Which Book Have You Read/Re-Read All Your Life? - Page 25

hidari · 08-26-2010, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stardustshadow

I have read 'The Lord of the Rings' approximately once a year since I was 12. It is like comfort food now...the familiar words help me sleep if I am sleepless, the phrases bring me to a comfortable place in my head.

I read Lord of the Rings several times in a row when I was a Teenager but when I tried to read it again in my mid-twenties it just did not do it for me..> I realize many love it ...but the more that I have read since then.... 20 more years and many books later.... the less I like it..Most of the Fantasy that I read....I can't read anymore...

ellimak · 08-26-2010, 10:04 PM

I re-read the same edition of Little Women every Christmas. My first best friend (she'd been my partner-in-crime since kindergarten) gave it to me when she moved away at the end of first grade. I doubt if I'll ever get sick of that book. I also read Jane Eyre on a yearly basis. Jane Eyre is probably my favorite literary heroine; she's just so gangsta.

Tattncat · 08-26-2010, 11:57 PM

I would have to say "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand with "The King's General" by Daphne du Maurier running a close second.

Williamlk · 08-27-2010, 01:12 AM

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, it never gets old for me.

Arthursbedtime · 09-17-2010, 09:37 AM

I always go back to 'Heaven and Hell' by Swedenborg.
About once a year I read it.
For a copy see
http://arthursclassicnovels.com/reli...venhell10.html

A man in the early 1700s, the formost scientist of his time, has visions of heaven and talks to angels.
Then he writes down what he understands.

megthered · 09-18-2010, 02:06 AM

The Honorable Schoolboy by LeCarre. I read it on a cross country flight many years ago and I find that I read it every summer at the same time. I get a craving for it and have to read it. I have it in audiobook, hardback, paperback and now ebook. I've read the rest of the stories in the Smiley trilogy, but that's the one I come back to.

MrPLD · 09-19-2010, 02:02 AM

Probably is a bit "young" now but I keep liking to read the Belgariad series along with the two books Polgara and The sorcerer... I should probably expand my horizons a bit more

http://elitadaniels.com - Tree of Life (Part I) They shall age like us; They shall die like us.

bthrowsnaill · 09-19-2010, 09:04 PM

I have reread Frank Herbert's Dune and the Lord of the Rings trilogy many times in my life. The last time I read Lord of the Rings, however, it wasn't quite as compelling. Unfortunately, I think the movies may have spoiled my minds eye appreciation of LOTR a bit. I found myself picturing scenes from the movie at times. (Maybe I need to never watch those movies again in an attempt to erase their afterimages from my subconscious)

DMcCunney · 09-19-2010, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bthrowsnaill

I have reread Frank Herbert's Dune and the Lord of the Rings trilogy many times in my life. The last time I read Lord of the Rings, however, it wasn't quite as compelling. Unfortunately, I think the movies may have spoiled my minds eye appreciation of LOTR a bit. I found myself picturing scenes from the movie at times. (Maybe I need to never watch those movies again in an attempt to erase their afterimages from my subconscious)

Interesting. I've reread LoTR one a year of so for many years. (Professor Tolkien was still alive when I first read it.) Seeing the films hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for a reread. For one thing, the pictures in my head aren't why I'm rereading. A lot of what I savor is non-visual. For another, one of the things I loved about the films was that I think he largely got the pictures right. (The Black Riders and the Balrog in Moria were particular cases in point.)
______
Dennis

martienne · 09-20-2010, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

* Kinderen van Moeder Aarde (1985), Het helse paradijs (1987) and Het Gulden Vlies van Thule (1989) - Children of Mother Earth, The hellish paradise and The golden Fleece of Thule, a series taking place 10 centuries in the future, after several nuclear devices in WWIII have tilted the axis of the earth, making Greenland (Thule) truly a green land.

Wow, I have read this book in Swedish and loved it as a kid.
There was another similar German book that was post apocalyptical by Gudrun Pausewang, called "Schewenborn" and another German one called "Froki" about the dangers of dependency on oil.

All of these really shaped my worldview and I read them several times, although not as an adult.

Books I have re-read a few times as a adult:

The Bible (surprise, surprise....)
The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
Donna Tartts' books
The Narnia books
Ondskan (Evil) by Jan Guillou
Several of the Russian classics, such as The Government inspector by Gogol
Catcher in the Rye

But I have to admit I read a lot less as an adult. My passing into adulthood co-incided with the emergence of Internet. It's a different culture now than in the 1980s

bthrowsnaill · 09-21-2010, 08:26 AM

Dennis, I also find it interesting that the movies haven't affected your enjoyment of LOTR. I agree that they got the images right in the sense that they were faithful to the novels and based on some of the best Tolkien inspired artwork. My mind's eye view of the imagery of Middle Earth had been so magical though - I don't even know how to describe it. I suppose it would be something like a heaven/nirvana/paradise visualization but for me it goes beyond just visual. Tolkien somehow allows me to experience a sense of the perfection and beauty of ME that I've never experienced in another fantasy novel. I think it has something to do with his linguistic expertise, his command of myth, etc., etc. I don't think that any (live action?) movie could really capture that - and I wouldn't want it to be able to do so because by definition a visual image is a distillation of someone else's vision that was inspired by Tolkien's words. I think this is one of the reasons that people thought that this book couldn't be filmed. For me, the movies were so visually memorable that my mind's eye seems to default to those images now rather than painting the glorious, multi-dimensional renderings that it used to. Of course, I haven't tried to read LOTR in about 5 years, so maybe it's time to see if the effects have worn off (and I MUST be sure not to get these movies on Bluray I guess...).
Bill

matthewcplourde · 09-22-2010, 08:08 AM

God Emperor of Dune, Frank Herbert

Yeah, I know it's a strange choice... I just love all the political theory he packed in there.

I do enjoy the first Dune as a re-read too.

darknessangel · 09-22-2010, 08:22 AM

I really like the first star wars novel I ever read "The Courtship of princess Leia" and I've reread it several times. Also other books "Shibumi" by Trevanian and "the count of montecristo" in the french original.

M T McGuire · 09-22-2010, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bthrowsnaill

I have reread Frank Herbert's Dune and the Lord of the Rings trilogy many times in my life. The last time I read Lord of the Rings, however, it wasn't quite as compelling. Unfortunately, I think the movies may have spoiled my minds eye appreciation of LOTR a bit. I found myself picturing scenes from the movie at times. (Maybe I need to never watch those movies again in an attempt to erase their afterimages from my subconscious)

Very interesting, I was talking to a fellow writer friend the other night who said she could never watch a movie before she'd read the book or it would ruin it for her. She said once she'd read it and had pictures of the characters in her mind's eye it was usually OK but that there were a few exceptions where, like you, she found herself imagining characters as they were in the film rather than her head and that she found it really annoying... so there you go, you're not alone.

I find it doesn't bother me too much but I suppose in most cases, the characters in the films have looked quite like my mental versions, a notable exception here is Dan Ackroyd in the Dan Brown ones. I think I was imagining a Harrison Ford type although, I have to hand it to him, he did a pretty good job.

Cheers

MTM

bthrowsnaill · 09-22-2010, 09:12 PM

MTM: nice to know I'm not the only one. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm going to try LOTR again after about a 5 year hiatus to see whether the movie imagery has faded.

Matthew: I always try to read through the entire Dune series, but God Emporer never struck me as being as great as many seem to regard it as being. I think I need to give it another try...

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08-26-2010, 10:04 PM	#362
ellimak I spit hot fire Posts: 91 Karma: 13464 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: USA Device: Nook, or as I call him, Sir Nookington	I re-read the same edition of Little Women every Christmas. My first best friend (she'd been my partner-in-crime since kindergarten) gave it to me when she moved away at the end of first grade. I doubt if I'll ever get sick of that book. I also read Jane Eyre on a yearly basis. Jane Eyre is probably my favorite literary heroine; she's just so gangsta.

08-26-2010, 11:57 PM	#363
Tattncat Bookworm Posts: 673 Karma: 1029391 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Device: Nook Tablet, Samsung Galaxy Tab3, Sony PRS700, Sony PRS505	I would have to say "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand with "The King's General" by Daphne du Maurier running a close second.

08-27-2010, 01:12 AM	#364
Williamlk Guru Posts: 624 Karma: 700001 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: New York Device: kindle	The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, it never gets old for me.

09-17-2010, 09:37 AM	#365
Arthursbedtime Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 166 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: kobo	I always go back to 'Heaven and Hell' by Swedenborg. About once a year I read it. For a copy see http://arthursclassicnovels.com/reli...venhell10.html A man in the early 1700s, the formost scientist of his time, has visions of heaven and talks to angels. Then he writes down what he understands.

09-18-2010, 02:06 AM	#366
megthered Connoisseur Posts: 55 Karma: 498132 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: ohio Device: Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Note 8.0, Nook HD	The Honorable Schoolboy by LeCarre. I read it on a cross country flight many years ago and I find that I read it every summer at the same time. I get a craving for it and have to read it. I have it in audiobook, hardback, paperback and now ebook. I've read the rest of the stories in the Smiley trilogy, but that's the one I come back to.

09-19-2010, 02:02 AM	#367
MrPLD Author's pet-geek Posts: 933 Karma: 1040670 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: North Queensland, Australia Device: Kindle 3 Wifi, Onyx Boox M96	Probably is a bit "young" now but I keep liking to read the Belgariad series along with the two books Polgara and The sorcerer... I should probably expand my horizons a bit more http://elitadaniels.com - Tree of Life (Part I) They shall age like us; They shall die like us.

09-19-2010, 09:04 PM	#368
bthrowsnaill Dreamer Posts: 112 Karma: 501282 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Device: kindle	I have reread Frank Herbert's Dune and the Lord of the Rings trilogy many times in my life. The last time I read Lord of the Rings, however, it wasn't quite as compelling. Unfortunately, I think the movies may have spoiled my minds eye appreciation of LOTR a bit. I found myself picturing scenes from the movie at times. (Maybe I need to never watch those movies again in an attempt to erase their afterimages from my subconscious)

09-21-2010, 08:26 AM	#371
bthrowsnaill Dreamer Posts: 112 Karma: 501282 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Device: kindle	Dennis, I also find it interesting that the movies haven't affected your enjoyment of LOTR. I agree that they got the images right in the sense that they were faithful to the novels and based on some of the best Tolkien inspired artwork. My mind's eye view of the imagery of Middle Earth had been so magical though - I don't even know how to describe it. I suppose it would be something like a heaven/nirvana/paradise visualization but for me it goes beyond just visual. Tolkien somehow allows me to experience a sense of the perfection and beauty of ME that I've never experienced in another fantasy novel. I think it has something to do with his linguistic expertise, his command of myth, etc., etc. I don't think that any (live action?) movie could really capture that - and I wouldn't want it to be able to do so because by definition a visual image is a distillation of someone else's vision that was inspired by Tolkien's words. I think this is one of the reasons that people thought that this book couldn't be filmed. For me, the movies were so visually memorable that my mind's eye seems to default to those images now rather than painting the glorious, multi-dimensional renderings that it used to. Of course, I haven't tried to read LOTR in about 5 years, so maybe it's time to see if the effects have worn off (and I MUST be sure not to get these movies on Bluray I guess...). Bill

09-22-2010, 08:08 AM	#372
matthewcplourde Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 500532 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: iPad	God Emperor of Dune, Frank Herbert Yeah, I know it's a strange choice... I just love all the political theory he packed in there. I do enjoy the first Dune as a re-read too.

09-22-2010, 08:22 AM	#373
darknessangel Addict Posts: 297 Karma: 1018140 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: PRS-505, iPad	I really like the first star wars novel I ever read "The Courtship of princess Leia" and I've reread it several times. Also other books "Shibumi" by Trevanian and "the count of montecristo" in the french original.

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09-22-2010, 09:12 PM	#375
bthrowsnaill Dreamer Posts: 112 Karma: 501282 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Device: kindle	MTM: nice to know I'm not the only one. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm going to try LOTR again after about a 5 year hiatus to see whether the movie imagery has faded. Matthew: I always try to read through the entire Dune series, but God Emporer never struck me as being as great as many seem to regard it as being. I think I need to give it another try...