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Old 03-14-2004, 12:21 PM   #365
Lalwendė
A Mere Boggart
 
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: under the bed
Posts: 4,814
Lalwendė is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.Lalwendė is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
I was brought up on fairy stories, myths and legends so I suppose I was always going to like LOTR, but as I read it at a fairly young age, it made a really big impression and I found I couldn't 'get on' with much fantasy afterwards. It's almost as though I can only have one alternate world to get into. But, there's a few fantasy works I do like, although these all seem to be more on the 'children's' side, apart from Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast.

I loved His Dark Materials - I can't stop telling people how good this is. After I finished it I felt very disappointed that there were no more books in the series to read. I've also enjoyed Harry Potter; yes, she does seem to 'steal' things, but the plotlines keep me wanting to read more. I do tend to wind up Potterites a fair bit, but I secretly enjoyed the books!

I'm thinking of trying 'Shadowmancer' - I hope it's good.

From my younger years I liked the Earthsea books, which I must read again soon. No-one here has mentioned Alan Garner. Did anyone read 'Weirdstone of Brisingamen'? That was a fantastic book, recommended for kids of all ages. And Watership Down was great, an especially well read book growing up in the 70s and 80s!

In the realms of sci-fi, I'm a big fan of Kurt Vonnegut - recommended are Slaughterhouse-5, Breakfast of Champions, Slapstick. I also like JG Ballard, and Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' is a must for everyone! Read it now!

And for something completely different, some other books I do like to harp on about would include 'Possession' by AS Byatt (recommended for fans of Victorian poetry), 'The Wasp Factory' by Iain Banks (disturbing), 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt. Also, I enjoy Jane Austen, the Brontes, and Thomas Hardy (all available at bargain prices so no reason not to read them!). I also like some travel and political books, and I especially enjoy poetry!I could go on for ever here....

I'm beginning to get on a bit, that's my excuse for having read so much! And yes, I have read Beowulf.
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