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Help me get started on reading literature - Page 5
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distant_voice
Germany2521 Posts
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ShaperofDreams
Canada2492 Posts
On May 14 2010 22:36 revy wrote: If you're looking to ease your way into good literature I've got the perfect book for you. About 2-3 years ago I was in a similar place, I had read what I was supposed to, but never enjoyed it. Then I started to read more and I stumbled on this book. Tom Robbins - Jitterbug Perfume It's good fiction both from an english professor sense as well as an enjoyment sense. Easy and quick read, has depth if you care to delve. I highly recommend you read this book before you read most others in this thread. The others in this thread are of course great but this is a good way to ease into things. This was such a weird book  interesting though. | ||
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DeathByMonkeys
United States742 Posts
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kodancer
United States89 Posts
This might not apply to the Cat's Cradle as much, but how do you supplement your reading to get even more from it than just the story? Something like commentaries. Like is there a website you guys go to? All I know at the moment is sparknotes, which I highly believe it is underrated to gain some insights from. I'm not talking about the summaries but rather the analysis they have under them. But they're general insights, and I was hoping someone might know any other good sites to supplement their reading materials. PS: Remember that I'm fairly new and uneducated to the literature world, so forgive me if I offended anyone by mentioning sparknotes. | ||
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fbs
United Kingdom2476 Posts
Asimov, the grandmaster storyteller, all brilliant books in the Foundation series. I have never read a Asmimov novel I did not enjoy. Foundation (1951) Foundation and Empire (1952) Second Foundation (1953) Foundation's Edge (1982) Foundation and Earth (1986) Orson Scott Card - amazed he hasn't been mentioned yet in 5 pages, the following are the best 3 of Ender's Game series, all awesome, read them:- Ender's Game Speaker for the Dead Xenocide | ||
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ArKaDo
France121 Posts
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Triscuit
United States722 Posts
On May 15 2010 06:09 kodancer wrote: PS: Remember that I'm fairly new and uneducated to the literature world, so forgive me if I offended anyone by mentioning sparknotes. I don't think anyone would insult you for using sources to try to better your understanding of a book. I think it's admirable that you're taking the time to read analysis on the books you read. It's really important to sit and think about the books you are reading. Better yet, get someone else to read a particular book with you and have conversations about what you think they mean. The books you think about the most are the ones that are going to make the biggest impact on you, and be the most memorable. | ||
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Biff The Understudy
France8201 Posts
On May 15 2010 07:22 ArKaDo wrote: I m so down, I see a lot of good book and no french author whatsoever. That's so sad, my culture is dead. I would recommand him Proust, but I am not sure that's precisely what you want to start with if you get into litterature. And French novels are so much better in French  | ||
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Eskii
Canada544 Posts
DUNE by Frank Herbert The entire works of George Orwell The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise) by Dante Aligheri The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll aka Charles Lutwidge Dodgson The Histories by Herodotus | ||
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nepeta
1872 Posts
On May 15 2010 07:22 ArKaDo wrote: I m so down, I see a lot of good book and no french author whatsoever. That's so sad, my culture is dead. That's because all you frogs do about it is whine ^^ For starters: Camus: 'l' étranger' (the stranger). Also Caligula. Perhaps 'la peste' (the plague) Charrière: Papillon Sartre: huis clos (no exit) | ||
BroOd
Austin10833 Posts
On May 15 2010 18:01 Biff The Understudy wrote: I would recommand him Proust, but I am not sure that's precisely what you want to start with if you get into litterature. And French novels are so much better in French So Dumas is what, Spanish now? | ||
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Casta
Denmark234 Posts
The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan (Brandon Sanderson). This series is long (actually still ongoing) and truly epic, it is dark fantasy, very well written with multiple in depth characters. Riftwar Saga - Raymond E. Feist. Fantasy with many themes, definetly a good read. The Night's Dawn Trilogy - Peter F. Hamilton. Science fiction on the grand scale when it is best. | ||
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Saturnize
United States2473 Posts
On May 14 2010 11:24 HazMat wrote: Lord of the flies is really good. Read it earlier in the year with my eight grade class. Right now we're reading To kill a mockingbird. I think it's overrated Agreed, I really liked LotF. Didn't really have that same connection with to kill a mockingbird, not that its bad writing or anything, just not my kind of book i guess. | ||
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Saturnize
United States2473 Posts
On May 15 2010 00:05 Bright] wrote: If any one hasn't recommended J.R.R. Tolkien yet I would highly recommend The Hobbit Note: This thread rules The Silmarillion is also a great book by JRR Tolkien if you're looking for a challenge... | ||
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Biff The Understudy
France8201 Posts
Oh yeah, Dumas is so entertaining... But I don't understand, I never even implied that there is not good and accessible French litterature. I talked about Proust because he is my favourite. | ||
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Sulli
Canada236 Posts
On May 15 2010 19:59 Biff The Understudy wrote: Oh yeah, Dumas is so entertaining... But I don't understand, I never even implied that there is not good and accessible French litterature. I talked about Proust because he is my favourite. Looks like you did misunderstand BroOd's intent. He's simply pointing out that Dumas has been mentioned in this thread, first page at that, when ArKaDo became sad assuming that no French authors have been mentioned. | ||
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Biff The Understudy
France8201 Posts
On May 15 2010 23:13 Sulli wrote: Looks like you did misunderstand BroOd's intent. He's simply pointing out that Dumas has been mentioned in this thread, first page at that, when ArKaDo became sad assuming that no French authors have been mentioned. Oh, yes, I had completely missed that. | ||
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AeroGear
Canada652 Posts
On May 15 2010 19:03 Saturnize wrote: The Silmarillion is also a great book by JRR Tolkien if you're looking for a challenge... Silmarillion was total garbage, unless you're a die hard Tolkien fan who absolutly MUST read all of his work, I would stay away from it. You can usually tell when a story is good from reading the first 5-10pages. If you dont get sucked into the story by then its most likely best to just put it away. Those first pages are usually for the setting, and a good setting usually means a good story. All the D&D related stuff (especially the Drizzt Do'Urden saga), David/Leigh Eddings epic tales are also pretty good if you're in that kind of writing (dragons, swords slashing and all). Edding's style is a bit simple but the character development is pretty massive (5 books Belgariad/5 books sequel) so you get somewhat attached to them. Adding 2 books from Émile Zola from my best of list, Germinal L'assommoir | ||
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Rkie
United States1278 Posts
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Biff The Understudy
France8201 Posts
On May 16 2010 02:55 Rkie wrote: great gatsby, pride and prejudice, cat in the hat, and 1984 Nooooo! Jane Austen next to Fitzgerald, that's wrong. | ||
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