Oh no, kot, I simply meant that I finally finished the reread.

Oh! Ok...I thought it was awfully strange if you hadn't read it before. That's good. I feel more amicably disposed now.^^

I will give a plug for Anne Frank's diary. I always liked how perceptive she was of herself and others, and how she could write so well and so deeply at that age. I don't think I could have. Of course she wasn't the wisest or most mature person with the most correct ideas of things, but that doesn't keep me from enjoying her thoughts. I would much rather read someone's well-written diary or letters than some author's idea of what that experience would be like, anyway.

Something that caught my eye:

Lewis isn’t saying that the Calormene people are evil, but that their political system and culture may be, and that their religion certainly is.

I understand what you're getting at, but those things (politics, culture, outer trappings of religion) don't appear out of the blue. They come from people. So how can one argue that a culture is evil but the people aren't, when the culture is made by people? I almost think Lewis is actually trying to make that argument. Maybe that is a better topic for the CR&P thread...

Kotwcs, I see your point about Anne Frank's diary. Perhaps I'm being too harsh; it's just that I've had it built up as some amazing, deeply perceptive book. And while it has it's moments, I'm not seeing what others had led me to believe about it. I tend to come down hard on books that don't live up to my expectations, so please tell me if I sound like I'm starting to slam, rather then just criticize; I know it's hard to sometimes keep the tone of writing from sounding hard. I am glad I'm reading it, and do enjoy the fact that it's real, but it's just not as interesting to me as I had hoped.

I don't think that's quite what Ly was getting at. I edited the link in (I thought I had put it in the original post, but I worked on the post over several hours and that tends to create mistakes. . . ). The review adds a bit more context then just the blurb I yanked out. Here's the most relevant part of his review:

As well as being my favorite, I think this may be the most misunderstood of the Chronicles. Yes, I am referring to the charges of racism that have been leveled at Lewis. There seems to be an assumption that because the Calormenes are dark-skinned and, to put it tartly, “the bad guys,” Lewis must by necessity be making some comment on the nature of dark-skinned people in general. I think this is yet another result of the mistaken notion that the Narnia books are allegories—that is, that everything in them corresponds, either literally or symbolically, to something in our world. This simply is not the case.

Moreover, Lewis’ portrait of the Calormenes in this book is not wholly negative. Aravis is an amiable and sympathetic character, and not just because she rebels against Calormene culture and runs off to Narnia; even her friend Lasaraleen, though silly, is far from evil. Lewis isn’t saying that the Calormene people are evil, but that their political system and culture may be, and that their religion certainly is. That’s not PC either, but there you have it. And there are certain aspects of Calormene culture that Lewis does seem to love; you can just hear the affection in his writing as he talks about their storytelling abilities, or as he describes the architecture of Tashbaan. This is not really surprising, considering his love for The Arabian Nights, which undoubtedly inspired this tale.

I hope that's not veering the thread too off-topic.

Heh, if Lewis was saying dark-skinned people are evil by making the Calormenes the "bad guys", does that mean modern Hollywood is saying the British are evil? Just think how many times you've watched a movie or TV show and the villain has been British or had an English accent.

I think if we went by what every film says, we wouldn't trust anyone.

I have been doing a lot of reading recently - too much, in fact. Yesterday I ended up reading the whole morning and didn't get out of bed until one in the afternoon ... not too good!

The book I was so engrossed with was Jasper Fforde's latest, Shades of Grey. I've been waiting on it for a while, and it was worth it! He's created another crazy alternative-British world to rival Thursday Next and the Nursery Crimes'. Hundreds of years in the future, your rights depend on what colours you can see. It's barmy but brilliant, and though I was a little disappointed by the ending (there will be another two in this series) I wasn't at all let down by the rest of the book. Fforde's crazy but clever writing is something I really enjoy. I'd definitely recommend him, probably for later teens and up; start with The Eyre Affair.

Using some Christmas money I bought The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, which I'd been meaning to read for a while. My goodness, it's hard to describe! Sebold's writing is amazing; she managed to paint some pretty horrific events in a "lovely" way, and the whole book is written in such a soft, nice way that once I was done I almost forgot what horrors were in it. The title of the book sums it up really well. I'm not sure I will go see the film, however; some things in the book were bad enough on paper.

Another book with a film adaption coming out soon is Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, so I decided I'd read it. I enjoyed it was more than I should have, given I'm about 8 years over the recommended reading age! However, I thought it was great. I love Greek mythology and I enjoyed how it was placed in the modern world. And I love the pen ... I love the pen a lot. (Where can I get one?) The only problem is now I really want to read the others, but after a check in the library the other day they had exactly none of them and so I will have to wait ...

I was given The Thief of Always by Clive Barker as a present for Christmas, which I didn't know anything about previously. It's a pretty creepy book for children; I'm not sure whether I would have coped with it as a kid; however, it might be one of those ones that freaks out adults more. Anyway, it's about a boy who is bored stiff and so accepts an invitation to the Holiday House, where he can do what he likes for days and days on end. Of course, there's more to the house than what there seems ... I think what I enjoyed most was that Harvey, the boy, is really perceptive. In some childrens' books the main characters are kind of dumb, but here he was smart and proactive. That's not to say it was all intelligence; instead, it was just thinking things through. I really enjoyed reading it!

On my currently-reading and to-read list are Planet Narnia by Michael Ward - this is absolutely fascinating, and definitely recommended; Stowaway by Karen Hesse; Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult; Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - yes, I haven't read it yet ... Plus, many, many more. But those are at the top of the list ...

Another book with a film adaption coming out soon is Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, so I decided I'd read it. I enjoyed it was more than I should have, given I'm about 8 years over the recommended reading age!

My dad is reading that series aloud to the family and I quite share your opinion of it! We're halfway through The Sea of Monsters right now.
Looking forward to movie. I wonder how it will work with the kid characters being so much older.

I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. I read them all in one weekend and now I'm reading them aloud to my sisters and mom. They're enjoying them a lot too. I love how they're clean and funny and exciting and not just for kids either! We're on Battle of the Labyrinth at the moment, near the end.

I really encourage you to read the rest, AJ! Personally I think it's best if one reads all the books before the movie comes out (because I have a feeling the movie will encompass things told about in the later books).

Avra I actually didn't get

I'm glad you both are enjoying them! I can't wait to read your thoughts on the other books.

(I'm miffed about the kid's ages too. And Grover being black. But I like to go into movies with low expectations anyway so I'm not disappointed at all. I just hope they're true to the spirit of the books. Then I'll probably be fine. )

P.S."Brooklyn!"

mar_girl, great job on reading that many books. I love that you are back to links. Where do you find this stuff? Although the link about Sherlock Holmes is just so very wrong. What is the author thinking?

Thanks! A great deal of them were for school. I find links from book blogs, mainly. I also read several online comics that occasionally will have a book-related comic. Great Anne of Avonlea review, by the way. I enjoyed that one when I last read it a year or so ago. I actually liked Paul, but Davy annoyed me.

ForeverFan: yes, that makes sense, about Opal. I gave them all away on BookMooch, so I can't go back and look.

okay, forget what I just said about "The Ruins Of Gorlan". it is a total rip-off of lots of books! I feel like I am reading LOTR, "The City Of Ember", and Narnia all at once! I will try to finish it though.....

How I love your comparisons. Totally agree. My dad really likes them, and my brothers said they were enjoyable. I think I've read the first two? I found them merely ok, which can be evidenced by my not having read the next two even though I bought them for my dad and they are in the house. I believe the sixth (for the US) is up for preorder on Amazon.

I finally got Jane Bites Back yesterday. Currently reading it. It's very fluffy and fun. Vampire!Jane owns a bookstore, so she's constantly confronted with the latest rip-offs of her works making a fortune off of her name and she's not too happy about that. And she's a Grammar Nazi, of course. There's quite a bit of dryly sarcastic humor and snarkage, which is fun. The one thing I've come across so far that I disliked was the flashback in which Jane was turned. It's a bedroom scene, and while it's not horribly graphic (not talking Sunshine squicky-ness), it's definitely PG-13. Just seems out of character for Jane the character and definitely for the person.

Hmm, that actually sounds interesting. I love how you call her Vampire!Jane. And of course she would own a bookstore and be a grammar nazi (that's what's piqueing my interest ). Not much liking the vampire stuff, though. We'll see.

Conga-rats, lys, for finishing LOTR! I'm glad you're enjoying your Austen class. I am a bit jealous of you for that. *wishes she had an actual literature class, although Biblical Lit has been interesting*

Such a rich, warm, touchable story that felt like the Hundred Acre Wood and Redwall and the best bits of Stuart Little all wrapped up into one book.
My favorite part would have to be where Mole and Ratty meet Pan ("Piper at the Gates of Dawn"). Grahame's writing is stunning here. […] Beautiful. And so very Lewis-like.

Absolutely. That's one of my favorite scenes. What a great way of describing the book! I agree with you completely. I so want to reread TWITW, but the copy is my dad's old one and it is literally falling apart, so I'm scared to take it off the shelf. I want to buy a new one, but it MUST have Ernest Shepard's (it was him, wasn't it? The original guy, anyway) illustrations. And it can't be abridged, of course. You'd think it would be relatively easy to find this book at Barnes & Noble or whatever, but it isn't.

Hmm, I remember reading those books about the Tudors. I read the Anne Boleyn one, Elizabeth I one (lol), and the Bloody Mary one. Fascinating but very sad.

Mara, I don't want to admit how long it took for me to get that comic.

That's ok. It took my brother and friends a while as well. That's such a pretty quote about writing.

The Thief of Always by Clive Barker

Ooh, the author of the Abarat books?? I must find that. The movie trailer for Percy Jackson sounds interesting and I do like Greek mythology a lot, so I'm thinking of trying the books. Not anytime soon, probably.

Hmm, what have I been up to? Well, for Biblical Lit, our text (The Bible and Literature: A Reader) will have a selection of the Bible on the Creation or whatever, then a commentary by the editors, then several selections of poetry or literature related to or dealing with the Bible story. I really like reading that part. I've read a small part of Milton's Paradise Lost since we've read on the Fall as well as the Creation, and part of that chapter on when Aslan sings Narnia to life. For the Fall I read an exerpt from William Golding's book Free Fall and found it lovely despite its despair. I want to read it. Has anyone here heard of it? I believe it was his last book, or one of them.
Anyway, on my own I haven't been reading much due to school. I am still reading Authentic Faith. Wonderful book, just what I needed in my Christian walk. I absolutely recommend it. I'm also rereading Captivating, another book I love, and I've also started Mere Christians. So far it's really good and I'm enjoying it very much. I discovered that one of the submitters who told their story lives in my city!

Adults Go Wild Over Latest in Children's Picture Book Series Haaaaaa. This video from The Onion is making fun of that trend.

Adorable children's book trailer I love hearts. This looks so cute.

The Thirteenth Princess I also love fairytale retellings. This one sounds interesting, plus the cover looks so pretty.

That Onion video was a classic!

Here in America, today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day--a federal holiday. So I wanted to share my favorite works by him. Both links below give the full text. But I much prefer #2. I've taught it every semester in my writing classes.

1. "I have a dream speech" -- text, video, audio
***Favorite part: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
2. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" -- you HAVE to read this! It's brilliant!

mar_girl: thank you SO MUCH for introducing me to The Bible and Literature: A Reader! You have no idea how rare Biblical literature classes are ... especially at the university level.

Lady_Liln and kotwcs: I'd love to talk more with you about Lewis, the Calormenes, culture, and evil in HHB and LB. It's always relevant to a discussion of missionaries... Maybe one of you could start a thread in N&C?

Hmm, I remember reading those books about the Tudors. I read the Anne Boleyn one, Elizabeth I one (lol), and the Bloody Mary one. Fascinating but very sad.

Yeah I cried more than once in every single book. But their stories are so much better when read from their point of view. I like the grief in the stories b/c it makes them seem more human, and makes you feel bad for the people you may have previously disliked. The only one I didn't grow to love by the end of the book was Anne (who could even like her?)

Silas Marner and The Bell at Sealy Head at the same time, Lady Liln? Sounds like literary heaven to me. That description from Bell is one of my favorites, and I'm glad you're liking Marner more the second time around.

Oh, I just knew that HHB review would prove divisive , though I didn't think the discussion it raised would take place here, and certainly not along these exact lines. I definitely see your point, kot, and maybe I should have made myself clearer: the main idea of those paragraphs was to defend the book from charges of racism. There's a big difference between showing a culture in a negative light and making some sort of claim that dark-skinned people are evil. And, of course, not everything in Narnia directly corresponds to our world. Anyway, I'd like to get in a further discussion of this (perhaps elsewhere), but at the moment I haven't the time.

On my currently-reading and to-read list are Planet Narnia by Michael Ward - this is absolutely fascinating, and definitely recommended

I know I'm going to get a great deal of flack for this, but the concept of that book really turns me off. I have not read it, but I heard Ward talk about a portion of it back in '05 at Wheaton College, before it was actually published. It seemed to me exactly the sort of far-fetched, out-on-a-limb literary criticism that I despise. There are so many holes in the argument too ... if Lewis never planned to write 7 books, how could he have modeled them after the 7 planets of the medieval cosmological system? Of course, Ward is coming to speak at my university this semester, so perhaps after hearing him speak twice I'll finally break down and read the book so I can either solidify or recant my current opinion.

I'm with mara when it comes to Jane Bites Back: JA living in modern times is interesting enough - why was it necessary to make her a vampire?

(Answer: marketability. )

My Jane Austen class is so amazing! We just went through Lady Susan and The Watsons, and now are on to Sanditon. I loved LS: it's flawed, yes, but not as badly as my professor made us believe, and it is really a neat departure for Austen. The Watsons was so very incomplete as to make it difficult for me to enjoy, but it does have a lovely heroine. Beyond the actual reading, however, the class is so fun! My prof actually littered her syllabus with random JA quotations; for instance, when she was outlining the parameters for out web posts, she said we needed to write "one thing very clever, be it prose or verse, original or repeated—or two things moderately clever—or three things very dull indeed." So of course I had to open my first web post with "Oh! very well," exclaimed Miss Bates, "then I need not be uneasy. 'Three things very dull indeed.' That will just do for me, you know. I shall be sure to say three dull things as soon as ever I open my mouth, shan't I?" And then I proceeded to list three dull things about the reading.

For my pleasure reading, I tried my hand at Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, but have put it on hold as it just seems too heavy for me right now. Instead, I'm reading Georgette Heyer's Lady of Quality: entertaining, but not at the level of Cotillion. It strikes me as very removed, and at the same time rather cliche. Now the lead couple have met up it's more interesting, but I don't really believe in these characters. Ah well. At least the Stock Regency Hunk has a sense of humor.

mar_girl, that Onion parody was hilarious! The 'news' hosts were so enthusiastic about this fictional kids' book.

Speaking of Jane Austen, I'm about to begin The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer, upon the recommendation of a good friend who's an Austen fan. This author wrote a number of Regency period novels about 50 years ago. It's an interesting coincidence that you've named her just now, lysander.

Lastly, on the one hand the idea behind Planet Narnia intrigues me (as an amateur astronomer) but on the other, I too find it a bit of a stretch since Lewis didn't intend to write 7 books when he began LWW.

I finally finished "The Ruins Of Gorlan" (Ranger's Apprentice book one), and I have no idea what to make of it! most of it was a rip-off of lots of other books I've read (perticularly LOTR and "City Of Ember"). I really liked the part when but the part at the end when
I probably won't read the next book. I'm not really amazed by "The Ruins Of Gorlan"

wow lots of pages on this thread. so is it OK if I just post what some of my fav books/series are here? I'm SUPER sorry if it's not.
some of my fave series are the Door Within Trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson,
the Leyowan Scrolls by Victoria Kasten,
CoN by C.S. Lewis,
Star wars: Jedi Aprentice by Jude Watson,
SW:Jedi Quest by Jude Watson,
SW:Last of the Jedi by Jude watson,
SW: Young Jedi Knights by Kevin J. Anderson & Rebbecca Moesta,
the Thrawn Trilogy(SW) by Timothy Zahn,
Hand of Thrawn Duology(SW) by Timothy Zahn,
Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene,
Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon,
Trixie Belden by ? (sorry I forgot),
and I just started this great series caalled Gates family mysteries by CAthy Hapka. They're based on the movie National Treasure. They have to do with Ben's ancestors.
Some of my fave books that don't belong to a series are
Isle of Swords by Wayne Thomas Batson
Isle of fire(sequel to Isle of swords)

yeah that's all I can think of now. i'm sure there;s more!

Well, I finished Pride and Prejudice. I must say, Elizabeth Bennet is awesome. I'd definitely say she'd rank amongst my favorite female characters of all time. Of course, in general I love characters of the Deadpan Snarker sorts, who aren't afraid of giving a dry, sordid comment on a situation, and Lizzy just does it with style. Especially the part towards the end where

That girl just cannot be stopped. I had to read that part aloud, because trying to imagine the vocal tones used just makes the whole scene much better.

Of course, she gets it from her father, who is several levels of awesomeness himself.

Great, now I'm going to have to find myself a good movie version. Any suggestions? Faithfulness is good, but what I really want is one that really captures Lizzy's character as far as pure deadpan-snarkiness goes.

And I also need a new Jane Austen novel. Sense and Sensibility? Persuasion? Mansfield Park? One of her more obscure works?

Edit: Hold on, I forgot a few. Emma? Northanger Abbey?