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Well, Sagan consider religion as one of the "demons", cults as well as old and established religions. Sagan was an atheist and believed that science should replace all other spiritual beliefs. He had rather extremist views. He deals with many issues in the book, he debunks pseudo-science (UFOs...

I have the same profile than HBinjection. The only books from scientists I have read are "The Demon Haunted-World" by Sagan and David Flikin's "Stephen Hawking's universe" (I couldn't get into Hawking's "A brief history of time"). My husband recommended me Simon Singh, who wrote "The code book"...

True... I am not trying to deny the numerous merits of Tolkien, I was just talking about my own reading experience of "The Hobbit". But anyway I think that there is a big difference in his writing between The Hobbit and LOTR and the way LOTR is written works better for me... The humor is...

I have finished "The Hobbit" and enjoyed it, except for the storytelling itself (probably because it was addressed to children, I found the humor a bit heavy-handed). I was wondering, about the rewriting of the chapter "Riddles in the Dark" (that is mentioned in the preceding posts), does...

Yes, it is definitely a story to recommend to children : it is one of these books that has the power to make the more reluctant of them read (much like the Harry Potter series...) I know I read it several times years ago. I think most children can relate to the character of Sebastian and...

It depends on many factors: whether I'm reading in English or in my mother tongue (it's quicker), the difficulty of the book, my level of concentration... It can go from as little as 20 to as much as 70 pages an hour I guess (depending also on the size of the characters on the page!).

I read it when I was 15 and really enjoyed it. I think everybody who likes fantasy should like it. I don't know if I would enjoy it as much as an adult, though. Maybe I will try to read it again... There was a film after the book but it was really weak compared to the book (plus it was only...

That's the feeling I had about "Demian", that it was a bit dark... There was a strong biblical symbolism if I recall: doesn't he believe he his distinguished from others by the mark of Cain? I realize that I have Steppenwolf on my shelves. I should think about reading it too, once... :)...

I didn't know that this character (Arwen) was an addition made for the film. I haven't read LOTR yet. I am not very much surprised though. I've just read "The Hobbit" and there are not any significant (or even non-significant) female character mentioned (except Bilbo's grandmother, briefly). In...

It was a cold evening in March. Bill Townsend tried to open the door of his car, but the lock was frozen. "Damn!" he muttered to himself. Already late, he gave the key a couple more jiggles, hoping to loosen it up. Nothing happened. If only he hadn't given up smoking, he'd at least have...

I've read both "Demian" and "Siddhartha" (not in German though :)). I've liked both but I've preferred "Siddhartha", if I remember well, it shows a more optimistic side of Hesse's personal philosophy... Which one has he written first?

Thanks for the info, Darren.:)

I don't know much about LOTR but I have seen the film "The Fellowship of the Ring" and I've started reading "The Hobbit" (a few chapters so far). I have a question that will show the depth of my ignorance and I figured the LOTR fans surely know the answer ;): Marie

I thought we had decided to have LOTR trilogy as the November BOM, any changes? Personally I don't mind one way or the other, I've started with the Hobbit and will go on with LOTR at my own pace (which won't lead me very far considering that I don't have much time to read these days). I'm quite...

I try to read for an hour or two before sleeping but sometimes I can only manage 10 minutes... If I get the opportunity, I read during the day, but it doesn't happen very often during the week. On some week-ends, if I don't have any plans or if my current reading is particularly riveting, I...

I enjoyed these Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiographical books too. I will look for them so I'll be able to read them to my son when he's old enough. But, I wonder if the adventures of pioneer little girls would interest a little boy... Lucy B., what about The Little Prince by Antoine de...

Quoting Lucy B The guilt lasts even when you're not a student anymore. I studied Lit too and I often feel I should read classics instead of, for instance, mysteries... :) Teachers always seem to distinguish between "good" and "bad" literature so that you always feel you have to hide to...

I've finished Elizabeth George's "Playing for the Ashes" and just started the book of the month for October: "The Hobbit", but I've only read about 10 pages so it's a bit early to form an opinion.:) What is everybody else reading?

Quoting Dawn Can't blame you Dawn... You were not the only one struggling with it. I was tempted to give up too :) Quoting Prolixic Ok but if we decide to read the 3 volumes of LOTR in one month, then we should maybe consider pursuing the discussion beyond November. Then those who...

And then, the Dark Tower series: 1. The Gunslinger (March) 2. The Drawing of the Three (April) 3. The Waste Lands (May) 4. Wizard and Glass (June) Shouldn't volume 5 be published by then? :)