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'Time's' 100 Greatest Novels

Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

Ah, I take it Joe has a problem with Judy Blume. :LOL:

I don't believe books written for teens and children should not be taken seriously as literature. In fact, I think they should be taken more seriously, since the joy of reading is one that, sadly, seems to usually be instilled early in life or never at all.

Now someone get poor Joe an aspirin. :)
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

Actually, I was critiquing the utter crap Judy Blume has written for adults. I've never read her (intentional) "juveniles" and - having witnessed the crimes against language she commits when allegedly writing for adults - wouldn't want to. I have no objection to literature aimed primarily at children making the list - provided it doesn't talk down to them and isn't written so carelessly or so poorly that no adult in his or her right mind would read it. Lewis's book was a fine choice, for instance, and I think The Hobbit would have been more deserving of a spot than some of the trash that Time did choose to honor. Like the old Warner Bros. cartoons in a completely different vein, or the Oz books from an earlier era, these are stories written to be accessible to young readers but also to delight and entertain all readers. Blume proved such a dreadful writer of an "adult" novel that I can't imagine she did any better writing for kids, hence my comments. No aspirin required. If dealing with the assault of the incompetent on my senses caused me physical pain I would hardly make it through the morning news. I assure you, I'm made of much sterner stuff. :) But thanks for your concern. :D

Regards,

Joe
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

If dealing with the assault of the incompetent on my senses caused me physical pain I would hardly make it through the morning news

There's my new signature!
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

My list:

Animal Farm
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
The Catcher in the Rye
The Grapes of Wrath
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Lord of the Flies
The Lord of the Rings
Neuromancer
1984
To Kill a Mockingbird

If dealing with the assault of the incompetent on my senses caused me physical pain, I would hardly make it through the morning news.
:LOL:
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

I've never read any Toni Morrison, but after what Joe had to say about her, I think I will. :D

Anyone who hasn't read Naked Lunch, or any Thomas Pynchon, definitely should, but for a Pynchon book, I would recommend V.
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

Well, I've always said that everyone has the right to go to hell in his own way. :) When you're finished, by all means read some Margaret Atwood. :D

Ahh, the greats..,

For another exchange from that film that oddly has some relevance today, see this new thread

And please, feel free to use anything of mine in a sig. :D

Regards,

Joe
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

My list

Animal Farm
The Assistant
Brideshead Revisited
The Catcher in the Rye
A Clockwork Orange
Deliverance
Gone With The Wind
The Grapes of Wrath
The Great Gatsby
I Claudius
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lord of the Rings
1984
Portnoy's Complaint
Ubik
Watchmen
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

9 that I have actually read for myself cover to cover and enjoyed.

4 that were inflicted on me at school in such a way as to suck every last spark of enjoyment out of them.

6 that I started (because they were classics) but soon threw out of the window (because they were min-numbingly tedious).

:D
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

I've read the following.

Animal Farm
I, Claudius
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Lord of the Flies
The Lord of the Rings
1984
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Two of them I read for English classes

Interesting list ....

There's quite a few omissions there. I would have expected at least one Dickens novel - ie A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Or a couple of Bronte novels .... Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights Not to mention such novels as War & Peace and Gulag Archipelago .

Of course, everyone has their own definitions of 'great' novels.
Ask a hundred different people, and you would get a hundred different lists.

But still ...
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

This was a list of great novels since the 1920s, wasn't it? And I'm not sure War and Peace or Gulag Archipelago would make it in, as they were originally in Russian.

I'm not likely to have read much of any "Greatest 100" list unless it's the "100 Greatest Cheap Sci-Fi Paperbacks."
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

<Sindatur bows his head in shame> I think I've read 2 of them, but seen a great many movie adaptations of the books on the list.
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

There's quite a few omissions there. I would have expected at least one Dickens novel - ie A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Or a couple of Bronte novels .... Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights Not to mention such novels as War & Peace and Gulag Archipelago .

Those are very good points, I didn't even realize there wasn't a single Charles Dickens book on the list. That does seem very odd.

Ah, well, lists are useless but a fun way to waste time and to get people talking about some good stories. :D

Of course, everyone has their own definitions of 'great' novels.
Ask a hundred different people, and you would get a hundred different lists.

But still ...
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

This was a list of great novels since the 1920s, wasn't it? And I'm not sure War and Peace or Gulag Archipelago would make it in, as they were originally in Russian.

There was a novel by a Japanese author there ... although I cannot remember who it was at the moment.
 
Re: \'Time\'s\' 100 Greatest Novels

Do you mean Kazuo Ishiguro? I think he's usually considered an English author, and as far as I know, writes in English, so he'd qualify for this list (same for Nabokov's Lolita).
 

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