This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)
I read a little bit of 120 Days of Sodom by The Marquis de Sade, but I seem to always feel I'm being watched when I read it... and I always want to read it at night, and since it's kind of written in an old fashion way, it makes me sleepy.
Anybody here read Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events? I'm on #10, the Slippery Slope, and I hate to say (but shout to the world anyways) that I am a total Olaf/Violet shipper.
PELT ME ALL YOU WANT...! YOU'RE JUST TURNING ME ON EVEN MORE!
Last edited by Undead Princess (02-17-2007 11:05:34 PM)
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I currently reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I got into his short stories after we read some for our course last semester, and after recommendations from my friends I heard his longer novels were better, so I decided to give one a go. I'm really enjoying this novel so far, I'm just onto the second "book" of it... just one scene in the first novel got a big reaction out of me... I'm squeemish so if you've read the novel you can guess which scene. Gah... give me graphic sex/incest/mind-fuckiness and I'm fine. Give me a teeny bit of gore and I go all wibbly.
Last edited by Syuria (02-18-2007 04:10:58 AM)
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Rae wrote:
Ah, yes, I've read a book by Marquis de Sade. Crazy stuff. It's called Francon Duclos: The Memoirs of a Paris Madame. It's got it all: whipping, pedophilia, and, what I found very surprising, shit eating (which kinda grossed me out a little).
I've only seen a little of de Sade's work, because it was actually fairly off-putting after a while...but I have decided that when I get to that level of competency, I will attempt to read some en français. Which will make me cry anyway because it'll probably use all those verb conjugations that are purely old-fashioned/literary, and I have enough trouble with the conversational ones.
Rae wrote:
As for my favorites, I love reading Sherlock Holmes stories. I also had a think for Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles for a while a couple years ago. Right now, I'm reading Memnoch the Devil, which is believed to be the most popular of the Chronicles.
I love Sherlock too. Although I love silly movies about him more. (The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes = PURE CLASS.) As for Memnoch, yes...I remember that coming out, and the dancing and rejoicing in the fandom at that time...oh waitasec, WHAT fandom? There was no fandom! YOU CAN GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS THIS FANDOM IS NOT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!
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I just finished "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" and I thought it was wonderful! I love fairytales and this was a delightful take on Cinderella. I really want to read more by this author. Next on my list is "Wicked".
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Syuria wrote:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Please tell me something about what this guy is about? I hear his name like nonstop on the Something Awful forums and I'm curious as hell but I haven't gotten around to reading any of his work yet.
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Finished reading The guilded chamber, goooood book. So sensual.
Reading or finishing reading, orxy and crake. Which has taken me about
half a year because I keep stopping for another book and then starting agin. *sigh*
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Giovanna wrote:
Syuria wrote:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Please tell me something about what this guy is about? I hear his name like nonstop on the Something Awful forums and I'm curious as hell but I haven't gotten around to reading any of his work yet.
Ooooh, now that is a difficult question to answer. Murakami's novels and short stories are kinda difficult to describe... His work is all very postmodern, kinda playful but with this dark edge. like most stuff to come out of eighties Japan. They all have this strange, almost fantasy edge to them, like a story about tiny people who sneek TVs into people's houses, elephants that randomly disappear, or mysterious sisters named after islands near Greece that engage in mind sex with the main character. And the main character is invariably a guy in his thirties with a love of western culture and jazz music.
I think if you like Utena you'll like Murakami's works. Most of the chapter titles from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle look like they've been ripped out of some missing Utena episodes. Murakami reminds me of Ikuhara, in some ways. Murakami writes these massive novels with complex plots and seemingly random symbolism and when asked why he writes, just shrungs and says, "Meh.. because I felt like it."
And he gets awesome people to the translations of his work because I could just myself to do death over his writing style. Heheh, I do have a thing for eighties Japanese literature, gotta love a bit of Haruki Murakami or Amy Yamada or Banana Yoshimoto.
Last edited by Syuria (02-19-2007 01:54:48 PM)
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Ted Dekker is an amazing Writer
Though, his books are slightly repetitive because of the "Game" theme.
no, not monopoly.. life/death games =3
Psychopaths want to have fun, too, y'know?
Psychological Thrillers
I am currently reading "Obsessed" by Ted Dekker =]
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SKYDOLL
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I'm going to have to read "Crime and Punishment again. One of my favorite books, and my favorite title from Russian literature (along with "Master and Margarita").
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I already finished Comic Book Nation A book about the American comics and American history defined by them.
And now I am reading a book about the customs of Mexico in the XIX century
Emiemipoemi wrote:
SKYDOLL
Skydoll as Alessadro Barbucci graphic novel?
Maarika wrote:
I'm going to have to read "Crime and Punishment again. One of my favorite books, and my favorite title from Russian literature (along with "Master and Margarita").
I didn't like crime and punishment... maybe I was not ready for it...
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Romanticide wrote:
I didn't like crime and punishment... maybe I was not ready for it...
We actually had to read it last year, this year we're revising our literature course.
Before we read it last year, our teacher told us how one of her students was so shocked by that book that she was crying in class and didn't want to take part in the discussion.
I myself didn't find the murder scene to be extremely disturing, but what was most depressing and harrowing was Raskolnikov's mental breakdown. I loved how Dostoyevsky described his psychological state so realistically.
And now I remembered what the dream I had recently was about... It was basically the same ordeal Raskolnikov went through. Gah, I wonder why I had that dream.
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I tried to read a book by Nora Roberts but...just awful. Constantly skipping between character POVs with no warning and so predictable and corny. >.> Bleh. Maybe I just picked up one of her bad ones.
I have to start reading Twelfth Night, A Comedy of Erros, The Man of Mode and The Way of the World for my drama course this year (English major).
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YamPuff wrote:
I have to start reading Twelfth Night
Eeek! My favorite Shakespeare play! OMG:grin:
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Rae wrote:
YamPuff wrote:
I have to start reading Twelfth Night
Eeek! My favorite Shakespeare play! OMG:grin:
My favorite Shakespears so far is King Richard II
But I'm looking forward to a break from those tragedies they keep making us read.
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Yasha wrote:
I have a secret to confess-- I'm a whore for biographies.
Especially of queens and other powerful women.
Eva Peron, Marie Antionette, Queen Elizabeth, Athenais... more, more!
I have a great book you need to read some time. Can't remember the author, but it's called Sex With Kings, all about the history of royal mistresses. It's flawed, the timing a little haphazard, written in an anectdotal (sp?) style, and the focus is heavy on the French and English courts in the 1700's, but that's kind of when the mistresses were really in swing. Still an excellent read.
Tamago wrote:
everyone works only about 3 hours a day and other novel concepts would hold a great deal of appeal back then.
...that doesn't hold appeal to you? I'd like to work just three hours a day, if not...like...at all.
That said, I forgot to grab a book for sitting in the assembly room, so I'm stuck with their weird selection of 'zines and novels. The best of which is some historical romance called "Lion's Lady." It's a Harlequinn book -I'm desperate. People say things like "MacPherson, dinna ye ken that's the Earl?" It's set in Pseudo Scotland, from what I gather. Oo;;
Last edited by morosemocha (02-22-2007 06:43:21 AM)
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morosemocha wrote:
Tamago wrote:
everyone works only about 3 hours a day and other novel concepts would hold a great deal of appeal back then.
...that doesn't hold appeal to you? I'd like to work just three hours a day, if not...like...at all.
Sure that sounds great if the job is just a job, but if its something you love, you want to do more than just that and besides some of the other aspects of Utopia wern't as appealing, like the uniform everyone wears all the time and there were other aspects that had a strong puritan/spartan feel to it, I guess when you live as an oppressed serf in the dark ages, More's view on Utopia would sound pretty good in comparison.
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I was under the impression that Utopia was a satire...? Maybe not.
Ugh, I can't believe I kept skipping this thread, so many awesome suggestions.
...Much better then Lion's Lady.
Oh, god, it's only getting worse.
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I know, I know, huh, morosemocha, the suggestions within here are sooo good! I've been downloading the songs SKU fans are listening to over in the "Whatcha Listening To?" thread, so I wanna start reading some of these.
Right now, I'm reading the new(ish) Stephen King book, Cell. (I must admit I've read everything he's ever written) No spoilers, but simply to say that on the very first page the main character is walking through town when suddenly every single person on a cell phone wigs out, totally completely crazy, acting much like rabid zombies, and begin attacking each other. The First Page!
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I heard about that one! It's gotten some mixed reviews on the premise, but seriously, Stephen King? Come on, dudes. Throw it out the door. I'm not a big fan of horror, but I've read Carrie, The Shining and The Green Mile. So even people that don't like Stephen King like Stephen King.
...I'm tired, so I'm totally blowing smoke around. Whatev, dudes.
So, anyway, how is it Frosty? Frosty Wosty? Frostylicious!
...Gonna go buy some food now...
Last edited by morosemocha (02-22-2007 07:49:35 AM)
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morosemocha wrote:
I was under the impression that Utopia was a satire...? Maybe not.
Thomas More realised that Utopia doesn't exist but the book he wrote back in 1516AD described for him and many of his compatriots, his idea of a dream society written in a story book form.
UTOPIA by Sir Thomas MORE
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I'm taking a break from the Anita Blake series (because I'm missing the next book ), and I'm reading The Fetish Factbook by Paul Scott. It's about fetishes (obviously) and their place in history, religion, society, and popular culture. Sadly, there's no pictures, but it covers everything from the lives of saints to Velvet Underground.
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I'm currently reading two books: The Kite Runner, and The Buddha of Suburbia. Both are quite good, however The Buddha of Suburbia is the more light-hearted of the two, although it does deal with class and race issues in England in the 1980's. I'd recommend them both, though, really - I'm finding them to both be absorbing.
Last edited by A Day Without Me (02-22-2007 07:23:32 PM)
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I just finished Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. I read some debate concerning the new movie's relation to the original book (I haven't actually seen the movie and I'm not sure if I want to) and got interested of the book itself, but since libraries didn't have it, I had to buy it from Amazon. A very beautiful book of a child's viewpoint - very rarely you see children in books, who think so realistically like real children. I recommend it, although at times it felt like it missed some portions that had been planned, but never written.
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Lightice wrote:
I just finished Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. I read some debate concerning the new movie's relation to the original book (I haven't actually seen the movie and I'm not sure if I want to) and got interested of the book itself, but since libraries didn't have it, I had to buy it from Amazon. A very beautiful book of a child's viewpoint - very rarely you see children in books, who think so realistically like real children. I recommend it, although at times it felt like it missed some portions that had been planned, but never written.
I remember reading that book and enjoying it very much. I should pick up a copy and reread it.
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