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Books I own but haven't read yet

i have only 3 Bradbury books at home that i haven't read yet (thanks eBay!)

Dandelion Wine
From the Dust Returned
Driving Blind

i WISH i had a big pile of books waiting for me to read, but i don't buy them so far ahead because i haven't the space to store them. everytime i build up a box worth of read books at home i have to pack them up and put them into our storage room.

last year, the Globe and Mail was sponsoring a "Win a library" contest (through Chapters) where you could win $10,000 worth of books of your choice. wouldn't THAT have been nice!!!! :)
 
Wild Swans

And Silly Wabbit, I think Wild Swans is amazing. It never did as well in the US as in UK, at least not as well as, say, Amy Tan, who is eminently readable though does not convey half as much insight about China and the Cultural Revolution, though her stories have some similar trajectories to the true story in Wild Swans.

Novella
 
Novella, I concur with your opinions on both Bridget Jones and The Nanny Diaries - very succinct reviews, and exactly what I thought! In fact, Bridget was one of those rare things - a film better than the book it was inspired by...

And, IMO, you should dip into fantasy. Some of it is truly great, and it is criminal that it has been pidgeon-holed into a genre.
 
I've never been into chick lit, maybe because I find it difficult to relate to other women. Most of my friends are men. I'm pretty feminine in the way that I dress, and female singer/songwriters are amongst my favorite musicians, and I'm pretty girly, but I don't do most of the things most other women I know do, such as keeping track of my weight (I really don't know how much I weigh, and I don't particularly care either) and...um...what is it that women do, again? :confused:

Also, a common theme in chick lit is romance, and I'm not at all interested in romance.
 
novella said:
And Silly Wabbit, I think Wild Swans is amazing. It never did as well in the US as in UK, at least not as well as, say, Amy Tan, who is eminently readable though does not convey half as much insight about China and the Cultural Revolution, though her stories have some similar trajectories to the true story in Wild Swans.
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Another book I would recommend if you enjoyed this one is 'Life and Death in Shanghai' by Nien Cheng. It covers a shorter time period than Wild Swans and as such offers a deeper insight into the Cultural Revolution and Maoist China.
 
Thea,
You're right about the romance theme. They say the failure of so-called lad lit is because not many men want to read about the emotional development and romantic success of other guys, that guys want to read about making loads of money, losing loads of money, getting power, losing power, and the intricacies of war. And not many women want to read about guys treating women badly (from the guys' point of view). Lad lit inevitably involves the self-absorbed misogynist's reformation, whereas chicklit is usually about the incidental and unwitting (read innocent and nonmanipulative) success of the woman who had her eye on all the wrong things.

If chicklit is the mirror image, I guess it's true that lots of women DO like to read about emotional development and romantic success/failure of other women. I never got into Jane Austen, but her enduring popularity attests to some fascination with the romantic quandary.

On the other hand, romances by their nature are very predictable, and thus can be boring. The refreshing thing about Nick Hornby is his ability to be unpredictable even while writing a love story. I'm sure there are others capable of this, but he comes to mind.

Is anyone else into Ethan Canin or T. Coraghssen Boyle? To me, they are the meat and potatoes of regular, decent, current fiction. Not masters, but good solid craftsmen.

Novella
 
The predictability of romance novels is definitely one reason why I don't enjoy them. I worked for a short time in a bargain book store and the chick lit books were our biggest sellers. I used to flip through them for amusement because the conversations were always so unrealistic. I especially loved the scenes where young men with glistening muscles would lift their girlfriends into the air and toss them violently into bed.

I'm not a fan of romantic films either. This is probably because my husband and I don't have a particularly conventional relationship, and I get tired of seeing the same story being told over and over again. Sex is always seen as the deciding moment when two people consummate their love, and to me sex and love are two very different things. I'd love to read a book or see a film about a celibate couple, where one of them isn't freaking out that their lack of sex is due to the other having an affair, or a polyamorous relationship that actually works. Any recommendations?
 
Thea,
Iris Murdoch's books always seemed unconventional to me regarding emotional attachments and sex. But those subjects are not really her focus.

I guess either the protagonist's mind is on getting a relationship going or it is not. Interesting question . . .

Novella
 
I don't even want to think about the number of unread books that populate my library, otherwise I'd want to do nothing but read for weeks.

Meanwhile, I got a bargain listing in the mail - all sorts for $2.99 each, free shipping! This is not a good thing for my finances.

The Feminine Mystique popped out at me - it's easy to forget exactly what our mothers and grandmothers were up against, so this was an eye-opener. It has a lot of anecdotes, one after another, so that does drag it out some.
 
After a year and a half, I return to this thread only to discover that I have only read ten of these books in that time! Not that I've only read ten books in a year and a half, mind you, but I keep buying new ones that prevent me from reading the old ones. Alas, it is my destiny to drown in a sea of unread books... :p
 
Thea said:
Not that I've only read ten books in a year and a half, mind you, but I keep buying new ones that prevent me from reading the old ones. Alas, it is my destiny to drown in a sea of unread books... :p
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Here Here!
 
I currently have a stack of books beside my bed that I have bought in the last few months and need to read. I"ve told myself no new ones until I read at least five of them...but I can see that resolution falling tomorrow.
 
I read the first page, then either chuck the book or pile it with the rest for 'later':rolleyes: I don't think I've read any though.

Do you not even read the front page?

I love Charles Bukowski, I've read all his novels and short stories. You'll either love him or hate him, find out by reading the first page. 'Women' is his worst book, in my opinion.

'The Wasp Factory' is good. But I didn't think it was so special.

'One Hundred Years of Solitude' and 'Love in the Time of Cholera' I finished, preferred the latter but not amazingly impressed.
 
Stewart, I think I am going to forget about Tolkien. To be honest I've never been remotely interested in reading him at all, but I do own his books (thanks to my husband, the LoTR freak) and they will probably forever remain in the Unread Pile.

Isabell, I thank you for supporting my habits. :D

Prairie_Girl, someone else mentioned in this thread that s/he won't buy new books until ten of those already owned are read, but I could never adhere to such a strict policy. Books are simply too yummy to pass up.

Jaybe, I've been reading Bukowski for the past five years and have read most of what he has written. At the time of this thread's posting I hadn't read any of his novels, but now I've read two. I had already read almost all of his short stories, and even collect the individual ones that are illustrated by R. Crumb, the perfect artist to accompany Buk.
 
There was a time when I would have considered Bukowski God, too, but not these days. There will always be a special place in my poetry-loving heart for the man, though. :) I do prefer his poetry.
 
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