Quotations and Literature Forum

I did. And now, thanks to Ashcroft, Bush, et al, I'm living it.

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Regards,
Lou
I feel like a fugitive from th' law of averages.
— Bill Mauldin

. . . and Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451.

Fahrenheit 451, I forgot how much I love that book!!

Have any of you guys read The Chrysalids by John Whyndom? If not i suggest picking it up for some light reading. Oh what about The Giver, Neither of these picks are particulary complex but perplexing none the less.

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It's not my fault, I'm from a small town.

I must suggest The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. And if you can find it I suggest the short story Happy Endings by Ms. Atwood as well. I just finished Handmaid for a class and am quickly planning to read it cover to cover again. I felt kind of silly for wanting to re-read it right away so I thought I'd read my favorite Harry Potter again Prisoner of Azkaban. Love it love it love it!!
Laeskia

Quite a nice group of lists here - all very excellent choices and inspiring me to try some of those listed that I've missed. Am I alone, however, in listing any of the Beat writers as being worthy of a re-read? Specific favorites of mine are Howl (Ginsberg) and Dharma Bums and Big Sur (Kerouac).
-bobcat9

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There are more horses' asses in the world than there are horses.

I absolutely agree with "Howl," and have twice-read Keroauc's On the Road.

My favorite postcard in all the world is a photo of Virginia Military Institute cadets in a classroom puzzling over a copy of "Howl." It's hilarious -- if I could find it online, I would copy it here. It's from City Lights bookstore (famous haunt of the Beats) in San Francisco.

I agree with your estimation of Waugh's genius, Mariantoinette. I did my M.A. thesis on Waugh's A Handful of Dust and Brideshead Revisited. There are excellent film versions of both -- Brideshead with young Jeremy Irons as Charles Ryder and Anthony Andrews as Sebastian.

I have to agree about the Harry Potter books. They were very well written, and I liked how J.K. Rowling comercialized magic. Some of my other favorites are:

-Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion by Jane Austen
-Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
-The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
-Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
-The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
-Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
-Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
-The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
-and even though I haven't read it twice I really enjoyed The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

What a great topic! So many classics ... some that I've read, others that I'd forgotten, but now will have to rediscover. I was thrilled to see someone (Lou de Torres) mention "The Once and Future King" by TH White. It was my very first "twice told tale," when I was an idealistic teen. I've found that as I've grown older (and more cynical), I've realized how much White packed into that novel: romance, comedy, tragedy, fantasy, philosophy, cultural anthropology, and of course war. What did I omit?

I'd like to make one non-classical contribution to this worthy list... "Prince Ombra" by Roderick MacLeish. It has many of the same qualities as "The Once and Future King." It's a present-day realistic fantasy tale of good vs evil. I wonder if anyone else here has read it.

Can't wait to see what other titles appear here!

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Let us then be up and doing, with a heart for any fate. (HW Longfellow)

one of the books on my top ten list is :
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Mariantoinette,

I did read Sword of Honour (need my memory jarred on the titles to remember if I read all of the War Trilogy), and Scoop, and, an all time favorite, The Loved One. (If you haven't yet read The Loved One, you're in for a real treat.) But, I can't believe it, that was 20 years ago; lots of cobwebs since then. I'm with you: Waugh was brilliant, one of the sharpest wits ever.

I've yet to read anything by Oberon other than an article some years back, and I have to confess I don't remember what it was about -- probably a memoir of his father. If he's a chip off the old block, I should track down his work -- thanks for the tip.

There is a collection of Waugh's letters that is a JOY to read and offers delightful insights into the life of a writer. Have you read it? One of my favorite anecdotes from it, paraphrasing from rusty memory, is his example of how characters take on a life of their own. Waugh said, for instance, he didn't know one of his characters, a Mrs. ____, had been drinking until late in the book. Then he had to go back to previous chapters and fill them in with empty liquor bottles hidden in cabinets, etc. (Of course, his telling of this story is much more charming.) Another favorite anecdote about Waugh is his interview on BBC radio, when he answered all the interviewer's questions in monosyllables -- yes, no. The poor interviewer ran through his material for a 30 minute show in about 5 minutes and was freaking!