I read To Kill a Mockingbird a long time ago. It was ok. It wasn't awful or a favorite. I may read it again someday. I didn't understand it super well at the time. To me, it was just a kind of cute little story about a couple of kids.

A cute little story about a couple of kids? It's much more than that. It's a story about racial injustice, prejudice and the truth. I don't really care for the book but it's well-written.

What do you think causes their [Anne Shirley and Jo March] similarities?

I was going to suggest that they were both author self-inserts, but now I'm having a moment of doubt on that point. I can't remember if Montgomery is supposed to be more like Anne, or Emily Starr.

Certainly, I'd never put down Anne of Green Gables saying, "Oh, this is too like Little Women." The situations and settings are different, and each author brings their own unique flavor to the writing.

Or, look at it this way. If you had Anne Shirley and Jo March switch places, would the stories be the same?

Ooh, Wolfy!! I read The Space Trilogy recently, and it was so thrilling. I don't think I liked That Hideous Strength all that much; the other two were just so stunning. They're all so different, they almost seem disconnected. I liked the last one, because of all the different characters, though of course I wanted some more of Ransom. Out of the Silent Planet was thrilling, I loved all the different races, and his interactions. And then Perelandra was so moving. It really compelled and awed me.
Seems like everyone is reading To Kill a Mockingbird these days.

I'm finally reading a Sayers again (been a year or two since the last one...two, I believe)---The Five Red Herrings.

I don't remember much about that one. It was among my first Sayers, several years ago.

FF, regarding your spoiler about Persuasion,

Just for the record, the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird with Gregory Peck is really good, though I agree with Kate that the book is much better. I also highly recommend the audiobook read by Sissy Spacek.

Was there any film made of Eagle of the Ninth?

Yes indeed; it just came out on DVD this week, I believe. It is titled simply The Eagle, though, and I heard they made some rather significant changes . We have a copy on hold for us at the library and will probably be watching it this weekend. I hope it's decent. Glad you enjoyed the book, Queen Susan!

And! Finally, I got Heaven by Randy Alcorn.

I love that book and the amazing truths it presents! Enjoy it And I'm glad you had a chance to read it too, Warrior. Isn't it so exciting to think of what is in store for us?

I'm on the fourth book of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, The Shadow Rising. I don't plan on continuing the series after this one; I've heard too much about the content of later volumes that I just don't think I would enjoy them.

In other book news, I am rereading the second part of Pilgrim's Progress, Christiana's journey, in preparation for a study starting in August. I have also been reading some of C. S. Lewis's poems.

I am also reading Christ Esteem by Don Matzat and it's excellent. His writing is not the best (for example, he uses "literally" for emphasis ) but the principles he is expounding are so biblical. Self esteem is just another word for pride! I am loving the subversive message, so different from what our world (and some misguided voices in the church, unfortunately) teach.

A cute little story about a couple of kids? It's much more than that. It's a story about racial injustice, prejudice and the truth. I don't really care for the book but it's well-written.

Yea, I know. And at the time, I did know that but I didn't read it looking at it like that. I looked it as a story about kids. Maybe I shouldn't have used the word cute because it definetly wasn't cute. Yea, it is well-written but I didn't really care for it either not in the "Oh yes, it's a classic, it's amazing, it's awesome, I love it!" kind of way.

FF, regarding your spoiler about Persuasion,

I'm not sure I want to see a movie of it . . it might be even more depressing. Henry James wrote it, and I don't think there was anything objectionable in it. At one point, it is mentioned that a certain person was born out of wedlock, but other than that . . I guess I'm glad I read it; because really, I loved the first half, and the writing is so unique and realistic. I want to read another book like it, except with a happy, or at least resolved, ending.

Okay, thanks! I remember how I really thought that movie was boring, because I was quite young when we watched it, and it must have been made in the 1980s or about then as the film style was greatly different than more modern films. I'm glad to know that there isn't really anything objectionable about it, aside from perhaps how things turn out in the end. (Should that go in a spoiler box?)

Queen S, you and I seem to be reading the same books at the same times. (of course, you're ahead, having read both...) What did you think of the Eagle of Ninth?

That's rather amusing. Haha!
I'd say I enjoyed Eagle of the Ninth quite a bit. They put a lot more stock into the [statue of] Eagle then I would have, and there's no reference to Christianity that I can really remember. For some reason I was almost expecting there to be, but now I'm not sure why. I don't remember where I got the idea that there would be. Weird. *shrug* But I really enjoyed it.
Aaaaand there were way too many emoticons in that paragraph...

While To Kill a Mockingbird isn't a personal favorite of mine I definetly really enjoyed it despite the fact that I was made to for school and had to disect it and everything I want to reread it now...

Just started this book!!

http://www.amazon.ca/Cleopatra-Life-Sta ... 662&sr=8-1

I've read a couple of books on Cleopatra before, and this one proves to be quite well written and interesting. I've also decided that if I ever became a author I'd want to write a non-fiction book....maybe on a historical figure. I love the idea of being immersed in a project on a time period or person.

hmmm...other books I've read recently. The Vespertine, about a girl in the 1800's who discovers she has "supernatural powers". Yeah, just writing that looks pretty cheesy and I was awfully skeptical but it's REALLY good, very well written, nothing at all like I was expecting.

A cute little story about a couple of kids? It's much more than that. It's a story about racial injustice, prejudice and the truth. I don't really care for the book but it's well-written.

I'm sure To kill a mockingbird, written originally by Harper Lee, has been on every HSC reading list for English, let alone Society and Culture, for ages, for the very reasons you mention. Much like Erich Maria Remarque's All quiet on the Western Front. The schoolroom curse has much to answer for. Unfortunately, I can't think of a good Aussie equivalent to To kill a mockingbird offhand that makes the same points quite so well.

Yes indeed; it just came out on DVD this week, I believe. It is titled simply The Eagle, though, and I heard they made some rather significant changes .

Thank you. Though just because that movie was released this week in USA doesn't mean it would necessarily be available in Australia. I'll still ask though.

I'd say I enjoyed Eagle of the Ninth quite a bit. They put a lot more stock into the [statue of] Eagle then I would have, and there's no reference to Christianity that I can really remember. For some reason I was almost expecting there to be, but now I'm not sure why. I don't remember where I got the idea that there would be. Weird.

The story of Eagle of the Ninth is set in Roman Britain, that is to say, well after the Crucifixion, and also well after the conquest of Britain when Claudius was Emperor. In the story, Hadrian's wall had been built, but I don't remember if the Antonine Wall, that to this day crosses Scotland just south of Falkirk, had been built as well. At that time throughout the empire Christians were an underclass, who were frequently not free to disclose their beliefs openly.

Yes, To Kill a Magpie doesn't have the same ring to it. Does it?

Yes, To Kill a Magpie, doesn't have the same ring to it. Does it?

Especially down in Melbourne, in aerial ping pong country. Poor Collingwood! Up here in 'Emerald City', the NRL Magpies turned into Wests Tigers, didn't they?

I was going to suggest that they were both author self-inserts, but now I'm having a moment of doubt on that point. I can't remember if Montgomery is supposed to be more like Anne, or Emily Starr.

Who is Montgomery supposed to be? I don't remenber Emily Starr either. Sorry!

FF, thanks for looking into that! I think I will need to reread with that in mind. Maybe the ambiguity itself is a subtle pointer as to why she was such an unsuitable prospect...

Yeah, just writing that looks pretty cheesy and I was awfully skeptical but it's REALLY good, very well written, nothing at all like I was expecting.

There are a lot of books like that . A good author can make the silliest-sounding plot into a good story; it's all in the artistry. I'll have to keep an eye out for that one.

I hope you can see The Eagle soon, wagga! I only mention the U.S. release date to explain why I haven't seen it yet. I will try to post in the movies thread when I do

Emily Starr is the heroine of the Emily stories, a different series than the Anne books. They are Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest. I really like them, though Anne is certainly a more winning heroine and I find myself returning to her series more often. The Emily books share a lot of common elements with the Anne books, but there is a bit of a darker tone and an emphasis on the supernatural that comes through less strongly in the Anne books.

I forgot to mention in my last post — I am listening to Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief on audiobook right now, and it's living up to all the hype. Death narrates the story of a young girl living in Germany during the second World War. There is humor and horror together, and the characters are so real... it's really surprising me how good it is! Usually books that are hyped so much are a disappointment when I finally get around to reading them.

Spoiler

Though I am bracing myself for what I am pretty sure will be a tragic ending...

there's no reference to Christianity that I can really remember. For some reason I was almost expecting there to be, but now I'm not sure why. I don't remember where I got the idea that there would be.

Maybe you're confusing it with the sequel, The Silver Branch?

Who is Montgomery supposed to be?

Citation needed on that point, but I believe I read an article that talked about the similarities between the way Montgomery was raised, and the childhood she gave Anne. I can't remember where, now, because the article I can visualize clearly is much too short and is at least as much focused on the tourist aspect of the Green Gables house.

Re: that book about the girl in the 1800's discovering she has supernatural powers (The Vespertine)...thought I ought to give a slightly better description of it.

It's not really a happy book, slightly more melencholy? The main character leaves her sleepy little town and heads to the big city to live with a cousin (at least if I remember correctly it's a cousin). They do the usual, dances, shopping for new outfits, gossiping about young men they would like to marry etc, but then the main character realizes that when she stands in the light of the sunset, she can get "visions" of things to come, about other people. If the author doesn't write a sequel, I'm going to scream! Becuase you find out nearish the end of the book that she's not the only character with supernatural "powers", and it's never really fully explained. So yeah. Check it out!

...I always preferred Emily Starr to Anne Shirley.