Favorite Books and Authors

[spyretto]

1984? I thought Brave New World was better. More entertaining and less stressful, while making exactly the same statements.

100 Years Of Soltude is a brilliant one I think.

[KillaQueen]

i am ashamed to say i haven't read Huxley's book. also wanted to read "A Clockwork Orange" and oh so many more (*loves dystopias*), but i need time, time, time

[Lux]

i've yet to read 100 Years of Solitude. i can't wait. no time right now..but definitely will

[spyretto]

There's no shame in that, I haven't read so many that I'd like to read. But It was one of those books that gets you hooked straight away because it's so well read and yet "flows" so easily; Like Lolita for example. Only few books can have both of these qualities. Not to say that
Orwell's 1984 is not an excellent one in its own right .

i've yet to read 100 Years of Solitude. i can't wait. no time right now..but definitely will

100 Years Of Solitude is a heavier one but it's the best example of magical realism. It gives you feelings that you cannot describe in words.

[Lux]

that's another!!! a friend of mine told me to read it ages ago when it first came out ... still haven't there's too many

[madeldoe]

Originally Posted by spyretto

1984? I thought Brave New World was better. More entertaining and less stressful, while making exactly the same statements.

Never read 1984, but Brave New World is a really good one! When i was watching The Island (with Scarlett Johansen and Ewan Mcgregor) the whole time i was thinking that i had seen this premise before..not completely the same but had a lot of similarities.

i havent really read a book i didnt like so im not gonna name them all. but i did read Da Vinci Code in less than 6 hrs cuz i enjoyed it so much!

[Lux]

Offtop:
that movie was crap

i like Brave New World better than 1984 but i haven't read 1984 in ages.

[KillaQueen]

"1984" is a book that i personally consider great because it manages to portray very well the socialist regime in which i've spent a small part of my childhood. i was too little to experience it fully, but reading the book brought back some memories. i remembered what i was feeling back when i was 5-6 years old, when coming back from kindergarten and the first thing i would say to my parents would be: "do you love nicolae and elena ceausescu?" and they'd say "yes" and only AFTER that we'd ask "how are you?" or whatever. there were pictures of ceausescu on the first page of every book or magazine. you weren't allowed to go to church. i seriously tell you that, as a child, i was made to believe ceausescu was a sort of almighty being. and i seriously believed that. i didn't even know what the word 'God' meant as it was never used. you weren't allowed to express your opinion about the regime, you weren't allowed to complain even to your own family members because ANY ONE of them could have been members of the 'securitate' (a sort of socialist secret service). or they could have planted bugs in your home. as a normal citizen, you weren't allowed to go abroad. all the mail coming from other countries was sorted, read and you were supposed to give declarations and say who is the person who's sending you letters, why do you communicate with them etc etc etc. you weren't allowed to watch movies and shows from the west. you couldn't anyway. almos all that was aired were patriotic marches and shows featuring the visits of ceausescu to different factories. and i tell you, as a child, i was a perfect product of that socialist environment. in december of 1989, when the revolution broke out and ceausescu was on the run, i couldn't understand why my family was so happy. i even remember now: i was outside, playing. my nan called me to come upstairs. when i entered the appartment, she just ran to me and took me in her arms and said: "ceausescu ran away!" and i couldn't understand why she was happy. i mean didn't we love ceausescu? that's what i was thinking with my 6 year old mind. and even after his execution and the fall of socialism, i was personally sorry for not becoming a 'pioneer' anymore (that's what you were called in elementary school). anyway, many of these aspects were caught in that novel and i felt ashamed and guilty while reading it, because as a kid i honestly believed and loved that regime. the book almost made me feel like i was raped back then, like i was deprived of a normal education, and it reminded me once again to treasure the freedom we have now. so "1984" is not so much sci fi or dystopic to me as it is a reminder of a reality in which i lived. speaking of which, has anyone read "Fahrenheit 451"? now that is a slightly exacerbated example of the reality in which we live today.

[PowerPuff Grrl]

Dude, Killa, dude!
That is quite possibly the most introspective post ever made in this forum.

I just have to ask; did the Romanian Revolution start off when hecklers booed Ceausescu during his speech from his balcony?
(Wait this has to do with the topic!)
I read in a book* that Ceausescu actually stopped, went inside his palace then back out into his balcony and resumed his speech but the fact that he stopped in the first place made people realize that the God-like figure he created was a sham. Thus sparked the Revolution. The fact that it was televised made the Revolution so widespread in very little time.

Is all that true? Or is this all bullshit, don't be afraid to tell me so.
I don't know why but when I read that it rubbed me off as being fake, but that was because most of what the guy said about other things I didn't fully believe.

How exactly did Ceausescu get overthrown?

*Yeah, I am more into non-fiction books than fiction. If I remember correctly the last time I read a novel was probably back in high school when I was required to do so. I just get so much knowledge from non-fiction, fiction just makes me feel like I'm wasting my time.

I swear, once you read non-fiction, you'll never go back!

[KillaQueen]

Originally Posted by PowerPuff Grrl

Dude, Killa, dude!
That is quite possibly the most introspective post ever made in this forum.

I just have to ask; did the Romanian Revolution start off when hecklers booed Ceausescu during his speech from his balcony?
(Wait this has to do with the topic!)
I read in a book* that Ceausescu actually stopped, went inside his palace then back out into his balcony and resumed his speech but the fact that he stopped in the first place made people realize that the God-like figure he created was a sham. Thus sparked the Revolution. The fact that it was televised made the Revolution so widespread in very little time.

well, the initial revolution movement in Romania started in Timisoara a few days earlier. people in Bucharest started finding out and ceausescu organized a public gathering so he could address the people and condemn the events in Timisoara. but yes, the actual revolution in Bucharest started with the booing. but the actual live broadcast was stopped at some point, yet it had already allowed people watching tv to see something was happening down there, so people started getting out in the streets.

How exactly did Ceausescu get overthrown?

after the failed speech, he and his wife got in a helicopter and tried getting to their house in Snagov and then Targoviste (outside Bucharest). in the mean time, the minister of national security (dunno how to translate this.. lol.. the guy in charge of the army in socialist times) commited suicide (though people believed he was assasinated because he refused to carry out ceausescu's orders), and so another guy (in favour of the revolution) took over the army and ordered them to stop shooting at civilians and support the revolution. anyway, ceausescu abandoned his helicopter close to Targoviste as the army had closed in on him and his wife and got in a car. he was eventually arrested with the help of a road block. this was on the 22nd of dec, i think. and then on the 25th, he was 'trialed', but basically just sentenced to death. he and elena ceausescu were executed by a firing squad in Targoviste. damn, that footage made me sick. i've watched it like 2 or 3 times. but i remember the last time, it really made me sick.

you know, we haven't developed as much as ex-communist states and so.. and some people believe we are cursed because not only were we the only communist nation to execute their leader back then, but we also did it on Christmas Day. anyway, this is just an interesting 'fact'.

sorry if i didn't make much sense. i'm SUPER tired.

[nath]

Woooah!!! Thanks for this wonderful post KillaQueen!!!

Since I'm on this forum, I've read such posts attesting ""How Horrible, dictatorial, America and Americans and American Society and American Policy are...."....but I've never read until this fabulous post just one critical post (in negative or positive direction) about what was a REAL dictatorship .

Thank you for this "balance" which I thought definitively lost in this forum.
Just thank you. Cause your post just sounds the authenticity.....I've particularly appreciated the part , when AFTER the Liberation, people really dare to show a little what they fell, what they really think.....Before too much fear...


I've read "Fahrenheit 451" and I really loved it.
In the same idea, there is a book called "Nous autres" from Evgueni Ivanovitch Zamiatine...."We...others"(?difficult to translate this title for my poor head this morning).
It was written in 1920 and forbidden in URSS/USRR. It's an anticipation book too. I think you would like it, Cris.

I still have "100 Years Of Solitude" -Gabriel Garcia Marquez-on my shelves...
I tried to read it when I was around 20 years old but just stayed at the beginning. Think I wasn't attracted by the South American atmosphere at this time.

By the way , you have a similar thread here http://forum.tatysite.net/showthread.php?t=5570

Rachel, you're too funny...hihi....

[rosh]

i used to like ayn rand till i realised her books were more a tribute/testament to ayn rands ego and how in love with herself she was. and then i got super bored. "atlas shrugged" was super boring ! "the fountainhead" was good but "we the living" was the best of the lot.

i like anne rices earlier books but lately, shes just lost her edge man. now shes also heading into super boring territory. laurell k hamilton is nice for some unrealistic escapism

aldus huxley got robbed ! i saw soooo many similarities between "brave new world" and "1984" and all i have to say is george orwell totally ripped huxley off. i cant recall all the examples offhand but when i read "brave new world" after reading "1984" i thought geez orwell didnt even hide how much he stole from huxleys book.

[for the record, huxley wrote his book first]

i also enjoy reading history books and encyclopedias. tres interesting. have a complete set of the history of the world books at home my dad got me. they span from ancient egyptian times until just after world war two [quite old books, published in the 50s]

i have gleaned some interesting things from them. for example macbeth was actually not a bad guy. banquo was. haha at you shakespeare ! check your facts next time ! macbeth won scotland fair and square in battle and his wife wasnt a crazed power hungry psychopath either.

anyway ... books i like are gothic horrors, historical novels, thrillers. i like dan browns ideas but not his writing style.

[tainted_chick]

At the moment i am really into books by Therese Szymanski! Her Brett and Allie adventures are fucking hot!! Brett is the butch and Allie is the femme and Brett is always cheating on Allie but wow great books! I think there are about 6-7 books to read and Ive read them all so far.. im now awaiting to read her new one "When First We Practice"

[Lux]

Originally Posted by rosh

"atlas shrugged" was super boring ! .

how can you say that? oh my god. man, you are missing out

[spyretto]

Originally Posted by nath

Woooah!!! Thanks for this wonderful post KillaQueen!!!

Since I'm on this forum, I've read such posts attesting ""How Horrible, dictatorial, America and Americans and American Society and American Policy are...."....but I've never read until this fabulous post just one critical post (in negative or positive direction) about what was a REAL dictatorship .


Rachel, you're too funny...hihi....

I don't know who is saying these things in tatysite but it surely isn't me!

you know, we haven't developed as much as ex-communist states and so.. and some people believe we are cursed because not only were we the only communist nation to execute their leader back then, but we also did it on Christmas Day. anyway, this is just an interesting 'fact'.

The fact that they hanged their bodies in the square for the world to see was a little barbaric, I think. But I remember those times and only then it occured to me how evil Ceausescu was to his people. I was in Greece back then and the media wouldn't elaborate in his activities, after all he was the favourite world leader for the Greek prime minister's international releations
Yeah, I can see how 1984 can be relevant to such a regime.

[rosh]

Originally Posted by Lux

how can you say that? oh my god. man, you are missing out

haha the onlly thing im missing are the few hours it took to read the book. i want them back damnit !

she was a selfserving egomaniac. honestly. nevermind that though, her writing style sucked. her characters were all wooden and stifled.

and i completely disagree with her attacks on altruism. but hey thats just me ! =)

[Lux]

you read 1000 pages in a few hours? that's hard to believe. your opinion differs from much of the intellectual world. i find it hard to believe and i definitely disagree.

[rosh]

i speed read so yes, i read in a matter of hours.

disagreeing is fine i think ayn rand was a pompous egomaniac and im sure there are other people who feel as i do just cause many think she was a great philosophical thinker doesnt necessarily mean she was. and just cause i think she wrote to feed and show off her own ego doesnt mean anyone has to either.

ive stated why i have a terrible opinion of her and her books [except for we the living, i quite enjoyed that one]. out of interest, whats your reason for disagreeing ?

[KillaQueen]

Originally Posted by spyretto

The fact that they hanged their bodies in the square for the world to see was a little barbaric, I think.

spy, they didn't hang their bodies anywhere. they backed them against a wall and shot the crap out of them. and that didn't take place in a square or anyhing. it could be called a public execution if you consider the fact that it was filmed and later aired on national television, without censoring anything. but, you know, people were a little bit sadistic, yet i guess that was the only solution. and i say that trying to put myself in the shoes of the people who really knew what was going on and the hell in which they were living (including my parents). ceausescu actually hanged on to his status until the very end. he looked like a mad man while on that trial. he talked and acted as such. his wife as well. i tell you those people weren't right in the head. and it was pretty clear that he wasn't going to willingly quit his postion as he'd made an official visit to Russia one month before the revolution and Gorbachev asked him to quit, yet he refused. he wasn't open to any sort of reform. he refused to see eastern europe was changing once the berlin wall fell. sort of like hitler refused to believe he could be defeated? yeah, it was like that. and by the way he was acting, he didn't look like he was gonna shoot himself, so i figure that ad-hoc 'jury' who condemned him and elena did everyone a huge favour. i tell you, the majority of romanians didn't shed a tear for him, but took pleasure in seeing him meet his maker. i remember now how my mom encouraged me and my brother to take out all the books from the library and start ripping the first page (with his picture) to pieces or draw on it or whatever. and i remember walking down the street after the revolution and seeing ripped pictures with his face on the asphalt that other people had thrown there. it was such a view, i tell you. such a view.

[Lux]

Offtop:
i have to go, but will post later