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Teacher in Rome · Joined: 09 Jul 2003 Posts: 1286

I've always been an avid reader. From about the age of 10 I had full access to my parents' books: I was always confused by the Kama Sutra, but it never inspired me to go back and read for a second time!

I like books that I know I will read again and again. I rarely keep those books that are good for only one reading. I've never had so much money that I could buy books as quickly as I could read them, and I've spent a lot of time in non-English speaking countries. Maybe this is why the "more than one reading" maxim is so important to me.

Currently I'm reading "Love in the Time of Cholera", slowly, on the metro.

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

[quote="khmerhit"]

Mostly, I like to read to read my favourite posters on Daves ESL Cafe, they shall fremain NAMELESS, but one of them carries a broadsword....

[quote]

I didn't realise you guys were so close

khmerhit · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:32 pm Post subject:

We're not, mate. Why do you think the broadsword's there? it's for broads who don't want creeps like me areound Wink

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

kh, If you need help i will creep around, distract her with sparkling avatars and you can disarm that sword which I believe holds the secret of the universe. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone though

FGT · Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 762 Location: Turkey

Life wouldn't be.... so good without books.

The three most recent books I've read/am reading are all recommended.

"Prey" by Michael Crichton. Gripping, well-informed. The concept is worrying. (ie: typical Crichton)!

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. Super book. Well deserving the Whitbread prize. Fascinating, thought-provoking, and an EASY read (took me a morning, but I'll read it again).

"The Cross and the Crescent" by Richard Fletcher. 'The dramatic story of the earliest encounters between Christians and Muslims'. I haven't finished it yet but it's living up to expectations - very informative without being too dry. It's a slim book but packed with interesting insights and background - historical, theological, philosophical and geographic. Until today I didn't know that the first "crusade" took place only 30 odd years after the Norman conquest. One generation and they were off again. The logistics are incredible.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I miss going to the library. there aren't too many English books available to me here.

khmerhit · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 12:54 am Post subject:

Ask someone to send you this, Naturegirl. A great, great book. (And I'm no fan of historical fiction.)

The Fifth queen, by ford madox ford

Aramas · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 4:27 am Post subject:

Denise - What version of the Iliad are you reading? Is it one of the 'verse' kind that reads like poetry? I find that very hard going but haven't found one online in a more readable format. Can you recommend a particular version?

I've been an avid reader since before I started school. These days I'm more of a binge reader. I won't read a book for a couple of months then I'll read three books in a week. I moved across the country about a year ago and was horrified by the weight and bulk of my library. I sold off 150 thick fantasy fiction books, but I still have hundreds - mostly non-fiction reference books. I want to pare that down to a few dozen this year. It's difficult because many of them are out of print and cost several hundred dollares to buy second-hand, but selling them to a second-hand bookshop would be lucky to realise a dollar each.

For me the most exciting bit of technology on the horizon at present is the Philips E Ink ebook reader. Apparently it has similar contrast to the printed page and only uses power when the page is changed. It really does look like a book. Ebook readers will never be as good as the real thing, but for those of us that have no interest in breeding and going to seed it will allow us to carry an extensive library in our pocket no matter where we are.

PatS · Joined: 17 Oct 2003 Posts: 25 Location: Northern California

Aramas, why not investigate selling used through amazon.com? I have purchased out-of-print books that way.

(P.S. Where is your signature quote from? It sounds very Monty Python or Princess Bride-y)

yaramaz · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 5:37 am Post subject:

The quote is from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was uttered by the French soldiers in the castle when the English K-nights were trying to breach the ramparts...

God I am such a doofus.

leby26 · Joined: 30 Jan 2004 Posts: 68

Monty Python indeed - love that French guard - "I empty my nose at you" or "I fart in your general direction.... stupid english pig dogs" - or when they ask if his ruler wants to help with the quest for the grail and he says "he already has one" - 'He already has one?" - "oh yes, it very nice"
...and now i'm just talking nonsense once again, sorry guys - one of my all time favourites Laughing

Aramas · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 6:23 am Post subject:

Yep - the Python Gang. It reminds me of the unarmed English policeman's threat - "Halt! Or I shall shout 'Halt!' again!" Laughing

The Amazon thing seems to be geared for bookshops, but I'll look into it. I've looked at Ebay both here in AU and in the US, but there are so few bids on books it seems hardly worth the effort.

I want to fit everything I own into a backpack and a single trunk by the end of the year - and I'm starting with five cubic metres! Argh! Shocked

I have to lose a motorcycle, a guitar and amp, several hundred books, furniture and household effects and last af all, my computer! I'm very much looking forward to the day that my computer and I part company. It will be symbolic of my freedom from possessions.

I suppose I could try cohabitation - it worked last time! Cool

I saw a painting some years ago. We have a cartoonist called Leunig here in AU and he does some very profound stuff. The painting may have been by him, but if not it was in a very similar style. It showed a man lying on his back in an empty room. Various very tiny pices of furniture were arrayed on his belly pinning him to the floor and a tear fell from his eye. I feel like that sometimes.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

I'm a little like Capergirl in that my work schedule and home life really cut into my reading time. So, I do most of my reading on the bus/subway to and from work. That allows me to get through only about 4 books a year.

I have recently decided to read unabridged classics, sometimes annotated. They are just things that I never got around to in my younger days.

Treasure Island
Robinson Crusoe
The Three Musketeers
Don Quixote
Catcher in the Rye

I also love old sf (from the 40's and 50's).

What I can't find at the used bookstore, I swallow with pride and order frugally through Amazon. Here in Japan, ordering 1500 yen or more allows me to skip shipping charges if Amazon.co.jp has the books. When I'm finished, I contribute my books to the school where I work.

johnslat · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 10:17 pm Post subject: The second time around

Dear Glenski,
I envy you - getting to read those five for the first time. What's also nice, though, is that books I read way back in my teens (we're talking 45 years ago here) also seem like "new reads" when I pick one up these days. I just finished re-reading "Tom Jones", and, although I'd thought it would be too familiar, it wasn't. Now all I have to do is wait another 45 years or so and I can read it for the first time again.
Regards,
John