I'm going to read this again, loved it

Excellent read, have you read of D’s other writings?

best writer of all time

i've been meaning to read this for awhile although i havent read any of his other stuff yet either. what order would you suggest?

no, I want to check out The Idiot though

best way to start is Crime and Punishment in my opinion

I can highly recommend The Idiot. I went for the David Magarshack translation. The Richard Pevear/Larissa Volokhonsky translation is highly regarded, widely considered to get closest to Dostoyevsky's original style.
If you have a chance to compare a few different translations before wading in to the full text it's well worth it.

that was the first book i read in college. i thought i was doomed: the class requirements were to read a book a week for the entire semester.

needless to say, notes was a really good way to start, and then i took another 4 classes with that prof. the only book he assigned that i could not read was the fountainhead. and i did not read it because it was a big stinky load of crap.

The Idiot is one of my favorite books ever. Great, great book. Dostoevsky considered it his most relevant book, which I completely agree with.

Notes introduces some of the major themes contained in The Idiot. Honestly though, I hated Notes. The main character is basically just a gigantic pussy and in turn is bitter about the world. For me the character's weakness undercut the philosophy behind the story, and because I read it after The Idiot, it seemed watered down.

Personally I'd recommend reading The Brothers Karamazov first, followed by The Idiot. But it's Dostoevsky, so you really can't go wrong any way you choose.

I second reading The Brothers Karamazov next. The only criticism I have is the court scene. When Ivan, I believe, is on trial. It goes on forever.

It's been a while so correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Dmitri on trial and Ivan was defending him? I know what you're saying though, after such a huge climax the trial felt like an afterthought and it dragged on. But maybe that was just me being really anxious to finish the book.

I believe you are right, it was Dmitri, and yeah, I think it was the desire to finish the book that makes the trial scene so laborious. Then again, as a stand-alone scene it still goes on forever. Such a good novel though, with some of the best characters I’ve ever come across in a story.

Have you read anything by Haruki Murakami? His characters are right up there with Dostoevsky's. Full of depth and easy to identify with.

No, but I'm putting him on the top of my list of authors to read. Do you have any suggestions to start off with?

awesome! i love murakami, he's probably my favorite author at the moment. hmm, i'd recommened reading Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World first. Norwegian Wood is his most famous book and probably the most normal. Sputnik Sweetheart is also good. some of his short stories are better than his novels so you should also check out The Elephant Vanishes, After the Quake, and his new one Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. I've heard The Wind-up Bird Chronicle is really good but i have yet to read it.

I've read some Murakami - Hard Boiled Wonderland and the Sheep one (the title escapes me at the moment)

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle was the first Murakami book I read. His latest one, Kafka on the Shore, is also excellent. I'd start with either of those.

Just ordered The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel, Kafka on the Shore, and Norwegian Wood.