Arts & Humanities - 5 October 2007

If you had to pick 1 (or 2-3) book(s) they someone should no miss out on reading what would it be? (name and author)

My own few I would recommend are:

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (obvious but true)

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (truely brilliant)

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (A fantastic way to look at the meaning of your life)

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (actually the start of a 9 book series, a fantasy based novell that is brilliantly written)

Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan (not yet completed, but on a par with lord of the rings)

Please let me know what your favourites are and why :)

2007-10-05 00:31:22 · 175 answers · asked by younggreguk 2 in Books & Authors

Our Last Fremstad Story

Any tale is anticlimatic after The Farewell, we ought to look i on (Olive) Fremstad as voice teacher, the occupation she took up, like many of her colleagues, upon her retirement. Fremstad was not a gentle coach. Only those with a spirit of iron could survive her course, for training included viewing the inside of a mysterious box that sat on the piano under a red silk scarf.

One day, Fremstad was about to unveil the secret for her secretary to see when a student showed up for a lesson.

"Don't!" the student screamed in terror. "I won't look at it again. I'd rather leave forever!"

"Leave then, poor child." said Fremstad. "Better now than disappointment and heartbreak later." Turning to her secretary as her student fled. Fremstad added, "She has no guts, that one. Opera is not for her." Then she showed the contents of the box to the secretary.

It was a human head, pickled and sliced in half from cranium to neck.

2007-10-05 00:20:06 · 1 answers · asked by The Lark Ascending 1 in Books & Authors