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On February 22 2013 06:19 Lokj wrote:Show nested quote +On February 22 2013 05:55 Xiphos wrote:On February 22 2013 03:36 sam!zdat wrote:
The books that you read in english class are not very good, because good books are dangerous, and they don't want you reading dangerous books (and they can't really have any sex or drugs in them, which makes it hard to pick books). they also have to cater to a lowest-common denominator (we are not a very literate society, kids will complain if they have to read more than a handful of pages for one assignment).
I never much liked anything I read in school, just the books I read outside of school. I'm not exactly sure where that thought of yours came about but in my High School English classes, we had some great English literature books to be discussed. We read stuff like Catcher in the Rye, a book about a runaway teenagers which contained prostitution and the boy drinking an unusual amount of alcohol. Then there was A Streetcar Named Desire, powerful man getting the best of the women that he come around sexually and physically abused his wife. Despite these, he still emerged as a winner in the finale. There was Hunger Games which you can argue about rebellion and such. The last I remembered reading then was actually Mein Kampf, which I suppose is very known work by Hitler. Personally I think those are very well written and contain many violent acts that excited me a lot. It must have been your school(s) then. Mein Kampf discussed in a class about English literature? What? Besides being a German book, i've also heard it's not well written, but just interesting to read because it's written by Hitler. Sorry for derailing the thread 
Its the end of term, we had to choose any book (have to be affirmed by the teach) to write a book report on and I chose Mein Kampf as mine.
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On February 22 2013 07:24 xDaunt wrote:
I need a new epic story to read. I don't care if it is fantasy, sci-fi, or whatever. I'd prefer something relatively contemporary. I just plowed through the Malazan series (decent enough) and am current on A Song of Ice and Fire (I have a love-hate relationship with this series), so you don't need to mention those.
Any suggestions?
I am finishing up The First Law Trilogy and it was very good. One of the best fantasy series I have read since ASOIAF. Dagger and Coin by Abraham is also a fantastic fantasy series.
What has spawned your love hate relationship with ASOIAF
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On February 22 2013 07:47 Syn Harvest wrote:
What has spawned your love hate relationship with ASOIAF
book 4, would be my guess
On February 22 2013 07:08 Azera wrote:
How's it so far?
idk bro i just started it. lessig has already committed the fallacy of thinking that "the state" and "the market" are opposed to one another, but maybe he can redeem himself.
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On February 22 2013 07:48 sam!zdat wrote:Show nested quote +On February 22 2013 07:47 Syn Harvest wrote:
What has spawned your love hate relationship with ASOIAF book 4, would be my guess idk bro i just started it. lessig has already committed the fallacy of thinking that "the state" and "the market" are opposed to one another, but maybe he can redeem himself.
Book 4 is kinda slow and it annoyed me but i enjoyed it much more the second time I read it. It is the weakest book in the series but it is also a necessity. Plus book 4 was awesome because - - - redacted by Moderator - - -
User was warned for this post
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I love the rich characters that Martin has created in the series. I hate the fact that Martin is a sadistic prick who treats most of them like dog shit. He really is a sick bastard.
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United States13896 Posts
On February 22 2013 08:00 Syn Harvest wrote:Show nested quote +On February 22 2013 07:48 sam!zdat wrote:On February 22 2013 07:47 Syn Harvest wrote:
What has spawned your love hate relationship with ASOIAF book 4, would be my guess On February 22 2013 07:08 Azera wrote:
How's it so far? idk bro i just started it. lessig has already committed the fallacy of thinking that "the state" and "the market" are opposed to one another, but maybe he can redeem himself. Book 4 is kinda slow and it annoyed me but i enjoyed it much more the second time I read it. It is the weakest book in the series but it is also a necessity. - - - redacted by Moderator - - -
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
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On February 22 2013 13:05 p4NDemik wrote:Show nested quote +On February 22 2013 08:00 Syn Harvest wrote:On February 22 2013 07:48 sam!zdat wrote:On February 22 2013 07:47 Syn Harvest wrote:
What has spawned your love hate relationship with ASOIAF book 4, would be my guess On February 22 2013 07:08 Azera wrote:
How's it so far? idk bro i just started it. lessig has already committed the fallacy of thinking that "the state" and "the market" are opposed to one another, but maybe he can redeem himself. Book 4 is kinda slow and it annoyed me but i enjoyed it much more the second time I read it. It is the weakest book in the series but it is also a necessity. - - - redacted by Moderator - - - FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
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On February 22 2013 03:36 sam!zdat wrote:
The books that you read in english class are not very good, because good books are dangerous, and they don't want you reading dangerous books (and they can't really have any sex or drugs in them, which makes it hard to pick books). they also have to cater to a lowest-common denominator (we are not a very literate society, kids will complain if they have to read more than a handful of pages for one assignment).
I never much liked anything I read in school, just the books I read outside of school.
Sorry, but I wholeheartedly disagree. I should probably start by saying that my experience is not the average english class (I went to a private high school and we had some excellent english teachers) but the books that we read were the sort of quintessential english class books. They were also some of my favorite books that I have read to this point. I really liked the Great Gatsby, which I read in HS english, short stories by hemmingway, bridge over San Luis Rey was amazing as well as mrs. dalloway. They're definitely different from the kind of book that I pick up from a library or a bookstore just to have something to read in that they're denser and generally have less action, but I don't think they're bad books. As for sex, drugs, and other risque topics I think that english class is one of relatively few places in a modern day high school where you CAN get away with talking about it, and lots of the books that I read throughout HS did broach the topic(s).
Sorry if you didn't have a great experience with them. I love english class books. I just wanted to make sure that the person who originally asked the question knew what kind of book it was.
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man, idk, I was just trying to explain to corum why the guy put a "but"
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I think the HS book list is fine, though I can't say I honestly enjoyed many of the books I read. What they should do is encourage more students to read academic secondary lit. Assign an article alongside a chapter of the book, etc.
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it's so hard to find criticism that's appropriate level
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On February 22 2013 14:33 sam!zdat wrote:
man, idk, I was just trying to explain to corum why the guy put a "but"
Sorry to go off on you, maybe you just had a shitty english class. I just think it would be sad if he didn't read a classic like gatsby because he though english class books are bad. btw, I'm the guy who put the "but".
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hey man, don't get all intentional fallacy on me. I tell YOU what you meant 
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If on a winter's night a traveler - Italo Calvino.
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/47/IfOnAWintersNight.jpg/220px-IfOnAWintersNight.jpg)
Actually I finish on the last week. It is fun, really worth if you are looking for some modern art in literature or just something different.
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^love that book
edit: read also The Baron in the Trees, The Nonexistent Knight, The Cloven Viscount
edit: that's the least oulipo-y of his stuff
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I loved ASOIAF until Book 4. I did not finish it, and stopped reading the series as I was afraid that Martin was doing a Jordan and losing control of his story. I hear Book 5 marked a semi-return to form and that the next book may mark a return to the narrative pace of Book 1 - 3. I do understand the digressions that necessitated Book 4 and Book 5 but I still can't be bothered reading them. I may get around to reading them before Book 6 comes out. But, for now, I don't have the inclination.
I recommend First Man in Rome as I have said elsewhere in this thread. King's Shawshank Redemption is a cool novella.
However, if you want something really light, try P G Wodehouse. The funniest (English) writer I have ever read (it's a no contest, really) and a master of the craft of writing. Wodehouse has few peers, and no superior, when it comes to writing. He was a genius. You could do no wrong in starting with The Code of the Woosters - which is one of his finest.
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![[image loading]](http://jacketupload.macmillanusa.com/jackets/high_res/jpgs/9780812515282.jpg)
edit:@below
On February 22 2013 17:11 Cambium wrote:
Standing on Zanzibar, Dune series, and possibly Red Mars and more Dan Simmons.
nice taste  (it's Stand on Zanzibar, though, so no one gets confused. John Brunner is a recent new favorite of mine!
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Great, thanks for the recommendation. I've got the book shelved.
I'll start First Man in Rome, and work from there. This year, I really want to read more sci-fi/fantasy, so this is definitely a good starting point.
I hope to have time to read Stand on Zanzibar, Dune series, and possibly Red Mars and more Dan Simmons.
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EPT
