Topic 22 of 57: Literature Discussion
Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (19:56) |
Wolf (wolf)
Talk about your favorite classics here.
50 responses total.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 1 of 50: Wolf (wolf) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (19:57) * 1 lines
i opened this topic for mr chips to discuss his passion for literature!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 2 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (19:58) * 1 lines
Wolfie, have you noticed Amy and me talking of books we love and share a common interest in...I cannot wait to tell her to come here. *Hugs* for opening this topic. I am sure it will be very busy!!!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 3 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (20:00) * 1 lines
We'll be delighted to accommodate him here and to carry on our Arthurian discussions in screwed...that seems appropriate, somehow...sadly! Sorry I misinterpreted it. (looking for the comment under the entered date...)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 4 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (20:03) * 1 lines
If I can create a topic in Books I shall do a n Arthurian one
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 5 of 50: Wolf (wolf) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (20:09) * 40 lines
ok, i'm gonna cut and paste some of our book conversations from babes:
john said: I would like an otherwise unoccupied woman to discuss literature with me, but I'm afraid Austen and the Brontes don't do it for me. My women colleagues are all married and/or unattractive (and all are more concerned about comp than lit--understandable for high school teachers).
wolfie responded: i love literature, john, but am not an academic scholar in it. my fave classic authors of the moment are charles dickens and mark twain. both of them crack me up to no end!
to which marcia responded: John, I am fondest of Tolstoy and the Eueopean writers of the 19th century - with the large EXCEPTION of Proust. I could not get through Remembrances of Things Past...or whatever it was when he was pining for his mother and the little cookies she fed him...tres weird. Which lit did you have in mind?
then john said: You already know my poetic taste. I'm not a lit scholar either...Twain is still my favorite American author. And I can get bashed as a sexist for this, but I love the visceral, stripped-down minimalist style of Hemingway. I don't know if he was misogynist, although I've kept hearing he was. Certainly, I was sympathetic to Brett (more than Hemingway was) in The Sun Also Rises. I'm surprised that I like Henry James, but I do. I know Austen was a major influence on him.
Dickens ranks up there on my list of English novelists. So does George Eliot.
I have mixed emotions about Joyce (I know he was Irish). I couldn't make it through Ulysses, but was moved to tears by The Dead.
I like the shorter, later Tolstoy things with redemption as theme, such as Master and Man and The Death of Ivan Ilytch. I've read War and Peace and Anna Karennina, though. I believe there's good reason the former has become a metaphor for overlong, and the latter is just too damn tragic. I knew she was doomed from the second she saw Vronsky. I love some of Dostoevsky, especially The Brothers Karamazov. I know the father is a tragic figure, but I laugh when I read his misadventures. That got me into troubl
in a Russian Lit in translation seminar with my favorite lit professor (now deceased). I still think he's funny, intentional or not. Crime and Punishment gave me war flashback nightmares, so the violence in there was certainly effective. I would not have wanted Raskalnikov as a shipmate.
wolfie: as to literature: there is a book topic and we could move this discussion there. but, i enjoyed wuthering heights, great expectations, the diary of adam and eve, the awakening-hated the ending (chopin), and several others. my dad loaned ulysses and the iliad but couldn't get through either one. oh, and the hobbit, and a few others by twain were really good. don't know why he and dickens crack me up. love twain for the way he writes like folks talk and the use of ethnic slander does not offend me
ecause
understand why it was used (even if, during those times, it was also considered taboo). why they wanted to ban the book is beyond me (huckleberry finn). a friend (nick) emailed some selections by twain of which i've read and still have around somewhere, but don't remember the titles. oh, and i have a huge book with the collections of edgar allen poe, because he cracks me up even though the stuff he writes is scary. (i did have a pit and pendulum dream at one point in my adult life).
and am working on jane eyre, but because of my (many) other interests, it's sitting on the shelf (not literally, however, it's still in the paper sacks we put all the books in to facilitate the installation of new carpet)....to be continued!
marcia: Wolf, it is not a good day if I don't have three or so books going at once! I know the feeling!
amy: I wish I had time to read what I want! Right now, I'm trudging through Benita Eisler's biography of Byron in an attempt to learn something useful to my thesis, but I'd really like to cut loose and read a historical novel like I did over the summer!
marcia: My absolute favorite kinds of books are historical novels. I can get lost for days and weeks in them...!
amy: Really? What authors do you read? I got on an Elizabeth Chadwick kick over the summer, because I find the Middle Ages so interesting. I also like reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine (Ellen Jones' "Beloved Enemy" is quite good,) and I devour anything about King Arthur.
marcia: I usually perfer Thomas Costain type books and have replaced Mitchener and Tolkien as favs for Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy plus the ones which followed...plus I got lost for a while in Aruthuriana with The Mists of Avalon and NOrma Lorre Goodrich's books on the central characters - all excellent and good reads. I also do a lot of archaeological reading - both journals and dig texts. If the Library of Alexandria did not go to heaven when it died, I don't want to go, either (says here now that I
m not lose to going!)
amy: All of my friends have copies of "The Mists of Avalon" with the covers taped on because they've fallen off from being read so much!
marcia: I guess I fit right in with all of your friends because mine looks like that, as well.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 6 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (20:16) * 2 lines
I created the Arthurian site - we can talk both places when other lit comes up here. Great idea, wolf! I'm gonna do that from Screwed 163 for Books 23.
Thanks!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 7 of 50: Wolf (wolf) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (20:24) * 1 lines
sorry it was soooo long, but thought it'd be easier than going back and forth!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 8 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (20:33) * 1 lines
Mine is just as long. (in fact I am going to do that with the rock collecting if I cannot figure how to link them all by myself...!)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 9 of 50: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (21:28) * 1 lines
Did anyone watch "Anna Karenina" last night on TNT? I adore that version (with Sophie Marceau, who is absolutely beautiful,) and although I own a copy of it, I only treat myself to watching it every once in a while. All of the period music, the beautiful costumes, when people write they really write Russian, the atmosphere...everything is perfect! I liked that version of the movie better than I liked the book!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 10 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (22:01) * 1 lines
No...did not know it was on and I was at Volleyball getting my face smashed by an errant serve...Do you prefer this version to Vivien Leigh's ???
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 11 of 50: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (22:36) * 1 lines
I've never seen the one with Vivien Leigh, but I don't think I could imagine her as Anna. There's simply nothing Russian about her, and I'll never be able to get the image of her as Scarlett out of my mind. (I tried to watch "Streetcar," but I kept giggling because she is Scarlett and always will be.)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 12 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (23:30) * 1 lines
She was lovely...! Of course before I became Firth's I was Olivier's...perhaps that explains the problem.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 13 of 50: Amy Keene (Irishprincess) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (23:34) * 1 lines
You not only have very good taste in books, Marcia, but also in Englishmen!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 14 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (23:37) * 1 lines
Ah, Yes... Thank you for agreeing. You must also share some of the credit for same, at the very least! (Took P&P with me - the book - to last night's Volleyball game and read the chance meeting (wet shirt) st Pemberley scene over and over. Odd the effect it has on me...*sigh* *squish*
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 15 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 15, 1999 (23:48) * 1 lines
John has told me he has his Master's Class this evening and other prior engagements. It just might be a while before he gets back here!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 16 of 50: Autumn (autumn) * Wed, Oct 20, 1999 (23:02) * 1 lines
I like so many so-called classic authors, I wouldn't know where to start. Perhaps we should focus on one work and discuss it?
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 17 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Oct 20, 1999 (23:27) * 1 lines
Since John is indisposed this evening, and I have opened my Arthurian topic, Autumn, suggest a book or an author to discuss. We need direction and impetus in this topic! Please!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 18 of 50: Autumn (autumn) * Tue, Oct 26, 1999 (20:17) * 8 lines
OK, here are some suggestions:
Wharton
Fitzgerald
Twain
Steinbeck
All Americans, but I'm open to something else. Anyone have a preference?
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 19 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Oct 26, 1999 (20:28) * 1 lines
Wow! Great choices...lets see what the others think...meanwhile if your are King Arthurly inclined, pop over to 41 for that discussion.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 20 of 50: Autumn (autumn) * Wed, Oct 27, 1999 (23:03) * 1 lines
Sorry, I'm King Arthur-impaired. :-)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 21 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 28, 1999 (14:07) * 1 lines
Must be from Camelot poisoning...! We all suffer from that, I am afraid!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 22 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Feb 16, 2000 (18:28) * 74 lines
From John (including a contribution of his own):
From the Washington Post Invitational contest, which calls them
Merge-Matic Books. Readers were asked to combine the works of two
authors, and to provide a suitable blurb:
Second Runner-Up:
"Machiavelli's The Little Prince" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic
children's tale as presented by Machiavelli. The whimsy of human nature is
embodied in many delightful and intriguing characters, all of whom are
executed.
(Erik Anderson, Tempe, Ariz.)
First Runner-Up:
"Green Eggs and Hamlet" -
Would you kill him in his bed?
Thrust a dagger through his head?
I would not, could not, kill the King.
I could not do that evil thing.
I would not wed this girl, you see.
Now get her to a nunnery.
(Robin Parry, Arlington VA)
And the Winner of the Dancing Critter:
"Fahrenheit 451 of the Vanities" -
An '80s yuppie is denied books. He does not object, or even notice.
(Mike Long, Burke)
extras:
"The Maltese Faulkner" - Is the black bird a tortured symbol of Sam's
struggles with race and family? Does it signify his decay of soul along with
the soul of the Old South? Is it merely a crow, mocking his attempts to
understand? Or is it worth a cool mil?
(Thad Humphries, Warrenton)
"Lorna Dune" - An English farmer, Paul Atreides, falls for the daughter of a
notorious rival clan, the Harkonnens, and pursues a career as a giant worm
jockey in order to impress her.
"The Invisible Man of La Mancha"- Don Quixote discovers a mysterious
elixir which renders him invisible. He proceeds to go on a mad rampage of
corruption and terror, attacking innocent people in the streets and all the
while singing "To fight the Invisible Man!" until he is finally stopped by a
windmill.
"Planet of the Grapes of Wrath" - Astronaut lands on mysterious planet, only
to discover that it is his very own home planet of Earth, which has been
taken over by the Joads, a race of dirt-poor corn farmers who miraculously
developed rudimentary technology and evolved the ability to speak after
exposure to nuclear radiation.
"Paradise Lost in Space" - Satan, Moloch, and Belial are sentenced to spend
eternity in a flying saucer with a goofy robot, an evil scientist, and 2
annoying children.
"Gone With the Shining" - Bed and breakfast owners discover that the
Southern Antebellum mansion they own is haunted by the Ghost of Scarlett
O'Nicholson.
(Lynn Abbey)
"The Sun Also Rises Over the Cuckoo's Nest" - A petty criminal seeking to
evade jail enters the funny farm, where he and fellow inmates commandeer a
bus and escape, panhandle enough money to forge passports and go to Spain.
McMurphy and the Chief run with the bulls in Pamplona, and McMurphy sustains
permanent injury to his manhood. Undaunted, he hooks up Billy Bibbit, who
has learned to stutter in Spanish, with a sexually liberated nurse, who runs
off with an abusive bullfighter. McMurphy shares Sangria with the Chief,
who surprisingly says his first words in 20 years, "Muchos gracias! Uno
mas, por favor!"
(John Burnett)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 23 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Fri, Feb 18, 2000 (17:07) * 14 lines
Arrrrrgh, if I EVER have to hear another dissing of Niccolo Macchiavelli around here! John, tell that contributor to wash his mouth, stop thinking they was oh-so-smart for a second, pick up Nick's The Prince, read, shut up and learn.
Honestly, I read it when I was a teen, and found his ideas and consequent approach very curious. It is fascinating to read and compare his ideas to other classic philosophies and political ideas, new and old. The main thing is: what was his aim? What was his goal? What are his thoughts good for? What did he intend?
Same with Konfuzius, who doesn't get much credit for his strictness and his extremely conservative approach from many. But they do not look at his times, and his motivation. What were the problems he (and later, Macchiavelli) were addressing?
These ideas have to be viewed in the mirror of their times, and what of it appeals or contradicts OUR emotions and ideas. And I say, Macchiavelli obviously motivated by very special feelings. Things I can strongly relate to. And he was willing to pay an - for his time - outrageous price for his ideas.
Give him respect.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 24 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 18, 2000 (17:22) * 1 lines
..Passing the message on to John... You and I never did have our discussion of Machiavelli, did we?! (making notes as I type...)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 25 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Fri, Feb 18, 2000 (17:26) * 1 lines
Coming up, I guess.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 26 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 18, 2000 (17:55) * 1 lines
...*sigh*...when I get over the megalithic discussion, in Geomagnetism, and ley lines. Are there any such things in your neck of the woods? Surely, there must be! BTW, archaeology is doing well in Geo, as well =)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 27 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Sat, Feb 19, 2000 (17:20) * 1 lines
We got megaliths, but not as ensembles, more as singular rocks.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 28 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Feb 19, 2000 (18:33) * 1 lines
Standing stones. Yes! Plenty of them and highly significant to those who feel the vibes. Deep in the woods. Near streams. On ancient high trackways. Every one of them is special, indeed! They have recently found more of the avenue stones from Avebury henge monument... More in Geo *smile*
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 29 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Feb 19, 2000 (18:36) * 1 lines
Guess if we are gonna talk megaliths here we should mention Thomas Hardy and his evocative novels...
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 30 of 50: Autumn (autumn) * Mon, Feb 21, 2000 (13:01) * 1 lines
Jude the Obscure, for one....
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 31 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb 21, 2000 (13:11) * 2 lines
Tess of the d'Ubervilles for another...
Any of his Wessex novels, actually.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 32 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (20:35) * 26 lines
Without comment (Arrrrrrrrgh!) I post this item:
Harry Potter's wizardry banned from British school
LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Harry Potter, the fictional young wizard who
has captured children's imaginations all over the world, has been banished
from one English school because his magical powers go against the
teachings of the Bible.
The head teacher of St Mary's Island Church of England school in Chatham,
Kent says the tales of wizardly adventures do not conform with her school's
``church ethos.''
``The Bible is very clear and consistent in its teachings that wizards, devils
and demons exist and are very real, powerful and dangerous and God's
people are told to have nothing to do with them,'' Carol Rookwood told the
BBC on Wednesday.
``We are a Church of England aided primary school which means the church
ethos is very important to what we do,'' she said.
The Harry Potter adventure books, written by British author JK Rowling, have
already sold more than 18 million copies in the United States alone.
The fourth book in the series, in which Harry begins taking an interest in girls
and confronts death for the first time, is due out on July 8, but early orders
have already taken it to the top of Internet bookseller Amazon's Hot 100
bestsellers' list.
The British head teacher said she had the full support of parents of children at
her school. She added that the ban applied to other books, videos and
television programs that portray witches and wizards as harmless and fun
chracters.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 33 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Thu, Mar 30, 2000 (13:34) * 1 lines
Censorship ride, departing now for UK - next stop: Grimm's Fairy Tales!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 34 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 30, 2000 (14:20) * 1 lines
Really! I cannot believe it! Got get'um, Alexander. I'm right beside you on this!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 35 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 30, 2000 (14:21) * 1 lines
What didja expect after what they did to "Tom Sawyer"... Has anyone checked the Bible for PG passages? There are plenty of them in there!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 36 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Thu, Mar 30, 2000 (15:26) * 6 lines
But that's the way it's meant to be!
See, the idea is - if the US moral minority leaders around Falwell and their international minions manage to keep the monopoly on x-rated stuff and hard core violence, everybody goes back to church and creates revenue. Good for them.
That's the plot.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 37 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 30, 2000 (15:48) * 1 lines
Oh, not like the Vatican Library which keeps it all for their own perusal and no one else's? The museum is like that, too.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 38 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (16:19) * 5 lines
Oh no, go to some nice catholic places - full of gore and martyrs! That's the idea - give the folk what they want, and monopolize the supply side!
And THEN they have the gall to claim they were capitalists! Not competition there, they want.
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 39 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (16:21) * 1 lines
And the really crass gear in vatican - well, that's the stuff that's really to XXX for the public. Good thing somebody does their job!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 40 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (16:24) * 1 lines
Nothing like graphically painted plaster statues to make me glad I am an Episcopalian who was told we believe in a "Risen Christ." Keem'um scared and told them you have the only way to avoid this end - then keep'um in the dark about when enough is enough...Indeed! (Now, I have offended a large portion of the Spring and the lurking world!)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 41 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (16:28) * 3 lines
Are you sure they are not looking at it themselves? Where does the line get drawn between Art and Social commentary and the Legislation and enforcement of Morality-as-they-see-it?! (Is that tongue of yours planted firmly in your cheek, Alexander, Dear?!)
Um...where did they get all of this crass gear for their collection?
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 42 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (16:33) * 5 lines
From Falwell - shipping surplus over for safekeeping. It's a scientific fact.
A tongue? W H E R E ?
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 43 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (16:36) * 3 lines
Falwell put teletubbies in the Vatican Vaults? No...I gather you are serious about this. Where did HE get it? Can't imagine how much we have in video copies and books not to mention the Internet. I cannot even guess what he decided was too crass and offensive...!
When something is said "tongue in cheek" in America, it means it was meant in jest as in "pulling your leg" ...
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 44 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (16:41) * 5 lines
say.... ;=}
One leg actually IS much longer than the other!
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 45 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (17:46) * 1 lines
(...my momma taught me not to ask about things like this when an enticing statement is made like that one...but I am so curious I can hardly stand it...)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 46 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Tue, Apr 4, 2000 (07:04) * 1 lines
(It's from all those years as general dogsbody in the merchant navy, dear - the stowers were always drunk, and so the ship always tilted to starboard, which made all of us walk in a peculiar way. Worked great on sea, looked odd in the dance halls, though...)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 47 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Tue, Apr 4, 2000 (07:05) * 1 lines
(Gosh, some of the stories I really should write down, so I don't forget them!)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 48 of 50: Maggie (sociolingo) * Tue, Apr 4, 2000 (08:35) * 1 lines
(please do - but don't forget to let us see them!!!)
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 49 of 50: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 4, 2000 (12:15) * 1 lines
Oh Yes, Alexander! You are a most gifted story teller. Please share. I though only the cows in Switzerland and West Virginia had leg orientations like that. Hmmm... The things I learn here...*grin*
Topic 22 of 57 [books]: Literature Discussion
Response 50 of 50: Alexander (aschuth) * Thu, Apr 6, 2000 (17:24) * 1 lines
*grin, too*
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