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As we talked about on the chat tonight the BBC is in the process of deciding the nations favourite books. The vote for the top one hundred was a free vote for any book you like. That has now been put in order and the top 21 presented in alphabetical order for a second vote. To say that the list is eccentric is an understatement. It is, as I predicted, badly skewed in favour of current best sellers, especially current best sellers that have been made into movies. There has been a bit of a fix going on (and bloody good thing too !) in that no author was allowed more than one book in the top twenty one. I say "good thing" because if more than one had been allowed then there would have been four Harry Potters - the fifth having not been published when the free vote was taken. The top 100 featured five books by Jacqueline Wilson - an author I have never heard of -, a Jeffrey Archer novel, a handful by Terry Pratchett who though fine hardly deserves such over representation, several single entries by other authors I don't recognise, Bridget Jones's Diary and The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy which isn't a novel but an adaptation of a radio series. The full list can be found at The Big Read. Below are the 21 contenders with a couple of comments from me. 1984, George Orwell A fine if bleak read that deserves to be here. Birdsong, Sebastion Faulks I haven't read it but it has a good reputation. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres I absolutely loathe this book. More precisely I absolutely loathe the first 90 pages of it as in four attempts that's the furthest I have ever got. Pretentious dull drivel that reads as if the author has swallowed a thesaurus. And yes I'm aware that the people who like it, really really really like it. Catch 22, Joseph Heller Another goodie that should be here even if it is a little too long. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger And another one which has the additional merit of being quite short. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens Personally I'm not a fan of Dickens, finding his style rather difficult to read, but he should be represented and this is the book that should be here. Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell Can't comment as I haven't read it. A classic film though. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling Let's get a couple of things straight. JK Rowling has not reinvented children's literature. Nor has she written the greatest novels of all time. Nor has she single handedly "got children reading again". The books are entertaining competent hack work that plagiarise sources from Roald Dahl to Lord of the RIngs via Just William, Jennings and CS Lewis. The fact that were it not for the single entry rule all four books would feature says more about successful marketing strategies than anything else. I predict with despair a landslide victory. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman The only book in the top 21 that I have never heard of. The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams Funny ? Yes. A novel ? No Deserving of its place ? Definitely not. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte All the same comments apply that I made about Dickens. The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, CS Lewis A good children's book that deserves to be here only undermined by its rather too overt religious message. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott I've never actually read it. It's a bit "girly" for my taste. Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkein I'm a heretic on this subject. I find Tolkein's writing ponderous and heavy. The films are good though and it certainly desrves its place more than some of the selections. To Kill A Mocking Bird, Harper Lee Again I haven't read it. I've seen the film though and that's a fine piece of work. Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austin see Dickens & Bronte above. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier Not really my cup of tea again but a reasonable enough novel. War & Peace, Tolstoy I tried and failed to read it. Maybe I should try again. The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Graham A good children's book. Mr Toad is an inspired character. Kind of reminds me of someone I know... Winnie The Pooh,AA Milne Winie The Pooh ? One of the best novels of all time. Give me a break ! Wuthering Heights,Emily Bronte see sister Charlotte, Dickens and Austen above. Well thats the list. I wouldn't have included any of them in my top 21 novels and when pushed for a vote it's a toss up between Catch 22 and Wind In The Willows. Oh yes, Alice only made number 30 and was roundly dissed by the panel members who should all be taken out and forced to read nothing but Harry Potter for the rest of their lives. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | ||
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Bob, what a wonderful analysis! Generally I agree with you, with one big exception. But first I have to ask, did they include children's books with adult books? Were they separated in any way? The one exception involves "Winnie the Pooh." For a children's book it is one of my favorites. I buy it for all new parents. "Little Women"? Yes, that belongs. "Gone with the Wind"? Probably not. It is nice historical fiction, great for a teenager. But, an all-time favorite? I think not. Also, I am surprised to see that as a favorite in England. | |||
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I'm glad you included To Kill A Mockingbird. That's one of my favorite books. If you can't find the time to read it, check out the audio tape. You can listen to it while you're stuck in traffic. Tinman | |||
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I agree with many of the comments. There are some fine authors who have not been represented (and I agree especially with the comments about Harry Potter - good but not great) Indeed, I was sorry to see that none of Richmael Crompton's "William" books got a look in since, although a little dated, they are often very witty and perceptive. I was suprised (but pleased) to see that Enid Blyton was represented since she is far from fashionable these days. And Jennings! As a contemporary I found so much with which to agree in Anthony Buckeridge's work - it almost made me sympathise with my teachers! But no, he isn't there. Richard English | |||
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Bob's analysis could almost have been written by me. Spooky! Like Bob, I'd never heard of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I'll certainly have to look it out judging by what was said about it on the TV. I've never even tried to read War and Peace, and the TV programme didn't encourage me to try it now. They were discussing the best parts of it to skip! I have read To kill a Mockingbird and thought it excellent. I read Lord of the Rings as a youth and loved it. I wouldn't say it is great literature, though. I picked it up again a few years ago and couldn't get started. The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy is brilliant; very funny but covering some important issues in an intelligent way. However, It's not great literature. Similarly, The Wind In The Willows and Winnie The Pooh are good children's books, but not great literature. The one I voted for was Catch 22, but that was really by default. | |||
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quote: Hey, I love Winnie the Pooh too but given the style, intended age group and above all brevity of the book I don't think it should be included here. To prove how much I love it I have a book (which I can't find to quote from at the moment) called "Pooh and the Philosophers" which "proves" that Pooh invented all possible western philosphies from Aristole and Plato to Hume, Kant and Wittgenstein. It's hilarious. And no, children's books weren't separated. It was a free vote for any book you like. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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After posting my comments about "Winnie the Pooh", Shufitz successfully convinced me that, while it is a wonderful children's book, it shouldn't be in the top 21 books. However, I think children's and adult books should have been separated. And, I love "Pooh and the Philosophers!" Again, this vote took place in England; yet, no Mark Twain? As for "War and Peace", I spent all my time trying to get the names straight! | |||
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Well, that pretty much sums up my views too, although I am quite a fan of both Rebecca and Pride and Prejudice. Likewise with War and Peace - got half-way through and got so horribly confused by all the names that I gave up... My husband was amazed I'd never heard of His Dark Materials, particularly since I'm a keen reader of "hard" sci-fi. Shall have to visit Forbidden Planet soon! Ros | |||
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How about that Mexican novel, Tequila Mockingbird ? | |||
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After thinking about this over the weekend I have some further thoughts on the list. Many of the 21 finalists had the advantage of having been adapted for film or TV and I am sure that many people voted for a title without having read the book. I wonder how many people have actually read Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, for example, and how many voted solely on having seen the film. How many voted for War and Peace after having actually read the book, and how many have only seen one of the films? Even more worrying is that so many authors generally recognised as great are not included - in some cases they weren't even included in the top 100. To name a few: George Eliot (probably THE greatest), Thomas Hardy, Arnold Bennett, EM Forster, Henry James, James Joyce, DH Lawrence, Virginia Woolf and Anthony Trollope. OK, so the "classics" don't appeal to the majority of readers. What about some of the "lighter" authors who, to my mind at least, are far superior to some of those on the list: PG Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh, for example. What about some more Americans such as Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe? The inclusion of War and Peace means that we must assume that viewers could have voted for other great authors who wrote in a foreign language such as Emile Zola, Dostoevsky, Jules Verne or Erich Maria Remarque. Like Bob, I can't understand why Alice in Wonderland didn't make the final 21 when (to my mind) inferior children's books such as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Wind in the Willows managed it. In short, this is not literary criticism but a showbiz exercise. | |||
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The panel on the program were by and large a waste of time. Their comments were brief and trivial and I came away with the impression that at leat one of them (the female comedian whose name I can't remember) hadn't read any of the books. They often seemed to be commenting on how the books are perceived rather than the books themselves. For example the comments on Bridget Jones's Diary (which I did read but found much too girly for my taste - as you might expect) revolved around the lifestyles of typical middle class thirtysomething women and hardly mentioned the book itself at all. Let me slide away from the topic for a moment and recall a colleague that I used to do a German class with (hi there John if you are still lurking). He developed a trick when asked a question that he didn't want to form an answer to of answering with the stock phrase "Ich bin der gleiche Meinung als Bob." - "I am of the same opinion as Bob." That comedian did this almost every time she spoke. She never volunteered an opinon beyond agreeing with what had already been said. If I had been invited onto such a panel I would at least have read the top 21 books in preparation, otherwise how could I comment on them ? As for Alice, all the members of the panel said that while they had enjoyed it as children they now thought it to be rubbish. I don't especially want to get onto my hobby horse here but to have what many consider the finest work of children's fantasy ever dismissed as "rubbish" (yes, the word was actually used by more than one panelist) seems to say a lot about the quality of the panel. Clearly it isn't up there with such literary giants as Harry Potter  .On another note the rules for considering sets as individual novels or as a whole seem confused to say the least. Terry Prattchet figured five times in the list but apparently every one of his thirty or so novels got some votes splitting his vote too much to place highly. The one I had't heard of "His Dark Materials" is really three books but was for the vote considered as one book. Harry Potter was considered as four separate books. It wasn't clear how the Alice votes had been counted as they referred to it throughout as "Alice in Wonderland " (a title incidentally that it never originally had) but showed a picture of the cover of a combined Wonderland/Looking Glass edition) Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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One of the great things about the Alice books is that they can be enjoyed by children and adults. It wasn't until I readread them as an adult that I began to appreciate the subtelty (and the darkness) of some of the passages. The Walrus and the Carpenter, one of my favourite poems, is actually very sombre but can still be enjoyed at a lighter level. Richard English | |||
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You make a good point there, Bob. I also wonder about The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe - that is the title of just one book in The Chronicles of Narnia series. Similarly, Lord of the Rings is the title of a trilogy - the individual books have different titles. Logically, if the Harry Potter series can only be represented by one book, the same should be so of Tolkein's oevre. HHGTTG is, of course, a trilogy in four parts. BTW, the comedian whose name Bob couldn't remember is Linda Smith. I had to look her name up, incidentally; whilst her face rang a bell, I had no idea who she was. The other panellists, in the unlikely event that anyone is interested, were Prof Robert Winston, screen writer Andrew Davies, producer and writer Armando Ianucci, novelist and columnist Tim Lott, and TV presenter and producer Daisy Goodwin. The discussion was chaired by Clive Anderson. | |||
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quote: Five. (Mostly Harmless is probably the one you forgot) Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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quote:Aha, now I understand Bob's intensity here!  On a more serious note, that comment is just rubbish! I agree with Richard; it is rare when books can be enjoyed as adults, and "Alice in Wonderland" is definitely one of them. "The Wind in the Willows" is a nice children's book, but nothing that special. And, "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe", well, I haven't said anything about that up until now. However, as a Jew, shall we say, I don't appreciate at all the rather too overt religious message, as Bob called it. Therefore, my reaction to that book is probably biased, but that one I do consider rubbish! [This message was edited by Kalleh on Tue Oct 21st, 2003 at 11:29.] | |||
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The Narnia books are interesting. The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe is far too overt in its symbolism (though The Last Battle is a worse offender) but if you can get past the "message" thay are reasonably good children's stories. As a child I found them quite entertaining and the BBC versions which played down the Christian overtones considerably were quite well done. I don't recall ever even noticing when I was young what they were really all about and they certainly had no influence on my subsequent atheistic beliefs. The trouble is that as an adult it's almost impossible to read them without noticing. Whatever else the message might be, subtle it's not. As soon as you start to notice you can't stop noticing and it spoils the books. I still think they are decent enough stories (except for The Last Battle, which is almost unreadable) but I also find them annoying. I always get annoyed when someone pretends to be entertaining me but has another agenda completely in mind. (It's not just religion I'm talking about. I can't listen to the U2 album Rattle and Hum because of the lecture in the middle about South Africa and Nelson Mandela). As for The Wind In The Willows, I do think it's a pretty good book - no Alice but charming and well written nonetheless. When I vote I may vote for it - unless I'm in a cynical mood when I'll vote for Catch 22. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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Very interesting. Allow me to chime in. quote: | |||
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quote: Not for a while. For the next seven weeks we have three books per week given a ten minute slot by someone trying to persuade us to vote for their favourite. Then the following week we'll have the vote results. I'll keep you posted on developments. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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I know that Disney is a ruthless company in that way - but do they really own the copyright to A A Milne's character? Richard English | |||
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quote: I think they do actually. It was mentioned in the program. They certainly own the copyright to the visual representation though possibly not to the original books. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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Believe it or not I may have a definite answer on this one in the near future. I have mentioned in the not-too-distant past that I am working on a book dealing with poetry which, if all goes well, I hope to see published next year. It started out as just a private project for my own enjoyment and, in part, as something to read to and pass down to my grandkids and grew from that. In one chapter, I would like to quote some of A. A. Milne's non-Pooh work and so have girded up my loins (Do they still say that over there?) and written the dreaded Disney Legal Department for permission. It is possible, as you suggest, that the copyright owned by the Disney Company covers just the image of Winnie the Pooh or maybe just the Pooh books and not the rest of Milne's considerable output. We shall see. Of course, if I should go two consecutive weeks without posting on this board, it might not be a bad idea to have someone start dredging the lakes in my area... | |||
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So far as I can tell from the Winnie-the-Pooh FAQ, Disney owns the rights to all AA Milne's characters, although there is quite a lot of argy-bargy going on. What is sure in my mind, at least, is that AA Milne is spinning in his grave at the treatment of Pooh by the minions of the Evil Empire. | |||
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Yes, I agree with you, Arnie. I, like CJ, apologize to Milne for the unscrupulous Walt Disney Company. Winnie the Pooh is an incredibly creative character, and how dare Walt Disney take credit, financially, for it! CJ, your comments are a bit negative, to say the least, about some very good books. While I agreed that "Gone with the Wind" doesn't belong on the list, it is a good book of historical fiction. And, I, for one, have read it in the last 30 years! Now, it, and "Little Women" and "Jane Eyre" are probably better appreciated by women. However, the latter 2 are excellent, IMHO, and belong on the list. | |||
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Actually I did very much enjoy "Little Women" when I read it years ago. Shortly afterwards I read "Little Men" and today cannot recall a word of it which I'd like to think is more a reflection of the superiority of the first book than the ability of a movie to solidify a work in my mind. If "Little Men" was ever made into a movie, I never saw it. Regarding "Gone With the Wind," that was an exaggeration of course but I would be willing to bet that more people have read the recently published parody "The Wind Done Gone" than the original in the past, let's say, ten years. And since no one commented on my reference to the song "My Conviction" from the play "Hair," (sung from the point of view of an older person to a younger counterpart) allow me to provide the lyrics here: I would just like to say That it is my conviction That longer hair and other flamboyant Affectations of appearence are nothing more Than the male's emergence From the drab camouflage Into the gaudy plumage Which is the birthright of his sex. There is a peculiar notion that Ellegant plumage and fine feathers Are not proper for the male When a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ctually That is the way things are In mo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ost species. God, I miss the Sixties! | |||
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Sez CJ quote: I actually read this book because my uncle's girlfriend (later and now my aunt) told me that I reminded her of the narrator. I'm still not sure if that was a compliment or not. But hey, I'm like a character in a book! (And it isn't a book about serial killers! Yay!)  It was only later I found about about the Lennon murder correlation. The Chronicles of Narnia I read them when that "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" cartoon was shown when I was a young'n. Loved the whole series; cried my eyes out at The Last Battle. In middle school/jr. high, I went to read a biography of C.S. Lewis, in which the overt Christian symbolism of the Narnian books was explained. That ruined them for me for years. Then I decided, "Meh, I like the stories and I'll ignore the rest, because I enjoy the creation of this whole fantasy land so much." As far as children's books are concerned? Whither Dr. Suess? Or Lemony Snicket? (Nope, I have no kids. Yep, I just like reading this stuff.) | |||
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WinterBranch said: quote:I first came across them when they were serialised on the radio in Children's Hour. I can't remember any such message, but I suspect the radio version would have played it down anyway. A year or so later (aged about 9) I read the books - again I don't remember noticing the Christian message but I did notice it when re-reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe several years later. I'd guess that to understand the Christian symbolism most readers would have to be older than the book's intended readership age. | |||
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I'm about halfway through the book in the Big Read top 21 that I hadn't heard of - His Dark Materials. Considering that I bought it on Saturday and it is in total 1288 pages this is pretty good going (especially bearing in mind that I spent most of Sunday in the pub). Now I don't know how it's going to end up or quite what the plot will do later but I thought I'd review it. I'm almost convinved that it deserves its place here - it's certainly better than the other fantasy epics in the chart. It's better written than Lord of the Rings and as for Harry Potter, frankly there's no comparison. So what is it all about then ? Well let's see. It has early teenage heroes; it's partly set in another world that is reached from Earth by a magic doorway; it has demons and witches; it had talking animals and giant armoured bears; it has epic quests; it has good versus evil; it has a large dollop of theology. So far so Narnia but comparing it with Narnia is like comparing a Rembrandt with a grafitti daubed railway station. The writing is straightforward without being patronising. The treatment of good and evil is about as far away from the simplistic Harry GOOD - Voldemort EVIL principle as it's possible to get discussing in some detail the concepts of good and evil as relative moral terms. It also discusses, as a central part of the plot, the existence of the soul. The theological text covers a lot of bases from Christianity to Shamanism. I'm not sure yet where all this is going to end up as it's pretty much central to the plot which is why I'm reserving judgement on whether or not the books really deserve a place in the list. It's damned interesting though and very well written. Oh yes there's also quite a lot about quantum physics and dark matter as well. In short it actually is pretty damned good. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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quote: Did you do any bar mat flipping? It's been perfected. I found reference to it on a true-crime (!) ng that I lurk on and had to look for the story. Thanks for the review also--I'm going to have to get a copy of it. I don't know if everyone else here perused the entire 100 of the Big Read list, but people, ya'll should. More people liked Tess of the D'urbervilles than Watership Down? What is this world coming to? And, I'd like to go on record, for posterity, that George Eliot couldn't write her way out of a wet paper bag. ------------------------- Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.--Groucho Marx ----------------------------- | |||
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I've worked out why I'd never heard of His Dark Materials. It's a trilogy! I knew the individual titles, but had never twigged that there was a name for the trilogy as a whole. Not read it, but Bob's review has whetted my appetite... Ros | |||
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I've finished His Dark Materials and can give my full review now. First of all the negatives. The third volume is about twenty percent longer than the others and it doesn't need to be - there are aspects of the plot that could have been removed without losing anything except pages. I saw the ending coming from about a third of the way into the last volume and while it was well handled and well written it was a bit too clearly telegraphed and perhaps a little trite. It didn't bother me but I suspect that some people may not like the plot, some may even be offended by it. I can't go into too much detail without spoiling things for those who intend to read it but the author himself credits Paradise Lost as a major influence which may give some idea of where the problem lies. Now for the rather more substantial positives. Everything I said in my review before still applies. It is an extremely well written and entertaining adventure fantasy set in multiple worlds between which the action switches. The teen heroes are realistic and engaging and in no way the two dimensional sterotypes of too much teen fiction. This is true of all of the characters whose motives and attitudes change with the circumstances just like real people. As I remarked before it is a Good versus Evil story in a sense but not in the simplistic Harry=Good, Voldemort=Bad sense of JK Rowling. The moral implications of the characters actions are always present. Having completed the book I find there were characters who were nominally one or the other but who I can't quite pin down myself. Lord Asriel for example who appears from the very start switches frequently between being a sympathetic "Good guy" and a decidely nasty "Bad guy" in a convincing fashion. There is a lot of theology - much of it liberally borrowed from Paradise Lost - and quite a lot of cosmology all handled pretty well although some of the cod philosophy is a bit less convincing. Most of the book would have to be categorised as fantasy although at times there are substantial elements of hard sci-fi that creep in and vary the tone. This doesn't detract at all from the work though. Instead it helps keep it fresh. It's an entertaining and thought provoking read for teenagers and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Others may well disagree. (I give my permission to you to disagree if you want to !) Anyway, there you have it. My thoughts on His Dark Materials. As for the question of whether or not it should be in the top 21, well that's down to personal taste. I'd say Top 100 definitely, Top 21 Children's maybe, Top 21 overall maybe not. On the other hand it is far superior to Harry Potter and in my view superior to Lord of the Rings (from which it doesn't borrow at all - a remarkable acheivement in itself for a fantasy novel). I shall certainly try out some of Pullman's other novels. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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I watched two of the three advocates on Saturday - John Humphries (a British journalist and political commentator) talking about To Kill A Mockingbird and Sanjeev Bhaskar (a comedian) talking about Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. (I have little or no interest in Gone With The Wind so I turned that one off - although before I reached the switch I did see that it was opening with a shot of "great literary heroines in boxing gloves"). Rather appropriately John Humphries put a fine case for a fine book and Sanjeev Bhaskar put a very poor case for a poor book. I was left with the distinct impression that Sanjeev Bhaskar only intended his slot to be an advertisement for his own TV show. His attempts to claim that HHGTTG was a life changing work of deep and profound philosophy were risible. Or possibly ludicrous. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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I'm sure that Hitchikers' Guide was originally written as a radio play. At least, that was my first experience of it. I found it a very entertaining radio play, a less satisfactory book and a poorish TV series. I think this is because the pictures are so much better in a radio play than they are on TV. Richard English | |||
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quote: Right on all counts. Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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Let's face it, love of words, language, reading, and the like, start when we are children.....with good children books. My daughter reminded me of a book she loved as a girl, Natalie Babbitt's, "Search for Delicious." This is a simple story of a young man on a quest for the perfect definition of the word "delicious." The final definition simply was that it is how you feel when you are very thirsty and drink a cold glass of water. I know that we've talked of Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Dr. Seuss, but what other children's books do you love? | |||
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Well there are quite a few. I love the Oz books (by all the various authors) and think that it's a shame so many of them are impossible to get out of print volumes. I have all the Baum originals that are still in print, about half of the Ruth Plumley Thompson ones, all of the Eric Shanower graphic novels and a few others but there are many that can't be tracked down at sensible prices. I like The Hobbit much more than I like the overrated Lord of the Rings. Tery Pratchett's various childrens sequences (Truckers/Diggers/Wings, the Johnny and the... series, the two recent juvenile Discworld novels and The Carpet People) are as good as his regular novels. Although I haven't read them for many many years I recall enjoying Richmal Crompton's William books and Anthony Buckeridge's Jennings books. Then of course there are the "classics" such as Treasure Island or Around the World In Eighty Days which you might or might not consider children's books. I was also very fond of The Borrowers when I was young as this was the book - as featured in a comic called The Treasure - that my mother read to me to teach me to read. Oh yes, meaningless to Americans, but I used to love my Dandy and Beano annuals every Christmas. Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life ? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off ? Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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Ref my Oct 23, '03 post in this thread, have you seen today's headlines? HELL FREEZES OVER! PIGS FLY!! CHICAGO CUBS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!! (and, most unbelievable of all: ) DISNEY LAWYERS DO NOT REFUSE TO GRANT PERMISSION FOR LOCAL WORDCRAFTER TO USE THE WORK OF A. A. MILNE!!!! That's the good news. I just received word from the Disney Legal Department (by reputation, a pack of barracudas if ever there was one) that it's perfectly OK with them if I use Milne's "The King's Breakfast" in my book. (Woo-Hoo!) The bad news, however, is that they strongly suggest that I first obtain permission to do so from the copyright holders. (woo-heck!) To answer a question asked in an earlier post, I don't know just how much of Milne's work is now owned and controlled (not to mention fiercely guarded) by the good folks at Disney, possibly just the visual image or maybe just the Pooh books, but the rights to this particular poem are held by (hold on to your hats) "The Pooh Trust." Does that sound like an oxymoron, or what?! They're based in London (any Pooh trustees posting here, by any chance?) so I'll write them next. I guess that if fame and fortune were easy, everyone would be rich and famous and what fun would that be? | |||
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I missed the final program but I see from the web site that the top five in the Big Read were 1. Lord of the Rings 2. Pride And Prejudice 3. His Dark Materials 4. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy 5. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire I'm not a fan of Lord of the Rings but was pleased to see that His Dark Materials ended up ahead of Harry Potter. Did any of the UK posters see the program ? Was it any good ? Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life ? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off ? Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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In answer to your question on kids books Kalleh, sorry Bob, I truly enjoyed the Harry Potter books, the greatest novels of all times, no, but what a delightful flight of fantasy! I read them one, right after the other and cannot wait until she gets the next one on the market. As for the greatest novels ever written, I've just finished reading the Christmas Train by David Baldacci and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, neither of which will be one of the greatest novels of our time, but each had their own unique and memorable qualities. I read approximately 10-12 books a week, usually pretty light reading materials in each of them. I don't have any favorites to pass along, nor do I stick with any one type of writing example. I just read to read, some I like and some I don't remember at all. Gone With the Wind, a young girl's entertainment, I read it over and over again in my teens until the covers fell away and I had to buy a new one (twice). Yes, a book for the romantic at heart, and that of course would be me. At the moment, I'm reading Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway. Cam | |||
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Oh, Cam, it is so good to see you posting! We are lacking women on the board, so your presence is wonderful! I must read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven." I have heard good things about it. | |||
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quote: Don't be sorry. I don't hate the books. I read them and enjoyed them. I just don't feel they deserve the accolades that people seem determined to heap on them. They are entertaining enough but the suggestions that are something truly original and that they are the greatest (or even among the greatest) books ever written seem to me to be unfounded. I can, and did, list off dozens of books that they have either been influenced greatly by or directly plagiarised from depending on how generous you feel. To give you some kind of context for the way I'm thinking one of my favourite bands of all time is The Doors but I think that the near deification of Jim Morrison by his fans is quite ludicrously out of proportion to his achievements. It's the same kind of thing. Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life ? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off ? Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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There is some criticism over at the official Big Read message board about the three people on Saturday putting the accademic point of view. Michael Rosen (who was one of the three) put his defence adequately * so I won't go into that here. However I have now seen the program (or parts of it anyway - the advantage of a fast forward button on a video ) and have another comment to make.I feel the three had been given an impossible brief in that it was clear that while they were to sum up their views on each of the books in 45 seconds (impossible in itself) they were also to avoid giving their personal opinions so as to avoid influencig the voting which was going on. When asked, after the close of voting, for their choices two went for Pride And Prejudice and Michael Rosen went for His Dark Materials. In their discussion they had all been equally praising of each of the five finalists. I won't go off on how I don't rate Harry Potter, instead let's look at The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy. This is a short, funny, moderately well written adaption of a radio series and while (as someone else at the official board has pointed out) if you run a popular poll you must expect a popular result - the suggestions from its advocate (Sanjeev Baskar) and the three earnest panelists that it is in some way a profound and significant work of incredible intellectual depth and life altering importance are simply nonsense. Douglas Adams would probably think so too. It's just a funny book with some funny jokes. Of course no-one on the panel came out and said so. The closest anyone got to criticism of anything was one panelists admission that she hadn't finished reading LotR. If the brief is to be nice about everything I don't see how any discussion can possibly be valid. * For some reason I can't post the link. If you wish to look at it go toThe Big Read and look at the thread called "Informed Critics". Another thread of interest to us is called "Eats Shoots And Posts Garbage". Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life ? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off ? Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. [This message was edited by BobHale on Tue Dec 16th, 2003 at 2:15.] | |||
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