Comments on: Pardon me while I disagree

By: Trish

Trish — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:58:07 +0000

I wonder why so many books on those required reading lists are so hard to get through and so incredibly dull.

By: Monica McCabe

Monica McCabe — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:32:10 +0000

I had to read Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye’. I barely made it through it. She might be a pulitzer prize winning author, but that book was so depressing I wanted to throw it out the window. Reading it was an ordeal. Sheesh. I like a book where the characters rise above the muck and mire of their lives – that’s right, I like books that inspire hope AND give a happy-ever-after. Her books do NOT offer that, which is probably why Oprah likes her. :~)

Off to read something uplifting now…

By: Natalie J. Damschroder

Natalie J. Damschroder — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:59:07 +0000

I never read Austen. Can take or leave Shakespeare. With rare exceptions, I hated all the classics I had to read. I had to do Gatsby twice, too, because I changed schools my senior year and they did it senior AP Humanities, while my old school did it junior year. If I hadn’t tested out of English in college, I probably would have had to do it three times!

My junior year I rebelled. I didn’t read Faulkner–stopped when I counted a five page sentence–or Conrad. Still got an A in the class, so it probably wasn’t much of a rebellion.

I guess I’m just far too modern, and far too commercial. I like fast pacing and a focus on story, not language.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:48:30 +0000

Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the D’Ubervilles” was a snoozer. The movie sucked, too. I’m guessing that J.K. Rowling will be on some high school reading lists.

By: Fedora

Fedora — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:39:32 +0000

Some of Shakespeare was OK. What I really found hard to get through were the Dostoyevsky tomes–I still don’t think I’ve managed to get through Anna Karenina (required HS reading) or War and Peace… Oy… I have read Shogun, but not anything else by him. Haven’t read Michener or Koontz…

By: Trish

Trish — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:38:08 +0000

Interesting, Mary. I can’t remember anything about it now (probably been 20 years since I read — wow, that’s hard to write), but I remember liking Silas Marner. I haven’t tried Pearl Buck.

Cheryl, all good choices. I wonder if volume of books actually works against an author when being considered for “classic-dom”.

Terry! I feel so much better about not liking Shakespeare now. Would you believe I’ve not read Clavell, Michener or Koontz? I did watch a lot of those mini-series on TV based on Clavell’s books when I was a kid.

Duane, strangely I’ve not read Hemingway either. And you’re definitely not alone in your love of the Bard.

Lee, She’s the Man is on my Netflix Queue. One of my favorite movies, Ten Things I Hate About You, is supposed to be a modern take on Taming of the Shrew.

By: Lee McKenzie

Lee McKenzie — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:28:33 +0000

Trish! Such blasphemy

I have to confess, I adore Shakespeare. Twelfth Night is a wonderful comedy of errors. Mistaken identities galore! One of these days—when I have time!—I’d like to do an in-depth analysis of that play because I think it’s such a good example of great pacing and plotting.

Yeah, I’m THAT much of a nerd.

She’s the Man—a fairly recent teen movie with Amanda Bynes—is essentially a remake of that play. There’s also a film version of the original play that’s fun to watch.

The Taming of the Shrew is another favorite, and I love the film version with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

I was not a fan of Macbeth in high school—my English teacher managed to turn it into a major snore-fest. Years later I saw a production that used the original script but was set in a modern-day, civil-war-torn country in Central America. Very moving.

Have I convinced you to give Will another chance?

By: Duane

Duane — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:11:48 +0000

Nope, sorry, love the Bard. Spend a good deal of my spare time blogging about him, too (http://www.shakespearegeek.com). And I’m a software engineer by trade, so it’s not even like I had a big English lit background. I just find myself drawn to his stuff.

I could do without Hemingway.

By: Terry McLaughlin

Terry McLaughlin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:03:12 +0000

I’ve always hated most of the classics, too. I used Cliff’s Notes all through school, but then I was punished as an adult by being assigned to teach an AP Honors English class, and I had to read–and teach!–all the classics on the reading list. Ughhh. I took The Scarlet Letter off the list–I figured if I couldn’t get through it, my students didn’t have to either.

I’m not a big fan of Shakespeare. Love some of the lines and appreciate the language, but I’m not crazy about the plots.

I think Dean Koontz is terrific, and I hope his stories will get some serious attention some day. I hope the works of some of my favorite historical fiction writers–James Clavell, James Michener–will be considered classics, too.

By: cheryl c.

cheryl c. — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:10:13 +0000

For sure J.K.Rowling and Stephen King. Maybe Nora Roberts?