Ryl’s Comments (group member since Aug 31, 2007)

Ryl’s comments from the SDMB - Straight Dope group.

I've been keeping track of mine on my LiveJournal under the tag "2010 books".

I got a hardbound copy of Mary Oliver's newest book that way. She's my favorite living poet. I was most pleased.

I got Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" from one sister and Betsy Tobin's "Iceland" from the other sister. I got myself Leslie Marmon Silko's "Gardens in the Dunes."

Cassa wrote: "OK, then my question to you would be the following: If I fall in love with the original series, where do I go from there? Wikipedia had a chart giving the series chronology, involving short stories..."

I read the Butlerian Jihad trilogy first, then the House trilogy, then the original series again and then Hunters and Sandworms. That's just because that's the order I got my hands on them. I'd recommend reading Hunters and Sandworms after reading the original series, though, they depend heavily on Chapterhouse Dune.

Cassa wrote: Would you say it's not worth branching out past the original six? I'm the sort of girl who plays video games for months looking for 100% completion; will forging past the first six to shoot for that 100% lead to disappointment?
It depends on how into the series you get. I got so involved in the original series I went on to read all of the Dune series (plural series) except "Paul of Dune" and I've loved them all. But then I'm a sucker for both well-plotted intrigues and space operas.

I was bored by a lot of what we read in HS, especially American writers. To this day I have a slight bias against American "straight" fiction (as opposed to genre fiction).

As for the OP, I didn't understand Shakespeare until I was in college and I suddenly realized I understood his language. Dickens is taking a bit longer. I hated HATED Dickens up until I did a study-abroad class with a teacher who adored ol' Charlie. We went to a reading at Dickens' London house (http://www.dickensmuseum.com/readings...) and the light bulb above my head went off. I suddenly understood how entertaining all those dull novels could be. I still hate Great Expectations and Dora Copperfield, but I'm willing to give the rest of Dickens' works a chance.

Koeeoaddi wrote: "I'm here much more than there, these days. The Dope is a big anonymous ocean and GR is a friendly little pond. Occasionally think a Pit might be useful, though.

Eh, perhaps not."

I made my own Pit. It's called my "thissucked" shelf.

SpazCat

Ulysses was on my classics to-read pile for a while until I read "Dubliners." Or tried to read. I decided if Joyce's short stories frustrated me so badly I had no business trying to read his novels. His writing style irritates me too much.

I don't get books anymore either. I think it's because my family doesn't know what I like anymore (thanks literature degree!). Next year I'm going to specifically request gift cards and take some of the pressure off them.

The good news is my oldest nephew seems to be developing reading tastes similar to my own and my niece is almost old enough for Marguerite Henry's horse books, so I can start giving them Christmas books with very little trouble.

Dung Beetle, could you do your ten minutes a day at bedtime? I have a "bedtime book" on my nightstand to help me relax into sleep at night. I usually read a chapter a night.

Anna, if you read Les Mis you need to schedule three months to do nothing else but read it or get an abridged version. That was the longest paperweight I ever picked up.

I hated Great Expectations and David Copperfield, but I loved Tale of Two Cities. I need to read the earlier books (Nicholas Nickelby, Oliver Twist, that sort of thing.)

I saw a man give a reading as Dickens at the Dickens House Museum once. It was amazing. I can see how doing the "Sikes and Nancy story" one too many times killed him--that part is intense! He also made fun of Dora Copperfield which was totally worth it. (Dora ruined that book for me. Spineless little wench.)

Yes, the Muppet Christmas Carol is the definitive version. Fozziwig was excellent.

I got a new roommate recently who gave me the Dune House trilogy. She knows how to pay her rent. :D

After I found a 15% off coupon for Barnes & Noble, I went there yesterday and picked up The Blood Knight by Greg Keyes. All I need now is The Born Queen and I have the whole series.

Someone else is reading Our Sister Killjoy! *maniacal laughter* Soon I will convert everyone to Ama Ata Aidoo!

Enough to make Mt. ToBeRead threaten to overshadow Everest with K2 sitting on top of it.

More hours in a day. I need more hours!

Julie, I loved M.M. Kaye's The Ordinary Princess when they serialized it in Cricket years ago. You say she did mysteries, too? Hmmmm.

My contribution to this list is Edgar Rice Burroughs. He wrote an untold number of sci-fi and fantasy novels, most of which are hard to find, but very good in the 1930s-1950s movie serial kind of way.

Third vote for Vanity Fair. It's one of my top five favorite books. If you can, get the Barnes & Noble edition--it has all of Thackeray's illustrations and they add so much to the story.

For Trollope, I'd say start with Barchester Towers. It's the most interesting of the Chronicles of Barset and there's not much backstory at all.

Okay, strike that. Anne Tyler finally cleared up--at the freakin' END of the book no less--that the meeing took place in 1966. After saying it was the "late sixties" throughout the book.

*kicks book*

Gah! I just found another one (non-gazebo related this time).

I'm reading "Back When We Were Grownups" right now. The main character is 53 years old. She met her husband in 1968 when she was 20 years old. Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd just came through the area.

Dennis and Floyd came through in 1999. I know because I was evacuated during the flooding.

1999 minus 1948 does not equal 53.

*headdesk*

Well, he just did something incredibly embarrassing (it was Wesley, after all) and he was ashamed to face Data. How gazebos are shaming, I don't know.