to pull off near-impossible feats without feeling way over the top or stupid (like a certain recent film trilogy) - it's all explained brilliantly well. If done properly, the film adaptation could be absolutely amazing, although they may have to cut out some of the brilliant set-pieces. It's going to be done by Steven Spielberg and David Koepp. Hopefully they can pull off another Jurassic Park.
dan-likes-trees Posted January 27, 2010 Posted January 27, 2010 Adolescence and coming of age set against the politics of 70s Britian, IRA bombings, class conflict and union strikes et all. Patchy in places, but on the the whole and immensely enjoyable read. Generally found Benjamin's character to be slightly irritating and naive, and the adults stories tended to be less interesting. But it all felt brilliantly of it's time, and I even learned a bit about politics in the 70s... one of the best novels I have read about growing up. 8.5 / 10
jayseven Posted May 5, 2010 Posted May 5, 2010 First person to finish a book on the forums in the last 3 months? Anyway, due to lack of internet I finally got through the last part of the last book in The Dark Tower by Stephen King... "the meaning's in the journey" and "endings are just goodbyes" were extremely accurate statements by King in the afterword. The ending(s): When Roland dissapeared into the tower, I figured "oh, well I guess that was a bit dissapointing, but it's been emotional this far." Then when we get susannah's epilogue I thought "Oh? A bit cheesy, but ends on a high note I guess." Then we get the roland-climbing-the-tower and at first I was all "oh no! But I preferred not knowing..." then when he went through the door at the top I was all "aaah this is like that time I took salvia!!" (for roland, that is - and it was! I swear I've experienced it, hence why I felt such empathy for his situation)... a great way to end teh book. The book as a whole was unusual. Rather than feeling like it was concluding things from every book it felt a bit too reliant on deus ex machina. The baddies never really posed a threat... and I dunno. It's been a great 7 books and 7 months of reading that I cannot deny have been enthralling, so I'll not complain much at all. Excuse my writing, been doing essays and drinking pepsi max so I can't focus properly So would anyone like to 'explain' anything for me? Now Roland has cuthbert's horn, does it mean things will be different this time, that they're different every time?
Ashley Posted May 5, 2010 Posted May 5, 2010 I did recently finish Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Noctures'. It was alright. Also read numerous theory and/or animation books.
Nolan Posted May 5, 2010 Posted May 5, 2010 I've been reading through George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. It's rather above most Fantasy novels and more mature. Too bad the 4th book is is kinda short (600 pages compared to the previous 1200 or so) and ends with a word from Martin saying, He had lots more written, but it was just becoming too large for a single book, hopefully what he wrote will be out next year....he said that in 2005, the story has not been continued yet, and sadly most of the characters are practically ignored in the 4th book as their parts were cut to make it smaller. It's a series I would recommend.
Ganepark32 Posted May 5, 2010 Posted May 5, 2010 Finished these a few months back but they were the last books I read: Wuthering Heights - Meh. My copy of the book called it 'The Greatest Love Story Ever Written'. Immediately diluted my expectations. Read it as a love story and you'll be disappointed (although the allusions to incest between Heathcliff and Catherine certainly liven it up) but as a psychological read, it's definitely interesting to see the deterioration of the characters in the Gothic style. That's the only reason I enjoyed the book on any level. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Didn't help that one of my friends hyped it up so much by saying it's her favourite book and see reads it all the time. Very disappointing. Interesting use of the doppelganger, with a pinch of Dr Faustus-esque soul selling to the devil but ultimately, I don't feel it was worth the wait to read that one. Dracula - Loved it. Don't know why I waited this long to read the book but I absolutely loved the whole thing. The structure is just brilliant, the imagery thrilling and chilling and the whole East meets West thing (or rather East invades West) made for a really good read. And the way that it builds up to the ending and then gives you it and finishes without any of the fluff or padding that so many books tack on is a template I'd love to see used more often than it is. Also read loads of Keats and stuff which I love. I really should read more than I do but outside of knowing classics, I haven't a clue as to what I should read. Anyone got any recommendations? Not a huge fan of Rankin or crime fiction but will generally read anything else so any suggestions would be great.
jayseven Posted May 7, 2010 Posted May 7, 2010 Just started Unseen Academicals by Pratchett last night/nightbeforedayofcrazy. Not touched a discworld book in a while and while it's refreshing to read through the humour and recognise the people and the places again, it doesn't quite have that rich quality that the old-skool ones did. I am enjoying it though - it should be fully read in a week. What's odd is that they list Nation as a book for young people, when I swear it has way more pages than this offering from the DW canon, and deals with much more serious issues...
dan-likes-trees Posted May 7, 2010 Posted May 7, 2010 What have I read of late? Read House of Sleep which had one of the best premises I've seen and was an interesting read, though not as enjoyable as other Coe, read Chris Killen's The Bird Room which started off really interesting but by the end the short snappy prose lost started to grate and such. Finally got around to About a Boy which was vintage Hornby, very good, Girlfriend in a Coma by Coupland which was utterly bizarre and generally intensely depressing, particularly in it's first half. This Book Will Save Your Life was brilliantly enjoyable if more than slightly bizarre... can't say it saved my life but it's still a fave, read Kermode's autobiography of sorts, amusing, not as good as if he were reading it out himself, and just finished Apples by Richard Milward which whilst not mindblowing was pretty well written and it depressed me that he was only 19 when he did so...
Pancake Posted May 11, 2010 Posted May 11, 2010 The Stand by Stephen King. 10/10. I think it's the greatest novel of the 20th century. I don't see why critics don't give it credit, i've never seen it mentioned in lists of the best books ever written. It actually reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings. But i enjoyed it more (and i love LOTR). If you're going to judge Stephen King, then judge him on this.
killer kirby Posted May 11, 2010 Posted May 11, 2010 Wow, I need to get back into reading, I am swamped with books at the moment. Need to getting full on right into them James Bond: Casino Royale A nice small book that is just pact full of goodness, just reading made me think I was watching the movie. The movie is close to the book yet there is so much different to this book to the movie still, mostly with Bonds relationship with the main girl, the ending, and of course russia being a big involvement in the book, which makes me like the book even more. Just knowing what Bond was thinking was kind of interesting and the detail Ian Fleming put into the surroundings were quick and clear, something I wish more authors would do. In the end I give the book a big juicy... 7/10 I look forward to reading the rest of the bond books
darksnowman Posted May 11, 2010 Posted May 11, 2010 First person to finish a book on the forums in the last 3 months? Anyway, due to lack of internet I finally got through the last part of the last book in The Dark Tower by Stephen King... "the meaning's in the journey" and "endings are just goodbyes" were extremely accurate statements by King in the afterword. The ending(s): When Roland dissapeared into the tower, I figured "oh, well I guess that was a bit dissapointing, but it's been emotional this far." Then when we get susannah's epilogue I thought "Oh? A bit cheesy, but ends on a high note I guess." Then we get the roland-climbing-the-tower and at first I was all "oh no! But I preferred not knowing..." then when he went through the door at the top I was all "aaah this is like that time I took salvia!!" (for roland, that is - and it was! I swear I've experienced it, hence why I felt such empathy for his situation)... a great way to end teh book. The book as a whole was unusual. Rather than feeling like it was concluding things from every book it felt a bit too reliant on deus ex machina. The baddies never really posed a threat... and I dunno. It's been a great 7 books and 7 months of reading that I cannot deny have been enthralling, so I'll not complain much at all. Excuse my writing, been doing essays and drinking pepsi max so I can't focus properly So would anyone like to 'explain' anything for me? Now Roland has cuthbert's horn, does it mean things will be different this time, that they're different every time? The horn is to give us hope that things can be different. An outstanding series. The Deus ex machina stuff was annoying, but I dealt with it- ka. Have you checked out any other SK stuff? Alot of it is related to the Dark Tower, such as The Stand, where the main badguy is none other than Randall Flagg... The Stand by Stephen King. 10/10. I think it's the greatest novel of the 20th century. I don't see why critics don't give it credit, i've never seen it mentioned in lists of the best books ever written. It actually reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings. But i enjoyed it more (and i love LOTR). If you're going to judge Stephen King, then judge him on this. I love the characters in The Stand, you never forget them. The thing that has always annoyed me about the book is the ending though. The "hand of God." SK is renowned for his dodgy endings.
Pancake Posted May 12, 2010 Posted May 12, 2010 I love the characters in The Stand, you never forget them. The thing that has always annoyed me about the book is the ending though. The "hand of God." SK is renowned for his dodgy endings. I didn't have a huge problem with the ending, it was just very... abrupt. Especially with such a huge build up. Whenever i'm reading a Stephen King book though, i always sit there thinking "god i'm so glad i'm not you, having the job of ending this story". He tends to paint himself into a corner a bit in the longer ones. But his long novels are still best by far.
The Bard Posted May 13, 2010 Posted May 13, 2010 I think it's the greatest novel of the 20th century. I don't see why critics don't give it credit,It actually reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings. Mutual Exclusivity No offence; If LoTR was a person, I'd tell it to eat a dick. Anyway; I've read "Baumgartner's Bombay," which was great, although I won't say more here due to the fact that I have to write a damn essay on it. Wholly depressing; Baumgartner is one of the most pathetic characters in fiction. At the moment I'm reading "This Is Your Brain on Music," by Daniel Levitin, which is a sort of exposition of all the reason that music affects us as organisms, as well as the evolutionary implications of this etc. Comes off kinda bland to be fairly honest, but I'm only about 50 pages in so far anyway. Will be back with impressions once I've finished it.
Beast Posted May 13, 2010 Posted May 13, 2010 I actually found the first Dark Tower book The Gunslinger in Poundland so I bought it. Does anybody know exactly how many Dark Tower books there are because I only have three (The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three and Wizard and Glass).
darksnowman Posted May 13, 2010 Posted May 13, 2010 I didn't have a huge problem with the ending, it was just very... abrupt. Especially with such a huge build up. Whenever i'm reading a Stephen King book though, i always sit there thinking "god i'm so glad i'm not you, having the job of ending this story". He tends to paint himself into a corner a bit in the longer ones. But his long novels are still best by far. So true! I remember so much about the Stand and the characters (SK is amazing at making us care about his characters, even the evil ones) but the abrupt ending really left a bad taste in my mouth. Have you read Under the Dome? I really enjoyed it but once again, the ending needed more detail. Just shows that not much has changed with SK's writing in the last 20-30 years. I actually found the first Dark Tower book The Gunslinger in Poundland so I bought it. Does anybody know exactly how many Dark Tower books there are because I only have three (The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three and Wizard and Glass). There are seven volumes. Vol 1. The Gunslinger Vol 2. Drawing of the Three - Vol 4. Wizard and Glass (my personal favourite!)
Pancake Posted May 13, 2010 Posted May 13, 2010 So true! I remember so much about the Stand and the characters (SK is amazing at making us care about his characters, even the evil ones) but the abrupt ending really left a bad taste in my mouth. Have you read Under the Dome? I really enjoyed it but once again, the ending needed more detail. Just shows that not much has changed with SK's writing in the last 20-30 years. I've not read Under the Dome, but i've heard it's good. But yeah the unsatisfying endings do seem like a recurring issue with him! ('It' stands out as having a dodgy ending too). I wonder if anyone has ever pointed it out to him!
jayseven Posted May 13, 2010 Posted May 13, 2010 Darksnowman; yeah after I made that post I found a dark tower forum and had a read up on a lot of the theories (and disagree with a lot of them) -- it also had a good page on what other books have references (there's quite a few) -- also there seems to be a book of short stories set in the dark tower universe(s) which I may check out first.
Beast Posted May 13, 2010 Posted May 13, 2010 There are seven volumes. Vol 1. The Gunslinger Vol 2. Drawing of the Three - Vol 4. Wizard and Glass (my personal favourite!) Trust me to miss Volume 3! haha. I really want to get all the books first so I know I can just pick it up when I'm ready because I like reading them one after the other straightaway. I'll just keep my eye out for the other four books... Thanks
jayseven Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 Start reading now. By the time you get near the end of the 2nd book you'll have the crazy "omigodomigod I'm nearly done! HOW WILL I SURVIVE IF I DON'T HAVE THE NEXT BOOK!!" meltdown, and you'll run to your nearest waterstones at 3 in the morning, wearing only a nightgown and slippers and a comical sleeping hat, perhaps a candlestick in a holder to complete the look, and you'll camp out 'til the shop opens - unluckily for you it's a bank holiday so you have to wait a whole day, but at least you have the last 100 pages to keep you warm 'til then. I think I have books 2-7. I'd be happy to lend you book 3 for your reading duration.
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