Favorite Books and Authors

[russkayatatu]

nath - I like your books !! I remember reading "Moderato Cantabile" by Marguerite Duras in my French class and enjoying it...and Truman Capote, his stories and Breakfast at Tiffany's - the first time I read it I almost cried at the cat with no name and her when she drove away

Chekhov, Chekhov's short stories are wonderful; I have a 4-volume edition of all his works at home...I have a lot of Russian literature because books in Russia are much cheaper than they are in the United States, so I have incredibly luxurious editions of Lermontov, Mandel'shtam, Pasternak - the one I don't have is Tsvetaeva, I couldn't find a good collection, which made me sad because she's one of my favorite poets. I had a friend who liked her too and I would tease her sometimes by quoting poems to remark on something she was doing - making it ironic and funny; it became like a game, especially fun because she didn't even believe I had READ these poems, much less knew them by heart Hahahaaa, for example, one time I wanted to go out - and paaarty - and she didn't, she kept complaining that she was too tired; she'd gotten up early and she wasn't in the mood, so I sighed and started quoting: "Vam odevat'sya bylo len' / I bylo len' vstavat' iz kresla / A kazhdyi Vash grydushyi den' / Moim veselym byl by vesel" (You were too lazy to get dressed and to get up out of your chair, but every one of your future days through my cheerful one would be made cheerful). It was especially funny because this poem is from a cycle of Tsvetaeva's called "The Girlfriend," about a love affair she had with a lesbian poet who was several years older...so....my friend (who is also several years older ) was in total shock that I knew it - I took a few graduate seminars on Russian poetry so I'd covered almost all the famous 20th century poets' works - and applied it to her it didn't work though, after she finished laughing she said she was really, really too tired, sorry

Hemingway...the only thing I have read by Hemingway so far is a short story about a boy with a fever who thinks he's going to die - I don't remember the title any more; it is only 3 pages long but it's very memorable, at least for me.

Another thing I have in my bookshelf is a memoir by Francoise Gilot called Life With Picasso - she was his wife later in his life when he was already famous, and it's an interesting book, well-written too.

The Sherlock Holmes stories and novels are great; I also liked Agatha Christie at one point, and Jules Verne, especially Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days, and From the Earth to the Moon.

I forgot to mention: Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, I like her too - and Rudyard Kipling, esp the Just So Stories and "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi".

For comedy I can recommend:

Nice Work by David Lodge
3 Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome (this is old but it is classic )
"Private Lives" and "Blithe Spirit" by Noel Coward [plays]

Right now I am reading William Auden - he's a 20th century English poet - and Rebecca West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon along with Dar - The Gift - by Nabokov, but thanks for these...

[Madonna]

OK, so the best book ever is.... (drumroll...)

Memoirs of a Geisha -by Arthur Goldern

If you havent read this book READ IT! It is great. It's about a geisha...that's all I can say I don't wanna give anything away. I bought this book in 2000 and read it like 10 times. It is awesome.

-Madonna

[nath]

Originally posted by russkayatatu
[b]nath ...and Truman Capote, his stories and Breakfast at Tiffany's - the first time I read it I almost cried at the cat with no name and her when she drove away

Hemingway...the only thing I have read by Hemingway so far is a short story about a boy with a fever who thinks he's going to die - I don't remember the title any more; it is only 3 pages long but it's very memorable, at least for me.

Another thing I have in my bookshelf is a memoir by Francoise Gilot called Life With Picasso - she was his wife later in his life when he was already famous, and it's an interesting book, well-written too.

- and Rudyard Kipling, esp the Just So Stories and "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi".

Hehe...russkayatatu..."tastes' family[:b]".."links everywhere"..hehe...you know this scene with the cat..when i was a little girl , i didn't go to the cinema but i watched movies on the tv..and one sunday(10 years old)..,i saw a movie..the tittle in french was "Diamants sur canapй"("Diamonds on a sofa/sette?")with Audrey hepburn & George Peppard...and i CRIED and cried when she was under the rain searching and crying for her cat...5 years later, i went in New-York..and the thing i wanted to see in first was the "Tiffany"'s shop...because i remembered Audrey Hepburn looking through the window...
5 years later, i discovered that "Diamonds on sette" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's " were the same...and i loved Truman capote...and when i read biography about him...i discovered he loved all the people i loved: Tennesse Williams, Colette, Carson mac Cullers ....and always about these "heart/tastes families" after you discover that Tennesse Williams liked or worked with Maria Callas, Luchino Visconti, Anna Magnani... persons that i adore too...it was "magic" for me..

The Hemingway's book is "Les neiges du Kilimandjaro" "The Kilimandjaro's Snows"...in this book , there is a link with Paris too..in true , it's a little autobiographical..because at the same time, i think Hemingway was in separation with her 1rst wife with who he was very happy when they were poor & unknown , living in Paris.

In Paris, he was friend with Picasso too..beccause they had a same friend : Gertrud Stein...so you see, you too ...russkayatatu...you have "families" in the books you read..

"I also liked Agatha Christie at one point"...I read all her books..because when ,in your life, you don't want to think..these books slacken and make travel throughout the world... I dream to go to "Petra" because I discovered this place in his books ..
http://www.photo.fr/laterre/europafr...ordanie3b.html

"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi":..oh! What such great memory of my childwood!....and Kipling!....love so much..humm...in french "Tu seras un homme, mon fils" ("You will be a man, my son")..I posted this poem on the wall, beside my desk, where I work ..
http://www.feelingsurfer.net/garp/po...ipling.If.html
http://www.escale-japon.com/kipling.php

[madeldoe]

i've always found it amusing that Memoirs of a Geisha was written by a guy..lol

as for me:

fitzgerald - tender is the night [i adore this book, didnt turn out the way i expected, but thats the reason why it had such an profound impact ]
maya angelou - i know why the caged bird sings [whats not to like about this book?]
freud - [im still trying to decipher the book..but its interesting to say the least lol ]
bret easton ellis - the rules of attraction
helen fielding - brdiget jone's diary
salinger
louis sachar - sideways stories from wayeside school [Love, love this book hehe ]
eddings
dickens
hawthorne - [ive always loved the scarlet letter]

[nath]

Nataku, if you liked "Tender is the night", you might read "Save me this dance" an autobiographical novel from the Fitgerald's wife: Zelda Fitgerald...
"Tender is the night" was inspired by Zelda.

[LenochkaO]

Originally posted by nataku
i've always found it amusing that Memoirs of a Geisha was written by a guy..lol

Aye, well, it is fiction. He did do research by interviewing an actual geisha, but she said that he distorted what she told him and she ended up writing a book of her own (not sure whether it was translated into English).

For a pretty accurate book on geisha, I'd recommend Geisha by Liza Dalby. Interesting and informative. It was one of my major sources when I wrote my dissertation about the past, present and future of geisha.

[haku]

Originally posted by nataku
i've always found it amusing that Memoirs of a Geisha was written by a guy..

Not knowing a subject has never stopped a man from talking about it anyway!

[guesshoo]

what is a/who is giesha?

[luxxi]

Originally posted by guesshoo
what is a/who is giesha?

Japanese equivalent of courtesane, altough a bit different. Less emphasis on sex, more on entertaining men with dances and such.

[LenochkaO]

Originally posted by luxxi
Japanese equivalent of courtesane, altough a bit different. Less emphasis on sex, more on entertaining men with dances and such.

Actually, there were courtesans as well in Japan. Geisha originally started off as entertainers who would go to the brothels to entertain (with music and dance) men visiting the courtesans (who would also watch the entertainment). In fact, the original geisha were men. In time, geisha entertainment became popular in its own right because they were cultured and amusing, and had a certain novelty value. There are very few geisha now in JApan and if you go to Kyoto and see a woman who looks like the stereotypical image of a geisha, the chances are she's a tourist who's paid $100 or more to get dressed up like a maiko (apprentice geisha) for a couple of hours.

[ypsidan04]

Here's some books that I would recommend. There's different reasons for each, but they are all good. I don't know if all of these are available worldwide or not.

Napalm and Silly Putty by George Carlin - Basically, his take on life: almost anything you can think of, he talks about it. Very funny and very topical (also contains generous use of cuss words).

Brain Droppings by George Carlin - Haven't read it, but if it's anything like the above, it will be worth a read.

I'm Back For More Cash by Tony Kornheiser - This is a great mix of humor and seriousness. It's a collection of his columns in the Washington Post over several years. He's now doing a TV show on ESPN, and no longer writes for the Post, and his last column is included in the book. He also talks about many things: His family, his friends, sports, politics, and a lot more. Some are hilarious, and some make you feel sad.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King - I couldn't put this book down. I actually got emotionally into the story, just like the first Tatu fanfic I ever read (http://www.taty.ro/willow/) It's pretty tame by his standards: nobody dies, but there is the threat of dying throughout the whole book. And what happens to her could happen to anybody - that's what makes it so interesting. I don't want to spoil the plot, but if you like suspense, then you should read this.

Black Boy by Richard Wright - It's an autobiography about his childhood - growing up in the Southern US in the mid-20th Century. He had to deal with racism, family problems, and had to live with not enough money and food to go around. A good look into how life was for many African-Americans in the South at that time. Again, funny at times, and sad at other times.

[madeldoe]

Originally posted by sunwalk
Nataku, if you liked "Tender is the night", you might read "Save me this dance" an autobiographical novel from the Fitgerald's wife: Zelda Fitgerald...
"Tender is the night" was inspired by Zelda.

oh? thank you for the recommendation ms.sunwalk. Soo would it be safe to assume that Fitzgerald had an affair of some sort? or did i totally misinterpret your usage of 'inspired'?

[spyretto]

Reading for me is like classical music...I used to read for pleasure but don't read any more, not even at home ( not to mention I find those people who read in trains, planes etc. a bit wierd; you know who I'm referring too. ) I hardly even watch movies anymore.
I tried to read Umberto Eco's Baudolino last week and gave it up instantly Yet, I was surprised to find out that I know many of those novels mentioned, as a matter of fact I thought that people would write about Jackie Collins or Harry Potter - or others I don't even dare to think about - yet most of you mentioned books from classic literature...you have very good taste, my friends.

The Master and Margarita is of course a favourite of mine. Slaughterhouse 5 too. Both are very entertaining, the former in particular with its morbid humour and finally a character I can relate to: the devil himself
or I could be Tralfamadorian, for a change...
Death In Venice is a masterpiece too, its diction is incredible ( I read an English translation, imagine how it'd be in its native German? ) I'm surprised you mentioned that and not Magic Mountain which I haven't read, perhaps because the former is substantially shorter? You can enjoy a book like that, Lolita the same, for the beauty of the language, not only for its titilation.
One I enjoyed immensively was Foucault's Pendulum, a lot more than the Name of the Rose, strangely enough. I don't know why, maybe that apocalyptic atmosphere of Templar Knights and conspiracy theories is more entertaining to me than a detective monk
About the holocaust I've read something by Duras but can't remember the title, it was a collection of 3 stories; the more interesting one was about a person subjected to the horrors of Auschwitz who is brought back to his family and is barely a human being, more like a living dead. With the same subject deals The Periodic Table by Primo Levi, which is highly recommended.
Neuromancer is a book I've read quite a few times, and although the effect wanes after a couple of reads, the claustrophibic atmosphere it creates is incomparable. Also highly recommended.
Two more books I recommend are from the American writer E. Annie Proulx. One is The Shipping News which was made into a film recently - the film was alright but it doesn't even come close to the book, naturally - about a hapless man who finds love in the more adverse of circumstances - I've wrote a piece on that book. The other one is called Postcards and it's a very bleak and unsentimental story about another man who lives his life on the run. The most preposterous character is the "hero" of the book the Pigeon by Patrick Susking. I couldn't imagine there are individuals like that one but who knows...
Hmm, I've actually read more books than I thought. Notes from the Underground by Dostoyeski features yet another of those antisocial characters. From other classics, I particularly enjoyed reading Shakespeare, Balzac, and hmm...no, definitely not Dickens. Thomas Hardy and Henry James are a bit of alright though; Cervantes too
For me the best G.G. Marquez novel has to be One Hundred Years Of Solitude but I've also read Evil Hour and Love and Other Demons which is good but not a masterpiece ( in my humble opinion ) I presume everybody here have read Kiss of the Spider Woman and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit ??
Of those futuristic novels, I mentioned Slaughterhouse 5 but there's also Huxley's Brave New World which is absolutely wonderful. 1984 and Lanark are also quite interesting, though not in the same league.
The Scot James Kelman can be quite blunt at times but I enjoyed reading How Late It Was, How Late, which also won the Booker prize? am I right?
oh and, people may love Toni Morrison but I find her narrative technique quite wandering and frustrating. I cannot but marvel at a masterpiece like Beloved though.
There must be some more that I've enjoyed in the past they're in the tip of my tongue. Though I doubt you'd like to read any more on the subject any time soon...

oh, I forgot to mention Greek writers: Nikos Kazantzakis and then, it's chaos and void. Greeks are a lot better as poets than prose writers.

oops, and Frantz Kafka..how could I forget him??? and Manuel Achebe's Things Fall Apart

[nath]

Originally posted by nataku
Soo would it be safe to assume that Fitzgerald had an affair of some sort? or did i totally misinterpret your usage of 'inspired'? [/b]

Yes Nataku....Fitgerald and Zelda lived in Paris and in the south of the France at the beginning of the years 20...In 1924, Zelda had a love affair with a French aviator in Saint-Raphaлl (south of France on the seaside) and she suffered from serious psychological disorders... if I remember well, she died in the fire of the convalescent home where she was because she trully had become insane. Fitzgerald took as a starting point all that and by their own life in France to create the character of Nicole Diver.

[Uhaku]

With a bachelor degree, I still feel uneducated and inexperienced. I'm impatient. So all those books I bought, I rarely finished them. These are the fortunate fews:

Greta Garbo: a life apart by Karen Swenson.
The Beach by Alex Garland.

Lord of the rings - only the last chapter. So it doesn't really count. -_-'

[madeldoe]

Originally posted by sunwalk
Yes Nataku....Fitgerald and Zelda lived in Paris and in the south of the France at the beginning of the years 20...In 1924, Zelda had a love affair with a French aviator in Saint-Raphaлl (south of France on the seaside) and she suffered from serious psychological disorders... if I remember well, she died in the fire of the convalescent home where she was because she trully had become insane. Fitzgerald took as a starting point all that and by their own life in France to create the character of Nicole Diver.

ohh wow, im definately giving that autobiography a read. Was the incident between Dick and Rosemary purely fictional? or was there some amount of truth in that account too. all this talk, has inspired me to read 'tender' again

[russkayatatu]

Aa, geia sou Spyro ! Pou isoun; Haven't seen you for a while

Hmmm, unfortunately I haven't read a lot of the books you mentioned (20 to be exact; I just counted) - although I liked Huxley's Point Counter Point - and I thought Beloved was something like a masterpiece too; I read it last spring when I was stuck in a hospital waiting room (along with a biography of Madonna; I read all kinds of books ) and it was very good

You want to read about the devil himself? You should read The Brothers Karamazov, also by Dostoevsky, especially if you liked Notes from Underground. My other favorite book by Dostoevsky is The Idiot... when she is going to let the money burn.. it is something incredible

Ahh, when you mentioned Balzac it reminded me of Flaubert, I can't believe I've forgotten him until now: L'education sentimentale...The Sentimental Education... sunwalk, there are so many good novels in French, and poetry too, tu sais - I remember reading Du Bellay and Ronsard, then later Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and a volume I don't remember the author of but it was called Delie (also really old, from the Renaissance); I can still remember a few by heart

In German I don't know the poets very well; I only know Rilke, a little....ehhh, and nath this is where the "familes of taste" come in: the letters between Tsvetaeva and Pasternak and Rilke are one of my favorite things to read. Tsvetaeva's prose is as good as her poetry sometimes, and their letters are something special. It's true what you say, too; although for some reason I go outside of my "families" all the time, so it seems strange for a lot of people when I recommend, for example, Transparent Things by Nabokov, which has almost nothing in common with anything but some of Nabokov's other works, but for a time it was fascinating for me to trace what it said and how it related to what he'd written before...so no one could understand why I wanted to talk about this book ....but in general I think you're right, I have "families" too: for example, Tennessee Williams admired D.H. Lawrence . And Gertrude Stein...I read a little of what she'd written and thought some of it was all right, some much more and some I couldn't see at all...you need a lot of patience to read her books, I think.

I am so glad you know "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" - and Agatha Christie - I read mostly the stories about Poirot and Tommy and Tuppence, but she is amazing of that reason; it's the best kind of "light reading"...hmmm... when I was little I read Pinocchio and scenes like the bringing in the coffin when he doesn't want to take his medicine scared me to death...and the tree...but I liked these stories, other fairy tales too.

Another author: I don't like Oscar Wilde's plays very much but I like The Picture of Dorian Gray and De Profundis, which I don't think is "overwritten," like Harold Bloom said - but - oh well

spyretto, I've been meaning to start Nikos K.'s Zorba the Greek When I have a little more free time I will. Also I haven't read Foucault's Pendulum but it's another one I've been meaning to.. and Shakespeare, I love Shakespeare, but especially watching the plays or listening to them on cassettes; I don't like reading them so much.

Edit: just remembered one of my favorite books: Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh.

ps/ spryo I'm impressed that you like to read Shakespeare in English - most non-native speakers I know think it's too hard (even when they know English really, really well), and if they're Russian they usually prefer to read Pasternak's translations. Which are good, I agree, but I'm biased towards the original nevertheless

[thegurgi]

Originally posted by spyretto
Of those futuristic novels, I mentioned Slaughterhouse 5

Umm, you can't really call Slaughterhouse Five a furturistic novel. As it does rather accurately discribe the historical events of World War II. Forget Not, that Vonnegut was using his own experiences in the War and in Dresden for those parts. The book is written on no specific timeline, and is event driven. Besides, one theme of the book is that time is not important, since he jumps from event to event as if living them while viewing them at the same time. Not able to prevent himself from doing anything he wished not. It's a very fatalistic theme. But just because Vonnegut projects himself into the future, it never goes out of the near future. Like, i don't think his time line goes higher than 2010 or something, and that's not too far off. On the other hand, 1984 IS a futuristic novel, because it is so based in the altered future from the author's perspective. Slaughterhouse 5 isn't because Vonnegut doesn'r really describe anything of the future, and his life in the future other than how he dies. and he doesn't die by being shot with like a laser rifle, but with a gun we use today. So... I've stated my arguement... you can disagree. But, i've read too much Vonnegut to not know how he works.

And i'm telling you all, READ VONNEGUT, it's an experience.

[luxxi]

Originally posted by thegurgi
On the other hand, 1984 IS a futuristic novel, because it is so based in the altered future from the author's perspective.

Not necessary. Some critics claim Orwell is writing about 1948's UK, which was dark & unpleasant place and he got much inspiration from that.

[thegurgi]

Originally posted by luxxi
Not necessary. Some critics claim Orwell is writing about 1948's UK, which was dark & unpleasant place and he got much inspiration from that.

but he is still projecting into the future. I think he even says so in the book... but because he uses a contempory thing for reference doesn't take away it's futuristicness. Like, taking it backwards, how The Crucible,while historically based, had inspiration from the MacCarthy Trials where MacCarthy was hunting down communists. ... i'm ashamed that i can't remember who wrote The Crucible... i'm sure someone knows [it's on the tip of my tongue]. But if Orwell was project a contemporary issue into the future, it still makes the novel itself futuristic with having :: ahem :: contemporary issues. Social Commentary... gotta love it.