THE BOOK THREAD

[hanzo1]

O.K. I surrendered and bought the first Harry Poter book today, now I just need free time to read It

Does anyone like the Asterix comic books? I love them and read them alot as a child I'm still going through them every now and then

[Liesl]

O.K. I surrendered and bought the first Harry Poter book today, now I just need free time to read It

Good luck Hanzo.  Hope you enjoy it as much as other have (including myself!).  Are you planning to read all 6 books in time for the release of the final book 7? 

[Ugly Betty]

O.K. I surrendered and bought the first Harry Poter book today, now I just need free time to read It

Oooooh!  When you finish, give us your critique.  I can't believe it's less than a month til Book 7! 

[hanzo1]

Well It's going to take some time since I don't have time to read anything that is not related to my studies
So no chance to read them all (or even one before the 7 one comes out)

[fairy]

I thought the movies where quite fun, however I never got over the first third of the first book.
It read too much like an unhappy Cinderella story....

[Dandelion]

Does anyone like the Asterix comic books? I love them and read them alot as a child I'm still going through them every now and then

I love Asterix! My mom would only buy me the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy's books so I had to make friends with this nerdy boy at school 'cause he had most of the Asterix collection. He was such a pain in the butt for he would only allow me to borrow one comic a day!
I've started buying them a few months ago and so far have no 1 - 24

I also love love love Calvin and Hobbes!

[hanzo1]

Hanzo: yes, at the very least he was among the most dangerous and destructive people in history.

But here's the difference....unlike some others we know of eg Hitler, there are still lots of people who think Mao was kind of cute and they have memorabilia of his that they show off. 

Remember when Prince Harry was (rightly IMO) attacked for wearing a swastika?

He deserved the attacks as far as I am concerned, but one commentator did point out that there would not have been the same uproar if he had worn Mao memorabilia - not because anyone thinks Harry is a communist  but because among the leftist intelligentsia it's somehow "OK" if a mass-murderer also called himself a communist.

And in fact, as you said, plenty of commentators dispute what Jung Chang has said about Mao in her new book.

Please do see that film and let us have your opinion!!!!  You'll see how dreadful a fate it was to be the number 3 or 4 wife, especially if you didn't give birth to a boy.   

Just what we talked about  :

Cameron Diaz sported a bag with the Maoist slogan “Serve the People” while sightseeing in Peru on Friday, not realizing the painful memories it would invoke. The famous political slogan was by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong and “has particular relevance in Peru where the Maoist Shining Path insurgency almost brought Peru to edge of chaos in the 1980s and early 1990s.”

http://justjared.buzznet....25/cameron-diaz-bag-peru/

[Macaw]

Yes indeed, we were right!

[fairy]

Is that just ignorant or plain stupid?

[Little_star]

Ignorant. The Chinese/Japanese letters have been doing the rounds for years and the biggest problem is that the vast majoirty of people don't know what they mean, they just like the design.

[Daughter of Struense]

I feel that I am navigating in uncharted waters when
someone is talking about Harry Potter, since I have never
read any of the Rowlins-books. I was just getting started
writing when I saw the cover of TIME magazine with
a drawing of a boy with green eyes. I decided then that
I would not read the books, so not to get it mixed up
with my own stories. And since then never got around to it.

I recall reading Tolkiens "The Hobitt" when I was a child
but only came as far as when the trolls lead the terrified
ponies into the mountain to be eaten. I threw the book
away and never did warm up to the author again. 
I resented anyone writing that in a book aimed for children.
Years later I did attempt to read him again but found
his books dry and longwinded, lacking a certain fire
and excitement. 

I love C.S. Lewis though. Have all the Narnia-books and just started
reading them again.

I am currently reading "The Shipping News" by
E. Annie Proulx. Saw the movie and did not care for it
but the book is so much better.

Finished "Skygger paa Græsset" ( Shadows on the Grass )
by Karen Blixen. Have read it many times, a recollection
that continues where "Out of Africa" ended.

Also reading "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brönte again,
again.

DoS

[Diogenes]

Ah, DoS, and here I thought I was the only one on earth who actively disliked Tolkien.  Thank you!
Do people in Denmark still read Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen's gothic tales?  I still say that her opening for Out of Africa was one of the best opening lines ever:  I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills ... but I am getting ahead of myself ... Dennis would have hated that ...
And do people still read/enjoy Piet Hein's Grooks?

[Daughter of Struense]

Ah, DoS, and here I thought I was the only one on earth who actively disliked Tolkien.  Thank you!
Do people in Denmark still read Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen's gothic tales?  I still say that her opening for Out of Africa was one of the best opening lines ever:  I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills ... but I am getting ahead of myself ... Dennis would have hated that ...
And do people still read/enjoy Piet Hein's Grooks?

Oh yes, Karen Blixen is still very much read,
at least among the people I know. My mother
read all her books when I was a child so I guess
I was tuned into her books even before reading them.
Infact she was the only female writer who made it into
the governments recent list of recommended books.
The cover of my very old tattered copy of "Shadows on
the Grass" shows a pencildrawing of a magnificent
male lion. When I was a child I imagined that he was
the one resting on Finch Hattons grave on the Ngong Hills...
I love that opening line too...
I think "The Seven Gothic Tales" will always be worth
reading even to younger generations since she often placed
her characters in a timeless and international setting.
And we do not have so much more to be proud of in Denmark,
these days  , so we value her.

Piet Heins sayings is so much part of everyday life, that
people often quote him without knowing it.

DoS

[Chris]

I recall reading Tolkiens "The Hobitt" when I was a child
but only came as far as when the trolls lead the terrified
ponies into the mountain to be eaten. I threw the book
away and never did warm up to the author again. 
DoS

Did you read it in English or in Danish?

[Daughter of Struense]

I recall reading Tolkiens "The Hobitt" when I was a child
but only came as far as when the trolls lead the terrified
ponies into the mountain to be eaten. I threw the book
away and never did warm up to the author again. 
DoS

Did you read it in English or in Danish?

Why?

DoS