I still remember the very first novel I successfully completed. It was "The BFG" by Roald Dahl. I remember feeling so mature and sophisticated reading and understanding this book (that had chapters!) that was written for pretty much any and everyone. If you've never read a Roald Dahl book, well, you're missing out! I mean, just look at this badass:
[img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/dahl_1713380c.jpg[/img]
Think that's a cigarette? Think again...
Roald Dahl is well known for some of his bigger books; I.E. Charlie and the Chocolate factory, or Matilda, both which were made into moderately successful movies. In my honest opinion, if you've read the actual novels, both movies (including the remake of CCF) were total shit, particularly the remake, which sold more than it should have due to its leading star Johnny Depp. Not only were some of his novels made into movies, but Roald Dahl himself helped in the writing of two films: You Only Live Twice, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (yes, classic 007 was written by this children's author). He also hosted a small horror-themed television series "Way Out" that was hosted on the Twilight Zone for 14 episodes. In addition, he wrote a series of "macabre adult short stories" that often included murder, deceit, and thievery. These are also a true treasure to read, with in depth and entertaining characters.
Roald Dahl was born in Cardiff to his Norwegian parents. Many of his exploits can be found in his two amazing autobiographies; "Boy", and "Flying Solo", the first which portrays his childhood/teenage years, the latter describing his enlistment in the Royal Air Force and his remaining years after. His autobiographies are an absolute pleasure to read. He describes in rich detail things that only a child could understand; but he has a wonderful way of making it easy for us older individuals to appreciate. Almost all of the stories he had to offer about his early years in boarding school are hilarious. Sure, he may not have been smoking pot out behind the gym, but he sure as hell got up to all kinds of mischievous childish shit; trust me, you won't be disappointed. His time in the RAF was some of the most entertaining and intelligent writing that I have ever read, describing in full detail his experiences in dogfights with Germans, being too tall to fit in his plane, and even an actual crash that he survived.
This inspiring man wrote a total of 17 children's novels, 2 adult novels, and 19 short story collections. I've read every single one of his children's novels, and even at the age of 18 I can still find them entertaining. I've read a multitude of his short stories, though the ones I enjoyed the most were in "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More", which veered more towards the fantasy and adventure side of his writing, yet he always seemed to cram a decent life lesson in somewhere.
His novels were often illustrated by Quentin Blake, a fantastic artist with an alternative style. A lot of times when I was reading Roald's novels, I would turn the page to find an illustration that matched the image my mind had created from his writing perfectly. I don't know if Roald and Quentin worked that out amongst themselves, but Quentin's art style is certainly not something to be ignored.
You can find a full list of his novels/movies/exploits on [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl]his wiki page[/url], or on [url=http://www.roalddahl.com/]his website[/url], both of which have a large amount of information. I'm sure there's many of you who enjoy this classic author as much as I, and I hope this will jog the memories of those who have forgotten.
If that isn't a cigarette then what is it? :ohdear:
I really liked his short story 'Lamb to the Slaughter' along with 'Danny, champion of the world'.
[QUOTE=Monty Pie-thon;27374624]If that isn't a cigarette then what is it? :ohdear:[/QUOTE]
Don't worry brother, your favorite author is as clean as the bees knees. For the most part.
[QUOTE=Monty Pie-thon;27374624]If that isn't a cigarette then what is it? :ohdear:[/QUOTE]
A bong.
Also Roald Dahl is awesome.
I liked the twits when I was little, and James and the giant peach. Big friendly giant was him as well right? I think Danny the champion of the world was it's name, with the pheasant poaching, I read that when I was slightly older.
[QUOTE=shatteredwindow;27374717]I liked the twits when I was little, and James and the giant peach. Big friendly giant was him as well right? I think Danny the champion of the world was it's name, with the pheasant poaching, I read that when I was slightly older.[/QUOTE]
Yes, with the sleeping pill-filled raisins. I need to go dig all my old books out.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/TheBFG.jpg[/img]
Good book.
The Witches.
That was my most favorite book ever in gradeschool.
I read it in 2nd grade and my teachers thought i was amazing because apparently that books was not for a 2nd grader.
[QUOTE=Am I Really?;27374936][img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/TheBFG.jpg[/img_thumb]
Good book.[/QUOTE]
Whenever I think of that book I think of Big Fucking Gun.
[QUOTE=shatteredwindow;27374717]I liked the twits when I was little, and James and the giant peach. Big friendly giant was him as well right? I think Danny the champion of the world was it's name, with the pheasant poaching, I read that when I was slightly older.[/QUOTE]
I HATED Danny, Champion of the World. It was a total bore to read in junior high school.
I also vaguely remember Esiotrot, thanks to that book it taught me how to spell tortoise with ease.
James and ze gaint peech, on the other hand...
[editline]12th January 2011[/editline]
Ow jesus christ, my automerge.
I had a collection of his books when I was in grade school. His autobiography books, that are written to be understood by children from what I could gather (since I was in like 6th grade and understood it just fine), are amazing.
[QUOTE=RayDark;27375032]I HATED Danny, Champion of the World. It was a total bore to read in junior high school.[/QUOTE]
That's probably because you were too old for it. I think I was in year 2-3, 4 at most.
[QUOTE=Monty Pie-thon;27374624]If that isn't a cigarette then what is it? :ohdear:[/QUOTE]
:350:
I was just thinking about the BFG after like 10 years of forgetting about it yesterday.
:D
Oh wow, I barely remembered that name. Always had lots of trouble announcing it when I was young.
I just read Boy, I like how he was in the RAF during WW2.
Fucking loved his books when I was a kid
I love me a bit of Dahl.
I need to read great glass elevator. We had to read charlie and the chocolate factory at school and it was amazing, and I wanted to read the second but never got a chance to finish it. I did begin it though, but maybe only a couple chapters in, I think just after they enter the hotel and see the aliens. Roald Dahl kinda makes me think of a kids Steven King.
I love BFG.
I'm glad this thread kicked off, I was hoping everyone appreciated Dahl as much as I did. A very strong part of my childhood, for sure.
[QUOTE=DEMONSKUL;27375162]:350:[/QUOTE]
How else could he come up with this crazy shit? At the end of BFG they dig a massive pit, and deposit all the evil giants inside, where they are forced to eat disgusting massive cucumbers (snozzburgers? I can't recall) for all eternity!
He was a brilliant writer
[QUOTE=Ultralast;27375453]I'm glad this thread kicked off, I was hoping everyone appreciated Dahl as much as I did. A very strong part of my childhood, for sure.
How else could he come up with this crazy shit? At the end of BFG they dig a massive pit, and deposit all the evil giants inside, where they are forced to eat disgusting massive cucumbers (snozzburgers? I can't recall) for all eternity![/QUOTE]
In the movie, I know the pickles were supposed to be bad, but I always thought it looked delicious. Now I want to read it. I think I probably read or seen half of his books.
[editline]12th January 2011[/editline]
I think more actually.
Roald Dahl, Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky
The big 3
[img]http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c2798.jpg[/img]
Read this book for grade 11 english. We only read one story from it, but I started reading the others and I loved the writing style, the wit, and the darkly funny endings. Go buy it, it's only $20 at your local bookstore.
It really inspired my writing skill a lot. I even wrote a (very, very) short story in vein of his style. Wish I had more time to polish it but the results are satisfactory and get the message across.
[quote]“Now thank you all for coming here, I understand that this is a time of great mourning, but as Mr. Rosslyn’s Attorney, it is my sole responsibly to read his Last Will and Testament.”
Robert Gunther shifted a little in his oaken wooden chair and continued.
“Now, this will was written around three months ago, right before the fatal accident that rendered him comatose all this time, and has been in my possession since. Mr. Rosslyn was 75 at the time and was still the man of vigor and strength as he always was. It was around that time he married the lovely young Mrs. Rosslyn”-
He nodded at the beautiful 30-something-year-old woman.
“-and accordingly, he wrote his will as it stands here, in it’s final reiteration. And so accordingly I read:’I, Mister Porfirio Rosslyn, aged 75 years young-”
He paused as the audience of 20 family members tittered.
“-have had a long, fruitful life, a life full of happiness, passion, adventure, a life where I have collected many treasures of material and sentimental value-”
The family members shifted uncomfortably in their seats, preparing themselves for a long spiel on how great his life was.
“- but alas, every time wonderful cannot stay indefinite, so I shall keep it short when I say that I will not live forever, and thus, I must dictate to whom I bequeath my earthly possessions when my passage of life has ended. Thus, I say:
That my young Grandson Tiberius inheret my golden ring, the family heirloom for six generations. There is a great deal of history behind it, and my dear Tiberius, I hope you create some great history yourself.”
Tiberius’ face had a look of poorly disguised disappointment. A shoddy old ring was of no use to a twenty-something entrepreneur.
“My dear sister Penelope, you’ve been with me times thick and thin, and thus I give you my Ancient Aztec Wooden Jewelry box, one of many artifacts I collected during my South American traverses.”
As Mr. Gunther continued reading the will in his strong, unbreaking voice, each member was subsequently disappointed with inheriting Mr. Rosslyn’s trash of the World, as they called it.
“And now finally, to my beloved wife, Lexine, your beauty and strength has helped me feel a million years younger, a thousand times happier. Although we have been married only 3 months, I feel like we’ve spent an eternity of nothing but happy, loving times with each other. And thus, I bequeath you my entire fortune of 50 Million Dollars.”
The family let out low, undisguised gasps of shock and anger.
“However, as much as I love, you, I would still like to test your love for me. And thus, I bequeath you my fortune only if it has been confirmed that, while we have been together, you have never laid with another man.”
Mrs. Rosslyn’s face looked blank and unaffected. However, the members of the family prepared to pounce on her like a pack of vultures on a dying antelope.
“Admit it, Lexine, where the hell were you when Firo was in that coma, huh? You were probably getting with every other guy in the district”, shot Penelope.
“What the hell are you talking about, Penny, you know I never slept with another man while my dear Firo lay in the hospital!”, Lexine shot back.
“Don’t give me that “dear” bullshit, you kow you married him for the money and hoped to get your hands on it the minute he croaked!. Jason saw you go to that seedy hotel last month. I don’t knw what the hell you were doing there, but you sure as hell weren’t a tourist.”
Lexine had a look of smugness that she quickly changed back to anger.
“Look, Penny, I’m telling you. I never, ever slept with another [i]man[/i].....”[/quote]
[QUOTE=Am I Really?;27374936][img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/TheBFG.jpg[/img_thumb]
Good book.[/QUOTE]
The big fucking giant.
[QUOTE=Am I Really?;27374936][img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/TheBFG.jpg[/img_thumb]
Good book.[/QUOTE]
Holy shit thats the biggest vuvuzela I've ever seen.
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