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Top 5 Books You Want To Read
My Top 5 Books that I want to read1. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler - I've just heard wonderful things about it, and it seems so different that I've been wanting to get my hands on it forever. It's on my Christmas list, but I might have to buy it before then!
2. The Year of the Flood - Part 2 of the MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood. I loved the first part, and the whole dystopia is just wonderful. Plus her writing is fantastic!
3. Paradise Lost - I've already read book 1, but it's phenomenal, and the sheer awesomeness of the writing is just beautiful. It's going to be a hard slog, but it's going to be awesome!
4. Foundation - Again, it's on my Christmas list, but this science-fiction classic just keeps on calling to me... Hopefully I'm not going mad!
5. Notes from Underground - It's a Dostoevsky, just because I loved Crime and Punishment so much. I really, really need to read more Russian lit.
1- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
2- Ulysses by James Joyce
3- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
4- Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo
5- Middlemarch by George Eliot
I either have all of these right now, or they are on their way. I want to start In Cold Blood right after I finish the books I have now, but I change my mind about ninety times before I decide on a book, haha.
2- Ulysses by James Joyce
3- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
4- Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo
5- Middlemarch by George Eliot
I either have all of these right now, or they are on their way. I want to start In Cold Blood right after I finish the books I have now, but I change my mind about ninety times before I decide on a book, haha.
Top 5 books I want to read are1. Herman Melville - Moby-Dick
2. William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury
3. Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
4. George Orwell - 1984
5. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Faust
Lissa wrote: "1- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote2- Ulysses by James Joyce
3- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
4- Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo..."
Read 4 out of your 5: I miss The Exorcist but I'm not particularly keen on it. THe others are all masterpeices, Ulysses tough to read ...
Mine?
I have to think about it...
Certainly MaddAddam - even if I didn't love Oryx and Crake
Fahrenheit 451 is a lovely novel, Anuar. It hurt me slightly because it's about book burning, but it brings up a lot of thought-provoking topics.Lissa, I would hands down recommend Middlemarch. It's long, and it's oh-so Victorian, but it's lovely. A really really lovely novel.
I was considering doing Middlemarch the same time I do some of the shorter novels on my list of books to read in 2014 because it is pretty long. I'm looking forward to it, though. I've wanted to read it for the longest time.
Lissa, It sat gathering dust on my shelf, and I knew I had to pick it up and read it eventually! I actually didn't notice the length, which I usually do on novels...Read it, Anuar. It's relatively short as well!
Farenheit 451 is pretty good. I had to read it in high school and really like it.
Normally length isn't too important to me, but I do like to have a second one for the really long ones so I don't get too bored with it.
Normally length isn't too important to me, but I do like to have a second one for the really long ones so I don't get too bored with it.
I will try to read as many books as possible especially in English, and if my German gets better then in German :)
Anuar, I tried to learn German. I just couldn't do it. I can understand it a little and I can make a bit of small talk, but it is a difficult language. I live in Germany, so I'm just happy so many of the people here put up with the way I slaughter their language whenever I try to use it. And, thankfully, most of them speak English and will set me right when I say something wrong. Good luck learning it!
Gosh this is going to be difficult, so many to choose from - my list of classics I haven't read but want to seems endless (and not helped by my tendency to reread ones I've already read every so often!)In no particular order then, 5 books that I have staring at me from my kindle that I want to read and really have to stop passing over in favour of old favourites!
Paradise Lost John Milton
Middlemarch George Eliot
Villette Charlotte Brontë
Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Man in the Iron Mask Alexandre Dumas
That should do for a start :)
Lian, I loved Villette. After Jane Eyre, it's my favorite Charlotte Bronte novel. I love how it always seems like the women in Bronte's books have a head on their shoulders and they don't always just bow down to men like women do in so many other classical novels.
Lian, you have some seriously great books on there.Crime and Punishment is definitely my favourite classic. It's just so heart-wrenching, watching one man fall into the pits of despair and guilt. Seriously, Dostoevsky's writing is amazing.
Middlemarch is very, very Victorian, but very cleverly written. Although the events seem quite plain (marriages, mild deaths etc), it's the sheer cleverness of Eliot that merges several separate sub-plots together. It's a lovely, actually quite light-hearted read, although rather long!
I've just started Paradise Lost, and I'm doing a readalong of it in another group. So far, I've only read Book 1, but it's not actually as hard as I expected it to be. I've been pleasantly surprised by it so far.
Lissa wrote: "Anuar, I tried to learn German. I just couldn't do it. I can understand it a little and I can make a bit of small talk, but it is a difficult language. I live in Germany, so I'm just happy so many ..."You know Mark Twain said that in order to learn Englsh one needs 33 hours, French 33 days, and German 33 years. For me it will take thewhole life. Now, I am not working on it, but I should. German is worth learning because it represnts one of the richest clture, literature, science. And helpful for your brain activity.
I still have all my textbooks and CDs that were supposed to be for the whole 3 year German certificate. I am hoping once I finish up some of my other classes I can pick it up again. I do love German culture and I love living here. The German people are amazing, as is their history and culture.
Lissa wrote: "I still have all my textbooks and CDs that were supposed to be for the whole 3 year German certificate. I am hoping once I finish up some of my other classes I can pick it up again. I do love Germa..."Totally agree. You know that in my country lived 1 million of ethnic Germans who practiced their language and culture. Now here live only 185 000 Germans.
I actually had no idea. I've heard of a lot of Germans who leave Germany and go settle in the same areas together and then pack up and go back to Germany because they missed it. I'm originally from the United States and they didn't teach us very much European or Asian history earlier than WWI or WWII and not much other than those two wars, as well.
Well, as I know there are about 60 million German-American and some small settlements where people still speak German. They are called Amish. Maybe you have German blood :)I know that Penn State was called little Germany. Moreover, I have many frinds from this state and many of them have German origin, of course they are German, Irish, Italian, English, but as a first ancestory or secondary a lot Germans
My mum has banned me from buying If on a Winter's Night a Traveler because apparently it's too close to Christmas to buy anything new...Looks like I'm going to pine after it for the next month...
Oh, yes, the Amish. I love the Amish. I've visited them before and they sell very expensive quilts. My great grandparents were actually German and came over either during or just after WWII. The Germans in my family all talk about how badly they want to go back to Germany, but, unfortunately, many of them haven't been able to make it back. I'm the first one who has and I understand why they regret leaving now.
Holly wrote: "My mum has banned me from buying If on a Winter's Night a Traveler because apparently it's too close to Christmas to buy anything new...
Looks like I'm going to pine after it for the..."
That's what they say when they already bought it for you, haha. I know the feeling, though. My mom and I used to fight around Christmas over what books I could and could not buy. Now she sends me toasters. The joy of being an adult.
Looks like I'm going to pine after it for the..."
That's what they say when they already bought it for you, haha. I know the feeling, though. My mom and I used to fight around Christmas over what books I could and could not buy. Now she sends me toasters. The joy of being an adult.
I've said to my parents that my main present for my birthday next year is going to be a printer for when I go to Uni. Because I need one, and I actually really want one! I'm slightly worried that 'toasters' is plural. Do you have an obsession with toast or something and therefore need more than one toaster? :DI haven't given my mum my Christmas list yet, so she couldn't have brought it for me. But she did point out I have mock exams and more coursework coming up, so I wouldn't have time to read it anyway.
I've been limited to 5 books. I'm getting a Daphne Du Maurier collection, which is technically 5 books for the price of 1. So I'll technically be getting 9 books. I'm a genius ;)
She just forgets that I have two (both of which she bought me). I'm afraid she's getting me another one this year. Fingers crossed that it's actually a blender.
I need to try out Daphne Du Maurier. I've had Rebecca on my reading list forever. You'll have to tell us how they are.
I need to try out Daphne Du Maurier. I've had Rebecca on my reading list forever. You'll have to tell us how they are.
Rebecca is just wonderful. I found it far better than what I've read of Wuthering Heights. Plus Rebecca steals the show. She's such an awesome character! I'd totally read it :3
Lissa wrote: "Oh, yes, the Amish. I love the Amish. I've visited them before and they sell very expensive quilts. My great grandparents were actually German and came over either during or just after WWII. The Ge...":)
I know I want to read Wind in the Willows but don't know which other 4 I want to read. I'll figure it out though.
Holly wrote: "I've been limited to 5 books. I'm getting a Daphne Du Maurier collection, which is technically 5 books for the price of 1. So I'll technically be getting 9 books. I'm a genius ;) "Hehe - I love the way you think. I'll have to try that on my husband - not sure he'll fall for it though ;)
Well, the collection is only £6.99 for 5 books. So it economically makes sense for me to get it!
that's a great price - where are you getting them from?
The Book PeopleThey have some really great sets. The £17 16-Book Dickens Collection is really tempting...
I used to buy from the book people years ago, I forgot they existed! Their prices were always really good. I have a wishlist on there as long as my arm now! (and where did that last hour and a half go???)They are out of stock on the Du Maurier collection now though, which is a bit disappointing. I hope they get some more in.
Yeah, my mum said I could get the Dickens Collection considering the Du Maurier collection is out of stock. Very excited about it though!They have the Hitch-hikers Collection looks awesome, but I knew the Dickens collection was pushing it :3
Limiting my choices to the books on my shelf:The Gambler Dostoevsky
Anna Karenina Tolstoy
A Tale of Two Cities Dickens
Aesop's Fables Aesop
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Mmmm, this is a hard one; 1. MaddAddam
2. The Bone People
3. Loaded
4. The Brothers Karamazov
5. The Sorrows of Young Werther
Michael wrote: "Mmmm, this is a hard one; 1. MaddAddam
2. The Bone People
3. Loaded
4. The Brothers Karamazov
5. The Sorrows of Young Werther"
The Sorrows of Young Werther is an awesome book!!!
Michaelx: A Tale of Two Cities is a wonderful book. I also want to read Anna K, it just seems really daunting to me!Michael: The Year of the Flood keeps on staring at me, but I know December is going to be a busy month. You'll have to let me know what you think of MaddAddam. I've heard it's a really good ending to the trilogy!
I've heard only good things :) I've been wanting to read Dickens for a while, and since I studied the French Revolution this seems like the perfect gateway. Why does it seem daunting to you?
It was my first Dickens too. It wasn't as hard as I thought I would be :)I think it's just the length, and the fact I'm not 100% certain if I'd like the plot or not...
I've read A Christmas Carol (and looks like I'll read it again next month), but it seemed to me too short to be a good representation of the author. What do you think?Yeah, it's a commitment, isn't it? I recently read The Brothers Karamazov, and though it was long it was so good that I wouldn't've noticed if it was double the length. I'm hoping for something similar with Anna Karenina.
Michaelx wrote: "Limiting my choices to the books on my shelf:The Gambler Dostoevsky
Anna Karenina Tolstoy
A Tale of Two Cities Dickens
Aesop's Fables Aesop
[..."
A Tale of Two Cities was my first Dickens too and I loved it. I am reading Great Expectations right now and will be joining the Christmas Carol read in December :) don't put off Dickens he is a wonderful writer and the language isn't so archaic as you might think...
I'm glad you said the language isn't too archaic, Tracey. I tried to read Great Expectations when I was in primary school, and the language was so confusing it turned me off Dickens until recently. It was one of those innate disinterests which, now that I think about it, came from my primary school experience. Stupid, right?I won't put it off much longer. All these positive reviews are moving TOTC further and further up my list of priorities :)
Michaelx I am hoping that Santa will bring me a cloth bound copy of ToTC so I may dip in that when you read yours if it is after the big fella comes :)
Michaelx, I had the exact same experience with Dickens for the same reasons. Some well-meaning relative had bought me a few Dickens books when I was about 9, and it put me off reading them for years - it's only the last decade or so that I've picked them up again. It's why I'm trying very hard with my nieces and nephews to not make the same mistake! It's hard though, particularly with one nephew who is a prolific and enthusiastic reader. There are so many books I can't wait for him to experience, but I have to make myself wait to give them to him!
Tracey wrote: "Michaelx
I am hoping that Santa will bring me a cloth bound copy of ToTC so I may dip in that when you read yours if it is after the big fella comes :)"
Is Santa passing those out this year? Tell him to send one my way, as well. I love cloth bound books.
I am hoping that Santa will bring me a cloth bound copy of ToTC so I may dip in that when you read yours if it is after the big fella comes :)"
Is Santa passing those out this year? Tell him to send one my way, as well. I love cloth bound books.
Now I really want to read some Dickens! I'm super excited for my Dickens set now...
Tracey, that sounds great. I'm sure it'll be after Christmas, so I'll give you a yell when I start :)Liân, so many of those well-meant gestures backfire. It might also be the reason why a lot of kids grow up to hate vegetables :D Good on you for not force feeding Dickens to your nieces and nephews and doing the same thing to them.
I remember being shown the Marx Brothers when I was a kid, and the opposite happened. I've loved them ever since. Maybe it's just a rule that 'Kids hate Dickens'.
Holly, just in time for (A) Christmas (Carol)!
Vintage Tales
Books mentioned in this topic
The Canterbury Tales (other topics)The Sagas of Icelanders (other topics)
Anna Karenina (other topics)
Of Human Bondage (other topics)
A Tale of Two Cities (other topics)
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So, you can make a list of the 5 you most want to read, and then you can post updates when you've read it and what you think about it. It might be a bit of incentive to get those books read that you've been itching to get your hands on!