The Hog's Head

Well, I'm coming up on it - I'm reading The Penultimate Peril now, so it shouldn't be long.  We'll see...

I have now finished The Handmaid's Tale, which I did find fascinating, and liked, despite the ambiguous ending.

Anyone else here read Meg Cabot's books. I just read Avalon High and am eager to discuss it!

I'm a Meg Cabot fan. She's my pick me up reading. I have Avalon High, but I haven't started it yet. Anything else by her you want to discuss? I haven't read the last Princess Diaries book. I refuse to suffer until the next one is out, so I'll wait. 

I've read all the Princess Diaries except the latest one, All-American Girl and Ready or Not, Teen Idol, and both of her historical romances (er, the ones for a young adult audience, not her romance novels).  Hmm... how about Princess Diaries?

Am I alone in feeling that she's been dumbing Mia down these last few books?  She seemed so much more put together in PD1, and now she's... so not.  I'm not even sure if I'll finish the series, honestly.

That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by Teen Idol, which I read last year.  Jenny, unlike Mia, did not seem at all afraid to be smart, and there seemed to be a bit more to her.

Any thoughts?

I haven't read the last one, either. I kind of found out what happens and I think I'll wait for the next one...

I agree about Mia. I really hope she somehow brings back feisty Mia in the next books. I'm hoping it's just part of the story she's trying to tell, because if not ...how disappointing. I really love Michael, though. He's a great character.

I haven't read Teen Idol. I did read How to be Popular, and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It was fun, in that lighthearted way.  I read Size 12 is not fat, and the sequel, Size 14 is not fat either, and enjoyed those too, though How to be Popular was better. The thing with her though is that it seems like everything she writes is a series and you are never quite at the end! 

Well, seeing as I'm in the middle of studying literature, I'm reading quite a bit.

I just finished reading A Discovery of Strangers by Rudy Wiebe.  It's a historiographical metafiction regarding one of the early overland explorations of the Canadian northlands in the early 19th century, and it's a fascinating look at both the native people of the time and the English explorers.

In Shakespeare, I've covered The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, Henry V, Titus Andronicus, and we just started good old Romeo & Juliet.

I've finished reading Spenser's The Faerie Queene for British literature.

For recreational reading, I've been reading Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion and Stephen King's The Stand.  Heh, kinda diametrically opposed, now that I think of it.   

I recently read Al Gore's An Assault on Reason.  Excellent book for anyone with a passing interest in politics, and it isn't just a rant against Bush...though the rant that is there is very good. 

I've read most of Shakespeare. Much Ado about Nothing is probably my favorite. But, it's hard to pick. I'm a fan, what can I say?

What did you think of The Stand? I'm not much of a Stephen King fan, and every time I remember the reading I went to and how charming he was in person, I kind of want to give it another try, but I just ...I don't know.

"Oh, sweet my mother, cast me not away!"

... Sorry, auditioned for that today. And then rehearsed "Midsummer."

If anyone wants to talk Shakespeare, just let me know. But you might want to set aside a few weeks.

You're on. 

Let's start with a basic question. What's your favorite?

Well, right now, "Midsummer," because I'm rehearsing it.

I'm not sure I really have a favorite, favorite. It really depends on my mood and what I feel I can tackle character wise. I'm a sucker for R&J, but the problems of King Lear and Winter's Tale fascinate me. Of course, Hamlet is always fun to debate.

What about you?

My favourite Shakespeare...it depends on the genre.

Comedy: Taming of the Shrew (and before anyone makes a fuss, I interpret Kate's final speech and her last few actions as heavily and intentionally ironic).  I like Much Ado as well.

Tragedy: Hamlet.  It's not a cop-out; I truly love the drama of it all.

History: I've only read Henry V, but I thought it was very good.

It must also be said I'm a very big fan of Brannagh's film adaptations; he does brilliant work.  And yes, I thought he made a brilliant Lockhart in CoS. 

As for The Stand, it's a 3rd reread, which tells you that I like it very much.  It's a hard book the first time around, but once you get deep into the plague and beyond, it's an absolute page-turner.

I'm a fan of King's work, but not so much of the horror.  I like stories like the Dark Tower series, The Body (known in film as Stand By Me), Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (known in film as just Shawshank Redemption, which was a brilliant adaptation), stuff like that.

Much Ado about Nothing is my favorite, by far. I have a certain girly fondness for Rome and Juliet, I'll admit. I also love Taming of the Shrew and Henry V.

I'm also very fond of Brannagh's film adaptations, I thought Much Ado about Nothing was brilliant, and it's hard to pull of my favorite that well. And he's a perfect Benedict.

About Stephen Kind, I've only read The Green Mile, so I'll ask a fan ...what's the book to read next?

I both love and hate Brannagh.

*I* want to do all of Shakespeare's plays uncut on film... but Brannagh's getting there before me.

I only hope that by the time I have the money to do Hamlet, it needs redoing, because his version is fantastic. (Kate Winslet as Ophelia? Perfect.)

Oh,I agree, Brannagh's Much Ado is brilliant, in terms of his directing and acting.  Like much of his work. 

Take some consolation Julephenia: Shakespeare is truly timeless, and if a play of his has recently been made into a movie, just wait a decade (or a year, in the case of R&J).

As for King, I'd read his novellas if you really want to get a feel for him; Different Seasons is probably the best (it has The Body and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, as well as Apt Pupil (also made into a movie) and The Breathing Method).  All of it is grim, some of it is gruesome, but with the exception of Apt Pupil, there's a bit of hope for the future.

The Dark Tower series is excellent, but you probably will want breaks between the books (I'd read the Stand before you read the fourth book, Wizard and Glass).

Alas, so I've finished with His Dark Materials, and I'm now moving on to a few classics I should have read before but never got around to.

I'm reading The Great Gatsby now. I remember hating it at some point, but I think I was just too young, because I'm loving the narrative. It's one of those books that I just love the way the story is told so much that the story itself doesn't have to be amazing. The storytelling is.

Also, I've made myself a promise. I will finish Eldest. I will not let the book beat me. I'm not quite sure what my problem with it seems to be, except that it's very long and I feel like I'm never going to finish, and no matter how much I read, nothing has happened in the grand scheme of things.

::sighs:: Oh, well. I've been eying Ulysses for a while now, I'm dying for a re-read. Comfort book, and all.

Well, I've moved on to Richard III in Shakespeare and Paradise Lost in Brit Lit.  I got my Christmas junk read for fun: Clive Cussler's latest, Treasure of Khan.  I've just begun all three, so I don't have any firm opinions as of yet, though Paradise Lost has captured a bit of my imagination already (my D&D geeky imagination, that is).