Famous books you never cared for/understood the appeal of?

ah-LOOM-en-umb is not for space shuttles or mutant endoskeletons. We will alter the pronunciation when it becomes more import than a car-body material.

 

Russian literature is deep, if not confusing.

The Brothers Karamazov is like Game of Thrones set in Russia. Very confusion and long-winded for those who don't like Russian history.

Lemme see...what else...???

Old Yeller- OK, children, here's the gig: whenever you see a coming-of-age book with a dog on the front cover, that dog is a dead dog walking. That dog is marked. Old Man Grim is a-comin' for it. It's not a question of if that dog's gonna die. It's when and how that dog's gonna die.

Carrie- I can already tell what's gonna happen in this Stephen King book. A girl with freaky powers get picked on by 99% of the school and her family. After one more prank, she decides to basically kill everyone using said freaky powers. Kids, if your classmate has freaky powers, stay away or at the very least don't get them angry.

 

Russian Literature is so deep you had to say it twice!

 

To be fair, I think both are difficult in different ways. Jane Austen people tend not to like because they don't understand her style of humour. She's really quite witty, but it's very very dry and the 'blink and you miss it' sort. You could, if you were not used to Austen's tone and style, just treat her jokes as straight-faced description and not think much of it. She is also, quite ... boring, at times. I don't think anyone would object to me saying that that. You can also point to characters like Mr Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, or the Crowford twins in Mansfeild Park being caricatures and not real people with thoughts and feelings, but she wasn't really going for that anyway - as per the style of the Georgian period novel. Novels of that period did not go for the psychological complexity and mimesis that the later, more gloomy Victorian novel, like the stuff that the Bronte sisters produced.

Shakespeare, it is just the language - you do get used to it the more you read, but at first it's one hell of a slog. I recommend a well-annotated edition of Shakespeare if you are going to start. But. Shakespeare isn't Chaucer, who is even weirder! And Sidney ... dear god! Also, Shakespeare, you can be helped if you know the story already. Let's face it, the guy rarely wrote an original story. All I can think of that is actually original is The Tempest. Or Midsummer Night's Dream actually.

 

I've seen a couple movies with someone playing Chaucer in them, and he is always portrayed as some kind of nut. He was played by Paul Bettany in "A Knight's Tale" with Heath Ledger.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/

 

I saw that, it was fun film, but rather weird. Since Chaucer's 'Knight's Tale' is a courtly romance set in Ancient Greece.

... yeah, I know.

Chaucer's work I don't feel I know as well as I should. I've only read The Canterbury Tales once.

 

All I remember is that my high school teacher made us recite the opening in Old English and Chaucer never really got around to completing his work. Why? Because there were too many stories to write down in the years he had left. My favorite tale that I can remember is the one about the knight finding out what women really want. Not because of the message, but because of how King Arthur is portrayed. Since he's always shown to be a calm, regal figure, a beacon of inspiration; it's interesting to see him almost frothing in the mouth in rage (understandable considering what his knight had done) and seconds from cleaving the knight's head off before his own wife calms him down with a deal.

Shakespeare didn't write original stories? Really? I was taught that his plays were the first in all of literature at the time.

 

That's right. He was actually working on an existing model, a collection of Italian short stories called The Decameron. I plan on reading it later this year. So there is that collection that might serve just as well if you want a complete unified whole, since Chaucer sadly couldn't finish his work.

He based stole almost all his stories from existing plays and novellas, and histories. When he wasn't practically ripping off Ovid (including making a mock play within a play based on Pyrimus and Thisbe, lifted straight out of Ovid) he was taking stories, and even sometimes entire speeches out of history books and just putting them into verse. Macbeth isn't even his, I think both Macbeth and Hamlet were the subject of plays at the same time as Shakespeare, written by different authors.

 

And visions of Chanticleers pranced in their heads.

 

To be fair, I do love a lot of his work too: Firestarter is fantastic science-fiction with horror elements, while the Shining, the Mist, Misery, Cujo, and 1408 are just straight-up terrifying.

Plus, I'm currently working on a reanimation-gone-wrong story, so I'm definitely going to try Pet Sematary at some point.

 

The Green Mile was a great series of books. It was definitely better than the movie.

 

@Simpson17866 Pet Sematary is excellent, I really liked it!

The Green Mile is actually one of my favourite books. I read the combined edition, it's long, but I was never bored during reading. I also like the movie, though.

As for King, I think his earlier works from 70's and 80's are incomparable to his new ones. He is a writer where drug influence is clearly visible, as bad as that sounds... He also admitted to be on quite a few drugs and alcohol during 70's (I'm not sure about 80's). But then again, who wasn't at that time?

 

It's so weird that he can write such scary stories then he pops out books like The Green Mile and Stand By Me.

 

Ah, Chaucer. I had to study one of his stories for AS... I don't even remember the name. It was told by the red-haired dude in Canterbury Tales, about a man called Ab-something trying to woe a woman. The only memorable detail was when Ab-dude climbed the ladder and kissed the lady's virgina... and it was described as something bearded. I honestly don't know... lol

 

Yeah, The Miller's Tale I think. Basically it means he licked her arse. The beard is the vaginal hair. Take THAT 50 Shades of Grey.

 

Shakespeare's genius wasn't just in his superior writing, it was his ability to create such original and compelling stories, especially for the times.

 

Oh yeah, Shakespeare was certainly a genius. His ability to create great characters and his story telling skills are rarely even matched.

 

I wish they had Shakespeare translated into modern English. Imagine how much fun that would be.

 

I refer you to @Lemex 's post below!

 

Christ, Shakespeare...

 

Actually, speaking of Shakespeare, a very successful Czech writer director actor produced a play called Hamlet without Hamlet. The guy created an entirely fictional playwright, who wrote all of these plays, and this fictional person has its own history and introductions and all the plays are attributed to him as if he were real. It's kinda cool

 

The scepter of Jacques Pierre looms...

 

That's awesome.

 

Blubber by Judy Blume.
Mind you I liked some of Blume's books - Tiger Eyes, Just as Long as We're Together and Are you There God It's me Margaret. But Blubber really felt like a mixed message book. The mc ( who is underskinny ) and some other brats torment a fat girl. But Blume makes the fat girl ( Linda ) such a dolt that it's impossible for the reader to feel sorry for her. The messages are cover your own ass and don't ask for trouble, never - don't pick on people cause it's wrong.

 

The Tempest, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Loves Labor Lost, and The Merchant of Venice. They are the only completely original concepts/plays Shakespeare wrote. Everything else was based on another play or history.