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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:06:40 PM EDT
[#1]
Catcher in the Rye. Ive read it twice trying to understand its greatness. All I can get out of it is the understanding of why sociopaths and serial killers read it and enjoy it.
Beat sleeping pills though. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:08:41 PM EDT
[#2]
Wuthering Heights
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:14:44 PM EDT
[#3]
A Christmas Carol, socialist idiot
The Jungle, socialist idiot I assume Pride and Prejudice sucked, because I tried reading the version with zombies and even the zombies couldn't make up for the craptasticness of the Austen parts. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:19:32 PM EDT
[#4]
What movie was better than the book?
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:20:50 PM EDT
[#5]
Quoted: A Christmas Carol, socialist idiot The Jungle, socialist idiot I assume Pride and Prejudice sucked, because I tried reading the version with zombies and even the zombies couldn't make up for the craptasticness of the Austen parts. This. I read it, and by the last pages, I felt the need to vomit. One of the very few books I've ever given away. Any of the "classics" high school English teachers force kids to read. They're classic because they're inherently boring and won't piss anyone off. Old Yeller is one that springs to mind....had to read and review that in 11th grade. Got shocked "OMG!"s from the class when I said the book was pathetic and the main character an idiot. All he had to do was tie the dog up for a couple of days to see if it was going to go rabid or not, instead of blowing it's damned brains out posthaste. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:21:20 PM EDT
[#6]
I have to add Citizen Cane to the list.
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:21:25 PM EDT
[#7]
"Silas Marner"
"The Scarlett Letter" just about any thing we had to read in school. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:22:44 PM EDT
[#8]
Pretty much anything Shakespeare.
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:23:04 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
Catcher in the Rye. First one that came to my mind. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:23:14 PM EDT
[#10]
Westside Story.
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Posted: 9/13/2009 7:24:26 PM EDT
[#11]
Quoted:
Wuthering Heights ding! this and any other Bronte novel |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:13:10 PM EDT
[#12]
Quoted:
Quoted:
A Christmas Carol, socialist idiot The Jungle, socialist idiot I assume Pride and Prejudice sucked, because I tried reading the version with zombies and even the zombies couldn't make up for the craptasticness of the Austen parts. This. I read it, and by the last pages, I felt the need to vomit. One of the very few books I've ever given away. Any of the "classics" high school English teachers force kids to read. They're classic because they're inherently boring and won't piss anyone off. Old Yeller is one that springs to mind....had to read and review that in 11th grade. Got shocked "OMG!"s from the class when I said the book was pathetic and the main character an idiot. All he had to do was tie the dog up for a couple of days to see if it was going to go rabid or not, instead of blowing it's damned brains out posthaste. I didn't even get to the last pages. I had to read it for a college course. I read until a few chapters from the end and then we had the test. I didn't bother finishing it. A lot of my favorite classics I read as school assignments, though having to read them for school and pick them apart until all enjoyment was killed almost ruined them for me. Frankenstein, Call of the Wild, The Hobbit, and various Asimov short stories come to mind. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:16:45 PM EDT
[#13]
To kill a mocking bird. J.k
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:20:28 PM EDT
[#14]
The Godfather...
I wish I could "fuggidaboutit". Lamest movie ever... |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:21:21 PM EDT
[#15]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: A Christmas Carol, socialist idiot The Jungle, socialist idiot I assume Pride and Prejudice sucked, because I tried reading the version with zombies and even the zombies couldn't make up for the craptasticness of the Austen parts. This. I read it, and by the last pages, I felt the need to vomit. One of the very few books I've ever given away. Any of the "classics" high school English teachers force kids to read. They're classic because they're inherently boring and won't piss anyone off. Old Yeller is one that springs to mind....had to read and review that in 11th grade. Got shocked "OMG!"s from the class when I said the book was pathetic and the main character an idiot. All he had to do was tie the dog up for a couple of days to see if it was going to go rabid or not, instead of blowing it's damned brains out posthaste. I didn't even get to the last pages. I had to read it for a college course. I read until a few chapters from the end and then we had the test. I didn't bother finishing it. A lot of my favorite classics I read as school assignments, though having to read them for school and pick them apart until all enjoyment was killed almost ruined them for me. Frankenstein, Call of the Wild, The Hobbit, and various Asimov short stories come to mind. We never read any of those in normal English classes (even high school AP), but I did read The Hobbit in advanced middle school reading (only about 6 of us in that class). The Jungle I picked up based on people calling it a "horrifying look at the meat-packing industry" and never got any of that out of it, merely that socialism and bully-boy unions are good, and everything else is bad. I read Asimov's Foundation series, and it stuck me as just as much socialist propaganda (at least in the final novels) as The Jungle. I haven't read any of his other stuff, so I'm not sure if it carries over or not. What's strange is that the first book, Prelude to Foundation, seems to be an absolute counterpoint to the final novel. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:22:38 PM EDT
[#16]
Pride and Prejudice
Remember having to read this in high school. And the wife's friends all raved what a wonderful movie this was. It was all I could do to keep from shooting the television. Even she said it sucked. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:25:52 PM EDT
[#17]
Little Women. I was never into midgets. (no, I never read it)
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:35:04 PM EDT
[#18]
Quoted:
To kill a mocking bird. J.k +1 |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:38:37 PM EDT
[#19]
Beowulf. I think the only reason it read is because it's the oldest Anglo Saxon work of literature/poem. Otherwise I do not understand its appeal.
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:38:57 PM EDT
[#20]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I didn't even get to the last pages. I had to read it for a college course. I read until a few chapters from the end and then we had the test. I didn't bother finishing it. A lot of my favorite classics I read as school assignments, though having to read them for school and pick them apart until all enjoyment was killed almost ruined them for me. Frankenstein, Call of the Wild, The Hobbit, and various Asimov short stories come to mind. We never read any of those in normal English classes (even high school AP), but I did read The Hobbit in advanced middle school reading (only about 6 of us in that class). The Jungle I picked up based on people calling it a "horrifying look at the meat-packing industry" and never got any of that out of it, merely that socialism and bully-boy unions are good, and everything else is bad. I read Asimov's Foundation series, and it stuck me as just as much socialist propaganda (at least in the final novels) as The Jungle. I haven't read any of his other stuff, so I'm not sure if it carries over or not. What's strange is that the first book, Prelude to Foundation, seems to be an absolute counterpoint to the final novel. The Hobbit was in a middle school class as well, 7th grade I think. The horrifying look bs was the reason the book was assigned in my class, and I got out of it exactly what you did. Utter crap, and I don't feel the least bit sorry for the characters I was supposed to feel sorry for. I've never read Asimov's Foundation series, but I've read a bunch of his short stories. I didn't get a socialist impression from them, but it has been a while since I've read them, so I might have missed it. I'll have to check. Maybe he started off ok and then went batty later on? Could explain the Prelude to final discord. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:40:21 PM EDT
[#21]
Quoted:
Beowulf. I think the only reason it read is because it's the oldest Anglo literature/legend. Otherwise I do not understand its appeal. Beowulf is dependant on a good translation. I've read some versions that sucked and some that were quite good. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:48:01 PM EDT
[#22]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Beowulf. I think the only reason it read is because it's the oldest Anglo literature/legend. Otherwise I do not understand its appeal. Beowulf is dependant on a good translation. I've read some versions that sucked and some that were quite good. At least it provided a lot of the inspiration to JRR Tolkien for Lord of the Rings. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 8:55:06 PM EDT
[#23]
A lot of Poe sucks, but the House of Usher was the worst. I get what he was trying to do, but it is unnecessarily verbose and forced. I think he got caught up so much in the painting of the scenery and the house/family allegory he forgot other people would be reading it too.
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Posted: 9/13/2009 9:09:51 PM EDT
[#24]
I didn't like Great Expectations, either. I like Dickens' work, just not that one. I love A Tale Of Two Cities. Great novel. Of the Brontë sister novels, I think Wuthering Heights was the hardest for me to get through. Jane Eyre was a better novel, and actually one of my favorites of that era in literature. I've read and own the Foundation series, and most of the Robot short stories and detective novels. I never really got socalist propoganda from them. In fact, of the political commentary that exists in some of the novels (especially the Robot detective series), I got more of a sarcastic tone to the socialist ideas than anything else. Now, the classic novel that I had a really hard time liking was War And Peace. I understand a lot of these classic novels were written as serials, but how many freaking people do you need with the same or a similar last name, or trivial stories about people that have nothing to do with the plot? I was constantly losing track of characters and having to go back almost entire chapters to figure out what happened to the person we're talking about in the familiar, now. Dostoevsky does it too with Crime And Punishment (Ivanovna, Ivanovich, Ivanov, Ivannovna). Sometimes I wondered if it was on purpose. I liked Crime And Punishment though. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 9:13:52 PM EDT
[#25]
Quoted:
Catcher in the Rye. Ive read it twice trying to understand its greatness. All I can get out of it is the understanding of why sociopaths and serial killers read it and enjoy it. Where did you hear that? |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 9:15:59 PM EDT
[#26]
Most everything by Ayn Rand.  |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 9:40:59 PM EDT
[#27]
Quoted:
What movie was better than the book? Jaws the movie is much better than Jaws the book. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 9:58:11 PM EDT
[#28]
Anything by Sinclair.
He is just elevated because he is a commie and the educators like that. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:07:10 PM EDT
[#29]
ATLAS SHRUGGED!
I agree with the message, but what a godawful, tedious, and repetitive book. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:12:19 PM EDT
[#30]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Catcher in the Rye. First one that came to my mind. Yep |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:13:43 PM EDT
[#31]
The Godfather films. I'd rather watch paint dry.
As a book, I think 1984 by George Orwell is pretty horrible. I understand it, but it's painful to read. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:14:29 PM EDT
[#32]
The Caine Mutiny (the book) was disappointing.
The Great Gatsby was a great let down. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:15:08 PM EDT
[#33]
Raging Bull - 129 minutes of boredom, mumbling, sweat, badly-balanced sound mix and pompous over-acting, all in glorious pretentious blacka nd white.
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:16:34 PM EDT
[#34]
Quoted:
ATLAS SHRUGGED! I agree with the message, but what a godawful, tedious, and repetitive book. sadly, I am forced to agree with this. Would have been a very good 300-page novel I think. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:18:50 PM EDT
[#35]
Moby Dick.
A Tale of Two Cities. Oliver Twist. (I actually really liked Catcher in the Rye, but I read it ages ago, so will have to give it another look; lately I've heard a lot of criticism of it, so maybe I was just young and naive when I read it ...) |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:24:58 PM EDT
[#36]
Anything by Henry James or Faulkner.
ETA: Jesus, how could I forget James Joyce? |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:28:47 PM EDT
[#37]
Grapes of Wrath.
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:32:29 PM EDT
[#38]
Quoted: Beowulf. I think the only reason it read is because it's the oldest Anglo Saxon work of literature/poem. Otherwise I do not understand its appeal. I love Beowulf I read it on my own it was never assigned in anything I took |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:34:44 PM EDT
[#39]
Great Expectations
Lords of Discipline A Farewell To Arms Catcher In The Rye Price and Prejudice The Scarlet Letter War and Peace Night All of them sucked rancid ass. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:39:26 PM EDT
[#40]
Quoted: Grapes of Wrath. This. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:55:08 PM EDT
[#41]
+1 on Beowulf. OMG, its an aneurysm in print.
Much Ado About Nothing: I absolutely fucking hate this goddamned peice of shit. Its Seinfeld circa 1600. I have never wanted to jump off a cliff and slit my throat on the way down more so than when I was confronted by this book. Until I saw KEANU "Like, whoa" REEVES in that festering pestule of a movie adaptation.   
However, I do not hate all Shakespeare. I was enthralled by Julius Ceasar. Good play, Great Film (the Marlon Brando one). War and Rememberance. +1 to the Caine Mutiny. Monotonous as hell. Anything by Mark Twain. I cant stand him, and I cant understand why he's a great writer. Catch 22. I like the message, I understand it. But when I read it, it didnt really bring me there. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:58:21 PM EDT
[#42]
Quoted:
Moby Dick. A Tale of Two Cities. Oliver Twist. (I actually really liked Catcher in the Rye, but I read it ages ago, so will have to give it another look; lately I've heard a lot of criticism of it, so maybe I was just young and naive when I read it ...) moby dick is about 1,000 pages, so i could see how it would be boring if you were forced to read it for school or something. there is a lot of good info about whaling, if you're into history. to me, it's more a book about whaling than a novel. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 10:59:05 PM EDT
[#43]
Most of them. Classics usually get to be classics just by being old, not by having any redeeming value.
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Posted: 9/13/2009 11:13:28 PM EDT
[#44]
Austen sucks, period. Trashy romance passed off as literature.
It's not exactly a classic, but for the love of all that is holy, never read Isabel Allende's House of the Spirits. She thought she was writing a searing yet subtle critique of the Pinochet regime, what she actually did was write a stupid fairy tale for the first 3/4ths of the book that was so mind-numbling awful that no one who wasn't being force to read it would bother to finish, and then in the last 1/4th have a totally predictable political tale. |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 11:17:44 PM EDT
[#45]
 |
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Posted: 9/13/2009 11:19:59 PM EDT
[#46]
Aweful book
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Posted: 9/13/2009 11:22:13 PM EDT
[#47]
The Grapes of wrath pissed me off
I mean it just kinda leaves you hangin at the end  
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Posted: 9/14/2009 4:11:08 AM EDT
[#48]
Atlas Shrugged. Horribly long and boring. The point of the book? Ayn Rand just wants to justify her own infidelities. And put the reader to sleep.
Last of the Mohicans. The movie with Daniel Day Lewis was far better. I'll think of more later.... |
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Posted: 9/14/2009 4:20:30 AM EDT
[#49]
Quoted:
My son has to read Great Expectations by Dickens. As soon as I saw the thread title, I thought Great Expectations. Seriously. Jane ETA: I just saw the post above mine. I'm turning off my computer and disconnecting it. I don't want it destroyed in the resulting explosion. |
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Posted: 9/14/2009 4:21:15 AM EDT
[#50]
Yep, we're in America Toto. |
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