I like novels. When well developed and maintained I like series. My reading tends to be character-driven, and if I like a character enough to follow him or her to the end of a novel, I'll generally be curious to see what s/he does next.
They should film that story and show it every Christmas.
Xander ,'Same Time, Same Place'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Calli - Sep 28, 2010 8:18:15 am PDT #12483 of 28319
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs
Fred Pete - Sep 28, 2010 8:23:41 am PDT #12484 of 28319
Ann, that's a ferret.
Give me a nice, big novel to get lost in. One of the things I like about Victorian novels is the way they can just kind of meander in a way that still keeps your attention.
Series can work if there's something to keep me interested. Mysteries seem to do it better, perhaps because so many are built around an interesting character, and a decent mystery (especially who-dun-its, which is my favorite type of mystery) almost has to be well plotted.
Flash can be fun once, but it's often tied to a gimmick. So it's less likely to hold up on re-reading unless you wait a long, long time between readings. (Come to think of it, the same is true of who-dun-its.)
Gudanov - Sep 28, 2010 8:25:54 am PDT #12485 of 28319
Coding and Sleeping
I'm finding that even when writing short stories (all two of them), I want to make them into novels.
DavidS - Sep 28, 2010 8:55:07 am PDT #12486 of 28319
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
"Who Am I This Time?" by Vonnegut.
Wasn't that made into a movie with Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walker? They had that in the sell pile at Le Video.
ChiKat - Sep 28, 2010 8:56:49 am PDT #12487 of 28319
That man was going to shank me. Over an omelette. Two eggs and a slice of government cheese. Is that what my life is worth?
Wasn't that made into a movie with Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walker?
Yes. Kathy A. gave me a copy that I have shown to some of my classes. It's pretty good.
DavidS - Sep 28, 2010 9:00:33 am PDT #12488 of 28319
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Yes. Kathy A. gave me a copy that I have shown to some of my classes. It's pretty good.
I guess I should snap it up. It's only 99 cents.
It's good to still have a VCR.
Kathy A - Sep 28, 2010 9:03:36 am PDT #12489 of 28319
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
I love that movie (btw, it was directed by Jonathan Demme), and urge everyone to see it if they haven't already. It's wonderful seeing a very young Walken playing a romantic comedy lead, albeit a very quirky one. I love all the plays that they manage to reference (Cyrano De Bergerac, Streetcar Named Desire, Romeo and Juliet, and Importance of Being Earnest).
Strix - Sep 28, 2010 9:11:05 am PDT #12490 of 28319
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
One of the things I like about Victorian novels is the way they can just kind of meander in a way that still keeps your attention.
FredPete, have you read any Sarah Waters? Her books aren't Dickens-long, but they are substantial, and they are Victorian settings (except for her last 2), and focus on the lesbian culture then, with a great honking dose of gothic (Affinity, I think my fave) and crime (Fingersmith). Just really fabulous.
I also quite liked The Observations, which is more Gothic Victorian-settings, with quite a strong lesbian (quasi) subtext.
Also Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue was really good, although it was 18th c. rather than Victorian.
Mmm. Historical fiction.
lisah - Sep 28, 2010 9:16:02 am PDT #12491 of 28319
Punishingly Intricate
Also Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue was really good, although it was 18th c. rather than Victorian.
Oh! Loved that book and her short stories too. I was trying to remember the title when she was interviewed on NPR yesterday about her new novel, which I really want to read.
Strix - Sep 28, 2010 9:20:45 am PDT #12492 of 28319
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Room? I want to read that. I haven't read the short stories, but her book on female relationships in fiction is at my lib, and it's on my list. I also read a story she did about whathername, female sculptor in England, Damer?
I read it following the bio on Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and it was really interesting, although I didn't enjot it as much as Slammerkin.