What are you reading? Showing 701-750 of 1,941

[Katie]

That's true. Mostly I remember reading Shakespeare aloud to younger siblings and stopping in embarrassment when it dawned on me what I was reading...

[Faith]

As the oldest child of a homeschooling family, I was the censor of the Classics that we read in high school. Mom made a list of required reading for me that she planned on using for my siblings. There were a couple of books that I never finished because of content. I did get Mom's permission, very willing permission in each case, after I explained why. The only one I remember right now was "The Great Gatsby". Why is that one a Classic? o.O

[[deleted user]]

Because they just made a movie out of it, that's why! *snerk*

[Katie]

Something doesn't become a classic because they make a movie. They make a movie /because/ it's a classic.

[Faith]

The Great Gatsby was a Classic before they made the movie. :P It's been a classic since before Mom was in school.

[Hannah]

I've always wondered why "The Red Badge of Courage" became a classic. Yes, there's raw emotion, but why wasn't it a short story? It's a good thing it was short, or I might never have finished it.

Another mistake I've made is a rather funny one. Since so many Christians thought "Robinson Crusoe" was so wonderful that it should rank with "Pilgrim's Progress" in importance, I thought any Daniel Defoe book would be "safe". If anyone else has attempted to read his "Roxana", they might know why the book went unfinished back to the used bookstore to become credit for a cleaner tale! I was 13 at the time and have not dared pick up another of his books since.

I've never read "Gatsby". I don't care for society novels, so I suppose that's why I was never interested in it.

[Kaleb]

It's not much of a society novel, really. And it's pretty interesting to analyze.

[[deleted user]]

I was teasing, lovelies. ;)

[[deleted user]]

Just read Zeal Aspiring whilst formatting it for Kindle. I was happy to hear the author had put out another collection. :D

[Shadow]

I finished Runt the Brave: Bravery in the Midst of a Bully Society and The Silent Gondoliers: A Fable.

No school. Much reading. Thank God. :D

[Hannah]

Granted, all I know of "Gatsby" is by reviews others have done. I gathered that its ending was not of the happiest, though...
I'm considering reading "Doctor Zhivago" this year. Has anyone here read it?

[[deleted user]]

*has a book recommendation from Shadow* :D Shadow gonna rack up some numbers now, mm?

[Shadow]

I hope so! ^_^

[Kaleb]

Correct. Gatsby did not have a happy ending.

I started Zhivago. It was pretty hard to read, and ended up being about a guy who was having an affair with a girl and her mother.

All very symbolic, apparently. I never got beyond the second chapter, so I don't know.

[Hannah]

I'm almost done with "Love Thrives in War" by Mary Catherine Crowley. It will be the second from my last Amazon order that I have finished. It's a very neat book about the War of 1812 in the Detroit area.

[[deleted user]]

Ooh, that does sound interesting, Hannah.

I'm finally making a series attempt to read The Hunger Games trilogy. I think.

[[deleted user]]

What's so wrong with being content with the movie? ;)

[[deleted user]]

I'm a rebel. Or a traitor, as the case may be.

[[deleted user]]

Just to warn you, if you hang me, all my fans who are waiting for my future books will hang you. Count the cost. ;)

[[deleted user]]

Bring it. I've got spine. ;)

[[deleted user]]

I'd be more worried about them personally. ;)

[M F]

Finished rereading Fellowship of the Ring today, as I had my last exam! Now I have two weeks where, hopefully, I can get lots of reading done. I plan to read One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, which I have to have read by the time I go back to school in two weeks' time, before continuing my Tolkien refresher course with The Two Towers :-)

[Leah]

Corey wrote: "'Cause we hold this truth to be self-evident: that the book is always better than the movie. :)"

This is very true

[Leah]

Corey wrote: "Leah: I'll be interested to hear what you think of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'; it's on my reading list for this year."

*confused* One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest...I don't have plans to read that one...

[Elisabeth]

Well, my reading came to a screeching halt for a week or so, while I was sidelined with what's known as "ice-pick" headaches. Thankfully getting better now! Anyway, just before that I finished A Guide to Elegance and I just got around to writing my review.

Looks like I missed out on some lively discussion! :) Not to stir it up again, but Hannah and any others who don't like Lamplighter-esque rewritten classics (I never knew Lamplighter did it, incidentally!), you might want to steer clear of classic reprints by Mantle Ministries and Vision Forum, since I know of at least a couple instances where their books have been edited like that. I adore Kathleen Norris' Mother, and MM's hardback edition is lovely, but when I compared it to a public-domain original I found a number of edits made to make it seem more "Christian"—i.e. whenever someone sings, the songs are replaced with hymns; lines were inserted into dialogue talking more about God, etc. I haven't re-read the entire original version yet, so I don't know if there's anything more. [EDIT: This wasn't from Mantle Ministries, actually; it was also Vision Forum. My mistake.]

A little more disturbing was a review I saw here on Goodreads of VF's hardback reprint of To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnston. If I'm remembering correctly, things altered included changing a minister's denomination, cutting or altering scenes that referenced gambling, and rewriting dialogue to make a female character appear more "submissive" to her husband. That kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Editing a bit of language is one thing, but to me, taking a book over a hundred years old and rewriting scenes to fit your own particular beliefs—without necessarily letting the reader know anything has been changed—seems awfully tacky. At the very least I think there should be some kind of editor's note stating the fact.

Forgive the rant. I guess I'm just glad to be back here! :)

[Leah]

Corey wrote: "Oops... sorry about that, I meant Miriam, not Leah. :)"

Haha. No problem.

[Elisabeth]

Corey wrote: "Elisabeth: Totally agree with you re: To Have & To Hold. Very tacky, and also disrespectful of the author's original work."

Thanks, Corey. I probably ought to note that I haven't actually read/seen the VF copy of To Have and To Hold, so I can't positively state whether there's any editor's note or not...I do remember being a little frustrated/puzzled in the past by the lack of information about books' original publication in editions from both of those publishers, though.

[[deleted user]]

As both an author and a reader--a conservative Christian one, even--the wording of that note is infuriating and presumptuous. Certainly, though, I think if you are going to adapt a work in any way, a note indicating such is imperative.

[Jenni]

Just another reason I'm very disillusioned with Vision Forum. (I was sort of into it years ago when it was all that vague too expensive for me stuff that I just wished I could be really into. lol.)

That's what I think, Corey. The fact is that if you can't find ANY fiction that agrees with your beliefs, then write your own or else don't read it. Do not take someone else's work and meld it to fit your beliefs just because you can because it's out of copyright. That's frankly why copyrights were invented. =P

[M F]

Corey wrote: "My question: If you want to tell a different story, why not write your own book? Why "revise" and "enhance" someone else's?"

My thoughts exactly. It blows my mind that people would totally rewrite the ideology of a book. Books, as a general rule, reflect the author's perception of the world. They therefore allow their readers to experience another way of looking at things and to broaden their mind. That's one of the best things about books -- they show you how other people see the world. Rewriting them so they reflect how YOU see the world is defeating the point...

[Jenni]

Insomnia struck so I read Summer Knight by Jim Butcher in the middle of the night. And when I got up, my hold on the ebook of the first six Dresden Files books was in! So I downloaded that - I need to read 5 and 6 yet. (Summer Knight was #4)

Also I've got to find and read a couple of books from a different library that I dont' get to very often that I will be returning books to tomorrow.

[Hannah]

Aubrey wrote: "As both an author and a reader--a conservative Christian one, even--the wording of that note is infuriating and presumptuous. Certainly, though, I think if you are going to adapt a work in any way..."

Which is why I quit buying Lamplighter...because I never knew they were edited before getting "The Wide, Wide World" and reading the note to the effect that, "This book is already so wonderful that we decided not to edit it", adding a note of caution because there was an instance of someone drinking wine. And then I got originals and compared, and got pretty mad about the waste of a couple hundred dollars. At least Vision Forum tells you it's changed. (I can only imagine the result to "To Have and To Hold". It's one of my greatest favorite books, and Jocelyn's proud spirit not surrendering until the end is the whole crux of the story...wondering how editing could have changed that???)

For those of you who want an alternative, though, I can recommend Inheritance Publications, based in Canada. They do not edit, although they publish only in paperback. Their books mostly reflect a strict Reformed theology, but I've found some really great stuff anyway--Deborah Alcock, ALOE, Amy le Feuvre, etc. Trouble with new books, though, is that they cost so much, so I had to stop ordering from them. They probably have a much larger catalogue now.

I totally agree with Miriam, though, that the publishers should not have the right to change the author's work. While I am glad that my family redacted some things, I do not think publishers should have that right except when working with the author themselves.

[Hannah]

I should add that the Mantle Ministries books I have are not edited; I haven't had the opportunity to buy from them in awhile, so I don't know what it's like now, but I have some Edward Ellis books and Robert M. Ballantyne's "Twice Bought", which is a beloved favorite and printed as originally published.

Still reading "Love Thrives in War"...

[Elisabeth]

I'm sorry, I made a mistake! The hardback edition of Mother I mentioned was not Mantle Ministries; it was also Vision Forum. My memory played me false there for a minute.

On a slightly different topic, Hannah, have you ever read the Lake Shore series by Oliver Optic? They were written in the 1860s and they're a lot of fun.

[[deleted user]]

Just finished reading (and formatting) Supervillain Hunters, International. Wow. It may have displaced book 2 as my favorite from the series so far.

[Elisabeth]

I still haven't been able to really sit down and read Copper Streak Trail, so I picked up (free on Kindle) a volume short stories to read here and there—Kipling's Plain Tales from the Hills.

[Hannah]

Elisabeth wrote: "I'm sorry, I made a mistake! The hardback edition of Mother I mentioned was not Mantle Ministries; it was also Vision Forum. My memory played me false there for a minute.

On a slightly different t..."

No, I haven't read any Oliver Optic books yet, although I noticed a number of them on Project Gutenburg and have debated getting them. Do you have a favorite I should try?

General update--
Still have about three chapters left in "Love Thrives in War"...up next: Katie's "Supervillain" book. I'm really looking forward to that one!

[[deleted user]]

Are you going to read book 1, Hannah, or have you already started the series? You'll love it either way. :D

[Hannah]

Aubrey wrote: "Are you going to read book 1, Hannah, or have you already started the series? You'll love it either way. :D"

I'm going to read the "Inspector Floyd" that I won first, so I can give my review of it first. :) And then I may read the others. (Just from the first page, the likelihood of that is pretty high!)

[[deleted user]]

I think it's a series you can read out of order, but I strongly recommend reading them all. :D

[Leah]

Aubrey wrote: "I think it's a series you can read out of order, but I strongly recommend reading them all. :D"

Yeah. I think book one sets the stage and after that they can easily be read out of order. But reading Inspector Floyd first wouldn't be too confusing I don't think.

[Elisabeth]

Hannah wrote: "No, I haven't read any Oliver Optic books yet, although I noticed a number of them on Project Gutenburg and have debated getting them. Do you have a favorite I should try?"

The only Optics I've read are the Lake Shore series—Through by Daylight is the first one. The series is basically one long continuing story; it's a lot of fun!

[Hannah]

So...if Inspector Floyd is confusing at all, I'll just get the first one and read it too!

Thanks for recommending "Through by Daylight", Elisabeth--it was probably ten years down on the priority list, so now I'll add it to my list of books I'd like to read this year! :)

[[deleted user]]

Is that the animated Tim Burton film, or am I confused?

[Leah]

Just finished Chasing Jupiter. Really good.

[[deleted user]]

I think Tim Burton's name is on James and the Giant Peach, though... *has seen that one*

[[deleted user]]

Ahh. Tim Burton was on James and the Giant Peach as well, which is why I was confused. :) Anyway, cool. I've marked it as to-read, although I'm not sure if it's my style. I've got a mixed impression of Gaiman, but we'll see.

[[deleted user]]

None, because they've yet to entice me, despite all the fangirling *certain* of my friends spew about the man himself. ;)

[[deleted user]]

Mm. We'll see, won't we? ;)

[Elisabeth]

Finished both Plain Tales From the Hills and Copper Streak Trail—haven't written a review for that one yet, but I loved it. Now I'm reading No Time on My Hands by Grace Snyder.