I read Inkheart several years ago, before I began posting in this thread, and was not very impressed. It was a lovely concept, but I just wasn't captivated. Is there any use in checking out the books that follow it?

I would definitely check out the next book, Inkspell, and have a go at it. After all, you can always quit if you don't like it. I will tell you that the plotline for Inkspell is very complicated. What I mean by this, is that one thing feeds another to such an extent, that the plot becomes quite twisted and complicated. It's never hard to understand, but it does seem to change a good deal (even if the changes are caused by the former plotline).

It's also a good deal darker than Inkheart was, which always makes for interesting reads

If it has one flaw among it, it's the fact that there are an awful lot of characters to keep straight (particularly a lot of new characters in the Inkworld).

But I would definitely give Inkspell a try. As I said, it can always go back to the library, if you dislike it.

Ok, so evidently, no one's read the Septimus Heap books. Looks like I'll have to wait for the English copy to be returned to the library and find out for myself.
The Ink series can be very confusing, as many have said, and yes, it's bcause of the character. But it is very helpful that they include a list of characters. Inkdeath was the best of the series, IMO.

I've read all of the Septimus Heape books that have come out so far and enjoyed them. They're a bit like a more whimsical version of Harry Potter with a little Dickens added in.

Oh ok, thanks Bookwyrm. It sounded like a good series, when I had my firend, who knows Spanish, translate the back of the one Septimus Heap book I found at the library.

Oh, goodness, have I read anything lately that would have anything to do with this conversation...

You people reading LMA--just reread AOFG. Interesting, how much the youth of back then (the good old days?) is like present-day young-people. So much of the satire in the book is applicable to nowadays, though through comparison mostly. EC I would agree is better than RiB (I always preferred reading about LMA's characters as children, to the more tragic stories of them grown-up). RiB had some overt supporting of Transcendentalism in it that was uncalled for.

Fauny, I have finally got to read Shadow of the Bear (and The Midnight Dancers--spent most of it being frustrated with the characters). Most enjoyable. Black as Night is on the way from the library, and I'm excited. Unfortunately, they don't have Waking Rose. Such meanness.

Alyosha and all the rest of you Attolia people out there, I finished The King of Attolia. And I liked it better than the previous two (of which I had a heretical low opinion), which need to be reread and reexamined. Now please try to show me the error of my ways and convert me to liking these books...

MR. Anderson, i wil NOT look to see what happens in HP7 and am really glad i made you laugh , i was still VERY surprised!
Secondly i loved your thing on Twilight, it's so true!

When I'm not reading text books...
I like fantasy and crime/mystery books to keep me occupied. Terry Goodkind, Dennis Lehane, Dan Brown, and Terry Brooks are what it's about (CS Lewis too or course)

If anyone else is a Ted Dekker fan (or a potential fan), I just saw this on Facebook and I had to share: If you go here: http://www.teddekker.com/green/m/downloadblack.php and put in the code 4495, you'll get a free ebook of Black. I was surprised, but it's the WHOLE book, not just a few chapters. Apparently it's only available for a week, though. I just thought that was amazingly cool.

And I still haven't read any Isaac Bevis Singer, though I want to after seeing quote after quote from his work at the beginning of each chapter...)

Oh, a wonderful author and very interesting man in his own right
I have to say the author I've known to do this the most is Stephen King. I've been put onto a lot of new authors and works from being interested in the quotes I found in his books.

I'm currently reading Les Miserables The Charles Wilbour translation that wisewoman recommended is wonderful, you can always tell if a work has been translated well. I'm going away for a few days and decided to bring Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground to read, rather than dragging Les Mis around.

Here's another review from me on the third book in the Legends of the Guardian King series:

Shadows Over Kiriath brings the plot of the Legends of the Guardian King to a boil. Abramm has signed a treaty to gain support from the neighboring Chesdan kingdom. One catch, he has to marry the First Daughter of the Chesdan king. Madeline, the Second Daughter, has been in Kiriath researching material for her ballads now must act as her sister's proxy.

The Shadow's forces are gathering around Abramm in an effort to thwart his destiny. For a time, things are rocky, but move forward. There are hints that something more is coming. Four years after his marriage, Abramm is forced to rely on Eidon in completely new ways as he is taken to rock bottom.

This book is a remarkable story of faith, trials, and love. Abramm finds that even at rock bottom, Eidon has not abandoned him and that following him is worth it even with the trials. Madeline steps into the roll of First Daughter and Abramm's queen in faith that Eidon will turn her into the queen the Kirathian's need. Karen Hancock has done it again with this book. Her plot not only wraps some things up from the previous two books, but deepens the plot as it heads towards its' climax in the next story.

I finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn a couple days ago, and you can read my thoughts on it here. I really liked it.

Now I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. My sister keeps insisting I read Northanger Abbey, but The Sherwood Ring is calling to me quite loudly. I'm torn, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with The Sherwood Ring . . . just because I've been waiting to read it ever since I finished The Perilous Gard.

I think I already expressed my opinion of the Ink trilogy on the other forum, but I'll say again here that Inkheart was my favorite, followed by Inkdeath and then Inkspell. Inkdeath is a lot darker than the first two, and Inkspell is darker than the first one. I liked the expanding of all the characters though, in the last book. I wish it had ended in a more concise manner though. Or at least All in all though, I really enjoyed the trilogy.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Wow, I go away for a weekend (making waiting for the forum switch really easy) and come back and there's five pages!

Due to my weekend trip, I had great time for reading in the car. I'm now roughly 800 pages into Les Miserables and I love every bit of it. Sometimes, like when he devotes an entire chapter to Waterloo, and how he believes it was an act of God (interesting perspective there), it's still interesting but I want to get back to Jean Valjean.
However, I feel cheated. My version (Which is the 'greasy spoon' one that Valia read. That really does get annoying. I just want them to call it a tavern/inn/other synonym and be done with it!) is missing pages. I just can't get a copy of Les Miserables with the entire storyline complete. Thankfully it was only 33 pages (On the left hand side was page 538 and on the right hand side was page 571, and the weird thing is, it looks like it was bound without those pages!) and Hugo doesn't develop and release major plot points in the space of 33 pages. Oh well, I still felt incomplete going on. I'm definitely going to look for the Wilbour version after I'm done; this is a book that I want to keep... but in a different translation and with all of its pages!!

starkat, I've read those Guardian King books... or at least some of them. How many are there in the series? I think I've read 4... or maybe it was 3. Whichever it is, I remember the second to last one that I've read having a very sad ending.

EDIT: I forgot! My friend that's reading LOTR for the first time finished FotR and loves them! She's complained to me about the films leaving out Tom Bombadil, and all the stuff the purists complain about. It's making me so excited about my upcoming reread.

Honestly, the book is one of the skinniest classics in existence already. Eliot's prose is so beautiful, too, I want to bask in it - and the misty pastoral atmosphere she invokes in Marner is wonderfully unique. The criticism that the story is simplistic makes more sense to me, but does every book have to be groundbreaking? I always think people approach this story in the utterly wrong way (and high school English teachers are probably a large part of it); I like to think of it as a folktale of some sort that Eliot found and expanded to suit her needs. And the redemptive aspect of the story is just so powerful.

I agree about SM being a skinny classic! That's one reason I read it. I have yet to read DD or Middlemarch, although I'd love to when I get the chance. I also saw SM as a folktale. It had fairy tale elements, like parts of Jane Eyre. And it is a beautiful story of redemption! I don't know why every story has to be groundbreaking either. I have the same problem with literary criticism. They have some crazy theories sometimes! But this is what I love about works of literature with archetypal elements. The authors plug into something already there, with a fresh outlook.

Meltintalle: Isaac Bashevis Singer! I’ve read “Gimpel the Fool,” “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy,” and The Penitent. I like the last one the best. “Yentl” became the film adaptation Yentl, with Barbara Streisand. I like Singer’s plots; they’re interesting, unforgettable. And I love Jewish literature, music, history, food, ETC. Other Jewish literature: have you read any of Chaim Potok? I’ve read The Chosen [which I adored!] and Old Men at Midnight. Even though I'm a slow reader sometimes, I read The Chosen in less than two weeks, much faster than my high school classmates.

All: Regarding beginning chapters with quotes, Kipling did this all the time. But most of his epigrams were from other works of his. I think it’s a 19th century thing.

Mr. Anderson: LOL! great!

Mods: I love the smilies and new spoiler!

right now i'm reading sense and sensibility for the first time. it will be my first austen where i don't know the whole story. i really like it so far. after i finish that i'm going to read the third horatio hornblower book and then lotr. it's taken years for my friend to convince me and now i'm going to read them. but i had a question- should i read the hobbit first or the fellowship of the ring?

To those reading Sense and Sensibility and enjoying it- I'm glad! It's not exactly my favourite favourite Austen, but it's still a very enjoyable story.

Follower of Aslan, I hope you enjoy Inkdeath when you can read it!

Re SM: Yes indeed.

@ Mel: That could work, yes. I finished reading Castaways on Sunday, and

All in all, it was an alright read, but I think I enjoy Redwall better... if one can reasonably compare those two works...

As my sister has been busy, and hasn't had much time to read, I've not wanted to get ahead of her in Little Dorrit, so while I'm waiting, I'm trying to read books to get my 'to read' list on Goodreads down some, so due to that I've read Days of Toil and Tears: The Child Labour Diary of Flora Rutherford by Sarah Ellis, part of the Dear Canada series. I actually enjoyed this one more then I thought I would, in a way, it reminded me of North and South by the fact it was set around a cotton mill/it's troubles, etc. After that I read one of the books from the Heartland (by Lauren Brooke) series, which was alright, nothing too profound. The last thing I read was The Nine Days Queen by Karleen Bradford, about Lady Jane Grey. It was an interesting read, although had a sad ending. A friend lent it to me some time ago, so I figured I'd better get it read and returned to her. Up next is probably another Dear Canada diary...