This is a good great book. I might not have known it from the first line had I not read it three times for three different classes throughout my academic career. What I'm trying to say is I have a legit reason for knowing this one!

This is a great book.
"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe.
Funny, I was trying to remember where the title comes from ("Things fall apart, the center cannot hold"). Does anyone remember?

OK, here's are really easy one for us oldsters:

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."

This one would be David Copperfield. I actually haven't read this yet but knew the quote anyways

Here's one that came out a little bit later:

Then, when I had given up and gone back to the alley, a few colored letters were dropped here and there, reflected on the asphalt in front of me. I read:

FOR MADMEN ONLY!

A work of genius. Fine choice.

Rings no bells here. Sounds awfully intriguing, though.

I wanna say it's something by Hesse but other than that, I got nothing.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
I wanna say it's something by Hesse but other than that, I got nothing.

Well you got more than nothing, you got the right author. Care to guess which novel of his?

You know, this is a hard one for me. I have read only five of his novels, so this narrows it down. I will think about it (maybe scan my books!) and try to have it by the end of the day.

OK, so that’s Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. Here is mine:

“The Earthlings had had a bad week on the market before that. They had lost a small fortune on olive oil futures. So they gave praying a whirl. It worked. Olive oil went up.”

quote:

Originally posted by Ghost Dog:
Rings no bells here. Sounds awfully intriguing, though.

Oh man! If you haven't read it, do so...now! Hermann Hesse is one of my favorite authors, and this is definitely one of my top two favorites of his. It would also find a place in my top 20 of all time.

quote:

Originally posted by FreddyKruegerAttacks:
OK, so that’s Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. Here is mine:

“The Earthlings had had a bad week on the market before that. They had lost a small fortune on olive oil futures. So they gave praying a whirl. It worked. Olive oil went up.”

Ah yes. From none other than The Big Board by Kilgore Trout.

Dang PRG, you are one smart dude. You’re up.

Ok. Well, let's go with a 'tis the season offering.

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents."

Oh, Lovecraft. 'Call of Cthulhu' I believe.
Was flicking through his stories in a shop the other day, umming whether I should give him another go. Never could get beyond a few pages.

Following quote by an author working similiar territory, and a fan of Lovecraft, but a far superior storyteller I reckon.

' Over shadowy spires and gleaming towers lay the ghostly darkness and silence that runs before dawn. Into a dim alley, one of a veritable labyrinth of mysterious winding ways, four masked figures came hurriedly from a door which a dusky hand furtively opened'

I'm not really a Lovecraft fan either. I got nuthin on yours, Ish.

Nary a glimmer

I got nothing as well.

Deep in pulp fiction land here: originally published in Wierd Tales 1932, it's from 'The Phoenix in the Sword' a wonderful Conan tale from Robert E. Howard.

Now for something completely different:

"I told you last night that I might be gone sometime, and you said, Where, and I said, To be with the Good Lord, and you said, Why, and I said, Because I'm old, and you said, I don't think you're old."

Great choice. And very contemporary too! I'll only somewhat give it away by saying I also loved Housekeeping.

Nothin'