Critics! Come on down!

Former Member · May 2001

What books do you guys read?
What authors do youse recommend? and why?
What is the best book you have read?

Replies much appreciated.Cheers.

Former Member · May 2001

I dont read often but when i do i like 2 read a murder story. or dectective.

I havent got a fave story dont know y.

Former Member · May 2001

I don't read much, but I'd have to recommend Junk by Melvin Burgess. It's about a young couple who run away from home in the 80s and get involved in heroine, it's really cool and the characters and story are very realistic.
I read it back in school, where the teachers and some parents didn't like us reading it because they thought it was corruptive or something stupid, but personally, I think it's the best book I ever read and I'd recommend it to anyone <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">.

Former Member · May 2001

I think Irvine Welsh (is that right?) has to be the best author. Ive read tons of book and couldnt say what ones I like best but dont get the chance to stick my nose in many books anymore <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/frown.gif">

Former Member · May 2001

Originally posted by lolly:
I think Irvine Welsh (is that right?) has to be the best author. Ive read tons of book and couldnt say what ones I like best but dont get the chance to stick my nose in many books anymore <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/frown.gif">

My boyfriend is so into Irvine.At the mo I am reading Glue. I met him a week ago publicising his book.I have also read Filth.
Good books.They have character.
Who else do you like?

Former Member · May 2001

Come on people. More books please!!!!

Former Member · May 2001

I only read comics, my 2 favourite are:

The Scum
The Snooze of the World

I've disguised their names to protect my innocence !! <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/biggrin.gif">

Bored? Then why not visit www.alza.co.uk :+)

Former Member · May 2001

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Girl Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen
The Catcher on the Rye - JD Salinger
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
White Oleander - Janet Fitch
The Perks of being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
The NARNIA books!! CS Lewis

Got no more time now.. But.. Oh. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis was rather.... interesting? (However disturbing also)

Have you ever confused a dream with life?

Former Member · May 2001

if you havent read 'captain corellis mandolin' by louis de bernieres, then you really should. they massacred it with the hollywood film (as usual with a good book) but it really is great.

one that everyone SHOULD read for 'education' is '1984' by george orwell. disturbing, always relevant, and v thought provoking. should be compulsory.

but, the best book of all time is 'lord of the rings' by jrr tolkein. absolute masterpiece. never been matched. i dont ususally go in for all that 'fantasy adventure' biznis usually, but it is incredible.

also worth a look;

brave new world (aldous huxley)
das boot/the boat - lothar gunther buchheim
the rainmaker (john grisham)
the hunt for red october (tom clancy)
the iliad (homer - more of a poem than a book, but still good)

final thought: read somewhere that william gladstone, 19th c. british P.M. read around 20,000 books in his life. works out at around 4 a week from age 4! how do they work out stuff like that...?

Former Member · May 2001

'1984' I liked, but I'm finding 'Brave New World' kind of weird, like that bit where it has three events going on at once, and there's a sentence of the first, then the second, then the third, then back to the first again.

I love Ben Elton's style of writing, I think he's a little too bloodthirsty sometimes, especially in "Blast From The Past" where it's just an ordinary story until the last couple of chapters where there are three murders. But he is a brilliant writer.

If you've never read it I'd recommend "Le Petit Prince" ("The Little Prince") by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It's a children's book but it's got loads of images and metaphors built into the story. Maybe I just liked it because I like analysing what I read.

Former Member · May 2001

wildchild - i agree with your comment about ben elton bein bloodthirsty! have u ever read 'gridlock' (another one of his bitingly funny but a bit o.t.t. novels)? in that, a disabled guy gets blown in half with no prior warning. thinkin about it, thats probably why thr bloodshed seems a bit extreme - theres never any 'pre-terror tension' or warning like in a stephen king horror or similar (not really in to those) - it just happens!

Girl-From-Mars · June 2001

i love stephen king books! but not the ones that are really gory. i just like the way he writes and builds up suspense and develops the characters.

im reading bridget jones - the edge of reason at the mo, i think im enjoying it better than the first, although i cant reeeeally remember it. some of it has been predictable though, like the giving of the note/poem by mark darcy and all... could see taht coming. and im sorry but i knew jed was gonna be evil!

I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
~ the late, great Douglas Adams

Former Member · June 2001

don't get me started atm i'm reading red dragon by Thomas Harris he also wrote Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal I also love Stephen King books Needful thing is one of my all time favs even tho after reading it i had to sleep with the light on for a while

I know I'm not perfect but I can smile

Former Member · June 2001

ackkkkk. people still read this day in age? <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif">

if it ain't on some video display, i don't think i have the patience to read it. <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif">

only calvin and hobbes books do i still read. <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">

Former Member · June 2001

Hmmmm Robert Rankin's a funny author so n e thin by him, especially: "The Brentford Chainstore Massicre" or "Nostradamous Ate My Hamster" and "Brother in the Land" is a good book but i dunno who it's by

Who's name does God use in vain?

Former Member · June 2001

Originally posted by Calvin:
only calvin and hobbes books do i still read.

Oh don't you start using Turtle's type of grammar too! Unless you've got a halfway plausible excuse like him.....

Former Member · June 2001

"No Logo" by Naomi Klein is and excellent read. Deep and political maybe, but an eye opener.

Terry Pratchett for humour and inspired social comment.

Carl Hiaasen for humour too, very dry though.

Any of the classics like Brighton Rock, Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Animal Farm, 1984 etc. are worth reading too. The don't become classics because the are crap...

Former Member · June 2001

Originally posted by Man Of Kent:

Carl Hiaasen for humour too, very dry though.

okay.. dirty little secret.. i did just finish reading "sick puppy" good book. <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif">

[This message has been edited by Calvin (edited 03-06-2001).]

Former Member · June 2001

Originally posted by wildchild:
Oh don't you start using Turtle's type of grammar too! Unless you've got a halfway plausible excuse like him.....

oh dear lord.

i'm spending waaaaaaaaay too much time at thesite if someone is thinking i'm starting to sound like that guy

*runs away screaming* nooooooooooooooooo

<IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif">

Former Member · June 2001

Any Terry Pratchett discworldness is amazing <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
the phil pullman His Dark Materials trilogy is cool
voltaire's candide is ok when im in a stupid mood
junk by melvin burges was quite good <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
calvin, you had that book in march and you only just finished it?
Nick Hornby books are cool..
The Crow Road by Iain Banks is amazing, though im not overly fond of the other stuff i've read of his.
there's this book called The Oaken Throne by Robert Jarvis(maybe.. i think?) that's reeeeeaaaaaallly cool. i dont got it though, it belongs to me friend Liz <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/frown.gif">
ive erm.. read all charles dickens except the essays etc
calvin and hobbes are just the best <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
dr seuss books are awesome <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
the Lord of the rings, and the hobbit obviously.
elmo-food is fookin amazing for sentimental reasons <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
and any other books i love make me cry loads, or erm.. ive forgotten their names, so im not listing them <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif">

Former Member · June 2001

Originally posted by SusieLovesCalvin:

calvin, you had that book in march and you only just finished it?

shoosh you.

Former Member · June 2001

you think THATs bad - i lent a mate of mine a terry pratchett book back in about summer '97. he still hasnt given it back to me, or read it, coz last time i was over his place i saw it stuffed down the back of the tv after the dog chewed half of it! dont mind, coz i already read it. dont think he even knows its there. nearly four years though.....! my point is, calvin should take as loooooong as he likes to read. juts not that long <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">

Former Member · June 2001

My fave books keep changing <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/rolleyes.gif"> but here's the current list:

Enigma by Robert Harris
The Sunne In Splendour by Sharon Penman
Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Pride and Prejudice by Jane someone ( <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/eek.gif"> should know that!)
My Sister Victoria by Charlotte Moore
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsythe
The Other Side of the Dale by whatsisname (!)

I love reading . . . <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/biggrin.gif">

This is the first day of the rest of your life.

Former Member · June 2001

oh yeah and almost anything by Terry Pratchett and John Grisham because they're just addictive <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"> and Harry Potter books for some reason!

This is the first day of the rest of your life.

Former Member · June 2001

The Stranger by Albert Camus has got to be my favorite book ever. If you haven't read it yet, READ IT!
Sarah by JT LeRoy is really weird and disturbing in a good way.
I'm reading The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky (same guy who wrote Crime & Punishment) which looks really promising...

I read a lot, but my mind has gone blank for some reason... sorry.

[This message has been edited by amadee (edited 05-06-2001).]

Former Member · June 2001

Originally posted by dazed_dan:
my point is, calvin should take as loooooong as he likes to read. juts not that long <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">

thank you dan <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">

Critics! Come on down!

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