Books You Shouldn't Read

[sabinerak]

I'm going to post mine under "books I shouldn't have read" since other people might and have probably found value in it, but I really wish I had never read Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil. It just made her whole vampire series so much less for me. I loved that series and her writing and then when that book came out and I read it, I haven't yet gone back to the series. I did buy some of the following books in the series to read "later" but they still sit unread on my shelf. Eventually I may have the heart to read them, but I'm afraid they'll end up ruining the series for me even more so there they still sit.

It's not that I was offended by the ideas in the book, it just seemed to have an entirely different focus than the previous books and made a mockery of the characters I had enjoyed reading about in the earlier books.

So, I'm thinking that Memnoch is probably one book I never should have read.

I've been bored to tears by some other books, but I've never been unhappy about having read them.

 

[j d worthington]

I think the Bible was badly written. It's repetitive, obtuse, and repetitive. This comes from one who has spent his entire life having the Bible shoved down my throat. I've read it five times, cover to cover. I won't deny it has some, SOME, good ideas, but it could stand to have about half shaved away and the rest reorganized.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I, too, had that done to me. It took many years of distancing myself from that book before I could go look at it "with new eyes", as it were; at which point I found it to be a lovely book for its mellifluous use language, and with a great deal of wisdom mixed in with nonsense, and an enormous amount of truly moving stories, once one is open to it as literature, without the baggage of negative experiences with some of its followers. Give yourself about 10-15 years away from that environment, then try reading it in with the other Elizabethan and Jacobean literature, and I think you'll find it is well worth the effort.

 

[the smiling weirwood]

I meant they should get rid of the stuff like: And Geharth begat five sons who were Jutvdff and FERdgrg and JDHFRGxcbmj who each begat their own sons who were grandsons of Geharth and they all begat numerous sons and daughters and Geharth begat sons and the Lord said to them I am not pleased, so in the five hundredth year of his life Geharth begat more sons.

 

[dustinzgirl]

I have to beg a different opinion on a few earlier comments on this thread. I think everyone should have to read the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, the Satanic Bible, and the Teachings of Buddha, as well as any other religious dicuments you can get your eyes on.

Our lives, our cultures, and our history are based on our faiths and beliefs. Only by understanding these faiths, beliefs and doctorines, as well as the differences and SIMILARITIES between them can man ever hope to gain a level of conciousness beyond hatred for those differences in faith and belief.

But, thats just me.

 

[j d worthington]

I meant they should get rid of the stuff like: And Geharth begat five sons who were Jutvdff and FERdgrg and JDHFRGxcbmj who each begat their own sons who were grandsons of Geharth and they all begat numerous sons and daughters and Geharth begat sons and the Lord said to them I am not pleased, so in the five hundredth year of his life Geharth begat more sons.

Then you should try reading Thomas Mallory's Works. There's a reason that Caxton cut this severely into what we know as the Morte d'Arthur.

 

[ScottSF]

I hate to start up any kind of controversy, so I'm going to go with The Bible, Koran, and Torah.

Reason: Because only misery can come of it. Don't make me quote statistics.

Even though the topic quickly took an turn from the original intention, the turn is a favorite subject of mine. As it turns out, I just recenlty went on Amazon and ordered A Bible, A Koran, and a Torah, (I already have a Baghavad Gita). I wan't to make a project of reading the Bible just for the very reason that most people don't actually read it. They take parts out that they like and ignore the parts that are morally problematic. I honestly don't know if I will go through with it. I may not get past Genesis but I want to try. Usually I avoid the religious debate but I like to be ready and I like the look on people's faces when you tell them what's in the bible that they believe in but have never really read. I don't think reading them is dangerous, rather fundamentalist belief that this is all true and nobody is to question it's vailidity is the real danger. I was on another forum debating with a guy that believed the Earth was really only 6000 years old and dinousaurs walked the earth with man. It's hard to argue with someone who has made such a great leap of faith. I also visited an athiest forum and found that unlike most Christians I have debated with, most of the athiest/agnostic/free thinker/questioners actually had read the bible very intently.

Oh, and if it is ok to talk about Greek Mythology, or Egyptian Mythology as part of a fantasy forum discussion, I think Christian Mythology is fair game. It's strange but Narnia reminded me how powerful the Jesus myth is and from what I understand similar stories exist in earlier religions. Sacrifice, death, and resurection I think are more ubiquitous than the general population may realize.

my apologies for missing the boat I thought it was funny that I just bought version of the three books Paige said to steer clear of.

 

[the smiling weirwood]

That's because close examination often reveals gaps in logic...

 

[ScottSF]

ok, so books I really can't think of books I wish I never read. I was disappointed with the works of Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind and John Marco but by seeing where they were found lacking, I was able to better refine what I was looking for in a book. Also if I wanted to try writing again one day I can learn what not to do. It's nice to see that people sensibilities are attuned to things that readers may have not been aware of on the past, i.e. sexism, racism etc. I remember being suprised by the blairing double sexual standard in the Odyssey or even some of the more subtle racism in Lord of the Rings. It occured to me that some point in the future something I write about say, eating meat, will be looked at by equal shock and dismay.

 

[littlemissattitude]

Oh, and if it is ok to talk about Greek Mythology, or Egyptian Mythology as part of a fantasy forum discussion, I think Christian Mythology is fair game. It's strange but Narnia reminded me how powerful the Jesus myth is and from what I understand similar stories exist in earlier religions. Sacrifice, death, and resurection I think are more ubiquitous than the general population may realize.

You are correct that there are similar stories from other, earlier traditions. The problem with talking about what you call Christian Mythology (and I tend to agree with you that there is not much difference between it and the others) is that there are many, many more people who take Christianity as their belief system, than do those who use those other systems as the basis for their spirituality. Because people's active religious beliefs can be such a volatile subject, we have an informal rule around here that we do not discuss religion much here, just as a matter of keeping the peace. If you are looking for interesting disucssions on religion, Brian also has a compative religion site with an outstanding forum for the disucssion of such issues. I recommend it highly.

 

[the smiling weirwood]

I remember being suprised by the blairing double sexual standard in the Odyssey or even some of the more subtle racism in Lord of the Rings.

Maybe I'm a total loser, but I've read LOTR at least five times, and I've never noticed any racism, even the subtle kind, and I live in the deepest darkest South. Could someone point it out to me?

 

[j d worthington]

Maybe I'm a total loser, but I've read LOTR at least five times, and I've never noticed any racism, even the subtle kind, and I live in the deepest darkest South. Could someone point it out to me?

Try looking here:

http://www.chronicles-network.com/forum/1129-lotr-racist.html

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Oh, and if it is ok to talk about Greek Mythology, or Egyptian Mythology as part of a fantasy forum discussion, I think Christian Mythology is fair game. It's strange but Narnia reminded me how powerful the Jesus myth is and from what I understand similar stories exist in earlier religions. Sacrifice, death, and resurection I think are more ubiquitous than the general population may realize.

But we don't, so far as I know, discuss the religious merits of Greek mythology over Egyptian mythology (or the Celtic or Norse -- which could be a touchy topic with our Neo-pagan members), we talk about these mythologies as they pertain to Science Fiction and Fantasy. The same with Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, if it's in the context of a work of fiction, the discussion is right at home in these forums. We have had discussions of the Narnia books, and how Tolkien's Catholicism influenced LOTR -- and we could just as well discuss Judaism in books by Jane Yolen or Lisa Goldstein, or Islam in Katharine Kerr's Snare -- it's all fair game in that context.

I know people who hate the Narnia books because the elements of Christian religion offend them to the point they feel completely out of sympathy with the characters and the author. Some of them might regret reading the Narnia books, if only as a waste of their time when they could have been reading something they considered more worth while.

Others might argue (as I would) that those themes of sacrifice, death, and resurrection that you mention (and why not throw in redemption for good measure?) are profoundly moving whatever the religious or non-religious context.

*****

I agree with you, mosaix, that sometimes there are books that put indelible images into your head that you wish weren't there. Other readers will ask what's the big deal, and try to argue the impression away, but you might notice that the scene in question isn't rattling around in their heads on a permanent basis.

 

[mosaix]

I agree with you, mosaix, that sometimes there are books that put indelible images into your head that you wish weren't there. Other readers will ask what's the big deal, and try to argue the impression away, but you might notice that the scene in question isn't rattling around in their heads on a permanent basis.

That was my exact point. Once these images are in there they are impossible to get out. I am a different person than I was due to reading American Psycho (sorry to keep coming back to it) and Yossarian will know exactly what I mean by that.

If anyone wants to know what's the big deal think about this. Do you think that being on the receiving end of a violent crime or the victim of rape doesn't change you for ever? In just the same way don't you think that a well written piece of literature (an American Psycho is well written) can also change you forever? Normally it changes people for the good - but not always.

Now just as the victim of a mugging might say "Why didn't anybody tell me not to go down there?" I wish someone had told me "Don't read that."

I have actually been waiting for someone to ask "Why didn't you stop reading it?" Well it is compulsive, it is well written. It's a bit like watching a snake both repulsive and fascinating at the same time and I suppose a little bit addictive and that makes it all the more dangerous.

 

[the smiling weirwood]

How dare you defame snakes!

 

[steve12553]

Man, this thing blew up fast. I had a lot to say but I can't find a place to jump in where I could be relevent. So.................. I'll just say that I've personally never run across a book that could inspire or convince me to do things that I previously felt I shouldn't do. No book can make me kill someone. (People who use the Bible or the Koran or any other book as an excuse to kill or hate or do anything would find another excuse) With apologies to the NRA "Books don't Kill People, People Kill People." Read a book, learn about it's author. If I don't like a book, I'll put it down. People would become inspired by a book to do something wrong are a stick of dynamite looking for someone to light their fuse. Mein Camp won't turn me into a Nazi and the Communist Manifesto won't convince me to give up my worldly goods and live in a commune. Read what you want. Be true to yourself. Can't go wrong.

 

[littlemissattitude]

That's been my theory for a long time, steve. I really hate it when books or music or movies get blamed for "making" someone commit some heinous crime. It's like when Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest got sued, in separate instances, because someone killed themselves or tried to while or after listening to their music. Does anyone really believe that no one ever killed him or herself while listening to Frank Sinatra? Of course they probably have. Would he have been sued over it? Of course not.

I've always felt that if someone was triggered to do something to him or herself or to someone else based on some form of media they had consumed, there was some problem there already, probably unidentified, that predisposed them to do whatever they did. Now, you can argue whether something that might affect an already predisposed person should be censored, but I think that direction is a dangerous place to go. You can't outlaw dinner knives because someone might stab someone with one.

 

[the smiling weirwood]

Of course you can! Let's outlaw water and hands while we're at. We wouldn't want anyone to drown or hit somebody, so we'll just remove the offending articles. It's much easier than giving swimming lessons or anger management classes!

 

[mosaix]

Man, this thing blew up fast. I had a lot to say but I can't find a place to jump in where I could be relevent. So.................. I'll just say that I've personally never run across a book that could inspire or convince me to do things that I previously felt I shouldn't do. No book can make me kill someone. (People who use the Bible or the Koran or any other book as an excuse to kill or hate or do anything would find another excuse) With apologies to the NRA "Books don't Kill People, People Kill People." Read a book, learn about it's author. If I don't like a book, I'll put it down. People would become inspired by a book to do something wrong are a stick of dynamite looking for someone to light their fuse. Mein Camp won't turn me into a Nazi and the Communist Manifesto won't convince me to give up my worldly goods and live in a commune. Read what you want. Be true to yourself. Can't go wrong.

Hi Steve

The thread wasn't intended to explore those arguements. The idea was that some books left images in your head that were unpleasant.

Mosaix

 

[steve12553]

Hi Steve

The thread wasn't intended to explore those arguements. The idea was that some books left images in your head that were unpleasant.

Mosaix

I'd be willing to bet that everybody's interpretation of the images is different. I am very visually oriented. I imagine things that are discribed to me very much differently that many other people because I'm not looking at it. Other people see exactly what the author describes to them as the author meant them to because of the way their brain interprets things. Also some authors are much better at driving an image home (either visual or metaphorical) and I believe that is a talent. Yes there are books that I have put down because the imagery bothered me. The last one I can think of was Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. The scenes of the creature exploding from the bowels where very well described and triggered something in me that made me put it down. It offended my sense of cleanliness. Nesacat in another thread within the last couple of days listed that book as one she recommended. I mention the book before in threads but I refer to it as one I can't read. Other people obviously can. I really think it's all very subjective.

 

[mosaix]

I really think it's all very subjective.

Very true Steve, but that's true of book recommendations as well.

I hesitate to say this Steve as it's exactly the opposite of what I intended, but why don't you read American Psycho to find out just what I meant? I'm sure you'll understand a lot better after you've read it.