Comments | bookretorts: Tomorrow begins a new month!

paperlibrarian in bookretorts

Tomorrow begins a new month!

Sep 30, 2013 13:22

The theme is Dystopia. We are reading 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America by Albert Brooks, who I know best from his voices on The Simpsons and Defending Your Life ( Read more... )

dystopias, banned book month, ott

Comments 15

zinnea September 30 2013, 18:10:51 UTC

I assume that most people at least have a passing knowledge of Shakespeare. Also, whether you've read any of his works or not, I expect most people to have heard of Confucius who used to get all the quotes assigned to him whether he said them or not.

coendou September 30 2013, 18:27:30 UTC

Yeah, I tend to assume people know more Shakespeare than they actually seem to.

I got in an argument a few months ago, because we went to Lake Elsinore in CA and I kept making Hamlet jokes and nobody picked up on them (car with my husband, mom, and her boyfriend). My husband claims that the name of the castle in Hamlet is too obscure to assume people know. *eyeroll*

zinnea September 30 2013, 19:05:52 UTC

There's actually a reference to knowing/not knowing Shakespeare in Dr. Sleep which doesn't really do anything plotwise but is a nice little detail.

I totally would've gotten the Lake Elsinore joke. But I'm often amazed at what people consider "obscure".

paperlibrarian October 3 2013, 16:07:06 UTC

Time for a Facebook survey! :P

THE MOST LEGIT OF SURVEYS.

Thread 5

cryptaknight October 1 2013, 21:31:55 UTC

I'm with you two- if not specifically read, I assume people at least have a passing knowledge of Greek myth and Shakespeare. Really, any of the works that are standard required reading in school- Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn, some sort of Dickens, etc.

paperlibrarian October 3 2013, 01:41:33 UTC

I've never read any Twain longer than a short story.

zinnea October 2 2013, 21:49:00 UTC

Oh, also, if you're American I expect you know who Laura Ingalls Wilder is.

paperlibrarian October 3 2013, 01:42:03 UTC

I wonder if that's a girl thing, though. Hm. Would want to test it.

zinnea October 3 2013, 03:41:28 UTC

IDK when I was a kid, everyone knew who she was. I'd think that even now most boys would've at least heard the name.

paperlibrarian October 3 2013, 16:03:18 UTC

Yeah, but you guys had the TV show to back that up, right?

Thread 6

dawnstar October 2 2013, 23:48:22 UTC

Is 2030 a Doomsday dystopia, or .... more like Hunger Games?

paperlibrarian October 3 2013, 01:42:37 UTC

No clue. I thought it would be funny or something but that's cuz I just know him from comedies.