Most overrated classic - add your picks

[Supermodel]

I bow for Che started it::

Gone with the wind!

What books did your teachers insist were great and you hated?

I'll add some......

Alice in Wonderland (WTF???)
Everything by the Bronte sisters
Everything by Jane Austen
Thoughts of Chairman Mao
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
All that unbearable Greek Mythology, ALL OF IT
Catcher in the rye
Catch 22
Angel of Repose (Stegner...pulitzer prize, wtf????)
All of Oprah's picks

Just stop me now......

[pce]

OH NO! Catcher in the Rye?! Catch-22??!! Those are two of my favorite books! Noooooo!

well i hated The Grapes of Wrath. I can't stand the writing.

[PunkRawker677]

catcher in the rye is definitly not over-rated..
if you dont like it, thats a different thing..

and Greek Mythology is one of the most complicated and amazing parts of history and i personally admire it.

[Fabi]

i think herman melville, at least billy budd, is overrated...... i mean, even my english teacher hated it, but had to make us read it cause of some school policy crap or something...

[MJM]

The Hunch Back Of Notre Dame.
This was the biggest load of crap I've ever read and since then I refuse to read Victor Hugo. Maybe I missed the point somewhere along the way.

[I Will Deny You]

Flannery O'Connor.

[Nateddi]

I did not like catcher in the rye as well.

[RedRevolutionary87]

i really hated that one book, i forget what its called, but its about this one woman who owns a bunch of companies and shit, and eats all these expensive meals, but says shes a socialist because her companies arent very succesfull, and she trys to arange trade missions to cuba, and thinks its ok to celebrate che's brithday by eating expensive food and wearing expensive wonderbras. oh ya and the fact that she knows nothing about socialism has something to do with it too....hmmm i really cant seem to find the name of my book in my head but i hated it

[Field Marshal]

redrecolutionary, find out the name of that book. I want to know. haha, sounds really bad though.

[PunkRawker677]

I think its entitled "Biography of SuperModel".. hehehe..

[oconner]

aaaaaaah!!!! Flannery O'Connor??? Not a fellow O'Connor???? noooo

[vox]

Supermodel,

When you first came on board, I gave you a rough time. I'm sure you and I still disagree on most things. However, if I sounded at all like the people who are attacking you now, I apologize.

Now, as for your list, what are ya, nuts??? Alice and Wonderland is a delightful book, and Greek mythology is terribly entertaining (didn't you get to read the dirty stuff?). I've only read Wuthering Heights, but I quite enjoyed it, and how DARE you say ALL of Oprah's picks, when she picked Joyce Carol Oates, which rather surprised me. (Fact is, say what you want about Oprah, she got people reading again, and that's a good thing, plus, she picked some good writers, too. I know that in the fashionable politics of the literati, one must look down one's nose at Oprah's picks, line Jonathan Franzen did, but the fact is that these same people would call Shakespeare trash is Oprah recommended him. They are fashion whores of the worst order, chippying with art.)

Ahem.

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of Catcher, either.

My pick would probably be The Great Gatsby. I've read it several times and I have some real issues with that book, not the least of which is the narrator, who is completely unreliable as far as I can tell. Still, an important book.

Oh, and pce, a lot of people consider Steinbeck to be the greatest US author yet. I'd go with Hemingway, personally, but I can see their point.

vox

[peaccenicked]

The bible must be the most over-rated classic.
Many people still worship the main characters.

[pce]

vox, you're probably right about steinbeck. i started reading East of Eden in the bookstore and it was great (i'll have to read it later when i have the chance) i just couldn't stand Grapes of wrath. i don't know why.

also, i'd say the coolest thing about The Great Gatsby is that the narrator is completely unreliable. that's the beauty of it because that's how stories are told in real life. the narrator of stories in real life are never objective.

[anarhosocijalist]

Supermodel, I agree with you about Alice in wonderland , it is the worst children s book ever..
I had to read it whan I was aobut 9.... I didnt get anything
But Cacther in the rye and Greek mythology are not to be mocked..

[Fabi]

talking of alice in wonderland... i LOVE the computer game...
alice is in some sort of mental hospital and to get things sorted out again she goes into her schizophrenic wonderland world again, which looks pretty bad...

i bet some of you know it... i really like the feeling the game has...

[Menshevik]

Supermodel, your list is very. . . shall we say, "under-thought." Theres a difference between you not liking certain literature and it being over-rated. Only book I'd agree with is Tom Sawyer, but thats not considered as much of a classic as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

[abstractmentality]

supermodel,
i must agree with you on the bronte sisters and jane austen. my english teacher this year didnt like their writing, but made us read some of their stuff. i thought of it as one of the biggest waste of my time ever.

[peaccenicked]

Alice in wonderland. over rated. hhhmmmmmmmmmmm
rabbits.

[Menshevik]

The thing you have to remember about Bronte and Austen is that they were female writers in the mid-19th century. We're not used to the verbose style of the 1800s, so most people instantly write their books off as crap, but they are truly amazing catalogues in the annals of literature. As women, their writing subjects were somewhat limited. They felt that they could only write about the plights of women (particularly upperclass women which neither of them ever were).

[abstractmentality]

Bronte and austen do not interest me whatsoever. you also must remember that they were paid by the word, something that may have influenced the long style of writing. from what i have read of them, it seems like an old soap opera. its like beowolf, yes its the oldest piece of "english" literature, but does that make it a great piece? in my opinion, no, it was crap. please menshevik, do not take offense, as i mean none to you whatsoever.

[vox]

Menshevik,

A lot of people have a hard time with Marx because of that style of writing. These were Victorian times, folks. Personally, I like it.

The Brontes originally wrote under male pseudonyms, so being female did not, from that standpoint, limit their subjects. (Damn interesting family, the Brontes, very odd folks.)

Austen inserted a lot of very biting satire into her work, as I recall.

I've noticed that unless something is very easy to read and has virtually no artistry, people find it difficult and, therefore, they say it "sucks," with their usual insight. I, of course, blame it on TV, but I also, especially in the States, blame it on an anti-intellectualism that is deeply embedded in the culture, which, I think, can be traced back to a hatred of the female. Weren't the smart kids in your class all called "faggots?" Indeed, to admit to liking poetry or opera is to have your manhood questioned, for this is the province of the female, who is flighty and emotional and worthless.

But I'm off on a tangent. The point is, classics are generally better stories. Hemingway really is better, on many levels, than Stephen King. Shakespeare really is better than Anne Rice (hell, a semi-bright eighth grader is better than Anne Rice,) and Dostoevsky is better than Tom Clancy. These are eternal truths. So sayeth the keepers of the Really Good Stuff.

Oh, by the way, Wuthering Heights got terrible reviews when it came out, because it didn't offer the reader the traditional morality of the time. In fact, it's very much like a modern novel in that regard, for the wicked don't really get punished, and the good, if it can be said there are any good people in that novel, don't get rewarded. There is, however, a much needed, though slight, hint of hope at the end.

vox (pretentious art snob)

[peaccenicked]

The brontes wrote about brutalities but where cast as romantics.
One of the biggest unrecognised influences on Marx is Romanticism. The best essay on the net that goes into the issues, that have long been a vital concern of English cultural theory is here.
http://home.thirdage.com/education/ralphda...d/lindsay1.html (http://home.thirdage.com/education/ralphdavid/lindsay1.html)

[Menshevik]

Who wrote Mill on the Floss? Can't remember his name. See, Vox agrees with me!

[Supermodel]

SWL!!! At least we all know this is a topic where we can safely disagree!!!

Redrevolutionary the book you are thinking of is called the Wall Street Journal. I hate that rag too. Goddammit, I still pretend to read it every day just because it impresses my staff. They pissed me off today by saying something mean about my company. Not nice, WSJ!!!

I'm gonna add one that isn't even a classic, just because the movie just came out......

Ya Ya Sisterhood!!!! I cannot believe I actually made myself finish reading that piece of crap!!!

Agree with vox on the hemmingway perspective and that stupid Gatsby book.

[peaccenicked]

The Mill and the Floss was written by a woman who used the male psuedonym George eliot
Here is a summary of the text
http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/21/48/frameset.html

(Edited by peaccenicked at 1:26 am on June 11, 2002)

[abstractmentality]

i think that austen is something that you either like or dont, and some people here like it, while i and a few others dont. i must say though, that i did like what i read of charlotte bronte more.

[DestinDisaster]

first of all... I love Catcher in the rye. That has to be the best book I have ever read in school. I like Greek mythology, but I didn't care for too many of the novels/epics. The book that I didn't really like this year was 1984. I know many of you will disagree with me. I think the concept was brillant, but hi writting style put me to sleep many times. Each to his own I suppose.

Come to think of it, I haven't really read any good books in a long time. Although I do enjoy some Ann Rice stuff, you know, if you like cheesy fiction novels. But hey, I think the Vampire Chronicles are interesting stories in itself.

[guerrillaradio]

1984 and The Catcher in the Rye are both classics, this is bullshit. Agreed on Austen and Bronte though. I happen to think that Marx is quite overrated myself, but this is bound to be controversial. As a historical source, it is interesting, but as a template for societal and economic change, it is outdated, old-fashioned and slighlty simplistic.

[deadpool 52]

Definitely Mark Twain.

Jane Austen, Tennessee Williams, Charles Dickens, and of course, Shakespeare.

[suffianr]

Salman Rushdie belongs at the bottom of this barrel. I mean, death threats sure boosted book sales, but there's got to be more than that, aye?

[I Bow 4 Che]

billions of people are going to flame me for saying this but.....Shakespeare . Im not saying he's a horrible writer he is amazing because Im actually a writer myself and I understand and greatly respect his writing BUT (yes here it comes) we have people saying he is the greatest writer of ALL time and there will never be a better one...wtf is that? he is definitly more than one of the best writers but still I mean come on his name is now a household word for a writing geek! There are so many other great writers out there...oh and supermodel YES! thank you for bringing up gone with the wind...HORRIBLE

[Napalm Dust]

Catch 22 was one of the funniest and craziest book I've read.
Definately not over-rated.

[andresG]

My choice is sure to offend a lot of people. I know many people consider her the greatest writer of all time but this is my choice.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise.

I know what your going to say:
"This book changed the course of history"
"Margaret Wise is God!"
"How dare you insult the greatest piece of literature!"

But this is my pick and I wull stick with it.

[timbaly]

i must say that alice in wonderland is somewhat overated and underated at once. it's taken too lightly due to the disney movie but i didn't think it was a very good book either

[Supermodel]

LMAO!!!!!

Readers, you be the judge (don't forget to read it out loud, that's the point)

Goodnight Moon
Story by Margaret Wise Brown

Pictures by Clement Hurd



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red ballon
And a picture of-
The cow jumping over the moon

And there were three little bears sitting on chairs

And two little kittens
And a pair of mittens

And a little toyhouse
And a young mouse

And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush

And a quiet old lady who was whispering "hush"

Goodnight room

Goodnight moon

Good night cow jumping over the moon

Goodnight light
And the red balloon
Goodnight bears
Goodnight chairs

Goodnight kittens

And goodnight mittens

Goodnight clocks
And goodnight socks

Goodnight little house

And goodnight mouse

Goodnight comb
And goodnight brush

Goodnight nobody

Goodnight mush

And goodnight to the old lady whispering "hush"

Goodnight stars

Goodnight air

Goodnight noises everywhere



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodnight Moon is copyrighted in 1947 and is available from Harper and Row, Publishers, Incorporated

[andresG]

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is filthier than a Michael Jackson impersanator with green feet.

[Socialmalfunction]

ohh one book i found particularly rotten was A Seperate Peace. umm it was by john knowles. worst damn book i've ever read. we had to read it in class and i couldnt stand it. it just got soo boring. all 70 people in my class agreed that the book sucked. ill add more when they come to mind