http://www.indy.com/posts/5954 en-us caralyn I always was fond of Hem's "A Moveable Feast" but have read and reread several times a compilation I have of his early reporting - it's interesting to see his style really develop through his war reporting and on into his career. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:46:10 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17661 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17661 Jolene.Ketzenberger I re-read LOTR every few years -- does that count? Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:15:04 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17479 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17479 joe.shearer After I saw "Capote" I picked up and read a copy of "In Cold Blood," but in general I don't get into classic type literature. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:48:03 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17477 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17477 Jolene.Ketzenberger I like Hemingway's short stories better than his novels. "Up in Michigan," the Nick Adams stories...I like those better than all his war-related stuff. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:45:04 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17475 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17475 baggles When I was little, I had a million of those "Great Illustrated Classics" books... you know, the ones that have a big black and white picture on every other page. I LOVED those things, I read a lot of my classics at a young age that way (I esp liked Frankenstine, Around the World in 80 days, Time Machine, and anything by Edgar Allen Poe). The most recent one I've read was Pride and Prejudice, I really enjoyed it too. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:30:19 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17473 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17473 middlewest The only Hemingway piece I've ever really connected with was A Movable Feast, his memoir of life in Paris. He's catty and funny, and he displays some amount of regret for his not-so-great relationship choices. He also talks about using a cat as a babysitter, not a behavior I would advocate, but one that makes him seem less like a posturing construct of masculinity. But Jolene's right - his style can't be beat. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:29:40 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17472 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17472 Matt.Gonzales In a lot of cases I prefer discursive, wordy writers -- like I said, I get off on all that late 20th century post-modern stuff. I appreciate Hemingway's economy with language. I just don't think the post-war themes of TSAR really resonated me. And the characters seemed like blurry sketches rather than living, breathing people. Maybe had I studied more WWI history, I would "get" it more. Prior to this one the only Hemingway I'd read was "The Old Man and the Sea." And although it's only magazine-article-length, I'd much rather read "The Sun Also Rises" again than re-read that one. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:16:44 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17466 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17466 Jolene.Ketzenberger Hemingway is cool because he gets a lot of bang for the buck as far as words go (don't use 10 words when 2 will do). I like his reporterly style. In contrast to, say, the tedious, never-ending sentences of Faulkner. Why did the chicken cross the road? Hemingway's answer: To die. Alone. In the rain. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:08:18 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17462 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17462 Matt.Gonzales Outside of magazines and Web sites, it's mostly all I read (if you count late 20th century post-modernists among the classics). I just finished "The Sun Also Rises." Still not sure what all the fuss about Hemingway is. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:54:31 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17461 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17461 middlewest Oh yeah - and I think that it's a good idea for everyone who likes to read! I'm always trying to force Edith Wharton and others on my friends. Reading the Great Gatsby as an adult shifted my view of Fitzgerald completely. The book is really lovely and special; I didn't know that, after so much classroom discussion, I could have a truly personal experience with it. I keep trying Ulysses, but, well, maybe next winter? Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:28:13 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17458 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17458 Marley I've been reading "The Picture of Dorian Gray" for almost two years! I'll read a chapter or two, and then set it aside while I read something that's less than a classic. It's a great book, so I'm not sure what's taking me so long. The last one I actually read all the way through was Anna Karenina, (have to admit I would skip whole pages though when it got a little boring). I really enjoyed it overall. I definitely have one of those "must read" classics list in my house that I want to get through. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:21:10 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17454 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17454 mephisto Does Lovecraft count? Catching up on my "reading I should have done in college" list and reading "At the Mountains of Madness" right now. Other than that, I've been meaning to challenge myself with something dense/bewildering like "Ulysses" or "Gravity's Rainbow" for a while now, but just haven't yet ... Aside from that, it's been a healthy dose of James Ellroy and Robert Ludlum lately (mostly rereads). Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:43:50 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17447 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17447 John Hawn I just finished "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," by James Joyce. While I'm baffled by some of the language and phrases, I still raked up a semblance of narrative and actually laughed throughout the hellfire and brimstone sequence. I suppose that's the equivalent to frognajik's hell. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:12:38 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17443 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17443 frogmajik Sad, but true, on the bus I've been reading Dantes Inferno in Toscano.It's been preparing me for the hell I deal with on my day job. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:48:12 -0400 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17440 http://www.indy.com/posts/5954#comment_17440