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I am ashamed to admit that I have never read those bookstcenrt wrote:The fascinating thing about the chronicles is that every time I read them I am still gaining insight from them. I guess that's what makes a classic.
.... I hardly read any books when I was a child; it wasn't the done thing where I grew up.
Edmund! Yes very English, but I don't think I've ever met anybody who was called Edmund!tcenrt wrote:Yorkie wrote:You've got to love the internet for how it brings people together
Ann, what did you make of the story as a teenager in Hong Kong, how did you connect with it? Hope it's not a rude question, it's just that I'm fascinated about how Englishness/Britishness is perceived abroad.
I wasn't a big fan of the recent film, but I thought it did a good job recreating the 'Englishness' of the book that I had in my mind.
Oh, Yorkie, I don't think that the question is rude. Although I really have to think hard, 'course that was a long time ago. I guess I used to love King Arthur, Knights, the fair maidens, etc....most importantly, all those characters were so colourful, everyone has hair and eye colours other than black.
I was only around 9 or 10 when I first read the chronicles, I didn't even think that I know it was written by an Englishman. It was until I was older before I realized that the story was very Britishlike.....just look at the names....especially Edmund.
The fascinating thing about the chronicles is that every time I read them I am still gaining insight from them. I guess that's what makes a classic.
Hey Paul and RebeccaRebecca (: wrote:We have one and love it! Also, the iPad is great for this too! My dad uses both and says they are really nicepaul30003 wrote:I'm realy tempted by a Kindle at the moment, it will give me instant access to 1000's of books.
Can't decide to buy one, or just buy the books.
I'd get one in a heartbeat now, were I not so certain that I would drop it, crush it, spill something on it, or leave it on a train somewhere. This is why I am not suposed to use my dad'sliberavieve wrote:Ah, the Kindle! I had nothing nice to say about the Kindle until, on a long journey that involved a lot of travel (and therefore large rucksacks a lot of waiting), a friend was completely entertained by his, while I was spinning coins on rail station floors and looking for patterns in airport departure boards.
Couldnt' agree more! I just posted my recommendation for this one yesterdayliberavieve wrote: A few recommendations:
At Swim, Two Boys (Jamie O'Neill) — Quite possibly the best novel I've ever read. Set in Dublin shortly before the Rising of 1916, it centers around two boys who grow together (and apart, and together, and apart again, etc.) over a pact they've made to swim out to a small island they can just see from the shore. A bit of a love story, but also more about social upheaval, wartime politics... I could go on and on. A gay story but not a 'gay novel.' Gorgeous, eye-opening, and sad. The first little while is a bit difficult stylistically, but it's enormously worth it.
liberavieve wrote: Angels in America (Tony Kushner) — This one's a (long) play, a 'gay fantasia' on 1980's America. It deals heavily with the early days of the AIDS epidemic and weaves in these gorgeous thoughts on madness, politics, race, belief, death, and ultimately hope. Someone made a mini-series (with big, big names: Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, Meryl Streep...) that, if I remember correctly, is almost the play, word-for-word.
Hmm - it's either war or homosexuals...liberavieve wrote: I suppose I'm also a bit obvious in my taste in books.
War or homosexuals? I was going to say, of course, 'generally well-received late twentieth-century fiction'... but I suppose that works, too.maartendas wrote:Hmm - it's either war or homosexuals...liberavieve wrote: I suppose I'm also a bit obvious in my taste in books.
Absolutely. Certain parts of it made me feel a bit physically ill. But in a good way, if you can imagine such a thing.maartendas wrote:At Swim, Two Boys - Jamie O'Neill
The only book that ever gave me goosebumps and had me cry my eyes out.
Maybe that's just me thenliberavieve wrote:War or homosexuals? I was going to say, of course, 'generally well-received late twentieth-century fiction'... but I suppose that works, too.maartendas wrote:Hmm - it's either war or homosexuals...liberavieve wrote: I suppose I'm also a bit obvious in my taste in books.
Yes, I canliberavieve wrote:Absolutely. Certain parts of it made me feel a bit physically ill. But in a good way, if you can imagine such a thing.maartendas wrote:At Swim, Two Boys - Jamie O'Neill
The only book that ever gave me goosebumps and had me cry my eyes out.
I felt the same near the end. Hard to discuss it without revealing spoilers but - you might be interested to know that the book actually made such an impression on me that when I was in Dublin for the Libera concert I tried to visit some of the locations where the story takes place. The one really moving moment near the very end (I think you might know what I mean) - I managed to find the spot where it was supposed to have happened - and took pictures of it. I know it sounds silly but for me, a novel that good, is on such a realistic plane that it is real in its own way. But on that paper they really do come to life. Certainly just you!maartendas wrote:Maybe that's just me thenliberavieve wrote:War or homosexuals? I was going to say, of course, 'generally well-received late twentieth-century fiction'... but I suppose that works, too.maartendas wrote:
Hmm - it's either war or homosexuals...
Lucky! It must have been strange, seeing that spot on a calm (well, calm for Dublin, and calm in comparison to the moment in the story) day? I was in Dublin a bit ago and meant to make my way down to the Forty Foot, but it was pi--ing rain the entire day, so I ducked into the Pro-Cathedral instead, to hear a sung service. Not a bad alternative by any means, but since so much of At Swim is set at the Forty Foot, I'd really hoped do see it. Did you make it down that far?maartendas wrote:
Yes, I can
Argh. I've never actually read this one, but when I was much younger, I watched most of the film based on the book with my parents and wound up going to hide (and maybe sniffle just a little bit) in my bedroom because my mother cried the entire time. Definitely not for the soft-of-heart if you're looking to maintain a reputation.maartendas wrote:A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Unfortunately not - I did get on a south bound train to see more of the surroundings but ended up passing the Forty Foot without being able to see it as it was hiding behind trees and bushes from the railroadliberavieve wrote:I was in Dublin a bit ago and meant to make my way down to the Forty Foot, but it was pi--ing rain the entire day, so I ducked into the Pro-Cathedral instead, to hear a sung service. Not a bad alternative by any means, but since so much of At Swim is set at the Forty Foot, I'd really hoped do see it. Did you make it down that far?
I meant to go to the Forty Foot and engage in that particular activity it is famed for in the novel, which would be a first for me, but - it would still be a first, as I never did 
