Olden Times Books Discussion

[Lily]

Moby bad person? *face keyboard*

Haha, that's the forum's automatic bad word filter. Once it even filtered Charles Dickens.

I love your dying to read list, Romsca. I highly recommend The Count of Monte Cristo, it's one of my favourite books. I also love The Great Gatsby and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You should start with those, they're both quite short.

[MeadowR]

I've read a lot of the 'classics'. A lot of them are very good, but yes, some are also not so! I've read too many too list really, and just want to read so many more.

Some I didn't find very good (basically boring) were:

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, The Call of the Wild by Jack London and Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens.

[Firehawke]

I enjoy reading old books!  Some of my favs are the Narnia and Middle Earth books, A Christmas Carol, Hamlet (if you consider that a book!), Secret Garden, Little Princess, and Anne of Green Gables (and some of its sequels)

[Redwaller]

Anne of Green Gables is pretty good. 

[Ungatt Trunn]

Moby bad person? *face keyboard*

Haha, that's the forum's automatic bad word filter. Once it even filtered Charles Dickens.

LOL!

[Romsca]

P.S: Romsca, why don't you like A Farwell To Arms?

1. The writing style. I often like books with an informal, stream-of-consciousness writing style, but I can't stand bad grammar, especially if it's intentional.
2. The author's view on war. He makes people who are patriotic seem stupid and the main character deserts and makes it look like the right thing to do.
3. The author's view on commitment within a relationship. He talks about... some of the bad things he does in certain cities while he's away at war... like it's fun and interesting because he can leave soon after, but when he stays with someone named Catherine despite bad circumstances, tragedy happens.

Did you read it Ungatt?

[Rusvul]

2. The author's view on war. He makes people who are patriotic seem stupid and the main character deserts and makes it look like the right thing to do.

Might I interject here? This is, of course, entirely my view and you are free to agree or not, as you choose.

Patriotism is all well and good, but blind patriotism in combat can be a very bad thing indeed. Perhaps the point that the author was trying to get across is that war isn't always for the right reasons, and blindly following orders, or blindly 'protecting' your country can sometimes support an unjust war. In such a case, deserting and/or resigning would be a perfectly valid option- As a soldier, I wouldn't fight a war I didn't agree with. Also, sometimes resignation/desertion can be the best choice, if not for your country, for you. If a war is physically or emotionally tearing you apart, who could expect you to stand and fight when your every instinct is telling you to leave?

That being said, I haven't read the book of which you speak. I don't know if any of this is applicable in any way. But I thought I'd just put it out there.

[Ungatt Trunn]

P.S: Romsca, why don't you like A Farwell To Arms?

1. The writing style. I often like books with an informal, stream-of-consciousness writing style, but I can't stand bad grammar, especially if it's intentional.
2. The author's view on war. He makes people who are patriotic seem stupid and the main character deserts and makes it look like the right thing to do.
3. The author's view on commitment within a relationship. He talks about... some of the bad things he does in certain cities while he's away at war... like it's fun and interesting because he can leave soon after, but when he stays with someone named Catherine despite bad circumstances, tragedy happens.

Did you read it Ungatt?

Yea, I get what your saying.

Now, here's the punch line: I'VE NEVER READ  A FAREWELL TO ARMS!!!

[Unimaginative]

One of my favorites is Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

[White One6193]

Alzae meant by Olden Timez are bookz zuch az The Talisman, Any King Arthur book, (and to prevent any arguments aboat religion) the bible, an' any o' thoze bookz like that.

The Iliad is great:

"Of all the warriors in all the world, the men of Troy were the most fell. They were those born of Winter."

Beowulf, too:

"Lo! the Spear-Danes' glory through splendid achievements
The folk-kings' former fame we have heard of,
How princes displayed then their prowess-in-battle."

and of course Tolkien honored that spirit in LOTR:

"Arise now, arise, Riders of Théoden!

Dire deeds awake, dark is it eastward.
Let horse be bridled, horn be sounded!
Forth Eorlingas!"

And then there is my absolute favorite: (You can just hear the rhythm of hoof beats when you read it)

"Out of doubt, out of dark to the day's rising
I came singing into the sun, sword unsheathing.
To hope's end I rode and to heart's breaking:
Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall! "

I looooved Howard Pyle's "Tales of King Arthur and His Knights". Romantic (in the classical sense) fiction is BEST fiction.

After all, that's what Redwall is.

Thus this site exists.

And here we are.