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Best Novel Ever Written
Self
| June 25, 2002
| PJ-Comix
Posted on 06/25/2002 7:02:06 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
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To: Sword_of_Gideon
Catcher in the Rye a unique book. The "coming of age" niche it holds also sets it apart.
81
posted on
06/25/2002 9:15:32 PM PDT
by
luvbach1
To: Illbay
Right. To choose a great book it makes sense to start with a great author.
82
posted on
06/25/2002 9:17:03 PM PDT
by
luvbach1
To: PJ-Comix
High School is the biggest reason for the dearth of interest in great literature. High school kids are the wrong audience for Shakespeare. They hate everything. You enjoyed it later because you were ready.
To: JenB
FWIW, Connie Willis is hardly "new". I was reading her stuff in the mid-80s.
I'll check out some of the other stuff you mention, but you have to remember that I'm pretty skeptical in my old age.
Judging by the stuff that "wows" 'em at the SFBC site, it's pretty bleak out there.
84
posted on
06/25/2002 9:18:01 PM PDT
by
Illbay
To: Illbay
Well... nobody I know outside my immediate family knows her, which is weird since she has more Hugos and Nebulas than anyone needs. Did you read her novels? If you've only read her short stuff you have no idea what you're missing. I know you're skeptical, but really - how great was the "Golden Age"? We don't keep the bad stuff, and good stuff is always being written. If the fans would just through poseurs like Robert Jordan out on their ears... well, I think we're in for a renaissance, not a dying-out.
85
posted on
06/25/2002 9:20:36 PM PDT
by
JenB
To: Illbay
wouldn't argue with most of your picks, and I know you said list was not exhaustive, but to exclude Huck Finn from a list this long must have been an oversight.
86
posted on
06/25/2002 9:21:07 PM PDT
by
luvbach1
To: Bear_in_RoseBear
Probably excluded SF because the number of novels from which to choose is still enormous without it.
87
posted on
06/25/2002 9:22:58 PM PDT
by
luvbach1
To: Yardstick
Brazil is really far out.
88
posted on
06/25/2002 9:24:35 PM PDT
by
luvbach1
To: Yardstick
I agree that wisdom and eloquence abound on FR, but come down to earth by checking out DU posters' opinion of Freepers some time.
89
posted on
06/25/2002 9:28:08 PM PDT
by
luvbach1
To: PJ-Comix
When the heck did Asimov have the time to read? Amazing. Of course he must have read widely to have acquired the fund of knowledge he possessed.And he didn't have much extra time in his youth. He was published while still in his teens.
90
posted on
06/25/2002 9:33:45 PM PDT
by
luvbach1
To: Illbay
Just as what is funny is that which makes you laugh; a great book is that which entertains and moves you.
91
posted on
06/25/2002 9:35:45 PM PDT
by
luvbach1
To: luvbach1
Probably excluded SF because the number of novels from which to choose is still enormous without it. I don't think that was the reason SF was excluded.
To: JenB
...how great was the "Golden Age"? You have a point, but you must remember what had gone on before: Just junk; Dime novels and stuff they used to fill out the space between the covers of porn picture-books.
No, I am much, much more happy with the stuff from the 70s and 80s, volume-wise it was the most prolific yet consistently high-quality period.
Lots of good stuff in the last ten years, but all because the writers from the 70s and 80s were still writing.
Even now, it's true: Your prompting made me go ahead and order some stuff that looked promising; I'm going to try Harry Turtledove's "Future History" series about the Confederacy/USA, and I've ordered STILL MORE Discworld novels.
BTW, do you read Pratchett? If you are an SF/Fantasy fan, he will have you in stitches, his stuff is so funny. He takes on nearly ALL the stock devices of the SF/Fantasy genre and strings them together inside out.
The problem is, you HAVE to be an SF "insider" to appreciate it so I CAN'T SHARE MY MIRTH WITH SOMEONE LIKE MY WIFE, for instance, who has probably never read an SF novel since they made her read "Flowers for Algernon" in the Eleventh Grade.
Which reminds me: I've private-emailed you with some VERY confidential data, so take good care of it.
FReegards, I gotta hit the sack.
93
posted on
06/25/2002 9:49:29 PM PDT
by
Illbay
To: luvbach1
It's just personal preference, I guess. Did I like
Huck Finn? Yes, of course. But no more than I did
Tom Sawyer.
Since this is supposed to be our personal FAVORITE list, though, I'll have to try to mollify you by saying they go on the "second team."
94
posted on
06/25/2002 9:52:35 PM PDT
by
Illbay
To: Illbay
Finally, someone mentioned "Call of the Wild".
Though some moderns think that Jack London is passe`, I don't think so.
One of Americas truly immortal writers.
I even forgive his socialism, for at the time there was no income tax. I don't think he would have liked to pay taxes on book royalties.
95
posted on
06/25/2002 10:40:15 PM PDT
by
elbucko
To: PJ-Comix
"The Count of Monte Crisco," by Dumas
"The Floating Opera," by John Barth
To: WillaJohns
"The Count of Monte Crisco," by Dumas Wasn't that the book on which they they based "Grease"?
Comment #98 Removed by Moderator
To: PJ-Comix
I am amazed nobody here mentioned
The Thin Red Line and
Whistle, the second and third books of James Jones's fabulous
From Here to Eternity trilogy!
The best novel I ever read was Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer.
To: PJ-Comix
The Count of Monte Cristo, and it's lesser known sequel,
The King of Las Vegas probably top my list. But also on my list....
Dracula
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Wuthering Heights
War of the Worlds
The Time Machine
Red Storm Rising
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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