Book Nerd’s
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(group member since Dec 20, 2018)
Book Nerd’s
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from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.
Showing 341-360 of 1,176
Mbuye wrote: "'Vathek' is a marvellous fantasy, if you can get past the obsolete style and language. It is a cautionary tale, like most novels produced in the late eighteenth century, but it is also very entertaining and enlivened by a streak of humour. Since you like science fiction and fantasy, you might like this too. Mercifully, it is fairly short."I'm enjoying it so far. It reminds me a lot of Faust.
I've never heard of this before but it sounds really interesting. I've started but I haven't had much time lately so I haven't gotten far.
Vathek (1786), originally written in French, remains one of the strangest eighteenth-century novels and one of the most difficult to classify. Perverse and grotesque comedy alternates with scenes of 'oriental' magnificence and evocative beauty in the story of the ruthless Caliph Vathek's journey to superb damnation among the subterranean treasures of Eblis. Underlying the elegant prose is a strong element of self-indulgent personal fantasy on the part of Beckford, youthful millionaire, dreamer, and eventually social outcast. Byron, Poe, Mallarmé, and Swinburne are some of the literary figures who have admired Vathek's imaginative power.
After a nuclear World War III has destroyed most of the globe, the few remaining survivors in southern Australia await the radioactive cloud that is heading their way and bringing certain death to everyone in its path. Among them is an American submarine captain struggling to resist the knowledge that his wife and children in the United States must be dead. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from somewhere near Seattle, and Captain Towers must lead his submarine crew on a bleak tour of the ruined world in a desperate search for signs of life. On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare.
Rosemarie wrote: "I've just finished the book and loved it! I had an inkling about Lucy so I think the ending of the book was terrific, and the rest of the book was good too."Yeah, (view spoiler)
Just read She Stoops to Conquer. Highly recommended. It's a quick, funny read. Or you could just watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qaoqs...
I'm thinking about getting serious about this next year too and maybe squeeze in a couple this year.I've read 18/37 so far, mostly the tragedies.
I'd like to watch them all too. Hopefully there are performances of them all on youtube.
I'm behind in this.Carrie by Stephen King
199 pages
Way Station by Clifford D. Simak
228 pages
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
117 pages
Group Total: 524,514
Nancy wrote: "I’ve not read much sci-fi because I never saw the value in it. Now, after years avoiding it I met Ursula LeGuin. She made sense in my opininon. Since then I’m more open to this genre. It took a woman to change my mind! That is a major leap for me! As I look back on my month’s reading…hours, and hours immersed in a Victorian woman’s (Hester) world…did it make me think more deeply? NO. But this book did. So three cheers for sci-fi and I hope more people give it a chance and join #SciFiMonth2024 in November..and not only read novellas."Exactly. Sci-fi makes you think.
What Ursula K LeGuin have you read? We read The Left Hand of Darkness and The Word for World Is Forest last year but you can support or suggest some others in the nominations thread.
Cleo wrote: "I'm glad to hear that you're reading this! I've read the trilogy a couple of times. I think That Hideous Strength was considered the best of the three but I've always liked Out of the Silent Planet with the theme of primitive vs. science/technology/advancement. I'm just reading The Dark Is Rising series now and am on book 3."I like Narnia and I've wanted to read this for a while now, just had to get to it.
I liked Out of the Silent Planet a lot too. It was very unique.
How are you liking The Dark is Rising?
Nancy wrote: "The Cosmic Trilogy this would be a real challenge for me in 2025.
But...I'll try."
Nancy wrote: "So I don't have to read them chronologically?"
I would read them in order, though Lewis says at the beginning of each book that you don't have to have read the previous ones.
To me Out of the Silent Planet was the quickest read, Perelandra was quite a slog, and I'm enjoying That Hideous Strength but it's the longesr of the books so it's best to start at the beginning.
I really enjoyed this. I liked City a lot too so I should read more by Simak.
Never trust an organization called NICE.
I'm reading That Hideous Strength now. Liking it better than Perelandra. The whole book happens on Earth. I read the kid's series The Dark Is Rising series a while ago and this reminds me of that, mixing Christian themes and Arthurian elements.
Welcome to the group Nusrat!
Jen wrote: "That is funny. I would not have caught it but that seems pretty bad that editors didn't catch it."Yeah I was flipping back and forth wondering if I missed something but that's what it said.
Internet Archive is still down. I hope it comes back. I've watched a bunch of movies there.
I'm about fifty pages in. It's a really interesting idea.
I really enjoyed rereading this.Chris and Billy were major stereotypes but that made the story fun.
There was one odd mistake that made me flip back and forth a lot:
(view spoiler)
