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Do you read 'literature'?
- Thread starter Beibei
- Start date
Gosh people stop the public mud-slinging contest.
So back to the topic: Do you read "literature"?
Actually I'm reading lots of literature. I've got a big reading list full of classics. Some are quiet boring but most are really awesome. Furthermore it's fun to finally understand all the little movie comments on books.
So back to the topic: Do you read "literature"?
Actually I'm reading lots of literature. I've got a big reading list full of classics. Some are quiet boring but most are really awesome. Furthermore it's fun to finally understand all the little movie comments on books.
direstraits
Well-Known Member
I don't know if Wilde is considered a classic, but I've always enjoyed him. And if he isn't, he should be. 
He's very witty, and makes me laugh, so it's all good. I'm in an on-again, off-again relationship with The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is just full of quotable quotes.
"Only the shallow do not judge by appearances."
ds
He's very witty, and makes me laugh, so it's all good. I'm in an on-again, off-again relationship with The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is just full of quotable quotes.
"Only the shallow do not judge by appearances."
ds
direstraits
Well-Known Member
Not sure if any you've listed are considered classics, though, Rogue. Although the books you've listed are excellent (except for Alice, Time Machine and Brave New World, which I've not read). 
ds
ds
Okay, a little tiny soapbox just turned over and begged me to step on it.
I don't think that the terms we're using here are very clear.
Classics are not just "old" books. They are works which transcend time. They're still being written today. I mean, just look at The DaVinci Code! (I jest, I jest!)
But seriously, classics don't have to be moldy books that someone made you read in high school. You might have read one just yesterday or the day before, or pick one up in a shop tommorrow.
Literature, in this usage at least, seems somewhat similar. Works that reach a certain level of excellence in expressing universal themes.
Point being, neither romance novels or "trashy books" are mutually exclusive to those aims above. Romances can touch the "falling in love" feelings of everyone, trashy novels might be just as deliciously trashy in 3020, or they might have retained some other charm that makes them remain fresh and applicable.
Why get angstified about it? Read whatever YOU can embrace. Keep whatever you find 5/10/20 years from now that still strikes a chord with you. Bingo, you've made your own classic literary library.
Unless you find that you really embrace Cathy or Chris Dollanganger (had to google for those names) from Flowers in the Attic. Then, of course, you're just a broccoli brain lol.
I don't think that the terms we're using here are very clear.
Classics are not just "old" books. They are works which transcend time. They're still being written today. I mean, just look at The DaVinci Code! (I jest, I jest!)
But seriously, classics don't have to be moldy books that someone made you read in high school. You might have read one just yesterday or the day before, or pick one up in a shop tommorrow.
Literature, in this usage at least, seems somewhat similar. Works that reach a certain level of excellence in expressing universal themes.
Point being, neither romance novels or "trashy books" are mutually exclusive to those aims above. Romances can touch the "falling in love" feelings of everyone, trashy novels might be just as deliciously trashy in 3020, or they might have retained some other charm that makes them remain fresh and applicable.
Why get angstified about it? Read whatever YOU can embrace. Keep whatever you find 5/10/20 years from now that still strikes a chord with you. Bingo, you've made your own classic literary library.
Unless you find that you really embrace Cathy or Chris Dollanganger (had to google for those names) from Flowers in the Attic. Then, of course, you're just a broccoli brain lol.
Jenem
kickbox
i just went through a literature/classics phase. many books that i had always meant to read but never picked up. i enjoyed some and didn't enjoy others. let's see, what did i read? Anna Karenina, Mrs. Dalloway, The Great Gatsby, David Copperfield and a few others i can't think of right now. right now i'm finishing a book by a contemporary author. i don't have a preference for classics or modern books. a good story is a good story
Hello Jenn and Novella,
I'd go for a similar description to Novella for my preferred reading: modern literary fiction. However, I think that you can find both the great and the ghastly in every genre.
Historical fiction is not my natural grazing ground but I would give Balthazar's Odyssey or Leo Africanus, both by Amin Maalouf a pretty high rating. However, Maalouf's best book that I have read is Samarkand, and I am not sure that it is a historical novel. More like a book set in the past.
My question then is what is the difference between historical fiction and books set in the past? I'd hazard that it has something to do with the amount of impact derived from documentary detail of the way things were. This can be a little tedious if overdone.
Must get one of those avatar things. Am not very technologically minded so may take some time.
I'd go for a similar description to Novella for my preferred reading: modern literary fiction. However, I think that you can find both the great and the ghastly in every genre.
Historical fiction is not my natural grazing ground but I would give Balthazar's Odyssey or Leo Africanus, both by Amin Maalouf a pretty high rating. However, Maalouf's best book that I have read is Samarkand, and I am not sure that it is a historical novel. More like a book set in the past.
My question then is what is the difference between historical fiction and books set in the past? I'd hazard that it has something to do with the amount of impact derived from documentary detail of the way things were. This can be a little tedious if overdone.
Must get one of those avatar things. Am not very technologically minded so may take some time.
i've always thought that historical fiction meant that regardless of the liberties the author takes with characters thoughts and dialogue, the basic structure and events of the book: dates,places, names etc are historically accurate. i think that is why i love it so much. i'm not a history buff, but i love reading about it and when someone has taken the time to flesh out historical characters it makes it so much more interesting than just dates and places.
yes
hi,
yes , I read literature very often.I usually read Shakespeare, because his stories are very famous , and I ready enjoying them.
I love Shakespeare 's stories very much. I usually read his books twice a week. I love reading , too. I read all kinds of books.
I also like to share my books to my friends , and they also share their books to me .So , we have many books to share and we talk everything we knew to each other.
hi,
yes , I read literature very often.I usually read Shakespeare, because his stories are very famous , and I ready enjoying them.
I love Shakespeare 's stories very much. I usually read his books twice a week. I love reading , too. I read all kinds of books.
I also like to share my books to my friends , and they also share their books to me .So , we have many books to share and we talk everything we knew to each other.
Ronny
Well-Known Member
I like reading a bit of everything. I often read more than one book at a time and so I will read the heavier book at home and keep something light and quick in my bag for waiting around at appointments and such.
Like Rogue had mentioned earlier I will often pick up classics I hear referenced in a movie or in another book. I also like historical fiction and if a story grips me I will check out non-fiction books on that time and place to learn more.
I think it's good to mix things up and read a bit of everything. A lot of the really good classics I've read, I found out about because they were referenced in a more mainstream or as some would say "trashy" book.
Like Rogue had mentioned earlier I will often pick up classics I hear referenced in a movie or in another book. I also like historical fiction and if a story grips me I will check out non-fiction books on that time and place to learn more.
I think it's good to mix things up and read a bit of everything. A lot of the really good classics I've read, I found out about because they were referenced in a more mainstream or as some would say "trashy" book.
Read classics! They're not boring, I swear! Ok, here are some popular classics that are flashy and unboring, that, I just by-god-know, you will like:
-'Brave New World' and '1984' (both somewhat similar, though 1984 'goes into it' a lot more.
-'Lolita' - come on...it's all controversial and stuff...most romance people I know of love weird stuff like this....
-'Lord of the flies' is good
-READ ANYTHING BY DOESTOYEVSKY!!! The Brother Karamazov is probably my favorite book of all time. But you might want to read some others before attempting this one. 'Crime and Punishment', though, is a hooker AND has an attractive male character for the main guy!!! (omg!)
and...
-Everyone who anyone's read 'Catcher in the Rye' because it's so whiny and we all Luv to be whiny.
(And whatever you do, stay away from Frakenstein and Don Quixote. God awful)
-AND OFCOURSE! 'Gone With The Wind'!!! Ok, so it's not serious literature, but that just means you're aching to read it even more, right? Even though I didn't like that book at all, I'm sure you'll like it a lot.
Also, is it just me, or does anyone else get really bored with the plots of romance/ relationship novels like those of Jane Austen and such? I start out telling myself over and over that I really like the book, but about half way in I just get tired and bored and want the characters to get married already. Does it happen to anyone else? I've been meaning to finish the last half of 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Emma' for years.
-'Brave New World' and '1984' (both somewhat similar, though 1984 'goes into it' a lot more.
-'Lolita' - come on...it's all controversial and stuff...most romance people I know of love weird stuff like this....
-'Lord of the flies' is good
-READ ANYTHING BY DOESTOYEVSKY!!! The Brother Karamazov is probably my favorite book of all time. But you might want to read some others before attempting this one. 'Crime and Punishment', though, is a hooker AND has an attractive male character for the main guy!!! (omg!)
and...
-Everyone who anyone's read 'Catcher in the Rye' because it's so whiny and we all Luv to be whiny.
(And whatever you do, stay away from Frakenstein and Don Quixote. God awful)
-AND OFCOURSE! 'Gone With The Wind'!!! Ok, so it's not serious literature, but that just means you're aching to read it even more, right? Even though I didn't like that book at all, I'm sure you'll like it a lot.
Also, is it just me, or does anyone else get really bored with the plots of romance/ relationship novels like those of Jane Austen and such? I start out telling myself over and over that I really like the book, but about half way in I just get tired and bored and want the characters to get married already. Does it happen to anyone else? I've been meaning to finish the last half of 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Emma' for years.
Isabell
Active Member
I will pretty much read anything. I do however, LOVE British Literature. I had taken it in College and gobbled it up and NEEDED more. I just love reading the Brit Lit on my own. It's really amusing to see people's faces when I pull my my book to read, they look at me and say, "You read that by choice?" It's classic.