The Next Best Book Club discussion
Non-Book Related Banter
>
Thread Of Dire Judgment
Adrienne wrote: "I have really enjoyed reading this thread. I'm not done, yet, but I figure I had better give up my lurker status.I'm sure you'll find plenty to hate on my shelves. Go to town.
But before you d..."
I actually agree with you on most- but I do have a soft spot for Harry Potter. He changed reading for so many kids whom I have taught.
I'm with you on all the others, though. :) Welcome!
Um, wow! Where to start. Okay. Kavalier and Clay - Really not a comic book kind of gal, so I had a hard time relating. I think I did get to about page 65 or so because it was just ALL about the comic books. My husband liked it, but he said his favorite parts were the comic book stuff.
Foucault's Pendulum - made me mad because I was not smart enough to understand it. I couldn't finish it. That's the guy on the boat, right?
House of Mirth - No where near as awesome as Age of Innocence. And I hated the ending.
Harry Potter - I intend to try again with the guy, but when I started the second book, I couldn't care enough to get the poor guy back to Hogwarts. It draaaagged. I read the first one the week before I had my first baby, who will be 10 in May, so I probably need to re-read before I go on.
Katie - I used to run a Delinquent Girls' Group Home. I loved Odd Girl Out! Spot on, it was.
Alex - Thanks for loving the gauntlet. You made me laugh loudly which scared the child sitting in the room with me. Awesomesocks.
Okay, now I'm going off to troll all your bookshelves.
Adrienne, okay, okay. Well, I agree you should stick with Kavalier and Clay, even if you're not a comic gal. There's an actual story there too, and it's a good one.Foucault's Pendulum - I missed out on half of it too because of lack of smarts, but Eco is so brilliant and such a fantastic writer that I don't even care! I'm just in awe. The man might as well be the Devil. If I believed in that sort of thing, I could see him totally leading me to Hell. He's like the Pied Piper of literature.
I also love Age of Innocence. Out of curiosity, which one did you read first? I'm forming a theory that whichever a person reads first is the one they're going to love more over the other. Plus, I think I read House at a time when Lily's plight really spoke to me. That's right. I used the word "plight". But the ending was supposed to be disagreeable! It was a sad story, so it needed a sad ending! BTW, I'm a big Edith Wharton dork. I'm working on a gang sign to flash when her name comes up. But I'm really not that hip, so it just sort of looks like I'm having a seizure.
Alex wrote: "I was under the impression that many people think Name of the Rose was the only decent book Eco wrote..."Hmm, I'd have to be with El on the Eco issue. I find him lyrical and brilliant in his writing. Foucault, Baudolino, In the Name of the Rose were fantabulous books. I haven't read The Island though. Eco could teach Dan Brown a thing or two about semiotics. I believe Eco's brain to be inhumanly large. Apparently he is in the top ten of the world's intellectuals. A freaky-cool dude who massively appeals to the geek in me.
El - You could take a cue from the Bloods and try to spell out Wharton with your fingers. Oh Oh! I know. Three fingers on your left hand pointing sideways (for E) and three on your Right pointing up (for W) So it reads EW for people looking at you. That's really bomb!I did read Age of Innocence first. Which probably didn't prepare me for Lily Bart's story.
I checked out your shelves and mostly we agree on the things we have in common. With one notable exception.
4* for The World According to Garp? Really?! That guy was such a douche.
That's all I've got.
Jennifer - I have no excuse. I just fell asleep every time I tried to read it. Love Name of the Rose, though. Haven't tried any others.
Oh, flashing the Edith Wharton sign is pretty easy, but seriously, people just think there's something wrong with me. So I keep it on the down-low.You know, it's been years since I read Garp. I was pretty young though, and yeah, he was a douche. But I remember thinking the book itself was written really well (ie, it kept my attention and kept me out of trouble) and I liked that. I must have just been getting into adult literature or something. But I didn't love it nearly as much as Cider House Rules.
El - I haven't bothered with anything else by Irving because I was so disenchanted with Garp.I guess it takes a certain something to pull off flashing gang signs. A 9mm would probably help.
Adrienne wrote: "I loved Odd Girl Out! Spot on, it was."That's for sure. I see myself and my friends in so many of the girls Simmons interviewed. And brava to you for taking on such a tough job!
El wrote: "Katie, I've been stalking following your reviews for a while. You read some great things. And a quick look at your shelves shows we have similar ratings on a several of them."
Thanks, El. We do have similar ratings. You've read a whole hell of a lot more books than I have, though! I started scouring your read shelf for something to judge, but only found books to add to my to-read shelf. Rest assured, I'll rain down the judgement if I find something to argue about. ;-)
I haven't read House of Mirth, so I can't add to El's hypothesis... I've been delaying- anything named thus is likely to be the most depressing book ever.
Kaion - House of Mirth is not as bad as Tess of the Derbervilles. I'm just saying.
I haven't read either one, but they're both on my list. I'll have to see if El's theory works out.
Jayme - Looking through your shelves...Six-Legged Sex: The Erotic Lives of Bugs - really??? and 4 stars? Is that something you are into?? Explain that one...
and Macbeth over Hamlet?
Two stars for Huck Finn? booo! LOVED Huck Finn.
Heh. Six-Legged Sex is on its way to me now, after I saw it on Jayme's shelf.Huck Finn is awesome.
Adrienne wrote: "Kaion - House of Mirth is not as bad as Tess of the Derbervilles. I'm just saying."Tess of the D'Urbevilles isn't as bad as Jude the Obsure. Take Hardy for depressing, though!
*sob* I liked Jude the Obscure! But then I like Hardy, in all his depressive glory.
Adrienne, I love Irving, particularly The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip van Winkle. Those are two of my favorite short stories!
Adrienne - Lol! Great name! I was thinking of John Irving. Washington Irving is pretty great. John Irving, not so much.El - I like Hardy, too, but I HATED Tess. Loved Return of the Native. Jude was in the middle.
Anyone who doesn't want to know all about the sex lives of bugs is no friend of mine. That book was awesome and I stand my 4 stars, you'll just have to read it to see for yourself!Huck Finn was boring. I loved Tom Sawyer, when the two of them are together that story rules. Take away Tom and Huck is dumb as a post.
And yeah, I liked Macbeth more than Hamlet, but it was close. I mean technically, I don't think I've read a Shakespeare play that doesn't deserve 5 stars, but I try to rate based on my favourites and MacBeth was more fun to read for me.
Wow, that's a lot of books you've read, Bridgit. I see some 5 stars for Dirk Pitt? Hmmm, no way. And you only gave 3 stars to Tom Sawyer, now you have to explain! 2 stars for Dr. Jeckyl makes me sad too.
Well done, Jayme. Bridgit, explain yourself re. Jekyll & Hyde, which is totally awesome and you are wrong.Jayme, I'm gonna have to dig way back to say this so I shouldn't be trusted, but my opinion when I was like 12 was that Huck Finn was a more complicated story than Tom Sawyer, and Huck Finn represented something way deeper than "dumb as a post." I thought he was way interesting than Tom.
Also, Hamlet is better than Macbeth shut up I can't hear you la la la. Words, words, words.
Well, I'm also going on my twelve year old impressions of those books. And since "deep" isn't what I would have been interested in, then I still stand by Huck=boring, Tom=rockin'.I'd be willing to reread Hamlet and Macbeth as an adult to see which one is oficially better...What's the big deal with Hamlet though? One of you has to explain to me why it's so much better.
I believe I explained that already, Jayme, in beautifully lucidly fashion. And I quote: "shut up I can't hear you la la la." I'll reread both of them with you if you reread Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn with me. In, like, July, because apparently I've agreed to read the Decameron and Anna Karenina in April. Oops.
And you said you'd read Pride and Prejudice with me too. It's coming up on my library queue soon so you better quit your day job.
Jessica wrote: "I love John Irving."I do too! I love his writing. Garp is my least favorite of his (so far), but I still gave it 4 stars. I have to admit that I have a huge crush on Irving too - even though he's technically old enough to be my grandfather. :oO
Also, Hamlet kicks Macbeth's ass.
I may be making myself look like a bit of an idiot but I don't like Shakespeare. He is confusing to read (I like 2 of his comedy's that I first saw as plays rather than having to read, maybe that is the issue?). 'Course, I don't much like poetry in general. I dont' know why everyone loves him.
I don't think that opinion's very unpopular, Lauren. It's a play. It's meant to be performed.
It is unpopular and you are both wrong and I hate you and we're fighting.You kinda gotta practice, though, yeah. Start by watching Romeo & Juliet, the one with Leonardo Dicaprio, that one's hilarious, then move on to Ken Branagh movies, then watch plays, then start reading 'em. Or, y'know, don't do any of that. He's just some dead white guy or possibly woman, it doesn't really matter. But we're still fighting.
Lauren wrote: "I may be making myself look like a bit of an idiot but I don't like Shakespeare. He is confusing to read (I like 2 of his comedy's that I first saw as plays rather than having to read, maybe that i..."I'm curious, which two comedies did you like and which plays did you dislike? I see Much Ado and Romeo & Juliet on your shelf.
I hated Romeo & Juliet when I read it as a HS Freshman. I actually thought it was torture. Then I discovered the sonnets and eventually Hamlet, which I loved. (I haven't read Macbeth, Cait, but I agree that Hamlet kicks ass. Period.) I also loved Othello and Twelfth Night. The Tempest was okay. I should probably give R&J another shot, but I won't because I still kind of think it's stupid. I didn't even like the movie.
So, I won't judge you for not liking Shakespeare. I will judge you for having read thirteen (?!) Black Stallion books. Was this a phase?
Romeo and Juliet has plot problems, but some gorgeous language. (I, too, hated it in high school. Having it from a known book killer didn't help, either.)
Romeo and Juliet was one of the few books I had to read in school that I enjoyed.
Alex wrote: "It is unpopular and you are both wrong and I hate you and we're fighting.You kinda gotta practice, though, yeah. Start by watching Romeo & Juliet, the one with Leonardo Dicaprio, that one's hila..."
Are you recommending Ken Branagh because his movies are good or ridiculous? I didn't enjoy his Frankenstein or Hamlet. I didn't like that he added lines to Shakespeare and the last scene was way too crazy over the top for my taste. I get that things change when one makes an adaptation, but that just drove me especially crazy for some reason.
I enjoyed Branagh's Henry V - though it is a very different Henry V from Olivier's.
Since when is R&J about vampires. Or maybe it is. Ole Will is a hip author man. ha!
I've only seen Branagh in Frankenstein and Much Ado About Nothing, so I'm going to guess the recommendation is for the ridiculous! (Well, of *course* he's got damn pneumonia, you haven't even put a shirt on him the whole time he's been deathly ill!)
Actually, I like Branagh's movies. Well, usually. Some of them. I like his Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. Casting Keanu Reeves as Don John was the funniest inside Shakespeare joke I've ever seen; they're both notoriously shallow, one-note characters. But it is sortof funny to watch him spray spit on everyone around him.
I did not like his Hamlet or Othello.
I have not seen Branagh's Hamlet. For me the epitome of a bad Hamlet is Mel Gibson.
Oh no Susanna! Believe it or not, I loved Mel Gibson's Hamlet. I thought he totally pulled it off.The epitome of a bad Hamlet is Ethan Hawke's version. That movie sucked.
Didn't see the Ethan Hawke.Though really the very worst Hamlet I saw was a live version. The set was apparently borrowed from The Tempest, and looked like a foggy cave, and Gertrude was almost completely inaudible. From the tenth row.
Alex wrote: "Oh no Susanna! Believe it or not, I loved Mel Gibson's Hamlet. I thought he totally pulled it off."When Mel Gibson's Hamlet first appeared on HBO, I very carefully and dutifully taped it on 3 VHS tapes in SP mode. I then drug those tapes to college and graduate school, then finally got rid of them. Oh man. Of course this was before Gibson's batshitcrazy issues overshadowed his work.
Oh and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia was awesome and whack.
High five, Cindy.Yeah, Helena Bonham Carter was good.
It is unfortunate to find that the guy behind, like, half of my favorite movies ever is a despicable nut.
Alex wrote: "Actually, I like Branagh's movies. Well, usually. Some of them. I like his Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. Casting Keanu Reeves as Don John was the funniest inside Shakespeare joke I've ever..."I have to say that I say him in a live production of Ivanov by Chekhov in London last fall and he was really good in that.
Kevin Kline's Hamlet had my daughter and I shrieking with laughter and I LOVE Kevin Kline.
Liz - Keanu, you mean? Really? Well, bust my face.Rosemary, I didn't know Kevin Kline did Hamlet. I love him too, actually, but...that casting makes me raise an eyebrow.
Katie- I've seen As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing (I saw the later before having to read it).And I stand by my Black Stallion books-I read them first when I was quite young and enjoyed rereading them during a busy time in life when concentrating on something longer or more invoved would have been too much.
I have a hard time finding something on your shelf to pick on but only 2 stars for A Dirty Job?! Moore is a trip!
What?? Someone is hatin' on the Black Stallion books? That sends a knife right through my stony little heart!Well, Katie, I just compared my books to yours and it seems we have pretty similar taste. The best I can do is mock you weakly for giving Secret Life of Bees 4 stars instead of 3.
The Next Best Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Gargoyle (other topics)Lost Girls (other topics)
What's Up, Dawg?: How to Become a Superstar in the Music Business (other topics)
Little Girl Lost (other topics)
A Night Without Armor (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Guy Gavriel Kay (other topics)Guy Gavriel Kay (other topics)
Geraldine Brooks (other topics)
Harry Turtledove (other topics)
Matthew Pearl (other topics)
More...
Thanks for pointing that out, Alex. Whew.
For the record, I love Eco and really think the only one worth skipping is The Island of the Day Before which nearly gave me a stroke. But everything else I've read, including The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, has been pretty decent. However, that last one I need to re-read as I was in a complete daze reading it while mourning back-to-back deaths at the time. I should add I still haven't read Baudolino which my boyfriend likes to point out randomly, especially during petty arguments 'cause that's how we roll.