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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

Be careful when looking for The Phantom of the Opera. There's loads of different versions of it, and some of them are not very good. The original version, which is the one I've read is by, Gaston Leroux.

On my reading list right now I've got -
Anthem
Dracula
Great Expectations
Wuthering Heights

I also suggest, if you haven't already read them -

Jane Eyre
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
The Secret Garden
The Scarlet Letter
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Last of the Mohicans
Heart of Darkness

Ooh! I LOVE classic literature!! that's probably my favorite genre. Since I know you like Jane Austen novels, I'm going to recommend a couple that I think you'd like that are kind of similar-ish:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte- I know, you've probably already read this before. But i'll mention it in the unlikelihood that you haven't. This novel is amazing!! Great love story that has mystery and romance.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy- This novel is dark, but it's very good. It's about a young girl who gets seduced/molested by a distant relative, and after that her life changes. She tries to forget her past and falls in love with a man named Angel. They are happy together, until he finds out that she was molested, which he thinks is socially unacceptable. The story is basically about how the girl deals with so many (undeserved) tragedies in her life, and how she has to battle the female prejudices in society. I can't explain it very well, but I assure it is well worth reading.

Washiington Square by Henry James- This is one of my favorite stories (like you couldn't tell from my sig set ). This one's also a bit of a feminist novel with a not very happy, but realistic ending. It's basically about a socially awkward girl who is an heiress, and a young man begins to woo her. She falls for him, but her father is convinced he's only out to get her money and disapproves of the match, and threatens to disinherit her. The story is about how she tries to fight for the man she loves, who may or may not love her...

Great Expctations by Charles Dickens- I haven't read this in FOREVER, but I do remember enjoying it. hmmm....*thinks* Yeah, I need to reread this sometime soon.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare- One of my favorite Shakespeare plays ever! Of course it has the usual complicated love storylines, but it also has a very interesting, kind of dark tone to it. The play is about a man who must take out a loan for his business, but the only person he can get a loan from is a Jew whom he often mistreated (for racial reasons). The Jew, who is full of rancor, agrees to the loan on the condition that if the man cannot pay him back, he must pay with a pound of his own flesh. Things look good, until the the man's business crumbles and he is unable to pay his debt. Upon hearing this, the Jew goes to claim his pound of flesh!


there are lots more books I recommend but I'll leave it at that for now. plus, I am so horrible at summarizing these books. They are so much better than I know how to say.

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<center>"To die for love, what could be more glorious?"
-Marianne Dashwood</center>
^made by yours truly

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

Good, good. At least you won't waste time on other such PotO remakes. I think I went through about three til I found the original.

I can't believe I forgot about Shakespeare! I remember A Midsummer Night's Dream being my favourite, but Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet are fantastic as well from a literary standpoint. They are tragedies, but very well done tragedies.

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

i know they've already been mentioned, but i really recommend wuthering heights, dracula and frankenstein. the latter is particularly astonishing when you realise that mary shelley was only 18 when she wrote it.

the turn of the screw and dr jekyll and mr hyde are also good, if you feel like something a little shorter.

oh, and sheakespeare's definitely worth persevering with (macbeth's my personal favourite).

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**MY BOOK**

~ proud to be a shieldmaiden for christ ~</center>

Shakespeare is very difficult to understand, but it is worth it!! he has some great stories out there. I mean, without him we wouldn't have the Lion King (LK=best Disney movie ever)!!

And I'd like to second Frankenstein. I read that recently in my english class, and I really enjoyed it. It has a much better storyline than I thought it would.

I'd also like to add:
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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<center></center>
<center>"To die for love, what could be more glorious?"
-Marianne Dashwood</center>
^made by yours truly

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

Kids these days...

I know this isn't really what we're discussing, but what 2 modern books did you get? I'm looking for something new to read.

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

Oo, I've heard loads about Daphne du Maurier! I'm surprised I haven't picked up any of her books from the library. I shall most definitely put those two on my book list [which is sorely lacking]. Romance.. I'm a die-hard fan of it.

you should definitely try some daphne du maurier, larael. i don't normally like romance novels, but i make an exception for her - her books are wonderfully atmospheric, with interesting characters and enough layers of deeper meaning to keep me interested. she's one of my favourite authors, despite the fact that she's terrible at writing endings.

which of her books did you get, JF?

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**MY BOOK**

~ proud to be a shieldmaiden for christ ~</center>

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*

I'm reading the Illiad by Homer, it's kinda confusing.

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Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future.
It's simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step Joni Erickson Tada

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^ By me and my SS *squiggle hugs*