Which Books Do You Read? What Is Your Favourite Book?

[jacksprat]

#1 Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon by Marjorie Kellogg. It's about accepting & loving people regardless of disabilities and making the most of life no matter how bad a hand you have been dealt. Yes, it's not a new idea but told with so much "look at the bright side" humor wrapped around a blossoming love story. I first read it when I was a young teenager and still revisit it once every decade. Do NOT watch the movie version.

Myra Breckenridge by Gore Vidal. It's less about the character being transgender and more about an over the top wacky story & wacky characters and Vidal's usual scathing social commentary without dragging his politics into it. Do NOT watch the horrible movie version.

I do most of my reading on the internet. Whatever catches my attention.

 

[AbeS]

I managed to read three books in November - December. Concentrating can be difficult but I don't have much else to do so I keep at it.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- One of the most classic american childrens books I believe? I liked it, and have also ordered the follow-up.

Bröderna Lejonhjärta (The Brothers Lionheart)
- A beautiful and strong book by the beloved Astrid, even for adults.

A Clockwork Orange
- When you get into the made up slang it's an amazing read. Very violent of course but it's the language that makes it really. As a non-native english speaker I was worried I would not get it, but it went well. I watched the movie directly afterwards and was a bit disgusted by some scenes to be honest. Much preferred the book.

Now I'm alternating between Animal Farm and Bilbo/Hobbit.

The way he's describing how the animals do the work on the farm in Animal Farm is so very charming! I love it so far.

 

[DimLeb]

I rarely read books, but since tinnitus happened, I thought I needed to get away from music making (I'm a music producer) for a while, so I started reading a lot of Agatha Christie thriller books.

Among other great ones that I read past summer, "And Then There Were None" was the one that I really really loved. It's a must-read for anyone liking mystery, thriller and mindf*cks. Also, her books with Hercules Poirrot in them are amazing!

 

[AbeS]

I rarely read books, but since tinnitus happened, I thought I needed to get away from music making (I'm a music producer) for a while, so I started reading a lot of Agatha Christie thriller books.

Among other great ones that I read past summer, "And Then There Were None" was the one that I really really loved. It's a must-read for anyone liking mystery, thriller and mindf*cks. Also, her books with Hercules Poirrot in them are amazing!

It's in my wantlist!

I was thinking of doing a marathon of all Twin Peaks books, series and the movie in chronological order but some books seems very hard to come by.

 

[DimLeb]

It's in my wantlist!

I was thinking of doing a marathon of all Twin Peaks books, series and the movie in chronological order but some books seems very hard to come by.

That's a really good suggestion! I don't know about the books, but the movie and series seem to be suggested by a lot of people. I only ever listened to some of its soundtracks as an inspiration for creepy/mysterious music hehe.

 

[AbeS]

That's a really good suggestion! I don't know about the books, but the movie and series seem to be suggested by a lot of people. I only ever listened to some of its soundtracks as an inspiration for creepy/mysterious music hehe.

I rewatched it a few years ago and was positively surprised how much I enjoyed it.

I like those soundtracks as well!

 

[Juan]

The way he's describing how the animals do the work on the farm in Animal Farm is so very charming! I love it so far.

Pigs getting into politics is very appropriate. It is an accurate description of the real world hehe.

 

[Juan]

Stefan Zweig - World of Yesterday. One can substitute the word "war" as applied to the twentieth century by an "economic war" and we can conclude the world has not changed in a century, as far as politicians, manipulations and inept central bankers are concerned.

Those who should lead, fail and drag everyone to the pit.

 

[volsung37]

Anam Cara by John O'Donohue

A look at life and meaning through the lens of Celtic spirituality.

I need books at the moment which remove me from the dreary soulless world we've created and look to explore the hidden aspects of the universe.

 

[AbeS]

Pigs getting into politics is very appropriate. It is an accurate description of the real world hehe.

Haha!

About halfway through now, it's getting wild.

 

[lymebite]

The Children of Silence, by Linda Stratmann. The author has hyperacusis, and the main character in the book has hyperacusis, and her hyperacusis plays a central role in the plot and the twists and turns and ending.

In addition to being a good read, something akin to an Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes murder mystery, seeing how the main character deals with hyperacusis even provides a few tips on how to cope.

 

[Juan]

Now I am starting "House of Government" by Yuri Slezkine. It's a long book so it will keep me entertained for a few weeks...

 

[Leila]

This is what I'm reading at the moment and so far it has been a pretty cool read. I wanted something totally different from what I normally read, and totally different I got. I love the slow story-telling and the antiquated use of language, it's like reading something much older than the book actually is.

 

[ZFire]

I can't read any of TS Eliot's poem without footnotes. I'm currently reading The Waste Land and it's by far the most complicated work I've ever seen.

@DaveFromChicago, help me out here!

@GeorgeLG, I just purchased Dr. John Sarno's Top 10 Healing Discoveries, intrigued about reading it. It's a short read which i like since I'm busy with other stuff...

 

[Peter Q]

My favourite italian classics:

- Cesare Pavese; "The moon and the bonfire". A book about the memory of the past, sense of belonging and nostalgia, with the background of the conflict between the fascists and partisans in rural Italy during World War II.

- Beppe Fenoglio: "A private affair". Another novel settled during Italian Resistance. The protagonist, a partisan, urges to solve its private matter, to know the truth about his loved one, this taking precedence over the fight against fascism.

- Dino Buzzati: "The Tartar steppe". A young lieutenant is assigned to a border fortress, which borders the desert, where they have to defend the country from an invasion that never arrives.

@Maria Francesca, have you seen Valerio Zurlini's film adaptation of Il deserto dei Tartari?

 

[Peter Q]

Anam Cara by John O'Donohue

A look at life and meaning through the lens of Celtic spirituality.

I need books at the moment which remove me from the dreary soulless world we've created and look to explore the hidden aspects of the universe.

Anam Cara by John O'Donohue is a great book.

 

[Peter Q]

Any fans of Michel Houellebecq? I have read most of his work.

 

[Juan]

Any fans of Michel Houellebecq? I have read most of his work.

I have read most of his books. My favourite is "The Map and the Territory". In my opinion, Houellebecq has a few obsessions and he goes over and over... so it is an interesting read when it is a novelty, but after a while is all the time the same...

 

[Peter Q]

I have read most of his books. My favourite is "The Map and the Territory". In my opinion, Houellebecq has a few obsessions and he goes over and over... so it is an interesting read when it is a novelty, but after a while is all the time the same...

"The Map and the Territory" is one of my favourites too. Have you read his most recent, "anéantir"? It's very good.

 

[Maria Francesca]

have you seen Valerio Zurlini's film adaptation of Il deserto dei Tartari

Hello, despite the stellar cast I didn't like the film. The images are not effective as the words of the book to transmit the oniric atmosphere and the anguish of time that passes in vain.

What is your opinion?

 

[Juan]

"The Map and the Territory" is one of my favourites too. Have you read his most recent, "anéantir"? It's very good.

I have not read Anéantir yet. I read "Submission" (which is the meaning of the word "Islam" by the way) and found it interesting, specially the concept that a big change may happen and it can also bring unexpected benefits.

 

[Mister Muso]

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
A fantasy novel about parallel lives and regrets that will leave you feeling thankful for what you have, and which has one of the most touching final chapters I've read in a long time.

The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts
A journalist travels the breath of Siberia in search of pianos and their history at every town she visits. A book that blends travelogue with biography with the history of music.

 

[Mister Muso]

The audio book of this is done in a style that's almost ASMR. Very soothing.

 

[Peter Q]

Hello, despite the stellar cast I didn't like the film. The images are not effective as the words of the book to transmit the oniric atmosphere and the anguish of time that passes in vain.

What is your opinion?

To be honest, I actually enjoyed the film more than the book. This happens with other books. For example, I preferred the film adaptation of "Brooklyn" to the book.

 

[Peter Q]

My favourite italian classics:

- Cesare Pavese; "The moon and the bonfire". A book about the memory of the past, sense of belonging and nostalgia, with the background of the conflict between the fascists and partisans in rural Italy during World War II.

- Beppe Fenoglio: "A private affair". Another novel settled during Italian Resistance. The protagonist, a partisan, urges to solve its private matter, to know the truth about his loved one, this taking precedence over the fight against fascism.

- Dino Buzzati: "The Tartar steppe". A young lieutenant is assigned to a border fortress, which borders the desert, where they have to defend the country from an invasion that never arrives.

@Maria Francesca, have you read Manzoni's "I promessi sposi"? It's a great novel.

 

[Maria Francesca]

@Maria Francesca, have you read Manzoni's "I promessi sposi"? It's a great novel.

Yes! It is a great classic and it used to be read, studied and analyzed in deep at high school in my times. There have been a lot of film/
series based on the book, mostly in Italian as far as I know.

The parodic version by the trio of comedians Lopez Marchesini Solenghi is memorable.

 

[DaveFromChicago]

How many of you can answer this (I freely admit that I couldn't).

Not that long ago a wide-ranging poll was taken among Literature Scholars, Historians, Professors, et.al.

The question was, "What is the greatest novel ever written in the English Language?"

"Not the greatest novel written by an English writer, but in toto that which appears anywhere in the English Language."

Guess what won by a clear majority?

Melville's "Moby Dick."

I had read this 40 years ago.

I purchased and reread portions of the latest Penguin Edition (whose Introduction opens with this story about the Poll), and later I said, "by God, they were right."

Truman Capote said that reading Proust was like riding a wave. Reading Melville is like being carried on a Tsunami.

The American Literary Critic Dorothy Parker said, "The only problem was that I learned more about Whaling than I ever cared to know."

Melville's celebrated chapter on the whiteness of the Whale is the greatest exposition ever done on the pitiless indifference of the Universe.

Sometimes I feel like I am the tragically foredoomed Ahab and tinnitus is the White Whale that will forever elude my ever-maddening quest to have it silenced.

 

[DaveFromChicago]

To @ZFire:

See if your Library has the Norton Edition of "The Wasteland."

There has been much controversy about Eliot's primary theme, i.e. that the Modern World is a tragic departure from the sureties and traditions that previously anchored and provided moral ballast to Civilization.

(Let's remember how every major thinker realized that the cataclysm of WWl smashed any hope for Humanity's emancipation into a more enlightened realm of being; this is brilliantly elucidated by D.H. Lawrence in the first chapter of "Lady Chatterly"s Lover").

Saul Bellow did a parody on this in "Herzog":

He imagines that he is attending a lecture by Martin Heiddeger:

"Herr Heiddeger, a question from the floor: Just when exactly did we fall into the Quotidian?"

 

[Peter Q]

Yes! It is a great classic and it used to be read, studied and analyzed in deep at high school in my times. There have been a lot of film/series based on the book, mostly in Italian as far as I know.

The parodic version by the trio of comedians Lopez Marchesini Solenghi is memorable.

My favourite film adaptation is the silent film made in 1922 by Mario Bonnard.

 

[Mister Muso]

...I started reading a lot of Agatha Christie thriller books.

I went through an Agatha Christie phase in my younger days. Ellery Queen was another great writer of whodunits in a similar style.