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Chris OConnor 
Rhodes Scholar
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Joined: 20 Oct 2000
Posts: 6488
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 Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:47 am Post subject:
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What exactly is the definition of literary fiction? Aren't all fiction books literary fiction?
It is amazing how much influence a review can have on my desire to read a book. With limited reading time available, and so many books available, I am very picky about what I am willing to pick up and read. Both Wicked and The Keep are books I was considering.... |
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Randy Kadish
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Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:12 am Post subject:
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Yes, the term literary fiction is hard to define. I should have been more specific. By literary fiction I mean fiction that is aimed for a small, intellectual/academic audience. Generally, these works are weak on plots.
If you read fiction in the New Yorker magazine you know what I'm referring to.
Randy |
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Constance963
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Joined: 20 Nov 2007
Posts: 153
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| Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:11 pm Post subject:
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| Ophelia wrote: |
Constance wrote:
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| I unfortunately had trouble getting into "Heart of Darkness" but I may give it another try |
Constance, have you seen the reference Carly gave about the audio version at project Gutenberg?
I'm sure you don't want to miss the discussion about Heart of Darkness.
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/9343
Have you seen the film "Apocalypse Now"?
At this stage we are still discussing the book and I am wondering whether people will want to discuss the film as well.
I'd like to. |
I did, thanks for the link Ophelia. I have a tendancy to zone out when listening to books being read to me - I've found it's better for me to read them myself because I can concentrate better. I have a wandering mind 
I have not seen "Apocalypse Now" myself, but if people are interesed in discussing it, I'm sure I can pick up a rental copy. |
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ralphinlaos
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Joined: 17 Mar 2008
Posts: 161
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Location: Thakhek, Laos
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| Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:43 pm Post subject:
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It's really amazing, isn't it? One man's meat is another man's poison, I guess. When I love a book or have just finished one I really enjoyed, I want to shout it to the world - only to find that half the world doesn't care and the other half doesn't agree with me.
I love Dickens - except for A Tale of Two Cities - I just found it too long and I had a difficult time keeping the characters and locations straight in my mind. But read David Copperfield or Great Expectations - terrific stories well told.
Stephen King? Well, I loved him once upon a time so he'll always have a place in my heart. I agree with the person who said Gerald's Game was unreadable - I never did finish it. But he did write Carrie and Misery and 'Salem's Lot and Dolores Claiborne and . . . .
Someone doesn't like Catcher in the Rye; I'm sorry, that's just about blasphemy in my book. Do you know, there are actually people out there who don't think that To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic? Really, there are! And Miss Bronte's Wuthering Heights - even it has it's detractors.
I kid you not! There's just no pleasing some people!
And yet . . . and yet! James Patterson sells very well. So does Norah Roberts. Have there ever been worse (less talented) writers in the English language.? Who? V.C. Andrews, perhaps?
Thank God for John Irving! And thank John Irving, while we're at it, for his wonderful books. I'm sure you'll all agree with me, right?
Ralph |
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Indigo
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Joined: 12 Apr 2008
Posts: 16
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Location: Baltimore, MD
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:28 am Post subject:
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| ralphinlaos wrote: |
| Someone doesn't like Catcher in the Rye; I'm sorry, that's just about blasphemy in my book. Do you know, there are actually people out there who don't think that To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic? |
 Reverse the two titles and you have my opinion! I read Catcher in the Rye the summer after I turned fourteen and kept waiting for something to happen.... When I finished it, I stormed into the kitchen and demanded my mother tell me why people liked it so much. However, in all fairness, I think I should reread it--I'd probably like it better now.
I was also shocked to find my senior year of high school that I really liked both Moby Dick and Heart of Darkness. (I've read HoD, three times, which seems crazy even to me....)
I've tried twice to read Wicked, however, without ever making it past half-way. And I've never had much appreciation for Jane Austin, even growing up in a family who adores her. |
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bolsen1
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Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 11
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:13 am Post subject:
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| I bought a copy of Tolstoy's War and Peace, figuring I should read it to become "well rounded," but it never sustained my interest. That's strange because I have read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though when I pick it up today I wonder how I ever got through it. |
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jaywalker
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Joined: 07 Apr 2008
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 8:25 am Post subject: What Books Do You Dislike?
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| Henry James and Grahame Green. Fillistine or Wot ? |
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BabyBlues
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Joined: 29 Jun 2008
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject: Moby Dick
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I am also in the anti-Moby Dick camp. You may disagree but I find a whole chapter about just how white the whale is to be overkill... and this is from someone who likes symbolism.
Another pretty bad read was Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin. I had to read it for a grad class and I think that is the only reason one would ever pick it up. A classmate of mine renamed it "melmoth the wonder-why-anyone-would-read-this." |
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