Janszoon

Haha. Yeah, I really hated Pride and Prejudice.

So what are some of the contemporary authors you had to read?

__________________
A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

Astronomer

We basically just read contemporary Australian books. (I think they were trying to Australian-ise the curriculum as well). Like Deadly, Unna? by Phillip Gwynne, some Katherine Paterson, Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy.. not bad books but just not my thing. Oh, that reminds me, we did actually read this fantastic book - it was one of the very few I enjoyed:

__________________

MoonlitSunshine

I have, it's also incredible. I guess I chose Oryx and Crake because it had a very profound effect on the way I went literarily after that: It made me think a lot more about what I was reading, and in many ways opened my mind to an entire realm of books. It gave me a greater appreciation of the ideas and ideals behind Science and Speculative Fiction, and also when I read her other books opened up the treasure trove that it Paul Auster, as I started reading his books shortly after.

As for the off-balance nature of O & C, I think that's intentional. Towards the end of the story, things got well and truly out of control for Jimmy, and much of what was happening was going well over his head. Surely the way in which the story is narrated emphasises this and brings the frantic nature of the story and the overriding sense of panic to the fore?

That was something I noticed about it; I picked it up in a friend's house, I was surprised at first by the almost fantastic nature of the writing, but I guess it is a book of its era in that respect It fits, but i haven't quite decided why...

__________________
"I found it eventually, at the bottom of a locker in a disused laboratory, with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard". Ever thought of going into Advertising?"

- Arthur Dent

LoathsomePete

I think this book is partly responsible for my cynicism, or perhaps I read it at too young of an age, but I love this book to death. The characters, the dialogue, the humour, the disjointed story, just everything about the book does something right for me. I really wish Irvine Welsh would write like he use to, his last few books have been real let downs, but I've heard that he's working on a prequel to Trainspotting involving Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud, and Tommy in their youth, so I'm pretty excited about that.



Bought this when I was staying in Edinburgh for a fortnight and was bored one day. I had never read it in high school, because I left the States before I started grade 10 in which it was a required reading. I suppose I, like so many other people, likened myself to Holden. This book kept me entertained for a few days while I bummed around Old Town in Edinburgh.



Easily the best war book ever written. It strongly influenced a short story I wrote that I'm eventually going to get drawn out into a sort of graphic novel. I had never cried at the end of a book before, but I can honestly say I cried at the end of this one.

__________________
Last.FM
101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

SATCHMO

I'm curious to know what your favorite Irving novel is.

Janszoon

I think A Widow for One Year is probably my favorite by him.

__________________
A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

SATCHMO

Havent gotten there yet. Iv'e read ....Owen Meany, Garp, and Cider House, and the last one is definitely my favorite.

I sheepishly admit that this is a close 2nd on my list of favorites:

Urban Hat€monger ?

__________________

SATCHMO

I've also been meaning to get into this Graham Green for a while now.

FaSho

__________________