Literature!, Books, Poems?

What kind of books do you guys like reading? What genres and authors do you like? What are your favorite books? Recommend great books here!

As for me..........I enjoy reading ALOT, and I like all kinds of books.
My favorite books are Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, The Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupery and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I also have a strange obsession with the Sherlock Holmes series and have read the entire first volume, and want to read the second one. I love short stories even more than novels! My favorite short stories are by Rudyard Kipling, Oscar Wilde, and O. Henry. Poems also are amazing: Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, and Rainer Maria Rilke are my favorite poets.

This post has been edited by ThirdEarth on Jul 29, 2008 - 09:00 PM

Good topic...

I used to LOVE reading. Back when I was in Yr 8, I'd read all the time, to the point where I had to hide it from my mum (because she used to tell me off for not doing school work). When she found out I was secretly reading, she took all my books off me and I started crying! Lol, now I don't really read anymore, it's all movies and dramas for me :)

BUT I love any kind of book. Though I think I lean towards books dealing with personal problems/stories rather than stuff like Gossip Girl or Devil Wears Prada. I really liked The Child Called It (made me cry rivers), First They Killed My Father, Where the Heart Is, A Hundred Secret Senses (by Amy Tan). Amy Tan is GOOD.

I also love adventure/fantasy - Deltora Quest, Tomorrow series (by John Marsden, love it!), Harry Potter (my fav books ever), of course. There was also a period in yr 8/9 where I couldn't stop reading Buffy books.

The first time I got into reading was when I was in grade 6. I read a few Goosebumps books and got hooked.. read the whole series and my crap English suddenly became really good!

I don't think I've read any of the books you've mentioned, but I'm willing to check out anything that's good. ^^

I'm the same way in a sense -- I used to read much more than I do now. I'm a computer-kind of girl, but reading is so amazing in its own right. I used to be adamant about books being better than movies. While I respect the work and artistry behind movie making now, back then (and especially since there was a large chunk of my childhood where we didn't have a television) I always felt that books were more.........magical than movies. They certainly leave more room for imagination and private thoughts, and that was something that I always appreciated to its full extent. But I enjoy movies equally, now.

The books you listed are nice books. I'm not TOO much into Amy Tan, but I haven't read alot of her works, so I really have no right to judge. I DO remember a show on PBS that I think she was behind producing.......something with cats on it? Asian cats? Maybe I'm wrong, :lol: I also love Harry Potter! I love all 7 of the books, but don't you think #4 was the best by far? I felt that JK Rowling went down a "I'm obligated to churn out these books and make them thick, and fulfill my fan's wishes" road, after the first ones became a hit. That's kind of the feeling I had, so I was a bit dissapointed with the series near the end, though I'm not entirely opposed to happy endings. If you like Harry Potter, may I recommend the Chronicles of Narnia to you? If you haven't already read them, they are an easy read, and a delight! CS Lewis is also one of my favorite authors. The LOTR series are really good as well. Although I haven't gotten past The Two Towers, I believe that Tolkein is a genius in his own right. He gets a little bit too wordy at times, though.

Yes! Read the books that I have listed! Ender's Game is a science fiction novel, but it's possibly the best out there. The storyline is VERY intruiging - it's not a typical shoot-aliens novel, though there inevitably are aliens in it. It's a thought provoking book, nevertheless. The Little Prince is amazingly touching, and so beautifully simple. The Bell Jar is a little more on the depressing side, but is a wonderful autobiography of Sylvia Plath, and the kind of book that brings you into the mind of someone who has sunk into a deep depression. Be sure to check these books out if you have the time!

Long post, eh? :;^^ I get carried away when it comes to literature.

This post has been edited by ThirdEarth on Jul 29, 2008 - 09:28 PM

I'm making it short: Dune by the late Frank Herbert.

Altho it's a beautifully detailed story exploring the politics, sociology, religion, etc. of Mankind a hundred centuries later, it has pinpointing references to today's world, & I don't mean the 60s, but literally today - what a great prophet! B) (I also guess his prophecies could still be right 10,000 yrs. later, tho. lol)

This novel's immense influence on other famous Western SF novels/movies & even Japanese manga/anime is also notable.

I bought "Dune" last year to read when we went to the bookstore, along with "The Two Towers". Unfortunately, I never got a chance to read it. My mom did, but she didn't like it. Which probably means I will! I must get around to reading it.

I just finished "Emma" by Jane Austen. The language might be a bit old fashioned, and British, but the book was postively a "chick" book through and through. It's like the OOOOLDen times "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", lol. I'm also required to read "Invisible Man" for school by Ralph Ellison <--I think that was his name. Not the one by HG Wells. It's turning out to be an interesting read, if a little bit too....heavy and slow paced.

I LOVE reading, always have and always will. Glad I haven't stopped yet. It's summer and I finished reading 8 books. Haha (nerd). But, I'm gonna be honest and say what I read isn't really LITERATURE, more like stupid teenage books. Well, most of them anyway.

An, I TOTALLY AGREE! The Child Called It was great and very sad. It made me cry too.

Has anyone read The Giver?

Unfortunately, no :/


Can anyone help recommend a good book for me to do as an independent reading tp help me prepare for my AP English 4 test? In other words, possibly a classic, but nothing teenage-reading ish.

I haven't studied English literature, but how "thick" is the book you expect?

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Crime and Punishment? Not that I know anything about test you're taking, but those suit this description.

Thanks for your advice! I think I'll probably go with Crime and Punishment and Hamlet. Apparently Hamlet can answer ever single AP question they come up with :rolleyes:

Okay, I finished Hamlet. We read it in class, and I liked it, but mostly enjoyed it because of all the spoofs they have on it. I'm currently reading Macbeth, and it's really good.

One of my new favorite books is The Kite Runner. Such a good book.

And for those of you who are into nonfiction, I highly recommend "Beautiful Boy".

It's not exaggerating to say that Shakespearean works are a foundation of Western literature, plays, etc., & their influences are still felt today in movies, novels, etc.

And The Kite Runner - is it having a (controversial) tie-in movie of the same name?

Yeah, I heard about that, and I honestly hope that it doesn't come out. I hate it when movies ruin good books, and the Kite Runner is the type of book that has to be read. That might be close-minded of me........but.....................

I like that book too much. The depth that's required for its storyline won't work in a movie, especially in modern American culture where people have preconceptions and often discrimination against middle-eastern culture.

Mideastern civilizations & cultures are wonderful & cool!! B) (I've been in several countries in that region, including Israel - which has a different religion & culture, tho, of course. lol)

The peoples there are also beautiful. :)

I completely agree! The cultural roots that they have are amazing to me, as well. I also happen to think the mosques in the Middle East are architectural masterpieces/marvels.

Any other good middle-eastern themed novels that I should consider looking at? I seriously enjoyed Kite Runner so much. I'm definately reading A Thousand Splendid Suns as soon as I get my hands on it.