Thank-you Fanny,Mal, and Lady L for the explanation about Mansfield Park; I understand it much better now!

I bashfully admit, that I put down Mansfield Park and picked up The Wind in the Willows. (Thanks to Mal for posting that lovely quote!) I had been wondering about the book for a while, and seeing that it wasn't some thrown-together story about animals, but truly something better, I read it. I finally finished it last night; I really, really liked it! It was *such* a pretty story with the series of adventures and mishaps with all characters. (The parts with Toad were the best. ^_^) Wayfarer's All, and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn took some time to pull through, but it was so worth the read; the chapters were...beautiful.

Anyways, yes, there's my short summary review of how I liked it. Now time to finish Mansfield Park and Emma...

Good grief, the book thread has slowed way down.

You can say that again! I've been gone from this thread for ever, and it's only progressed a single page. Somehow I still found plenty to comment on, though.

Thanks for your report on The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, 7chronicles. I've not read it, but from what I know about it, I would think a comparison between it and Till We Have Faces a trifle misleading: TWHF is very much a modern re-imagining and expansion of the traditional story, whereas it appears Tolkien's version of Norse myth is a much more traditional retelling. Again, though, thanks for the report, and I'll certainly be looking into this book. (Did you know Christopher recently discovered a translation of Beowulf in his father's library? I very much look forward to that publication!)

There are a great many of us here who love Les Misérables here, Horse_Lover, and find it much better than "okay"; in fact, it's one of my very favorite books of all time. However, it's not an easy book, and I can see why you would find it difficult to follow. Is there anything we can clarify for you that you might have misunderstood?

What audiobook of Persuasion did you get, Glenstorm? Because if it's the one narrated by Greta Scaachi, I shall be consumed with jealous. I've been looking out for that one for a few months now.

However, I think he has discovered something that's been overlooked. The evidence he provides certainly suggests that each book points to a medieval planet, though it is not directly parallel.

I suppose I shall have to read it at some point, if only to see what evidence he's amassed. But honestly, why would Lewis choose to embed all of this in the books? What purpose does it serve? Why did he never mention it, and why did no one "discover" it before Ward? Also, what does it matter? So, each of the seven Chronicles corresponds to a certain planet. So what? What does that do for me as a reader or fan?

I suppose I'll have to answer these questions myself once I get around to reading it.

Now, some thoughts on my recent reads:

- I finished Emma for my Jane Austen class, and definitely enjoyed it more this time around. There was still a point, however, when it became a bit of a slog. I'm thinking that I've yet to read the book at the ideal pace, as I really meandered through it the first time, devoid of any willpower, whereas this reread was bound up within the requirements of the class reading schedule. That said, I greatly enjoyed this reread, and the book has risen in my affections. I don't quite love it yet, but I very much like it, besides admiring and respecting it. I do think I enjoyed it a smidgen more than my reread of Northanger Abbey, which seems very slight in comparison. There's so much more psychological depth in Emma!

- I should have finished Notes from Underground for another class by now, but I definitely skimmed portions of it and want to go back and reread those, in order to get a better understanding of the novel. That's some heavy stuff there.

- Scenes of Clerical Life has been left by the wayside for the moment, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but simply because I lost my copy! I've now started Drinkwater: A Sobering Tale About A Medieval Knight by Otto Scamfer as a substitute "pleasure" read. (I use this term with a keen sense of irony.) This book was a Member Giveaway on LibraryThing a while back, and now I feel such a knucklehead for requesting it. Despite the fact that the title contains two very bad puns on drinking and sobriety, I somehow missed the fact that it was basically an anti-alcoholism tract, and fancied it to rather be a fun swashbuckler that just happened to have a reformed drunkard as its hero. Blah. Nothing of the sort. Some of the swashbuckler elements are there, but they are so cliche and so badly handled as to make them past enjoyment. Also, there are anachronisms out the wazoo. And Scamfer hasn't the faintest idea of how to punctuate a sentence. If this book were longer, and I weren't waiting for my Eliot to turn back up, I'd drop it now, but as it is I'll probably finish it and write a scathing review. That should be fun.

All for now.

@Lysander: Oops, I didn't mean to be misleading.
I haven’t read the actual Myth of Sigurd and Gudrun so I don't know how much Tolkien changed, I just assumed he had changed something’s. But I had a feeling he hadn't changed as much as Lewis did in Till We Have Faces.
Though unlike Sigurd and Gudrun, I did read Cupid and Psyche's actual Myth. My bad, sorry.
I did hear about the translation of Beowulf, are they going to actually publish it?

Considering how much money the Tolkien name alone brings in, one can only assume that the answer is "yes."

What audiobook of Persuasion did you get, Glenstorm? Because if it's the one narrated by Greta Scaachi, I shall be consumed with jealous. I've been looking out for that one for a few months now.

Oh no this one is read by Michael Page. I like it well enough (I prefer audio dramas ) but I find it worth listening to b/c in the two weeks I've been reading the book I only read two chapters (I did read some other books at the same time though ) but since starting the audio book last night I've listened to five

Wow, a man reading Persuasion? That just doesn't work for me. I'd need a female narrator for that - preferably either Greta Scaachi's recording on audio cassette, or the download by Olivia Williams for Silksound books.

Yeah I would prefer a woman too but that was the only audiobook my library had for that book and I wanted one presto .

I just got back from a book appraisal event at my library a little a while ago. I brought a ton of my older books I had found at my local book swap but all of them were unfortunately kinda worthless (the guy said they were only worth a few dollars )...

*sigh* . My whole Dickens collection was only a reprint he said

Finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy just now. Now I finally understand why The Afters named one of their songs Forty-Two.

There is an awesome book called "Henry Reed Inc."! it was written in 1958 and I was fortunate enough to find a copy that I bought for $2.00 that is a first printing edition!

I love those books, Liberty!! They are so funny! There's three more books about him: Henry Reed's Baby-sitting Service, Henry Reed's Big Show, and Henry Reed's Journey. They are all really good.

^^ yay! I'm not the only one! I read "Henry reed's Baby-Sitting Service" and Henry Reed's Big Show, but I have yet to read Henry Reed's Journey.....I hope to soon! those books are awesome!!!!!

Henry Reed's Journey is quite possibly the most hilarious book in the series.

awesome! now I shall have to read it!

what's it about?

Henry is going to visit his aunt and uncle again in the summer. Instead of flying to Grover's Corner, he flies to California where Midge's family is for a business trip. He drives back to Grover's Corner with the Glasses. They have wild adventures all across the US.

ooh.....sounds awesome! i hope my library has it! they have the others!