[bksvol-discuss] Re: Research task for a motivated volunteer
- From: Courtney Stover <liamskitten@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:17:19 -0600
Lissi:
His Dark Materials and Remains Of The Day are both mind-bogglingly
incredible! I'd probably recommend His Dark Materials first; it has
this bittersweet ending that still manages to be wonderfully hopeful
and uplifting, and it really deals with issues of authority and what
our obligations to those in authority are and when we can ethically
decide those obligations cease. I just finished reading them again
for the thousandth time, and I'm still on that exhillarating high you
get when you've read a perfect book; perfect writing and characters
with the themes carried to their perfect conclusions.
In terms of theme/morality, it really reminds me of Tigana by Kay;
there is no good and evil; the characters who are at first presented
as evil can rise to do great things, while the "good" guys can do
horrible things. And there's this moral ambiguity because the truth
doesn't rest with one person; it lies somewhere in between what
everyone sees as the truth. And everyone sees what they are doing, no
matter how dreadful, as morally right.
Remains I've just started, and am loving so far; I'd be thrilled to
discuss your thoughts on iether of them once you finish offlist. And
always feel free to chat about good books in general; I'm always up
for an E-mail/phone chat.
Courtney
On 11/20/10, Estelnalissi <airadil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Dear Booksharian Friends,
>
> Needing a break from proofing an index, I read the thread about the 100 BBC
> books at just the right time. I've wandered the collection enough to have
> predicted that Bookshare was on the case for most of the list. I copied the
> list and then sorted the books with the following results
>
> Books I've read, counting Series as LOTR, Narnia etc as one book
>
> Books I've read 57
> Books I'm eager to read 20
> Books to consider when I know more about them 19
> Books I don't want to read/or finish 4
>
> Though I read some of these books for school in grades 7-12, I proficiencied
> English in college and had other majors, so read the rest of them for the
> love of the authors and language.
>
> The four I don't want to read are Moby Dick,. I love the writing style, but
> can't cope with the brutality and suffering of men and whale. Vanity Fair, I
> liked neither the style nor the sheer nastiness of Becky Sharp, the central
> character. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, noodled, bored and
> befuddled my brain and I lived the "On the Road," scene so to speak, in
> college, and read so many bios of Jack Kerouac and many people of his ilk, I
> didn't want to slog through what seemed to be self aggrandizement of living
> loose, high and self satisfied.
>
> I'm most lacking in my reading of non Anglo authors. I'm listing the 19
> books I'd like to know more about in case anyone who has read them would
> like to share their thoughts about them on or off list.
>
> And thank you Scott, Lori, Mayrie, Roger, Kim, Mike, Dan, Jamie, Shelley,
> Judy, and anyone who has commented about this list. I can't get enough of
> book talk. Shelley, I especially enjoyed your naming the books you've read
> along with your comments about them.
>
> 1 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
>
> 2 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
>
> 3 38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
>
> 4 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
> 5 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
> 6 45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
>
> 7 56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
> 8 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
>
> 9 63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
>
> 10 69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
>
> 11 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
>
> 12 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
> 13 78 Germinal - Emile Zola
> 14 80 Possession - AS Byatt
>
> 15 82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
>
> 16 84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
>
> 17 86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
>
> 18 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
>
> 19 95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
>
>
>
> Scott, your message to Dan isn't the first time I've noticed your knack for
> word play. Thanks for joining in the spirit of this topic.
>
>
>
> On my worst days I love reading. Discussions like this one energize and
> intensify my craving to read more!
>
>
>
> Always with love,
>
>
>
> Lissi
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mayrie Renee" <mayrierenae@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2010 11:37 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Research task for a motivated volunteer
>
>
>> Hi Judy!
>>
>> You deserve an award! That's incredible! I shared this list with some
>> friends on a different e-mail list and the next closest person to you has
>> read 43 books. Congratulations!
>>
>> Mayrie
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Judy s.
>> Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2010 4:06 PM
>> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Research task for a motivated volunteer
>>
>> Nobody beat me up, but to my shock I've read 69 of them...
>>
>> That either says that I'm way older than most of you and have had more
>> time
>> to read, or that my incredibly anal high school and college English
>> teachers
>> were right on which books we had to read for their classes. grin.
>>
>> Judy s.
>>
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>
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