MrsHughey.com

What about the Harry Potter series? I know, I know, they're commercial. However, they didn't start out that way. The ideas are really fantastic and the word Jo creates is amazing. They start out a little "young" but the writing matures as the characters do. The fourth book is the best by far - and about twice as long as the one before. They get more substantial as you go. They may not count as "epic" but reading all four in a row could count. That's how I read them and it flows nicely from one book to the next. I think you'd like them.

Well, of course you should read the book your loving husband got you for Christmas. You do keep talking about re-reading Tolkien, plus you've got the recent movies fresh in your mind....

What about the Narnia books? They're all very British and CS Lewis was an Oxonian after all.

Highly recommend both [LOTR] and [Les Mis]. I'm a very huge Dickens fan so I hope you enjoy [Oliver Twist]. Another favorite Dickens novel is [David Copperfield], I'm not sure if you have chanced upon it. In regards to Andrew's comment about C.S. Lewis, I fully support! I picked up his novel ['Til We Have Faces] which is suppose to be a good read, and I'll let you know once I'm done with it! Maya Angelou's [While the Caged Bird Sings] is very good as well. I've forgotten a lot of the books I read in high school...but these are the few that I remember. (of course Leo Tolstoy...now he is heavy duty!)

I hope that you have fantasmic reads in whatever you pick up!

Hmm, a very conventional list of suggestions. I would recommend Ridley Walker by Russell Hoban. It's not an epic but it certainly takes some reading, as Hoban has kind of invented his own corrupted form of English for it - it's about a 12 year old boy's coming on age in a post apocalyptic Kent! Seriously, Russell Hoban is just superb.

Are you attending any classes for your writing? I'm attending a fortnightly evening class at Oxpens with a group of would-be novelists, and it's very useful.

Sounds very modernist. Is it? I will add it to the list to check out. I am very curious to see it based on your description! Thanks!

I am not attending any classes right now. At the risk of sounding like a moron or a snob, I'm a "door-closed" kind of writer for my first drafts. I don't like to show my first drafts to anybody, or even really talk about them while they're gestating. Once that groundwork is laid, though, I let it settle for a few weeks and then it's time to really bang the thing into shape - work that I'm happy to share!

When I work on short stories and poetry, though, I think classes are great. They force me to keep writing and revising which, at times, I'm quite lazy about. For some reason I've been pretty on the ball with the book writing so far, though.

Do you know if there will be another class of this type beginning around the start of next term? By then I should be starting work on other stuff and working on revising this novel, and then I'll be in my "door open" phase and happy to share with lots of wise folk who will (hopefully) help me shape up my novel.

I think it's really cool to be a 'closed-door' writer if you have enough motivation, and it looks like you do. Good for you!

The class I attend will run next term - after Easter sometime, check out the OCFE prospectus. Good luck with the reading and writing.