because i can't resist ...
little_tristan posted a meme out of Amazon's list of "100 Books to Read in a Lifetime" and of course i immediately wanted to do it. and since i've otherwise been a productive little bee today, i'm going to indulge. and add my own little twist.
what i think is very interesting is how many of these books i had never heard of. had to do some searching on GoodReads ( Read more... )
what i think is very interesting is how many of these books i had never heard of. had to do some searching on GoodReads ( Read more... )
I never looked at GE that way. Probably because I didn't read it for a class. Pip was a snob for sure and I ache for Joe whenever I read it. But the writing style and narration amuses me so I didn't look closer. Honestly, I never like anything that I'm forced to read and dissect. The best part of our crap school system's lack of reading is that even when we had to read a book, they didn't teach the book. I still enjoy rereading When the Legends Die, and am a collector of any and all books by people who knew Anne Frank. I have every version of her diary, too, including the meta-edition that includes all the published versions. Thank goodness that didn't get ruined.
David Sedaris, I think, gets away with being so mean-spirited toward others because he's equally mean-spirited toward himself. Which is why he fails for me on every level. Funny can be mean, but it has to be really funny. It isn't funny just because it's cruel. In fact, it has to be even funnier than a similar non-cruel story. Jen Lancaster and Chelsea Handler could use that lesson, too. Just because one admits beforehand to being a narcissistic bitch, that doesn't make it funny or cool or admirable. One still has to supply those traits to the story. (And calling a coworker "the retard" at home to the extent that one's spouse doesn't know the man's actual name, or the man when they're introduced, is not enough to base a book on. Although apparently it sold very well.)
Wow, do I get ranty about humor.
That's a good point about TWitW. I read it was a child and remember liking it, but when I try to remember it I mostly come up with the cartoon movie. It was really cute. Perhaps should read that again, too. I have my grandma's giant illustrated hardcover collectible edition that will have to go on the lectern (after I finish the book full of naked gay men, which is also very heavy and doesn't have any female characters).
I cannot wait to see your top 100. I'm also waiting for Odd to post hers (since it was her idea), and considering whether we should take it a step further and challenge each other to read books off our lists. Not specific titles, because reasons--we all haz them, but numbers, maybe...
*enthusiastic book hugs*
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Go you, with your rant about humour. It's so true that something isn't funny just because it is cruel. And calling a coworker "the retard" is plain wrong on so many levels.
If you do read TWitW again, I'll be curious to know what you think. But naked gay men first. Of course. ;)
I've started my top 100. Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish it this weekend. Maybe on Sunday when I'm over visiting my parents.
*enthusiastic book hugs are one of the best kinds*
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I'd gone in expecting it to be like when I finally saw Casablanca and was profoundly bored, having heard every line of it, out of context, throughout my life. But Dickens is a good enough writer that the full richness and complexity of what is, essentially, a very simple story can't be fully conveyed on film. And it only takes about an hour to read.;)
There's a special thing in ACC, too, about dogs pulling their blind masters out of the way when they saw Scrooge coming. I love that he wrote that at least 60 years before anyone really starting training guide dogs. I love that men and dogs came together on their own, and that it passes without further remark in the narrative.
On the other hand, David Copperfield (I think--it might be one of the others) contains the first recorded mention of spontaneous human combustion, which he seems to have made up for that story not realizing that people would assume it was a real thing. So maybe he made up guide dogs, too, but if that's how they got started, it's worth the SHC believers.;)
*Dickensian Orphan HUGS*
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I read Oliver Twist as well - another one that has myriad adaptations. I remember being rather skeptical of all the coincidences but I think I've mellowed in that respect over the years.
Have you ever seen the adaptation of Bleak House that played on PBS several years ago? I think it's by the BBC. B and I stumbled on it by chance and it was what prompted me to give the book a shot. That actress (her name escapes me) who played Scully on The X-Files is in it.
*Please, sir, can I have some more hugs*
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Was the movie version of Bleak House close to the book? It's hard to imagine because what I remember about it is that the story dragged a lot but the writing quality carried it through. Maybe the film versions skip over those bits. I'll check Netflix and see what they have.
*happily ever after HUGS*
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*cross-eyed HUGS*
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