Books I Loathed discussion
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The Unbearable Lightness of Being [Key Word: Unbearable]
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lilias
(last edited Aug 25, 2016 01:25PM)
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Oct 29, 2007 11:22AM

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Yes, it was dross.
NC

I'm sorry if you fbe talked into liking a book. I certainly have disliked bo546 that most other people fawn over like its the333ir dfjust like my opinion man."

ugh. it could have been great without the philosophy 101 crap in
the last quarter of the book. cringe-worthy, over-rated drivel. it's,
like, deep and stuff. if you're 16 and bored.
and his essays are so good! he should stick with that.



Thanks for the recommendations, Norm. As far as Czech lit goes, I'd say they're stronger in the playwriting area, though there is still that quintissential Czechiness to all their work. Here's a country that elected a writer as their first democratic president! Anything by him (Vaclav Havel) is highly recommended (for those who enjoy absurd social commentary). "R.U.R." by Karel Capek invents the word "robot" and is quite ahead of its time for the 1920s (for the sci-fi buffs). "Tales of Ordinary Madness" (title cribbed from a Bukowski book) by Peter Zelenka was written this century and is sort of a cross between Kundera, Woody Alan, and Seinfeld (for everyone else).
cheers.
Hello critics. Nice thread -- to an extent. I am not down with the personal attacks in this group, and so I am deleting posts to this thread that stirke me as offensive or hostile. Sorry, but the rules are clearly stated. A shame, too, since there is a lot of good lit crit. Oh well.
- The Moderator
- The Moderator

"Truth can never be told so as to be understood and not be believed."

I have enjoyed reading this particular thread and have to say that you all seem quite intelligent and stimulating. Thanks!
I love Chomsky... (he he...my own warped sense of humor here about ellipses...I like them...ha ha)
I loved the movie "Unbearable Lightness of Being" but it was strange. I have noticed that not everyone likes things that are strange and different like I do.
Oh, I had a big long train of thought but my family is demanding food and banging balls on the outside walls of the house so I can't think.
I hope to see more intelligent discussion in the future. Oh, by the way I got banned from another chat community because people could not understand my use of irony on the internet. Whether on the internet or in real life, irony is underappreciated, in my humble opinion.

Hi ME and all,
I was sad to lose the posts, too. Unfortunately some people were uncomfortable with the tone and were avoiding this group because of it. As the moderator, I want everyone to feel welcome to come and join in the discussion. I realize that I may not have been explicit enough about the rules of the group, so I will be sure to amend the group profile. It's important to me to maintain a tone of friendly debate. Though this thread had not descended into, say, namecalling, there was too much "how could you think xyz" and snideness. Controversial is fine; nasty is not. I mean this place to be for literary criticism only -- any criticism of individuals or of their taste should be taken elsewhere. I hope you will stay and play.
Best,
Kate
I was sad to lose the posts, too. Unfortunately some people were uncomfortable with the tone and were avoiding this group because of it. As the moderator, I want everyone to feel welcome to come and join in the discussion. I realize that I may not have been explicit enough about the rules of the group, so I will be sure to amend the group profile. It's important to me to maintain a tone of friendly debate. Though this thread had not descended into, say, namecalling, there was too much "how could you think xyz" and snideness. Controversial is fine; nasty is not. I mean this place to be for literary criticism only -- any criticism of individuals or of their taste should be taken elsewhere. I hope you will stay and play.
Best,
Kate
ME,
I have been thinking about it and I'm sorry for deleting the posts without warning. I can appreciate that you were enjoying each other, and certainly the actual literary debate was strong. I'm sorry for not giving a head's up in time for you to save your exchange.
Kate
I have been thinking about it and I'm sorry for deleting the posts without warning. I can appreciate that you were enjoying each other, and certainly the actual literary debate was strong. I'm sorry for not giving a head's up in time for you to save your exchange.
Kate

Sadly, I have noticed in my 42 short years that when any real intellectual or thought-provoking dialogue gets started in one group or another (whether it be on the internet or in real life) it seems like someoene must always come forward and put a stop to it because they are "uncomfortable?" I think, for the most part, too many people are just uncomfortable with thinking in general.
I did hope a site dedicated to bibliophilia would be different. I could say to those who are "uncomfortable"... "you don't have to particpate in or read what you don't like. In fact, I often skim over posts that I don't find interesting.

Now I am wondering how long the post I am presently writing will last. Let's see, right now in Jakarta it is 10.55 am, November 9. I'll assume the first 5 minutes are safe and start my timer at 11 am.

Anyway, Kate, I scrolled back up the page and was somewhat mollified by your admission that you could have allowed a bit of lead time before your blue pen...well scissors, actually...came unsheathed and obliterated our comments. I sincerely hope this will be the case in future, because I was doing my best (and I think others were as well) to keep the argument on an intellectual level...but without being stiffly formal or completely lacking a sense of humor.
We all have different styles of argumentation, and I was neither offended nor intimidated by any of the posts. It is not an attack on a person if you attack their style of logic (or lack thereof), or question their use of quotes from other 'authorities' be it the Bible, the Koran, Noam Chomsky, or Bill Shakespeare. No one called anyone else 'stupid' or 'evil' or even 'foul-mouthed', and all of us were enjoying this heated debate.
Please warn me in future if you are about to delete one of my comments, and if possible let me know exactly where I am going astray beforehand.