HAWTHORNE - THE SCARLET LETTER
"She was forced to wear an 'A' for 'A whore.'"
DOSTOEVSKY - CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
"There is no doubt that 'Crime and Punishment' would have been one of the greatest novels of the century had not Dostoevsky leaned towards the more acceptable sense of morality related to the weak tenets of Chrisitanity. In doing so, he made Rasknolikov a caricature of himself, lethargic and yet redeemable by accepting Christ's suffering. It was more appropriate to adapt Nietzsche's figure of 'the noble superman' but Dostoevsky, at the time of his writing, was a destroyed soul, drinking and plagued by debts, a gambling and morphine addiction and on top of that, he was a converted Christian, which is to say he resembled a 'spineless worm'.
There is a powerful beginning in which the bold character Rasknolikov conceptualizes the murder of an old aged hag who serves no purpose to society but beyond that, Dostoevsky tortures us with the conscience of an obstinate man who is shattered by an insignificant crime. In all effect, Dostoevsky became an apologist not only for bourgeois values and the Czar with his corrupt regime, but for Orthodox Christianity, which not only supported the exploitation of the Russian population but welcomed it. The end of the novel, which portrays a once proud, noble, and intellectually superior young man weeping before a prostitute and the image of the bible, brings about the demise of Dostoevsky's credibility."
FITZGERALD - THE GREAT GATSBY
"Gatsby was obviously drunk, or smoking marijuana when he was writing this book, and must have thougth that this book was pretty clever. It isn't."
HERODOTUS - THE HISTORY
"Why do we insist that just because something is written 6,000 years ago that makes it good? Maybe, just maybe, it's 6,000 years old for a good reason. I have to admit, I still haven't finished it."
SHAKESPEARE - JULIUS CAESAR
"The other thing I don't like is how his characters all the same in all of his plays. It's same type of character for each. Another thing I dislike about Shakespeare is that all of his plays have violence in them. Someone always dies in Shakespeare. His plays were way too much the same. He kept writing the same thing over and over again."
JOYCE - DUBLINERS
"Call me an uncivilized peasant if you will, but I continue to despise James Joyce. I recall a college English class of mine where all the students were ducking Prof. Gatza's questions about Joyce's 'Stephen Hero,' and--when he solicited an explanation for the mysterious phenomenon--only fifteen-year-old Brucie Boy had the guts to tell him, 'Well, none of us have read the book because, frankly, it's just pitifully wretchedly dreadful.' (I suppose that's why Gatza gave me a B.)"
MILL - ON LIBERTY
"Of course as an agnostic he advocates that socially, individuals should be privately able to do whatever they like. Unfortunately in order for a society to be free from too many laws the people must abide by unwritten laws and that means the laws of the Abrahamic God. If a village does not want to tolerate homosexuals then they should be free not to and be able to drive them out, it's called the social contract."
TWAIN - THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN
"I'm sorry, but Jim talks too much in this book."
SOPHOCLES - OEDIPUS REX
"Oedipus Rex is bad. The book reminds me of drinking rancid milk. First off, there was far too much incest in the book, no one likes to hear about incest. Also, the book is incredibly unbelievable. Yeah, I'm sure that the Sphinx really told a riddle, and if you got it wrong, he ate you. I am sure that is 100% historically accurate. Don't even get me started on this blind guy 'seeing' the future."
STEVENSON - THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
"I give this book 2 out of 5 because Dr. Jekyll clearly made the mistake that no scientist would like to make in their entire scientific life. He used his knowledge for bad reasons which resulted in hurting people."
BRONTE - WUTHERING HEIGHTS
"The lack of plausable discription takes its toll on this could be great story. At one point in the book while discribing a trellus of flowers it was depicted as follows: 'I noticed that there were flowers surrounding the barn.'. Not to be rude... but... What kind of barn was it? was it old, or new, or red, or green? Flowers? What kind? What color? This very bland discription of what MAY be a older barn that MAY have help horses, and that MAY have had flowers the MAY have been yellow creats no mental image of the area that MAY exist. Wuthering Heights was once descibed as a gloomy building. I mean, excuse me? A gloomy building? Is it 2 stories high, or maby 3? What color is it? Surroundings?"
SHAKESPEARE - MEASURE FOR MEASURE
"The fact that I don't know anyone who's read this speaks to the plain and simple fact that it sucks."
NIETZSCHE - THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY
"Anyone who refuses to believe in God should die of AIDS"
LADY MURASAKI - THE TALE OF GENJI
"Okay if you like the sort of primitive, crappy storytelling that existed before the art of literature really developed. Reading Genji is like taking a ride on lumpy stone wheels instead of Michelin tires."
KEATS - POEMS
"JOHN KEATS SUCKS!!!!!!!!, William Blake is the shit. keats sucks blakes nuts., William is by far the best romantic poet, BITCHES
man, how can you even compare blake to keats, your a fag man. blake is easily THE BEST Romantic poet, ever. lord byron is a better romantic poet then keats, LORD BYRON. you fags just can't admit he sucks donkey balls. jesus christ, even Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a better poet, you fags just can't admit keats sucks."
AUSTEN - PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
"Due to unfortunate job-related stuff, I'm currently teaching a Jane Austen novel. Doesn't matter which. I can't keep them straight."
CERVANTES - DON QUIXOTE
"Cervantes may have been a genius, but the rest of us aren't. For his next book I think he should try to write on everyone else's level."
DICKENS - GREAT EXPECTATIONS
"If you are thinking that I am not intellectually advanced enough to appreciate this fine art, then you are a follower. Try to think for yourself sometimes. Bye-bye."
HEMINGWAY - THE SUN ALSO RISES
"Hemingway's writing style could easily be surpassed by a seven year old. Descriptions like 'she was really pretty' just don't cut it in the world of top writers."
FREUD - THE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
"The evidence is mounting that Freud murdered his patients according to the serial killer model that Harold Shipman, Herman Mudgett et. al. would later follow - that of a Jewish/circum-stumped, opiate-prescribing doctor who killed his patients for money and circum-revenge against their yenta mothers.
...
Freud was a misandrist (faggot). Some of his kosher partners in anus worship were Willhelm Fliess and Edward Silberstein, and he broke up with Carl Jung over misandrist attraction."
NABOKOV - LOLITA
"I want to say that I completely understand Humbert's preference, however I didn't find the guy to honestly be such an intellectual, but more of a person who is simply mixed up about his choice in women. A more normal person in his situation would marry a women that could make him feel loved, and masturbate to child porn in secrecy like an actual person, but there is not a single nymphet in the world that would actually be like any of the ones in this book."
DE BEAUVOIR - THE SECOND SEX
"I was amazed to read this book to see the origin of the women's movement. The jihad that Beauvoir calls for in the opening pages actually says that women should murder men. She says the proletariat has always dreamed of massacring the bourgeoisie, why can't women dream the same in regards to men.
The result is a kind of declaration of holy war. This holy war has now spread to thousands of women's studies programs whose only aim is the spreading of hatred. This is funded by liberal states throughout the western world. It has utterly poisoned the air between the genders as men are viciously painted in the minds of gullible young women. Run by violent lesbians, the university training these women receive is devoid of anything except the study of myth, and literature. Science and math are male, and therefore left out of the women's studies curriculum.
The training silos in Pakistan and Afghanistan create terrorists with a black and white vision of the world. Their fatwa is well-known against America.
The fatwa that women should dream of massacring men is less well-known, and yet is funded without question.
Reading this book was a huge breakthrough for me. I felt I had seen the source of my misery in college, and for many years after, as women of all ages exploded with rage at the men around me. They are being made into human missiles by Simone de Beauvoir's rage and the way which it is fashioned by women's studies programs who use this book as their koran."
ORWELL - 1984
"When i found out that the book was divided into sections and then subsections I nearly lost my mind. My best friend who is a year older than me couldn't decipher the intricate workings of George Orwell's writing ... My fear is octopus. even a picture reduces me to tears. I cannot even look a the marine bio textbook because there is an octopus on it. I could not survive in that world. In one word to describe this book.....detestable."
THE KORAN
"The Quran hates non-believers of their religion. They hate Americans too. (According to a news network, it speaks of over 100 references of hate towards Americans specifically)."
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
THE BEST OF DECEMBER
THE KORAN
"The Quran hates non-believers of their religion. They hate Americans too. (According to a news network, it speaks of over 100 references of hate towards Americans specifically)."
"I am close minded to Islam, Muslim, Koran, blah blah blah and don't care if I'm right or wrong : )"
DESCARTES - DISCOURSE ON METHOD
"I think, therefore I am. Can I just say something here? This Descartes guy was crazy! I'm sure people with more expansive minds than mine really get into this stuff but honestly, I have no use for it. Dude wrote three pages on what happens when wax melts and how he knows or doesn't know if it's still wax or not. This is relevant to making the world go around, how?
Philosophy lovers, please don't barrage me with comments or explanations. I'm paying big time money at the university to 'learn' this stuff. I don't need to hear it anymore."
KAFKA - A HUNGER ARTIST
"In all of his stories, he takes a fairly different approach in terms of writing style because he writes alot of stories in a 'show not tell' manner. Although all of his stories are quite hard to read and understand, it is still pretty evident that he used this category of writing. It seems to me that his stories are incomplete in a sense and very roughly translated from hebrew (he is a jewish writer i believe)"
SOPHOCLES - ELECTRA
"This book was about a young woman named Electra and how she would do anything to get what she wants. What is it that she wants? She wants to be ruler of course. During the entire play she starts off seeming like a really cool girl but during the middle you find out that she is after something sinister. Through the course of the play she gets into multiple arguments with another character named Clythaemestra. Very quickly you can tell as the audience that they don’t like each other, but it’s not until the end that you find out the extent of there dislike for each other is.
...
I for one was not a fan of this script/ play because I feel that nothing really happened until the very end. During the whole play the only thing it seemed that the main characters Electra and Clythaemestra were arguing and they were arguing about nothing in particular. To make it more interesting I would probably add more conflict or maybe have them do more things. Like go around the town, maybe they could get into a fist fight, anything that would add some interest into this play. In my opinion it was really dull of a play."
KIPLING - BARRACK-ROOM BALLADS
"When I started it, It was more interesting, but when I got to the end, my pants got bored off, & I put off finishing it (which wasn't good because it was part of my school!)."
DICKENS - A CHRISTMAS CAROL
"This book is not a good one to read to kids. My personal opinion is that I don't want to talk or read about ghosts for 'the fun of it' to my young children."
"What I noticed the most in the book is the usage of the many five dollar words (This might be the reason, I realize now, that there are alternate versions of the story and especially in abridged form). Not only those words made the book difficult to read, they helped to provide detachment for me from enjoying the story and being immersed in the tale. What is worse, I simply didn't like the story all that much because I felt my motivation to be lacking when Ebenezer Scrooge was hand-picked for the journey. Thinking of the kind of a person he is, why can't a worthier person be selected? That's why I prefer the tale of It's a Wonderful Life over A Christmas Carol, and it did happen to a better person than Scrooge. One worst part about A Christmas Carol is the force to love Christmas to death. I am not too keen about this approach because it feels too religious in the wrong way. Then again, the entire book was too religious for my taste with a lot of overtones in a spiritual sense. Charles Dickens also gives poverty a role in A Christmas Carol, but I didn't like the part where a character is judged by how he views money as he sees fit. All in all, I found A Christmas Carol a disappointing read, and all of the characters were unmemorable for me."
PLATO - SYMPOSIUM
"It’s well known that all Greek men are pederasts. Fact. This is another thing to keep in mind about the Symposium. By and large, it’s not concerned with sweet, romantic boy-girl love. It’s more about sweaty, angry, man-boy love. Bathhouse love. Just a word of warning in case you’re turning to Plato for Cosmo-style relationship advice. Unless you’re a member of NAMBLA, you’d best look elsewhere."
"The Quran hates non-believers of their religion. They hate Americans too. (According to a news network, it speaks of over 100 references of hate towards Americans specifically)."
"I am close minded to Islam, Muslim, Koran, blah blah blah and don't care if I'm right or wrong : )"
DESCARTES - DISCOURSE ON METHOD
"I think, therefore I am. Can I just say something here? This Descartes guy was crazy! I'm sure people with more expansive minds than mine really get into this stuff but honestly, I have no use for it. Dude wrote three pages on what happens when wax melts and how he knows or doesn't know if it's still wax or not. This is relevant to making the world go around, how?
Philosophy lovers, please don't barrage me with comments or explanations. I'm paying big time money at the university to 'learn' this stuff. I don't need to hear it anymore."
KAFKA - A HUNGER ARTIST
"In all of his stories, he takes a fairly different approach in terms of writing style because he writes alot of stories in a 'show not tell' manner. Although all of his stories are quite hard to read and understand, it is still pretty evident that he used this category of writing. It seems to me that his stories are incomplete in a sense and very roughly translated from hebrew (he is a jewish writer i believe)"
SOPHOCLES - ELECTRA
"This book was about a young woman named Electra and how she would do anything to get what she wants. What is it that she wants? She wants to be ruler of course. During the entire play she starts off seeming like a really cool girl but during the middle you find out that she is after something sinister. Through the course of the play she gets into multiple arguments with another character named Clythaemestra. Very quickly you can tell as the audience that they don’t like each other, but it’s not until the end that you find out the extent of there dislike for each other is.
...
I for one was not a fan of this script/ play because I feel that nothing really happened until the very end. During the whole play the only thing it seemed that the main characters Electra and Clythaemestra were arguing and they were arguing about nothing in particular. To make it more interesting I would probably add more conflict or maybe have them do more things. Like go around the town, maybe they could get into a fist fight, anything that would add some interest into this play. In my opinion it was really dull of a play."
KIPLING - BARRACK-ROOM BALLADS
"When I started it, It was more interesting, but when I got to the end, my pants got bored off, & I put off finishing it (which wasn't good because it was part of my school!)."
DICKENS - A CHRISTMAS CAROL
"This book is not a good one to read to kids. My personal opinion is that I don't want to talk or read about ghosts for 'the fun of it' to my young children."
"What I noticed the most in the book is the usage of the many five dollar words (This might be the reason, I realize now, that there are alternate versions of the story and especially in abridged form). Not only those words made the book difficult to read, they helped to provide detachment for me from enjoying the story and being immersed in the tale. What is worse, I simply didn't like the story all that much because I felt my motivation to be lacking when Ebenezer Scrooge was hand-picked for the journey. Thinking of the kind of a person he is, why can't a worthier person be selected? That's why I prefer the tale of It's a Wonderful Life over A Christmas Carol, and it did happen to a better person than Scrooge. One worst part about A Christmas Carol is the force to love Christmas to death. I am not too keen about this approach because it feels too religious in the wrong way. Then again, the entire book was too religious for my taste with a lot of overtones in a spiritual sense. Charles Dickens also gives poverty a role in A Christmas Carol, but I didn't like the part where a character is judged by how he views money as he sees fit. All in all, I found A Christmas Carol a disappointing read, and all of the characters were unmemorable for me."
PLATO - SYMPOSIUM
"It’s well known that all Greek men are pederasts. Fact. This is another thing to keep in mind about the Symposium. By and large, it’s not concerned with sweet, romantic boy-girl love. It’s more about sweaty, angry, man-boy love. Bathhouse love. Just a word of warning in case you’re turning to Plato for Cosmo-style relationship advice. Unless you’re a member of NAMBLA, you’d best look elsewhere."
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Plato - The Symposium II
"Hm. At the risk of seeming provincial... Man-boy love. Not my issue."
"I was required to read this for ENG150Y1Y, The Literary Tradition. That's right: a philosophical text in an English setting. I don't know why, either ... So, the Symposium, the apparent start of the concept of 'Platonic love', even though it's never referred to, though I guess it's implied. The story's framed by a guy answering a question (again, apparently) and so telling the story of the time Socrates went to a party, didn't drink at all, and got everyone to make speeches about love.
That's really the point here ... I mean, I get it. I can't really remember the first two speeches already, and the book's introduction says to read the book in a single sitting. It's a scant 72 pages, so that's maybe an hour or two, but retaining seven points of view becomes difficult. Maybe I'm just really forgetful.
...
Socrates quotes a woman (this actually bothers me, if you'll allow this aside; it's spoken before, whether implied or not, that a relationship with a man is best because of their mental capabilities, as women are inherently irrational - if that's so, why does Socrates' female guide have any credibility?)"
"It’s well known that all Greek men are pederasts. Fact. This is another thing to keep in mind about the Symposium. By and large, it’s not concerned with sweet, romantic boy-girl love. It’s more about sweaty, angry, man-boy love. Bathhouse love. Just a word of warning in case you’re turning to Plato for Cosmo-style relationship advice. Unless you’re a member of NAMBLA, you’d best look elsewhere."
"I was required to read this for ENG150Y1Y, The Literary Tradition. That's right: a philosophical text in an English setting. I don't know why, either ... So, the Symposium, the apparent start of the concept of 'Platonic love', even though it's never referred to, though I guess it's implied. The story's framed by a guy answering a question (again, apparently) and so telling the story of the time Socrates went to a party, didn't drink at all, and got everyone to make speeches about love.
That's really the point here ... I mean, I get it. I can't really remember the first two speeches already, and the book's introduction says to read the book in a single sitting. It's a scant 72 pages, so that's maybe an hour or two, but retaining seven points of view becomes difficult. Maybe I'm just really forgetful.
...
Socrates quotes a woman (this actually bothers me, if you'll allow this aside; it's spoken before, whether implied or not, that a relationship with a man is best because of their mental capabilities, as women are inherently irrational - if that's so, why does Socrates' female guide have any credibility?)"
"It’s well known that all Greek men are pederasts. Fact. This is another thing to keep in mind about the Symposium. By and large, it’s not concerned with sweet, romantic boy-girl love. It’s more about sweaty, angry, man-boy love. Bathhouse love. Just a word of warning in case you’re turning to Plato for Cosmo-style relationship advice. Unless you’re a member of NAMBLA, you’d best look elsewhere."
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol II
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
"I don't think anyone but the kind of English scholars who take perverse pleasure in claiming to love the sort of dense boring drek other people can barely plow though would ever read him ... It's just a shame he spent so much of his career being paid by the word rather then creating real art."
"Dickens was useful once. He is history now, not literature. The cartoon movie tells it all."
"Charles Dickens is a crap author. Over the course of his career he wrote books based on the length of them hence the reason he used such long winded descriptions in his books. If Dickens never existed the world would be a better place. He was his time Clancy, Grisham, Nora Roberts, Danielle Steele, etc...."
"This book is not a good one to read to kids. My personal opinion is that I don't want to talk or read about ghosts for 'the fun of it' to my young children."
"It was a slow-paced, overly-dark, somewhat hard to understand train wreck."
"The book's only ten dollars because they had to reduce the price because no one would buy it."
"I do not like this book. Really, I think that it is absolutely horrible -- Horribly written, horribly plotted out, and all together just not a good book. The main character wasn't likeable at all."
"If Hitler had said he was sorry for killing the Jews, and then gave everyone a goose, it doesn't make things right."
"Hard and boaring"
"I can see what he was trying to do and it maybe worked at the time, but it just doesn't translate to modern life"
"I probably of would enjoyed it if I was reading it back in the day."
"I am now convinced that charles was a pathetic writer."
"Dickens is the Steven Spielberg of his day, wildly popular and very much a panderer to the masses; in short, for each of them art is a cheap whore, it is not the supreme drive of human spirit. Like Spielberg the director, Dickens the narrator can't get out of the way of the story, he just can't let the story tell itself. No, like Spielberg he must constantly intrude and go for the cheap laugh or thrill and say 'Hey, I'm Dickens, I'm the writer, look at me I'm writing this little bit of ego driven narrative editorial'. A classic example of Dickens as bad writer is that he will give you a symbol (overplayed and obvious of course, it is Dickens after all) and then he will tell you what his obvious symbol meant because you the reader cannot be trusted to understand Dickens the writer. I will say what needs to be said: Dickens is a really bad writer, he has a great imagination, but he sucks as a writer. And he has killed many a young student's desire to read."
"I would not recommend this book to anyone and would give it only two stars. In my opinion, the movies where much better then this book. This book is way to descriptive. I like more action in my books and less meaningless descriptive words. Don't get me wrong, I love some descriptive words, but too much is too much."
"Hard to understand the words and writting because it's written in the 'olden days'."
"Dickens was useful once. He is history now, not literature. The cartoon movie tells it all."
"Charles Dickens is a crap author. Over the course of his career he wrote books based on the length of them hence the reason he used such long winded descriptions in his books. If Dickens never existed the world would be a better place. He was his time Clancy, Grisham, Nora Roberts, Danielle Steele, etc...."
"This book is not a good one to read to kids. My personal opinion is that I don't want to talk or read about ghosts for 'the fun of it' to my young children."
"It was a slow-paced, overly-dark, somewhat hard to understand train wreck."
"The book's only ten dollars because they had to reduce the price because no one would buy it."
"I do not like this book. Really, I think that it is absolutely horrible -- Horribly written, horribly plotted out, and all together just not a good book. The main character wasn't likeable at all."
"If Hitler had said he was sorry for killing the Jews, and then gave everyone a goose, it doesn't make things right."
"Hard and boaring"
"I can see what he was trying to do and it maybe worked at the time, but it just doesn't translate to modern life"
"I probably of would enjoyed it if I was reading it back in the day."
"I am now convinced that charles was a pathetic writer."
"Dickens is the Steven Spielberg of his day, wildly popular and very much a panderer to the masses; in short, for each of them art is a cheap whore, it is not the supreme drive of human spirit. Like Spielberg the director, Dickens the narrator can't get out of the way of the story, he just can't let the story tell itself. No, like Spielberg he must constantly intrude and go for the cheap laugh or thrill and say 'Hey, I'm Dickens, I'm the writer, look at me I'm writing this little bit of ego driven narrative editorial'. A classic example of Dickens as bad writer is that he will give you a symbol (overplayed and obvious of course, it is Dickens after all) and then he will tell you what his obvious symbol meant because you the reader cannot be trusted to understand Dickens the writer. I will say what needs to be said: Dickens is a really bad writer, he has a great imagination, but he sucks as a writer. And he has killed many a young student's desire to read."
"I would not recommend this book to anyone and would give it only two stars. In my opinion, the movies where much better then this book. This book is way to descriptive. I like more action in my books and less meaningless descriptive words. Don't get me wrong, I love some descriptive words, but too much is too much."
"Hard to understand the words and writting because it's written in the 'olden days'."
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Rudyard Kipling - Barrack-Room Ballads
"When I started it, It was more interesting, but when I got to the end, my pants got bored off, & I put off finishing it (which wasn't good because it was part of my school!)."
"One f***king horrible book. I read it in lit. Class.
A book ment for baby's or stupid idiots. I hated the damn thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡¡¡!"
"I'm used to reading midevil fiction books so this book was boring to me. I zoned out a lot because it didn't intrest me."
"Overall book was a big disappointment. I know many here think India a dirty and filthy place but author has failed to even intensify that feeling in me. It was such a trash that i had to ditch this book half way through. It doesn't deserve to be read full."
"One f***king horrible book. I read it in lit. Class.
A book ment for baby's or stupid idiots. I hated the damn thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡¡¡!"
"I'm used to reading midevil fiction books so this book was boring to me. I zoned out a lot because it didn't intrest me."
"Overall book was a big disappointment. I know many here think India a dirty and filthy place but author has failed to even intensify that feeling in me. It was such a trash that i had to ditch this book half way through. It doesn't deserve to be read full."
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sophocles - Electra
"I believe Electra could have worked things out with her mother if she ha been a little calmer. Instead she tells her brother to come murder their parents and he complies. Just a little far fetched."
"This book is very boring. I was very sorry that I had to read it."
"All right, all right, I didn't read this, but I did see it performed last night at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, and as good as the acting was, I realized scarcely five minutes in that Greek tragedy is not my cup of tea.
I kept wanting to scream at Electra -- 'All right already, you're upset, your grieving, you're angry -- get on with it.'
...
I don't know, I'm either too modern or too unsophisticated to get why this is a classic, but meh, I don't."
"This book was about a young woman named Electra and how she would do anything to get what she wants. What is it that she wants? She wants to be ruler of course. During the entire play she starts off seeming like a really cool girl but during the middle you find out that she is after something sinister. Through the course of the play she gets into multiple arguments with another character named Clythaemestra. Very quickly you can tell as the audience that they don’t like each other, but it’s not until the end that you find out the extent of there dislike for each other is.
...
I for one was not a fan of this script/ play because I feel that nothing really happened until the very end. During the whole play the only thing it seemed that the main characters Electra and Clythaemestra were arguing and they were arguing about nothing in particular. To make it more interesting I would probably add more conflict or maybe have them do more things. Like go around the town, maybe they could get into a fist fight, anything that would add some interest into this play. In my opinion it was really dull of a play. "
"This book is very boring. I was very sorry that I had to read it."
"All right, all right, I didn't read this, but I did see it performed last night at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, and as good as the acting was, I realized scarcely five minutes in that Greek tragedy is not my cup of tea.
I kept wanting to scream at Electra -- 'All right already, you're upset, your grieving, you're angry -- get on with it.'
...
I don't know, I'm either too modern or too unsophisticated to get why this is a classic, but meh, I don't."
"This book was about a young woman named Electra and how she would do anything to get what she wants. What is it that she wants? She wants to be ruler of course. During the entire play she starts off seeming like a really cool girl but during the middle you find out that she is after something sinister. Through the course of the play she gets into multiple arguments with another character named Clythaemestra. Very quickly you can tell as the audience that they don’t like each other, but it’s not until the end that you find out the extent of there dislike for each other is.
...
I for one was not a fan of this script/ play because I feel that nothing really happened until the very end. During the whole play the only thing it seemed that the main characters Electra and Clythaemestra were arguing and they were arguing about nothing in particular. To make it more interesting I would probably add more conflict or maybe have them do more things. Like go around the town, maybe they could get into a fist fight, anything that would add some interest into this play. In my opinion it was really dull of a play. "
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Samuel Beckett - Krapp's Last Tape
"All the contemplation of death, regrets and the end of one's own lifespan, just made me roll my eyes."
"It was horrible, horrible, all kinds of horrible. Just as bad as Faulkner."
"it's trash."
"i hate samuel beckett askjhdkasjdhkasjhd lol"
"I hate Samuel Beckett. He's a pretentious jerk-off. I know me some theater and no matter what anyone says Beckett is boring to watch and read. NOT A GENIUS!!"
"I've concluded Beckett sucks. He should write bedtime stories cuz all his shit puts me to sleep."
"This was so bad I couldn't even finish reading it! Why it was nominated on the 1001 books list I will never know. Maybe I am too dumb to get its 'deeper meaning'? Whatever!"
"beckett only wrote one novel for a reason"
"I know I'm supposed to be a smarty pants English guy, but I literally threw this book across the room. Wasted moments of my life I'll never get back. Insulting to the reader and all humanity."
"we ate chicken mcbeckett, i absentmindedly described beckett as 'absurd', and beckett, who is possibly liz's ancestor, won her whiskey. this is ever so much funnier if you know the following story: samuel beckett is liz's arch enemy ... she is in the process of writing a screenplay called 'i hate samuel beckett' which promises to be rather wonderful; i eagerly await its completion. we are gigantic nerds and make fun of absurdist playwrights in mcdonalds after drinking."
"It was horrible, horrible, all kinds of horrible. Just as bad as Faulkner."
"it's trash."
"i hate samuel beckett askjhdkasjdhkasjhd lol"
"I hate Samuel Beckett. He's a pretentious jerk-off. I know me some theater and no matter what anyone says Beckett is boring to watch and read. NOT A GENIUS!!"
"I've concluded Beckett sucks. He should write bedtime stories cuz all his shit puts me to sleep."
"This was so bad I couldn't even finish reading it! Why it was nominated on the 1001 books list I will never know. Maybe I am too dumb to get its 'deeper meaning'? Whatever!"
"beckett only wrote one novel for a reason"
"I know I'm supposed to be a smarty pants English guy, but I literally threw this book across the room. Wasted moments of my life I'll never get back. Insulting to the reader and all humanity."
"we ate chicken mcbeckett, i absentmindedly described beckett as 'absurd', and beckett, who is possibly liz's ancestor, won her whiskey. this is ever so much funnier if you know the following story: samuel beckett is liz's arch enemy ... she is in the process of writing a screenplay called 'i hate samuel beckett' which promises to be rather wonderful; i eagerly await its completion. we are gigantic nerds and make fun of absurdist playwrights in mcdonalds after drinking."
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Franz Kafka - A Hunger Artist
"The book was kind of boring. Who would starve themselves for all to see? I love food!!!!"
"This book defines what it is to be a weird-o"
"In all of his stories, he takes a fairly different approach in terms of writing style because he writes alot of stories in a 'show not tell' manner. Although all of his stories are quite hard to read and understand, it is still pretty evident that he used this category of writing. It seems to me that his stories are incomplete in a sense and very roughly translated from hebrew (he is a jewish writer i believe)"
"This writer is TOTALLY NUTS!
I did not enjoy his stories. Not one of them. Completely sense-free... :-/"
"He's got nothing to say, but an overwhelming urge to say it."
"Probably this book is great liturature. But he describes the atmosphere and the characters in way that made me slightly aggressive. I then decedided I do not want to continue reading it. I do not see that it is necessary to get into such a mood through a book I am reading in my free time."
"This book defines what it is to be a weird-o"
"In all of his stories, he takes a fairly different approach in terms of writing style because he writes alot of stories in a 'show not tell' manner. Although all of his stories are quite hard to read and understand, it is still pretty evident that he used this category of writing. It seems to me that his stories are incomplete in a sense and very roughly translated from hebrew (he is a jewish writer i believe)"
"This writer is TOTALLY NUTS!
I did not enjoy his stories. Not one of them. Completely sense-free... :-/"
"He's got nothing to say, but an overwhelming urge to say it."
"Probably this book is great liturature. But he describes the atmosphere and the characters in way that made me slightly aggressive. I then decedided I do not want to continue reading it. I do not see that it is necessary to get into such a mood through a book I am reading in my free time."
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
William Blake - Milton: A Poem
"Weird."
"I've never believed in the invisible enough to enjoy Blake."
"Blake is a dirty, dirty boy."
"Watched part of Red Dragon (and it just reminds me of how much I HATE william blake and his fucking drawings and his fucking religious mania) but I had to turn it off because --Hannibal-- fills my heart with a joy not unlike balloons filled with butterflies that pop and release delicious candies and little birdies and sunshine pops. So I ration the joy. I ration the sheer and utter love I have."
"I've never believed in the invisible enough to enjoy Blake."
"Blake is a dirty, dirty boy."
"Watched part of Red Dragon (and it just reminds me of how much I HATE william blake and his fucking drawings and his fucking religious mania) but I had to turn it off because --Hannibal-- fills my heart with a joy not unlike balloons filled with butterflies that pop and release delicious candies and little birdies and sunshine pops. So I ration the joy. I ration the sheer and utter love I have."
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Aristophanes - The Wasps
"Silly."
"Gained unwanted insight into the low morals of the Greeks. Wouldn't recommend."
"It doesn't say anything particularly interesting or new at all about sexuality in general or female sexuality in particular. And it wasn't particularly funny, either."
"it's just crude and silly."
"I found this play derogatory with ill humor. I do not recommend."
"All potty humor...I guess people are people not only everywhere, but at every time."
"i have no desire to read anymore aristophanes ever again ... i just find that this kind of humour is insulting to my intelligence. not only does this kind of humour irritate me but it makes me sympathize with the aristocrats - what a nauseating person aristophanes seems to have been and really, if the demos loved this stuff, i would look down upon them as well."
"Gained unwanted insight into the low morals of the Greeks. Wouldn't recommend."
"It doesn't say anything particularly interesting or new at all about sexuality in general or female sexuality in particular. And it wasn't particularly funny, either."
"it's just crude and silly."
"I found this play derogatory with ill humor. I do not recommend."
"All potty humor...I guess people are people not only everywhere, but at every time."
"i have no desire to read anymore aristophanes ever again ... i just find that this kind of humour is insulting to my intelligence. not only does this kind of humour irritate me but it makes me sympathize with the aristocrats - what a nauseating person aristophanes seems to have been and really, if the demos loved this stuff, i would look down upon them as well."
Friday, December 9, 2011
Seamus Heaney - Poems
"Where is the value in this? It gets to the point where it is entirely grotesque and offensive. There is literally a poem in this collection about killing puppies and kittens. I'm not easily offended, but I actually managed to find this collection of poems offensive. First, it was offensive in the way that I thought the subject matter was in disgusting taste, but secondly it was offensive in that people think someone should actually like this drivel. I have drunkenly scribbled random words on bar room napkins that made better poetry than this. That may be harsh criticism, and I have no intention of offending fans of this guy (though I'm surprised there are any), but I don't know that I have ever so strongly disliked any poet before."
"I like poetry, I really do. Like art, I don't know much about it, but I know what I like. I found most of the poems unappealing ... I was left feeling inadequate and confused. Why couldn't I understand what Mr Heaney was attempting to convey to me, the reader? I was left feeling that Mr Heaney writes for a more sophisticated audience than myself."
"Too many words I had no idea how to pronounce, and often what they meant ... Too many allusions and other references to Shakespeare and other bits of ancient high culture. Not exactly in a 'Hey, look at me. I'm educated' sense. Still too much for me to enjoy the poems. IT might make a great book to work through in a poetry class where the effort is meant to be expended.
Perhaps I simply don't want to work so hard at poetry at this stage in my poetic development."
"Having heard much ado about Seamus Heaney I thought I would try some of his stuff. Unfortunately, I had trouble seeing any value in it whatsoever. He relies too heavily on a structure that lends nothing to his poems. He doesn't write with any of the melody or lyricism of the great poets, and he doesn't have the awe-inspiring passionate writing of say a Ginsberg."
"What is so great about Seamus Heaney? These poems don't exactly rip my head or heart off. He mentions the Troubles of Ireland
only once in his poems. Maybe he should reexamine where his
is from. The Troubles are Protestant & Catholic War that seems
to go and on."
THANKS I'M EMAILING SEAMUS HEANEY NOW TO LET HIM KNOW THAT CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS ARE AT WAR IN IRELAND
"I like poetry, I really do. Like art, I don't know much about it, but I know what I like. I found most of the poems unappealing ... I was left feeling inadequate and confused. Why couldn't I understand what Mr Heaney was attempting to convey to me, the reader? I was left feeling that Mr Heaney writes for a more sophisticated audience than myself."
"Too many words I had no idea how to pronounce, and often what they meant ... Too many allusions and other references to Shakespeare and other bits of ancient high culture. Not exactly in a 'Hey, look at me. I'm educated' sense. Still too much for me to enjoy the poems. IT might make a great book to work through in a poetry class where the effort is meant to be expended.
Perhaps I simply don't want to work so hard at poetry at this stage in my poetic development."
"Having heard much ado about Seamus Heaney I thought I would try some of his stuff. Unfortunately, I had trouble seeing any value in it whatsoever. He relies too heavily on a structure that lends nothing to his poems. He doesn't write with any of the melody or lyricism of the great poets, and he doesn't have the awe-inspiring passionate writing of say a Ginsberg."
"What is so great about Seamus Heaney? These poems don't exactly rip my head or heart off. He mentions the Troubles of Ireland
only once in his poems. Maybe he should reexamine where his
is from. The Troubles are Protestant & Catholic War that seems
to go and on."
THANKS I'M EMAILING SEAMUS HEANEY NOW TO LET HIM KNOW THAT CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS ARE AT WAR IN IRELAND
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Descartes - Discourse on Method
"Descartes is a hack."
"Descartes is not relevant to study and has basically no merit. Here's why. Rules 1-4. 'Accept only that which you are sure of etc' ... He's faulty in his method and thought nothing that an illiterate person would not come up with on their own."
"complete garbage. who benefits from this stuff?"
"I think, therefore I am. Can I just say something here? This Descartes guy was crazy! I'm sure people with more expansive minds than mine really get into this stuff but honestly, I have no use for it. Dude wrote three pages on what happens when wax melts and how he knows or doesn't know if it's still wax or not. This is relevant to making the world go around, how?
Philosophy lovers, please don't barrage me with comments or explanations. I'm paying big time money at the university to 'learn' this stuff. I don't need to hear it anymore."
"All I could image was the teacher in the Peanuts ( wah wah wah wah wah)
Complete mind blowing garbage. I almost failed Philosphy in college due to this stupid book."
"I am sure that some people really dig and understand philosophy. I am not one of those people. Question: If I have a pink elephant in my mind's eye, does it really exist? Arghhhhhh!!!!! Seriously Rene Descartes, get a life."
"Absolute garbage. I am still amazed that this is taught in just about every Philosophy 101 course ... I love Philosophy actually which is why I hate Descartes so much."
"i could've told you that me and this chair i'm sitting on do in fact exist BEFORE i wasted my time reading this masturbatory bullshit. sheesh."
"twit...i hate descartes"
"how broken and, ethically-wise, non-including, this book is-- from an enviromental perspective."
"We're reading through this slowly in class. Yes, this semester sucks, thnx for the reminder, Descartes. Although I do love your argument that basically is the plot of Inception. Major props."
"Descartes is not relevant to study and has basically no merit. Here's why. Rules 1-4. 'Accept only that which you are sure of etc' ... He's faulty in his method and thought nothing that an illiterate person would not come up with on their own."
"complete garbage. who benefits from this stuff?"
"I think, therefore I am. Can I just say something here? This Descartes guy was crazy! I'm sure people with more expansive minds than mine really get into this stuff but honestly, I have no use for it. Dude wrote three pages on what happens when wax melts and how he knows or doesn't know if it's still wax or not. This is relevant to making the world go around, how?
Philosophy lovers, please don't barrage me with comments or explanations. I'm paying big time money at the university to 'learn' this stuff. I don't need to hear it anymore."
"All I could image was the teacher in the Peanuts ( wah wah wah wah wah)
Complete mind blowing garbage. I almost failed Philosphy in college due to this stupid book."
"I am sure that some people really dig and understand philosophy. I am not one of those people. Question: If I have a pink elephant in my mind's eye, does it really exist? Arghhhhhh!!!!! Seriously Rene Descartes, get a life."
"Absolute garbage. I am still amazed that this is taught in just about every Philosophy 101 course ... I love Philosophy actually which is why I hate Descartes so much."
"i could've told you that me and this chair i'm sitting on do in fact exist BEFORE i wasted my time reading this masturbatory bullshit. sheesh."
"twit...i hate descartes"
"how broken and, ethically-wise, non-including, this book is-- from an enviromental perspective."
"We're reading through this slowly in class. Yes, this semester sucks, thnx for the reminder, Descartes. Although I do love your argument that basically is the plot of Inception. Major props."
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sigmund Freud - Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality
"SIGMUND FREUD was bat shit, i have taken psychology courses where even the teachers call Freud insane, he only created his theories to explain his own sick fetishes and used examples from history."
"Freud has been discredited by modern psychology."
"SIGMUND FREUD was INSANE and did a SHIT TON OF COCAINE"
"Even Psychologists know that Freud was fucking insane."
"freud was a homo jack ass who displaced his personal homosexuality and weirdo-desire-to-fuck-his-mother problems on everyone else. freudian psychology is the scourge of modern society."
"Sigmund Freud was insane. Where the hell did the idea that repressed emotions will always find a way of seeping out and driving you nuts come from? Who did he think was he postulating about an overly sensitive matter and rubbing the sordid truth in our faces? Some fucking god?"
"Dis guy was a PERVERT and distroys everytimng good about all Christianity and Holyness. I tink if you believe all dis then you must be a cryptofacist perv like all deez guyz.... Man, don believe what dis guys is layin out....heez corrupting youths and poisoning da well of human consciences....
piece out"
"Freud has been discredited by modern psychology."
"SIGMUND FREUD was INSANE and did a SHIT TON OF COCAINE"
"Even Psychologists know that Freud was fucking insane."
"freud was a homo jack ass who displaced his personal homosexuality and weirdo-desire-to-fuck-his-mother problems on everyone else. freudian psychology is the scourge of modern society."
"Sigmund Freud was insane. Where the hell did the idea that repressed emotions will always find a way of seeping out and driving you nuts come from? Who did he think was he postulating about an overly sensitive matter and rubbing the sordid truth in our faces? Some fucking god?"
"Dis guy was a PERVERT and distroys everytimng good about all Christianity and Holyness. I tink if you believe all dis then you must be a cryptofacist perv like all deez guyz.... Man, don believe what dis guys is layin out....heez corrupting youths and poisoning da well of human consciences....
piece out"
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Al Qur'an III
"You don't have to be a 'religious scholar' to know that the Koran is evil."
"The Quran hates non-believers of their religion. They hate Americans too. (According to a news network, it speaks of over 100 references of hate towards Americans specifically)."
"Most Chinese believe Koran is evil They also think that Islamic world is the enemy of world peace. Muslims are all fanatics. Only Chinese communists can conquor Bin Laden. In the eyes of the Chinese governmetn officials, to kill Bin Laden is as easy as to kill an ant if China sends its forces to Afghanistan."
"To believe God is 'Allah', it's to deny the God of Abraham, Itzhak and Jacob."
"I am close minded to Islam, Muslim, Koran, blah blah blah and don't care if I'm right or wrong : )"
"It's basically like a whore on the street corner that gives different names to different customers, so she can sit back and have a laugh while all the John's fight over their version of what she likes and doesn't like.
Please do your homework and stop believing what your Musi-broker tells you. The verses are what they are...in all your silly folklore books; which any sound minded person hopes is completely the work of a fictional, yet demonic pen ... Even **I-F** the god of the Xtians, Jews, Muslims happened to be real---I would be ashamed to call myself a follower and worshipper of the most horrific crimes against humanity since the beginning of time. I personally question the mental status of any individual who HAS read any of these criminal stories"
"I'm not the most knowledgeable man when it comes to the Bible, and about whether or not is says to burn the Koran, but I do know this: It is no sin to reveal the truth, to reveal evil, or to destroy evil. And I know the Koran is evil, as those who practice Islam worship Satan."
"I am so sick of Americans who bend over backwards for our nation’s enemies, and Christians who bend over backwards for Muslims. I totally understand the teachings of 'turn the other cheek' and 'love thy neighbor,' but this situation is not what they're talking about."
"So many pusillanimous pukes and limp wristed twits in the media and in every single other corner of our civilization are AFRAID to say, that the Koran is evil. I really am sickened to my core by the degenerate infidels who are apologists for Islam, what pure unholy scum they are."
"What I find most incredible is that anyone who has ever read the QURAM impartially, will tell you, this is the siongle most EVIL BOOK ever written in mankinds history.
...
it is beyond any shadow iof any doubt the single most DEVISIVE thing in mankinds history EVER WRITTEN AND BAR NONE...IT ISNLT EVEN CLOSE...IT MAKES 'MEIN CAMPF' read like a Dr. SEUSS story in comparison.
All religion is WRONG WRONG WRONG IN THAT IT CELEBRATES OUR DIFFERENCES AND WHAT THIS WORLD DESPERATLEY NEEDS IS FOR MANKIND...ALL OF IT...TO CELEBRATE OUR SIMILARITIES...
but in the case of this ione book, and everything it stands for, the ONLY PROPER THING FOR THE REST OF MAN TO DO ABOUYT THISD IS ERRADICATE THIS BOOK AND THIS FAITH FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.
Beacuse as clearly stated in the 'QURAN' itself, IT'S VERY GOAL...IT'S REASON FOR BEING...IS THE PERPETUATION OF A WORLD IN WHICH EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS ISLAMIC OR ELSE DEAD BY THE HAND OF MUSLIM AND INA GREAT FIRE OR VIA DECAPITATION.
AND THIS IS FACT!!!
READ THE BOOK!!!
...
IT IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE SINGLE MOST EVIL THING EVER WRITTEN IN MANKINDS HISTORY!!!"
"The Quran hates non-believers of their religion. They hate Americans too. (According to a news network, it speaks of over 100 references of hate towards Americans specifically)."
"Most Chinese believe Koran is evil They also think that Islamic world is the enemy of world peace. Muslims are all fanatics. Only Chinese communists can conquor Bin Laden. In the eyes of the Chinese governmetn officials, to kill Bin Laden is as easy as to kill an ant if China sends its forces to Afghanistan."
"To believe God is 'Allah', it's to deny the God of Abraham, Itzhak and Jacob."
"I am close minded to Islam, Muslim, Koran, blah blah blah and don't care if I'm right or wrong : )"
"It's basically like a whore on the street corner that gives different names to different customers, so she can sit back and have a laugh while all the John's fight over their version of what she likes and doesn't like.
Please do your homework and stop believing what your Musi-broker tells you. The verses are what they are...in all your silly folklore books; which any sound minded person hopes is completely the work of a fictional, yet demonic pen ... Even **I-F** the god of the Xtians, Jews, Muslims happened to be real---I would be ashamed to call myself a follower and worshipper of the most horrific crimes against humanity since the beginning of time. I personally question the mental status of any individual who HAS read any of these criminal stories"
"I'm not the most knowledgeable man when it comes to the Bible, and about whether or not is says to burn the Koran, but I do know this: It is no sin to reveal the truth, to reveal evil, or to destroy evil. And I know the Koran is evil, as those who practice Islam worship Satan."
"I am so sick of Americans who bend over backwards for our nation’s enemies, and Christians who bend over backwards for Muslims. I totally understand the teachings of 'turn the other cheek' and 'love thy neighbor,' but this situation is not what they're talking about."
"So many pusillanimous pukes and limp wristed twits in the media and in every single other corner of our civilization are AFRAID to say, that the Koran is evil. I really am sickened to my core by the degenerate infidels who are apologists for Islam, what pure unholy scum they are."
"What I find most incredible is that anyone who has ever read the QURAM impartially, will tell you, this is the siongle most EVIL BOOK ever written in mankinds history.
...
it is beyond any shadow iof any doubt the single most DEVISIVE thing in mankinds history EVER WRITTEN AND BAR NONE...IT ISNLT EVEN CLOSE...IT MAKES 'MEIN CAMPF' read like a Dr. SEUSS story in comparison.
All religion is WRONG WRONG WRONG IN THAT IT CELEBRATES OUR DIFFERENCES AND WHAT THIS WORLD DESPERATLEY NEEDS IS FOR MANKIND...ALL OF IT...TO CELEBRATE OUR SIMILARITIES...
but in the case of this ione book, and everything it stands for, the ONLY PROPER THING FOR THE REST OF MAN TO DO ABOUYT THISD IS ERRADICATE THIS BOOK AND THIS FAITH FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.
Beacuse as clearly stated in the 'QURAN' itself, IT'S VERY GOAL...IT'S REASON FOR BEING...IS THE PERPETUATION OF A WORLD IN WHICH EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS ISLAMIC OR ELSE DEAD BY THE HAND OF MUSLIM AND INA GREAT FIRE OR VIA DECAPITATION.
AND THIS IS FACT!!!
READ THE BOOK!!!
...
IT IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE SINGLE MOST EVIL THING EVER WRITTEN IN MANKINDS HISTORY!!!"
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Johnathan Swift - A Modest Proposal
"this book was quite interesting but very weird"
"Eating babies? Seriously?"
"It really is quite astute to think of women as more livestock than human."
"Things I don't like about this book:
1. It's satire. I'm not a big fan of satire.
2. It's written like a rhetorical essay. Rhetoric and I didn't get along in college, and our relationship has not improved.
3. While I know that Mr. Swift is using the idea of cannibalism as satire and in truth encouraging thoughtfulness toward the poor, the subject matter is very disconcerting."
"Eating babies? Seriously?"
"It really is quite astute to think of women as more livestock than human."
"Things I don't like about this book:
1. It's satire. I'm not a big fan of satire.
2. It's written like a rhetorical essay. Rhetoric and I didn't get along in college, and our relationship has not improved.
3. While I know that Mr. Swift is using the idea of cannibalism as satire and in truth encouraging thoughtfulness toward the poor, the subject matter is very disconcerting."
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
THE BEST OF NOVEMBER
THE KORAN
"Now, regarding the Quran and other scriptures, you know from the start it's going to be a slow read. Writers like Mohammed, St Paul, and others were not word-savvy and couldn't make a gripping read like Ian Fleming, JK Rowling, or Jean Auel."
HESIOD - THEOGONY
"As I expected, there were a TON of pronouns - or more precisely, around 300 (no, I didn't count them, thanks) - in a mere 30 pages of the text"
DE BEAUVOIR - THE SECOND SEX
"I was amazed to read this book to see the origin of the women's movement. The jihad that Beauvoir calls for in the opening pages actually says that women should murder men. She says the proletariat has always dreamed of massacring the bourgeoisie, why can't women dream the same in regards to men.
The result is a kind of declaration of holy war. This holy war has now spread to thousands of women's studies programs whose only aim is the spreading of hatred. This is funded by liberal states throughout the western world. It has utterly poisoned the air between the genders as men are viciously painted in the minds of gullible young women. Run by violent lesbians, the university training these women receive is devoid of anything except the study of myth, and literature. Science and math are male, and therefore left out of the women's studies curriculum.
The training silos in Pakistan and Afghanistan create terrorists with a black and white vision of the world. Their fatwa is well-known against America.
The fatwa that women should dream of massacring men is less well-known, and yet is funded without question.
Reading this book was a huge breakthrough for me. I felt I had seen the source of my misery in college, and for many years after, as women of all ages exploded with rage at the men around me. They are being made into human missiles by Simone de Beauvoir's rage and the way which it is fashioned by women's studies programs who use this book as their koran."
ORWELL - 1984
"When i found out that the book was divided into sections and then subsections I nearly lost my mind. My best friend who is a year older than me couldn't decipher the intricate workings of George Orwell's writing ... My fear is octopus. even a picture reduces me to tears. I cannot even look a the marine bio textbook because there is an octopus on it. I could not survive in that world. In one word to describe this book.....detestable."
"People would complain of sexism and demand a 'big sister.' As ideals of beauty changed and people decided that Big Brother's omnipresent facade was unnatractive (too fat, maybe) they would lose all respect for him."
"I prefer the Topias to the Utopias, my self, as the Topias have far greater potential of becoming reality. (The proper term, incidentally, is Negative Utopia, but, seeing as Utopia is a Greciate word meaning 'noplace', then should not the more realistic negative Utopia naturally be called '[some:]place'?)"
PLATO - APOLOGY
"Plato was wrong and whats real is not ideal. What is real is actually real in physical reality and Plato was a cunt for thinking otherwise and I heard he sodomized many many young boys too.
So now all we have about God are ideals that essentially come from nowhere other than ppl minds and lack of evidence suggests the possibility and what I now view as likely hood of nothingness. So ppl of faith convince me I am wrong and that most atheists like Plato too are sodomites and why I should follow and believe in your flying spaghetti monster."
"Now, regarding the Quran and other scriptures, you know from the start it's going to be a slow read. Writers like Mohammed, St Paul, and others were not word-savvy and couldn't make a gripping read like Ian Fleming, JK Rowling, or Jean Auel."
HESIOD - THEOGONY
"As I expected, there were a TON of pronouns - or more precisely, around 300 (no, I didn't count them, thanks) - in a mere 30 pages of the text"
DE BEAUVOIR - THE SECOND SEX
"I was amazed to read this book to see the origin of the women's movement. The jihad that Beauvoir calls for in the opening pages actually says that women should murder men. She says the proletariat has always dreamed of massacring the bourgeoisie, why can't women dream the same in regards to men.
The result is a kind of declaration of holy war. This holy war has now spread to thousands of women's studies programs whose only aim is the spreading of hatred. This is funded by liberal states throughout the western world. It has utterly poisoned the air between the genders as men are viciously painted in the minds of gullible young women. Run by violent lesbians, the university training these women receive is devoid of anything except the study of myth, and literature. Science and math are male, and therefore left out of the women's studies curriculum.
The training silos in Pakistan and Afghanistan create terrorists with a black and white vision of the world. Their fatwa is well-known against America.
The fatwa that women should dream of massacring men is less well-known, and yet is funded without question.
Reading this book was a huge breakthrough for me. I felt I had seen the source of my misery in college, and for many years after, as women of all ages exploded with rage at the men around me. They are being made into human missiles by Simone de Beauvoir's rage and the way which it is fashioned by women's studies programs who use this book as their koran."
ORWELL - 1984
"When i found out that the book was divided into sections and then subsections I nearly lost my mind. My best friend who is a year older than me couldn't decipher the intricate workings of George Orwell's writing ... My fear is octopus. even a picture reduces me to tears. I cannot even look a the marine bio textbook because there is an octopus on it. I could not survive in that world. In one word to describe this book.....detestable."
"People would complain of sexism and demand a 'big sister.' As ideals of beauty changed and people decided that Big Brother's omnipresent facade was unnatractive (too fat, maybe) they would lose all respect for him."
"I prefer the Topias to the Utopias, my self, as the Topias have far greater potential of becoming reality. (The proper term, incidentally, is Negative Utopia, but, seeing as Utopia is a Greciate word meaning 'noplace', then should not the more realistic negative Utopia naturally be called '[some:]place'?)"
PLATO - APOLOGY
"Plato was wrong and whats real is not ideal. What is real is actually real in physical reality and Plato was a cunt for thinking otherwise and I heard he sodomized many many young boys too.
So now all we have about God are ideals that essentially come from nowhere other than ppl minds and lack of evidence suggests the possibility and what I now view as likely hood of nothingness. So ppl of faith convince me I am wrong and that most atheists like Plato too are sodomites and why I should follow and believe in your flying spaghetti monster."
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Christopher Marlowe - The Jew of Malta
"I pretty much skimmed it. I need to reread it with the notes. You would think that considering those facts, I’d refrain from writing a review."
"I will ALWAYS prefer Merchant of Venice to The Jew of Malta. I don't care if Marlowe inspired Shakespeare on that one, Jew of Malta is terrifying in its anti-Semitic tone"
"I hate Christopher Marlowe with every piece of who I am and all that is sacred to my being ... (A little side-note: I’m desperately in love with words, but there are certain combinations of specific syllables that make me want to die. For instance, I find extensive use of the letter 'L' to be irritating.)"
"I will ALWAYS prefer Merchant of Venice to The Jew of Malta. I don't care if Marlowe inspired Shakespeare on that one, Jew of Malta is terrifying in its anti-Semitic tone"
"I hate Christopher Marlowe with every piece of who I am and all that is sacred to my being ... (A little side-note: I’m desperately in love with words, but there are certain combinations of specific syllables that make me want to die. For instance, I find extensive use of the letter 'L' to be irritating.)"
Friday, November 25, 2011
Kant - Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
"Kant suxxx so hard. Kant suxxx so much we invented a drinking game called 'reasons Kant suxxx' where you go around in a circle and list reasons Kant sucks until you can’t anymore and then you have to drink. The game in itself kind of suxxx cuz you don’t really get to drink ever cuz there are so many reasons."
"A few days ago, I learned about a philosopher named Kant. Kant is a shit. For someone whose career it is to think, he is profoundly dumb."
"It was Immanuel Kant who said, 'It is God's will, not merely that we should be happy, but that we should MAKE OURSELVES HAPPY. This is TRUE MORALITY.' Of course, Kant was an idiot. God never said that it is His will for us to 'make ourselves happy.' That's a satanic philosophy, which eventually ends with, 'If it feels good, then do it.' Jesus Christ said, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.' Luke 9:23. The 'don't worry, be happy' philosophy will damn your soul to Hell."
"to anyone studying philosophy he is the epitome of a c#nt. to be fair i havent been to enough lectures to know much about his views"
"A few days ago, I learned about a philosopher named Kant. Kant is a shit. For someone whose career it is to think, he is profoundly dumb."
"It was Immanuel Kant who said, 'It is God's will, not merely that we should be happy, but that we should MAKE OURSELVES HAPPY. This is TRUE MORALITY.' Of course, Kant was an idiot. God never said that it is His will for us to 'make ourselves happy.' That's a satanic philosophy, which eventually ends with, 'If it feels good, then do it.' Jesus Christ said, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.' Luke 9:23. The 'don't worry, be happy' philosophy will damn your soul to Hell."
"to anyone studying philosophy he is the epitome of a c#nt. to be fair i havent been to enough lectures to know much about his views"
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Plato - Apology
"For the average person with an interest in philosophy, I thought this was tedious and often rather irrelevant."
"Its a good skim - and it actually begs for a graphic novel version."
"I have come to the conclusion that either Socrates is indeed a very wiseman or he's a very talented charlatan who is capable of confusing and arguing his way out of a wet paper bag...If the later is the case, then he's a very influential and dangerous man and the Athens' Jury were correct in his guilty verdict and subsequent punishment."
"Socrates was by and large a trouble maker. He tore down other's beleifs in trying to find the nature and wisdom of pious, but never offered anything in return."
"Plato was wrong and whats real is not ideal. What is real is actually real in physical reality and Plato was a cunt for thinking otherwise and I heard he sodomized many many young boys too.
So now all we have about God are ideals that essentially come from nowhere other than ppl minds and lack of evidence suggests the possibility and what I now view as likely hood of nothingness. So ppl of faith convince me I am wrong and that most atheists like Plato too are sodomites and why I should follow and believe in your flying spaghetti monster."
"Its a good skim - and it actually begs for a graphic novel version."
"I have come to the conclusion that either Socrates is indeed a very wiseman or he's a very talented charlatan who is capable of confusing and arguing his way out of a wet paper bag...If the later is the case, then he's a very influential and dangerous man and the Athens' Jury were correct in his guilty verdict and subsequent punishment."
"Socrates was by and large a trouble maker. He tore down other's beleifs in trying to find the nature and wisdom of pious, but never offered anything in return."
"Plato was wrong and whats real is not ideal. What is real is actually real in physical reality and Plato was a cunt for thinking otherwise and I heard he sodomized many many young boys too.
So now all we have about God are ideals that essentially come from nowhere other than ppl minds and lack of evidence suggests the possibility and what I now view as likely hood of nothingness. So ppl of faith convince me I am wrong and that most atheists like Plato too are sodomites and why I should follow and believe in your flying spaghetti monster."
Monday, November 21, 2011
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four III
"What if the Nazi’s had won 'World War 2'? What if are world only had three countries? In '1984' that is the reality. The Nazi’s did not when Word War 2 but the world was divided into three supercontinents, Eastasia, Eurasia, and Oceania. Winston Smith is a normal person who lives in Oceania London and works in the monastery a truth."
"1984 is about an atlernate reality set in 1984. Winston Smith is a thirty nine year old protagonist who is rebeling against the Big Brother in little ways everyday. Along with his friend Julia who is more than just a friend, Winston must battle against the Big Brother, thwart O'Brians plan to hurt him and as close to Julia as he can."
"brilliant. guide to life."
"I am not at all intrested in the goverment. This may be part of the reason that I didnt like it."
"winston lives in a negative utopia. everything in the world is completely twisted and being the conservative i am, i was a little shocked by some of the book. for instance, winston has more than a few sex scenes that i think were completely unnecessary."
"This book was boring ... even to me, and I'm only just mildly smart. I can imagine how boring 1984 would be to someone with a higher IQ than mine."
"1984, A Sci-Fi book, was not that good to me. It was confusing in the beginning and began to make sense toward the end but I still couldn’t understand what the author was getting at. His world sounded cruel and unfair."
"Once i had finished the book, I really started wondering about our books that i have read through my two years of middle school and four years of high school. i wonder why we cannot seem to get hold of a single book that leaves you happy at the end. Why did the government have to win. Winston becomes just like anyone else. I am astounded as to why we all wonder why teenage suicide rates are at an all time high. Not only do high school students have to deal with a depressing school environment, but also bring these books with us home where we continue to be depressed. Would it kill us to ever read a book where the good guy actually wins? If i got anything from this book, it has only helped my realize that our school has only fed its students depressing literature that our poisoning our minds. In 1984, the government shaped societies mind to be exactly what they wanted it to be. Is there any possibility that our school system is doing the same thing? A large majority of our literature is coming off to derive away from God and lean towards liberal points of views."
"This book is mind blowing. Literally ... If you enjoyed The Resistance soundtrack by the band Muse, then you will love this book."
"Who controls the present now, controls the past. Who controls the past now controls the future, Who controls the present now... NOW TESTIFY!!!
This book is THAT good."
"We are living 1984 now."
"CHOSE to read this when I was 42. I would suggest this to everyone after they've grown up a bit. It will make you think, and make you wonder if Big Brother does exist!"
"The best book ever written by a human being."
"I have to say I was irritated with the main characters obvious depressing outlook on his survival against big brother."
"Bah humbug. I can't believe they made us read this in grade 8. If my kid has this on the curriculum in grade 8, you betcha this mom is calling the school to complain!
Did not appreciate the torture bits and the promoting of suicide as a way out.
Way did not appreciate the hopeless ending."
"I prefer the Topias to the Utopias, my self, as the Topias have far greater potential of becoming reality. (The proper term, incidentally, is Negative Utopia, but, seeing as Utopia is a Greciate word meaning 'noplace', then should not the more realistic negative Utopia naturally be called '[some:]place'?)"
"Action is sparse and sporadic, with one 'action' seen being an incredibly odd and kinky sex scene between Winston and Julia"
"One word: Torture. This book is about physical and psychological torture and as the reader you get to be tortured too. There are some interesting political and philosophical points, and you might be able to feel smarter because you have read this well-known book. That may be enough of a reason to read it but don't expect to enjoy it."
"Why does this book get a low rating?
Because of the ending.
End of story.
The most infuriating ending of a book I have ever read in my life. I was so mad. It was fine up until then. But as an author, I felt Orwell gave up on his readers and that just isn't acceptable."
"It was quite annoying that the next 30 pages was Winston reading "the book" and I, also, had to read each and every word"
"first of all its NOTHING like the future is probly going to turn out. second of all every one says the aurthor george orwell is so trippy and wierd but i think he's just trying to cover up for the fact that HE CAN'T WRITE. please george do us all a faver and stop writing books."
"1984 is about an atlernate reality set in 1984. Winston Smith is a thirty nine year old protagonist who is rebeling against the Big Brother in little ways everyday. Along with his friend Julia who is more than just a friend, Winston must battle against the Big Brother, thwart O'Brians plan to hurt him and as close to Julia as he can."
"brilliant. guide to life."
"I am not at all intrested in the goverment. This may be part of the reason that I didnt like it."
"winston lives in a negative utopia. everything in the world is completely twisted and being the conservative i am, i was a little shocked by some of the book. for instance, winston has more than a few sex scenes that i think were completely unnecessary."
"This book was boring ... even to me, and I'm only just mildly smart. I can imagine how boring 1984 would be to someone with a higher IQ than mine."
"1984, A Sci-Fi book, was not that good to me. It was confusing in the beginning and began to make sense toward the end but I still couldn’t understand what the author was getting at. His world sounded cruel and unfair."
"Once i had finished the book, I really started wondering about our books that i have read through my two years of middle school and four years of high school. i wonder why we cannot seem to get hold of a single book that leaves you happy at the end. Why did the government have to win. Winston becomes just like anyone else. I am astounded as to why we all wonder why teenage suicide rates are at an all time high. Not only do high school students have to deal with a depressing school environment, but also bring these books with us home where we continue to be depressed. Would it kill us to ever read a book where the good guy actually wins? If i got anything from this book, it has only helped my realize that our school has only fed its students depressing literature that our poisoning our minds. In 1984, the government shaped societies mind to be exactly what they wanted it to be. Is there any possibility that our school system is doing the same thing? A large majority of our literature is coming off to derive away from God and lean towards liberal points of views."
"This book is mind blowing. Literally ... If you enjoyed The Resistance soundtrack by the band Muse, then you will love this book."
"Who controls the present now, controls the past. Who controls the past now controls the future, Who controls the present now... NOW TESTIFY!!!
This book is THAT good."
"We are living 1984 now."
"CHOSE to read this when I was 42. I would suggest this to everyone after they've grown up a bit. It will make you think, and make you wonder if Big Brother does exist!"
"The best book ever written by a human being."
"I have to say I was irritated with the main characters obvious depressing outlook on his survival against big brother."
"Bah humbug. I can't believe they made us read this in grade 8. If my kid has this on the curriculum in grade 8, you betcha this mom is calling the school to complain!
Did not appreciate the torture bits and the promoting of suicide as a way out.
Way did not appreciate the hopeless ending."
"I prefer the Topias to the Utopias, my self, as the Topias have far greater potential of becoming reality. (The proper term, incidentally, is Negative Utopia, but, seeing as Utopia is a Greciate word meaning 'noplace', then should not the more realistic negative Utopia naturally be called '[some:]place'?)"
"Action is sparse and sporadic, with one 'action' seen being an incredibly odd and kinky sex scene between Winston and Julia"
"One word: Torture. This book is about physical and psychological torture and as the reader you get to be tortured too. There are some interesting political and philosophical points, and you might be able to feel smarter because you have read this well-known book. That may be enough of a reason to read it but don't expect to enjoy it."
"Why does this book get a low rating?
Because of the ending.
End of story.
The most infuriating ending of a book I have ever read in my life. I was so mad. It was fine up until then. But as an author, I felt Orwell gave up on his readers and that just isn't acceptable."
"It was quite annoying that the next 30 pages was Winston reading "the book" and I, also, had to read each and every word"
"first of all its NOTHING like the future is probly going to turn out. second of all every one says the aurthor george orwell is so trippy and wierd but i think he's just trying to cover up for the fact that HE CAN'T WRITE. please george do us all a faver and stop writing books."
Saturday, November 19, 2011
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four II
"This book is essentially the same as 'The Brave New World' but expressed in a totally different way."
"It was a very good description of life during anti-social time"
"The greatest prose stylist the English language has produced."
"must we really keep reading in full detail the horror and disgust of Winston's vericose veins?!"
"This is a good example of the fact that pessimistic and shocking books often receive rave criticism while dynamically optimistic books are dubbed 'unrealistic'... NO further comment."
"DON'T READ ANY GEORGE ORWELL. Your just waisting your time."
"The book was a great read and a good use of time. I personally think big brother is the man."
"Orwell has an imaginative mind, I must say, but thuis book talks about 1949, when he published it when there were such things as totalitarism. How could he know it would still be the exact same thing in 1984? This book also has strange events. The author skipped around too many times. At one sentence, he would be in the appartment in Winston's home, and without telling a reason for it, he would be some where else."
"The words are difficult. I had no clue what was really going on. It would be less boring if it was shorter and broken down so it would be easier to understand. You might like this book if you are interested in predicting the future and you can read lots of difficult words and know what they mean."
"People would complain of sexism and demand a 'big sister.' As ideals of beauty changed and people decided that Big Brother's omnipresent facade was unnatractive (too fat, maybe) they would lose all respect for him."
"I have to ask, 'What's the point?' Maybe if you live in a country that's a monarchy, this book's worth reading, but this is *America*, ok? The whole reason we live in a democracy is so that we the people don't have to worry about things like this."
"Unlike Mr Orwell apparently, I can actually remember 1984 and believe you me some of his recollections of the era are well off the mark."
"THS BOOK SHOULD NOT BE READ UNLESS YOU LOVE THE DESTRCTION OF THE WONDERFUL HUMAN NATURE GOD CREATED."
"CONFUSING!!!
tHE BOOK WAS ABOUT A GUY NAMED WINSTON WHO FOUND A DIARY AND WROTE HIS FEELING IN IT WHICH WAS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. I THOUGHT THE BOOK WAS RATHER BORING AND CONFUSING TO READ. I DIDNT UNDERSTAND MOST OF THE THINGS HE WAS TALKING ABOUT. WHEN READING THE BOOK I SUGGEST THAT YOU PAY CLOSE ATTENTION SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND IT COMPLETELY AND WONT BE CONFUSED."
"R-E-J-E-C-T-E-D
This particular piece of literature, entitled 1984 and written by Goerge Orwell, was 1980 boring. Being a seventeen year old teenager, with a mind of my own, made it extremely difficult to stay focused on something so morbid and [weak] as this so-called "classic." I can sum up my thoughts of this book using few words...Reading this book was like HELL! And for those of you who are more visual, it was like trying to keep a white T-shirt clean while eating spaghetti."
"For me the book took a downword turn during the time where Winston started having a love affair with some girl. This girl latter became a thought police inforcer, which surprised me none. I found the book to be a bore of a read and very predictable. My advise to all of you fair readers is to steer clear of this vile book. You will live longer because of it."
"For the people who read and enjoyed this book...GET A LIFE!"
"Quote from '1984': 'Humanity is nothing more than one man shoving another man's face in the mud'
So, '1984' tells us that humans are completely useless and we have no reason to exist."
"It was just thoughts of a sad man with perverse and suspicouis thoughts."
"I think it's absolutely disgusting that just about every book that we had to read in freshman English had sex in it."
"This book isn't as good as Harry Potter in MY opinion, and no one can refute me. Tastes are relative!"
"Nice try George
The main character, Winston Smith, spends his time throughout the novel trying to overthrow The Party and Big Brother, while running from the "Thought Police," a justice department that monitors the thoughts of citizens of Oceana, the predicted future state of London, England. Winston fails in his attempts. He is captured, set up by people whom he believed to be on his side, and is later brainwashed into loving and following Big Brother.
Great attitude George. I truly believe that Orwell's sole purpose for writing this novel was to encourage anarchy, and to convince his readers to be subordinate to authority ... Let's try to be a little more optomistic, and work on a happier ending, shall we?"
"The plot is fairly simplistic but with redundant lines. 'Oceania has always been war with Eastasia.' 'Freedom is slavery.' 'Big Brother is watching you.' In other words, it was nothing but a lot of nonsensical fillers."
"The book has multiple plot holes as well. Beware the 'government runs the world unchallenged, but still needs to brainwash old people' hole."
ANOTHER PLOT HOLE: IN THE OPENING PAGES, WE SEE WINSTON WALKING HOME. BUT THEN HE GETS HOME! AND IF HE'S HOME, WHY DID HE NEED TO WALK HOME AT ALL? YOUR MOVE, ORWELL
"It was a very good description of life during anti-social time"
"The greatest prose stylist the English language has produced."
"must we really keep reading in full detail the horror and disgust of Winston's vericose veins?!"
"This is a good example of the fact that pessimistic and shocking books often receive rave criticism while dynamically optimistic books are dubbed 'unrealistic'... NO further comment."
"DON'T READ ANY GEORGE ORWELL. Your just waisting your time."
"The book was a great read and a good use of time. I personally think big brother is the man."
"Orwell has an imaginative mind, I must say, but thuis book talks about 1949, when he published it when there were such things as totalitarism. How could he know it would still be the exact same thing in 1984? This book also has strange events. The author skipped around too many times. At one sentence, he would be in the appartment in Winston's home, and without telling a reason for it, he would be some where else."
"The words are difficult. I had no clue what was really going on. It would be less boring if it was shorter and broken down so it would be easier to understand. You might like this book if you are interested in predicting the future and you can read lots of difficult words and know what they mean."
"People would complain of sexism and demand a 'big sister.' As ideals of beauty changed and people decided that Big Brother's omnipresent facade was unnatractive (too fat, maybe) they would lose all respect for him."
"I have to ask, 'What's the point?' Maybe if you live in a country that's a monarchy, this book's worth reading, but this is *America*, ok? The whole reason we live in a democracy is so that we the people don't have to worry about things like this."
"Unlike Mr Orwell apparently, I can actually remember 1984 and believe you me some of his recollections of the era are well off the mark."
"THS BOOK SHOULD NOT BE READ UNLESS YOU LOVE THE DESTRCTION OF THE WONDERFUL HUMAN NATURE GOD CREATED."
"CONFUSING!!!
tHE BOOK WAS ABOUT A GUY NAMED WINSTON WHO FOUND A DIARY AND WROTE HIS FEELING IN IT WHICH WAS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. I THOUGHT THE BOOK WAS RATHER BORING AND CONFUSING TO READ. I DIDNT UNDERSTAND MOST OF THE THINGS HE WAS TALKING ABOUT. WHEN READING THE BOOK I SUGGEST THAT YOU PAY CLOSE ATTENTION SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND IT COMPLETELY AND WONT BE CONFUSED."
"R-E-J-E-C-T-E-D
This particular piece of literature, entitled 1984 and written by Goerge Orwell, was 1980 boring. Being a seventeen year old teenager, with a mind of my own, made it extremely difficult to stay focused on something so morbid and [weak] as this so-called "classic." I can sum up my thoughts of this book using few words...Reading this book was like HELL! And for those of you who are more visual, it was like trying to keep a white T-shirt clean while eating spaghetti."
"For me the book took a downword turn during the time where Winston started having a love affair with some girl. This girl latter became a thought police inforcer, which surprised me none. I found the book to be a bore of a read and very predictable. My advise to all of you fair readers is to steer clear of this vile book. You will live longer because of it."
"For the people who read and enjoyed this book...GET A LIFE!"
"Quote from '1984': 'Humanity is nothing more than one man shoving another man's face in the mud'
So, '1984' tells us that humans are completely useless and we have no reason to exist."
"It was just thoughts of a sad man with perverse and suspicouis thoughts."
"I think it's absolutely disgusting that just about every book that we had to read in freshman English had sex in it."
"This book isn't as good as Harry Potter in MY opinion, and no one can refute me. Tastes are relative!"
"Nice try George
The main character, Winston Smith, spends his time throughout the novel trying to overthrow The Party and Big Brother, while running from the "Thought Police," a justice department that monitors the thoughts of citizens of Oceana, the predicted future state of London, England. Winston fails in his attempts. He is captured, set up by people whom he believed to be on his side, and is later brainwashed into loving and following Big Brother.
Great attitude George. I truly believe that Orwell's sole purpose for writing this novel was to encourage anarchy, and to convince his readers to be subordinate to authority ... Let's try to be a little more optomistic, and work on a happier ending, shall we?"
"The plot is fairly simplistic but with redundant lines. 'Oceania has always been war with Eastasia.' 'Freedom is slavery.' 'Big Brother is watching you.' In other words, it was nothing but a lot of nonsensical fillers."
"The book has multiple plot holes as well. Beware the 'government runs the world unchallenged, but still needs to brainwash old people' hole."
ANOTHER PLOT HOLE: IN THE OPENING PAGES, WE SEE WINSTON WALKING HOME. BUT THEN HE GETS HOME! AND IF HE'S HOME, WHY DID HE NEED TO WALK HOME AT ALL? YOUR MOVE, ORWELL
Thursday, November 17, 2011
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
"My bible."
"What if what you believed in turns out to be all hoax?
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU."
"I also love the fact that it doesn't have a happy ending - it is rare to find book like that."
"I also think it could have done without all of the sex."
"I am just not into the whole big brother concept....."
"i didnt like this book what so ever it was to old for me the styel of writing was vary diffrent and something i wasnt usto and so i diidnt like it and disided to abandin it
i wouldnt recomed to anyone who dosent like to read realy old books or vary strong powerful wworeds"
"George Orwell’s 1984 is a book that suffers, for me, from a problem of putting to many words in descriptions that don’t need it."
"It's really hard to believe how long ago this was written. It reads like a modern novel and has real merit."
"After they captured Winston he was tortured into believing the lies of the party like 2+2=4."
"Another thing i didnt like about the book was how dark it was. This book had a lot of betrayl, secrets, and lies in it; somthing that i personally dont like reading about,
I mean I usually like sifi books, and futeristic things like 1984, but this book was a little out of the normal. I found it akward how the author put so much phyical contact in the the book. It made it difficult and wierd to read for a person my age.
I think the moral of the book is to stand up for what you believe in, and never stop trying."
"You could title this book 2009 this book is a clear representation of the current day and administration."
"When i found out that the book was divided into sections and then subsections I nearly lost my mind. My best friend who is a year older than me couldn't decipher the intricate workings of George Orwell's writing ... My fear is octopus. even a picture reduces me to tears. I cannot even look a the marine bio textbook because there is an octopus on it. I could not survive in that world. In one word to describe this book.....detestable."
"I didn't care for Winston Smith, I found him a boring and bland main character who thought too much"
"I think I read 25 pages before I said, 'ECCKGH!!!' and threw the book across the room. I then read the plot summary on Wikipedia, and was grateful I didn't waste my time with finishing the book. After reading many reviews, I'm still not sure what's so great about '1984.' Enlighten me if you can. That's the thing though, I'm don't think there IS anything enlightening or redeeming about this novel. I only read a little bit, but those 25 pages were so incredibly dark and depressed the hell out of me. Why would you want to read something that brings you down so much? '1984' made me feel so bad I had to read some Berenstain Bears to cheer me up."
"I will protest if my high schooler has to read it--graphic torture scenes for 30 pages or so--I read only like a sentence on each page for those pages."
"How did things get this way? Where is the ACLU (not that I support them...)? I hope there is some explanation."
"This novel pulled wires in my head that did not need pulled. It tested the limits of my intelligence."
"After reading it, I don't understand why this is part of the high school curriculum! It's slow, totally depressing, the subject matter is far beyond the comprehension of a high schooler and it's really not appropriate for that age level to read it, no matter how 'advanced' a class it is. I could barely appreciate it for the message it was conveying and I'm almost 10 years beyond high school."
"It is one of the most depressing books, that I have read. The message wasn't as clear in 1984. In Ann Rand books the message is clear. I like the Ann Rand books better."
"The love interest was a filthy whore."
"I did not enjoy this book.
I do not believe in futility, ever.
I am more of a 'Never give up! Never give in! Never surrender! Never allow despair to overcome!' kind of guy."
"How sad to make teenagers read unhappy crap without also giving them positive stuff to read for credit, and strengthen their sense of identity."
"To say this book stunk the fat one would be kind... 1984?!?!? More like 'Nineteen eighty I want some more!' lol-- j/k. Seriously though-- big time stink fest."
"What if what you believed in turns out to be all hoax?
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU."
"I also love the fact that it doesn't have a happy ending - it is rare to find book like that."
"I also think it could have done without all of the sex."
"I am just not into the whole big brother concept....."
"i didnt like this book what so ever it was to old for me the styel of writing was vary diffrent and something i wasnt usto and so i diidnt like it and disided to abandin it
i wouldnt recomed to anyone who dosent like to read realy old books or vary strong powerful wworeds"
"George Orwell’s 1984 is a book that suffers, for me, from a problem of putting to many words in descriptions that don’t need it."
"It's really hard to believe how long ago this was written. It reads like a modern novel and has real merit."
"After they captured Winston he was tortured into believing the lies of the party like 2+2=4."
"Another thing i didnt like about the book was how dark it was. This book had a lot of betrayl, secrets, and lies in it; somthing that i personally dont like reading about,
I mean I usually like sifi books, and futeristic things like 1984, but this book was a little out of the normal. I found it akward how the author put so much phyical contact in the the book. It made it difficult and wierd to read for a person my age.
I think the moral of the book is to stand up for what you believe in, and never stop trying."
"You could title this book 2009 this book is a clear representation of the current day and administration."
"When i found out that the book was divided into sections and then subsections I nearly lost my mind. My best friend who is a year older than me couldn't decipher the intricate workings of George Orwell's writing ... My fear is octopus. even a picture reduces me to tears. I cannot even look a the marine bio textbook because there is an octopus on it. I could not survive in that world. In one word to describe this book.....detestable."
"I didn't care for Winston Smith, I found him a boring and bland main character who thought too much"
"I think I read 25 pages before I said, 'ECCKGH!!!' and threw the book across the room. I then read the plot summary on Wikipedia, and was grateful I didn't waste my time with finishing the book. After reading many reviews, I'm still not sure what's so great about '1984.' Enlighten me if you can. That's the thing though, I'm don't think there IS anything enlightening or redeeming about this novel. I only read a little bit, but those 25 pages were so incredibly dark and depressed the hell out of me. Why would you want to read something that brings you down so much? '1984' made me feel so bad I had to read some Berenstain Bears to cheer me up."
"I will protest if my high schooler has to read it--graphic torture scenes for 30 pages or so--I read only like a sentence on each page for those pages."
"How did things get this way? Where is the ACLU (not that I support them...)? I hope there is some explanation."
"This novel pulled wires in my head that did not need pulled. It tested the limits of my intelligence."
"After reading it, I don't understand why this is part of the high school curriculum! It's slow, totally depressing, the subject matter is far beyond the comprehension of a high schooler and it's really not appropriate for that age level to read it, no matter how 'advanced' a class it is. I could barely appreciate it for the message it was conveying and I'm almost 10 years beyond high school."
"It is one of the most depressing books, that I have read. The message wasn't as clear in 1984. In Ann Rand books the message is clear. I like the Ann Rand books better."
"The love interest was a filthy whore."
"I did not enjoy this book.
I do not believe in futility, ever.
I am more of a 'Never give up! Never give in! Never surrender! Never allow despair to overcome!' kind of guy."
"How sad to make teenagers read unhappy crap without also giving them positive stuff to read for credit, and strengthen their sense of identity."
"To say this book stunk the fat one would be kind... 1984?!?!? More like 'Nineteen eighty I want some more!' lol-- j/k. Seriously though-- big time stink fest."
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Shakespeare - Antony and Cleopatra
"Ugh. Boring. Slow. Maybe it's really cool to watch, but it's really tedious to read fifteen scenes in Acts III and IV, especially when we know (from history) how it ends ... Shakespeare seemed like he was trying too hard to be accurate"
"As much as Shakespeare is an acclaimed writer, I found little to enjoy about this play mostly because I found Cleopatra and Antony contrived and ridiculously without common sense for the historical icons they are."
"Am asked what I think of this play. Slightly feverish, eating oatmeal, I mutter: 'I thought they were all stupid.'"
"The only thing that I learned By reading Antony and Cleopatra,was that History should be ashamed of having recorded the lives of these two people!"
"HBO's 'Rome' tells the story much, much better in Season 2. So, for that matter, does Colleen McCulloch (author of 'The Thorn Birds') in her novel by the same title. Kind of feel like I wasted my time with this one."
YEAH, YOU REALLY DID
"As much as Shakespeare is an acclaimed writer, I found little to enjoy about this play mostly because I found Cleopatra and Antony contrived and ridiculously without common sense for the historical icons they are."
"Am asked what I think of this play. Slightly feverish, eating oatmeal, I mutter: 'I thought they were all stupid.'"
"The only thing that I learned By reading Antony and Cleopatra,was that History should be ashamed of having recorded the lives of these two people!"
"HBO's 'Rome' tells the story much, much better in Season 2. So, for that matter, does Colleen McCulloch (author of 'The Thorn Birds') in her novel by the same title. Kind of feel like I wasted my time with this one."
YEAH, YOU REALLY DID
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching
"The androcentric worldview is certainly an aberration of history that will destroy us if we do not contemplate the Tao and realign our human forces in order to be more like the Ewoks in Star Wars."
"It was absolute nonsense and Orwell must have read it because it's lesson of 'Ignorance is Strength' could have come right out of it."
"Inane and oxymoronic. Abounding with self contradiction, not only in the verses themselves--which I was willing to indulge on the basis that they made a twisted sort of sense--but when comparing different verses. An exercise in seeing how many people will pretend the emperor has clothes."
"For instance, you get a repetition of the idea that 'to desire' is bad, but what an average person with no metaphorical training would read that you should live by humble means, in other words: 'have nothing,' when in actuality they probably mean that you should 'have,' for 'having' is the opposite of 'desiring'."
"Too inscrutable. :-)"
"Lao Tsu is full of shit."
"I keep the Tao around in case I ever feel like re-reading it and also so I can look well-read."
"It's very peaceful and cleverly worded, but I can't say i really buy it. Maybe I'm just not a peaceful laissez-faire kind of person."
"I read this at a pathetic attempt to enlighten myself in some b.s. way...
All I got out of it was how to breathe.
So when I hugged a girl I liked or something, I breathed when I did so thinking it would give me some spiritual entity that wasn't there before and it would emit through her or something and she'd be like 'OH MY GOD! I LOVE MARTY'
This did not happen."
"It was absolute nonsense and Orwell must have read it because it's lesson of 'Ignorance is Strength' could have come right out of it."
"Inane and oxymoronic. Abounding with self contradiction, not only in the verses themselves--which I was willing to indulge on the basis that they made a twisted sort of sense--but when comparing different verses. An exercise in seeing how many people will pretend the emperor has clothes."
"For instance, you get a repetition of the idea that 'to desire' is bad, but what an average person with no metaphorical training would read that you should live by humble means, in other words: 'have nothing,' when in actuality they probably mean that you should 'have,' for 'having' is the opposite of 'desiring'."
"Too inscrutable. :-)"
"Lao Tsu is full of shit."
"I keep the Tao around in case I ever feel like re-reading it and also so I can look well-read."
"It's very peaceful and cleverly worded, but I can't say i really buy it. Maybe I'm just not a peaceful laissez-faire kind of person."
"I read this at a pathetic attempt to enlighten myself in some b.s. way...
All I got out of it was how to breathe.
So when I hugged a girl I liked or something, I breathed when I did so thinking it would give me some spiritual entity that wasn't there before and it would emit through her or something and she'd be like 'OH MY GOD! I LOVE MARTY'
This did not happen."
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Simone de Beauvoir - The Second Sex
"I hated this book. Simone de Beauvoir is really sexist towards women."
"I felt damaged after reading this book."
"Much of it seemed irrelevant for this day and age, as it was written by a Frenchwoman in the 50's. It's steeped in a lot of French culture, existentialism, Freudian theory that has since been debunked, and the life of women before sixty years of liberation."
"if what you're interested in is cutting-edge, interesting, thought-provoking feminist theory, I'm afraid that this book no longer has what it takes. It was all of these things when it was written, and most of them as recently as the 1970s, but for a modern reader ... it has long since lost the relevance that made it worth the effort to parse the 814 pages of impenetrable language."
"I was amazed to read this book to see the origin of the women's movement. The jihad that Beauvoir calls for in the opening pages actually says that women should murder men. She says the proletariat has always dreamed of massacring the bourgeoisie, why can't women dream the same in regards to men.
The result is a kind of declaration of holy war. This holy war has now spread to thousands of women's studies programs whose only aim is the spreading of hatred. This is funded by liberal states throughout the western world. It has utterly poisoned the air between the genders as men are viciously painted in the minds of gullible young women. Run by violent lesbians, the university training these women receive is devoid of anything except the study of myth, and literature. Science and math are male, and therefore left out of the women's studies curriculum.
The training silos in Pakistan and Afghanistan create terrorists with a black and white vision of the world. Their fatwa is well-known against America.
The fatwa that women should dream of massacring men is less well-known, and yet is funded without question.
Reading this book was a huge breakthrough for me. I felt I had seen the source of my misery in college, and for many years after, as women of all ages exploded with rage at the men around me. They are being made into human missiles by Simone de Beauvoir's rage and the way which it is fashioned by women's studies programs who use this book as their koran."
"I felt damaged after reading this book."
"Much of it seemed irrelevant for this day and age, as it was written by a Frenchwoman in the 50's. It's steeped in a lot of French culture, existentialism, Freudian theory that has since been debunked, and the life of women before sixty years of liberation."
"if what you're interested in is cutting-edge, interesting, thought-provoking feminist theory, I'm afraid that this book no longer has what it takes. It was all of these things when it was written, and most of them as recently as the 1970s, but for a modern reader ... it has long since lost the relevance that made it worth the effort to parse the 814 pages of impenetrable language."
"I was amazed to read this book to see the origin of the women's movement. The jihad that Beauvoir calls for in the opening pages actually says that women should murder men. She says the proletariat has always dreamed of massacring the bourgeoisie, why can't women dream the same in regards to men.
The result is a kind of declaration of holy war. This holy war has now spread to thousands of women's studies programs whose only aim is the spreading of hatred. This is funded by liberal states throughout the western world. It has utterly poisoned the air between the genders as men are viciously painted in the minds of gullible young women. Run by violent lesbians, the university training these women receive is devoid of anything except the study of myth, and literature. Science and math are male, and therefore left out of the women's studies curriculum.
The training silos in Pakistan and Afghanistan create terrorists with a black and white vision of the world. Their fatwa is well-known against America.
The fatwa that women should dream of massacring men is less well-known, and yet is funded without question.
Reading this book was a huge breakthrough for me. I felt I had seen the source of my misery in college, and for many years after, as women of all ages exploded with rage at the men around me. They are being made into human missiles by Simone de Beauvoir's rage and the way which it is fashioned by women's studies programs who use this book as their koran."
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Hesiod - The Theogony
"Both the Theogony and Works and Days are, by any modern standards, incredibly boring."
"As I expected, there were a TON of pronouns - or more precisely, around 300 (no, I didn't count them, thanks) - in a mere 30 pages of the text"
"Although false, Hesiod's theology of the beginning of the world is interesting and makes me, as a Christian, realize just how good our God really is. He tells these Myths as true, even though they were not really believed in his time, or before his time."
"a dry and dull reading experience, irrelevant to my life."
"As I expected, there were a TON of pronouns - or more precisely, around 300 (no, I didn't count them, thanks) - in a mere 30 pages of the text"
"Although false, Hesiod's theology of the beginning of the world is interesting and makes me, as a Christian, realize just how good our God really is. He tells these Myths as true, even though they were not really believed in his time, or before his time."
"a dry and dull reading experience, irrelevant to my life."
Monday, November 7, 2011
Ben Jonson - Volpone
"I'm not a fan of old comedy and because this follows old comedy I didn't enjoy it"
"It was atrocious ... If you want a more detailed summary of it, you'll either have to read it or ask someone else since it was too convoluted for me to really make sense of it."
"you can see throug dr.jonson's word that he didn't judge or staier people ,he just wish to revel the most populer problems in his age ."
"YOU JUST HAVE TO BE A BIT INTO PHILOSOPHIES AND YOU WILL HAVE A WHOLESUM TIME READING IT"
"It was atrocious ... If you want a more detailed summary of it, you'll either have to read it or ask someone else since it was too convoluted for me to really make sense of it."
"you can see throug dr.jonson's word that he didn't judge or staier people ,he just wish to revel the most populer problems in his age ."
"YOU JUST HAVE TO BE A BIT INTO PHILOSOPHIES AND YOU WILL HAVE A WHOLESUM TIME READING IT"
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Al Qur'an II
"Can someone show me a Muslim dominated nation that isn't a third world country?"
"This book should never be left where it could fall into the hands of children. Recurrent themes of bloody violence, murder, racism, incest and rape are dealt with extremely irresponsibly. Horrific events are presented as justified by circumstances and as solutions to petty wrongs.
Worse than the depictions in the book are actual historic examples of such depictions being used to justify the worst kind of degradation and humiliation that humans have ever been forced to endure. These acts are not just inspired by this book, but characters in the book urge its readers to follow its example. Worst of all, however, is that, despite this book's obvious lack of coherent logic or sense, it inexplicably possesses a following of people that somehow find comfort in its horror.
No doubt about it, the horrific images, and lack of intelligent discussion of those images, contained in this book makes it entirely unsuitable for children, or sensible adults.
It is very doubtful that a book that meanders so terribly, and contradicts itself so often, is truly inspired by a deity."
"The words and passages in this book have inspired untold thousands of wanton murders and repression down throughout the centuries. Many of the problems facing humanity today can be traced to the belief system introduced in this book... among the greatest, most influential works of fiction yet devised."
"Many believers in the Koran have criticized this translation as not being the "real" Koran because they say that it can never be translated accurately. They even suggest that one cannot possibly understand the Koran unless you study Arabic with some scholars. I have news for these people. This is an old superstition about languages which has absolutely no basis in fact. Any linguist will tell you that anything in one language can be translated into another language and that there are no superior languages or more expressive languages. Just as Islam followers would like the whole world to bow facing Mecca in an act of subordination ('Islam' means submission, not peace, by the way) to one of the most undeveloped and uncivilized areas of the world, so they would love Arabic to be held up as some sort of superior language, the only language that the Koran could rightly be studied in. This is absolute nonsense. Any idea in one language can be translated into any other language
...
It is easy to see exactly what the message of the Koran is. Is the Koran permissive of violence? Yes. Are the stories in the Koran a confused jumble of Old Testament, New Testament, gnostic and pagan stories? Yes. Read it for yourselves and see. And you don't need an Arabic scholar to read it with to see that."
"The Koran is a work of complete fiction. These words are the illiterate musings of someone who happened to be on his own (like Moses , Joseph Smith etc) when visited by the Archangel Gabriel (another fictional character where evidence of this beings existence is nil). Misogynistic, homophobic, intolerant of other faiths, totalitarian i thought, this book was created when superstition ruled. The hatred on each page drips with blood. Love, peace and compassion is rarely mentioned. I would suggest reading the skeptics koran instead."
"Followers have nothing left to do but blow themselves up. Their countries and culture are dying - left stuck in the middle ages and there is no way out as long as this book is ruling over them. The arab countries must either give up Islam or give up any relevance in the modern world. All that is left them to do is to strike out in a desperate, frustrated, hate filled last stand against modernity before they sink into total irrelevance."
"I am a fervent reader of the New Testament. I wanted to read the Koran too as I have heard so much on the news and internet about this 'holy book'. I bought an english translation. I read the first few Suras...then I skipped to the longer suras." AT THIS POINT THE READER SHOULD KNOW THAT APART FROM THE PROEM, THE SURAHS OF THE KORAN ARE ORGANIZED BY LENGTH -- DESCENDING BY LENGTH "I did not feel any sort of spiritual power whatsoever - NOTHING. I read Christ's words (The Sermon on the Mount, The Beatitudes, etc.) and then I read the Koran and I find that there is no comparison. Christ healed Lepers, gave sight to the blind, fed the multitudes, and blessed little children. What did Mohammed do? KILL! What did Christ do? Love and Heal.
I find mohammad a very very poor subsitute for the Loving Christ I read about every day...
God Bless you all...."
"There are people who want war in the name of this book. For those who love freedom and life, it may be time to give it to them and to give it to them with the same fierceness that they are willing to do so in the name of the god they believe mirrors their own depraved, twisted, and poisonous minds. This insanity called Islam is nothing but a psychosis indulged in by those who wouldn't understand science in a million years."
"I am a Christian and I want no more than to read the scriptures every day.
I feel very very sorry for muslims who are forced to read this book each day."
"Now, regarding the Quran and other scriptures, you know from the start it's going to be a slow read. Writers like Mohammed, St Paul, and others were not word-savvy and couldn't make a gripping read like Ian Fleming, JK Rowling, or Jean Auel."
"This book should never be left where it could fall into the hands of children. Recurrent themes of bloody violence, murder, racism, incest and rape are dealt with extremely irresponsibly. Horrific events are presented as justified by circumstances and as solutions to petty wrongs.
Worse than the depictions in the book are actual historic examples of such depictions being used to justify the worst kind of degradation and humiliation that humans have ever been forced to endure. These acts are not just inspired by this book, but characters in the book urge its readers to follow its example. Worst of all, however, is that, despite this book's obvious lack of coherent logic or sense, it inexplicably possesses a following of people that somehow find comfort in its horror.
No doubt about it, the horrific images, and lack of intelligent discussion of those images, contained in this book makes it entirely unsuitable for children, or sensible adults.
It is very doubtful that a book that meanders so terribly, and contradicts itself so often, is truly inspired by a deity."
"The words and passages in this book have inspired untold thousands of wanton murders and repression down throughout the centuries. Many of the problems facing humanity today can be traced to the belief system introduced in this book... among the greatest, most influential works of fiction yet devised."
"Many believers in the Koran have criticized this translation as not being the "real" Koran because they say that it can never be translated accurately. They even suggest that one cannot possibly understand the Koran unless you study Arabic with some scholars. I have news for these people. This is an old superstition about languages which has absolutely no basis in fact. Any linguist will tell you that anything in one language can be translated into another language and that there are no superior languages or more expressive languages. Just as Islam followers would like the whole world to bow facing Mecca in an act of subordination ('Islam' means submission, not peace, by the way) to one of the most undeveloped and uncivilized areas of the world, so they would love Arabic to be held up as some sort of superior language, the only language that the Koran could rightly be studied in. This is absolute nonsense. Any idea in one language can be translated into any other language
...
It is easy to see exactly what the message of the Koran is. Is the Koran permissive of violence? Yes. Are the stories in the Koran a confused jumble of Old Testament, New Testament, gnostic and pagan stories? Yes. Read it for yourselves and see. And you don't need an Arabic scholar to read it with to see that."
"The Koran is a work of complete fiction. These words are the illiterate musings of someone who happened to be on his own (like Moses , Joseph Smith etc) when visited by the Archangel Gabriel (another fictional character where evidence of this beings existence is nil). Misogynistic, homophobic, intolerant of other faiths, totalitarian i thought, this book was created when superstition ruled. The hatred on each page drips with blood. Love, peace and compassion is rarely mentioned. I would suggest reading the skeptics koran instead."
"Followers have nothing left to do but blow themselves up. Their countries and culture are dying - left stuck in the middle ages and there is no way out as long as this book is ruling over them. The arab countries must either give up Islam or give up any relevance in the modern world. All that is left them to do is to strike out in a desperate, frustrated, hate filled last stand against modernity before they sink into total irrelevance."
"I am a fervent reader of the New Testament. I wanted to read the Koran too as I have heard so much on the news and internet about this 'holy book'. I bought an english translation. I read the first few Suras...then I skipped to the longer suras." AT THIS POINT THE READER SHOULD KNOW THAT APART FROM THE PROEM, THE SURAHS OF THE KORAN ARE ORGANIZED BY LENGTH -- DESCENDING BY LENGTH "I did not feel any sort of spiritual power whatsoever - NOTHING. I read Christ's words (The Sermon on the Mount, The Beatitudes, etc.) and then I read the Koran and I find that there is no comparison. Christ healed Lepers, gave sight to the blind, fed the multitudes, and blessed little children. What did Mohammed do? KILL! What did Christ do? Love and Heal.
I find mohammad a very very poor subsitute for the Loving Christ I read about every day...
God Bless you all...."
"There are people who want war in the name of this book. For those who love freedom and life, it may be time to give it to them and to give it to them with the same fierceness that they are willing to do so in the name of the god they believe mirrors their own depraved, twisted, and poisonous minds. This insanity called Islam is nothing but a psychosis indulged in by those who wouldn't understand science in a million years."
"I am a Christian and I want no more than to read the scriptures every day.
I feel very very sorry for muslims who are forced to read this book each day."
"Now, regarding the Quran and other scriptures, you know from the start it's going to be a slow read. Writers like Mohammed, St Paul, and others were not word-savvy and couldn't make a gripping read like Ian Fleming, JK Rowling, or Jean Auel."
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Al Qur'an
"The prophet was illiterate.?So the book was poorly written,right?....I heard many people said that the Koran was the (worst)(only) poorly written religious bk among it's counterparts, though I have not read it yet.I will buy the book in this year and peruse it so that I can understand what Islam is.(Islam= I slam?LOL,from a Sweden's website...with funny pics. But, so far, I think it is a book that trains terrorists,..(a rabble-rouser)"
"This book has been one of the biggest reading disappointments of my life. It starts off with the line: 'This Book is not to be doubted.' My brain is my second favorite organ. Why would I want to hang it up on a rack while I read the Koran? Of course, I am going to doubt it if I feel it is warranted. Why would any intelligent person not doubt?
Then it gets into a retelling of the Old Testament of the Bible. And actually just some of the stories, some of the more famous ones. It's sort of like retelling just those that are on his mind at the time. Then the same stories are referred to again and again.
It is forbidden to eat swine. I guess because it is an 'unclean' animal. So keep a clean pigsty. How much uncleaner is a pig than any other farm animal? Isn't it time to put these ancient ideas about clean and unclean animals away?
Women who are menstruating are considered 'unclean.' Maybe this made sense at one time. But shouldn't it be put behind us?
...
'He that chooses a religion other than Islam . . . in the world to come he will surely be among the losers.' So much for religious tolerance. God does not care for members of other religions.
'No one dies unless God wills. The term of every life is fixed.' A fatalistic view of life. Why be afraid of anything? You will not die until God wills it. In fact, that end is already fixed in time.
...
'They do blaspheme, who declare: 'God is the Messiah, the son of Mary.'' There are a few people in the world who do happen to believe that.
...
God knows everything. It is 'recorded in a glorious book.' He really gets around. Is this a real book? How many words could it possibly contain? Why would anyone want to record everything?
...
'The desert Arabs surpass others in unbelief and hypocrisy.' As opposed to the non-desert Arabs?
...
I simply cannot figure out how people can speak of being inspired by this book. What a sad world we live in."
"I have to admit I haven't finished it yet. I said I'd read it to find the part where it says blow yourself up and a bunch of infidels."
"The sections of this book that I have read, make it clear that it no longer matches Judeo Christian Ideals."
"FILTHY TRASH - it is hard to review this book of sickness, lies, deception and garbage with out swearing! ALLAH is shit! Covered women are whores! And this book is a license for its followers to crash airplains into my nation and walk around with illegal weapons and bombs! It is today's Mein Kampf! The sooner civilized nations declare a WAR ON ISLAM the better! Evil hate cult = Islam!"
"This book has been one of the biggest reading disappointments of my life. It starts off with the line: 'This Book is not to be doubted.' My brain is my second favorite organ. Why would I want to hang it up on a rack while I read the Koran? Of course, I am going to doubt it if I feel it is warranted. Why would any intelligent person not doubt?
Then it gets into a retelling of the Old Testament of the Bible. And actually just some of the stories, some of the more famous ones. It's sort of like retelling just those that are on his mind at the time. Then the same stories are referred to again and again.
It is forbidden to eat swine. I guess because it is an 'unclean' animal. So keep a clean pigsty. How much uncleaner is a pig than any other farm animal? Isn't it time to put these ancient ideas about clean and unclean animals away?
Women who are menstruating are considered 'unclean.' Maybe this made sense at one time. But shouldn't it be put behind us?
...
'He that chooses a religion other than Islam . . . in the world to come he will surely be among the losers.' So much for religious tolerance. God does not care for members of other religions.
'No one dies unless God wills. The term of every life is fixed.' A fatalistic view of life. Why be afraid of anything? You will not die until God wills it. In fact, that end is already fixed in time.
...
'They do blaspheme, who declare: 'God is the Messiah, the son of Mary.'' There are a few people in the world who do happen to believe that.
...
God knows everything. It is 'recorded in a glorious book.' He really gets around. Is this a real book? How many words could it possibly contain? Why would anyone want to record everything?
...
'The desert Arabs surpass others in unbelief and hypocrisy.' As opposed to the non-desert Arabs?
...
I simply cannot figure out how people can speak of being inspired by this book. What a sad world we live in."
"I have to admit I haven't finished it yet. I said I'd read it to find the part where it says blow yourself up and a bunch of infidels."
"The sections of this book that I have read, make it clear that it no longer matches Judeo Christian Ideals."
"FILTHY TRASH - it is hard to review this book of sickness, lies, deception and garbage with out swearing! ALLAH is shit! Covered women are whores! And this book is a license for its followers to crash airplains into my nation and walk around with illegal weapons and bombs! It is today's Mein Kampf! The sooner civilized nations declare a WAR ON ISLAM the better! Evil hate cult = Islam!"
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Shakespeare - As You Like It
"the sex jokes are the downfall of this work."
"If you could sort my Goodreads Shakespeare reviews and read them all at once you would find they all say the same thing: Bor-ing! Boring, boring, boring!"
"God dammit this was stupid. Even if I was a peasant from Shakespeare's era I don't see how I wouldn't have seen how ridiculous the plot of this was."
"This is a boring idiotic play. I think ol'Shakey thought the same thing"
"more like as i didnt like it..."
"In real life, women cannot woo men and win them over. Didn't Shakespeare read 'He's Just Not That Into You?' What, if any message, is to be taken from this play?"
"If you could sort my Goodreads Shakespeare reviews and read them all at once you would find they all say the same thing: Bor-ing! Boring, boring, boring!"
"God dammit this was stupid. Even if I was a peasant from Shakespeare's era I don't see how I wouldn't have seen how ridiculous the plot of this was."
"This is a boring idiotic play. I think ol'Shakey thought the same thing"
"more like as i didnt like it..."
"In real life, women cannot woo men and win them over. Didn't Shakespeare read 'He's Just Not That Into You?' What, if any message, is to be taken from this play?"
Sunday, October 30, 2011
THE BEST OF OCTOBER
FREUD - THE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
"The evidence is mounting that Freud murdered his patients according to the serial killer model that Harold Shipman, Herman Mudgett et. al. would later follow - that of a Jewish/circum-stumped, opiate-prescribing doctor who killed his patients for money and circum-revenge against their yenta mothers.
...
Freud was a misandrist (faggot). Some of his kosher partners in anus worship were Willhelm Fliess and Edward Silberstein, and he broke up with Carl Jung over misandrist attraction."
MILTON - PARADISE LOST
"I'm supposed to have read PL already, it having been assigned reading in my Christianity and Literature course; but I have no idea how anyone can read a twelve-book epic poem of enormous depth in one semester amidst a full schedule of courses. The prof had to have known that."
NABOKOV - LOLITA
"I read this book at age thirteen. It was in my parents basement. I was so jealous of Lolita. I wanted to be a nyphette, but I knew I was not. Still when I think about the book, I grow jealous of that girl."
"I want to say that I completely understand Humbert's preference, however I didn't find the guy to honestly be such an intellectual, but more of a person who is simply mixed up about his choice in women. A more normal person in his situation would marry a women that could make him feel loved, and masturbate to child porn in secrecy like an actual person, but there is not a single nymphet in the world that would actually be like any of the ones in this book."
SHAKESPEARE - ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
"It's supposed to be a comedy, but when you think about what is happening in the plot with lots of lying, deception, characters working angles, and impure motives, it really isn't all that funny."
THE BIBLE
"Above all, maintain a superior attitude when dealing with lesser cultures than your own. Know that God will punish them all for their disbelief."
FAULKNER - THE SOUND AND THE FURY
"Twas ok, people read too much into it though. I mean, I could write a book like this, exactly like this, but it wouldn't be as acclaimed..I've always wondered why that is. How do uninteresting books win awards? Of course I mean hypothetically I could write a book like it, but realistically I would probably lose interest"
"The evidence is mounting that Freud murdered his patients according to the serial killer model that Harold Shipman, Herman Mudgett et. al. would later follow - that of a Jewish/circum-stumped, opiate-prescribing doctor who killed his patients for money and circum-revenge against their yenta mothers.
...
Freud was a misandrist (faggot). Some of his kosher partners in anus worship were Willhelm Fliess and Edward Silberstein, and he broke up with Carl Jung over misandrist attraction."
MILTON - PARADISE LOST
"I'm supposed to have read PL already, it having been assigned reading in my Christianity and Literature course; but I have no idea how anyone can read a twelve-book epic poem of enormous depth in one semester amidst a full schedule of courses. The prof had to have known that."
NABOKOV - LOLITA
"I read this book at age thirteen. It was in my parents basement. I was so jealous of Lolita. I wanted to be a nyphette, but I knew I was not. Still when I think about the book, I grow jealous of that girl."
"I want to say that I completely understand Humbert's preference, however I didn't find the guy to honestly be such an intellectual, but more of a person who is simply mixed up about his choice in women. A more normal person in his situation would marry a women that could make him feel loved, and masturbate to child porn in secrecy like an actual person, but there is not a single nymphet in the world that would actually be like any of the ones in this book."
SHAKESPEARE - ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
"It's supposed to be a comedy, but when you think about what is happening in the plot with lots of lying, deception, characters working angles, and impure motives, it really isn't all that funny."
THE BIBLE
"Above all, maintain a superior attitude when dealing with lesser cultures than your own. Know that God will punish them all for their disbelief."
FAULKNER - THE SOUND AND THE FURY
"Twas ok, people read too much into it though. I mean, I could write a book like this, exactly like this, but it wouldn't be as acclaimed..I've always wondered why that is. How do uninteresting books win awards? Of course I mean hypothetically I could write a book like it, but realistically I would probably lose interest"
Thursday, October 27, 2011
SPECIAL: KILL ALL ENGLISH MAJORS
"I adore children’s literature and I am an english major. I love the child-like innocence of children who do not completely grasp the idea of death."
"Nothing is sexier than a book.
That said, I absolutely ravish mine.
Pages will be bent, notes will be written in the margins, exciting phrases or quotes will be underlined and spines will be cracked.
When others see my books, they know I've loved these books long enough not to be shy with them anymore."
"With regards to studying songwriters in English courses, I actually wrote an entire paper on 'Tangled Up in Blue' by Bob Dylan for my AP English Literature class in High School. Once I actually started researching it, I was shocked to find every verse (there's seven of them) was its own Shakespearean Sonnet. I find it amazing that people can write one Shakespearean Sonnet, and here there were seven that not only told their own story, but tied together to tell an overarching story. Writing the paper made me appreciate the song on a whole new level, and really opened my eyes to how truly poetic songs can be."
YOU KNOW, IF YOU MAKE UP LIES ABOUT THEM
"You will learn to love the characters, and its remarkable how vivid he made them in a way we can relate to today for a book written in the 1950's."
THIS MAN IS TALKING ABOUT JOSEPH HELLER'S CATCH-22:
"I really appreciate it when a book respects the intelligence of its readership. If a book is going to be 'experimental' in any way, I love those that throw you into a world with no explanations - a literary baptism of fire (ie: Orwell's 'Animal Farm')."
"I'm writing an essay right now on Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods.' Storms play a large part in the book. You have NO idea how RIDICULOUSLY happy I was when I typed down the phrase 'the oncoming storm.' In the context of the essay, it has nothing to do with Doctor Who, but in my head, I can't help but feel ridiculously happy that I managed to write about Neil Gaiman AND sneak in a Doctor Who reference. That's all. =D"
"So, out of curiosity, am I the only nerd that has 'favorite words'? Two of mine are Juxtaposition, and Nihilist. I usually find every reason to use them when I can (although, this is much more successful with the former than the latter)."
"Yeah, I'm a heathen
Yeah, I'm an anarchist
Yeah, I abuse Heroin
And yeah, I'd rather be hated for what I am, than loved for what I am not.
Fuck Cobain and Lennon
Fuck Osbourne and Clapton
Fuck the Music
Fuck the drifting Clouds
Fuck the sea and trees
Fuck the sky and birds
Fuck the rabbits and fuck the sunshine
Fuck your plum cakes and your apple pies
Fuck your mind and rape your soul
Fuck Marx and Nietzsche
Fuck Aeschylus, fuck Wordsworth, fuck Milton
Fuck Fidel and Gandhi
Fuck De Broglie and fuck Bohr
Fuck Wagner and Tchaikovsky
Fuck democracy and communism
Fuck crack and weed and speed and mead
Fuck the mushrooms and the grass
Fuck Martha Stewart and Tyler Durden
Fuck Darwin and fuck I-Ching
Fuck Branson, fuck Trump, fuck Hefner, fuck Gates
Fuck Johnnie Walker and Zino Davidoff
Fuck Joseph
Fuck Mary
Fuck Jesus
Fuck Vishnu
Fuck Allah
Fuck your God
Fuck all your Idols
Fuck Bush, fuck Blair, fuck Gyurcsany, fuck Jintao
Fuck the system, fuck the government
Fuck controversy and censorship
Fuck commercialism and materialism
Fuck Education and thought control
Fuck the Establishment
Fuck the Revolution
Fuck Freedom
Fuck Anarchy and Nihilism
I'm sick of all this shit
Fuck the whole motherfucking thing
All I want now is my life back
So my soul can sing"
"99% of the books I read (except school ones) aren't 'literature'. Star Wars, Star Trek, Warhammer 40k, etc. I see no problem with this."
"I am a comma WHORE."
"I'm also good at math. That's right, an English major who's good at math. In 6th grade I memorized 26 digits of pi for fun. I still know them."
"I hate poetry is what it really comes down to. And most classic literature. Jane Austen? Can't read it. Am I in love with the masterpiece theatre's version of Pride and Prejudice? Hell yes. Something about the pacing of books from that time bore me to tears."
"I don't enjoy reading books ... honestly, the medium just doesn't hold my attention. I know I don't have a short attention span, because I can read a multiple-page thread on a forum in one sitting, so that's not it. I can't quite put my finger on what makes me dislike books as much as I do, I do spend a lot of time reading; I'm just not reading printed words. There was an article in Publisher's Weekly a while ago about how people who cry that teens these days aren't reading as much are wrong, because they are reading, but rather than reading books, newspapers, and magazines, the'yre reading wikis, blogs, and forums. That's my reading habits in a nutshell."
"Nothing is sexier than a book.
That said, I absolutely ravish mine.
Pages will be bent, notes will be written in the margins, exciting phrases or quotes will be underlined and spines will be cracked.
When others see my books, they know I've loved these books long enough not to be shy with them anymore."
"With regards to studying songwriters in English courses, I actually wrote an entire paper on 'Tangled Up in Blue' by Bob Dylan for my AP English Literature class in High School. Once I actually started researching it, I was shocked to find every verse (there's seven of them) was its own Shakespearean Sonnet. I find it amazing that people can write one Shakespearean Sonnet, and here there were seven that not only told their own story, but tied together to tell an overarching story. Writing the paper made me appreciate the song on a whole new level, and really opened my eyes to how truly poetic songs can be."
YOU KNOW, IF YOU MAKE UP LIES ABOUT THEM
"You will learn to love the characters, and its remarkable how vivid he made them in a way we can relate to today for a book written in the 1950's."
THIS MAN IS TALKING ABOUT JOSEPH HELLER'S CATCH-22:
"I really appreciate it when a book respects the intelligence of its readership. If a book is going to be 'experimental' in any way, I love those that throw you into a world with no explanations - a literary baptism of fire (ie: Orwell's 'Animal Farm')."
"I'm writing an essay right now on Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods.' Storms play a large part in the book. You have NO idea how RIDICULOUSLY happy I was when I typed down the phrase 'the oncoming storm.' In the context of the essay, it has nothing to do with Doctor Who, but in my head, I can't help but feel ridiculously happy that I managed to write about Neil Gaiman AND sneak in a Doctor Who reference. That's all. =D"
"So, out of curiosity, am I the only nerd that has 'favorite words'? Two of mine are Juxtaposition, and Nihilist. I usually find every reason to use them when I can (although, this is much more successful with the former than the latter)."
"Yeah, I'm a heathen
Yeah, I'm an anarchist
Yeah, I abuse Heroin
And yeah, I'd rather be hated for what I am, than loved for what I am not.
Fuck Cobain and Lennon
Fuck Osbourne and Clapton
Fuck the Music
Fuck the drifting Clouds
Fuck the sea and trees
Fuck the sky and birds
Fuck the rabbits and fuck the sunshine
Fuck your plum cakes and your apple pies
Fuck your mind and rape your soul
Fuck Marx and Nietzsche
Fuck Aeschylus, fuck Wordsworth, fuck Milton
Fuck Fidel and Gandhi
Fuck De Broglie and fuck Bohr
Fuck Wagner and Tchaikovsky
Fuck democracy and communism
Fuck crack and weed and speed and mead
Fuck the mushrooms and the grass
Fuck Martha Stewart and Tyler Durden
Fuck Darwin and fuck I-Ching
Fuck Branson, fuck Trump, fuck Hefner, fuck Gates
Fuck Johnnie Walker and Zino Davidoff
Fuck Joseph
Fuck Mary
Fuck Jesus
Fuck Vishnu
Fuck Allah
Fuck your God
Fuck all your Idols
Fuck Bush, fuck Blair, fuck Gyurcsany, fuck Jintao
Fuck the system, fuck the government
Fuck controversy and censorship
Fuck commercialism and materialism
Fuck Education and thought control
Fuck the Establishment
Fuck the Revolution
Fuck Freedom
Fuck Anarchy and Nihilism
I'm sick of all this shit
Fuck the whole motherfucking thing
All I want now is my life back
So my soul can sing"
"99% of the books I read (except school ones) aren't 'literature'. Star Wars, Star Trek, Warhammer 40k, etc. I see no problem with this."
"I am a comma WHORE."
"I'm also good at math. That's right, an English major who's good at math. In 6th grade I memorized 26 digits of pi for fun. I still know them."
"I hate poetry is what it really comes down to. And most classic literature. Jane Austen? Can't read it. Am I in love with the masterpiece theatre's version of Pride and Prejudice? Hell yes. Something about the pacing of books from that time bore me to tears."
"I don't enjoy reading books ... honestly, the medium just doesn't hold my attention. I know I don't have a short attention span, because I can read a multiple-page thread on a forum in one sitting, so that's not it. I can't quite put my finger on what makes me dislike books as much as I do, I do spend a lot of time reading; I'm just not reading printed words. There was an article in Publisher's Weekly a while ago about how people who cry that teens these days aren't reading as much are wrong, because they are reading, but rather than reading books, newspapers, and magazines, the'yre reading wikis, blogs, and forums. That's my reading habits in a nutshell."
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury III
BEHOLD
"This book made me feel dumb. Probably because I am."
A PERFECT REVIEW
"It's about as fun as watching paint dry. Just another case of The Emperor's New Clothes. If you don't say it's great, then you must be derided as an idiot -- not unlike Benjy. Boring - with a capital B."
"There seems to be no effort at word economy, particularly in dialogue. There are endless rambling paragraphs and only four 'chapters' for the 400 pages of text.
Worst of all, there is inadequate exposition throughout the book. There is no introduction telling the reader how the book is constructed, most notably, that it begins with an account by an idiot. The idea of having a family's story related by several members if fine, so is writing in stream of conscious, but adequate exposition is needed to orient the reader.
...
Frustrated during the reading, I thumbed through it and discovered the appendix which described the Compson family. Most of this material should have been presented early in the book, but even that would not have provided adequate exposition. After reading the book, I learned that the appendix was added some time after the first edition to help the reader. That should be a big hint that the book is lacking in exposition. I believe that good exposition is the responsibility of a writer.
This book is more of a puzzle than a story, and the latter is sacrificed for the former. The author does not lead you through the story; he throws you into it. For those who marvel at the literary value of this book, I say, 'The emperor has no clothes.'"
"for Christ's sake, the plot is completely unintelegible!"
"I don't see the point. It's like the Emperor's New Clothes. Everyone says it's a great book, but I'll bet a lot of those who do are only saying it because they're afraid to admit that Faulkner's too smart for them. Life is too short to read lousy books. Skip this one."
"If I want a brainteaser, I'll buy a crossword puzzle book."
"This story has no point. I'll say it again: THIS STORY HAS NO POINT! Many say that this story is about the symbolic moral decay of the south and the Compton family. Symbolism is one of the worst literary techniques of all time. In most cases, the so-called literary experts have made up the symbolism in a story, and end up changing a story's emphasis from something meant to entertain to a long editorial it was never meant to be. Faulkner seems to have taken in this literary junk hook, line, and sinker. Faulkner took the rather mundane and misguided cry of moral decay and wrote an entire novel on the subject. Morals don't decaying!"
"This book is a perfect example of people in ivory towers, and those who are afraid to admit they don't get it, jumping on a 5-star bandwagon."
"Caddy, the main character in a novel of stereotypes and pitiful prose, is actually a despicable trollop."
"Did this author have an LSD addicition"
"I'm not afraid to say that 'the Emperor has no clothes' when it comes to Faulkner. If you've tried to slog through his stuff and are tempted to blame YOURSELF - don't! You aren't dumb, you aren't illiterate, and you aren't the only one 'not getting it'. He's a fraud."
"Is this stream of consciousness realistic? That's hard to say. Certainly not for everyone. Even if it is, so what? It's frustrating, and it isn't particularly interesting. Even if one grants that Faulkner has masterfully displayed the way the human mind works, so what?"
"If you really tried, you could take any book and search for symbolism in it...so why are some books given such scrutiny and proclaimed great, whereas others are simply dismissed as poorly written and dropped from sight?"
"I take issue with the fact that Faulkner says this is a story about two fallen women, when the story does not focus on the two women in question, but rather on the way they have affected those around them. It would seem that Faulkner doesn't understand his own story ... If you just want to be moved by the book's theme, just read a synopsis ... The only people who enjoy this convoluted mess only claim to like it, which is a testament to their snobbery. People will not say anything against this book for fear of appearing uneducated and/or uncultured."
"As a writer and a student of English literature (by the way, for those who think only the 'uneducated' don't like this book, I am proof to the contrary) I believe a writer must give us, as readers, at least some clear indication of what we are supposed to take away from his or her piece of writing"
"Maybe if I read novels for a living I would appreciate the challenge, but this book is like an ungreatful girlfriend. You do your best to understand her and get nothing back in return."
"Remember that story? It was about a kingdom of people who were so afraid of looking foolish that they went along with whatever they were told. They took their cue from their vain and silly king, who had so little character that he let a conman convince him to walk naked in a royal procession. Enough said."
"they should publish an edition all strightened out and in order"
"Thank heavens I read, and read the readers' reviews for this Oprah selection. Although I am a college educated person of very eclectic reading tastes, I have never read Faulkner...and now I never will!! At 56 I have more important things to do with my time than to read depressing 'literature'."
"This book made me feel dumb. Probably because I am."
A PERFECT REVIEW
"It's about as fun as watching paint dry. Just another case of The Emperor's New Clothes. If you don't say it's great, then you must be derided as an idiot -- not unlike Benjy. Boring - with a capital B."
"There seems to be no effort at word economy, particularly in dialogue. There are endless rambling paragraphs and only four 'chapters' for the 400 pages of text.
Worst of all, there is inadequate exposition throughout the book. There is no introduction telling the reader how the book is constructed, most notably, that it begins with an account by an idiot. The idea of having a family's story related by several members if fine, so is writing in stream of conscious, but adequate exposition is needed to orient the reader.
...
Frustrated during the reading, I thumbed through it and discovered the appendix which described the Compson family. Most of this material should have been presented early in the book, but even that would not have provided adequate exposition. After reading the book, I learned that the appendix was added some time after the first edition to help the reader. That should be a big hint that the book is lacking in exposition. I believe that good exposition is the responsibility of a writer.
This book is more of a puzzle than a story, and the latter is sacrificed for the former. The author does not lead you through the story; he throws you into it. For those who marvel at the literary value of this book, I say, 'The emperor has no clothes.'"
"for Christ's sake, the plot is completely unintelegible!"
"I don't see the point. It's like the Emperor's New Clothes. Everyone says it's a great book, but I'll bet a lot of those who do are only saying it because they're afraid to admit that Faulkner's too smart for them. Life is too short to read lousy books. Skip this one."
"If I want a brainteaser, I'll buy a crossword puzzle book."
"This story has no point. I'll say it again: THIS STORY HAS NO POINT! Many say that this story is about the symbolic moral decay of the south and the Compton family. Symbolism is one of the worst literary techniques of all time. In most cases, the so-called literary experts have made up the symbolism in a story, and end up changing a story's emphasis from something meant to entertain to a long editorial it was never meant to be. Faulkner seems to have taken in this literary junk hook, line, and sinker. Faulkner took the rather mundane and misguided cry of moral decay and wrote an entire novel on the subject. Morals don't decaying!"
"This book is a perfect example of people in ivory towers, and those who are afraid to admit they don't get it, jumping on a 5-star bandwagon."
"Caddy, the main character in a novel of stereotypes and pitiful prose, is actually a despicable trollop."
"Did this author have an LSD addicition"
"I'm not afraid to say that 'the Emperor has no clothes' when it comes to Faulkner. If you've tried to slog through his stuff and are tempted to blame YOURSELF - don't! You aren't dumb, you aren't illiterate, and you aren't the only one 'not getting it'. He's a fraud."
"Is this stream of consciousness realistic? That's hard to say. Certainly not for everyone. Even if it is, so what? It's frustrating, and it isn't particularly interesting. Even if one grants that Faulkner has masterfully displayed the way the human mind works, so what?"
"If you really tried, you could take any book and search for symbolism in it...so why are some books given such scrutiny and proclaimed great, whereas others are simply dismissed as poorly written and dropped from sight?"
"I take issue with the fact that Faulkner says this is a story about two fallen women, when the story does not focus on the two women in question, but rather on the way they have affected those around them. It would seem that Faulkner doesn't understand his own story ... If you just want to be moved by the book's theme, just read a synopsis ... The only people who enjoy this convoluted mess only claim to like it, which is a testament to their snobbery. People will not say anything against this book for fear of appearing uneducated and/or uncultured."
"As a writer and a student of English literature (by the way, for those who think only the 'uneducated' don't like this book, I am proof to the contrary) I believe a writer must give us, as readers, at least some clear indication of what we are supposed to take away from his or her piece of writing"
"Maybe if I read novels for a living I would appreciate the challenge, but this book is like an ungreatful girlfriend. You do your best to understand her and get nothing back in return."
"Remember that story? It was about a kingdom of people who were so afraid of looking foolish that they went along with whatever they were told. They took their cue from their vain and silly king, who had so little character that he let a conman convince him to walk naked in a royal procession. Enough said."
"they should publish an edition all strightened out and in order"
"Thank heavens I read, and read the readers' reviews for this Oprah selection. Although I am a college educated person of very eclectic reading tastes, I have never read Faulkner...and now I never will!! At 56 I have more important things to do with my time than to read depressing 'literature'."
Monday, October 24, 2011
William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury II
"Twas ok, people read too much into it though. I mean, I could write a book like this, exactly like this, but it wouldn't be as acclaimed..I've always wondered why that is. How do uninteresting books win awards? Of course I mean hypothetically I could write a book like it, but realistically I would probably lose interest"
"I HATE that about poets and writers, that not all writing is accessable to all people"
"it has some really good themes. but honestly, was he totally wasted while writing this?"
"My English teacher said that Faulkner was a writer's writer (in that he wrote to impress other writers). It's pretty apparent this is the case. He could've written in a straightforward fashion and maybe I would like him, but no, he has to make everything confusing so when you're done with a chapter, you think 'What the hell just happened?' He is the face of pretentious know-it-all writers everywhere."
"A much different book than I was expecting from what little I knew of it. This was not really a positive, because I imagined a book that I would like"
"Faulkner explores the decay of one particular Southern family, which stands as a proxy for the fate of the South after the Civil War. Not a subject that seems very relevant anymore and certainly not very interesting."
"Such a strange phenomenon - the individual words I could understand, even the occasional phrase, but by the time I closed the novel all I felt was how generally pissed-off my brain was at me for forcing it to impose sense on the nonsensical for such an extended period of time. Granted, Faulkner's brilliant. And most definitely unique. But not even Marquez is half this much work."
"Very specifically, I observe from my own daughters that they are much more interested in their own emotional state than in observing what other people are saying or doing around them; Benjy, as portrayed by Faulkner, is completely the opposite, and I found that so contrary to my own experience that I could not engage with the story at all."
"To this day, I am unsure of whether the main character of this novel was male or female, human or animal (for several chapters I was certain that he (she?) was a dog), living or dead (for several chapters I thought he (she? it?) was a ghost), etc."
"It's a shame I don't drink or do drugs because I honestly thought I was supposed to alter my mind in some way in order to make it through this thing."
"Did Faulkner invent the run-on sentence? If not, he certainly perfected it. I abhor him and I'm glad I'm not alone."
"I can read an entire chapter and then realize I didn't catch anything that went on. I now intend to lock any copies of his books I find in a vault and then drop it into the ocean."
"The biggest problem with this style is that it's used for a novel."
"one of those books that people like to like just to feel better and smarter than others."
I GUESS I DO FEEL A LOT BETTER AND SMARTER THAN YOU
"This book was considered a classic! I consider it a book with unsolved circumstances, a family that can't get a long, and a concept for bad grammar! I hated reading this book, but read it all the way through! I prefer Wuthering Heights of this sh*t!"
"I HATE that about poets and writers, that not all writing is accessable to all people"
"it has some really good themes. but honestly, was he totally wasted while writing this?"
"My English teacher said that Faulkner was a writer's writer (in that he wrote to impress other writers). It's pretty apparent this is the case. He could've written in a straightforward fashion and maybe I would like him, but no, he has to make everything confusing so when you're done with a chapter, you think 'What the hell just happened?' He is the face of pretentious know-it-all writers everywhere."
"A much different book than I was expecting from what little I knew of it. This was not really a positive, because I imagined a book that I would like"
"Faulkner explores the decay of one particular Southern family, which stands as a proxy for the fate of the South after the Civil War. Not a subject that seems very relevant anymore and certainly not very interesting."
"Such a strange phenomenon - the individual words I could understand, even the occasional phrase, but by the time I closed the novel all I felt was how generally pissed-off my brain was at me for forcing it to impose sense on the nonsensical for such an extended period of time. Granted, Faulkner's brilliant. And most definitely unique. But not even Marquez is half this much work."
"Very specifically, I observe from my own daughters that they are much more interested in their own emotional state than in observing what other people are saying or doing around them; Benjy, as portrayed by Faulkner, is completely the opposite, and I found that so contrary to my own experience that I could not engage with the story at all."
"To this day, I am unsure of whether the main character of this novel was male or female, human or animal (for several chapters I was certain that he (she?) was a dog), living or dead (for several chapters I thought he (she? it?) was a ghost), etc."
"It's a shame I don't drink or do drugs because I honestly thought I was supposed to alter my mind in some way in order to make it through this thing."
"Did Faulkner invent the run-on sentence? If not, he certainly perfected it. I abhor him and I'm glad I'm not alone."
"I can read an entire chapter and then realize I didn't catch anything that went on. I now intend to lock any copies of his books I find in a vault and then drop it into the ocean."
"The biggest problem with this style is that it's used for a novel."
"one of those books that people like to like just to feel better and smarter than others."
I GUESS I DO FEEL A LOT BETTER AND SMARTER THAN YOU
"This book was considered a classic! I consider it a book with unsolved circumstances, a family that can't get a long, and a concept for bad grammar! I hated reading this book, but read it all the way through! I prefer Wuthering Heights of this sh*t!"
Saturday, October 22, 2011
William Faulkner - The Sound and the Fury
"Probably one of the worst travesties ever to mar the concept of literature."
"Why is it all the 'great novels' the 'classics' seem like crap to me?"
"I don't know how this pile of crap ever got published, let alone became a classic! It's absolutely unreadable! Pure upchuck in print."
"This book has inspired me to start a list of crap that is admired only because no one has the guts to admit they have no idea what the hell is going on."
"When I read reviews on books like this I can only come to two conclusions; 1) I am an idiot or 2) It is a case of the Emperor's New Clothes."
"Damnit, i'm not stupid. I graduated with honors, i went to a prestigious college on a merit scholarship, I majored in English, and I have read many books that others consider a 'difficult read.' I am not some schmuck who only reads supermarket paperbacks. And if a book is so d*mned inaccessible as this one, that a college graduate, writer and dedicated reader can't get it without three readings -- then to hell with it. For me, the book is a failure and a bastardization of what a book is truly supposed to be."
"I, the reader, was treated to run on sentences, random thoughts unrelated to the events at hand, inventive punctuation, and little back-story to help stake this jumble down."
"seemed incomprehensible and I thought it was printing mistakes but is apparently written through the eyes of a retarded man."
"there was no regard for correct grammar"
"It’s needlessly abstract. To jump around spatially and temporally with little rhyme or reason forces the reader to pay attention not to the narrative they are reading in a linear fashion, but to the meta-narrative—what exists when you step back, when you examine and play around with all of the pieces. That’s truly the only way to come to understand the precise events of the novel and the actions of the characters. How does that make an enjoyable story for a reader? A novel should never be a jigsaw puzzle."
"If I have to be all 'literary' to appreciate and understand this book, then I don't want to be literary ... Perhaps I'm missing something great here. Or perhaps there are too many 'good' books out there to waste my time on this 'literary' one."
"A painful and objectionable experience. This book is written in such an offensively obtuse manner that it was probably an instant classic among the pretentious."
"I love classics and was attracted just by the power of the title, but I couldn't follow the story at all when it jumped between 4 different time periods without any indication to the reader."
"Why anyone would choose to voluntarily read this book is completely beyond me. Just because someone says this is a work of literature, does not make it worth the pages it was printed on. As an English major, I have read a lot of 'literature' books that I would not pick up if I had the choice ... Do yourself a favor and skip this book."
"Obviously he was drunk when he wrote this book."
"Faulkner tries too hard to be 'deep'"
"This is the literary world's equivalent of a blank white canvas hanging in an art museum with a pompous five paragraph description of the artist's 'inspiration' next to it."
"This made me roll my eyes and sigh and scream in frustration."
"It's so old that the price of the novel was only $1.95."
"Ugh. Are you kidding me?! Too complicated. I had to exert too much effort to understand the style."
"Too many folks confuse challenging with good. Hey Faulkner, if you're going to write in that ridiculous stream of consciousness style, at least have the balls to do so for the entire novel. It's like he just got tired halfway through the book and decided to change the style up. Sorry guys, the emperor truly has no clothes on this one."
"Absolutely, positively the WORST book that exists on the planet. I call it The Sound of My Fury. Ahhhhhhhhh.... Truly awful. Whoever called this a 'classic' must be illiterate. :)"
"A Great American Classic? Not in my opinion."
"Faulkner has a lot of 'issues...'"
"I wanted to read this because he deals with the Blacks and comes from a famous author. Wayne understood what I meant when I said I couldn't handle the author's lurky-jerky style. There were so many conversations that went like this, 'What a nice morning.', Tom said. 'Yes, it is.', Bob added. 'What are you going to do?' Tom asked. 'Not sure.' Bob replied."
"Wow, this book sucked. Stream of consciousness of a retarded man?"
"My mother is a fish"
"Denoting nothing."
"it's hard 2 read ><"
"Yeah... Boring. Sorry Willy."
"I read this at a time when I was reading tons of books...and this book cured me. I don't think I read one single book after reading The Sound and the Fury."
"If you like Hemingway, as I do, there is really no chance you can also like Faulkner."
"This book was a piece of shit. Faulkner was obsessed with his penis and was a total pervert. Either that or he really hated Southerners ... Oh, and one more thing. Faulkner, if you can read this from wherever you are, stream of consciousness is a bullshit way out of writing a coherent story. Asshole."
"I'm sorry, if I could go back in time and drown Faulkner before he ever had the opportunity to write something that a teacher would one day force me to read, I would. I absolutely would. That probably makes me a bad person."
"Why is it all the 'great novels' the 'classics' seem like crap to me?"
"I don't know how this pile of crap ever got published, let alone became a classic! It's absolutely unreadable! Pure upchuck in print."
"This book has inspired me to start a list of crap that is admired only because no one has the guts to admit they have no idea what the hell is going on."
"When I read reviews on books like this I can only come to two conclusions; 1) I am an idiot or 2) It is a case of the Emperor's New Clothes."
"Damnit, i'm not stupid. I graduated with honors, i went to a prestigious college on a merit scholarship, I majored in English, and I have read many books that others consider a 'difficult read.' I am not some schmuck who only reads supermarket paperbacks. And if a book is so d*mned inaccessible as this one, that a college graduate, writer and dedicated reader can't get it without three readings -- then to hell with it. For me, the book is a failure and a bastardization of what a book is truly supposed to be."
"I, the reader, was treated to run on sentences, random thoughts unrelated to the events at hand, inventive punctuation, and little back-story to help stake this jumble down."
"seemed incomprehensible and I thought it was printing mistakes but is apparently written through the eyes of a retarded man."
"there was no regard for correct grammar"
"It’s needlessly abstract. To jump around spatially and temporally with little rhyme or reason forces the reader to pay attention not to the narrative they are reading in a linear fashion, but to the meta-narrative—what exists when you step back, when you examine and play around with all of the pieces. That’s truly the only way to come to understand the precise events of the novel and the actions of the characters. How does that make an enjoyable story for a reader? A novel should never be a jigsaw puzzle."
"If I have to be all 'literary' to appreciate and understand this book, then I don't want to be literary ... Perhaps I'm missing something great here. Or perhaps there are too many 'good' books out there to waste my time on this 'literary' one."
"A painful and objectionable experience. This book is written in such an offensively obtuse manner that it was probably an instant classic among the pretentious."
"I love classics and was attracted just by the power of the title, but I couldn't follow the story at all when it jumped between 4 different time periods without any indication to the reader."
"Why anyone would choose to voluntarily read this book is completely beyond me. Just because someone says this is a work of literature, does not make it worth the pages it was printed on. As an English major, I have read a lot of 'literature' books that I would not pick up if I had the choice ... Do yourself a favor and skip this book."
"Obviously he was drunk when he wrote this book."
"Faulkner tries too hard to be 'deep'"
"This is the literary world's equivalent of a blank white canvas hanging in an art museum with a pompous five paragraph description of the artist's 'inspiration' next to it."
"This made me roll my eyes and sigh and scream in frustration."
"It's so old that the price of the novel was only $1.95."
"Ugh. Are you kidding me?! Too complicated. I had to exert too much effort to understand the style."
"Too many folks confuse challenging with good. Hey Faulkner, if you're going to write in that ridiculous stream of consciousness style, at least have the balls to do so for the entire novel. It's like he just got tired halfway through the book and decided to change the style up. Sorry guys, the emperor truly has no clothes on this one."
"Absolutely, positively the WORST book that exists on the planet. I call it The Sound of My Fury. Ahhhhhhhhh.... Truly awful. Whoever called this a 'classic' must be illiterate. :)"
"A Great American Classic? Not in my opinion."
"Faulkner has a lot of 'issues...'"
"I wanted to read this because he deals with the Blacks and comes from a famous author. Wayne understood what I meant when I said I couldn't handle the author's lurky-jerky style. There were so many conversations that went like this, 'What a nice morning.', Tom said. 'Yes, it is.', Bob added. 'What are you going to do?' Tom asked. 'Not sure.' Bob replied."
"Wow, this book sucked. Stream of consciousness of a retarded man?"
"My mother is a fish"
"Denoting nothing."
"it's hard 2 read ><"
"Yeah... Boring. Sorry Willy."
"I read this at a time when I was reading tons of books...and this book cured me. I don't think I read one single book after reading The Sound and the Fury."
"If you like Hemingway, as I do, there is really no chance you can also like Faulkner."
"This book was a piece of shit. Faulkner was obsessed with his penis and was a total pervert. Either that or he really hated Southerners ... Oh, and one more thing. Faulkner, if you can read this from wherever you are, stream of consciousness is a bullshit way out of writing a coherent story. Asshole."
"I'm sorry, if I could go back in time and drown Faulkner before he ever had the opportunity to write something that a teacher would one day force me to read, I would. I absolutely would. That probably makes me a bad person."
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