Fri Dec 03, 2004 5:44 am
wolftracker wrote:Robinson Crusoe, I really, really tried to give this book a chance. I stuck with it all the way through the agonizing junk till he got stuck on the island hoping desperately that it would pick up there, but it didn't, at all. I should just sell my copy because all it's doing is collecting dust in my room.
That reminds me.. Treasure Island. Love the basic story, but it was just a little boring?
Fri Dec 03, 2004 5:55 am
I was NOT assigned Beowulf! You kidding me? If I was...wooo, illustration projects here I come!
I just found three copies at my school, all of which were VERY abridged and not in the right meter or anything. (Seriously, in one they took out Wiglaf/Wigluf, depending on the translation. That's like having Pelennor without Eowyn... doesn't work.)
I just found three copies at my school, all of which were VERY abridged and not in the right meter or anything. (Seriously, in one they took out Wiglaf/Wigluf, depending on the translation. That's like having Pelennor without Eowyn... doesn't work.)
Sat Dec 04, 2004 3:05 pm
Igg wrote:Squinchy wrote:Igg wrote:Wuthering Heights. Not that I finished it. I was too busy using it to bash myself repeatedly on the head so I could FORGET THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE.
Oh my god. I got to around page 30, then gave up. I couldn't find the least strand of plot in it, and the gothic style wasn't click'n for me.
I'm not someone who gives up easily on books, but that is SO DULL.
*gasp* I adore Wuthering Heights. It's so beautiful but I guess you do have to get into it. Once you understand what's going on is when you fully appreciate it. I love it.
Sat Dec 04, 2004 4:29 pm
I started Catcher in the Rye several days ago. I'm about 1/3 of the way into it, and I do like it. [The main reason is probably because Caulfield reminds me of a very eccentric friend I have.] There are a few spots that drag, but also many more places that drip with sensitivity.
I suppose a lot of books are like that--A Tale of Two Cities comes immediately to mind. My english class had to read it, and most hated it until it was nearly over. [Then they became more interested.]
Twinkle wrote:Igg wrote:Squinchy wrote:Igg wrote:Wuthering Heights. Not that I finished it. I was too busy using it to bash myself repeatedly on the head so I could FORGET THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE.
Oh my god. I got to around page 30, then gave up. I couldn't find the least strand of plot in it, and the gothic style wasn't click'n for me.
I'm not someone who gives up easily on books, but that is SO DULL.
*gasp* I adore Wuthering Heights. It's so beautiful but I guess you do have to get into it. Once you understand what's going on is when you fully appreciate it. I love it.
I suppose a lot of books are like that--A Tale of Two Cities comes immediately to mind. My english class had to read it, and most hated it until it was nearly over. [Then they became more interested.]
Sun Dec 05, 2004 1:25 am
Catcher in the Rye and Wuthering Heights need to be burned or something. Wuthering Heights was possibly the WORST book I've ever (attempted) to read.
Mon Dec 06, 2004 6:33 am
Well.... sometimes classics are considered classics because they were considered a breakthrough of some sort during the times they were written or the reflected the particular period of time very well..... or so says my "so very passionate about classics" teacher 
Jane Austen for example, was noticed because she had heroines who were not perfectly perfect and beautiful..... which mostly wasn't done in the times she was living in....
But books that reflect a certain period or were considered a breakthrough in their times doesn't always make for interesting reading in the now..... like Jack London was a bestseller in his time but not that many people rave over him now....
P.S. I'm not a Wuthering Heights fan myself either.....[/i]
Jane Austen for example, was noticed because she had heroines who were not perfectly perfect and beautiful..... which mostly wasn't done in the times she was living in....
But books that reflect a certain period or were considered a breakthrough in their times doesn't always make for interesting reading in the now..... like Jack London was a bestseller in his time but not that many people rave over him now....
P.S. I'm not a Wuthering Heights fan myself either.....
[/i]
Mon Dec 06, 2004 11:06 pm
*shudder* Beowulf. That guy was so horrible! The whole book I kept thinking, "Man, what a twink. That poor dragon was just trying to get his treasure back."
Bleh. And I usually really enjoy books. But that was too much.
...I still can't believe he hurt the draggy...
Bleh. And I usually really enjoy books. But that was too much.
...I still can't believe he hurt the draggy...
Mon Dec 13, 2004 5:31 am
I am an avid reader, but Portrait of a Lady killed me. I don't think I really understood the point... being more moderen than the characters to see those thigns that are wrong as wrong and those things that are proper as proper. Yuck! The only thing that gave me so much trouble was The Aneid!
Mon Dec 13, 2004 7:31 pm
Twinkle wrote:Igg wrote:Squinchy wrote:Igg wrote:Wuthering Heights. Not that I finished it. I was too busy using it to bash myself repeatedly on the head so I could FORGET THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE.
Oh my god. I got to around page 30, then gave up. I couldn't find the least strand of plot in it, and the gothic style wasn't click'n for me.
I'm not someone who gives up easily on books, but that is SO DULL.
*gasp* I adore Wuthering Heights. It's so beautiful but I guess you do have to get into it. Once you understand what's going on is when you fully appreciate it. I love it.
OR I did understand what was going on and I still thought it was crap?
Credit me with some intellect, please.
Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:09 am
Don't know if anyone has heard/read this, but it is supposedly a 'classic'.
A Separate Peace by John Knowles LITERALLY put me to sleep, and I had to read it for English. My teacher wandered why there was 'water' on my book. I told her I took it home when it was raining, when it was really a wee bit of slobber. That sounds bad, but . . .
A Separate Peace by John Knowles LITERALLY put me to sleep, and I had to read it for English. My teacher wandered why there was 'water' on my book. I told her I took it home when it was raining, when it was really a wee bit of slobber. That sounds bad, but . . .
Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:09 am
A Separate Peace, eh? Didn't like it. I would have liked it, if it weren't for the ending. Yes, I'm still in the phase where I can't take to a book unless it has a good ending. ASP certainly did not. At all.
Like Catch-22, it was just overloaded with themes and symbols. In class, we analyzed every bit of symbolism. Sickening, really.
Like Catch-22, it was just overloaded with themes and symbols. In class, we analyzed every bit of symbolism. Sickening, really.
Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:32 am
vkceankraz wrote:A Separate Peace, eh? Didn't like it. I would have liked it, if it weren't for the ending. Yes, I'm still in the phase where I can't take to a book unless it has a good ending. ASP certainly did not. At all.
That was my major problem with it. It had a decent rising climax, and then the plot was just shattered (pardon the pun) with the ending. The book focuses on all these details and then it gets to the end and it happens in a sentence. Pshaw.
Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:49 am
Practically everything read in my AP classes: The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck), The Jungle (Sinclair), Babbit (Lewis), The Age of Innocence (Warton), etc. Ugh. Especially The Age of Innocence. I'm scarred for life.
Wed Dec 15, 2004 7:09 pm
All the english book's I've read have been pretty good, I tend to have good choice in English books, however one Welsh "Classic" book was a little bit of a disapointment "Barti Ddu", not that that means anything to you
Sun Dec 19, 2004 5:52 am
Eo wrote:Heh, I just realized that Cantebury Tales and Beowulf probably ARE required reading... but I'll only say they are when I or somebody I know is assigned them.
I had to read both this semester.
I love Canterbury Tales, but Beowulf... ugh, I was so glad to be done with that. Let's see, what else? I'm also going to apparently be the one person who's apathetic about Catcher in the Rye... it was alright, but nothing I'd pick up again. Same with A Separate Peace, although to be honest I can't even remember if I ever actually finished that.
Oh, and anyone ever heard of Siddhartha? Eurgh. Sorry.