Bella, my mother and I went and saw a live production of the musical Les Mis recently! We instantly fell in love with it...it was my mom's first experience watching the musical as well as mine. So then we bought the movie, loved the movie. And now we are planning on reading the book. Did you really enjoy the book? I think it will be fun to read it just to say that I read such an enormous piece of literature.

shastastwin, Howl's Moving Castle is one of my favorite books ever! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! The sequels definitely do not disappoint either, but you should be wary that each book is very different from Howl's Moving Castle. Diana Wynne Jones, unlike some authors, does not prefer to make her sequels cheap replicas of her first books. You should also try The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, one of her other series. They are pretty hilarious, though a bit longer and more drawn out than Howl's Moving Castle.

I recently had the best bookstore experience that I have ever had. I went to this really shady looking used book store and was surprised to find that it had a massive amount of amazing literature, including Elizabeth Gaskell! But get this...I managed to walk away with two beautiful hardback editions of Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations as well as two paper back version of Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South and Cranford...all for a little under $14!!! I could not believe it. I was so thrilled.

I am currently reading North & South and loving every minute of it. The BBC did a very good job of adapting the novel into a mini series. All of the actors depict the characters perfectly, though sometimes I feel like the plot is a little too rushed...

The sequels definitely do not disappoint either, but you should be wary that each book is very different from Howl's Moving Castle. Diana Wynne Jones, unlike some authors, does not prefer to make her sequels cheap replicas of her first books.

I picked that up when I read The Year of the Griffin, and I'm glad that she takes such care in making each book its own story, even if it is slightly disorienting. I have the second Howl book now, but it's behind a few dozen other books in my to-read pile. I also have all the Chrestomanci books, in 2-book volumes (3 volumes total). I've read the first volume and loved both books. I'm looking forward to the others in the series.

Ruby, that's exicting! I'm glad you enjoyed the musical.
The book... I have mixed feelings about it. (If you're interested, I wrote more about it here.) There are things about it I like and others I dislike. Also, a lot of the novel seems to be a treatise on Hugo's political, social, historical, spiritual opinions, while the main story seems to be a way to demonstrate and argue for these points of view (but of course it is more than simply a soapbox, as the story is very complex and with many interesting characters). I hope you enjoy it! What translation are you going to read?

Yay for exciting booksales!! I love it when that happens. You know, I've heard bits and pieces about North and South, and I might read it, hearing so much about it. What is it about?

I had a very successful trip to the library. I brought home some mythology/folk lore books, one or two Shannon Hale books to see what I think of them, the first 2 in N.D. Wilson's Cupboard series, and also Middlemarch by Mary Ann Evans (which I will unfortunately have to return due to the text being unbelievably small.)

I see Mal and Fanny mentioned LotR rereads - well, I've begun my read! (and I'll be reading TTT and RotK for the first time.) I'm really enjoying FotR, and I intend to go through the Council of Elrond this time. There were so many things about it I missed in my first reading.

And War and Peace still waits to be read. I'm trying to remember all the classic books and other books I wanted to read to try achieve that before my school schedule takes over my life.

Yesterday i got five books i'd ordered -- Elantris, The Way of Kings, The Emperor's Soul, and Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (author of the Mistborn trilogy and the last three books in the Wheel of Time series), and the first Temeraire (never remember how to spell that) book, His Majesty's Dragon. As of today, i've finished two.

Elantris: The intelligent, irrepressible Princess Sarene of Teod arrives in Kae, capital city of Arelon, to learn that her fiancé, the beloved crown prince Raoden, died suddenly while she was on her way. By the terms of the wedding contract, she is now considered his widow, and to maintain the treaty her country needs she must remain in the city. Very quickly Sarene gets involved in Arelon's precarious political position - made worse by the arrival of Hrathen, a high-level priest from the militaristic empire of Fjordell. Unbeknownst to most, he has come with direct orders from his emperor: convert the country to their religion in 3 months, or it will be destroyed.

Meanwhile, Raoden is not dead, but a victim of the "Shaod" - a transformation that until ten years ago was a blessing. Until ten years ago, the city of Elantris was a place of benevolent magic, where the remarkable, powerful, nigh-immortal Elantrians - all once normal people, both noble and peasant, until the Shaod came upon them - lived and were worshipped as gods. Ten years ago, an inexplicable catastrophe severed Elantris from its magic, and now the city is rotting, home not to gods but to afflicted shells of people whose hearts don't beat, whose hunger is never sated, whose wounds never heal and eventually drive them mad. Raoden has no intention of succumbing easily, however, and determines to find out why Elantris fell.

I apologize for the long summary. Brevity is not a particular skill of mine.

I always find it a bit discomfiting to read a book where i can easily recognize the author's style, and Elantris had a lot of similarities to his later Mistborn trilogy -- political intrigue, a magic system with select practitioners that few understand, the battle between idealism and pragmatism, etc., and Raoden is very similar to Elend. That being said, a lot of what was familiar was good.

Religion plays a much more front-and-center role than it did in Mistborn. What's interesting is that virtually everyone is monotheistic, and quite possibly worships the same god while disagreeing on how best to do that. Sanderson's a Mormon, which leaves me wondering how much these religions are supposed to compare to real-world Christianity, Mormonism, etc., and in what ways.

I have a bad habit of skimming, particularly when something exciting is going on, so it might be more a fault of my reading than the book that i didn't feel i got a good grasp of the magic system or what, exactly, happened to Elantris in the first place. I believe Sanderson is planning on writing a sequel eventually, and i think the story could really benefit from it.

Anyway, on the whole i enjoyed it, though not as much as the Mistborn books. I'd recommend reading it before Mistborn, as it gives you an idea of Sanderson's style which is refined further in the trilogy.

I think maybe one person mentioned the Mistborn books once. Anybody else out there a fan of Brandon Sanderson?

And War and Peace still waits to be read. I'm trying to remember all the classic books and other books I wanted to read to try achieve that before my school schedule takes over my life.

My favoritest book ever! W&P is a serious commitment, so when you start go all out. Check and make sure your copy has a list of all of the main characters too, there are myriad characters and it helps to be able to keep track of who's who, although generally speaking you really need concern yourself with about 10 characters in the story, roundabouts. Pierre, Prince Andrei, and especially Natasha are among my very favorite literary characters in the pantheon of Classic Lit books (or reading in general), but you'll find you can relate to most of the characters in the book. At any rate, before I start gushing more and making myself look like a total nitwit, I'll just suggest that while it's a bit slow at the beginning it picks up and is a very addictive read once it kicks in. Enjoy!

I see Mal and Fanny mentioned LotR rereads - well, I've begun my read! (and I'll be reading TTT and RotK for the first time.) I'm really enjoying FotR, and I intend to go through the Council of Elrond this time. There were so many things about it I missed in my first reading.

And War and Peace still waits to be read. I'm trying to remember all the classic books and other books I wanted to read to try achieve that before my school schedule takes over my life.

Hurray on both accounts- and may you have happy reading. And I echo Shadowlander's thoughts on War and Peace. It is perhaps one of my favourite works (I would call it a novel, but something in my balks at that- novel it may very well be, and yet it seems to be too comprehensive a work on that time and situation for it to be called purely a novel.) Although Shadowlander forgot to mention one of the best characters- Andrei's sister, Maria. I quite like the relationship between her and her brother.

I finished reading Pride and Prejudice and am now onto Sense and Sensibility. Quite enjoyable, I must say. (The enjoyment, of course, was not wholly unexpected.)

I'm anxious to read [The Runaway King], though it'll have to wait till' we get home from vacation!

Oooooh, let me know when you do, because I'd love to chat with someone about it.

(Also, I'm loving your summaries of the sci-fi stuff. )

I read The Year of the Griffin

That is such a fun book. One of my favorites by her. I should reread it again soon. I picked up Dogsbody last time I was at the library and finished it yesterday. I think I'll reread it before it goes back.

War and Peace is a favourite around here, I see! I was interested in something unique that diverted from the typical classic book format, and the characters seem very interesting, so I'm looking forward to it.

My favoritest book ever! W&P is a serious commitment, so when you start go all out. Check and make sure your copy has a list of all of the main characters too, there are myriad characters and it helps to be able to keep track of who's who, although generally speaking you really need concern yourself with about 10 characters in the story, roundabouts. Pierre, Prince Andrei, and especially Natasha are among my very favorite literary characters in the pantheon of Classic Lit books (or reading in general), but you'll find you can relate to most of the characters in the book. At any rate, before I start gushing more and making myself look like a total nitwit, I'll just suggest that while it's a bit slow at the beginning it picks up and is a very addictive read once it kicks in. Enjoy!

I remember that you were one of the Narniawebbers who really liked it! Haha, unfortunately my copy does not have the list of main characters (the edition that does is too big to carry around), but since I have seen this list before, it's a little easier to remember. Thanks for the encouragement to read it! I hope I can get it finished this summer.

Hurray on both accounts- and may you have happy reading. And I echo Shadowlander's thoughts on War and Peace. It is perhaps one of my favourite works (I would call it a novel, but something in my balks at that- novel it may very well be, and yet it seems to be too comprehensive a work on that time and situation for it to be called purely a novel.) Although Shadowlander forgot to mention one of the best characters- Andrei's sister, Maria. I quite like the relationship between her and her brother.

Thank-you! Fanny, you mentioned Maria - in my two or three attempts, I have gotten far enough to her, and I really like her as well. She's very pleasantly different!

I have the translation by Constance Garnett, as that's the only one I have access to at the moment. It's understandable, and I do like it, but I saw somewhere that he usually does English (as in British English) translations, and I was wondering if this meant he did so in a Russian idioms to English idioms/Russian culture to English culture kind of way, as I had tried to read Crime and Punishment translated by him and found the flavor of the book to be rather British, especially in terms of informal verbal expressions. Anyways...

The Shannon Hale books were disappointing... I only read one. Not bothering with the other one. I also started 100 Cupboards, which I'm finding interesting (it's a reread). As for FotR... I've gotten to a part where Tolkien thought it would be convenient to describe every path in the forest - if I'm concentrating, it is lovely to read, but if not... well, then it's hard. I'm pushing myself to continue, but I'm having a hard time being satisfied with whatever I read.

I picked up Catching Fire while my family was a Walmart and tried to begin the first pages. I put it on hold and am waiting for it. It was interesting so far. I'm not really expecting much of the series any more (thanks to Part III in THG for dashing my hopes, especially for a story and characters with so much potential.) but I figured I might as well finish them, since they do seem to have some merit, deviating from the annoying character changes.

I'm thinking of trying Patricia McKillip again. Would some of y'all who read her books have some good titles to recommend?

Aslanisthebest, what was it about the third part of THG that disappointed you so?

As for Patricia McKillip, I've only read her Riddle-Master trilogy, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. I've got her books Winter Rose and Forgotten Beasts of Eld in my to-read piles. (Yes, piles. )

Over spring break, I'm reading Silas Marner by Mary Anne Evans/George Eliot for English Lit. It's interesting at this point. It is a bit wordy like Charles Dickens, but when that wordiness is interesting analogies or meaningful descriptions, I really don't mind it very much. I like the title character; the way the author introduces the reader to him is very well-done.

I checked out the audio book from the library (I've been driving a lot over the past several months, and have been checking out a lot of audio books). I really enjoyed Silas Marner. It was not what I was expecting at all - but it is now among my favorites. My minister said that he had seen it on gutenberg.org but didn't download it because he didn't think he would like it. I told him the basic story, and he went back to the site to download it - he thought it sounded like a really good story.

@ BellanotfromTwilight, the Garnett version is my favorite one. I read another one and it made many of the conversations seem very stilted, somehow. When you're complete let us know what you think of the book and who your favorite character/s is/are!

And Silas Marner...ugh! I know the book has some fans here, but it's just overlong for what it is. Then again I don't really care for Dickens, at least the stuff of his I've read, so I can see where the wordiness kind of plays into it comparison-wise. My feelings on SM are that it's basically a short story trapped in a novel's body. Adjective rich, inflated prose does not a good story make.

Aslanisthebest, what was it about the third part of THG that disappointed you so?

Ah, I think I've seen McKillip's Riddle-Master brought up quite a lot on the forums, so I'll check it out! Thanks! I hear you about the piles of books... and I know I'll get the urge to read them in the middle of the busiest weeks of school.

Oh, that's good to hear, parableproductions! I really enjoyed Silas Marner, too. It's a little bit like an English Les Miserables.... just a little bit. I had to read it for school and was not expecting much, but I was very pleasantly surprised!

Ah, okay, SL, that's good to hear! I had some problems with a different translation I got, but the Garnett one flowed very smoothly. Thank-you, I will!

Hahaha! I'm sorry you didn't enjoy SM. I enjoy Dickens, and I particularly enjoy rich descriptions, so I really liked the book, as well as being fond of the characters. I guess it just depends.

Ah, I see now. I can see your points, though I interpreted those actions a bit differently.

By the way, I know a lot of folks around here have enjoyed G.K. Chesterton's The Man who was Thursday and I thought you all should know I'm reading it. Listening to it, actually. I have an audio version that shouldn't take me long to finish. It's 5 discs that are each a little over an hour, and I'm on disc 4.

Hello, people! I haven't been here in ages , but I saw some of the discussion and knew I had to join in.

Arwenel, I read Mistborn several months ago and enjoyed it. I haven't had a chance to finish the trilogy, much less read any other of Sanderson's books, but I bought the second and third books on a recent trip and look forward to reading them as time permits.

Bella, That all said, I know a strong opinion is hard to change and you're entitled to your's (and I can see at least mostly where you're coming from), but just wanted you to know my thoughts on it too. I certainly don't agree with a number of things in the series, but I find them very interesting to consider, especially from the point-of-view of if the world crumbled to that point, what would it take to rebuild it? /end-ramble
As for McKillip, I would also suggest The Bell at Sealey Head, The Tower at Stoney Wood, and In the Forests of Serre. Those are some of my favourites, though I haven't actually finished The Riddlemaster trilogy; the first one was fine, but didn't catch my interest enough to make me pick up the second one immediately and now it's been several years and I have mostly forgotten what happened.

stwin, how're you liking TMWWT?

Like a number of you, I'm currently rereading LotR; I'm on TTT and have been thoroughly enjoying it.
I'm also trying to read War and Peace, but it's slow going. I'm picking up again from where I left off four years ago and I don't know anything about Russian history, so I have absolutely no idea what's going on. Also, I realised my copy is from 1942 with a nice frontispiece map of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and a back cover map of Hitler's invasion of Russia as of the end of 1941. I'd rather like to preserve those, so I retired it from my backpack as it is rather rough on books, but that means I don't have it to read during lunch, which is about the only time I have for reading right now. That all said, I'm enjoying the book fairly well.

I just wanted to clarify - thank-you for telling me your responses to the book, shastastwin and Valia. We interpreted it differently, but I really appreciate both of you understanding where I'm coming from and discussing your opinions with me!

Shastastwin,

I echo Valia, how are you liking The Man Who Was Thursday, shastastwin? I read it for the first time earlier this year, and I found it to be one of the best books I've read.

Valia,

No, no, I do appreciate you telling me your thoughts on it! I feel the same way about the book on some points, but I agree with what you said about them being interesting to consider: I do have some problems with the series, but I do think that some parts of them bring one to think about, like you said, what would we do if in that situation in the future, and how some themes of the book are relevant to culture today.

Valia, our reading lists are intersecting at a few points. I'm reading FotR at the moment, and I'm also where I left off War and Peace three/four years ago. I'm in the same boat about Russian history - and the best part is that I recently finished Les Mis, which has a different perspective regarding the Napoleonic wars, so I'm trying not to get too confused.

Thank-you for the McKillip suggestions! I have read The Bell at Sealey Head, but that was several years ago, so I think I'd get more out of it this time.