The Book Thread Book • Page 33

hmm. that's a good call (going with favorite book). i usually never re-read something though (which is odd since i only buy, never rent / re-sell / use a library) but it has been years since I've read Watership Down. that may just be what i do!

 

So many people I know adore that book I really got to get over my reaction to reading the bio and give it a shot.

 

the bio of the book or like the bio of the author?

fun story - i only read it, or read it as soon as i did, because when i started reading again i focused on books that were mentioned in LOST and all i remembered was Sawyer saying, "it's about bunnies". which, it totally is, but it's just done in such a marvelous, adventurous, coming-of-age-almost magical way that makes, for me, every page of that book special. like, the way i got lost in Watership Down is the reason i fell in love with reading in the first place.

then i remember babbling about it constantly to my folks to the point that my mom read it (well, started to read it) until she just shrugged and said, "i don't get it. it's about bunnies."

 

It’s the bunnies thing that trips me up every time I look at it

 

i felt like i kind of forgot the characters were bunnies pretty quickly. i mean, the dialogue and what happens and explanations for things doesn't avoid the fact that the characters are bunnies, but idk, it felt more like reading about middle school / early high school kid troubles not like, "oh no i'm all out of carrots".

i'd, of course, definitely recommend giving it a shot.

 

It’s a favorite of my favorite college professor so I’ve always been meaning to because of her.

 

I love Watership Down so much. I first read it when I was maybe 13 and have gone through it at least a dozen times in the 15 years since. Definitely a favorite of mine.

Although I guess I did have a thing for books about small animals as a kid since I also loved the Redwall books.

 

Yeah my best friend, who is a far bigger book reader than me, adores Watership Down. I should def add that to my (already too long) to-read pile.

 

Damn, I love this book so much. It's honestly a pretty funny book. Those first couple chapters are tough and flew right over my head on my first read, but I feel like that's pretty intentional.

I hate how little I'm reading. I have to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? for class and it's going to be one of the only books I've read this year. Blehhh.

 

Been meaning to get hold of some Philip K Dick, let me know your thoughts!

 

Yeah, I'm actually pretty excited for this one.

 

Maybe this is a lame discussion point, but for the goodreaders out there, what are your criteria for awarding stars? This is something I've given a fair amount of thought to over the last few months coz I want to be consistent. I've worked mine down to:

5 stars - has a deep emotional/intellectual impact, changes the way I see the world, "life-changing"
4 stars - excellent
3 stars - good
2 stars - not terrible, but significant flaws
1 star - unreadable, probably wouldn't finish

I've never actually awarded anything one star so I haven't been able to test that out! Those criteria tend to fit how I read, seems to work for me at the moment. Is anybody vastly different?

 

If you're on a desktop (not sure about the app as my phone is too old) and you hover over the stars it gives their description of what it means - I use that for my ratings so others can most easily understand why I've given that many stars.

 

Funny that it's a common perspective to not enjoy the first chapters - I loved them! Found it really interesting. The next bit dragged a bit and jumped around too much but once John & Linda were introduced it picked up again for me. Overall I enjoyed it.

(I read it last week).

 

Well damn, i pretty much exclusively use it on my phone so I didn't know that!

 

Goodreads needs half stars so badly. So many 3.5s out there masquerading as 4s and 2.5s acting like 3s

 

Yeah, I've had this conversation with a few other people! They should make it more clear - as it is everyone will have their own interpretation.

 

I tend not to think too much about the stars when I use Goodreads but I'm not the most consistent with it

 

For me I give 5's based on if I liked it as much as Harry Potter.

 

I'd like to see everyone's list of top ten all-time favorite books (with brief RIYL's/descriptors if you don't mind )

 

This post devolved from what you asked for quite quickly, but I tried...

1. J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings

I don't think this one needs a RIYL/brief descriptor. But, it's not nearly as slow as people make it out to be (in fact, it moves much faster than most high fantasy) and is virtually flawless.

2. Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Shadow of the Wind

Set in 1940s/50s Barcelona, a literary mystery involving a teenage boy who is introduced to a cemetery of forgotten books (the "series" name, the pseudo-prequel "The Angel's Game", also in my top 5, is a must read too) and discovers a book that reveals that an author's works are being systematically destroyed. I'm terrible at describing this book, but it's the second most beautiful thing I've ever read and it's my READ THIS NOW book in any conversation.

Books that would make the list but are sequels/parts of a larger fantasy series:

Robert Jordan - The Shadow Rising
Brandon Sanderson - Words of Radiance
Lev Grossman - The Magician King
Lev Grossman - The Magician's Land

Books probably in contention:

Emily St. John Mandel - Station Eleven (top 5 lock)
Alan Moore - Watchmen
Ernest Cline - Ready Player One
George Orwell - 1984
Stephen King - The Long Walk

Nonfiction Top 5, out of order: Stephen King's "On Writing," Amy Poehler's "Yes Please," John Berendt's "City of Falling Angels," Andre Agassi's "Open," and Donald Miller's "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years" (top 5 lock).

 

So I've decided to spend the rest of the year with Tolkien. I've, sadly, only ever read The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring. So this month I'm re-reading The Hobbit, reading Fellowship in October, Two Towers in November, and Return of the King in December. I'm really excited to finally do this. I'm embarrassed that I'm 26 and haven't read them all yet.

 

I keep saying this, too. Pretty sure I've even tweeted them about it haha.

 

No need to be embarrassed. I'm almost 30, have read over 600 books and have only read Fellowship.

*shhh, don't tell anyone*

 

I have the trilogy sat on my shelf and have close to zero desire to ever read it at this point. I feel like I should, but it looks like such a chore tbh