'Life-changing' books that left you cold

[Fab Foodie]

I read the Bible
I managed half of Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance .... dull.
I managed 85% of Sophies World .... twice .... I need to be put out of my misery on this one ...
I read the Alchemist twice and really enjoyed it
I enjoyed Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Life of Pi I only ever saw the fillum .... thank god I never wasted time to read the book
The name of the Rose I loved
The Island of the Day Before was great too.
Spot's Magical Christmas still makes me blub.

I don't think I'll attempt Joyce. Life's too short.

 

[TheDoctor]

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull. Blah blah inspiring blah blah mystique of flight KILL IT WITH FIRE!
Ulysses. No one who says it's a classic ever mentions what he wants to do to the prostitute. Probably didn't get that far before losing the will to live.
Trainspotting. Killing it with fire would be too good for it.
Dune. Life changing? Life threatening, more like.

 

[mybike]

Anything by Douglas Adams aside from the HHGTTG trilogy.
Pretty much anything by Ray Bradbury.

 

[Pale Rider]

In seven pages I'm surprised no one has mentioned Thomas Hardy.

The Woodlanders was enough to put me off Hardy for life.

From what I can gather, his other novels are cut from the same cloth.

 

[tyred]

In seven pages I'm surprised no one has mentioned Thomas Hardy.

The Woodlanders was enough to put me off Hardy for life.

From what I can gather, his other novels are cut from the same cloth.

I would have agreed with you until I tried Far from the maddening crowd which I genuinely enjoyed.

 

[Pale Rider]

I would have agreed with you until I tried Far from the maddening crowd which I genuinely enjoyed.

Hardy is regarded as an author of classics, so while it's all subjective, I am out-numbered by people who read many more novels than me.

The film of Tess of the d'Urbervilles with Natasha wotshername confirmed my prejudice.

Lots of miserable footage of people trudging through mud.

 

[nappadang]

Hardy is regarded as an author of classics, so while it's all subjective, I am out-numbered by people who read many more novels than me.

The film of Tess of the the d'Urbervilles with Natasha wotshername confirmed my prejudice.

Lots of miserable footage of people trudging through mud.

Im with you on this but we're in a minority. Read Tess, Far from the Madding Crowd and The Mayor of Castebridge and none imho come close to Dickens

 

[Tin Pot]

I'm not sure what books are meant to be life changing but The Alchemist is one of only ten or so books I'd recommend.

I had a whirl at Hemingway a few years back.

Farewell To Arms is really hard work. Books must've been shoot a hundred years ago for this to have been a good one.

 

[gbb]

Loved 1984 and Animal Farm (I seem to like the dark totalitarian stuff)...Keep the Aspidistra Flying left me well and truly cold.
Must re-read The Clergymans Daughter...
Anything by Dickens. I seriously tried, I remember picking one up and thinking I must be missing something so I tried. Gave up 1/4 the way through.

 

[tyred]

Hardy is regarded as an author of classics, so while it's all subjective, I am out-numbered by people who read many more novels than me.

The film of Tess of the d'Urbervilles with Natasha wotshername confirmed my prejudice.

Lots of miserable footage of people trudging through mud.

I found Tess just about acceptable but very dark and sinister and I never managed to finished The Mayor of Casterbridge - just couldn't get into it but definitely like FFTMC. Maybe I should try some of the others.

Oddly I've always loved his poetry.

 

[Tin Pot]

[QUOTE 4095077, member: 259"]I'm not being (too) pretentious but I speak German and I have never found a good English translation of the Trial - the funny bits don't work.

I do like Sartre's essays and the first part of the Roads to Freedom is about as good a description of how it must have felt to be humiliated in war as a country and as a person I can imagine. But with more sex and smoking[/QUOTE]

Funny bits !?

 

[Tin Pot]

[QUOTE 4095110, member: 259"]Yes there's lots of wordplay which doesn't work in English. Kafka used to get pissed in the pub and stand up and read out his works in progress .[/QUOTE]

Oh really?

I read some of his works with no prep - struck me as a dream diary. Liked it.

 

[hopless500]

In seven pages I'm surprised no one has mentioned Thomas Hardy.

The Woodlanders was enough to put me off Hardy for life.

From what I can gather, his other novels are cut from the same cloth.

Thomas Hardy is good when you get your head round it

 

[hopless500]

Hardy is regarded as an author of classics, so while it's all subjective, I am out-numbered by people who read many more novels than me.

The film of Tess of the d'Urbervilles with Natasha wotshername confirmed my prejudice.

Lots of miserable footage of people trudging through mud.

THe book was great but the film managed to miss out 2 of the 3 main events

 

[Ian H]

I found Tess just about acceptable but very dark and sinister and I never managed to finished The Mayor of Casterbridge - just couldn't get into it but definitely like FFTMC. Maybe I should try some of the others.

Oddly I've always loved his poetry.

Hardy was serious about his poetry, but wrote the novels for money. So he said.