That would include me. I covered them a couple of years ago as part of a module I was doing on High Medieval Literature (which is far from my favourite literary period). Out of interest, Diamond Duchess, are you actually reading them in their original Middle English form or just in their Modern English translations? I had to read them in the former, which isn't quite as bad as it sounds. The thing about Middle English is that it looks rather terrifying on the page, but if you read it out loud you'll find that phonetically it's very similar.

Sadly, I don't actually remember that much about the texts themselves, other than that the Wife of Bath was quite the character. Most of what I'd stored had to go to make way for deliberations upon William Langland's Piers Plowman, which I had to write a 3,000 word essay upon at the end of the module. Just be thankful you're not studying that happy little epic - infuriatingly mind-bending or mind-bendingly infuriating? My cerebral jury's still out on that one.

Who Framed Boris Karloff? by Dwight Kemper.

To answer your question, jekylljuice, I'm reading the tales in their Modern English translations. You're right: Middle English isn't too far from Modern English, but it looks weird and the vowels are used differently.

I wanted to mention the Middle English because my English teacher made note of it and read the introduction to our class in the original Middle English.

wow this thread is in a coma.

i just finished reading lord of the flies and i gotta say its a good read. i'd say that if you had a chance, you should read it.

I just finished the 2rd sequel to Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, which GM tells me is actually better than the first sequel (both sequels were written by the original author's daughters). If that's true, then OMG. Because the one I read was utter crap. Anyways once I finished that I started re-reading Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers which I haven't read in a long time.

I'm reading "Fall of the House of Usher" by Edger Allen Poe. It's not really my cup of tea, but I don't have much of a choice. ::)

RT, Margaret and the Rats of NIMH? I could have warned you about that one. Yep, pretty dire, and certainly not worthy of the brilliant book that inspired it. Where, in Robert C. O'Brien's novel, was it ever established that the rats could speak to humans in plain English? This one felt more like poorly-written fan fiction which made up the rules as it went along.

I actually didn't mind the first sequel, Racso and the Rats of NIMH, too much, despite a couple of glaring contradictions with the original. Since both sequels materialised after O'Brien's death, I guess it's up to you whether or not you want to consider them cannon.

I'm about to embark on reading Skyscraper by Faith Baldwin.

I'm reading the unabridged The Count of Monte Cristo off and on. I'm a horribly slow reader and I have lots of homework due to it being close to the end of the semester, but I might be able to read it some more over Christmas break.

Believe it or not, I'm reading it for my own pleasure. %D See, in 11th grade I was required to read the abridged version for my English/Lit class and I LOVED it more than any other book I was required to read. It's an EXCELLENT book. It's also a LONG book, but it's excellent nonetheless. :D

Read it, if you ever get the chance. And... don't watch the movie. Ever. The movie is a disgrace to the book. D: They screwed up the plot SO MUCH. DX I watched it after reading the abridged version and wanted to get up and leave several times due to all the stuff they changed. (I didn't, though. I sat through the whole thing and hated every bit of it. @x)

Haha, that goes double for Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Any-hoo, I'm reading 'Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World' by Haruki Murakami. Didn't really click with it first time I tried reading it but this time I got over my own natural caution of anything that throws Unicorns into a modern data-entry thriller and it's really falling into place. Looking foward to finding out exactly what's going on.

Stephan Colbert: I Am America (And So Can You). I'm only two chapters in and it's a riot! I can't remember a book that actually made me laugh out loud so much.8D

With this post, I bring new life to a sleepy thread!

Anyway, with regards to what I am currently reading, my English teacher suggested I say this to impress people-"Why, yes I have read Kafka."

I am not entirely sure if this'll work, but on topic, I am beginning to read Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. I've heard Kafka is a higher-level author whose works are somewhat difficult to read, which accounts for my previous statment.

What They Didn't Say: A Book of Misquotations edited by Elizabeth Knowles

I've recently been whiling away a few amusing hours flicking through this cheerful little reference book, which demonstrates that many of the most popular and familiar phrases in the English lexicon were the result of simple corruptions, sometimes intentional, sometimes not. Often, it's just a matter of pedantics. For example, the poem "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns, which first gave rise to the saying "the best-laid plans of mice and men," actually had it written as the "best-laid schemes." Others have arisen as a result of the highly deceptive nature of popular culture. Sherlock Holmes never used the phrases, "Elementary" and "my dear Watson" in conjunction with one another, Ingrid Bergman never said the iconic "Play it again, Sam", and apparently Captain Kirk never once used the exact phrase, "Beam me up, Scotty".

Nothing like reading a book of this nature to make you feel smug and freshly-informed for a while. Plus, it's provided me with a few new useful phrases for my own personal idiolect. Get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton - I love that one.

Actually, he did, but not on Star Trek. Years after the show was cancelled, he finally uttered the phrase when he made a brief guest appearance on Mork & Mindy. :D

Well shut my mouth. Clearly Ms Knowles isn't as learned on the particular subject as you, Cass. :bloosmirk:

It's been a while since anyone last used this thread...I take it nobody minds if I double post?

Since I haven't been able to get about very much today, I've spent much of the time reading Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (the first of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and the original Golden Compass, before they felt obliged to alter the title for some of the overseas markets).

Thus far it's been a heck of a lot better than that stolid adaptation I saw over Xmas, though one of the penalties for having seen the film in advance is that a lot of the suspence has been taken out of it for me in terms of narrative. Since I know more-or-less what's going to happen, it's not quite proving the page-turning experience that I feel it otherwise would be. I'm still enjoying it very much, but all in all I'm looking forward to getting this one finished and moving onto the next book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, of which I remain mostly ignorant.

touching spirit bear.

its pretty good so far :D

i'm reading the Norse classic "The Poetic Edda", Christenson/DeMeere's, "The Fighter's Body".

both great, the Edda is a poetic collection of Norse wisdom and tales of bravery (including the tales of Sigurd and Brynhilde, the basis for Wagners famous operas) The Fighters body is about eating healthyfor martial arts and body building.

ETA: When Amazon ships "Beyond Good and Evil" and "Thus Spake Zarathustra" by Nietzsche i'll be wading through those as well.

Both are great reads, and I would suggest reading Jenseit Von Gut und Bose before Also Spracht Zarathustra. Of all of Nietzsche's work, however, my favorite book by him so far has been Die Frohliche Wissenschaft ("The Gay Science"), which was his book preceding "Beyond Good and Evil" and "Thus Spoke Zarathustra".

I'm currently reading God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut. Earlier this week, I got Slaughterhouse Five from my library on Monday. I finished it Tuesday. Fantastic book.

Here, I come again warning about the third book. My goodness if you have any wish to keep your mind intact just stay away. Talk about abysmal. The first two books were a delight to read, full of wonder and adventure and many themes that would've had people questioning authority for ages. Unfortunately by the time The Amber Spyglass gets through I wondered if the first two books were really worth it. It's as if Pullman decided that every character should stop engaging in actual story and turn to the reader and explain his viewpoints on religion and authority. The rest included a sluggish read about wheeled cattle fighting creatures that resembled Donald Duck and a creative writing term paper written by a college student that just finished reading Paradise Lost and a handful of Gaiman and Moore comics.

I guess maybe you should read it for yourself. I just made it sound a lot more interesting than it actually is. Plus seeing something through to its conclusion afflicts more than just this reader.

As for The Northern Lights things, there is some dispute over the title. Pullman has hemmed and hawed over the issue saying in some interviews that he originally wanted the title to be Golden Compass and that he preferred it as well. In others he said the opposite. But The Golden Compass fits the trilogy better than The Northen Lights ever could. It fits the theme of significant objects or in other words "His Dark Materials." That's just this reader's opinion.

Personally, I prefer "Northern Lights" myself, although I do agree that, in light of the rest of the series, "The Golden Compass" is certainly a more consistent title. It just strikes me as being a slightly blander and more run-of-the-mill title than does Northern Lights, which to me conveys a little extra magic and enigma, but that's just my own opinion.

Anyhow, I'll bear your remarks on the Amber Spyglass in mind, though in all honesty I very much doubt that I'll be able to resist reading it, if only for the sake of completism. I couldn't go that far and not go further, after all, even if it does wind up going the way of Douglas Adams' "Mostly Harmless", in bringing a top-notch series to a pretty abysmal conclusion. In all fairness, it has been a while since I read "Mostly Harmless", and if I took the trouble to leaf through it again there's a chance that I might form a slightly better impression of it, but as it currently stands, if I were able to erase all personal knowledge of any concluding novel to any series, it would have to be the one.

Adams' "The Salmon of Doubt" (published posthumously), does apparently contain the remnants for a sixth novel in the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series (albeit under the guise of a new instalment for his lesser-known Dirk Gently series), as well as a short story featuring Zaphod Beeblebrox. I do have that book lying around here somewhere, I just haven't yet found the time to read it.

will do, thanks man. And yeah, Slaughterhouse 5 is great :)

Yes I'll second that motion, it's so excellent that Martin Amis shamelessly spun out 1 paragraph of it into a novel of his own.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater too is a great favourite of mine with some great Kilgore Trout moments and an enlightened examination on the effects of money on individuals and society.

I’m now nearing the conclusion of Northen Lights and, you know, I quite take back what I previously said about my having seen the movie in advance having a diminishing effect upon the novel’s ability to completely enthral me. Those chapters set in the Bolvangar labs were utterly magnetic, I honestly couldn’t put the book aside until that stage of the story had reached completion. Unsettling stuff, but really fascinating.

The mistakes made by the big-screen adaptation are also becoming a bit more transparent, notably their decision to re-arrange the structure of the story so as to adhere to a more crowd-pleasing formula, with a big dramatic LOTR-style battle forming the climax...which is all well and good, only it left the latter half feeling strangely disjointed. I can vouch that the transition from one plot point to another is much more skillfully done within the novel and that there's more of a cumulative effect. Oh, and Sarafina Pekkala is here much more of a justified character (all the same, I dare you to try saying that name with a straight face...it can't be done :P)

I have a few more chapters left to read, and then onto "The Subtle Knife" we go. :)

I just finished reading "A Short History of the Anglo-Saxons". Everybody died at the end. That tends to happen in the books I read.

Just finished reading From the Dust Returned. Now I'm reading Twilight, because a friend said I should.

Oh jeez, now you've ruined the ending for me. ;)

I finished "I Am America (And So Can You)" not too long ago. Now I can catch up with my Naruto reading! I'm on volume 20 right now.

thats because you have a good taste in books ;D

touching spirit bear, again.

Spoiler Below

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

I'm now about 2/3 of the way through. Brilliant stuff, it surpasses Northern Lights, I'd say, whilst taking the storyline in a highly intriguing and completely unexpected direction.

Actually, it's painfully obvious by now where the adaptation of The Golden Compass went wrong, for not only did they rearrange a huge portion of the original narrative (clumsily, I might add), but they omitted quite possibly the most powerful and dramatic scene, which takes place at the end of the book. They...er...I...grrrr...I have no idea how they expect to handle things if they're intending to go on and adapt the Subtle Knife.

Well, don't let the Spectres bite.

They filmed the last part of the book. The studio cut it out for fear of turning off audiences cut it out. What's funny is had they actually had left well enough alone and let Chris Weitz go with his original vision the movie probably would've been quite successful And don't worry, you'll never see anything adapted from His Dark Materials on the big screen again. Flop doesn't even begin to cover how much New Line lost from this venture.

For what it's worth I still think they were better with a failed first movie than a franchise that pissed off a ton of people by movie 3.

i'm just starting les miserables

i just finished touching spirit bear. I didnt really get the ending, but it was still kinda cool.

I'm now about half way through the Amber Spyglass, the last in the Dark Materials trilogy. Thus far, I'm finding it nothing less than an enjoyable continuation of the previous two novels, though I suppose there's still time for Mr. Pullman to spring a few unpleasant surprises on me.

Yeah, I recently saw the trailer for the Golden Compass again, and I noticed that it contained a few brief glimpses of the excised climax. For what it's worth, my sympathies for the adaptation have increased in some fields. At least they did a good enough job with the casting.

From what I can make out, TGC did reasonably well overseas, so it's still up in the air as to whether further adaptations will be considered viable. Weitz claims that if it goes ahead, he hopes to restore the deleted conclusion and plans to be a lot less compromising with the remaining novels.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Another English thing I've been assigned (read:forced) to read for my English class. It's not that I don't appreciate, or like Shakespeare in any matter; It's just that I don't understand most of his language. It's confusing. Iambic pentameter is strange, it is.

Anyway, I'm into Act 3, Scene 3 in this play. Right now, I don't think it's too bad; it's suspensful, witty and kinda engaging. It's somewhat puzzling, is all.

Aah, I love Hamlet! My English teacher senior year was so good at teaching us Shakespeare that everyone in the room actually understood the play - and it's good. Your teacher should have you watch the movie as well; it's fantastic and a lot more entertaining than just reading a play :P

8D Actually, we happen to be watching a movie version of the play along with the text. Funny you should mention that.

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. I dislike this book, but not enough to stop reading it.

Pardon my curiosity, but which version do you happen to be watching? My class watched the version starring Mel Gibson and Helena Bonham Cater, but I know there's a version with Kate Winslet somewhere out there as well.

And to keep this post on topic...I'm currently reading Oliver Twist for my Literature of London and Dublin course. Great book, but any enjoyment I could possibly get out of reading such a fantastic story becomes buried, seeing as I have to finish the whole book, start to finish, by Wednesday, and I have much to do in the next couple of days that I may not finish it by then.

Imaginary Light, I'm watching the version with Kate Winslet, who portrays Ophelia in the film. Your version sounds interesting too, seeing that Mel Gibson and Helena Bonham Carter (two actors I'd never picture together in a film) are in it. I'm gonna have to look it up.

Pawbah, I've been meaning to read Eclipse myself, but from what you said, I might have second thoughts on the matter. Some of my friends recommended I read the book, but since it's pretty popular, I've a feeling it may a bit overrated. I'm wondering, what exactly do you dislike about it? I'm just curious.

the Kate Winslet version is very good, the Mel Gibson one is...real wierd :P

all i'm sayin is i never want to see Mel and Glen like that ever again.