It's clear that I lack some sort of innate impetus for writing this lovely wee FOWLA*, and due to my already-well-established procrastinatious nature, I have decided to structure my entries alphabetically. That way, if I really have nothing to say, I can force myself to write something random on the letter of the day.
Today, as the observant among you will notice, the theme is A is for Adams, as in Richard Adams. I'm a bit of a fan of the author, and his most popular book, Watership Down, is among my favourites. I've read it a few times and still enjoy it thoroughly. Try telling people, though, "Yeah, it's a book about rabbits looking for a new warren" and they tend to cock one eyebrow, fight the urge to sneer, and say, "Rabbits?" Like The Little Prince, though, it is really an analogous story about human nature. And, like The Little Prince, it's often put into the children's section of bookstores, though I'm not sure it quite qualifies as such. No matter, though, I first read it when I was young and still enjoy it as an adult.
But I've spent far too much time on Watership Down and you, as a result, have spent too much time reading about it. Get the book. Read it. Enjoy it.
I haven't read all of Richard Adams's books, but I'm getting there. Next to the aforementioned book about rabbits, which is really about human nature, my next favourite would have to be The Plague Dogs which, while far from being a jolly little romp, was a satisfying read. I'm particularly thankful to The Plague Dogs for helping me get through a rather long traffic jam (read: two-and-a-half-hour stand-still) a few Christmas Eves ago when I was stuck with nothing but a book to read and a big tin of almond bark. (Thank you, Jenn P.!) Shardik, a curious and rather epic story about a bear believed to be a divine incarnation by some, was my laundromat reading for some time.
Then I came across The Girl in a Swing and was, at first, taken aback when it was described as "a novel of erotic beauty, terror and suspense". After a very long and detailed introductory section of the book -- I came to know more than is reasonable about the English pottery trade -- I came to quite enjoy it, much more than the movie (a bit ill-conceived, in my opinion, despite starring the delightful Meg Tilly). To quote from that book, "Yes, that's right."
So there you have it. A. Adams, Richard.
Now lay off, I've written in my FOWLO.
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*Fount of Wisdom Located Online
3 comments:
I should read more of Richard Adams books. Watership Down is my absolute favourite book of all time.
Watership Down, yes. I've loved that book since public school and can read it over and over to this day.
The Plague Dogs, however, I can't stomach. Animal abuse hits me way too hard and reading it wasn't very pleasant at all. I can admit it was as well written as WD, but don't really want to read it ever again.
I've read Shardik, but should revisit it before I say yea or nay since I can't actually recall it all that well.
On the whole, however, Richard Adams' books are fantastic. I'm right there with you on that.
I agree that The Plague Dogs isn't exactly a jubilant romp, but it was a great book.
Shardik is probably my least favourite of the bunch I've read so far... very very epic, but certainly well-constructed and textured. It took me a while to get going on it, then I flew through the rest.
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