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I dunno, tough to imagine that True Grit for example would've been as popular as it is if LaBeef had been the narrator instead of Mattie
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Oct 12, 2017 02:16
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The classic example here - and yes, this is a rec! - is Crime and Punishment. The main character is a murderer, certainly not a person I'd want to hang with, but he's more fascinating than obnoxious. It's just a more interesting book to me than Pale Fire because of that.
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Oct 12, 2017 02:28
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Pale Fire's narrator is supposed to be off-putting though. He's a complete narcissistic, which is part of the story and its execution.
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Oct 12, 2017 02:30
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A human heart posted:that's a bad book though I know — that's why I stopped reading it!
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Oct 12, 2017 02:30
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A human heart posted:What a weird way to think about a book.
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Oct 12, 2017 10:04
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StrixNebulosa posted:The classic example here - and yes, this is a rec! - is Crime and Punishment. The main character is a murderer, certainly not a person I'd want to hang with, but he's more fascinating than obnoxious. It's just a more interesting book to me than Pale Fire because of that. How much of Pale Fire did you actually read before stopping?
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Oct 12, 2017 10:13
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CestMoi posted:How much of Pale Fire did you actually read before stopping? The opening, the first few pages of the poem, and several pages of the notes. I'd say that's enough to give the book a solid look.
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Oct 12, 2017 11:06
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What are some good stories about exploring really strange/creepy places? Things like ancient caves/tombs/catacombs, or alien megastructures, or the impossible place in House of Leaves, or anything else along those lines. Can be scifi, horror or adventure.
Queering Wheel fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Oct 12, 2017 |
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Oct 12, 2017 12:18
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The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer?
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Oct 12, 2017 14:36
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WAR DOGS OF SOCHI posted:Eh, I get it. Started in on the Thomas Covenant series and I decided early on that there were other books I'd rather read instead of dealing with several hundred pages of rapist angst. i can't even make fun of you for comparing the thomas covenant series to nabokov's pale fire. it's such a shockingly idiotic take that i'm staring dumbfounded at my computer screen, spit dribbling onto my lap
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Oct 12, 2017 15:16
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You're missing the point which was that I was simply commiserating with a poster who couldn't finish a book due to an unlikeable narrator. I was sharing a comparative experience about that, not the books themselves or their quality, so you can call off the DEFCON alert now.
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Oct 12, 2017 16:38
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StrixNebulosa posted:The opening, the first few pages of the poem, and several pages of the notes. I'd say that's enough to give the book a solid look. I disagree. The poem's not even written in the same voice as the main narrator, and it's only 999 lines long. Pale Fire's cool because John Shade doesn't sound anything like Kinbote, which comes into play with questionable passages in the poem. It's like watching 10 minutes of The Godfather and saying "I get it, but I'm not big on this Vito Corleone guy." Like, sure, but not really. Sorry you didn't like the book, you don't have to read anything that disinterests you, but don't act like your opinions are solid based on reading 5% of a book who's mystery isn't even revealed until you start getting into Kinbote's notes. There's no wrong way to read Pale Fire (except not reading it), but who doesn't read the whole poem before getting into the notes?
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Oct 12, 2017 16:48
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The best way to read pale fire: you can read either the notes or the poem, but you can choose only one, not both
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Oct 12, 2017 16:51
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Franchescanado posted:I disagree. The poem's not even written in the same voice as the main narrator, and it's only 999 lines long. Pale Fire's cool because John Shade doesn't sound anything like Kinbote, which comes into play with questionable passages in the poem. It's like watching 10 minutes of The Godfather and saying "I get it, but I'm not big on this Vito Corleone guy." Like, sure, but not really. Sorry you didn't like the book, you don't have to read anything that disinterests you, but don't act like your opinions are solid based on reading 5% of a book who's mystery isn't even revealed until you start getting into Kinbote's notes. I felt I'd read enough of it to get a feel for the book. 
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Oct 12, 2017 17:04
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I mean, the question of whether or not a protagonist should be likeable has been debated in literary circles for ages so its not exactly a settled issue On the other hand, I think if you are the kind of reader who stops reading because you don't like the protagonist, you are not a particularly meaningful reader.
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Oct 12, 2017 17:20
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Mel Mudkiper posted:I mean, the question of whether or not a protagonist should be likeable has been debated in literary circles for ages so its not exactly a settled issue ...  I'm reading for leisure! Some books compel me to read them deeply and study them. Some don't. Pale Fire didn't.
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Oct 12, 2017 17:24
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StrixNebulosa posted:... There’s your problem. Never read for leisure. Reading should be painful.
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Oct 12, 2017 18:22
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Bandiet posted:There’s your problem. Never read for leisure. Reading should be painful. This but unironically
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Oct 12, 2017 18:28
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Bandiet posted:There's your problem. Never read for leisure. Reading should be painful. Yeah, if you start doing that you might "like" things and be "entertained" and have a "good life", and we can't have that. Not enjoying the point of view of a particular protagonist is a very good reason to stop reading something; if the narrator didn't have a huge influence on the texture of the book, why would anyone use an unreliable narrator in the first place? The same factor that gives that narrator the ability to enhance the narrative gives them the ability to detract from it as well. Here's my more general hot take: If you don't like reading the book, stop reading the book, and if anybody thinks you should read the book or doesn't like your reasons for stopping, record yourself farting for the longest time you can possibly manage and mail them a WAV. Uncompressed, so it takes up more space. That is all the response that is required.
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Oct 13, 2017 02:22
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idonotlikepeas posted:Here's my more general hot take: If you don't like reading the book, stop reading the book, and if anybody thinks you should read the book or doesn't like your reasons for stopping, record yourself farting for the longest time you can possibly manage and mail them a WAV. Uncompressed, so it takes up more space. That is all the response that is required.
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Oct 13, 2017 02:26
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A constant search for "entertainment" is a spiritual flaw
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Oct 13, 2017 09:38
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Tiggum posted:Yeah, I don't get people who have to finish books/TV shows/movies/games/whatever. It's entertainment. If you're not being entertained you're wasting your time. Do something you'll enjoy instead. Video games and tv shows are entertainment, but literature isn't.
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Oct 13, 2017 12:45
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Ras Het posted:A constant search for "entertainment" is a spiritual flaw
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Oct 13, 2017 15:06
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How do I submit an SA thread to /r/gatekeeping
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Oct 13, 2017 16:11
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regulargonzalez posted:How do I submit an SA thread to /r/gatekeeping /r/gatekeepinggatekeeping
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Oct 13, 2017 17:24
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mentally pronouncing "SA" as its individual letters insead of "sah" is also a spiritual flaw
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Oct 13, 2017 21:24
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Ras Het posted:A constant search for "entertainment" is a spiritual flaw A human heart posted:Video games and tv shows are entertainment, but literature isn't. 
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Oct 14, 2017 02:23
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Nice counterargument there mate.
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Oct 14, 2017 03:43
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Nice derail, everyone.
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Oct 14, 2017 03:48
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Recommend me a book that’s not entertaining at all
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Oct 14, 2017 12:04
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Ready Player One
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Oct 14, 2017 12:10
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Take the plunge! Okay! posted:Recommend me a book that’s not entertaining at all This is purely a matter of taste but I hated reading the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
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Oct 14, 2017 12:47
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StrixNebulosa posted:This is purely a matter of taste but I hated reading the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. i hope you loving die
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Oct 14, 2017 14:40
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StrixNebulosa posted:This is purely a matter of taste but I hated reading the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn is probably the most fun required reading I had in school, except for maybe To Kill A Mockingbird, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Frankenstein.
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Oct 14, 2017 14:59
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chernobyl kinsman posted:i hope you loving die This is, uh, a bit much. Having bad taste in books isn't a death sentence. Franchescanado posted:Huckleberry Finn is probably the most fun required reading I had in school, except for maybe To Kill A Mockingbird, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Frankenstein. Mark Twain's a cool author - I loved reading his adventures on a river boat - but something about Huck Finn just stuck in my craw and made it a hellish experience for me. I genuinely would've been happier if we had done more Shakespeare instead. Or, hell - either of the last two books you mentioned. We didn't read those in High School and I feel like I missed out. (To Kill A Mockingbird happened, but I'll be damned if I can remember reading it. I might need to revisit it!)
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Oct 14, 2017 15:15
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Take the plunge! Okay! posted:Recommend me a book that’s not entertaining at all Babyfucker by Urs Allemann
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Oct 14, 2017 15:51
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Take the plunge! Okay! posted:Recommend me a book that’s not entertaining at all Hunter by James Huggins edit: also anything by Steinbeck
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Oct 14, 2017 16:20
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Wikipedia posted:Originally, Sylvester Stallone wanted to base Rambo: Last Blood on Hunter. Stallone had the film rights to Hunter for a while but never managed to make a film adaptation. But on November 12, 2009, it has been reported that Stallone is saving the Hunter plot for another film,[1] possibly for a Hunter film adaptation. e: Cannery Row was fun, with the guys just trying to do something nice for Doc and ruining everything
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Oct 14, 2017 18:50
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Take the plunge! Okay! posted:e: Cannery Row was fun, with the guys just trying to do something nice for Doc and ruining everything Don't forget Sweet Thursday
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Oct 14, 2017 19:21
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Don't forget Sweet Thursday I liked Steinbeck's version of The Adventures of King Arthur. He was the only writer I've seen who made the Guinevere-Lancelot romance interesting.
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Oct 14, 2017 20:28
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