Try some Edith Wharton, if you're in a mood. I like her better than Henry James, except "The Turn of the Screw."
I'd second this rec. I find her way more entertaining than he is.
Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after day. That final gasp, that look of peace. And part of you is desperate to know: What's it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that's the secret. Not the punch you didn't throw or the kicks you didn't land. She really wanted it. Every Slayer has a death wish. Even you.
Spike ,'Conversations with Dead People'
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."
lisah - Feb 13, 2007 10:45:02 am PST #1939 of 28644
Punishingly Intricate
Steph L. - Feb 13, 2007 10:47:24 am PST #1940 of 28644
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
I just finished Kiki Strike Inside the Shadow City, which is, IMHO, A Very Buffista Book. It leaned toward a bit of a cliche toward the end, but overall, I LOVED it.
Hayden - Feb 13, 2007 10:48:20 am PST #1941 of 28644
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
I have a stack of books next to my bed, including the new Pynchon, Banville's The Sea, and a book on Enlightment-era medical practices by a friend of mine, but, sadly, no time to read at the moment.
Kathy A - Feb 13, 2007 10:53:04 am PST #1942 of 28644
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
Ooh, yum, Kathy! I might hit you up for a dub of that next fall; I teach "The Odyssey" to my seniors.
I still have to send you my copy of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants--I'm a bad Buffista! If I had a way of converting tape to CD, I'd do it and then send you the tapes or a copy of the CDs. Oh, well, I can pull out my double-tape boombox and dub you some tapes while I'm listening, if you'd like!
Strix - Feb 13, 2007 10:56:33 am PST #1943 of 28644
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Tapes are fine; the kids trashed my boombox, and the CD player no longer works, anyway.
Kathy A - Feb 13, 2007 10:58:59 am PST #1944 of 28644
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
Cool! I'll make sure to pull it out this spring and dub it for you.
JohnSweden - Feb 13, 2007 11:10:41 am PST #1945 of 28644
I can't even.
I'm re-reading Connie Willis' Lincoln's Dreams. I'm just a couple of chapters in, so the magical realism drug-like effect it had on me when I first read it hasn't kicked in yet. Maybe it won't. I'm enjoying the details so far.
Amy - Feb 13, 2007 11:16:26 am PST #1946 of 28644
Because books.
Try some Edith Wharton, if you're in a mood. I like her better than Henry James, except "The Turn of the Screw."
I adore Edith Wharton, but I've already read everything of hers. Well, almost anyway.
I'm not sure if I would ever be in the mood for The Odyssey.
Kathy A - Feb 13, 2007 11:19:55 am PST #1947 of 28644
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
I first read The Odyssey in college, and it really is a riveting story, AmyLiz! Just like with Beowulf, you have to get the right translation, otherwise it can be a slog to get through. The Fagles is excellent--IIRC, he just published a translation of The Aeneid in the past few months.
Connie Neil - Feb 13, 2007 12:04:40 pm PST #1948 of 28644
brillig
I read The Odyssey for fun a few years ago. I had it on the bus one day and was snickering over some snark, and somebody in another seat asked me what class I was reading it for. They looked uneasy when I told them I was reading it for fun. The same kind of look when I was reading "Engines of Creation" on the bus. Freak the mundanes!