Books to Avoid

Jadeite · Post by **Jadeite** » 2003-01-28 06:01pm

Well, LotR lacks character description. While Tolien managed to build a very believable world with detailed history, I just can't get myself to care for his characters ecause of their total lack of personality. They are merely vehicles to tell his history with, not characters in a caring sense.

I agree with you, that and the damned songs on every other page nearly ruined the books for me.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-01-28 06:07pm

Illuminatus Primus wrote:
Zaia wrote:As for books to avoid, I'd have to say The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Yes, it's supposed to be a classic, but hundreds and hundreds of pages decribing the dust of the dust bowl and exactly how dusty it is doesn't enthrall me. Bleck.
Ugh.

Forced to read.

My English teacher was also a traditionalist who told us we all had to go to church.

You do the math on how much I loved that class.

Our English class was seperated into different groups with different books. I didn't have to read it, but I heard many a bad thing, especially about the ending

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-01-28 06:10pm

Because every old man should get a mouth-milkin' from a young woman.

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-01-28 07:16pm

Dahak? wrote:Well, LotR lacks character description. While Tolien managed to build a very believable world with detailed history, I just can't get myself to care for his characters ecause of their total lack of personality. They are merely vehicles to tell his history with, not characters in a caring sense.

Er, not to offend you, but did you actually read the book? The growing friendship between Gimli and Legolas, the love of Sam for Frodo, the trials of Gollum, the inner conflict of Boromir, the turmoil of Eowyn, the reluctance of Aragorn, the sad wisdom of Gandalf...I found the characters quite rich.

Jadeite wrote:I agree with you, that and the damned songs on every other page nearly ruined the books for me.

The songs are a part of the mythos. Every culture has some sort of oral tradition.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-28 07:18pm

The passage where Sauron senses Frodo putting the Ring on at the Crack of Doom, then realising where he is, in my opinion, is one of the best passages in the history of literature.

That and when Fingolfin battles Morgoth in the Simarilion.

Malecoda · Post by **Malecoda** » 2003-01-28 07:19pm

I was thinking of saying "So what if he doesn't describe 'Eowyn's flowing tresses' every time he wanted us to pay attention to her?" Nice catch. Still bitter, Roby!

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-01-28 07:22pm

Malecoda wrote:I was thinking of saying "So what if he doesn't describe 'Eowyn's flowing tresses' every time he wanted us to pay attention to her?" Nice catch. Still bitter, Roby!

*beats Matt with a Swingline stapler*

Post by **Zaia** » 2003-01-28 07:24pm

Dalton wrote:
Malecoda wrote:I was thinking of saying "So what if he doesn't describe 'Eowyn's flowing tresses' every time he wanted us to pay attention to her?" Nice catch. Still bitter, Roby!
*beats Matt with a Swingline stapler*

ROTF!!! Ahhh, Swingline...good stuff.

Malecoda · Post by **Malecoda** » 2003-01-28 07:25pm

Using chucks logic, I shall provee that lights peed is an imagnary numbre! By Chyucks' threoem , C = -8^1/2, viopla!~ See? Idioots!

Malecoda · Post by **Malecoda** » 2003-01-28 07:26pm

*strikes an arc welder on Roby's wristwatch*

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2003-01-28 10:04pm

Illuminatus Primus wrote:
Zaia wrote:As for books to avoid, I'd have to say The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Yes, it's supposed to be a classic, but hundreds and hundreds of pages decribing the dust of the dust bowl and exactly how dusty it is doesn't enthrall me. Bleck.
Ugh.

Forced to read.

My English teacher was also a traditionalist who told us we all had to go to church.

You do the math on how much I loved that class.

Um, let's see here... negative times negative = positive, right?

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-01-28 10:06pm

Malecoda wrote:*strikes an arc welder on Roby's wristwatch*

Ha! I do not have one. You fail again! PAUL WINS!

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2003-01-28 10:18pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:The passage where Sauron senses Frodo putting the Ring on at the Crack of Doom, then realising where he is, in my opinion, is one of the best passages in the history of literature.

That and when Fingolfin battles Morgoth in the Simarilion.

It IS the best passage of literature. The feeling when reading that sentence.... whoo

. Tolkien is a genius.
And to address the songs someone complained about, skip them, dammit, if you don't like them.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-28 10:31pm

Hell, I wish there was a CD set with just the songs, fully arranged and performed.

But since Tolkein's death, I wouldn't like something like that, as it wouldn't be authentic without his input.

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-01-28 10:35pm

Captain tycho wrote:
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:The passage where Sauron senses Frodo putting the Ring on at the Crack of Doom, then realising where he is, in my opinion, is one of the best passages in the history of literature.

That and when Fingolfin battles Morgoth in the Simarilion.
It IS the best passage of literature. The feeling when reading that sentence.... whoo . Tolkien is a genius.

Yeah, I just reread that and I got a shiver down my spine.

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2003-01-28 10:37pm

Dalton wrote:
Captain tycho wrote:
Spanky The Dolphin wrote:The passage where Sauron senses Frodo putting the Ring on at the Crack of Doom, then realising where he is, in my opinion, is one of the best passages in the history of literature.

That and when Fingolfin battles Morgoth in the Simarilion.
It IS the best passage of literature. The feeling when reading that sentence.... whoo . Tolkien is a genius.
Yeah, I just reread that and I got a shiver down my spine.

Maybe I'll put that on my sig.... COPYRIGHT PENDING COPIERS!
MUAHAHAHA!

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-28 10:38pm

I dunno, two paragraphs is kinda long for a signature...

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-01-28 10:39pm

Captain tycho wrote:Maybe I'll put that on my sig.... COPYRIGHT PENDING COPIERS! MUAHAHAHA!

You might have to truncate it. It's very long.

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2003-01-28 10:48pm

I just put in the first part.
Stupid sig limit.

Oh well. Even a few sentences of it are cool.

BEHOLD MY MIGHTY SIG, MORTALS, AND COWER BENEATH IT!

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-28 11:12pm

Looks good to me.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2003-01-29 06:46am

Dalton wrote:
Dahak? wrote:Well, LotR lacks character description. While Tolien managed to build a very believable world with detailed history, I just can't get myself to care for his characters ecause of their total lack of personality. They are merely vehicles to tell his history with, not characters in a caring sense.
Er, not to offend you, but did you actually read the book? The growing friendship between Gimli and Legolas, the love of Sam for Frodo, the trials of Gollum, the inner conflict of Boromir, the turmoil of Eowyn, the reluctance of Aragorn, the sad wisdom of Gandalf...I found the characters quite rich.

I did read the book. Although I had to force myself to it. I couldn't get myself to like the characters. They are lifeless. Pure plot vehicles.

The book was full of disapointments. Especially every time Tolkien tells something important or interesting off-stage, and then lets a character tell what happened. Ack. Like Gandalf did with his capture episode.

Anf about Gimli/Legolas. When they were with Galadriel, Tolien "told" about the beginning friendship in the nice, short sentence "They were becoming fast friends." Not how, why, nothing. Simply disapointing.

DocHorror · Post by **DocHorror** » 2003-01-29 06:57am

Crack of Doom

That sounds like my ex-girlfriends bum...

Books to avoid like the plague?

I hated the 'Difference Engine' - I thought it could have been so much more...

Also 'The Number of the Beast' by Heinlen is simply eye-gougingly bad...

Stay away from the Jeter 'Bladerunner' sequels too, unless you really want to jump off that bridge...

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-29 07:02am

I personally hated The Catcher in the Rye, but for reasons, that differ from a lot of other people's opnions.

The Scarlet Letter I simply could not read more than two chapters for.

Still, none of those received the amount of loathing from me that Ragtime so hideously deserves... Don't read it, or I'll have to beat you.

Read The Great Gastby instead.

DocHorror · Post by **DocHorror** » 2003-01-29 07:05am

I didn't really enjoy 'Catcher' either...why didn't you like it?

I found it uneventful - true, maybe that was the point, but Iv read similar books by Bukowski, Thompson, Vonnegut etc that where much more enjoyable...

Il admit it was one of the first to use that style of writing, but I just didn't like it...

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-01-29 07:16am

Holden (or Catcher, as I called him) to me was a whiny little hypocritical, oversexed, psychopathic bastard who spend the entire God damn book bitching about how he hates everyone and everything, except for his little sister, Phoebe. And quite franky his scenes with her creeped me out because he sounded kind of like he had an unhealthy infatuation with her.

I felt that he deserved to end up institutionalised at the end. Why anyone would want to read a book about such a worthless excuse for a human being is beyond my comprehension.

But that's just my opinion.