Sounds like you might be Have to admit i'm looking at all the high quality books you guys are reading at the moment and i'm feeling a bit guilty. Other than history books (which I read alot of) i've mostly been reading trash fiction for far too long. Need to get back to reading the classics, both modern and old. I'm almost embarrassed to admit i'm working my way through a re-read of the GRR Martin Song of Ice & Fire books at the moment so that I can read the latest release (which arrived on my doormat today). Don't get me wrong the are brilliant but they aren't up there with Dostoevsky, Conrad, Thompson or Dickens and their ilk!
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Any reading is good reading! There's a couple of people I (loosely) know who claim they have 'never read a book in their life'. The guy who said it is a total idiot though so it kinda shows really I'm also guilty of being a Harry Potter fan though Unashamedly, though. Don't read them any more, of course, but they were good when I was younger. Got me into reading, really. Closest I'll get to fantasy fiction now is probably Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit and such, would be considered as classy literature though! On a side note, just gonna point out that I hate Shakespeare. Extremely overrated. Not a huge fan of plays like, but I must say that Christopher Marlowe is a lot lot better.
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Don't be embarrassed I like the Potter books as well. Had to read them to my step kids and ended up enjoying them just as much as the kids and am happy to admit that I have re-read them purely for my own enjoyment. Tolkien, along with the Douglas Adams Hitchhiker books got me into reading and LOTR is still my favourite book, closely followed by Great Expectations. Have to disagree re Shakey though, his use of language is unparalled for me and will probably never be bettered. Marlowe is good though and I like John Webster as well.
It is scary. I read a stat recently that said that the average person in the UK reads just one book a year. Don't know about you but I probably read in the region 30 to 40 (probably closer to 100 when I was a teenager). So even taking my low estimate of 30. That means there are 29 who don't even read one book a year! The mind boggles, but I suppose it explains why supposedly intelligent people on the Apprentice thought Columbus was English!
Glad to see I'm not alone then Hate the movies though, I think they've been terrible. Every time I go, me and a mate sit through and whisper the faults to each other and compare it to the books. Going the see the new one on friday though, I just have to Radcliffe will no doubt piss me off Ahh, yes, he's an excellent writer I'm not doubting that, it just irritates me the way that a lot of people see him as the be all and end all of playwrights, and I think many seem to forget that Marlowe was a tragedian in the same era. The way Romeo and Juliet is to be considered a tragedy astounds me, (apart from of course being named a tragedy in its title. but that doesn't count). I like Hamlet and Macbeth, but that's about it. I just prefer reading Marlowe. You could practically argue Marlowe was one of the biggest influences on Gothic literature, what with Dr Faustus and such.
I'm probably in the 25-30 region in all honesty. Having to focus primarily on a specific book for lengthy periods of time probably inhibits the amount I read though. But yeah, certainly a shocking statistic really. The girlfriend never used to read much, probably only a book or two a year, until I urged her into it by lending her some of mine and advising her on good books to read. Now she's practically reading a book every few weeks, and has recently bought Mein Kampf to read! Something I'm also interested in reading like, but I doubt I'm going to get round to it.
I'm like you with the films, although I did quite like the last one I think the sinister aspect got turned up to a suitable notch. Yeah Radcliffe - don't understand why he doesn't get a battering by the critics because I think he is terrible. The scenery out acts him most of the time. The labelling of Shakespeare I have always found strange. A Midsummer Night's Dream for instance is supposed to be a comedy even though I have never found a single thing in it that raises even the beginning of a chuckle! Julius Caesar has always been my favourite of his, although it isn't one of his most raved about plays. As for Marlowe you are spot on. Criminally underrated, but I guess that is the downside of having been around at the same time as Shakey he just got forgotten.
read all the potter books, they were class. havent watched any of the movies though. Michael Connelly is my favourite writer at the moment, does great crime fiction
I want to read Mein Kampf sometime, but my problem is that I buy books and rarely get around to reading them unless I'm on a train/plane or staying away from home.
I've had a copy of Mein Kampf on my "to read" shelf for about 25 years and still not gotten around to it. Don't think I ever will actually. I have an interest in getting some insight into the mind of the monster but from what I have heard it is a terrible read and almost impossible to get through. Good work with the girlfriend. And getting people to read is the biggest praise you can give Rowling as far as I am concerned. She has probably given a love of reading to an entire generation, so I don't care what some critics say about the quality of some of her writing she has achieved something phenomenal.
I think, at the age of 19, my dad would be surprised if I asked him to explain the differences to me! (hopefully there wouldn't be any visuals ) Agree! The last one was definitely better, I found myself almost enjoying it. Maybe it was the fact they weren't in the same boring setting of the castle. It was just, different. But Radcliffe's acting certainly puts me off. He's such a boring, wooden actor. Basically cringe-worthy. What the hell all the big actors such as Gambon, Maggie Smith, etc were thinking, having to work with him. Romeo and Juliet I think could be considered a comedy more than anything. Perhaps could satirical than comedic. But Mercutio's one liners are the best part, like with Tis only a scratch or whatever in his death scene! (Monty Python springs to mind..) But don't think I've read Julius Caesar to be honest! Try to avoid reading much
Aye, don't think I'd ever get round to reading it. Bit of a heavy book to read just casually on a train though probably Would feel a tad self conscious too! Wouldn't want people thinking I'm some sort of Hitler glorifier or something I'd freak people out by taking a notepad and casually going ".... ooh, that's a good one.. " and scribbling down notes occasionally. Yeah she's read about 70 pages or so and slowed down. Looks a bit too...much, for me. Would be very interesting though. He's a sort of genius, I must give him that, shame he was an evil genius... Interesting to know how his mind works though, as you say! Yer Rowling's writing isn't the best, and there are several plot holes in a lot of the books, but at least she's made it interesting and fun for children to read. Certainly did the job for me. Although I always wanted to be a novelist when I was little. Now know that's never ever going to happen. Massive task, I could never do it. Short stories, maybe. But a whole book? Crazy.
Pfft, would far rather give a kid His Dark Materials to get them into reading than Harry Potter, although that may be horribly skewed by nostalgia, and the fact it's been at least a decade since I read them... in reverse order. Need to read them again sometime see if they're any good from a more aged perspective.
Same here! I've tried creative writing but i'm rubbish, doubt I could even manage a short story worth reading. Blackadder said that everbody has one magnum opus in them but I think i'd come up with a Baldrick magnificent octupus instead! Discussing Shakespeare and Julius Caesar reminded me of my passages of his, I use it as one of my personal codes for life; Cowards die many times before their deaths The valiant never taste of death but once Of all the wonders that I yet have heard It seems to me most strange that men should fear Seeing that death, a necessary end Will come when It will come. final passage of Julius Caesar Act II Scene II. The more I read of his works the more in awe I am!
I think I'd struggle reading the first few again. Might cope with the last 2. Last read the 7th one a couple of years back, out of pure boredom. I would definitely recommend other books to read right now
I actually agree with you. Pullman is a much better writer and the books are IMO better than the Potter books. I don't think you can go wrong with either from a getting kids to read point of view. The only difference, and the reason why I praised Rowling rather than Pullman is that it was the Potter books that captured the imagination of the generation. Pullman like Marlowe got lost in the rush and has been criminally overlooked.
