Crappy Book Review...feel free to express

[Barbie]

I don't know what the fuck I was thinking when I picked up The Stone Diaries for the second time.

If you've not tried to entertain yourself with this book, please spare your time and DON'T.

Written by Carol Sheild, and winner of the Booker Prize and up for the Governor General's award for something or other.

"The Stone Diaries is the story of one womans' life; a truely sensuous novel that reflects and illuminates the unsettled decards of our century. Born in 1905, Daisy Goodwill drifts through the chapers of childhood, marriage, widowhood, remarriage, motherhood and old age. Bewildered by her inability to understand her own role, Daisy attempts to find a way to tell her own story within a novel that is itself about the limitations of autobiography."

I knew going into this second attempt what I was up against. I knew that the book was long winded, heavy worded and double talked. I knew that it was a long read. I knew that it was boring.

Maybe I thought that I would find something that I had not found in the 1st read. Something between the lines that I found within The Chrysilids, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies and even the strangely written works of Beloved and A Lesson Before Dying. I didn't find "it", and I'm angered that I wasted my time. I would have started a new read.

Recommendations?

[Billyman]

Most anything from Stephen King and some from Dean Koontz.

That's the kind of things that get my rocks off.

[SatansLeftHand]

add to that anything by robert heinlein, or most of larry niven's work, the great majority of david drake's stuff, jerry pournelle, c.j. cherryh, ursula k leguin. etc. ad nauseum.

read some damn SF, woman!

[Cruise Director]

The fact that they used the term "sensuous novel" to describe it should have been clue number 1 that it was going to suck.

[Mae]

Siddartha was a good read. Herman Hesse is great at leaving you to draw your own conclusions. I like Mark Mathabane, He wrote "Kaffir Boy". Very hard to read, because it is so arabesque/grotesque but I feel better for it. I like but have not read all of "In the time of the butterflies" by Julia Alvarez.
Anything by Lawson Inada, "Ledgends from Camp" and "Only what we could carry".
George Venn, I've read his work but I feel gluttoness (sp?) Afterward, he has such a tangibly rich description for anything and everything. I like reading strange things.

[Asmodeus]

Classics:

Sir Auther Conan Doyle(Sherlock Holmes), James Joyce, Euripides, Umberto Eco- Faucault's Pendulum, In the Name of the Rose and others,

Horror:

Swan Song by Robert(?)Machammon- great book!, The Stand and the Dark Tower series by King, Books of Blood, Imagica, Cabal, and the Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker, most anything by H.P. Lovecraft,

Science Fiction:

Anything by Heinlein and Asimov, The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons, Dune by Frank Herbert(don't read after the second or third they get TOO out there),

Fantasy:

Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, anything by David Eddings(Belgariad, Mallorian, Elenium, and other series), the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, Druss(?) I think is the name, can't remember the author, Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, The Deathgate Cycle by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman or anything by them for that matter,

Comedy:

Douglass Adams(Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), Robert Anton Wilson(not sure what catagory to put him in actually)- Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy and the Illuminatus Trilogy- the rock!,

That's enough to get you started. :D Have fun.

[Barbie]

Originally posted by Mae
Siddartha was a good read.

Is that about Siddartha Gautama? I'd love to read that, if that's the case. :)

[Barbie]

I'm getting the impression that alot of you ppl enjoy reading Stephen King...

My favorite story: RAGE and THE LONG WALK written as Bachman.

[SimpleSimon]

Originally posted by Barbie
I'm getting the impression that alot of you ppl enjoy reading Stephen King...

My favorite story: RAGE and THE LONG WALK written as Bachman.

Where to begin?

It is really a matter of the genre(s) you enjoy reading. There are a multitude of fine authors out there.

Herman Hesse is one of the finest, having deservedly received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. Virtually all of his major works are spiritual journeys, exquisitely crafted. Yes, "Siddhartha" is about the Buddha. I think his finest work is "Der Steppenwolf", although certainly "Narcissus and Goldmund" is fine as well. The overwhelming focus of his work was the spiritual journey of man.

In the genre of science fiction there are many fine works, and many authors whose work is reliably good: Isaac Asimov; Arthur C. Clarke; Poul Anderson (perhaps the finest novelization of the nature of history and the commonality of man that I know of is his); Ray Bradbury; Stephen Barnes; etcetera ad infinitum. Too many to list. The author whose works have most profoundly affected me from this genre is Robert A. Heinlien, although his works are extremely political.

Horror/suspense I have never read that much of: certainly King/Bachman; Dean Koontz; Clive Barker; many others (notably MacMahann) are excellent. King wrote what I consider the finest short story crafted in the 20th century, "Breathing Method".

My tastes are catholic, and my reading addiction is profound: Since I began reading 44 years ago I would estimate I have read in excess of 15,000 books, from every genre extant. I devoured short stories for many years, and frequently sought out out of print stories by authors I encountered and enjoyed. For example, I have read every short story, every nonfiction article, every column - virtually every printed word by Louis L'Amour, Heinlien, Poul Anderson, Arthur Clarke, Dick Francis, and others.