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Josh
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« on: July 04, 2005, 08:12:36 AM » |
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Still working my way through Narnia. Finished up with the first two books-- both of which I'd read before-- and just starting on A Horse and His Boy, which I haven't read before.
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bethany
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« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2005, 12:11:28 PM » |
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Still working my way through Narnia. Finished up with the first two books-- both of which I'd read before-- and just starting on A Horse and His Boy, which I haven't read before. AUGH, you're reading them in the wrong order!! *tears hair out* |
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Josh
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« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2005, 12:14:49 PM » |
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AUGH, you're reading them in the wrong order!! *tears hair out* Heh... well, the debate over this is endless, but, fwiw, the order I'm reading them in is not only the chronological order, but also Lewis' preferred order. |
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bethany
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« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2005, 12:20:12 PM » |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2005, 04:41:43 PM » |
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I am a habitual offender for reading things out of order. Having read the Narnia series in the order they were published, I can't say that reading them in chronological order or publishing order or by drawing numbers out of a hat would significantly diminish one's enjoyment (although I seem to recall that Caspian and Dawn Treader would be better if read so that the one that takes place afterwards is read second). Heck, I'm just glad that he's reading them, given the number of people who never read the books that movies are based off of (*cough* Lord of the Rings *cough).
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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DvChWi
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« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2005, 12:11:59 AM » |
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I think The Magicians Nephew would be rather boring unless you knew the signifigance it's events have later on in the series, so I recommend the published order.
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Fun facts about Chuck Norris:
Newton's Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal in reaction to a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick.
Chuck Norris can divide by zero.
Chuck Norris CAN believe it's not butter.
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Josh
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« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2005, 08:21:14 AM » |
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I think The Magicians Nephew would be rather boring unless you knew the signifigance it's events have later on in the series, so I recommend the published order. Personally, I rather like the mystery of it, and I love it when I'm reading the later books and it suddenly dawns on me how event X or person Y in The Magician's Nephew is shaping the later stories. |
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adriftconscious
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« Reply #7 on: July 05, 2005, 08:30:17 AM » |
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I'm glad to see others on here who enjoy the Narnia series as much as I have. I first read them in third grade and have reread them many times since. Its amazing to me how much more I get out of the books each time I read them. My personal favorite has always been The Horse and His Boy. Happy reading, Josh!
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Josh
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« Reply #8 on: July 10, 2005, 08:58:32 PM » |
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Woooo boy!
Those of you who praised A Horse and His Boy as the best Narnia book were right-- I finished it today and it is indeed my favorite of the ones I've read. Fantastic stuff!
Satarted Prince Caspian... should be able to comment on that one in a couple of days.
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danny316
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« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2005, 02:53:11 AM » |
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Those of you who praised A Horse and His Boy as the best Narnia book were right-- I finished it today and it is indeed my favorite of the ones I've read. Fantastic stuff! Interesting, that's my least favorite so far. I've read the first two in published order, then caught up with Magician's nephew. After that I went back to sequential order, reading everything up to Voyage of.... |
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Someday, Dan will make a site with nothing but pictures of amusing stolen avatars.
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bethany
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« Reply #10 on: July 15, 2005, 02:58:38 PM » |
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Personally, I rather like the mystery of it, and I love it when I'm reading the later books and it suddenly dawns on me how event X or person Y in The Magician's Nephew is shaping the later stories. How is that mysterious? It seems entirely conventional to me. Reading them in chronological order, you read in TMN about the lampost, Digory, the wardrobe, the witch, Aslan, etc. Then in TL,TW,aTW you come across those things and you already know where they come from. It's dull. Whereas if you read it in published order, you start with TL,TW,aTW, and you are enveloped by mystery... who is the Professor? Where did the wardrobe come from? Why does it lead to Narnia? Why is there a lampost in the middle of the forest? Who is this Lion everyone's talking about? Who is the White Witch and where'd she come from? You get to discover these mysteries along with the Pevensies and have the joy of then later discovering the answers, instead of reading TMN first, getting all the answers, and then a book later being presented with the questions. Boring. ETA: I do think it's great that people read the Chronicles in any order they like, because I'm just thrilled when people read them, since they're one of my favorite works of literature of all time. I just think they're best experienced in a particular order, but ultimately it's up to you.  |
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« Last Edit: July 15, 2005, 11:27:56 PM by bethany »
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bloop
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« Reply #11 on: July 15, 2005, 05:39:57 PM » |
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I read them in their published order, because so many here seemed to say that was the best way to do it.
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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starhawk
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« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2005, 01:11:30 PM » |
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The Horse and His Boy is my favorite as well, though The Silver Chair is close behind.
I read them in their published order a few years ago. Haven't read them again though. I might start again, in chronological order, once I finish up a different series I'm into right now.
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Josh
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« Reply #13 on: July 20, 2005, 08:38:29 AM » |
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Finished Caspian, quarter of the way through Dawn Treader.
My rankings of the first 4 that I've read:
1. A Horse and His Boy
2. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
3. The Magician's Nephew
4. Prince Caspian
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dgp11776
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« Reply #14 on: July 20, 2005, 08:49:41 AM » |
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I bought the complete book a month or so ago, and intend to start reading it soon. I've never read any part of it, so I'm looking forward to it.
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Josh
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« Reply #15 on: July 21, 2005, 08:14:52 PM » |
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Finished Dawn Treader tonight... on the The Silver Chair!
FWIW, Dawn Treader was far and away my least favorite of the books so far. I became bored by its more episodic plot be the end of the book, and found many of their adventures to be a little tedious. Aslan's appearance are less mysterious and less compelling, and though I liked the way the conversion of Eustace was handled, I didn't much care for the sudden change in Caspian's character at the end of the book.
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Josh
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« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2005, 09:11:52 AM » |
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Finished The Silver Chair and really enjoyed it. A much stronger, more focused narrative than Dawn Treader. The more I read the Narnia books, the less I feel like it's *allegory* and the more I feel that it's *metaphor*. That definitely shines through here-- I love the scenes set in the underground world, and the way that it could suggest anything from sin to ignorance.
Great stuff!
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Vlad!
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« Reply #17 on: July 31, 2005, 10:37:49 AM » |
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All I have left is The Last Battle. It was my least-favorite when I read the series before, so we'll see how much I like it this time.
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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bloop
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« Reply #18 on: July 31, 2005, 11:31:51 AM » |
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I just wonder how any sentient being, human or talking animal, could mistake a donkey in costume for a lion. I defy you to try to make a costume that would fool a real person.
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« Last Edit: July 31, 2005, 11:33:17 AM by bloop »
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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Josh
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« Reply #19 on: July 31, 2005, 12:10:54 PM » |
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I just wonder how any sentient being, human or talking animal, could mistake a donkey in costume for a lion. I defy you to try to make a costume that would fool a real person. It seems like they only see Puzzle in Aslan garb from a distance and at night; later, when they see him up close and in daylight, they are all astonished at how they could possibly have made such an error. Fwiw, I really love The Last Battle, at least so far. (I'm 4 chapters from the end). I love the surreal, fittingly apocalyptic imagery and the way in which Lewis explores what happens when believers are taken in by a false messiah. And, when you think about it, a false Aslan is the absolute perfect final enemy for the people of Narnia. |
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bloop
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« Reply #20 on: July 31, 2005, 12:56:00 PM » |
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It seems like they only see Puzzle in Aslan garb from a distance and at night; later, when they see him up close and in daylight, they are all astonished at how they could possibly have made such an error. Yes, I remember that. I still couldn't imagine myself being fooled without actually having a clear view of the thing in question in the first place, especially when he's making such suspect demands, hence the reason I'm astonished they could make such an error, too. I guess they just all come off as very gullible to me in that book. (I don't think even the right lighting could screw my eyes on this one, though. There just seems to be too many dead giveaways from the appearance. Maybe the book's illustrations aren't helping matters with me, either. All that said, I really do like the story.) |
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« Last Edit: July 31, 2005, 12:59:55 PM by bloop »
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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Josh
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« Reply #21 on: July 31, 2005, 01:57:14 PM » |
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Also bear in mind, bloop, that no one in Narnia-- save for Jill and Eustace-- had ever SEEN a lion before, so how could they be expected to know what one looks like?
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Josh
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« Reply #22 on: July 31, 2005, 01:58:55 PM » |
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Finished the series, by the way.
My final rankings for all seven books:
1. A Horse and His Boy
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3. The Last Battle
4. The Silver Chair
5. The Magician's Nephew
6. Prince Caspian
7. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
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bloop
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« Reply #23 on: July 31, 2005, 02:21:36 PM » |
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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Josh
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« Reply #24 on: July 31, 2005, 02:29:27 PM » |
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Yes, I believe it does say that most Narnians alive during the time of the last battle had indeed never seen a lion before.
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Vlad!
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« Reply #25 on: August 04, 2005, 07:13:22 AM » |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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Tom
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« Reply #26 on: August 04, 2005, 08:28:31 AM » |
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i read TLTWATW earlier this year, but i'm starting over at the beginning: The Magician's Nephew on audio book read by Kenneth Branagh.
i figure, why not have a book read to me during the time i cannot read with my eyes: while i'm driving.
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Josh
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« Reply #27 on: August 04, 2005, 08:55:35 AM » |
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QUESTION:
I've often heard pholks complain that, in The Last Battle, Lewis' portrayal of Christian faith leaves room for universalism. For those of you who have read the book, do you find this to be the case?
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Vlad!
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« Reply #28 on: August 04, 2005, 02:36:05 PM » |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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bethany
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« Reply #29 on: August 04, 2005, 02:46:05 PM » |
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Tom
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« Reply #30 on: August 04, 2005, 02:50:44 PM » |
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i haven't read anything by Lewis that leads me to think he was a universalist.
however, i have noticed that he took great pains to avoid the whole: Total Predestination vs. Total Free Will debate.
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Josh
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« Reply #31 on: August 04, 2005, 03:36:07 PM » |
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Vlad!
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« Reply #32 on: August 04, 2005, 04:17:08 PM » |
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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Vlad!
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« Reply #33 on: August 23, 2005, 02:42:08 PM » |
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My brother gave me the Chronicles in a one-volume set for my birthday, and I was somewhat disappointed to find that they were printed in the so-called chronological order rather than the published order. What surprised me, however, was that the publishers asserted that the order they use is "Professor Lewis' preferred order." I enjoyed Bethany's rather scathing dismissal of this claim higher up in this thread, but surely for a major publisher to say that this is his preferred order there must be some more concrete basis for this. Anyone know any more about this?
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If you don’t have freedom as a principle, you can never see a reason not to make an exception. There are constantly going to be times when for one reason or another there’s some practical convenience in making an exception.
rms
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Josh
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« Reply #34 on: August 23, 2005, 03:35:22 PM » |
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Anyone know any more about this? Only that my one-volume Narnia collection makes the same claim. (Probably the same set.) |
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bethany
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« Reply #35 on: August 23, 2005, 05:52:48 PM » |
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My brother gave me the Chronicles in a one-volume set for my birthday, and I was somewhat disappointed to find that they were printed in the so-called chronological order rather than the published order. What surprised me, however, was that the publishers asserted that the order they use is "Professor Lewis' preferred order." I enjoyed Bethany's rather scathing dismissal of this claim higher up in this thread, but surely for a major publisher to say that this is his preferred order there must be some more concrete basis for this. Anyone know any more about this? I by no means claim to be a Lewis expert, but I have read all his letters and most of his books, and the letter I quoted above is the only time I know of that he commented on the issue. People have jumped on it as therefore being his preferred order, but as far as I know, that's the only basis for it. I'd be happy to be proven wrong though; like I said, I'm not a Lewis scholar or anything. Just a big fan. |
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RavishingJohnny23
Inphrequent Poster
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« Reply #36 on: August 29, 2005, 04:14:35 AM » |
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Finished reading The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. I thoroughly enjoy this book.. I have to read the others and I've asked my mom if she could get them from her school. Might have to go to the Library and check them out.
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Living outloud.
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Life is too short live it all out for The Lord and enjoy yourself in the process. You only have one life so there is no use in being miserable.
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