'Great' books you could do without

[Scumfucker]

I am slowly concluding that Dostoyevsky is not.

I really want to like his stuff (if you know what I mean) yet I've put down both Crime and Punishment and House Of The Dead..... such heavy Russian writing is kind of tedious. Someday, I will appreciate and figure out what the fuck everyone is talking about.

And that day will be when you pick up Notes From Underground, a very quick read barely over 100 pages which largely captures the spirit of Crime and Punishment.

[Phritz]

I am slowly concluding that Dostoyevsky is not.

I really want to like his stuff (if you know what I mean) yet I've put down both Crime and Punishment and House Of The Dead..... such heavy Russian writing is kind of tedious. Someday, I will appreciate and figure out what the fuck everyone is talking about.

And that day will be when you pick up Notes From Underground, a very quick read barely over 100 pages which largely captures the spirit of Crime and Punishment.

or "the gambler" another quite good and short one.

[MANTIS]

Oh yeah, also, every word Dave Sim said about Hemingway is true.

whoa, didn't expect to see Sim mentioned. I've read SOME Cerebus, but not much in the grand scheme. What do you think about the series and all the controversy about his views on women/Islam etc.?

Atlas Shrugged - I hope your periods hurt
Great Gatsby - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz die

I can't stand Ayn Randers. And I agree on the Great Gatsby. What's so fucking great about it? Some of the most boring shit I've ever tried to read.

The Bible

Amen!

I'm gonna vote for Albert Pike's 'Morals and Dogma' (though I don't know it's purported to be "great")
It's got some interesting stuff going on, but it contradicts itself all over the place and his writing style is verging on schizophrenic at times. Also, speaking of run-on sentences, I've tried multiple times but never made it through Naked Lunch. Not because it's boring or anything, just loses me in its neverending insanity.

[Scumfucker]

I am not christian in any way shape or form, but I do find the bible to be an entertaining read. the last time I picked one up, I was pretty intrigued by Revelations. Also, the writing tends to vary quite a bit from book to book. It's even more facinating reading it keeping in mind how many people take it literally.

[MANTIS]

My past involvement in the cult prevents me from any current enjoyment. I might try again later, but probably not. Revelations is fun I suppose.

[Comrade Slinky]

I can't do Tolkien.

[Idget Child]

[So basically, Moby Dick is great because some academics decided on it, not because anyone really likes it. Really... there are 250 pages worth of plot, and a 400 page discourse on whaling stuck in between them.

This is the worst misconception I've read on this board in a long while.

So no one had the pleasure of suffering through the literary torture of Percy and Faulkner? Mark Twain could've taught them an important lesson about the proud Scots-Irish tradition of being intelligent without taking yourself so fucking seriously.

I enjoy Faulkner. Most of his stories read like local historical folklore. I really enjoy that aspect of his writing.

I think it's pretty easy to say fuck off to Jane Austen in this thread. I cannot think of too many more right now because I wouldn't count all of the dreadful slavery and Holocaust literature I had to read for high school as "classic."

[MANTIS]

I am not christian in any way shape or form, but I do find the bible to be an entertaining read. the last time I picked one up, I was pretty intrigued by Revelations. Also, the writing tends to vary quite a bit from book to book. It's even more facinating reading it keeping in mind how many people take it literally.

This might hold all well and true...but as a person who attended Catholic schools for 90% of their educatory life, I really regret ever reading that wacky book.

what he said.

[The Wages of Ben]

My past involvement in the cult prevents me from any current enjoyment. I might try again later, but probably not. Revelations is fun I suppose.

IT'S REVELATION NOT REVELATIONS! John of Patmos (to whom Revelation is attributed) only had ONE revelation, not several. That being said, the bible has ruined many a misguided soul looking for answers.

I can't do Tolkien.

Fuck off Lord of the Rings series in all your incarnations whether literary or cinematic.

[Spectre Vs. Rector]

Neuromancer
most Kerouac

[Mr. Budd]

Move that sacred cow Tolstoy over that slotted floor because he needs a gutting. Why bother with Tolstoy when you have Lermontov and Dostoyevsky? He has been rendered superfluous by his superior pre and antecedents.

no no no
i've only read "resurrection" so far, but this one was awesome. i love his view on life, christianity and asceticism. although he overdid it in "kreutzer sonata". "resurrection" is pretty much the last book he wrote, so if you only know the older ones, i recommend trying that one.

the only book that i really hated was "dr. faustus" by thomas mann. i liked the story and wanted to finish it, but that guy writes like a bored, nerdy german teacher; nobel price or not.

also the newer books of peter handke. i can only handle a certain amount of landscape description...and he crossed the line.

OK - then I'll refrain from judgement until I've read more Tolstoy. Thanks for the warning on Dr. Faustus - it's been on my to read list for a while - seems like I've made a good choice in delay.

Anyone read the Tin Drum? I've head it called the German Petersburg.

More suggestions please - I have unrestrained appreciation of your opinion.

[Mr. Budd]

Why bother with Tolstoy when you have Lermontov and Dostoyevsky?

Um...because they wrote about completely different things, and Lermontov was utterly shallow? Either you're trolling or you need to read more.

Shouldn't you be raping some dog in the desert or something? Your opinion simply doesn't matter anymore because almost every time you manage to do something besides whine about what somebody else said - it's an insipid lie or pathetic plea for attention rooted in negativity more accurately defined as self-loathing. You have singlehandedly destroyed your merit and credibility with your pointless babble and egotistical lamentations. And worst of all - you are a complete bore. The thing you are right about is hating yourself. I'd hate myself if I was you as well.

[mithrandir]

classic russian writers, :yawn:

[Mr. Budd]

2nd post - oops

[riley-o]

Spacehamster is dead to me.

[SOHC 1971]

Dune.

[CHUFFED beyond necropsy]

Does Bukowski count as "great"? If so, then his stuff.

[hadji murad]

i've only read "resurrection" so far, but this one was awesome. i love his view on life, christianity and asceticism. although he overdid it in "kreutzer sonata". "resurrection" is pretty much the last book he wrote, so if you only know the older ones, i recommend trying that one.

I did not like Resurrection. There were too many points in the novel where he was flagrantly passing moral judgements on his characters, whereas in his other novels/stories he let the characters' behaviour speak for themselves. I believe "Hadji Murad" was the last thing he ever wrote, or if not it was written very close to his death. It's one of my favourites (could you tell?), you should definitely read that one if you like Tolstoy, and it's short too.

[Scumfucker]

Does Bukowski count as "great"? If so, then his stuff.

Haha, I like Bukowski but I have to say I hate 95% of his fans. John Fante > Bukowski hands down.

[hadji murad]

Moby Dick was unearthed (exhumed?) in the '20s and '30s by professors of American literature, who subsequently declared it a great work of early American literature and thus forced it down the throats of students for decades to come.

They also rediscovered Poe, so...

You got me there. I wouldn't argue that Melville's ideas weren't profound I just hate his style.

I want to read Ayn Rand to see what the fuss is about but I don't want to bushwhack my way through those gargantuan novels only to find out it was garbage.

[Critical Torsion]

Does Bukowski count as "great"? If so, then his stuff.

I wouldn't call him great. I enjoy Bukowski's stories in the sense that I enjoy reading about the antics of a slovenly antagonistic self-pitying drunk. I didn't enjoy Post Office on some deep level, I just thought it was funny.

[Honky Kong 64]

Dune? Moby Dick? DeLillo?
Some of you people don't deserve eyes.

[father of lies]

Hemingway. Ugh.

So many of the books I had to read in high school were boring garbage. Great Gatsby? Things Fall Apart?!

Walden is an incredibly boring read.

[MANTIS]

I want to read Ayn Rand to see what the fuss is about

From my understanding, the fuss is about a privileged, speed-addict bitch that convinced a generation of other privileged white people that everyone on planet earth has the same opportunities that they do and if they can't get their shit together, fuck them. I could understand this every-man-for-himself philosophy maybe if they were anarchists, but doesn't the existence of government contradict that philosophy? Regardless, anyone who uses the term "objective reality" with a straight face is capable of fucking anything.

[Scumfucker]

I can understand not liking Hemingways boring short stories but hating his novels makes you an unamerican asshole!