On Wed, 5 Jan 2005 20:32:15 +0000 (GMT), Marko Bomyer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi AJS, > > Sorry I couldn't disagree more. Sometimes I like to read to appreciate the > beauty of language and am not interested in the story. It's one of the > reason's I hate Dickens and love Gabriel Garcia Marquez. > Dickens never 'turned me on' with his style of 'I'm so clever look at the big > words I use' style but Marquez can make you fall in love with an imaginary > place just because his metaphors and descriptions leave you salivating. >
Oh dear, I've probably painted an inaccurate picture of what appeals to me about a book. (My bad, I apologize) There is actually no consistent "rule" for me. I do not necessarily *dislike* metaphors, prose in stories, or endless descriptions, but... hmmm hard to explain. It just has to be something that "catches" *me*. There are some books which at first glance I have rejected, but then picked it up later only to find it was a good read. Like I said, it doesn't necessarily have to be an *easy* read, I just like to get the whole feel of the story, the setting, etc and be able to get a mental image of what the author had in mind. I actually don't have either of the two (Dickens or GGM) as a favourite. I like some of Dickens's work but you get to know him after a while and it all seems the same after a while, IMO. I space out my readings of Dickens quite a lot. So far the 3 books I've read by him (except A Christmas Carol) seem to be all about orphans who went through hard luck and overcame their difficulties. The only book I've read by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is "Love in the Time of Cholera", but didn't finish it only because it had to go back to the library. And I did enjoy it. 100 years of solitude looks good is on my list to read, too. I actually like authors like Tolkien, Dostoevsky, Hugo (Les Miserables), who really paint some excellent pictures of not only physical setting, but emotions as well. I didn't capture much emotion with Dickens. More of a "this happened then that happened". I tend to be a slow reader (I read mostly in the evening as my days are taken up with kids/family) and like to savour a book, so I don't get many books (by title) read per year. Les Miserables, even though it is over 1100 pages long, is still "one book" :). Because I read slowly, and sometimes even slow down FROM my natural speed to savour a book, I like to make what I read count. guitarati (bookcrossing screenname) ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/rkgkPB/UOnJAA/Zx0JAA/wnIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Have you told a friend today? http://bookcrossing.com/tellafriend Archives and email list settings: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
