Terra Linda High School

RE: Favorite Book

2009-07-10T17:02:11-04:00

David,

I just finished "Remains of the Day", and I thought it was excellent! It's intereting how Ishiguro drops litlle hints about what is really going on in the book until the reader finally realizes "the truth". Clearly, Mr. Stevens is a tragic figure, who seems to be aware of what is happening, but his sense of duty and dignity cloud his vision of what is right in front of him. Ishiguro created an excellent "unreliable narrator" in Mr. Stevens. However, Mr. Stevens is not a completely unreliable narrator - that would make the book uninteresting.

I have to admit that I wasn't ready for Mr. Steven's explanation of the true source of the "errors" at Darlington Hall. I recommend "Remains of the Day" to my fellow classmates. There are certain books that can only be fully appreciated by people our age, and this is one of them.

RE: Favorite Book

2009-06-27T00:27:34-04:00

David,

I've been meaning to read "Remains of the Day". Now that I know you've read it, I have more of an incentive. "Remains of the Day" has been on my "to read" list since I read "Never Let Me Go".

I have to admit that some of the favorite books I read in high school would have never made it onto any English Literature syllabus - "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "A Clockwork Orange". I'm sure those books corrupted my young and impressionable mind. My brother, who is six years younger than I am, would read all of the books I did, so he was reading "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "A Clockwork Orange" when he was eleven! Not to worry, he is a fine, upstanding citizen now.

RE: Favorite Book

2009-06-26T23:12:34-04:00

I read Remains of the Day and A Pale View of Hills by Ishiguro - good stuff. I have so many books to read, but I've been planning to read Never Let Me Go, so I may as well download it to my e-reader. Lately, I've been reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and The Wind Up Bird Chronicles. Some of my favorite books go back to high school -- I loved Grapes of Wrath, Great Expectations, To Kill a Mockingbird. Sometimes, I even think of a A Lantern in Her Hand, which we read way back at Miller Creek.

RE: Favorite Book

2009-06-18T12:57:24-04:00

A very influencial book for me was "The Hidden Persuaders" by Vance Packard. I read it when I was a teenager and it formed my outlook on how advertising and media shape our opinions of ourselves and the world around us. "The Hidden Persuaders" was written in 1957, and was one of the first books to delve into the psychology of advertising. Obviously, a lot has changed since 1957, but the core ideas of the book remain relevant.

The book was an unflinching exposee of how people can be influenced to buy a product that they don't need or vote for someone who does not represent their interests. There are many examples of how this is done which are shocking and more than a little disturbing. If you read this book, you will almost certainly watch commercials more consciously, and you will often ask yourself "What message is this commercial trying to convey?"

If you liked the movie "Fight Club", you will probably enjoy "The Hidden Persuaders".

RE: Favorite Book

2009-06-15T10:02:52-04:00

Hi Par, I am reading "Never Let Me Go" per your suggestion. I'm not very far into the book, but I can tell it is going to be good. I'll keep you posted. Best, :D Paige

Favorite Book

2009-06-02T22:57:51-04:00

Greetings fellow classmates! I thought I would start this forum off with a discussion of favorite books. One of the best books I have read in the last ten years is "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. I would be very interested if anyone else has read this book, and, if you did, what did you think about it? It's kind of hard to pin down exactly why I liked that book so much, and any explanation would spoil the book for you if you haven't read it. I would be interested in books other people liked. We are all looking at literature through the eyes of people who have lived a while, so, it would also be fun to hear about how everyone's tastes have changed over the last thirty years. - Parland