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But on the basis of offering us unpleasantness for no good reason, is a writer "great"? We should start a "For No Good Reason" thread, and examine writers who write well, but who present us with empty unpleasantness that is neither uplifting nor educational, and which evokes a "recoil"...

Both of these, IF USED SPARINGLY are highly-effective literary devices. A one-sentence paragraph gives enormous power to that one sentence. The author, for whatever reason, wants you to feel the power of an idea to either stop you short, shake you up, turn you around, or startle you. Just go...

I was a habitual re-reader when I was younger, but now that I'm older with a job and a family, it's tough to even successfully give it one go-around. I put down more books unfinished now than I ever did in my entire life. If I finish a book, it's a really good book. But back in the day I read...

Nobody ever relates to my pet peeves. I am a technical writer by day, and a novelist by night. The technical writer in me CANNOT ABIDE poorly constructed sentences, or rambling. Poor construction, lack of clarity and rambling are the diseases of many non-technical writer authors, just as...

About that poem. That is a great poem. In fact, it was Bukowski's poetry (and the movie Barfly, which is one of my all-time favorites) that prompted me to buy his book. Do you not feel that this poem more effectively creates a setting, and reveals more about the people involved than his...

Mark Twain was a humorist. You're saying that literature should be shallow and meaningless because a humorist told you so? And then you go on to describe how Bukowski made you understand alcoholics, which completely overturns your initial statement. Bukowski did teach you something? Or he...

So, then tell me. Does he address your inner misogynist? What is it about him that you like? It can't be the development of his female characters (whom he addresses as "snatches" and "c**ts"). Is he living out your bar brawling fantasies? I'm serious. His appeal absolutely mystifies me.

Lately I've mostly been signing up for bookrings through Bookcrossing.com, so I don't buy anything. I'm always being pleasantly surprised by a new book in my mailbox. When I'm done I pass it along to the next person. However, when I do buy, it's usually an impulse buy on Amazon.

Jim Jones Cult - Taping of suicide posted to You Tube I know this is an old thread, but it had some discussion of Jim Jones, and this is a relatively new video posted to YouTube that I just ran across last week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_0ZhrZhDr0&mode=related&search= Historically...

The only Charles Bukowski I ever read was Ham and Cheese? or Ham on Rye? (memorable...?) and I hated it. The best I could say was that I liked his stark writing style. But his character development was really poor, the main character was unsympathetic, and I couldn't figure out what the...

(My little plaid uniform was green. What color was yours???) Those were truly scary times because the whole situation was unprecedented. Grownups didn't recognize drug use, nor did they know how to deal with it. Kids were convinced that warnings against drugs were just a ploy. I mean, look at...

I read Go Ask Alice when it was first published, and saw the movie that was made about two years later. Both were really excellent. I don't think it mattered who wrote it, or whether or not the story was literally true because it was absolutely on target as far as what I was seeing around me at...

I'll tell you what a good book store is NOT: It is NOT a place that primarily rents DVDs and sells software, pumps hip hop music loudly over the speakers, and has a book section off to one side. To the left, in fact (most people veer right). The Hastings in town is like that, and the atmosphere...

We studied this in school years ago, and the way it was presented to me was that Holden was having a difficult time making the transition to adulthood. He only related well to children, had a deep affection and sense of responsibility toward them, and he viewed them all as heading toward a cliff...

I was going to suggest A Wrinkle in Time as well! It isn't a mystery, but it's very suspenseful and the characters are a total delight. The movie came out a year or two ago. Netflix offers it, and you can probably find it at a DVD rental store as well.

"Loretta Mason Potts" by Mary Chase. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0844664286/qid=1127999906/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-0133841-2332962?v=glance&s=books

Question: How did we get from "Fiery Cross" to "Stitch and Stone"? What is the connection?

Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence

Off-topic comment on interesting changes in social development. I read somewhere last week that this 20-something generation is the first in (I don't know what period in history) that is predicted to die before their parents. They're blaming obesity, primarily, but other things like AIDS come...

Oops. It was the very first quote on the page, and I didn't see it in my race to skim.