SnowAngel, The Killer Angels is an outstanding book and I absolutely loved it. I've been meaning to throw a blurb in here about it but just never really got around to doing so. I haven't read but one of Jeff Shaara's books, that being Gone for Soldiers, about the exploits of the various Civil War generals in the US-Mexican War 20 years earlier. It was a decent book but I was a little put off by Jeff's writing style. His use of pauses (as portrayed by "..." , always mid sentence, all the time) kind of got under my skin after a while, although it was a rush to see first hand this otherwise unknown war which ended up growing some of the greatest generals in US history. If you want to see an excellent "alternate history" story I would strongly recommend Newt Gingrich's Gettysburg and its two followup books, which show a wonderful "what if?" scenario to explore. If you've read The Killer Angels then you'll know who all the characters are in the book, so that's a big step up! Long live the 20th Maine!

Shadowlander, did you hack my account?? I talked to WW about that very thing...

I did not hack into your account. I can barely get into my email on the average day let alone finagle a series of 1's and 0's to do my bidding.

On the subject of books, I'm in the middle of reading P&P for the seventh time. This time around, Elisabeth's journals are particularly standing out to me - they are so strikingly honest. I'm amazed that she was willing to publish any part of them, even after all these years.

I rest my case!!!

On the subject of books, I'm in the middle of reading P&P for the seventh time. This time around, Elisabeth's journals are particularly standing out to me - they are so strikingly honest. I'm amazed that she was willing to publish any part of them, even after all these years.

I rest my case!!!

Hehe. No, I rest *my* case. *does victory twirl in computer chair* I told Snow I'd get a bite! It's not Pride and Prejudice I was referring to...

~Scarlet

Well what the heck are you referencing then? lol

Oh brother, I've been had!

Are you referencing "Passion and Purity" by Elisabeth Elliot?

Hmm, I'm not sure what point that ruse proves, Scarlet.

Yes, we've have had this conversation before. The fact is that people talk about the books that interest them. And all of us have varying circles of interest. Some of us overlap more than others, and so we tend to discuss our common interests. It is not our fault if others don't happen to share our interests, and vice versa. You can't force people to be interested in the books you like — trust me, I've tried

I think also that we have a lot of younger members who are discovering many classics (like P&P, the one by Austen ) for the first time — maybe for school or something — which is why they tend to come up so often.

It *is* unfair to claim we never talk about anything but classics. And in addition, we offer Special Features on any author/book that does not violate forum rules. You are more than welcome to suggest little-known authors and books for SFs — it's great to hear about works outside our normal sphere.

I'm sorry if your literary interests don't coincide with the majority (and I don't mean that to sound harsh, really! ), but that doesn't make the majority wrong or selfish for discussing what it likes. Please, everyone, continue to talk about what you like. It's how we find out where we intersect

Well, I love the Chronicles of Narnia ( duh!) but right now I've been reading Don Quixote. I'm enjoying that. . . .But I like reading Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis! I guess I read way too much. Does anyone have any suggestions on other good classic authors?? I'm at a loss as to what to read next!!!

Cervantes, Austen, Dickens, the Brontes, C. S. Lewis ... nice!

What should you read next: well, what genres do you like? 19th century British literature: there's always Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, Rudyard Kipling [early stuff], Rider Haggard [early stuff], R. M. Ballantyne, Joseph Conrad [early stuff], Oscar Wilde, etc etc.

Something I forgot to say in my last post: I've decided not to try the audible.com special offer/free trial after all, even though I've since learned that you can get three free audiobooks instead of one. I read up on the company and apparently people were having trouble canceling their subscription after the first free month, and getting billed. Don't want that to happen to me. So I'm starting to look at other ways of getting audiobooks. My library back home has several good ones, including the Anna Massey Rebecca (which I'll definitely be listening to next summer, ww ) and even a few that I can download online from here.

My college library started their biennial week-long book sale this morning, although I forgot about it until about an hour ago. I was actually in bed at the time, trying to nap, when I jumped out of bed, shouted "I forgot," and grabbing my wallet and shoes, ran out the door. My roommate thought I had gone completely spastic. It was worth it too—I think this may have been their best sale yet. I got Hardy's The Return of the Native, Fielding's Tom Jones (which I'm not sure I will read, but hey, it was 25 cents!), and Gene Edward Veith's Postmodern Times.

Are you referencing "Passion and Purity" by Elisabeth Elliot?

Absolutely right, Avra! Nice job. I'm assuming you've enjoyed it yourself?

Hmm, I'm not sure what point that ruse proves, Scarlet.

Yes, we've have had this conversation before. The fact is that people talk about the books that interest them. And all of us have varying circles of interest. Some of us overlap more than others, and so we tend to discuss our common interests. It is not our fault if others don't happen to share our interests, and vice versa. You can't force people to be interested in the books you like — trust me, I've tried

What ruse? My point (and I believe Shadowlander's, if I read his post correctly) is that the NWeb book discussion always reverts back to a select grouping of classics. If it that meets with admin approval (classical discussion, that is), then I have nothing against it.

And on the special features - my compliments to the originator of that brilliant idea! You'll probably have noticed that SA and I have been enjoying ourselves in several of them lately.

Now, I am very sorry if my "point" came across as silly - it's kind of a private joke. My siblings and I were discussing acronyms and abbreviations the other day and we were comparing meanings - e.g. EO is "explosive ordinance" (or many other terms) to those in the military, but to me, it's "essential oil".
And then since my lil sis is one of my best friends , our conversations have a way of incorprating themselves into our posts.

EDIT:

😮 Well what the heck are you referencing then? lol

Oh brother, I've been had!

Passion & Purity - but don't worry about it. I don't expect an airman to have had time to read either version of P&P.

~Scarlet

Hm... I don't really post in this thread a lot. I recently read the first two 100 Cupboards books, 100 Cupboards and Dandelion Fire. They were fantastic. I tried to get one of my sisters to read 100 Cupboards - she gave it back after about 50 pages and told me that it was scary and Henrietta annoyed her. Does anyone know when Book 3 comes out?

I read Dandelion Fire a few weeks back and thought it was pretty good. One of the better YA fantasies I've come across lately. I need to track down the first book; not sure if my library has it or not. *notices Mel's reply about the next book* I might have to buy that one when it comes out.

Also on my to buy list is Unseen Academicals, the latest Discworld book. It comes out next month and apparently involves the wizards forming a football team.

Curious: who's read Hemingway? Faulkner? What did you like and why? Who's the better writer?

I've only read The Old Man and the Sea of Hemingway's books and nothing written by Faulkner. I pretty much hated it. It was depressing and kind of pointless. Also, Hemingway seemed to be obsessed with people peeing. It was on just about every other page.

Meh, I hardly ever read the classics and I still find plenty of things to discuss in here. Over the last few pages, I seen significant discussion of the Hunger Games Trilogy, the Time Quintet, and Ella Enchanted. We even talk about Twilight sometimes. There's no secret screener deleting posts about non-classics.

I'm wondering if my school's library is still doing a booksale this fall. I haven't heard anything about it. I'd be very sad if there wasn't one because I've picked up quite a few good books at the two previous sales I attended.

I'm enjoying Northanger Abbey so far. I haven't read much Jane Austen, only around 1/8th of P&P and around 1/3rd of Northanger Abbey, but one thing I keep noticing about her is that she always has a series of sort of detailed balls, and having deep conversations in them...if you know what I mean. I sort of prefer Lousia May Alcott's and Charlotte Bronte's writing style to her's. That might change, however, once I finish reading a couple more of her books.

Well, Louisa May Alcott is definitely easier to understand. Her writing style is much different.
I thought since I loved P&P so much, I would love her other books. And so far I had until I picked up Sense and Sensibility and for some odd reason it's just not clicking with me. I feel like I'm forcing myself to drag through it which is immensely sad. It could have something to do with the fact I saw the movie before I read the book and since I didn't particularity like the actors chosen to portray the characters (also quite sad), I didn't like the movie so well. Now I keep envisioning Colonel Brandon as that old guy...

I enjoyed Fairest alot, and when I finally realized

Spoiler

that it was sort of to represent Snow White (which I didn't notice from the beginning, smart person I am. )

I got excited in seeing the similarities. And, I found it neat that Arieda was Ella's friend!

I hope this makes you feel better: I didn't realize this till after I was finished the book!

The Princess Tales! I LOVE those books. Cinderellis and The Glass Hill, The Fairy's Mistake, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, The Princess Test and For Biddle's Sake. Lovely.

Oh my goodness! Princess Sanora and the long Sleep has got to be one of the most hilarious books! I love it! I think it's quite funny! (In my opinion of course...)

Mr. Thorpe drives me to frustration. He's so...disagreeable. If I was Catherine, I'd flat out tell him what I think of him and get that over with.

If there was anything that annoyed me about the book it was certainly him! (which was the point of course) I felt like yelling at him myself I was so pathetically frustrated with him and how Catherine seemed to put up with it far longer than I could have. But then I suppose it wouldn't have been very dignified to tell him to get lost now would it....

Concerning the discussion of classics: I have to agree that classics are most often discussed here but when I read a more modern book I will say something about it. It just usually doesn't get discussed as much. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. I just think perhaps more classic lovers lurk here... I haven't the faintest idea really. But I love coming here anyway because I love most all kinds of books!

I recently read the first four books in the Ranger's Apprentice series and enjoyed them. I'm waiting for the other two which have quite a few holds on them at the library so it may take a while...

My college library started their biennial week-long book sale this morning, although I forgot about it until about an hour ago. I was actually in bed at the time, trying to nap, when I jumped out of bed, shouted "I forgot," and grabbing my wallet and shoes, ran out the door. My roommate thought I had gone completely spastic.

Hahaha! That sounds like something that happened to me last Saturday when our library was having a book sale. I forgot about it and slept in so my Mom came up and said "I thought you wanted to go to the booksale?" and I jumped up and got dressed faster then one can imagine!

Curious: who's read Hemingway? Faulkner? What did you like and why? Who's the better writer?

I've only read The Old Man and the Sea of Hemingway's books and nothing written by Faulkner. I pretty much hated it. It was depressing and kind of pointless. Also, Hemingway seemed to be obsessed with people peeing. It was on just about every other page.

Thanks for the response! I liked The Old Man and the Sea the first time I read it, for a course in the American novel, but after reading more of Hemingway in a graduate class, I liked it less. Not sure why. I don't remember bodily functions in that book, but that doesn't mean much.

Hemingway: I've also read In Our Time [collection of stories], The Sun also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and part of For Whom the Bell Tolls [didn't finish it]. I like A Farewell to Arms the best.

You haven't read any of Faulkner? You're missing something! I've only read The Sound and the Fury, Go Down, Moses [which has "The Bear"], "Barn Burning" [excellent], and "A Rose for Emily" [too macabre for me ]. But I want to read Absalom, Absalom, As I Lay Dying, and A Fable.

SnowAngel, The Killer Angels is an outstanding book and I absolutely loved it. I've been meaning to throw a blurb in here about it but just never really got around to doing so. I haven't read but one of Jeff Shaara's books, that being Gone for Soldiers, about the exploits of the various Civil War generals in the US-Mexican War 20 years earlier. It was a decent book but I was a little put off by Jeff's writing style. His use of pauses (as portrayed by "..." , always mid sentence, all the time) kind of got under my skin after a while, although it was a rush to see first hand this otherwise unknown war which ended up growing some of the greatest generals in US history. If you want to see an excellent "alternate history" story I would strongly recommend Newt Gingrich's Gettysburg and its two followup books, which show a wonderful "what if?" scenario to explore. If you've read The Killer Angels then you'll know who all the characters are in the book, so that's a big step up! Long live the 20th Maine!

My library has all of Jeff Shaara's books, I think. My older brother and I are going to get a couple next time we go. If I like them, I will let you which ones.

I finished The Killer Angels today and now I'm wading into The Last Full Measure. Also I'm planning to re-read the Bethany House editions of George MacDonald's fiction.

I never heard of "Newt Gingrich's Gettysburg ".But I just found it in my library's onilne catalog. It certainly looks interesting. *adds to list of books to check out*

SnowAngel

Pebbles, I share your thoughts about Northanger Abbey. True in the way that it is rather a slow-going book...

On the topic of the books talked about- I don't think that only two genres of books are talked about/read by the majority. I've talked about Louisa May Alcott's books, some about Jane Austen's books, the Attolian series, The Royal Diaries & Dear America stuff on here, but like WW said, it's about what you're interested in. You can't quite blame someone just because they don't read other genres. I read different books out of those genres, like historical fiction, but I only bring it up if it's something I really enjoy and I know will bring up some kind of conversation.

Well, Louisa May Alcott is definitely easier to understand. Her writing style is much different.
I thought since I loved P&P so much, I would love her other books. And so far I had until I picked up Sense and Sensibility and for some odd reason it's just not clicking with me. I feel like I'm forcing myself to drag through it which is immensely sad. It could have something to do with the fact I saw the movie before I read the book and since I didn't particularity like the actors chosen to portray the characters (also quite sad), I didn't like the movie so well. Now I keep envisioning Colonel Brandon as that old guy...

Very true. Jane Austen requires some extra work to actually get.
Aw, well I hope you make it through Sense and Sensibility! I know how annoying it can be to see a character as differently envisioned than how you really think they look like! I had the trouble reading one of the Anne books, since the illustration of it was her looking...not nice.
I haven't finished any of her books, or watched any of the adapted movies so I'm still forming my opinon on Jane Austen's writing. I'm about done with Northanger Abbey, just a couple more chapters. I'll see what I think of it when I'm done!

I hope this makes you feel better: I didn't realize this till after I was finished the book!

Haha! D'aw, yes, that does make me feel somewhat better.
Although,

If there was anything that annoyed me about the book it was certainly him! (which was the point of course) I felt like yelling at him myself I was so pathetically frustrated with him and how Catherine seemed to put up with it far longer than I could have. But then I suppose it wouldn't have been very dignified to tell him to get lost now would it....

Ugh, yes. It's so annoying how he thinks he owns Catherine and all... >.< I, on the other hand, would have told him off quite wittily, but right, it would not have been quite dignified.

---

I haven't done much reading since, apart from reading the book Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers from my mom's suggestion. I didn't think I would like it since it's not a story-story, but I am enjoying reading it; it's not quite like some Christian biographies can tend to be. (nothing wrong with them, but I personally can't read some of them with much interest) There are a few things that I don't agree in it, but it still has alot of positive things about it. So, it's coming along nicely.

aslanisthebest: I've actually already read The Spiderwick Chronicles. I'm reading Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles- a sort of spin-off series by the same authors. Unfortunately my library only has the first two books and the there are three other holds besides mine on the third book at another library. So I won't be finishing the series for another month at least. Hopefully I buy the books soon

I'm reading the Robin Hood book now. It's by Louis Rhead. I'm really enjoying it so far and even though it's kind of big, I'll probably be done with it by Thursday or so. At least if I keep up my pace. I'm already on chapter 5 out of 25. And I started this morning

I finished Hornblower and the Hotspur yesterday. I ended up liking it better then I did at first. So he's become more likeable again but now I only have one more book (Hornblower book) to read

The only ones I didn't like quite as much were Barnaby Rudge, Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities.

Ah! A Tale of Two Cities?! I guess you and I have different tastes, because that's my favorite Dickens so far. But then, I haven't read Little Dorrit yet either.

Does anyone have any suggestions on other good classic authors?? I'm at a loss as to what to read next!!!

Robert Louis Stevenson! He wrote Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Black Arrow and many more. You and I seem to like many of the same authors, and he's one of my favorites. Especially Kidnapped, I just love David and Alan!!! Alan's my absolute favorite fictional Scotsman ever (I've got favorite real Scotsmen, but that would be off topic. )!