Tammy, see comments on Mockingbird - string in this Forum (4-30-02) within "Dandelion Wine & TKAM". What do you think?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by fjpalumbo:
Mockingbird is an all time classic. I am surprised it did not show up more often.
-OOPS! Sorry - double clicked!



[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 05-02-2002).]

i have to agree with Lord of the Flies and add To Kill a Mockingbird. you sci-fi fans may enjoy one of my favories called Season of Passage by Christopher Pike. it haunts me still years later. i had to read one called The Book of the Dun Cow a long time ago in school and that one was one that I can't seem to get out of my head. Maybe because it was so weird.

oops - same message twice. i thought it didn't go through the first time. as far as TKAM vs. Dandelion Wine, i am going to have to re-read Dandelion Wine. i know that i read several Bradbury stories when i was in school and i remember a lot of the titles and some of the plots, but it's been so long that i don't remember them very well. i have always loved his work, but as an adult, i have found little time to enjoy it. i happened onto this site searching for "A Laurel & Hardy Love Affair" and after reading all these posts have decided to rekindle my romance with Mr. Bradbury's work once again. i'm sure the meanings will be much different now that i'm grown. i watched "f451" the other night again. it amazes me every time i see it. it is so sad and yet it is so enlightening and encouraging. hey - like To Kill A Mockingbird...?

Interesting! DW, TKAM, and F451 - all offer a glimmer (& RAY) of hope at the end of what had become a very dark tunnel for the protagonists.
Each hints of - but does not reveal - what the new found personal and social awarenesses will bring. Consider the similarities (tone, irony) of the final scenes in these novels.

Hi Homer,

The University of Nebraska (with the Bison Frontiers of Imagination imprint) publishes a series of classic science fiction that might be of interest. Here is the link to their site.
http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/scripts/Cart/smart.pl?command=listitems&SERIES=Bison+Frontiers+of+Imagination+series&tmp=0

I've got all these books and have read about half. So far, I am very pleased. Even the ones that I don't "like," I have to admit are classics. Note that many of these books are available for free online. You can get the E.R. Burroughs, for instance, at Online Literature:
http://www.literature.org/authors/

P.S. I loved Tolkien's Ring, but wouldn't recommend The Silmarillion unless you have a much larger dose of patience than I. Get a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica's Great Books instead...it'll be easier going!

[This message has been edited by firehrt (edited 05-03-2002).]

I read To Kill A Mockingbird about 2 months ago. Great, great, book. Thanks for the website. It's to bad you go to Nebraska. It's going to be embarsing when OU kills you guys next year. Oh yeah, just to spout some useless drivel. My vote for worst book I have read is Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Another great book no one has mentioned: A Seperate Peace. I love books that go through someones whole physche. Man, my spelling is horendous. It's been a good day, two of my writings have been accepted into an anthology. It's my second one to be included in. Not bad for a 10th grader, heh? Well, enough with the arrogant boasting. Also for a great fantasy tale read the Dragon's of Autumn Twilight Trilogy from the DragonLance line of books. Thanks again...

A little late, but some of my favorite "Catcher in the Rye" style books would include:

"The Sterile Cuckoo" by John Nichols

"High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby

"Bridget Jone's Jiary" by Helen Fielding

More "weighty" books I have loved, include:

"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey

"The Mosquito Coast" by Paul Thoreaux (sp?)

and two very recent ones I've enjoyed are called, "A Simple Plan" by Scott Smith and "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk.

Good reading . . .

I just finished Shopgirl by Steve Martin.
I found it up to the minute melencholy, I think he is a wonder with his word choice, and sentance stucture. It is only a small novella, but he explores his characters with depth, and skill. I am waiting for Pure Drivel by Steve M. to come in from Interlibrary Loan, now that the semester is over.

Even though this thread is overloaded already, it's fun to list favaourite books. Another (relatively) recent novel that I found quite extraordinary was A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY by John Irving; a must-read.

Crum, I've always wanted to create a monstrously long thread ... uh, I mean, I always wanted to read that one by Irving -- it's on my perpetual "to read" list. I have read his other books, Trying To Save Piggy Sneed and Garp (the latter being my favorite; I've read it numerous times). I find Irving's style -- most of the time -- like listening to an old friend speaking about a whole group of old friends, even though the narrator tends to digress sometime (or as in the case, Son of the Circus digression to a chronic degree).

I can't for the life of me remember if anyone hear recommeneded Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby; if not, I'd be quite surprised -- isn't it recommeneded reading in most schools? Now that's a classic I wasn't resentful about having forced upon me. In fact, it's another book I read more than once. I found the language in that book so exquisitely concise and vivid. And that's not even saying anything about the themes of forlorn love and dreams of the transforming oneself from poor boy to millionaire socialite, albeit an aloof one.


[This message has been edited by Nightshade (edited 05-12-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Nightshade (edited 05-12-2002).]

I just can't seem to leave this thread alone.

Another book you'd want to read, Homer, is Summer of '42. It's an outrageously funny, nostalgic, and heartbreaking tale of a young man discovering his sexuality -- I think it fits in the Catcher In the Rye category, and I can guarantee you'd be very entertained while reading it.

Another contemporary writer who comes a little close to Salinger is A.M. Homes, who penned the controversial The End of Alice. There's a collection of her stories called The Safety of Objects where you'll find some truly quirky characters that reminded me somewhat of Salinger's Glass family. The two main characters in one of the stories, "Adults Alone," are fleshed out in her last novel, whose title escapes me at the moment.

Anyway, I think I'm done with this subject. Only time will tell, I suppose.

along with 1984 and F451, you should try "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley...

Huxley also a follow up 30 years later in a non-fiction collection of essays called "Brave New World Revisted"

Hey all!
I actually read a lot of those books before. Silmarrilion is okay, but I think it drags a little. Lord of the Flies is definitely good, but I read it a few months back. I think maybe The Pigman by Paul Zindel. It may be a little middle school level for you, but it really is good. Also, try Uncle Tom's Cabin. Orwell is great, but he did write other books besides 1984 and Animal Farm. Franz Kafka is a lot like Bradbury in some ways, but he is more pessimistic. I hope these suggestions help. Pretty good for a 9th grader, huh?