Books books books!

[saintbacchus]

Liz writes:

> I just got finished with "The Mists of Avalon" by
> Marion Zimmer Bradley and "The Hobbit" by J.R.R.
> Tolkien. On my list is:
> LOTR trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
> "Rose Red" by Stephen King
> "The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle
> "Ragtime" by someone I can't remember
> "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare
> "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

Hamlet is a classic for good reason, and I also
recommend what could be considered its companion piece,
"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." 

I myself found LotR to be terminally boring, but The
Last Unicorn is one of my top five favorite novels.
The prose is absolutely gorgeous; as good as the movie
was, the book is a hundred times better.

"Who Censored Roger Rabbit," another book-turned-movie,
is another of my faves. Again, an excellent movie but
phenominal book.

Also in the Top 5 is "The Great Gatsby." Oooooooooooh.
I had to read it in high school, and boy was I glad I
did. I don't know how well it will play outside the
U.S. (it's very distinctly an American story), but I
found it to be very moving while keeping a reasonably
light tone throughout.

Highly recommended for fans of British humor are the
Red Dwarf books. Very much in the Hitchhiker's Guide
tradition - 'nuff said.

--Anna, feeling pulpy tonight