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Post by Tiarnán on Apr 16, 2012 18:42:41 GMT -5
A Fine Balance is a monster to read, but so good once you finally get through it. It's the kind of book that I could see becoming a classic somewhere down the line.
It's funny how something can be full of so much negativity and disappointment, right up until its end, and yet can still make you feel happy and hopeful when you finish.
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Post by Tiarnán on Apr 23, 2012 12:37:10 GMT -5
I read The Road in about three hours, but it wasn't light at all. You're right Burke, it was really depressing. And scary. I was genuinely terrified when they found the people being kept as a human larder and then saw the men and women coming from them when they came out. Now I'm reading The International. It's a Belfast book about the Troubles, but I've only just found out that the lead character is a gay eighteen year old, so it could be relevant. This line made me laugh: "But then I began to think about Gregory again, his pinched cheeks, his red nose ... the way he played the tuba."
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Post by Brandon on Apr 23, 2012 12:39:50 GMT -5
This line made me laugh: "But then I began to think about Gregory again, his pinched cheeks, his red nose ... the way he played the tuba." I don't even know the context, but lol irl.
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Post by Tiarnán on Apr 23, 2012 14:55:43 GMT -5
Lol, this guy could be the nineteen sixties version of me. Now he's talking about wrestling. He's fixated with some tag team's trunks.
This is going to be fun to talk about in class.
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Post by Tarry on Apr 24, 2012 12:39:47 GMT -5
The villains for the upcoming Doctor Who/Star Trek: The Next Generation crossover series have been revealed. Forbidden Planet have the second issue up on their site right now, and the cover shows The Cybermen and The Borg.
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Post by Tiarnán on Apr 25, 2012 12:37:18 GMT -5
I loved that book so much. Some parts were completely confusing, but it was all worth it. I think a way to assess how much you've liked a book is how you feel when you finish it. If you close the book wishing it never had to end and feeling sad that you don't get to read about the characters any more then you know it's been worth it.
It wasn't just the gay thing, but it was a big part. You just don't go into a book about late 1960s Belfast expecting it to be narrated by a young gay male.
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Post by Tiarnán on Apr 25, 2012 13:48:27 GMT -5
Ranking the books I've read since January:
1. The International 2. A Fine Balance 3. Notes on a Scandal 4. One Day 5. Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wonderful Witch of the West 6. Interpreter of Maladies 7. The Road 8. Disgrace 9. The Good Man Jesus & the Scoundrel Christ 10. Gulliver's Travels
All of them ranged from amazing to good aside from the last two, but still, I'm looking forward to being able to choose my own books during the Summer. This semester has really kicked me into gear. I must have read about five new books in the space of 2010 to 2011, whereas this year I've read ten and it's only April. Being forced to actually read has made me realise that a lot of books turn out to actually be quite decent once you get past the first twenty pages or so.
Now I'm reading Condide by Voltaire. It was written in 1759. I have to have it read for nine o'clock tomorrow morning. I'm in for a fun night.
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Post by Tarry on May 15, 2012 15:21:49 GMT -5
I've heard nothing but good things about Deadpool, so I'm going to start reading some of his stories as soon as I get money. I also need to buy Joker/Mask sometime soon too.
I should probably get a job.
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Post by Mutant Couch on May 15, 2012 16:35:16 GMT -5
Deadpool is awesome. Where are you planning to start?
I'm reading Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov and Anatomy of Melancholy by Richard Burton
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Post by Tiarnán on May 15, 2012 17:21:19 GMT -5
I can't read anything new until next Tuesday when I finish my English exam. Then I'm going to head to Amazon and get a pile of Irish books.
My list for next uni year. Has anyone read any of them?
Introduction to American Literature - Selected writings from the Norton Anthology of American Literature, vol. B, including prose writings by Emerson, Poe and Melville - The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Poetry by Dickinson, Whitman, Stevens, and William Carlos Williams - The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton - The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett - Native Son by Richard Wright
Eighteenth Century and Romantic Literature - Vertue Rewarded; or the Irish Princess - Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe - Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Lyrical Ballads and other poems by William Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Literature and Society, 1850-1930 - Chance by Joseph Conrad - Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - The Waste Land and Other Poems by T. S. Eliot - Ulysses by James Joyce - Selected Stories by Katherine Mansfield - Selected Poems by Alfred Tennyson - The Time Machine by H. G. Wells - The Picture of Dorian Day by Oscar Wilde - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Irish Literature - Ennui by Maria Edgeworth - In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu - Poems by James Clarence Mangan - John Bull's Other Island by G. B. Shaw - A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - Selected Poems by W. B. Yeats - The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. Synge - Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett - The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen - North by Seamus Heaney - The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Poetry from Britain and Ireland
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Post by Mutant Couch on May 15, 2012 22:54:46 GMT -5
Selected writings from the Norton Anthology of American Literature, vol. B, including prose writings by Emerson, Poe and Melville Poe's enjoyable to read even when it's his worst stuff. Emerson is about 50/50 and I just don't care for Melville. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne I think it might actually be a requirement for graduation that you have to read or watch the Scarlet Letter at some point in time. Poetry by Dickinson, Whitman, Stevens, and William Carlos Williams Dickinson is the most overrated poet I've ever read. In contrast Whitman totally deserves all the praise he gets. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton I both loved and hated this. Native Son by Richard Wright Like with the Scarlet Letter, I don't think you're allowed to be American and not have read it.
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift I haven't read it in years, but I loved it as a kid. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley It's kind of fun to read a book where you basically know the story, but you get to see how it was originally intended to be.
Chance by Joseph Conrad Okay, so my enjoyment of this book was mostly in that Conrad bothered to have a female main character this time. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens I have like three copies of this, because people won't quit giving them to me. I'm pretty sure I still have a bookmark in one only about a quarter of the way through. I hate Dickens, I really do. The Waste Land and Other Poems by T. S. Eliot Best poem ever. "I'll show you fear in a handful of dust" is just a brilliant, brilliant line. Ulysses by James Joyce Joyce is such a pain in the ass to read. It's worth it, but I wouldn't want to have to read one of his novels with a time restriction. Selected Poems by Alfred Tennyson Tennyson's great and rarely dull. The Picture of Dorian Day by Oscar Wilde I love this book. It's concept is interesting, but easy enough to understand that you won't want to bludgeon anyone. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf I've read it a couple of times and it's still fairly depressing.
John Bull's Other Island by G. B. Shaw Shaw's my favorite playwright ever, but this isn't one of my favorites. It's too bad you didn't get Pygmalion as it's just a fun read. A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - Okay, so I kind of love Stephen Dedalus. I don't know how it will work out, but it would be better to read this before Ulysses The Playboy of the Western World by J. M. Synge - I didn't actually read it, but I did see it performed. It was odd in a good way. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett The person that recommended this to me said it's a play you'll either love or loathe. I disagree. It was okay, but I didn't find it to inspire any great emotion either way.
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Post by Tarry on May 16, 2012 2:57:04 GMT -5
Deadpool is awesome. Where are you planning to start? I was thinking about getting the Deadpool Classic Volumes, because I've been told they're a great place to start.
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Post by Tarry on May 18, 2012 9:57:52 GMT -5
Assimilation2 issue 3 and 4 feature The Doctor regaining forgotten memories of a time where he worked with Captain Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the original Star Trek crew to take down The Cybermen. This series is going to be so good.
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Post by Tarry on May 23, 2012 18:15:00 GMT -5
DC Comics to reintroduce character as gay
DC Comics has confirmed that it will reintroduce one of its established characters as gay.
The news first broke during the publisher's 'New 52' panel at Kapow Comic Con over the weekend, and has since been reiterated by senior vice president of publicity Courtney Simmons.
She told ABC News: "One of the major iconic DC characters will reveal that he is gay in a storyline in June."
DC's 'New 52' line already features a number of gay, lesbian and bisexual characters, including Batwoman and Voodoo, but this will be the first time that a character has had their sexual orientation altered since September's relaunch.
It previously emerged that rival firm Marvel Comics is to include a same-sex wedding in June's Astonishing X-Men #51, widely believed to be between openly-gay hero Northstar and his boyfriend Kyle.
DC's Batwoman picked up an 'Outstanding Comic Book' award from gay rights watchdog GLAAD back in March.
My money is on The Flash or Aquaman.
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Post by Brandon on May 23, 2012 18:34:22 GMT -5
It's totally gonna be Wonder Woman. EDIT: Oh. It said "he." Hmm, yeah, I'm gonna go with Aquaman then. Just because of all the tuna jokes I can use.
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