Personally, I think she should go on to QoA, since it's a little more mature in theme and might fit her style better. [ / random Attolia musings] (I wonder why everything I post here has to trace back to Attolia? )

Maddy's back, yay! You can tell when she pops in again... always something Attolian to say I agree about your friend going on to TQA! Kate, you should too; I much prefer the second and third books, though I do love the first one too.

Les Mis was amazing!!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it thoroughly! I'm getting excited for my reread in December.

*waits impatiently with interest to hear what ww thinks of Wren to the Rescue*

Oh no, I'm sorry to disappoint . I'm a little more than halfway through and don't have a lot of excitement about finishing it. The plot's predictable, the characterization is rather poor, and some of the transitions are just awkward. So many nice, convenient things happen to them along the way (why, in these books, is there always a poor cottager who takes in our wandering heroes and feeds them up really well and gives them useful presents?). There were a TON of LOTR-derivative scenes; I wonder if Smith is even aware of how much is borrowed from Tolkien. It isn't particularly well borrowed, either. In summary: I think I will try to finish it, but I doubt I'll be reading any more in the series unless the end really, really wows me.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I finished Kalevala. I don't know if it was the translation or not, but I was disappointed, especially after hearing that Tolkien really loved it.

Funny; that's just how I felt about both Lewis and Tolkien loving George MacDonald. I didn't see what was such a big deal about him, but apparently he had a big influence on both of them — and so I'm thankful for his work!

I am no Latin scholar but I enjoyed your translation. Thanks for posting it

*loves The Screwtape Letters also, and is expecting the FotF radio drama to be arriving in her mailbox any day now*

Oh, how great! I have that on my various wishlists and am looking forward to hearing it sometime. Tell us how it is!

I finished my audiobook of The Fellowship of the Ring yesterday. I'll have to write up a review, though not today... I'm too worn out from writing my Jane Eyre review (see the Bronte sisters thread for more). I'll be starting The Two Towers today on audiobook, and I'm not quite sure what regular book I'll pick up next. Maybe another Bronte.

😀 I love it!

*returns the compliment, with interest* That is a beautiful copy of Kilmeny. Why can't they make pretty books like that now?!

Kate: I do? Well, you're very welcome. And be sure to comment when you do read The Eyre Affair... it's got to be a conspiracy of sorts because Marshwiggle mentioned them ever so long ago and that's why I read them.

I wouldn't say that your reaction to Wren to the Rescue is disappointing, ww. It's almost what I think of it myself... except I happen to like it.

I finished reading Lark Rise to Candleford just this afternoon, I posted more thoughts on it here, if anyone would like to read them. All in all, it was a very interesting read, although I was a bit disappointed that the books themselves weren't more "novel-ish". I can't find the right words to explain it, but, I felt that at times the books (there's three in one, published collectively under one title) were more essay-ish on the life and times of the people back then moreso then actually being a story...which I thought it would of been. Ah well. I did enjoy all the details and such.

Kate: Hmm, thoughts on Nicholas' character. First off, I'll say that I don't find many of Dickens' other heroes weak at all, but I especially liked how Nicholas was in his being different than the others.

@ Scarlet Trefoil: (About the birth order) Yep, that's probably why...

Betsie: The Kilmeny cover is beautiful!

I finally got the last three books of the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury from the library Return, Rejoice, and Reunion. And all at one time. Hooah! I was able read them in four days despite my study load, which was most fortunate. Otherwise, I think the distraction of the books would have severely hampered my NWeb time. I have already read the later Baxter Family books, however, it's nice to know what happened first.

I also got Hannah's Hope by Karen Kingsbury and Joelle's Secret by Gilbert Morris. I have read Hannah's Hope once, but Joelle's Secret will be first time read. *fingers crossed* If they are as good as I remember and hope (respectively) then comments will follow.

SnowAngel

Just finished reading How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. The cover and blurbs made me think it was a lame fluffy chick-lit YA fantasy, and it kind of is, but it's more of a comedy/sci-fi/fantasy than chick-lit. Anyway, the book is set in New Avalon, a vaguely Australian-seeming city in some alternate universe. Many of the residents of this world have fairies, invisible forces that give them strange skills like never being able to get lost or always showing up on time for events. Charlie, the protagonist, has a parking fairy. Despite not being old enough to drive and not really liking cars, whatever car she's in will always end up in the perfect parking place. And she always smells faintly of gasoline. Charlie despises her fairy, since it has led to a childhood full of just about every relative she has dragging her with them to exploit her fairy. The story chronicles her attempt to get rid of the fairy and end up with a decent one. It makes for a fun read, nothing terribly deep, but fun.

Many of the residents of this world have fairies, invisible forces that give them strange skills like never being able to get lost or always showing up on time for events.

Bookwyrm, it's sound like you've described Australia to a 'T'. lol

I just re-read Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak to tide myself over until the movie is released here in early December.
I'm currently reading, House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo. I haven't got very far but it's good.

Kate (about Frankenstein): Really? I totally knew everything that was gonna happen it was so predictable!

Spoiler

I knew that it was gonna be Clerval dead and on his honeymoon I was like "dude why would he kill you! Go to your wife now!

I've started reading The Complex Infrastructure Known as the Female Mind by Relient K. I got it off of Bookmooch and I love it- those guys are hilarious...of course I might be a bit biased...

I just came back from a local Octoberfest and we went to an antique store and I found a set of 3 books for only $5- The Works of Tolstoi, The Works of Stevenson, and The Works of Hugo. It doesn't say the date they were published but they smell old . And on Thursday I went to the dump and got the following...

Because of Winn Dixie
The Yale Shakespeare
Kipling: A Selection of Hia Poems and Stories
The Official Guidebook and Map of Colonial Williamsburg
The Red Badge of Courage
Dickens the Immortal
Across Five Aprils
and another copy of Tuck everlasting

And my friend gave me a copy of The Two Princess of Barramare. it's been on my to-read list for a while so now I'll actually get to it...soon.

Glenstorm: the works of Tolstoi, Stevenson, and Hugo, eh? I assume they're complete but you never know. Still, nice! I saw Because of Winn-Dixie [nice movie] but I never read it. Kipling: excellent! You'll love it! I liked The Red Badge of Courage and Across Five Aprils. They're both war stories. I'm sure you can figure out which ones.

Fairly quick catch-up post, due to exhaustion:

Thanks for you help, Booky, Mel, and Jo, in explaining the Istari/Maiar. I bow to your superiority in matters of Tolkien trivia.

*struggles to live up to lys' expectations*

Don't we all?

Incredibly excited you've been enjoying both Les Mis and LotR, Maddy! Those are unquestionably two of my favorite books of all time.

Interestingly, malkah, I also found bits of Ladislaw in Phillip—tortured, artistic soul, social outcast, etc.

For all fellow LTers: note that I've created a 50-book challenge thread.

As well as continuing with my reread of The Lord of the Rings (when I arrived home for break, my dad asked, "Are you still reading that?" ), I have been storming through director Frank Capra's autobiography, The Name Above the Title, in preparation for writing a research paper. I was only planning to thumb through it, but it's so good that I've just been drawn in. Required reading if you love his movies, but recommended in general. He has some interesting things to say about God and faith as well (although some of the doctrine is questionable).

Since, as I mentioned above, I'm home this weekend, I was able to make a trip today to one of my favorite places ever ... our local used bookstore! I tried to keep my spending down there, but I did end up getting The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Of course I have the latter already, but this was a lovely hardcover from the 1940s, with charming cover art and illustrations. I'll try to upload pictures soon. Also, my mother was at a garage sale yesterday and picked up a copy of So Dear to My Heart by Sterling North. I didn't even know this book existed, although I love the old Disney movie based on it. My sister and I have already added it to our "to read aloud together" list, along with the last two Chronicles, The Princess and the Goblin, and Cassie Love Beethoven.

I started a 50 Book Challenge thread awhile back, Lys, and never posted in it. I met the challenge though, as I'm currently over 60 books. I'm hoping I can make it to 75 books.

I'm reading The Eyre Affair right now. The world it's set in is so incredibly bizarre, but the narration is so matter-of-fact that it almost seems normal. Definitely going to try to get my hands on the rest of the series.

Hello all. I have returned from my several weeks absence. I will try to do a better job at keeping up from now on. I think I'm finally getting a hang on my grad school hw, which was driving me for a while.

I'm currently reading The Silmarillion and Wizard's First Rule, book one of The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I'm going to re-read The Children of Hurin, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. Next up, I'm going to read Jane Eyre.

Has anyone else here ever read Goodkind's books?

I would recommend to anyone who is interested in The Space Trilogy, to read the book, Planets in Peril, by David C. Downing, which is a study of Lewis and the trilogy. I gave a review of it on LT:

http://www.librarything.com/work/221132/reviews/49283082

And you can find it here on Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Planets-Peril-Critical-Lewiss-Trilogy/dp/087023997X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255863996&sr=8-2

Booky, lys, how do you two read that many? My school work has me so swamped that I can hardly keep up with anything. I know I'm in graduate school, and it is going to be more time-consuming, but sheesh!

You don't like MacDonald, WW? Have you tried Phantastes? That's a really great one. I can see quite a few elements of fairy-tale, and faery-tale both in that one, so I want to read more of his stuff. People who know enough of Lewis and Tolkien will know what I mean by my different spellings. I moved Jane Eyre up on my list of books because of your review on LT. Next, I'm going to read a Dekker book, then A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,, unless I get sidetracked again.

I can't wait until the next Attolia book comes out, either, Maddy. That's great that you are enjoying Les Mis. Are you reading an abridged, or unabridged version?

Does anyone know a specific unabridged version of Les Mis that they could recommend to me to search for to read?

Well, that's it for now. God bless all. It's good to be back.

I bid you all adieu.

I'm going to try to make more of an effort to keep up with this thread, and not just drop in and out.

malkah, ooh, a favorite part... I'm not sure. I finished it almost a month ago after some spread out reading and I'm not 100% clear on the details anymore. One of my favorite characters was Jean Valjean; I love him, and any part he was in was good. I also liked Eponine and Gavroche. Every part with Gavroche in it was just fun to read.

Maddy's back, yay! You can tell when she pops in again... always something Attolian to say

It's so true. I'm almost glad my copies of QoA and KoA are buried who knows where in my friend's basement. I'd probably have reread them countless times and I need a life apart from these books. (Just some helpful advice, don't lend your books to someone who's days away from moving halfway across the county. Just don't. It's not a good idea. At least, not unless you don't care to read them/make other people read them (mwahaha!) within the next few months. )

*wishes her friend who read The Eyre Affair owned it so it could be filched and read... eventually*

MC, I read the unabridged translation by Julie Rose (although my particular copy was missing 33 pages in the middle. ). The Charles Wilbour translation seems to be the recommended one around here and it's the one I want to get someday. Certain aspects of the translation I read were a little annoying (the "greasy spoon" ).

220: I've already read Across Five Aprils but not Red Badge of Courage yet. Hopefully soon though (I'm so busy! )

ww: have you read Tahn yet?

I do a lot of my reading at work, Tim. I don't usually bring homework in the store with me (I work at Walmart) because it's a lot of stuff to carry around, but I do usually bring a book to read on breaks and lunches. I finished a good third of The Eyre Affair today between my two breaks and my lunch.

I would like to warn prospective readers of TEA that there's quite a bit of strong language in it and a little bit of mature content, though just in the course of a conversation so far. Nothing actually happens.

I also read during lulls at my summer job this summer, MC and Booky, until management decided that books were of the devil and banned them from the break room. And I have been reading quite a few YA books and plays this year, which means that even if I'm having a demanding school week, I can always polish off a volume or two over the weekend. Then there is always the Shirking of Responsibilities. Besides that, I'm not entirely sure how I've made it to over forty books already this year.

Oh, and the favorite Les Mis translation around here seems to be the original by Charles Wilbour. I read the Fahnestock/McAffe version for Signet Classics, and it was quite good as well. No greasy spoons either.

I've been picking up quite a few books this extended weekend. My dad keeps asking where I'll put them all. Here are my newfound treasures, discovered at various used bookstores, thrift stores, and library book sales:

• - Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine[/*4rtmai7z][*] - Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand[/*4rtmai7z][*] - The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin[/*4rtmai7z][*] - The Brontë Story by Margaret Lane[/*4rtmai7z][*] - Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy[/*4rtmai7z][*] - Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky[/*4rtmai7z][*] - Selected Short Stories of Edgar Allen Poe[/*4rtmai7z][*] - Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers[/*4rtmai7z][*] - The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova[/*4rtmai7z][/list4rtmai7z]

The last four were the real finds for me, all $1 hardbacks in good condition. The Dostoyevsky and Poe are lovely editions from the 50s, and The Historian looks like it had been bought new from Barnes & Noble, read once, and then given to the library for the book sale.

Meanwhile, I finished The Name Above the Title. It was very good, and I hope to have a review up soon. I'm also continuing to enjoy my LotR reread, although I look forward to trying something different as well.

~~~~~
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."
~~~~~