Blemished - but brilliant books

Carol

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7858000/7858575.stm

and at the bottom suggestions from viewers/listeners of their own choices...

Jay Mandal

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article5617607.ece

More from Matthew Parris.

Jay Mandal

http://www.writersnews.co.uk/writers_talkback/comments.php?DiscussionID=64558

Books you would re-write

Carol

Any other recent books you might suggest?

Stan2

This is very interesting.

Nutmeg

Stardust comes to mind:

its a teen fantasy but has a erotic scene in the beginning... its not needed

Claudia

The Lovely Bones. I enjoyed it right up to the part when the spirit of the dead girl enters the other girl... the scene really jarred - but in the end I still liked the book!

The Grapes of Wrath. An amazing book of almost unrelenting misery. I knew there could be (or indeed should be) no happy ending... but I kept on hoping!

Neph

Lord of the RIngs, an absolute blinder of a book, as long as you can get through the first two hundred pages of serious telling not showing. It took me a dozen attempts to actually get to page 211, once I did I couldn't put it down. Talk about a book having to grab you at the start.

Neph

[quote=Jemma Ash]its a teen fantasy but has a erotic scene in the beginning... its not needed [/quote]

Hmm can't remember that, *goes back off to have a read*

Jenny

There were only a few pages left in the crime novel I was reading with quite a lot still to be resolved and I wondered how the writer was going to do it in such a short space. What did he do? He cheated!

The last chapter took the form of a letter where someone explained it all very quickly. It looked as though the writer had got bored - either that or he was late getting the MS to the publisher!

Carol

Or he hadn't worked out the end and the letter was convenient... :)

Piper

Or all three.

Nutmeg

i really enjoyed LOTR but there were 3 chapters that were just too long and boring:

The Counsel of Elrond
Treebeard
Siege of Gondor...

any other chapter i could read again but the 2nd and 3rd time i read LOTR i just skipped those chapters

Jediya

Council of Elrond I always skim read... I probably do with the others but definitely that portion of the book.

Piper

Never read it.

Verica

Matthew Parris' article was a very enjoyable read, Jay.
I'd also change the ending of Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

dorothyd

that's odd, I don't find those LOTR chapters boring. Probie, it's probably one of the greatest Quest books ever, IMO.

Jediya

I don't find them boring, I just find that cause I read it (almost) every year I skim read certain points. I didn't find any of the books boring...but I'm a LOTR fanatic lol
And I agree completely with dorothy about probably the greatest Quest books ever.

Claudia

I want to amend my post! I got a bit carried away with what I was talking about. There is absolutely nothing "blemished" about The Grapes of Wrath (sorry Mr Steinbeck!).

p.s. love LOTR and agree that it's probably the greatest Quest book ever.

Stan2

I've tried reading 'Grapes of Wrath' but just can't get into it.