Who likes C.S.Lewis books about Narnia?

[Sgt Floyd]

i've only gotten through to the hosre and his boy and had a hard time reading it.after i finish the next two books i have then i'll try and go back to it.so far i enjoyed the first two.that horse just doesn't interest me.

I love horses and even I found it kinda hard to read

 

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

I got my dad the audiobooks, and I'd kinda like to listen to them myself. I read the first two many years ago, and I read through the whole series my freshman year of college. Lewis is one of my favorite authors.
Erin

 

[MartyMuppets]

They are well put together. Lewis actually wrote them in this order
LION, WITCH AND WARDROBE
PRINCE CASPIAN
VOYAGE OF THE DAWNTREADER
SILVER CHAIR

Then he wrote that Horse one as an untold chapter before the 4 children returned to their own world. Then Magician's Nephew as a prequel. And finally Last Battle to tie everything in together when peace and happiness is restored eternally to Narnia.
Just as the book of Revelation in the Bible speaks about how we Christians believe this world will one day be restored to paradise.

 

[Sylinde Bren]

I love the NARNIA series. I still have the book series I purchased during a Book Fair in first grade and grew up watching the BBC series on weekends with my grandmother. And now I'm eagerly looking forward to the film DVD release of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe on April 4th. Can't wait. I truly hope the film has done Aslan justice.

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

It helps if you read the first one, case then you know why some things are the way they are in the lion the witch and the wardrobe

Ack! No no no!

I'm a staunch traditionalist...pleeeease if you're new, read them in the originally published order:

"Lion, Witch, Wardrobe"
"Prince Caspian"
"Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
"Silver Chair"
"Horse and His Boy"
"Magician's Nephew"
"Last Battle"

It's just so much more magical and enchanting if you read them in the order Lewis himself wrote them. Otherwise if you do it in the order which the publishers have rearranged them (which I personally detest), some of the magic and fantasy is ruined for you. It's like reading a textbook where everything is spelled out for you with no chance to wonder about things, question lovely little details, and those fantastic "Aha!" moments you get when you piece things together.

Besides, the way LWW is written it really is the only proper gateway to Narnia IMO.

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Oh yeah, I got so worked up I forgot to answer the question, lol.

I dearly love the series...I treasure it. These are my most favorite books. I've loved them since I was a child and re-read them every now and then, and love reading books about the books.

About allegory though, Lewis himself stated that these are not allegory. It's not a story of simply symbols, but a "what if" situation as if Narnia really existed beyond our boundaries, instead of a "this stands for this" and "this represents this" kind of thing. As a writer myself, I feel it's part of my duty to stand up for other writers' beliefs of their work (for the most part, lol).

 

[MartyMuppets]

BTW JandMMan did you know that it was a child who conceived the "chronological" order of the books?
I remember reading somewhere about how a boy wrote to Lewis asking what he thought. His mother thought they should be read in order of writing but he told Lewis the order he felt he should read them.
Lewis reportedly said he liked the kid's ordering much better than his mother's and had his publishers number them accordingly as they traditionally are today.
It's amazing the impact children can have on the outcome of some things isn't it?

 

[Muppet Matt]

I thought the order was,

"Magician's Nephew"
"Lion, Witch, Wardrobe"
"Horse and His Boy"
"Prince Caspian"
"Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
"Silver Chair"
"Last Battle"

 

[MartyMuppets]

I thought the order was,

"Magician's Nephew"
"Lion, Witch, Wardrobe"
"Horse and His Boy"
"Prince Caspian"
"Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
"Silver Chair"
"Last Battle"

Yes Muppet Matt that is the order the kid suggested to Lewis for reading them and he agreed but the order in which Lewis actually wrote them is
Lion,Witch,Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
Voyage of Dawn Treader
Silver Chair
Horse and Boy
Magician's Nephew
Last Battle

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Lewis did not say he liked that order "much better".

He got the letter from that boy (who should never have written it in the first place now thanks to all the confusion and unimaginative re-ordering), and after reading it, he wrote him saying he's inclined to agree with him that he would prefer that order, if he were going to make some changes first. But we all know he didn't get to. And Lewis didn't have his publishers renumber them in the new dull magic-ruined order---they weren't renumbered until the '90s, and Lewis passed away in 1963.

So, I again stress from an earlier post of mine:

It's just so much more magical and enchanting if you read them in the order Lewis himself wrote them. Otherwise if you do it in the order which the publishers have rearranged them (which I personally detest), some of the magic and fantasy is ruined for you. It's like reading a textbook where everything is spelled out for you with no chance to wonder about things, question lovely little details, and those fantastic "Aha!" moments you get when you piece things together.

Besides, the way LWW is written it really is the only proper gateway to Narnia IMO.