Kyle’s Comments (group member since Sep 30, 2012)

Kyle’s comments from the *~Can't Stop Reading~* group.

Thanks for sharing Aaron, hehe. :)

Claire wrote: "I think some of the characters are implausible but its one of the things I like about the book. I think he exaggerated characters to help the story, make a point or show people at the best that they could be rather than worry about how realistic they would seem "

I see what you mean. Some writers try to throw people into extreme caricatures in order to better show and deal with the broad spectrum of humanity (Gormenghast is the most profound example I can think of where it works perfectly). The trick in making it successful however, is still making those characters relatable so we can connect to them as human beings.

Perhaps I'm simply too flawed to be able to relate to the bishop, I don't know, but I had trouble accepting him as a character. (view spoiler)[I guess it helps he wasn't around very long! Too soon?:) (hide spoiler)] On the other hand, I actually think Javert is a very well done character. He too is a character who represents an extreme wing of human psychology, yet underneath all his superlative sense of right, wrong, and duty there is still a sense of humanity which, as a reader, I can latch on to better than I could with the bishop.

Corey wrote: "Can someone answer as to why Hugo would write 50 pages on Nun life in convents? I so need a stiff drink after absorbing myself in something that seriously does not have anything to do with the sto..."

I obviously can't really speak for V. Hugo and I haven't gotten to the convent part yet so I'll have a better opinion when I get to it, but judging by his preface of the book he set out to write not just a novel, but a book to change the world. He was intentionally trying to write a social and political commentary about society at the time, and it seems he often had the desire to stop for a moment and highlight something he thought was important for us to know (regardless of whether it actually had anything to do with the story of the novel).

I'm still probably not even a quarter of the way through the book yet, so everything I just said/will say could be complete horsehockey, but my guess is that once we are finally finished with the book we will look back on all these tangents with a degree of fondness, and still consider them an important part of the book. I read and loved The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hugo still had numerous tangents in that book too. Yet, I would still never approve of anyone reading an abridged version, since I think all of it, even the imperfections, are part of what make the book great.

Arena B wrote: "Love it! And please dont hate me but I love the Kiera K adaptation but the best Mr Darcy is def Colin Firth :)))"


Indeed. There is no screen Darcy like Colin Firth.

I also have to give to Colin Firth the title of best Lord Henry in the Dorian Gray adaptation.

My roommate reads mostly YA novels and just finished this. I don't read very many YA novels, and she gave this one to me to read because she thought I might like it. I haven't started it yet, but I put it next to the other one she told me to read, Divergent. I still am not really close to reading either of them, but I keep being told I should get to them.

I had a lot of mixed feelings about the movie. I don't think I support their decision to draw it out into 3 movies. I think they could have done it one, but I would have been OK with 2. 3 full Peter Jackson-length movies is just too much, and for me it damaged the pacing and feel of The Hobbit.

True, he did hint at a less virtuous past for the bishop. Though I suppose it's not hard to be less virtuous.

Perhaps I'm merely too cynical and jaded, but I'm not sure I've known of a person as kind and accepting as the bishop.

Yes, I can't say I'm sorry to be done with book 1 and its lengthy descriptions of the bishop and his life.

Yet, allow me to play the devil's advocate a little bit and ask the group this: is the bishop even believable as a character? Aside from a bit of narrow political thinking shown during the bedside visit to the old Republican, the bishop is more than just a stand-up guy. He's the archetypal saint.

Are there people who are actually as "good" as the bishop? Is it even possible for someone to be as selfless as him, or does human nature get in the way too much?

These are issues I constantly toyed with as I was reading all the different ways the bishop's virtue and piety manifest themselves.

Just started it, and came across the author's preface:

"...as long as there shall be on earth ignorance and wretchedness, books of the nature of this one cannot be useless."

... Oh my, what have I gotten myself in to? :D

"

The Way of Kings
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Les Miserables
Warbreaker
1984
Brave New World..."

I've been wanting to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell for some time now...sure you don't like it just because it has your name on it? :P

Mine would have to be:

Boy's Life
Titus Groan
Gormenghast
Lizzie Bright and The Buckminster Boy
Legend
Among Others

um... I guess that's it. I read a lot of books I liked last year, but disappointingly few I loved. Here's to a better haul for 2013!

I figure since I joined this group last year, I might as well finally introduce myself. :) Since joining, this group has quickly become my favorite goodreads group I belong to. We read the most interesting books, have the best discussions, and unlike many other groups I've seen, don't snip at each other like roommates that have lived together too long. :)

I suppose most of my reading interest has been in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, though I've been trying to expand my horizons a bit by picking up more historical fiction, and of this year, more classics (thanks 1001 books list for the inspiration!).

Jonathan wrote: "Kyle wrote: "This book has been hanging over my head for years. "Yeah, I'll read that some day," I always say. "Sure, sure. I'll buckle down and get to it next month," I proclaim with at the time s..."

Thanks Jonathan. I really shouldn't be so hesitant, since the Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of my favorites of all time, and I should be eager to read more Hugo. Perhaps part of it is that, in my mind, Les Miserables has a sort of vaunted status as not just a classic, but one of the classics. Unlike Notre Dame De Paris, Les Mis seems to occupy a hallowed ground of classic.

I'll certainly see if what I say ends up being true to me, but perhaps because I love Notre Dame so much, I'm afraid of being disappointed by Hugo with Les Mis. Either way... I'm committed now. No turning back.

This book has been hanging over my head for years. "Yeah, I'll read that some day," I always say. "Sure, sure. I'll buckle down and get to it next month," I proclaim with at the time sincerity.

Well the new year is starting, and there is no more room for me to hide. To kick off my New Year's resolution, I will begin reading this book in January and I will not allow myself to read anything else until I have conquered it. Thank you, my dear goodreads group, for forcing this book upon me and pledging to provide companionship for the trudge through it. See you on the other side...

Jonathan wrote: "Kyle wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "I posted similarly about A Christmas Carol but what do you think about the opening line. I think opening and closing lines are fascinating to look at this is a great o..."

Interesting. Perhaps that's what I need to do in order to actually start writing a book. Write a sentence down, then wait a year or two...

Jonathan wrote: "I posted similarly about A Christmas Carol but what do you think about the opening line. I think opening and closing lines are fascinating to look at this is a great opening line: "In a hole in the..."

Yeah. In the foreword of the edition I'm reading, it says that Tolkien had written that first line a long time before he had even started writing the novel. Apparently, he was grading papers or something at the school he was teaching at, when suddenly out of the blue, he writes "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit" on a side piece of paper. Then he continued grading papers, and left that line alone for a long time.

Seemed like a kinda quirky story to me :). It works though!

Since I read this book nearly 15 years ago, I think it warrants a re-read. :)

This has been on my to-read list for ages, and I still haven't gotten around to it...perhaps it might make a good new year's resolution.

"Forget it," sighed Laura.
"This place my be old and feels like it should be haunted, but surely central heating has been installed at one point."

"Let's ask the groundskeepers."

No, but now that you mention it the future looks promising.

TPBM has managed to read all of War and Peace?

My mother, to make sure she knew how much I appreciate everything she's done for me.


If you could plug your brain in and download one thing matrix-style, what would it be?