Valia! *waves* I'm sorry War and Peace is on hold, but I do understand it's not the type of book you, er, would probably want to be reading whilst juggling everything! Hurray for book sales!

Since my last post here I finished reading Dombey and Son, which was, on the whole, an enjoyable Dickens, even if there was a couple of things about the way it was written I didn't entirely like about it- and those things, to be honest, irked me only because I see those very same traits in myself. So, um, yeah.

Aside from the couple things I didn't like about the writing, I particularly enjoyed the parts that were so well written- Dickens really knew how to bring the emotions and feelings of the human heart into this writing.

Anyways. My sister is reading Mansfield Park at present, so I've agreed to re-read it as well. It should be good- I'm only a couple pages into it though. I have discovered that attempting to read whilst having the TV on watching Olympics is not always the best way to enjoy Austen. Ah well.

Kate: How is The Count of Monte Cristo going for you?

Aww that's sweet. I haven't been in her in ages and you are still checking in. I'll admit, taking 3 lit classes this quarter has really put any and all pleasure reading on hold. One of my really good friends is a HUGE Dumas fan and he puts me to shame (and he's a biochem major!). He's read way more than me; he finished it and then moved on to The Man in the Iron Mask. I've only read 2 or 3 chapters this quarter.

I'm glad you liked Dombey and Son. I own it, and I'll get to it eventually. My copy is in two volumes, so it looks kind of intimidating.

Since I posted last I've read a bunch of Greek dramas, Julius Caesar, and The Canterbury Tales. I have loved all of them. Oedipus the King is amazing. I read Chaucer's Troilus and Cressida and I didn't like it and I wondered what all the fuss about Chaucer was, but now that I've read TCT, I understand. The versatility, the satire, the symbolism, and just about everything is so so remarkable.

Maybe you should have read Huck Finn out loud to help with the dialect.

This is good advice. I read aloud a lot of my early modern english texts to understand them better, and it's useful for other dialects too.

I just started listening to Angels and Demons on audiobook yesterday. So far I am liking it- but then, I did like the movie. I like all the science that is in it. I like how they are balancing religion and science- after all, the two do go together. I think I may like it better than The Da Vinci Code- which was interesting, but I know a particular subplot was just the author's imagination and has absolutely no evidence. I am only in the 2nd CD out of 15 so far- so there will be more.

Heir of Sea and Fire and Cygnet (which looks to be two books in one, maybe? ) by Patricia McKillip

Yes, that'd be two different books. But why would they put the middle volume of the Riddlemaster trilogy with an unrelated book? (Which I think is also part of a set? Maybe the second?)

I went to a Half-Price books recently, and picked up a few books. The Knot in the Grain, The Blue Sword, and Sitka. (And an embroidery book.) That was actually only the second time I'd seen Knot, and the cover art matches my copy of Beauty, so I've very pleased. Speaking of McKinley, did y'all know that there's a new book coming out, um, next summer? It's called Pegasus and has a pretty cover, but a not-exactly thrilling summary.

Sitka has my second favourite cover (reminiscent of Audry Hepburn in War and Peace, aw, it's so cute but not period accurate). I hope to pick up a copy with my favourite cover too someday.

I also had a good day at the library. There were a couple Henry Reed books waiting on hold, and I picked up the second two Ron Snell books, House of Many Ways and The Jumping Off Place. If I remember right, ww recommended the last one to me ages ago, so I'm rather excited about it.

There were no Ellis Peters on the shelf, so I picked up the only Elizabeth Peters I saw to see how it compared. It happened to be one of the more recent Amelia Peabody mysteries, so I came in on a huge cast of returning characters. It was rather light on who-dun-it, (basically, if they weren't someone you were supposed to know, they were guilty of something) and more of a visit with a family that lived in Egypt in the early 1920's. A fun read, but in the end it lacked the substance and feel of place an Ellis Peters mystery provides.

On Percy Jackson:
Percy being a bit of a clueless hero lead to some hysterical situations and snarky narration, so it was fine by me. He does grow up a lot in The Last Olympian; which is my favorite book in the series. I literally read it from cover to cover in one (albeit 2 1/2 hour) sitting, it was that intense. I can only think of a couple times I've cried harder over a book than I did over

I went to a Half-Price books recently, and picked up a few books. The Knot in the Grain, The Blue Sword, and Sitka.

Is Sitka by Louis L'Amour? I know he wrote a book by that title. By the way, are there any Louis L'Amour book lovers out there?

I also had a good day at the library. There were a couple Henry Reed books waiting on hold, and I picked up the second two Ron Snell books, House of Many Ways and The Jumping Off Place. If I remember right, ww recommended the last one to me ages ago, so I'm rather excited about it.

That sounds like a good day indeed. Enjoy the Snell books, we've read those out-loud as a family, and loaned them to several people since.

Haven't been here in awhile. Haven't cared.

Re: Mark Twain. I've read Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer and I loved both, although I preferred the former. Like Liberty, I didn't care for the ending. But Huck Finn is a classic American novel, with real depth. And the language was no problem for me. Regarding dialect, some black literature is much harder reading. Once you've read Hurston's Their Eyes were watching God, Huck Finn will seem easy. Even then, I learned the rhythm of Hurston's language after a few chapters. Reading suggestion: get away from standard British and American dialects. Branch out, folks!

@Kate: I liked Chaucer's Canterbury Tales okay, but I couldn't get into T&C at all. I didn't care for the plot. But I loved Oedipus. It's probably my favorite Greek drama.

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If you have, check out my "Special Topic: Jewish Literature" thread. I'm looking for some fish to bite! Please respond!

Anyone read the switch by anthony h(can't remeber the last name only know it begins with h). I really liked the book, it was really short but really good and i didn't get bored.

Is Sitka by Louis L'Amour?

That's the one! I almost got Man Called Noon and Fair Blows the Wind as well, but decided not to at the last minute. Sitka is one of my favourite books by him, closely followed by Fallon and The Walking Drum. What are your favourites?

Enjoy the Snell books

Thanks! I am. And I'm plotting on how to get the rest of my family to read them too.

A story for all the Attolia fans on the forum – I've enjoyed all the Queen's Thief books so far, but didn't really want to spend money on pre-ordering A Conspiracy of Kings. I was planning on just checking the website of the excellent local library frequently around the release date to try and get a low enough hold number that I could read it before the end of the school year. But on a whim, I did an author search for Megan Whalen Turner yesterday just to see how many copies of her books they had. There was already a catalog entry for ACoK. They won't actually have the book until the release date, of course, but I now have the second hold on it. w00t!

So, moral of the story: If you're planning on getting ACoK from the library, check for it early and often. It might be there before you think.

Thanks! I am. And I'm plotting on how to get the rest of my family to read them too.

Just start reading snatches of them out loud. It shouldn't be too hard.

*notes to self to read the parts of Huck Finn out loud, and all that fun stuff* Is Tom Sawyer the first volume of/sequel to Huckleberry Finn, or can they be read seperately?

Valia, sounds like some fascinating books sale! *wishes that some event of that sort would happen here...*

A story for all the Attolia fans on the forum – I've enjoyed all the Queen's Thief books so far, but didn't really want to spend money on pre-ordering A Conspiracy of Kings. I was planning on just checking the website of the excellent local library frequently around the release date to try and get a low enough hold number that I could read it before the end of the school year. But on a whim, I did an author search for Megan Whalen Turner yesterday just to see how many copies of her books they had. There was already a catalog entry for ACoK. They won't actually have the book until the release date, of course, but I now have the second hold on it. w00t!

Wow! As soon as I read this, I sped to my local library's site, but sadly (as they aren't quite so excellent... ) they did not have it like that, so I'll have to wait a while or something. But, aaahh, so excited for A Conspiracy of Kings!

And, the reason for this post, a whole bunch of things on hold finally arrived at the library, and these treasures being: The Complete Sherlock Holmes Stories (or some other more formal title), The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, a history novel by Anne Rinaldi (forgot the name), An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott, and Hospital Sketches by her, too, and lastly, I got King Arthur and his knights at (or of...) the Round Table. I saw the word "Merlin" in there, and was all, "Hey, that's the name that keeps being mentioned on Narniaweb!"
And, in Hospital Sketches, they have this long, long, long list of tons more books by Louisa May Alcott, some that I haven't read, so I want to scour every library around to find them. I think the edition of Hospital Sketches (which is a diary of Louisa May Alcott's when she was a Civil War Nurse, I think) is pretty old, because the dating indicates that and it really looks it. So that definitely excited me. ^^
And I had to give back Mansfield Park, because it was about to be overdue, but I think I'll start it when I've forgotten the first four chapters and then I can read it with a fresh glance, instead of browsing through to see where I last left off.

The books by Mark Twain go The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, then Huckleberry Finn.

The two books contain the same characters (though the first stars Tom and the second stars Huck) but they can be read seperately. They both begin and end independently of one another-- though, like I said, in the timeline it's Tom, then Huck.

I've read both of them and I quite enjoy them. Twain has a flair for character and captures the personality of a young boy very well. Really funny books, for sure. If reading them aloud helps you out, go for it!

I have only read Huckleberry Finn, and it's perfectly understandable on its own though there are a few references back to Tom Sawyer. I have always meant to go back and read the other but I've never managed to get around to it.

Apparently Shannon Hale's Forest Born finally comes out over here on the 5th of July ... I think I might get it for myself as a graduation present!

In honour of the closing of the John Buchan SF, I decided to search Project Gutenberg for a copy of Prester John. Instant gratification. And, Buchan is now two for two. When I read first read The Thirty-Nine Steps last year, there were parts that seemed very familiar, which I set down to having read other books with roughly the same plot, though I couldn't name any of them at the moment... I started off Prester John serene and confident that I had not read it, a feeling which persisted until the narrator and I arrived in Rooirand and climbed the cliff. Things were rather vague again until the cave, which also seemed very familiar, at which point my mind decided that maybe it'd read something like the opening too. The only conclusion I can draw is that perhaps there are very similar scenes in H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines and/or Conan Doyle's The Lost World?