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magoo wrote:
> Was the reason you couldnt finish his books because you didnt
> like them or was it as a result of a short concentrtration
> span? You know like hitting the fast forward button on videos
>
Har di har har......life's too short, to waste time reading BAD books- there are more than enough good ones out there.
>
> If you couldnt manage to stick with Brighton Rock untill the
> end then you really cannot say whether its a good book or not.
Actually, I DID finish this one (like you, at school- for exam purposes only, you understand), and I sat doggedly through the recent BAB reading of Heart of the Matter, which sort of counts- the best I can say about B Rock is, at least he didn't cop-out the retribution and the girl's fate like the film did; but neither set of characters could elicit any empathy from me at all. And felt they were all a bit one-dimensional: there was a 'chess-piece' quality about them which I saw as a sign of lazy writing- he couldn't be bothered with fully-drawn characters, as long as they sufficed for his didactic purpose.

> I must admit my attention span is much shorter know than it was
> in my teens and twenties. Thats why I will never attempt to
> read War And Peace.
Funny, that: I seem happier reading long stuff now- I tried Dostoevsky in my twenties, for example, but didn't really come to grips with him till much later (I mean that in a strictly butch, literary way.....).

> Its so difficult to find the time what with the distractions of the internet, TV and of course porn videos.
I read a lot at work, of course..............
>
> I forgot to mention another enjoyable book we did at school
> which was Of Mice And Men.
Great stuff- Tortilla Flat is my favourite Steinbeck (and as a bonus, it's quite short.....),

......can't see not reading much has owt to do with it- it's have been different if you hadn't read a fair bit when young.
More likely severe loss of brain-cells,with a variety of causes: I get lost for a particular word all the time, and my tongue gets out of synch. with me brain.

I'd be more convinced of his 'sincere repentance' if he hadn't been a serial adulterer.

It was standard in my day too for Eng. Lit/Lang. to be 2 separate subjects, although we had the same teacher/timetabled slot for both, and would never know which we were getting till the day arrived. And as the O-levels approached we got almost exclusively Lit., the Lang. being left to take care of itself, presumably.
Hines: did you ever read 'The Price of Coal'? Great stuff..........anger from the gut.

Ever notice how most of the books that schools pick for students almost always have a tragic side to them

I would have loved to have discussed something like Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy but instead got Grapes Of Wrath & Of Mice & Men

As for Shakespeare...great moving stories but when is someone going to translate them into todays English?

Thank God I wasn't forced to read and quote the bible in scripture classes

cheers
B....OZ

HE said he repented, often and loudly (the repetition, not the repentance).

And I wouldn't describe the act of being simultaneously treacherous to at least two other people, as a 'pastime'.

Dunno about his drinking habits- probably didn't have time, what with all the going to mass and fucking anything with a pulse.