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Thread: Well respected books that you just don't like...

  1. #1
    Senior Member pemberly's Avatar
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    Default Well respected books that you just don't like...

    Are there any books out there that are generally regarded as "good" that you just can't get into?

    I've read Jane Eyre two or three times. I've even watched the movie with the very physically attractive Mr. Fassbender, but I just don't like it. The first time I read it, I was like, wow that was stupid. A few years later, I gave it another chance, but still could not force myself to appreciate it. Many people, especially women, cite it as one of their favorite books, and it is widely regarded as a classic, but to me, it's just so artificially emotional.

    So are there any books out there where you go against the norm?

    And I don't mean those twilight/50 shades teeny bopper fictions. Because you sure are kidding yourself if you think those are respectable.

    wow, i sound so elitist, hahahha.
    nytimes: Every hr you have 10 minutes where you’re not doing anything productive at work, & you can’t look at porn. So you make a comment & fulfill this desire to show yourself off as a smarty-pants.

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    Senior Member junny's Avatar
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    I hate The Great Gatsby. I loathe everything about it, so much so I refuse to touch another F Scott Fitzgerald novel.

    Jane Eyre is okay but a bit of a snooze. Never quite got into anything else written by the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen either.
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    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by junny View Post
    I hate The Great Gatsby. I loathe everything about it.
    THE GREAT GATSBY was OK, but it's vastly overrated. American literature teachers treat it (and Twain's HUCKLEBERRY FINN) as the end-all-be-all of American narrative fiction.

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    Senior Member MYF's Avatar
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    Might be a bit cliche, but 'War and Peace' - maaaaan... is that a hard slog. It took me 4 years to finish and I had to psych myself up before reading it every time.

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    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    I did "Great Expectations" for High School English and have hated it every since. I think his mastery of the English language is great but I got angry and annoyed at all the characters, especially Pip. Was so happy when Estella dumped him in the original plot, but Dickens changed his mind to give them an open ending. Each time I read about Miss Havisham, I was dreaming of Li Mo Chou, wishing some action might occur. I just severely disliked the book that I sold it to a junior as soon as exams were over. The Gwenyth Paltrow movie version did not help.
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
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    Moderator kidd's Avatar
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    I've never read the original version of Jane Eyre, only the retold version (retold, but, not simplified, I think. I plot is quite detailed). I remember not liking it at all. So, I've never tried the actual book. I wonder if I read it again so many years later, I would feel differently or not. Strangely, I totally dig Wuthering Heights written by the author's sister.
    什麼是朋友?朋友永遠是在你犯下不可原諒錯誤的時候,仍舊站在你那邊的笨蛋。~ 王亞瑟

    和諧唔係一百個人講同一番話,係一百個人有一百句唔同嘅說話,而又互相尊重 ~ - 葉梓恩

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    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
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    Wuthering Heights - the characters really irk me
    Great Expectations -YES, Pip and Estella
    Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
    What Maisie Knew by Henry James
    Wings of a Dove by Henry James (pretty much anything written by Henry James) just kills me. It's the way Henry James wrote his sentences and used grammar. Half of the time I'm not even sure I understood what I read and it was in English!!
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

    Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.

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