Books We Hate - Page 6

Renille · 07-26-2002, 11:25 PM

MY list of bad books-

The Jungle- Upton Sinclair. It's okay at the beginning, and some of the themes are powerful, but by the end, the story is a BIG ad for Socialism.

I can't think of more right now, but I'll edit this later.

Eruviel Greenleaf · 07-26-2002, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Renille
the story is a BIG ad for Socialism.

*mischievous grin*
So?

BeardofPants · 07-27-2002, 12:08 AM

You should know better EG - socialism is EVIL!

Of course, you Americans are the biggest commies I know.

Eruviel Greenleaf · 07-27-2002, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BeardofPants
You should know better EG - socialism is EVIL! Of course, you Americans are the biggest commies I know.

Um. . .no we aren't

But there are quite a few things I could say about our government, and especially the current administration, that aren't exactly. .. flattering

Lucy Brandybuck · 08-03-2002, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Has anyone tried to read Catch 22 by Joseph Heller? I tried to read it twice and never got past page 75.

I have tried once a year for the last three years and I just can't do it!

Willow Oran · 08-04-2002, 07:57 PM

I just remembered, there is a book that I can't stand anymore. The Mists of Avalon. It took a perfectly good legend and turned into a horrendously long melodrama containing everything from murder and incest to betrayal and kinslaying. It ruined the characters from the Arthurian Legends. But what I really hate about it is how it emphasizes all the bad points of catholisism. A lot of people I know say that it's really good and I thought so at first when I read it and then came the movie (which was true to all the objectional bits of the book) and the story was subjected to the critisism of my family who were quick to point out just how corrupt the story is. My advice is, don't read it. If you want to read a really good version of the Arthurian Legends then read the Pendragon cycle by Stephen Lawhead. It's a bit slow to start with but once you get into it it's very well written.

mirrille · 08-04-2002, 08:29 PM

Another good one is the Mary Stewart trilogy, starting with The Crystal Caves. But it is something to remember that the Arthurian legend IS full of murder, incest, betrayal, and kinslaying. It's not a proper Arthurian story if it doesn't have at least three of those four.

It's a very dramatic story.
It's odd. I've read alot of Arthurian fantasies over the years and I've never yet read one I didn't like. Except maybe Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series, but I think that's just because I didn't get it.

BeardofPants · 08-04-2002, 08:33 PM

Ack. There was a REALLY bad one that I read when I was a kid. Can't quite remember what it was called... Something like, Yankee in Camelot?

mirrille · 08-04-2002, 08:44 PM

A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, perhaps?
Never read it.

I think I saw a movie of it, but don't remember much.
But it's Mark Twain, isn't it? He almost...doesn't really count.

haha!

BeardofPants · 08-04-2002, 08:48 PM

YES! That's it.

I vaguely remember how he used his knowledge of an eclipse to freak people out. Very, very bad.

Draken · 08-05-2002, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BeardofPants
You should know better EG - socialism is EVIL! Of course, you Americans are the biggest commies I know.

Reminds me of Iain Banks' rationale for the Culture in his sci fi novels - he said he wanted to create a futuristic communist utopia just to irritate his American friends!

Like your current signature btw, reminds me of two things I like (Pink Floyd and parachuting!)

Eruviel Greenleaf · 08-05-2002, 04:54 PM

Willow Oran-I read the Mists of Avalon about five years ago, and then it was one of my favorite books. Now, I can't stand it, but possibly because I read it three times? Perhaps I like the fact that it was from the perspective of the women. Now i just find it boring. But I still like some of the characters; like Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. Okay, I only liked her. And I think she was a creation of Marion Zimmer Bradley, rather than part of the legend. Unfortunately, that book was my real introduction to Arthurian legend, causing a very biased view of the story on my part. Anyway, I don't like it much anymore, but I did back in 7th grade. . .

Celandine · 08-06-2002, 02:03 PM

I liked a lot of the books i have read except for ones that I was assigned

Sylvee Estel · 08-06-2002, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rei

The Lord of the Flies
By: William Golding
Ick. Another one I was forced to read in school. AM i going to get yelled at for this one too...

I just had to read Lord of the Flies this summer for school. I HATED it. It was wwritten well and everything, and the whole little symbolism moral thingie was kinda cool, but I still HATED that book. It was depressing, it was DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes...lol.

Pippin'sGirl · 08-07-2002, 10:50 AM

Jaws. It's the only book I've ever read, where the MOVIE was better

BeardofPants · 08-07-2002, 05:04 PM

Jaws, huh? Yeah, the book *was* pretty bad.

The wheel of time series. I've only read the first one, but ever since, I've been giving the rest a wide berth - and to think that I gave precedence in my reading order to that pile of guano over the Sil.

Archbob the Elder · 08-09-2002, 05:10 PM

I enjoyed moby dick although I didn't like writing about the symbolic meaning in it in an essay. That book is difficult to understand on a deep level.

mirrille · 08-10-2002, 10:57 PM

I read Moby Dick WAY too fast and didn't understand what was going on, as a consequence. Didn't make much impression on me.

Mithrea · 08-18-2002, 01:32 AM

I really only have one:

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

When I was in High School, after we finished with this book, many of the students ripped their books into shreds and lit them on fire. I didn't do that, but I did despise the book

silmälasi · 08-18-2002, 05:08 PM

i´ll have to say that the most hideous thing that i have ever read is narnia .the firs three book are okay but as the numbers get bigger the quality of the narrative drops below par.especially the grotesque finale with its christian allegory is just too much to bear. i have read somewhere that j.r.r. did not think highly of narnia and i have to agree.

07-26-2002, 11:25 PM	#101
Renille Elven Lady of Speed-posting Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the cheese state Posts: 988	MY list of bad books- The Jungle- Upton Sinclair. It's okay at the beginning, and some of the themes are powerful, but by the end, the story is a BIG ad for Socialism. I can't think of more right now, but I'll edit this later. __________________ Oh the thinks you can think! Think and wonder and dream...far and wide as you dare! When your thinks have run dry, in the blink of an eye, there's another world there... (from Seussical the Musical. Listen to it...watch it...really.)

07-27-2002, 12:08 AM	#103
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	You should know better EG - socialism is EVIL! Of course, you Americans are the biggest commies I know. __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords

08-04-2002, 07:57 PM	#106
Willow Oran Deus Ex Machina Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,951	I just remembered, there is a book that I can't stand anymore. The Mists of Avalon. It took a perfectly good legend and turned into a horrendously long melodrama containing everything from murder and incest to betrayal and kinslaying. It ruined the characters from the Arthurian Legends. But what I really hate about it is how it emphasizes all the bad points of catholisism. A lot of people I know say that it's really good and I thought so at first when I read it and then came the movie (which was true to all the objectional bits of the book) and the story was subjected to the critisism of my family who were quick to point out just how corrupt the story is. My advice is, don't read it. If you want to read a really good version of the Arthurian Legends then read the Pendragon cycle by Stephen Lawhead. It's a bit slow to start with but once you get into it it's very well written. __________________ "5. Plain Rings with RUNES on the inside. Avoid these like the PLAGUE. -Diana Wynne Jones Tough Guide To FantasyLand ...it's not much of a show if somebody doesn't suffer, and preferably at length. Suffering is beautiful in any case, and so is anguish; but as for loathing, and bitterness... I don't think they belong on the stage at all. - Isabella, I Gelosi

08-04-2002, 08:33 PM	#108
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	Ack. There was a REALLY bad one that I read when I was a kid. Can't quite remember what it was called... Something like, Yankee in Camelot? __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords

08-04-2002, 08:48 PM	#110
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	YES! That's it. I vaguely remember how he used his knowledge of an eclipse to freak people out. Very, very bad. __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords

08-04-2002, 08:29 PM	#107
mirrille Elven Warrior Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Canada Posts: 479	Another good one is the Mary Stewart trilogy, starting with The Crystal Caves. But it is something to remember that the Arthurian legend IS full of murder, incest, betrayal, and kinslaying. It's not a proper Arthurian story if it doesn't have at least three of those four. It's a very dramatic story. It's odd. I've read alot of Arthurian fantasies over the years and I've never yet read one I didn't like. Except maybe Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series, but I think that's just because I didn't get it.

08-04-2002, 08:44 PM	#109
mirrille Elven Warrior Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Canada Posts: 479	A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, perhaps? Never read it. I think I saw a movie of it, but don't remember much. But it's Mark Twain, isn't it? He almost...doesn't really count. haha!

08-05-2002, 04:54 PM	#112
Eruviel Greenleaf Alcoholic Villain-Fancying Elf Pirate Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Lyonesse Posts: 4,547	Willow Oran-I read the Mists of Avalon about five years ago, and then it was one of my favorite books. Now, I can't stand it, but possibly because I read it three times? Perhaps I like the fact that it was from the perspective of the women. Now i just find it boring. But I still like some of the characters; like Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. Okay, I only liked her. And I think she was a creation of Marion Zimmer Bradley, rather than part of the legend. Unfortunately, that book was my real introduction to Arthurian legend, causing a very biased view of the story on my part. Anyway, I don't like it much anymore, but I did back in 7th grade. . . __________________ Eruviel Greenleaf in a past life. "Whoever has come to understand the world has found only a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world." -The Gospel of Thomas SQUAWK!

08-06-2002, 02:03 PM	#113
Celandine Elven Warrior Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 168	I liked a lot of the books i have read except for ones that I was assigned

08-07-2002, 10:50 AM	#115
Pippin'sGirl Sapling Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Born in the USA! Posts: 9	Jaws. It's the only book I've ever read, where the MOVIE was better

08-07-2002, 05:04 PM	#116
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	Jaws, huh? Yeah, the book was pretty bad. The wheel of time series. I've only read the first one, but ever since, I've been giving the rest a wide berth - and to think that I gave precedence in my reading order to that pile of guano over the Sil. __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords

08-09-2002, 05:10 PM	#117
Archbob the Elder Enting Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 77	I enjoyed moby dick although I didn't like writing about the symbolic meaning in it in an essay. That book is difficult to understand on a deep level. __________________ Get Free Stuff

08-10-2002, 10:57 PM	#118
mirrille Elven Warrior Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Canada Posts: 479	I read Moby Dick WAY too fast and didn't understand what was going on, as a consequence. Didn't make much impression on me.

08-18-2002, 01:32 AM	#119
Mithrea Hobbit Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: West Virginia Posts: 16	I really only have one: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. When I was in High School, after we finished with this book, many of the students ripped their books into shreds and lit them on fire. I didn't do that, but I did despise the book

08-18-2002, 05:08 PM	#120
silmälasi Hobbit Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: finland Posts: 17	vile reading i´ll have to say that the most hideous thing that i have ever read is narnia .the firs three book are okay but as the numbers get bigger the quality of the narrative drops below par.especially the grotesque finale with its christian allegory is just too much to bear. i have read somewhere that j.r.r. did not think highly of narnia and i have to agree. __________________ shadow dweller

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