What are you reading? (Literature)

[Bucephalus]

By the way, why the hell do so many people here like Atlas Shrugged?

Fucking disgusting.

[Akumu]

Maybe becausewe all have our own opinions to what we like, and just because you don't like it doesn't make it wrong for other people to.

Let the record show that I have not read it, so I do not have an opinion on it.

[Animesoccer]

Does anyone know of any literature books(and i'm talking about lit books you would actually see and analyze in an english class) that have happy endings besides

Spoiler:

i haven't actually read Pride And Prejudice, but my friends made me see the movie. If it is anything like the movie it has a happy ending. Also Tom Sawyer...

I'm guessing most don't since they are pretty much showing the faults of society. It's interesting though. Use spoiler tags for the names of the books and don't actually say the ending if you choose to answer.

[Cream-of-Chicken]

Harry Potter is one of if not the best Book Series of the last 10 years.
Twilight is overhyped, as most of the media and hype about it is about Robert Pattinson.

This first statement is true, and if anyone would like to counter this, I would be happy to hear their suggestions as to what else might be.
I read Twilight and thought it was okay. I read New Moon and hated it. Eclipse was worst, and Breaking Dawn hit an all-time low. The movies ended any attraction to the series I had.

Harry Potter is what got me, and a lot of peope my age, into reading. Whether or not it's "Literature" doesn't matter.
However, it has all the archetypes of classic literature, and, as my old english teach liked to say, all the characteristics of an epic.
Other people will disagree with this statement and that's perfectly fine; to each his own.

Whether it's this or that, it's still a fun read, and something I will definitely read to my kids one day.

Quoted for truth. And I really don't think I need to say much more.

I think the worst book I've ever read is Great Expectations.

Right now, I am reading Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Not actually literature, I know, but it's what I'm reading.

I'm with you one that. Never really liked much of Dickens' works.
How is Thus Spoke Zarathustra? That sounded like an interesting read when I learned about it.

Well, I could really go into depth, but I'll just keep it simple; it's just mediocre storytelling. I actually think the background (Rowling was a destitute pregnant woman who needed money or something) is more interesting than the series itself. Really, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with the series itself if it wasn't for the ravenous and terrible fans it's amassed over the years. There's loads of bias in my thinking because of that. Popularity contributes to the problem (not saying that popular books are bad; just that it's ridiculous that such a poorly written CHILDREN's book has been loved and adored by people above the age of 13). As long as someone doesn't claim Harry Potter is a fantastically written tome of previously unexplored wisdom and creativity, then I don't have too many gripes with that person; it's the point when he/she has read almost nothing else yet still raves about Harry Potter as if they've spent an entire lifetime searching for the perfect book and HP has achieved said title.

...yes, the fans can be irritating. But so are the Twilight fans. And the Naruto fans, and some Star Wars fans...you get some for every fanbase. I, too, tend to let that blind me from seeing a series in a neutral light, enough so that I can get a good look at the series in order to figure out if I like it myself or not; with Harry Potter, I ended up loving the series so much at an early age, so I...ignored the fans. Until very recently. Love some, hate some.

One Piece has issues with popularity, also, as it's been discussed; the series has lasted a long time, will the popularity effect the ending, blah blah blah....and there are people on this forum, including myself, who are over thirteen that love and adore the series, that is aimed at boys ages 12-15. Both series have issues in them that address the older audience the authors are not unconscious of; Harry was in the middle of a war filled with prejudice against Muggle-borns, giants, and werewolves--Luffy's world has a blatantly screwed-up government, among other things...I could go on.
This is blasphemy, I know.

No, the series has it's faults; I just found a major one now that I've finished reading the fourth book for the first time since 6th grade. Harry Potter is far from perfect, and any fan who says so........probably doesn't read much else.
I could go on to say that the people say Harry Potter is perfect most likely think that the books are perfect for them; that they have found some sort of safe harbor in the story, or made some kind of personal connection with the characters...but I don't think I will.

[Bucephalus]

Maybe becausewe all have our own opinions to what we like, and just because you don't like it doesn't make it wrong for other people to.

I'm sorry, I know books are subjective, but Ayn Rand and everything that has to do with her is a complete abomination: a nasty and repulsive stain upon society.

Unlike Harry Potter, I don't have exceptions based on age; in fact, with Ayn Rand, I don't segregate at all. No matter who you are, no matter what age, gender or race, if you like Ayn Rand, I will automatically have a problem with you.

[Daz]

It's not entirely fair comparing Harry Potter to Naruto. Even if the main character was annoying at times, HPs plottwists didn't reek of retcon and the monstrosity called Sasuke has no equal in all of media. Overrated, quite possibly, bad, not really. Which is the key difference from Naruto I guess.

I'm currently reading Wintersmith. It's not Pratchetts best, the narrative is a bit too slow, but the Feegles are awesome as always and the writing is good.

[Sakonosolo]

Does anyone know of any literature books(and i'm talking about lit books you would actually see and analyze in an english class) that have happy endings besides

Spoiler:

i haven't actually read Pride And Prejudice, but my friends made me see the movie. If it is anything like the movie it has a happy ending. Also Tom Sawyer...

I'm guessing most don't since they are pretty much showing the faults of society. It's interesting though. Use spoiler tags for the names of the books and don't actually say the ending if you choose to answer.

I quite enjoyed Silas Marner.

[Don Quichotte De Flamingo]

The 120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade

well, at least it lies now on my desk.
hope i can get soon to it^^

[Kingloser]

By the way, why the hell do so many people here like Atlas Shrugged?

Because they are to lazy to read Hayek.

Right now I am reading Rothbard's The Ethics of Liberty. I am also re-reading Hosking's The First Socialist Society and King Leopold's Ghost.

[Akumu]

How is Thus Spoke Zarathustra? That sounded like an interesting read when I learned about it.

It's...well yes, it;s interesting. I'm not going to try and explain it, because I cannot do a good job. You should read it if you have the time.

You can actually find it online. There are quite a fews sites that have Nietzsche's works on them.

[SuperJew]

The Canterbury Tales.

Yes, its for class.

[C_uggs]

sorry to be an ASS
but.
does anyone nows a good book By Sartre ?
and the major diference betwen Sartre and Camus ?

[agony]

I quite enjoyed Silas Marner.

I hate Silas Marner. Hate it with dying passion. Might be due to the fact I studied it for exams though.


Currently reading Turn Coat by Jim Butcher but that's not exactly literature.

[Mokenda_mint]

A guy is having me read a book he wrote. He used some of my illustrations for it.
It's called Razor's Road: The Abduction by Michael Stone.

It's not bad. If you're interested you can find it on amazon i guess

[CCC]

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2nd in the Stieg Larsson series)

[agony]

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2nd in the Stieg Larsson series)

Is that series nice? i have the books but I have way too much backlog.

Finished Turn Coat so now I'm starting John Banville's The Sea.

[Mrs.RoronoaZoro]

By the way, why the hell do so many people here like Atlas Shrugged?

Fucking disgusting.

I tried reading that and ...I couldn't finish. It's sitting on my bedroom floor right now. ._. I feel defeated for not finishing it. I kinda like some parts of it but as a whole I don't think I can wrap my mind around it. I feel dumb.

But anyway, I'm reading Gulliver's Travels now. I just started it.

[Squaztina]

The Canterbury Tales.

:D I just had to read The Miller's Tale and The Wife of Bath and The Pardoner’s Tale. they were quite funny.


Gulliver's Travells... I have never liked that one. So weird. Brrr.

[CCC]

Is that series nice? i have the books but I have way too much backlog.

I'd place them a tiny step above your typical pop mystery drivel. Gripping? Yes. Something you'll remember for years to come? No.

[ElectricField]

sorry to be an ASS
but.
does anyone nows a good book By Sartre ?
and the major diference betwen Sartre and Camus ?

I don't know who Camus is but Satre, if I take it to mean Jean-Paul Satre was an existentialist. The only thing I've read a piece of, it was part of an anthology, was "Existentialism is a Humanism", it was delivered as a lecture but was published a year later.

I saw Thus Spoke Zarathustra earlier, but I suggest to not plunge into a thinker right away, get a nice introduction to the subject. As you will find that the ideas that are brought up are part of a dialogue that spans as far back as recorded history.

Such as if you're looking into Satre it pays to know some of the thinkers that came before him, Hegel, I think though I have not read him, is important, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, and definitely Kant. But to understand Kant, and he wasn't really good at explaining himself, you had to have some knowledge of Hume, Locke, Berkely and Decartes. And Decartes, going as far back as Aristotle and Plato, and Plato, Parmenedes, Heraclitus, and going to the Sophists. The sophists are particularly important because a lot of what is being talked about now, especially in modern day academia is dealing with the issues that the Sophists brought up, that is, there is no truth, meaning that there is no answer to the question "What is truth?".

Well, take care in your readings, but I stress that it's best to get an introductory book before really delving into specific thinkers, if you don't it will be difficult to place them into historical perspective.