Thanks for your input. Good discussion no matter what one's particular slant on it. :)
--- caligula1995 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I think you've missed the point of the thread. Possible. I thought I was answering a specific question, though, which was asking what makes a book "great" or gets it labeled "classic." The post that got my attention most provocatively was the one in which the reader expressed: "Every so often I decide I "need" to read books by great writers. ... Every time I do this I am thoroughly disappointed. Then I wonder...is it just me??? These are supposed to be great writers, so what am I missing?" > Those posting so far > have been saying that they've been avoiding > other works by "classic" > authors because they hadn't liked the ONE book > the author is now known > for only to find later that the prefer the > works that have fallen by > the wayside. Ok, if that's the point, then again, there's something to it, but I still gotta defend the canons as taught. > The "classics" that we study now > tend to be the books > where the authors broke with their traditional > styles and tried > something different (whether or not they were > successful with that > attempt). Can't say as I see that as a significant trend. > > For example, while I adore the works of Twain, > Hawthorne and > Fitzgerald, I find my least favorites of their > works to be the ones > that are now deamed "classics", namely, Huck > Finn, The Scarlet Letter, > and The Great Gatsby. Huck Finn is my favorite Twain work, has been since I was a child. Don't see it as a departure really - lots of Twain's works were different from others. Which specifically were your favorites? > I would argue that NONE > of their other books are > "fast food." They are all quite complex and > thought provoking. Ok. > They are also BETTER written and MORE FUN to read. Like what, specifically? LLR Cheryl Share books, share fun! See: http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/cherylllr Have you told a friend today? http://bookcrossing.com/tellafriend Archives and email list settings: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
