Hi there. I'm always looking for new and interesting stuff to read, so I thougth I could open this thread to see what you guys have recently read. So the idea is to post the last book you have finished with a short comment on it (don't mind if it is subjetive or not). I know there is a bunch of readers over here, so don't dissapoint me! :bleh:
Anyway, lets start:

"The Vatican Cellar" (Les caves du Vatican) by André Gide. This book is quite a weird novel because it doesn't focus in plot development nor in action, but in the characters feelings, decisions and psychological reactions. Although it is well written I didn't quite enjoy it because in my opinion it has much of a raising and not an ending at all.

I started working seven months ago and from then, I slowed down (nearly stopped) my reading rate :crybaby: due to the lack of spare time :wallbash:

At the moment I'm trying to finish "The Confessions" by Saint Augustine (is it spelled right?), which is very interesting, but only if you're into christian religion, elswhere is better find something else to read.

The last book i finished was "Heart of Darkness" by Conrad: that's absolutely worth to buy and keep forever among the masterpieces, cause it's written so well :ok: . Almost everyone could say you the same!

Heart Of Darkness is a brilliant, brilliant book!

"The horror, the horror..." gets me every time :)

I just finished Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence and I absolutely loved it. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of writting I've ever read. It deals with ideals, love, sex and progress. The creepy thing is that even though it was written almost 100 years ago it is still very relevent today. I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to read Son's and Lovers next...

I've just finished reading "War and Peace". It was a long read, but not nearly as difficult as people make it out to be. It is an epic book and well worth a read. It places the stories of 'ordinary' people through their ups and downs, against the backdrop of the Napoleonic War. At times the book reads more like a (rather biased) historical account of the battles and strategies adopted by the sides.

Next up: Bleak House

I just started to read Terry Pratchetts Wyrd. However, I seldom have time to read, so I probably have finished the book on summer.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stroggy @ Feb 12 2007, 09:22 AM) [snapback]278905[/snapback]</div>Ah, yes. Bleak House is fun - and I suppose it'll be of particular interest to a lawyer.:P

I last read Mundus et Infans, a 15th century(ish) play - not bad, but I've read better medieval plays. Unless you're into medieval drama I wouldn't really recommend it. If you want to give it a go, start with Mankind, Wisdom or The Castle of Perseverance (which is quite long, but a brilliant play). Whatever you do, though, don't start with Everyman. Everyman is not at all typical of medieval drama and will give you a wrong impression of what it's like; it's more fun than that - honest.;)

Marin Preda - Cel mai iubit dintre pamanteni(the most beloved of all humans...or something like that :P) for school(final exams). it's a great book about the communist period here in romania.
and i also started reading Mircea Cartarescu - Nostalgia and Emil Cioran's "Pe culmile tacerii"(philosophic essays)
btw..i don't read much :P

I already do not buy a book too much time! :wallbash:

drawn band like uncle scrooge :blink:

I go the bookstore, already come back :brain:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(A. J. Raffles @ Feb 12 2007, 06:26 PM) [snapback]278950[/snapback]</div>I had to read Elckerlijc (the play which either translated Everyman, or the play on which Everyman is based) last year and translate sections into modern Dutch, which is no easy task as 15th century Dutch is a mixture of Dutch, German and Latin.

As for Bleak House, I've always wanted to read Dickens, and Bleak House seemed like a book I could connect with. It's very easy to visualise the book as I live a block away from Gray's Inn and pretty much every other inn, Fleet street is a 15 minutes walk from my apartment and every little street in between has at least a few shops selling special gowns (wigs, too) and practitioners' books. Moreover, I live around the corner of the Charles Dickens Museum in Doughty lane which is also the only surviving London home of Dickens (from 1837 until 1839) (according to the website).

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stroggy @ Feb 12 2007, 07:16 PM) [snapback]278972[/snapback]</div>Indeed.:rolleyes: I tried to read another late medieval Dutch play earlier this term (Mariken van Nieumeghen, if that rings a bell) because apparently it differs quite a bit from the English version - even more so than Elckerlijc does from Everyman, and it would have been interesting for me because I was looking at dramatic issues. But I failed miserably, of course.:(

It's been a few years since I read Bleak House, but I remember it was one of my favourite Dickens novels. Not a very "typical" Dickens novel, if there is such a thing (for example he plays with narrative modes a bit, which he doesn't usually do), but nicely structured and overall a good read in my opinion.