Literary endevors and comparisons

[Elbereth]

As tweens we have had the opportunity to read a great deal in our lifetimes...and as Tolkien fans, it is safe to assume that we take literature quite seriously. But how much influence does literature really play on our lives?

Let's hear what authors have influenced you the most. And let us also explore how your favorite authors and stories compare and contrast to our beloved author JRR Tolkien.

*note: This is to be a serious thread...so please no off topic spamming allowed...Thank you*

[Ramagna]

So I'll go right along with my four most favourite authors at all:

1. You wouldn't believe it, is Tolkien :p
And he has influenced me as I love his world, and since I read the hobbit, the lord of the rings and the silmarillion, I am more than ever interested in fantasy, and Tolkiens stories are the only thing I would say that I'm a fan of

2. Douglas Adams and his works: 'The Hitchihiker Guide', 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'The Restaurant at the end of the Universe', 'Thanks for all the fish' and 'Mostly Harmless'
Those are the funniest books I ever read, and the first time I had to laugh out loud while reading...
And I think he has influenced my kind of humour, people often think I'm just crazy, even my oldest friend says I should be careful not to become insane

3. Terry Pratchett and his tales of the Discworld:
The best Funny Fantasy I know, and I do appreciate very much the criticism in his works, it's wonderful to find the strange things in our society in a varied form in his worlds...

4. Michael Ende: This one I don't know if anyone of you knows, cause he's german one, and that's the only reason he's at the end of my list:
I do love most not the popular works of him, like 'the neverending story' (I don't know if it has been translated like this), but his short stories, that are very imaginating and some kind of philosophical...

I hope I haven't talked too much now, I just love reading...
:)

[DGoeij]

Originally posted by Ramagna
So I'll go right along with my four most favourite authors at all:

1. You wouldn't believe it, is Tolkien :p
And he has influenced me as I love his world, and since I read the hobbit, the lord of the rings and the silmarillion, I am more than ever interested in fantasy, and Tolkiens stories are the only thing I would say that I'm a fan of

2. Douglas Adams and his works: 'The Hitchihiker Guide', 'Life, the Universe and Everything', 'The Restaurant at the end of the Universe', 'Thanks for all the fish' and 'Mostly Harmless'
Those are the funniest books I ever read, and the first time I had to laugh out loud while reading...
And I think he has influenced my kind of humour, people often think I'm just crazy, even my oldest friend says I should be careful not to become insane

3. Terry Pratchett and his tales of the Discworld:
The best Funny Fantasy I know, and I do appreciate very much the criticism in his works, it's wonderful to find the strange things in our society in a varied form in his worlds...

Agreement on all three.:D

Personally, I'd like to add Isaac Asimov and Stepehn King as great authors.
Great books I've read are "Lord of the Flies", by William Gerald Golding and "Boys from Brazil", by Ira levin. I wonder if anyone of you ever heard of "Kees de jongen", by Theo Thijssen. A dutch book, I really like.

I read almost anything, to take my mind of all the texts I have to read for college, usually books by John Grisham and Tom Clancy (in Dutch, if I read them in English, it would be less relaxing).

[TheFool]

Books have had a huge influence on me (I'm hesitant to use the term 'literature' for some of them though :D ). We never actually had a TV set in our house til I was 16 - not because of money or anything, but because my parents just never had any interest in it. When I look back on this I reckon it was a mistake, from day 1 cutting off a huge chunk of stuff that I should have had in common with school friends; but in other ways (creativity, imagination, spelling, daydreaming!) reading, instead of watching TV, had a big positive effect.

When I read, I tend to read slowly - I think I need more time to 'absorb' what I am reading. My older brother has just read Battlefield Earth in about 3 days (yep, I said "WHY?!" to him as well), it baffles me how people can read an entire book in the course of, like, 1 train journey and still feel like they have 'read' it. Or am I just a freak ? :confused: Does anyone else read 'slowly'?

What book have I read the most times? "The Forest Of Boland Light Railway" by BB. :D :D It's a childrens book about gnomes fighting off an army of evil leprechauns! If anyone else has read it, you have a friend for life here.

What other stuff have I read? Loads of the stuff Ramagna/DGoeij have mentioned already, plus science fiction, military history... not that many 'classic' pieces I have to admit, but then again personally I would much rather try to get my head round Larry Niven's 'Ringworld' than read Shakespeare. I prefer Arthur Clarke to Asimov (IMHO after his openings he does tend to get a little boring) but my favourite author atm is C.J. Cherryh - I find her particular 'vision of the near future' the most realistic... great for psychology fans as well.

Books I never get round to reading:
Catch 22
On The Road
The New Testament :)
Narnia

TF.

[Legolam]

I'm a "fast" reader, especially when I was younger. I used to be able to read LOTR in 2 days, but thankfully I've calmed down a bit now. But if I get into a good book, I'll just sit up and read it for as long as it takes to finish it. It means that when I read things like LOTR again and again, there's always a bit I've missed (even after 20+ readings!).

Narnia and LOTR were my favourite books when I was a kid, and I'd lose myself in them pretty much all the time. Then I went off reading for ages (I blame studying books in English classes), which was a real shame. Reading has always been a huge part of my life, and when I'm feeling down or bored, I always have a book handy that will suit my mood (I own a LOT of books!).

My favourite books that I've read recently are by Michael Marshall Smith. They're a bit weird, but they have wonderful dark humour and fantastic imagination. You can get absorbed in his world and accept his weird ideas just as I originally did with Tolkien, even though the genres aren't really the same. I'm also a fan of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and the Kay Scarpetta books (lots of medical gore!).

I'm not a big fan of "classics" though. I liked Dracula by Bram Stoker and Othello, but Lord of the Flies was just a bit rubbish IMO. And I don't think I *get* Douglas Adams just yet.

[HLGStrider]

I'm a fast reader because I can't stop. I'm always telling myself (as midnight or other decent bedtimes draw closer) just to the end of the chapter, but what I really mean is "Just to the end of the chapter if the title doesn't look interesting or if I don't accidently see the name of a favorite character or if the next chapter isn't too long or if I really don't feel that tired."

That is a typical Elgee sentence.

Anyway, I read whatever ends up in my hands, but I never know how to navigate libraries so I often go by familiar authors, suggestions, or if it involves cats... :rolleyes: I read these two cute cute books about winged cats. They had no plot whatsoever and must've been written for twelve-year-olds, but I couldn't help myself because they were catly.

Normally I don't go out of the way to go to the library. I request books I want to read from my parents for Christmas or borrow them from friends.

A kid I babysit for loaned me the first two Harry Potters, for instance, but since then I have made no attempt to find number three...

I like Sir Walter Scott and Jules Verne and George MacDonald and C.S. Lewis...

I want to read the "Road to Serfdom" but I can't find it.

I like Lloyd Alexander, though he isn't classic and I've only read his juvanile fiction... I'm a big fan of lighthearted stuff.

Liked Silas Marner... read in twenty-four hours... Same with the Princess Bride.

I've read Shakespeare plays, but I'm not a huge fan.

I like a lot of things...

And I want to be a writer of course.. who on here didn't know that?

[Snaga]

I just read 'Korzeniowski' by James Lansbury on the plane.

It was really quite a cool novel. It told a simple story but in a completely post-modern way in which the story is fragments of recollections recounted in many voices, complete with stage versions created, letters to editors, letters from literary analysts etc etc.

Its really quite interesting as its a complete contrast to the 'one version of the truth' certainties of Tolkien. I like Tolkien but I have to say I really don't agree with the black and white certainty of his world.

[Legolam]

Oh, I forgot Martin Booth. He's not fantasy or Sci-fi, but his books are basically character studies with a plot. His characters are so well-rounded, like Tolkien's (dare i say it, better) and you really feel like you care about the people in his book. Unputdownable!