Books You Shouldn't Read

[jackokent]

Can't believe this thread is still going.

And still talking about the Bible too

 

[j d worthington]

BUT!... You'll note, with considerably less contentiousness!

 

[mosaix]

BUT!... You'll note, with considerably less contentiousness!

People mellow as they get older. I certainly have. Any anyone who says I haven't is in BIG trouble!

 

[shadow9d9]

The Hobbit
Something Wicked this Way Comes
Deed of Paksenarrion
Crystal Singer
The Rowan
Ilium

 

[HoopyFrood]

I'm reading the Bible at the moment...well, the Genesis section. And trying the analyse the language techniques for an essay...needless to say it's not going well.

I didn't enjoy The curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime. In fact, I gave up half way through.
But other than that, I don't think there's anything I've been particularly appalled with.

 

[BookStop]

Hoopyfrood - I could see why the curious incident... could leave you frustrated. The writing style was definitely different, but I have to say, I thought the book was very good for that same reason.

I read The Magician's Tale by David Hunt yesterday. Not one of my favorite reads (really I hated it- don't know why I was compelled to read the whole thing) although some people must like it as it made the New York Times Notable Book list.

 

[Joel007]

Don't read anything with the word "barbie" in. although, that goes without saying really.

 

[Alia]

Don't read anything with the word "barbie" in. although, that goes without saying really.

Thank god I have boys... and one tom girl.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Bookstop - I don't actually mind a different style, but you are right in how I just couldn't get used to that book. I don't know what actually turned me away from it...but turn away I did!

 

[Green]

I haven't read the whole thread, sorry, but just wanted to go back to mosaix's example of American Psycho from waaaaaay back (the beginning, in fact).

I can see why you (mosaix) would have preferred not to have read it, and it doesn't leave many pleasant images in your head, but I for one am glad that I read it.

It's harsh, it's brutal, and it's cold. Most, if not all, of the characters are morally bankrupt and fundamentally hateful, but that's kind of what makes it interesting. Even if it isn't a true window into a real psychopath's mind, it is certainly a window into Bret Easton Ellis' mind at the time he was writing it, and I found that fascinating. I also was thankful that none of the events in the book have ever happened to me or those I care about.

The first bit of violence in it, against a tramp and his dog, I think, made me put the thing down and take a breather, because it came completely out of the blue (I knew what the book was about, but until that point there was no hint to the main character's true nature, at least not that I can remember). Immediately afterwards, it went straight into a review of a Whitney Houston album. Parts of the book are sick, most of it is disturbing to some degree, but I don't regret reading it.

Maybe I have the desensitizing capabilities of horror movies to thank for this, but I didn't really dwell on the book afterwards, only while I was reading it. So yeah, I see where you're coming from, but I actually liked it.

PS - I am not a sick, maladjusted freak Or am I?

PPS - I do wish I hadn't seen the film, though. That was one crappy film.

 

[Storm Centurion]

This thread may be almost dead but hear goes...

My pick is a tie between Eragon by Christopher Paolini and Aztec by Gary Jennings(not fantasy, historical fiction)

In the case of Eragon, since I borrowed it from the library, I can't claim to want my money back but I do want all of the 4 hours I invested in it back. I couldn't finish it by the way. It was just astoundingly bad. It was said here before that it is basically a pastiche of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. That is kind of on the mark. You can basically take the plot of Star Wars, insert it into a blatantly ripped off Tolkien-like world and see what you get...

Boy raised on the frontier gets pulled into a battle with an evil emperor, inherits a magic sword and learns to use it from an old master then goes off to use said sword against the Deathstar, er,I mean the Emperor's army. And the dragon he rides has all the personaliy of an X-wing fighter...

Aztec is my second pick but for a different reason. I found it very well written and interesting at first. I was mildly disturbed by the descriptions of human sacrifice but I got past it.

Then towards the middle the story took a very dark turn with description of a rich woman who would abuse, rape, corrupt and kill whoever she picked among the commoners. The way it was told so disturbed me that I had to put it down and was never able to pick it up again.

 

[mosaix]

I haven't read the whole thread, sorry, but just wanted to go back to mosaix's example of American Psycho from waaaaaay back (the beginning, in fact).

I can see why you (mosaix) would have preferred not to have read it, and it doesn't leave many pleasant images in your head, but I for one am glad that I read it.

It's harsh, it's brutal, and it's cold. Most, if not all, of the characters are morally bankrupt and fundamentally hateful, but that's kind of what makes it interesting. Even if it isn't a true window into a real psychopath's mind, it is certainly a window into Bret Easton Ellis' mind at the time he was writing it, and I found that fascinating. I also was thankful that none of the events in the book have ever happened to me or those I care about.

The first bit of violence in it, against a tramp and his dog, I think, made me put the thing down and take a breather, because it came completely out of the blue (I knew what the book was about, but until that point there was no hint to the main character's true nature, at least not that I can remember). Immediately afterwards, it went straight into a review of a Whitney Houston album. Parts of the book are sick, most of it is disturbing to some degree, but I don't regret reading it.

Maybe I have the desensitizing capabilities of horror movies to thank for this, but I didn't really dwell on the book afterwards, only while I was reading it. So yeah, I see where you're coming from, but I actually liked it.

PS - I am not a sick, maladjusted freak Or am I?

PPS - I do wish I hadn't seen the film, though. That was one crappy film.

Green,

Not seen this post until just now, so apologies for not replying sooner.

Thanks for a constructive, interesting and alternative view on American Psyco.

I can't say I agree with you, but we're all friends here.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Well, I'm not an advocate of any kind of censorship or boycotting of any nature. I've read plenty of bad writing - either for what it promulgated being repellent to my intellect and nature or it had an impoverishment of content and style that bored me to the point where suicide was contemplated - but I would never instigate a boycott. Recommendations, yes. And here are some choice ones coming down the pike as we speak . . . .

Au contraire, mon cher, I'd herald it and hold it up to public scrutiny - thus humiliating these boneheads and bastards for inflicting this dreck on their fellow species. Ladies and Gentlemen of the court, I submit to you it's all about turning lemons into lemonade. Some of the finest misfires have conjured comedy of almost sidesplitting intensity from the rubble that resulted: they're the unwanted, feral love children produced of an unholy union, when Incompetance and Insensitivity grope and fumble at each other in the dark void of Ignorance. Here's a few examples from the abyssmal depths of the Chiarelli Studios' Archives:

This epic tale concerns an experiment by our masterminds over at the Pentagon to train a crack cadre of chimps into an efficent military unit. Part of their training regimen includes being tortured by ethnic Chinese personel in an attempt to turn them into homicidal killing machines against Chinese communist troops, profiling their targets by odour recognition alone. A lost masterpiece of the Western literary canon (Soldier of Fortune division), it's rumoured that Donald Rumsfeld himself was so impressed with this book that he's now considering reviving, updating and applying Mr. Stanley's ideas to Iraq, Iran and North Korea. War and Peace it ain't folks.

Scuttlebutt has it that no less a personage than Rush Limbaugh had a hand in the penning of this tome . . . . while on Seconal and Vicodin with a double scotch chaser. Destined to become a classic of conservative literature. Right down there with McCarthyism: The Fight for America, Godless: The Church of Liberalism, The Secret Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Mein Kampf. Not for the crybaby, pantywaist, tree-hugger crowd, but for that manly man who knows how to take a North Korean strontium enema up the old missle silo and still laugh about it!

I believe that if you have to read the Bible (and here I must state that the only worthwhile take is the King James version for its gorgeous use of the English language that rivals Shakespeare) that the most constructive way to approach it is to see it clearly for what it is: literature and ancient mythology that had a significant influence on Western civilization (generally for the worse!) - not absolutist truth. However, I would NEVER ban or boycott this book (or any others for that matter) even though I was a confirmed agnostic by the age of 12 (and my father - in return for my insight and contrarian views - offered to kill me if I didn't start believing in God. How very Christian of him. Also, how quintessentially American, too.).

By the way, I find Chuck Palahniuk's work conversely disturbing, riveting and intensely stimulating to thought, which is the point, of course, and what also embues it with true power. Accordingly I think his stuff is quite worthwhile and I would recommend it in a heart beat.

 

[ScottSF]

Thank you for the post Curt. Both harsh and emotional. You are not alone in rejecting that popular mythology. The more I know about it, the stranger it seems that people actually believe it's the absolute truth, especially the ones that actually have read it. There's a fun sight called theinfidelguyshow.com. They have interviews and stuff. Sometimes I like listening to the show or readin the post but sometimes it just agrivates my frustration. It was nice to know how 'not alone' I am though. I could ramble on but mainly just wanted to say I enjoyed the post.

The news just said there's some "shocking news from mars" something about water I think.

Peace

 

[Telperaca]

Books You Should Definately Read!!!!!!!!

The Hobbit

 

[j d worthington]

Indeed, thanks for the post, Curt. You know, I do remember seeing that World War III volume out years ago... Glad I never read it...

As for the other aspects you mention ... I didn't go through that, but I certainly saw enough of the emotionally damaging side to be quite tetchy on the subject. On the subject of the Bible itself, I've put in my two cents elsewhere ... but, for a recap: Yes, I think that it should be read in the same class as other mythologies, and the KJV is certainly among the most beautifully rendered things in English. (Pity there's not such a superior translation for the apocrypha, which is often quite interesting stuff in itself.) As a work of art, it truly is one of the great books, and I'm glad I am able to read it without the majority of the emotional baggage....

No, I'm not a fan of censorship, but one thing I have come to believe strongly is that with liberty comes responsibility. If you wish to have the freedom of speech, you need to practice responsibility in your use of same; if for no other reason than to retain it, as the more it is abused, the more likely that the majority will not flinch as various groups are silenced, until the freedom to speak is ever-more-tightly circumscribed ... something this nation has seen more than once in its history, and is likely to see again. (Note: this freedom does not have to be officially outlawed to be taken away. Unspoken laws are often much more powerful and pervasive than those that are formally on the books.)

 

[mosaix]

About the above few posts. I wasn't suggesting a ban or a boycott. The purpose of starting this thread was as follows:

There seemed to be lots of threads promoting books and authors and I just thought there should be one that gave people the chance to have a say about those books that had had a negative influence on them.

Some books do require a health warning and I'm not talking about bad writing or poor grammar. I think I said at the start of the thread that American Psycho had left me with thoughts and images in my head that I whish weren't there, that I would never have dreamt or imagined in a million years without Bret Easton Elliss's help. Read it at your peril.

 

[Allegra]

Curt, thanks for your post.

Mosaix, there's nothing wrong with the thread.

 

[mosaix]

Curt, thanks for your post.

Mosaix, there's nothing wrong with the thread.

I know, I was defending myself. I didn't start the thread suggesting boycotts or bans and I wanted to make sure people understood that.

 

[j d worthington]

I know, I was defending myself. I didn't start the thread suggesting boycotts or bans and I wanted to make sure people understood that.

I haven't gone back through all the posts here in quite some time, but my impression is that that was not the case; however, like all such topics, it tends to branch out as people explore the different aspects of it all, so it's not surprising that the idea began to be discussed.

Nevertheless ... as you say, it never hurts to clarify your position, just in case. And it is a good topic for discussion....