I'm almost at the end of The Lost Estate (Le Grande Meaulnes) by Alan Fournier. It's a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the classics. Nostalgic, bittersweet and poignant.
Edit: I've finished it now and was thoroughly satisfied with the conclusion.
Realised that I get 5 free books through Amazon Prime and the Kindle app a bit like a digital library. I can return them and pick a new one. Thought for now I’d read some comics so started the original Spider-Man Lee/Ditko comics which are really quite fun. Also picked up Flashpoint, Batman Year One, World War Hulk and Hickman’s Avengers.
About to wrap up Dune and start Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but I'm also going to continue with Nick Spencer's Amazing Spider-Man run, as well as reading Batman Earth One, catching up with Marvel's Empyre event and Superman: For All Seasons
Read Spider-Man: Blue. Now I feel blue. Lord, that’s an emotional rollercoaster but utterly brilliant. One of the best limited series I’ve read and possibly my favourite take on Spider-Man. Strange to think it came from Jeph Loeb. Shame I can’t get the Daredevil or Hulk ones through this Prime thing but I’ll buy them soon enough if they’re anywhere close to that quality.
@TheFrenchiestFry I've literally just started Dune on my lunch today. Hoping to get a decent self-made visual of the world locked down in my head before tomorrow's trailer for the film wipes it all away!
@LieutenantFatman Sounds good, do you reckon you'll get around to reading either Nadja by Andre Breton or Le Grande Meaulnes by Fournier? Or have you read either of them already? Do you like the classics in general? Shelley, The Bronte Sisters etc. ? Perhaps, like myself, you enjoy sitting down beside the metaphorical fireplace with a fine glass of red in hand, to read.
@Draco_V_Ecliptic
I suppose it depends on how you define a book as being a literary classic. I've read Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, Dune, Lord of the Flies, The Hobbit, The Lord of The Rings and plenty of PG Wodehouse. I usually read more recent books but I like to mix it up a bit now and then. No wine for me!
@BowTiesAreCool
Dune is great, quite an epic novel at almost 600 pages long. There's a lot of books in the series. Many people suggest sticking with just the first book is a good way to go, so that's what I did. Should hopefully make for an awesome film.
@LieutenantFatman Teetotaller then? Just a cup of coffee by the metaphorical fireplace then?
No, but yeah, all the literary classics you mention are great, perhaps I should employ some PG Wodehouse for a hearty chuckle, myself.
@TheFrenchiestFry
The book has sold over 10 million copies. Yes, there were less in the first edition but different editions will have different numbers of pages. Maybe try losing the condescending attitude, there's really no need for it.
I just finished Nadja by Andre Breton, I didn't think it was particularly surreal, overall, despite my previous statement, though it did have surrealist themes, ideas & motifs - Nadja's dreams, in particular, fall under that category. It's good, but not really a surrealist novel, and it isn't as good as The Lost Estate by Alan Fournier - a much better novel.
"Man is the pie that bakes and eats himself, and the recipe is separation." - Alasdair Gray
I am currently re-reading The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Not as much fun once you know who the murderer(s) is/are but still a great book, and well worth revisiting. Has anyone else on here read it? @Ralizah ? @LieutenantFatman ? Or have you read any other Dostoesvky?
Nearly done with To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Paolini. Insanely good. Not a big fan of interstellar sci-fi, but this has definitely changed my mind. It is crazy because it came out three weeks ago and already has a movie deal.
@Draco_V_Ecliptic Replying here for tidiness. 😄 But to answer your question I’m not reading much at the moment. I’ve really been lax in my reading lately. I started a few books over the last year or two and never completed them. The most recent one was The Forever War, which was okay but obviously it didn’t grab my attention too much so I haven’t made it to the end. Honestly I tend to just surf the internet for bite-sized reading (usually on PushSquare 😄) when I have the time and then when I have more substantial free time I game or watch some TV. How is The Brothers Karamazov coming along?
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution I was enjoying The Brothers Karamazov the hieromonarchs and the Elder were just discoursing with the Karamazov family in the Elder's cell when I left them I have now moved on to A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain - as I have read 'The Brothers before, I also read the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Adventures of Tom Sawyer when I was younger. how is the bite-sized reading coming along? Have you read any of the Twain books?
"Man is the pie that bakes and eats himself, and the recipe is separation." - Alasdair Gray
@Draco_V_Ecliptic My reading has been fairly lacking recently. I’m having trouble finding the time. I use leisure time with video games, TV, movies, and PushSquare. I really should read more.
But yes, I have read some Twain. I definitely read Huckleberry Finn and I’m pretty sure I read excerpts of Tom Sawyer in school. I quite liked them although it’s been several years. There’s something captivating about Mark Twain’s no-nonsense approach to writing and his simple country-folk wisdom. His writing is definitely stuck in a bygone era and the cultural tone and language hasn’t aged well and is painful to read in the mindset of the 21st century. But allowing for the period it comes from, I can appreciate it for what it is. Are you enjoying A Tramp Abroad? It’s a lesser known book of his.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Mark Twain was indeed a product of the time he was living in ,it is true that his language might seem antiquated and out-of-touch with the modern era in which we live, but no, he wrote in a fabulous and charming, simple country-American language. I like A Tramp Abroad, it is, indeed ,a lesser known book by him - I believe I discovered it via the radio or on a website. Anyway, he is currently discussing the language of the birds, and blu-jays in particular, who are as eloquent as any learned gentleman, and can cuss and swear like a miner, when the mood takes them,
and the whole thing is just amusing and interesting to me, as so much of Twain's work is, he also just escaped a verbal scalding from some ravens, who, he believed, were, in their own language, questioning his right to be in their country, and the choice of his clothing! Great book, thus far.
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