The Biblomaniac Army (booklovers, UNITE!) v.2

[Lady Ligeia]

@Hobbit, That is a very good question, actually, and one I myself have fell to pondering upon occasion. You've driven me to search it up, and the one recurring point, the one that everyone seems to agree on, is that it is a novel that has, to quote, "outlasted time". And, I suppose, that's a good definition -because many of the other, more finicky points that people seemed to bring up fell under that heading. If a book is not memorable, not well-written, does not have compelling and relatable characters and poignant themes, then it likely will not become a classic.
Food for thought: What do you guys think defines a "classic"?
[/size]

In my mind, a classic is no younger than the sixties to forties (so Planet of the Apes, Fahrenheit 451, On the Road, 1984, and others like that count). It has to be well-known, and still popular, and to be... I can't think of the right word...memorable, maybe, to the reader. I've read many of them like Planet of the Apes, 1984, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, The Scarlet Letter, Grapes of Wrath, White Fang, The Red Badge of Courage, Alice in Wonderland, etc. and I count all these as classics, but I don't count Friedrich, a good book that's old enough, but isn't that popular (that's a run-on sentence, but I haven't the time to rewrite it). In other news, I've developed a fear of apes, from Planet of the Apes.

[Ziranos]

Username:
Ellinor Angel

Nickname (if any):
Call me Angel ; )

Top Ten Favorite Books: Oh, god. So hard >.< My favorites changes as I read more. I tried keeping this in order, but it's not completely in order.
1. Brisingr
2. Eldest
3. Eragon
4. Inheritance
5. Percy Jackson
6. Twilight: New Moon
7. The rest of Twilight (including Bree Tanner's Short New Life)
8. Cathing Fire
9. The Hunger Games
10. Septimus Heap: Flyte
11. Septimus Heap: Physik
12. Septimus Heap: Syren
13. The rest of Septimus Heap
14. The Shamer Chronicles
15. Katriona series (Sølvhesten, Hermelinen and Isfuglen) (This series is not in english, so I wrote their names in norwegian)

Average amount of time it takes you to finish a book:
Depends. If under 300 pages, up to a week. 1000 pages up to three, maybe four weeks.

How many of the above symptoms you regularly experience:
> You bring a book to lunch most days.
(Everyday! Teacher's getting mad at me though.)
> You get so caught up in whatever book you happen to be reading that you a) laugh, b) cry, c) scream at the book, and/or d) throw the book at the wall because you hate how it ended.
(Only a) and b), I would never EVER scream at a book or throw it. I treat books with respect.)
> You read so late into the night that you lose track of time, and end up staying up till like three AM.
(Some days. But only to one AM.)

Also, keep in mind that I'm from Norway, so I might not have heard about/read the books you're talking about if they're not available in Norway. My grammar/spelling might not be perfect as well.
And also, I haven't read any 'classic/old books' , and I only read fantasy, action, etc. but with some exceptions.

[rothbart.]

Username: OakStar47
Nickname (if any): Oak, Oakie, or Miles.
Top Ten Favorite Books: Oh geez... It, Misery, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, My Sister's Keeper, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Stand, The Angel Experiment, Oliver Twist, Felidae, and Zlata's Diary, in no particular order.
Average amount of time it takes you to finish a book: It could take less than a day, or it could take weeks, depending on how into it I get.
How many of the above symptoms you regularly experience: Five or six...

[Hobbit]

@Hobbit, That is a very good question, actually, and one I myself have fell to pondering upon occasion. You've driven me to search it up, and the one recurring point, the one that everyone seems to agree on, is that it is a novel that has, to quote, "outlasted time". And, I suppose, that's a good definition -because many of the other, more finicky points that people seemed to bring up fell under that heading. If a book is not memorable, not well-written, does not have compelling and relatable characters and poignant themes, then it likely will not become a classic.
Food for thought: What do you guys think defines a "classic"?

I like your definition of a Classic. Thinking it over, I might add that a classic defines or has a heavy impact on its genre. Admittedly, I'm thinking of Tolkien, whose works are still one of the most widely known fantasy, and have had such an impact on other stories.

Which reminds me of a lecture I was listening to the other day. In it, the lecturer was describing how different our views of story is than the ones held by people in medieval times. While we often (though by no means always) search for something new and different, they preferred old stories, retold time and again. He was saying that this is why there are so many retelling of the King Arthur tales, and even mentioned a version of the Aeneid set in a French courtly love style. (I'm undecided whether to try to find this or not). I'm not sure where I was going with this now, except that he was trying to demonstrate that this is his approach to books made into movies. They aren't (and he argues, shouldn't be) the exact same story. Anyways, I think I like that approach. Instead of trying to reconcile myself to movies that aren't the same, I think it's interesting to think of them as different takes on the same story. However, some I will never think favorably of.

That wasn't meant to be so very rambling, my apologies.

[Roonil Wazlib]

@Hobbit
That's really interesting! I love reading different versions/retellings of fairytales (Robin McKinley especially), so I see how people used to love it too c: It's fun to see how the author changes old and beloved characters to fit their vision.

I just started The Telling Pool by David Clement-Davies. I'm only a few pages in, but I really like his writing style. The book's set in Britain when King Richard was king. It's fantasy, but I haven't gotten to the 'magical' parts yet. Has anyone else read it?

[Hobbit]

Yes! Robin McKinley is a perfect example of that! She wrote two very different versions of Beauty and the Beast, I've read both, and I like both for different reasons! Rose Daughter was a lot more magical than Beauty, but I think I liked Beauty's characters better, and the way in which they developed. It's been a while since I read either one; their plots get hazzy and blend together somewhat in my mind. I'd like to reread them both.
This seems to be my fate: forever torn between old favorites and the Unread. So many books, so little time.

[The Growling Wolf]

I went to WHsmiths today and got 3 books:
the 1st in the mortal instruments serise
what night knows
The stuff of nightmares
Thanks for reccomending what the night knows

[glassea]

{ Okay, so;
I'm going to Peru over spring break (yay!) and it's over a fifteen hour flight (aww). I must have book recommendations! Does anyone have any good fantasy/sci-fi books up their sleeves? I've read many of the ones that made it to the NY Times list, but I'm also searching for some relatively obscure books I can read, love, and make roleplays out of. Hehe.

[SejiYume]

I just read the first two books in the Mortal Instruments series, and I loved them! I don't normally like books in that genre, but I was pleasantly surprised. They were really interesting and really funny. I can't wait to read City of Glass and the Infernal Devices series. I'm not so sure about the movie though. Other movies they've made out of fantasy books haven't done so well (Eragon, Percy Jackson).
I also just got the last book from the Matched trilogy, Reached, from the library. I reserved it online months ago, but I was number 103 on the wait list or something, so it only just came in. Has anyone else read that series? They're set in a dystopian society, and really good.


@Ellinor Angel and OakStar47- Welcome! I hope you like it here.

@Hobbit- That's really interesting what you said about retelling stories. I guess that kind of explains why there are so many retellings of fairy tales and such. The retelling of the Aeneid sounds neat. And do you recommend Robin McKinley's books? Because they sound like they might be really good.

Okay, so;
I'm going to Peru over spring break (yay!) and it's over a fifteen hour flight (aww). I must have book recommendations! Does anyone have any good fantasy/sci-fi books up their sleeves? I've read many of the ones that made it to the NY Times list, but I'm also searching for some relatively obscure books I can read, love, and make roleplays out of. Hehe.

You've probably heard of all or most of these, but I can give you some fantasy/sci-fi recommendations: The Golden Compass, The Mortal Instruments, A Great and Terrible Beauty, The Warrior Heir (trilogy), The Roar, The Sight, To Say Nothing of the Dog (really good sic-fi time travel book), Merlin's Harp (fantasy book set in King Arthur's time), The Chronicles of Prydain, and Howl's Moving Castle. That's kind of a lot, now that I look at it. I hope you have fun in Peru, that sounds really cool!

[rothbart.]

Anybody ever, for example, rented a house with a whole lot of books you've never read before on the shelves? My parents and I rented a cabin down by the Finger Lakes and there were so many great novels. I picked up Huck Finn and got maybe a little over halfway done with it before we had to leave, now the fact that I never finished it is just killing me. Only reason I never got to finish is because the 11 year old I had to room with wouldn't leave me alone for a full five minutes to read. ;~; Over half of what I had read was from the few hours my family was in the cabin before hers was.

I just haaate leaving books unfinished when they're awesome...