Recommendations for books.

Em ko biet la co tin duoc may cai quyen sach cu tren amazon ko...
Hoi o nha em thinh thoang hay len cho hieu sach o Hang Gia`y ay. Tren day co nhieu sach lam, muon cung duoc ma mua cung duoc...quen mat so nha roi, gan cho banh troi tau cua ong Pham Bang ay
 
eh, dun noe what u all r talking about ( i dun read much, mind ya), but i still can give some suggestion, of course... :D... try out Tower and the Hive written by Anne McCaffrey (good god, i have a bad feeling that i spell the name wrongly...), only 4 books, and will take at most 1 week to finish... esp good for those of ya who are always short of time and dun have much to spend on long series like Condor Hero and such... other than that, i have a few more... but ne'er mind, tell ya later.. bb...
 
Anne McCaffrey<@~~~ like Anne Rice??? Something's concerned with dragons, travelling trough time....

I heard some best-sellers like A Painted House, The Lovely Bones. Have anyone read?
 
yeah!!! she has one series with dragons, but the one suggested is not the one... it is much better, i think...

Best-seller??? i see plenty, but not sure of such thing can be trusted, anyway, now i'm trying out Geoffrey Archer (not Jeffrey)... that guy definitely knows his stuff on subs...
 
For general reading, I would recommend Harry Potter series. Firstly it's available on the net (text format, if you can't find it i'll upload it somewhere). Secondly you probably already read the Vietnamese translation, this help you not feel bored reading a long story.

In Aus we have the Wordworth classic series, great collection with cheap price (4.95 A$ ~ 2.50U$/book), print with decent paper though the font is a bit small.

Have fun reading :)
 
I can't read those small fonts anymore, they're just killing my eyes :)
Actually I think buying books at a used bookstore is a good idea, since we have books that are still pretty decent and don't have to read real small font.
 
Mr. Quang Linh, I hate the Vietnamese version Harry Potter because of its southern dialect. But the original version is very fascinating;). I read all the four books in two weeks:D and can't wait for the next ones.

We have Wordworth classic books here, too. Very cheap, about $2 each. But they are all classic:( hard to read. I only finished three and surrendered completely:razz:

I'm too tired of science-fiction and thrillers, trying some modern books;)

Have anyone skimmed through George Orwell? THose who study at US/Uk... high schools may be required to read at least Animal Farm and probably 1984.( don't laugh at me, Nhung). I have reccommended Animal Farm to my four friends. One said it was easy to read, one: " all Greek to me", Nhung said," I knew how it ends" and the last had nothing to say:(

If you haven't, try the nearest library. I'm sure every library has them in stock. Eh, be a book reviewer:D :p. Animal Farm is about animals, for sure:D. They rebel against the landowner, take charge of the farm communistically:D (don't know whether it exists). In the end, the leader, named Napoleon in every country( so sarcastic:)))but César in France:D,
becomes a malevolent dictator exploiting the other animals for his and his supporters' benefit. Fuff, even though Orwell was a communist and never travelled to Russia, he knew how communism would end in the opposite if authority was concentrated in a few hand. Power corrupts people. The most famous quote from Animal Farm: All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

1984 is Orwell's prediction about the communistic life. It scared me out of my skin. After reading, I couldn't have a good night sleep for several days. The torture is so terrible that the couple in this fiction betray each other, only think what Big Brother wants them to think and love those torturers. Famous quote: Big Brother is watching you!.Two and two is four.

My appologies to all mistakes in this post:D
 
My favorite Linh đã viết:
Nhung said," I knew how it ends"
Nhấn để mở rộng...
Well, you certainly don't learn much new from reading the book - especially as a Vietnamese. But it's interesting (or scary) to find how much (part of) the book resembles our Civic Education text book :))
 
Linh, no doubt Orwell is a great thinker and well, 1984, his most famous work, is a great book. But take not what the mass embrace as the ultimate truth. Read and ponder. How correct are his predictions? The book is well-known in the Western society because of the strong anti-communist sentiments, yet to speak fairly of it, Orwell's views are way too radical. Looking at communism in its most primitive form, he imagines a cruel future for the world. The fear is, of course, understandable given the circumstances he was under during his time. Yet how much of it has come true? Many people argue that the name 1984 can be changed to 2002, 2003 or whatever. I find that thought quite absurd.
The point is, I think, to read and have your own view. I admire Orwell as a thinker with great stamina ;) and great desire to better himself, yet 1984, to me, is unreadable. Had to write a paper on it, hated it, told the instructor I hated it, got an A :D
 
Long, I'm very pleased to find somebody to share my liking in Orwell. :D yes, he was pessimistic about the future. But have you known he was a devoted communist? Do you know the world at the time he wrote these books? Everybody hailed great achievements of the former USSR and communist block while Orwell perceived what was going on in those apparently prosperous and happy countries. His books are not entirely predictions. They reflect the real condition of citizens under communism.

Animal Farm warns people about corruption caused by power (I mentioned above). It characterizes different kinds of people, ambitious but cruel, hard-working but stupid, quiet but knowledgeable...That's what I admire from his book. But 1984 is written faithfully based on facts. Do you know Moscow and Berlin shook hands to devide Poland between them? From 1984, I learn a lot about the naturre of politics : deceptive and changing. You have no grounds to judge events, things and people in the political world. How intellegent politicians are!!:). You think 1984's story cannot realize itself in the future, right? But I think it was happening in USSR at that time and in North Korea now. Yes, the book was fictionized by Orwell only to accentuate the horrible facts.

Sorry, mom is calling for dinner. To be continued;)
 
Orwell's novels were often sited as anti-communist literature by western propaganda. But contrary to popular believe, these works speak out against totalitarian governments in general: left or right - not against communism. In fact, Orwell was at heart an ardent proponent of ideal communism. He himself never went to the USSR, but his experience fighting in Spain - going through both the social revolution and its degradation - apparently greatly disillusioned him, leaving him in despair and confusion. This likely led him to paint out dire pictures of society ruled by a corrupt few. I can't say anything about 1984, but I could find many parallels between Animal Farm and events in Socialist Vietnam's history and present (and China's, etc. for that matter). In Orwell's time, the media celebrated every (note: self-reported) achievement of the Soviets, and suppressed all opposition. I think his works stand out not only because of their insight, but also because of the writer's rare bravery to express his mind.

Uh, so everything like Linh said ^_^
 
I remember watching a program on Discovery Channel :oops: about espionage during the Cold War. The documentary said that there was an extensive surveillance net in the German Democratic Republic resembling exactly what George Orwell had described in 1984 :p Linh rember that one?
 
Other aspects in Orwell's 1984

Remember the parts about language. A Winston's friend (name forgotten:oops:) works on reducing words in Newspeak (according to Big Brother's command), all words and expressions are eliminated gradually so that people cannot express their feelings other than love for Big Brother and hate for his enemy. You have good for every things about He and ungood for the opposite. To say ''excellent', you have double good and double plus good instead. I am really impressed by this method of mind control. All arts are dumped in this way. The only thing concerned with literature is newspapers, which is managed by Ministry of Truth. Winston, the main character, does the work of "in-correcting" existing news. Even though the crops are destroyed by storms, the citizens never know. And the food provision lessens every month but newspapers always propangate about an incredible increase in living standard. Most interestingly, when the nation begins an alliance with its once enemy and starts a war with its once alliance, the Ministry reverses all newspapers' content. Do you think it's the same in Vietnam and China. Once China provided Vietnam with weapons, then decided to 'teach Vietnam a teacher'.

The book is great in its universal application. What in 1984 is the same in all communist countries. 1984 states the core characteristics of communism and I think politics in general: lie and only lie.

It's more than a year since I read the novel. I forget a lot about it. So my apologies to all inaccurate facts;)

Nhung, as you mentioned Germany, 1984 has some words about the relationship under communism. Children are trained to betray their parents. I heard it happened in Germany then. As for 'extensive surveillance net '. well, actually Orwell fictionized a telenetwork not only to promote State policy but also to watch every movement of citizens.

There are still many to say, about Misnistry of Love, where assumed betrayers are tortured ( too scary), Two Minutes of Hate, devious spies to trap anyone with a faintest trace of treason...

Fuf, I think you are bored with this long post now. No more words about Orwell;) I recommend Animal Farm to everyone, 1984 to a few, some Orwell's essays to few.

PS, Nhung! Animal Farm is a sarcasm of our Civic Education book. What's stated means the opposite.

Long, does your college instructor have A+ and A++?:D j/k
 
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