Serious reading

[RobertsonaIsBack]

chuck palahniuk is the worst author ever

[MrGiggles]

Actually I'm pretty sure James Patterson is Hitler

[RobertsonaIsBack]

oh yea that dude sucks too

[Nyokou]

James Joyce - Ulysses
Kate Chopin - The Awakening
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter
Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner
Bram Stoker - Dracula
John Steinback - The Pearl
Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and The Sea

Arthur Miller - The Crucible
Tennessee Williams - The Glass Menagerie
William Shakespeare - Julius Caesar & Macbeth

Keep a thesaurus/dictionary on hand. Don't just read books, immerse yourself in them.

Oh, and reading poetry is pretty useful too. Don't just limit yourself to novels. I listed a few plays above as well.

[MrGiggles]

House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski

It's a book about a book about a film about a house. It's way better than it sounds, though it's definitely a love it or hate it book.

[tangomango]

I would also like to suggest reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Originally Posted by Nyokou

Kate Chopin - The Awakening

I honestly did not like The Awakening very much, it just seemed to me that all Edna did was complain about her life. I do get why it was so revolutionary when it was written though, it just wasn't my type of reading.

Originally Posted by Vendetta21

I always find One Hundred Years of Solitude to be pretty powerful.

I read an excerpt of it when I took Spanish class, I'll probably see if I can find a copy somewhere and read it sometime.

[devonin]

Originally Posted by MrGiggles

House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski

It's a book about a book about a film about a house. It's way better than it sounds, though it's definitely a love it or hate it book.

It's easier for me to think of it as 3 books, two of which were total garbage and one of which was absolutely amazing. If you treat it less like a novel and more like art, you'll enjoy it a lot more.

[MrRubix]

Ew I hated the Scarlet Letter

[smartdude1212]

There are two books that I want to point out:

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult

And a tad bit about them:

I've had to study a fair few of Atwood's poems in high school/university, but The Handmaid's Tale was the first novel of hers that I read. It's centered in a sort of dystopia, and she excels at fleshing out a significantly different world while telling the story from a rather narrow point of view. I've been meaning to pick up some of her other works, but I rarely set aside time to do textbook readings let alone reading for leisure.

As for Nineteen Minutes, it's such a memorable novel to me because Jodi Picoult does a stellar job of getting inside the minds of her characters. The central event is a school shooting, but Picoult focuses on the before and after and eloquently raises moral questions while maintaining a superb flow of events. To me, the novel seemed longer, and I was somewhat disappointed when it came to an end because I had become so immersed in the characters' lives.

[xealix]

Book list on front page is updated to post 24. Sorry I am being a bit lazy with this.

[smartdude1212]

I just want to mention that we're reading excerpts of Aeneid in my Latin I course right now. I'm not sure which is more awesome: reading it in Latin, or being able to understand it in Latin.

[NFD]

anybody who likes ray bradbury is a tool

[radxmad]

Thumbs up for Tolkien.
I really enjoyed A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

[Iam90]

Originally Posted by NFD

anybody who likes ray bradbury is a tool

really the irony is incredible here wat a ****in tool

[Dokusuke]

I have selective favorites when it comes to reading since most of the books I read are fantasy, science fiction, and Classical novels. I'm not sure if I saw it, but has anyone listed Dante's The Divine Comedy. It's an epic poem. Not sure if you're into poetry, but reading Dante is like reading Virgil. It is Dante's journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise when he strikes his mid-life crisis. The story and ideas within The Divine Comedy make one reconsider his or her actions done in and to the world. Once you finish the poem, you will have a sense of accomplishment.

If you want to leisurely read, there is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who created a wonderful series with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Doyle's set of mysteries he wrote with Sherlock Holmes almost defies the human capability of reasoning and observation.

Read both Doyle and Dante and get both a sense of Old English and Italian writing style.

[AsphyxZero]

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. No matter how many books I read, I will always recommend this as my number one favorite book of all time.

[smartdude1212]

I read Zusak's I Am the Messenger. It's an entertaining book and I finished it quite fast.

[Tidus810]

And if you really want an interesting read, try one of William Faulkner's books. The Sound and the Fury is always fun, or As I Lay Dying. :P

And speaking of Italian literature, Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince isn't terrible.

[gnr61]

that is a very interesting post lol...
im not sure i would qualify The Prince exactly as literature nor is it a very "good read," but i imagine most people read it one day regardless

faulkner is one of my very favorite authors though; dense, indulgent, atypical style but very rewarding

[MrRubix]

Originally Posted by gnr61

faulkner is one of my very favorite authors though; dense, indulgent, atypical style but very rewarding

God, Faulkner is like the worst writer ever. The way he structures his stuff is hard to follow and I hate his style.


William Faulkner, speaking of Ernest Hemingway: "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."

And Hemingway’s response: "Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"