Also, my current summer reading list:
1. 1984
2. The Grapes of Wrath
3. Paradise Lost

Any other suggestions?

quote:

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Originally posted by Bugger:
The post for TV stuff has stayed active and this has dropped off the front page. Hilarious.

Also, my current summer reading list:
1. 1984
2. The Grapes of Wrath
3. Paradise Lost

Any other suggestions?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bugger:
The post for TV stuff has stayed active and this has dropped off the front page. Hilarious.

Also, my current summer reading list:
1. 1984
2. The Grapes of Wrath
3. Paradise Lost

Any other suggestions?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bugger:
The post for TV stuff has stayed active and this has dropped off the front page. Hilarious.

Also, my current summer reading list:
1. 1984
2. The Grapes of Wrath
3. Paradise Lost

Any other suggestions?

---

My suggestion would be to not read The Grapes of Wrath and Paradise Lost. The Grapes of Wrath is boring and you probably won't learn anything from it. Paradise Lost reads like piece of Christian propaganda.

quote:

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Originally posted by TheMidnightBomber:
My suggestion would be to not read The Grapes of Wrath and Paradise Lost. The Grapes of Wrath is boring and you probably won't learn anything from it. Paradise Lost reads like piece of Christian propaganda.

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I'm down with this. Although I likewise wouldn't recommend Vonnegut.

1984 (from your list) and the recommendation of Khaled Hosseini are both solid.

__________________
In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

quote:

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Originally posted by STAT1C_X:
I'm down with this. Although I likewise wouldn't recommend Vonnegut.

1984 (from your list) and the recommendation of Khaled Hosseini are both solid.

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I'm curious as to why you wouldn't recommend Vonnegut, to tell you the truth I was almost offended when I read this, Slaughterhouse 5 is one of my all time favorite books.

I know that some people simply don't care for Vonnegut, but it still strikes me as odd that you would say this.

quote:

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Originally posted by TheMidnightBomber:

I know that some people simply don't care for Vonnegut, but it still strikes me as odd that you would say this.

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I'm just not a fan of his style. The only thing that redeemed Slaughterhouse 5 was its length and my ability to finish it in a day and move on to the next book

__________________
In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bugger:
The post for TV stuff has stayed active and this has dropped off the front page. Hilarious.

Also, my current summer reading list:
1. 1984
2. The Grapes of Wrath
3. Paradise Lost

Any other suggestions?

---

Recently read 1984, and it is a fantastic book. But it is also a very depressing book, I haven't had a book affect me physically in a long time. And I definitely had a physical reaction to that one. If you like 1984 I would recommend Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Can't say much about Grapes of Wrath, read it a long time ago. I do remember liking it and thinking that Of Mice and Men also by Steinbeck was a good similar novel. But again as someone mentioned, depressing.

Paradise Lost is good and a must read of English literature, and long winded like many of those books. And as someone mentioned before it is very biblical. I would focus on the character of Satan, the best character in my opinion. If you end up liking it I would recommend the Canterbury Tales by Chaucer (modern English translations are easy to find or you can try reading it in the original Middle English, it doesn't take very long to get the hang of it) and the Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser (very long maybe try the first part and see if you like it). I like the Norton editions for those last two, but other versions are cheaper.

quote:

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Originally posted by JackSpade:
And to the Midnight Bomber, I've recently come around to Vonnegut. Cat's cradle was good and Slaughterhouse 5 was amazing . Im in the middle of Breakfast of Champions at the moment and it is so far a very good novel.

Which of his other novel's would you recommend?

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Bluebeard and Galapagos.

__________________
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think they will sing to me."
-T.S. Eliot

The only path to victory in the “war on terror” is the moral high ground. Sadly, it's buried beneath the rubble of your nation.

quote:

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Originally posted by TheMidnightBomber:
I would recommend: Confederacy of Dunces, by Jon Kennedy Toole, Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut, and The Portrait of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wild.

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I found Confederacy of Dunces extremely boring, and i wanted to shove Ignatius' head into his hotdog water until he drowned.

and Vonnegut's style was just too sporadic for me. tried to read Breakfast of Champions... when i finished, i was left with a "what the hell did i read?" feeling.
never finished TimeQuake.

I'd recommend a few books, but no one ever listens to me.
that said- Edgar Rice Burrough's Martian Trilogy (A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, & The Warlord of Mars)

Lamb, by Christopher Moore

Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

__________________
Stages of Death: Anger, Denial, Barganing, Depression, Acceptance, Burial, Decay, Haunting, Revenge, Evil Laugh

quote:

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Originally posted by TheMidnightBomber:
My suggestion would be to not read The Grapes of Wrath and Paradise Lost. The Grapes of Wrath is boring and you probably won't learn anything from it. Paradise Lost reads like piece of Christian propaganda.

I would recommend: Confederacy of Dunces, by Jon Kennedy Toole, Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut, and The Portrait of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wild.

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Sounds good. I'll probably be reading Grapes in school in a year or two anyway. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest sounds good, as does The Portrait. That reminds me- I'm also planning to try to read Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Anybody read that?

Gawain: I read A Thousand Splendid Suns over Memorial Day weekend. It was good

quote:

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Originally posted by Bugger:
That reminds me- I'm also planning to try to read Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Anybody read that?

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Yeah, years ago. A classic collection of loosely related short stories. I enjoyed it: it's short, and an easy read.

__________________
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think they will sing to me."
-T.S. Eliot

The only path to victory in the “war on terror” is the moral high ground. Sadly, it's buried beneath the rubble of your nation.

quote:

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Originally posted by Bugger:
Sounds good. I'll probably be reading Grapes in school in a year or two anyway. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest sounds good, as does The Portrait. That reminds me- I'm also planning to try to read Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Anybody read that?

Gawain: I read A Thousand Splendid Suns over Memorial Day weekend. It was good

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quote:

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Originally posted by Bugger:
I'm also planning to try to read Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Anybody read that?

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I have my settings set to notify me whenever anyone mentions Bradbury. You may remember from your interview thread that he's my favorite author, so be warned; I'm a little biased. With that said, yes, you should read The Martian Chronicles, but a word of caution, if I may.

Bradbury is largely considered to be a science fiction writer. All of his old books proclaimed on the front "The World's Greatest Living Science Fiction Author". After awhile, I believe they changed it to "Master of Sci-Fi and Fantasy", but the Science Fiction label is what stuck. I've always felt this to be a misnomer. IMO, there is only one book he ever wrote that, as a whole, could be considered Science Fiction. That would be 'The Martian Chronicles.' He's written hundreds of stories about Space, and those are Sci-Fi, yes, but even when they're collected in themed short story books, (Such as R is for Rocket and S is for Space) I still really consider those books as a whole to be more Fantasy than Science Fiction.

I think part of the problem I have with terming things 'Science Fiction' is that the name is almost sure to conjure up images of Klingons and Ray Guns in most people.
__________________________________________________________

I just came back to this post. I typed everything before the above line hours ago now, and I don't know where I was going with it. Probably everything above can be ignored, but I'll leave it anyway. So, bottom line? Martian Chronicles is great, read Dandelion Wine when you're done. It's my favorite novel he's written. If you want to read him when he's in his element, though, read his short stories. (I have tons of his books I could lend/give to you depending how many copies I have of them if you're having trouble finding his better stuff.) What's his better stuff? Well, off the top of my head:

Dandelion Wine (novel)
Something Wicked This Way Comes (novel)
Martian Chronicles (novel)
Fahrenheit 451 (novel)
The Illustrated Man
R is for Rocket
A Medicine for Melancholy
The Machineries of Joy
I Sing The Body Electric!
The Toynbee Convector
Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales (It's like all these short story books in one!)

and his essays are great too:

Bradbury Speaks: Too Soon from the Cave, Too Far from the Stars

quote:

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Originally posted by ThoughtsofLepers:
I have my settings set to notify me whenever anyone mentions Bradbury. You may remember from your interview thread that he's my favorite author, so be warned; I'm a little biased. With that said, yes, you should read The Martian Chronicles, but a word of caution, if I may.

Bradbury is largely considered to be a science fiction writer. All of his old books proclaimed on the front "The World's Greatest Living Science Fiction Author". After awhile, I believe they changed it to "Master of Sci-Fi and Fantasy", but the Science Fiction label is what stuck. I've always felt this to be a misnomer. IMO, there is only one book he ever wrote that, as a whole, could be considered Science Fiction. That would be 'The Martian Chronicles.' He's written hundreds of stories about Space, and those are Sci-Fi, yes, but even when they're collected in themed short story books, (Such as R is for Rocket and S is for Space) I still really consider those books as a whole to be more Fantasy than Science Fiction.

I think part of the problem I have with terming things 'Science Fiction' is that the name is almost sure to conjure up images of Klingons and Ray Guns in most people.

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Cool.

After I finish that, I intend on re-reading Harry Potter first 4 and Brave New World.

I also intend on buying The Thran, Artifacts Cycle, Rath and Storm, etc of the Weatherlight Cycle that I haven't read, and Time Spiral blockas well.

From scanning past posts, lots of people reading historical fiction; my recommendation as an author in this field is Alfred Duggan - outstanding and hugely absorbing. My favourite is Conscience of the King (but anything by him is good).

Anyone with an interest in
a) The Crusades (Knight with Armour; Count Bohemond)
b) The Romans (Three's Company; The Little Emperors; Family Favourites)
c) Medieval Europe

Should have a go at his books. Be warned, the Roman books involve a lot of technical terminology (you will spend some time on Wikipedia looking up Aediles, Comes, Honestiores and Humiliores) but they are all rewarding reads. That's my recommendation

Grapes of Wrath I thought was a great book, very powerful. Notice no-one has mentioned Steinbeck's Cannery Row, which I thought was hilarious; a complete contrast to OM&M and GoW.

On a related note, I need to take off early on Tuesday so I can get to Powell's Books in Portland where Terry Brooks is signing. I've been a fan of his work since I was about 10.

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Report rules violations.

Interesting read.

quote:

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Originally posted by speechjew:
Just picked up the Philip K. Dick short story collection. Effing awesome

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The most far-out book by PKD that I've read is Ubik. I'm currently reading The game players of Titan, and it's very good so far.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bugger:
The post for TV stuff has stayed active and this has dropped off the front page. Hilarious.

Also, my current summer reading list:
1. 1984
2. The Grapes of Wrath
3. Paradise Lost

Any other suggestions?

---

Orientalism by Edward Said and the Great War for Civilization by Robert Fisk