Inspired by both Co-Ob and Present Tense -- who blogged about some of their literary thoughts, I thought I'd create my own "Top Five" list about books. Except mine's about unpopular literary opinions. I'm curious to see what people think, so feel free to leave your comments in the peanut gallery.
1. I've never read Jane Austen. Never cared to. I'm not a huge fan of the Regency era and all their manners, class problems and the fact that they spend a lot of time not saying the things that should be said and instead, talking about the the things that don't need many words. Really, I'm of the opinion that a lot of Regency problems would be solved by Steve, the Wise-Cracking Time Traveler, who would force people to say what's on their minds because he has a boomstick. Steve, of course, would be played by Bruce Campbell.
2. I don't care to read the Harry Potter series. I've never read a single book. I just like watching the crazy fans. I've heard that they're fantastic from EVERYONE, but I've never had the desire to crack open one of the books. If I had to choose between things -- I'd rather read Prachett than Rowling.
3. If you look on my bookshelves, you'll notice I have more male writers than female writers. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the subjects, maybe its the writing styles. I just don't read a lot of women writers. Nothing against them -- there's plenty I like (Anne Tyler, Amy Tan at times, etc.) -- but there's more testosterone on my shelves than estrogen.
4. Growing up, I didn't read a lot of children's literature. My mom wouldn't really encourage it because she thought it was below my reading level. What's funny is now I feel like I'm missing out on something in a shared, collective sort of way.
5. Hemingway IS overrated in my eyes. The sparse tone of writing can be important to learn, but for Pete's sake, it's not like the man reinvented writing. I hated having to read him in high school. Actually, looking back, I think some of the "classics" we had to read in high school were crap. Lots of dead, white male writers for me, which wasn't as interesting in my book. At least James Joyce was a challenge to the eyes.
3 comments:
1. I've never understood why teachers force "The Grapes of Wrath" upon their students. It has to be the most boring book I've ever read.
2. I think Jodi Picoult blows as a writer...I'm even more disgusted by her now that she's writing storylines for Wonder Woman comics and is trying to do the shite from her alter-ego, Diana Prince. HELLO, it's called Wonder Woman for a reason!
3. I really hate that a majority of vampire novel writers feel the need to make it some form of erotica. Really? Can't vampires just exist without a blow-by-blow (no pun intended) 250 pages of sex? Yeah, I'm looking right at you Laurel Hamilton.
Ok, that's all I can come up with at the moment. My brain doesn't want to focus anymore!
Do try the Potter series. I put off reading Pratchett for about a decade with similar reasoning, only to discover a new favorite author. Rowling may only be middling writer technically, but the first few books evoke a sense of wonder and mystery that are worth it.
I'm sympathetic to the crap they onto students. No wonder so many kids say they don't like reading; they've been forced to read ponderous, uninteresting things. Fortunately I had already discovered books I liked. Sure, it was almost entirely trashy fantasy, but it taught me that some books were worth reading. It also taught me that a 500 page book was nothing to be afraid of. When I got to college, I may not have liked the reading, but I was never afraid of it. Furthermore, forcing classics on children who don't appreciate them can taint them. it took me years to realize that I do actually enjoy Brave New World. The Great Gatsby and Madame Bovary may be brilliant, but I can't will myself to try them again since the brutal marches I made through them in high school. (Oh, do I hate Madame Bovary so very, very much. Stupid whiny brat doesn't get the Paris Hilton lifestyle she wants, so she commits suicide. Then she whines that suicide is painful. Aaaah!) All the better to encourage kids to read whatever they like. They'll learn they can tackle bigger books, they'll learn to look forward to reading, and they'll better learn the english language, even if it's not quite the brilliant prose of the classics.
While I'm bitching, why do they make students read plays in high school? Shakespeare largely falls flat when read, but is lively and entrancing when well acted.
I read one of the Harry Potter books on a raving recommendation. After I was done, my only thought was that it seemed like a children's book. That's when I was told that it was.
I never read another one and I still don't understand what all the fuss is about
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