English books

[hermano]

The best book I have ever read in my whole life is "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. But I must warn you, the language is not easy. My girl friend is a native speaker, and there were words in there that she had never heard of (of course neither have I). But you do not need to understand every detail. The book is just hillariously funny.

[knacker]

I'm going to read Harry Potter 6. But I don't know what is better: English or German? Is it difficult to read it in English? My English isn't perfekt, so is it easy to understand?? I hope you can help me.

Knacker

[pelirroja]

Zitat von knacker

I'm going to read Harry Potter 6. But I don't know what is better: English or German? Is it difficult to read it in English? My English isn't perfekt, so is it easy to understand?? I hope you can help me.

Knacker

Well, the story at least is the same . My English isn't perfect either, but I also read the last Harry Potter novel in English and I understood it quite good. Of course there are some special expressions that you won't know, but you'll get used to them quite quickly.

[EgonB]

In my opinion you can read English books very well when the plot is well and interesting.
You have to read books you also would like to read in German.

[PALIA]

i consider "to kill a mockingbird" (by harper lee) to be my favourite english book. though it´s particulary funny, there is a very sad story behind it. it twists the message that an innocent, black man has been accused of commiting sexual abuse. this novel can be read and understood at various levels, it depends on the reader´s ability to realize the extent of prejudice, segregation and all the hypocritical stuff used against black people in the south. the whole story makes me being more aware and sensitive ever since.
you may also read it in german , i think it´s called "wer die nachtigall stört"

[Rieslingrübe]

...my personal highlight of the last years :


F. Scott Fitzgerald : `The Beautiful and Damned`:

"......displays exactly that `touch of disaster´ which was always at the center of Fitzgerald`s work;....and in his portrayal of individual failure, the corrupting power of money and the fleeting nature of beauty, he explores a preoccupying theme: the need for illusion and the tragedy that springs from its inevitable breakdown...."



Also recommendet:

Graham Greene `Brighton Rock`, `The Power And The Glory`
Eugene O' Neill : `Nine Plays`
William Faulkner: `Sanctuary`
Ernest Hemingway: `A Farewell to Arms`
Ambrose Bierce : `The Devils Dictionary`
H. G. Wells : `The Time Machine`



And (not only for western and crime fans) :


Miller/Snell : `Great Gunfighters of the Kansas Cowtowns`, 1867-1886

Robert K. DeArment :`Knights Of The Green Cloth` - the Saga of the Frontier Gamblers

Billy O`Neal : `Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters`

John Kobler : `Capone - His Life and World`

Rich Cohen : `Tough Jews`, the history of organized crime in America

[Rieslingrübe]

latest achievement: `The Works of William Blake `

(Wordsworth Poetry Library)

[gameboy]

I like to read books from John Grisham. The last two books I read were "Skipping Christmas" and "The Broker" which I can both recommend.

Why? "Skipping Christmas" because it is not typical Grisham, but nice to read anyway. "The Broker" because it is a typical grisham story.

[Rieslingrübe]

Grahame Greene: ´Our Man in Havana`


...an underrated work from one of the really great writers of the last century...; not as deep as ´Brighton Rock´, `Heart of the Matter` or `The Power and the Glory`, but easier to read with much suspense and action ...

[Whip McCord]

Toni Morrison: ´Jazz´ (1992)



"...The story of a triangle of passion, jealously, murder and redemption, of sex and spirituality, of slavery and liberation, of country and city, of being male and female, African American, and above all of a being human. Like the music of its title, it is a dazzingly lyric play on elemental themes, as soaring and daring as a Charlie Parker solo, as heartbreakingly powerful as the blues. It is Pulitzer Price-winning novelist Toni Morrison at her best....
(Chicago Sun-Times)


" ....some of the finest lyric passages ever written in a modern novel.
Jazz, for sure; but also Mozart. "
(Cosmopolitan)