NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok, I don't normally post new threads but...I don't know...

For my summer work for an AP English class, one of my assignments was to read Lord of the Flies. Now some of you may be thinking it's not very difficult reading for an AP class, but they decided since I was the only (incoming) sophomore in the class, they ought to give me all the work I should have done in Sophomore English for over the summer in addition to my original work. But anyway. I got about three chapters in and I realized I hated the book because it had no transitions. I know it's supposed to be "classic literature" but I hate it, so I'm not going to read it.

Any "timeless" books you just hate?

Wind in the Willows. I tried to read that book about 4 times and got bored out of my mind.

Also thought that Lord of the Rings was painfully pointless as a book. (And a movie, come to think of it.)

everyone should read 1984 by Goerge Orwell

Good thinking material that one

I don't like Lord of the Rings.. One of the rare occasions (heck, the only occasion) where I enjoy a film more than a book. It's so damned boring, and it seems to plod on at a snails pace IMO.

I tried to read Lord of the Flies once, we were studying it in English. Holy mother of god, what a load of crap.

1984 sounds pretty good, but I have some doubts due to when it was written (1940s if I remember correctly). Older books tend to be very boring for me, no matter how good the idea behind it is.

Ok, I don't normally post new threads but...I don't know...

For my summer work for an AP English class, one of my assignments was to read Lord of the Flies. Now some of you may be thinking it's not very difficult reading for an AP class, but they decided since I was the only (incoming) sophomore in the class, they ought to give me all the work I should have done in Sophomore English for over the summer in addition to my original work. But anyway. I got about three chapters in and I realized I hated the book because it had no transitions. I know it's supposed to be "classic literature" but I hate it, so I'm not going to read it.

Any "timeless" books you just hate?

You fail at reading.

I don't like Lord of the Rings.. One of the rare occasions (heck, the only occasion) where I enjoy a film more than a book. It's so damned boring, and it seems to plod on at a snails pace IMO.

I tried to read Lord of the Flies once, we were studying it in English. Holy mother of god, what a load of crap.
I loved Lord of the Flies. I'm into twisted and freakish, I guess, but seriously. I think it was potentially pretty true to life.

Totally with you on Lord of the Flies. Read it before we were studying it in school - meh. Read it at school. Seven times. Misplaced part of my very soul. Hate that piece of utter shite.

Anyhting by: Jane Austen and all the Bronte sisters.

Try "The Picture of Dorian Grey" for an engaging read.

Anyhting by: Jane Austen and all the Bronte sisters.

Try "The Picture of Dorian Grey" for an engaging read.

Or anything by Oscar Wilde.

Totally with you on Lord of the Flies. Read it before we were studying it in school - meh. Read it at school. Seven times. Misplaced part of my very soul. Hate that piece of utter shite.

I failed English the semester I had to read that. Although when I did English I always failed it because I hate English, so I ran away... then it followed me into Physics & Chemistry :mad:

Ok, I don't normally post new threads but...I don't know...

For my summer work for an AP English class, one of my assignments was to read Lord of the Flies. Now some of you may be thinking it's not very difficult reading for an AP class, but they decided since I was the only (incoming) sophomore in the class, they ought to give me all the work I should have done in Sophomore English for over the summer in addition to my original work. But anyway. I got about three chapters in and I realized I hated the book because it had no transitions. I know it's supposed to be "classic literature" but I hate it, so I'm not going to read it.

Any "timeless" books you just hate?



wuddya know...im reading lord of the flies too...

Or anything by Oscar Wilde.

Indeed.

Actually, "Dracula" is a fascinating book, if only from a technical perspective.

You fail at reading.
Anything they teach in AP English is shit. They made me read Sense & Sensibility. I rather gouge my eyes out with rusty spoons than think about reading that again.

I've read Oliver Twist, as much David Copperfield as one man can stand, Robinson Crusoe, Animal Farm, and plenty of other shit I am forgetting.

i love literature, but oh how i hated reading great expectations while in high school. they were originally published serially -- they were meant to be read a chapter a week over long periods of time, not crammed into a two week long unit. reading it was like watching every episode of a tv drama in one one sitting. blech. i even like the basic premise of the story, but holy crap how protracted...

Oh yeah, and if I had a time machine I would go back and murder William Faulkner before he became an author.

I failed English the semester I had to read that. Although when I did English I always failed it because I hate English, so I ran away... then it followed me into Physics & Chemistry :mad:

How can you fail/hate English? You fucking speak it.

Indeed.

Actually, "Dracula" is a fascinating book, if only from a technical perspective.

Very true.

How can you fail/hate English? You fucking speak it.
English is not so much study of the language as of literature. They throw in some of the language just to fuck with people.

timeless books i hated (and i know some will get mad)

Great Gatsby (id rather get f'ed by sandra bearnhardt in the ass with a broken glass dildo than read that book ever again )

most written hemingway works

i know i can think of more......

Lord of the Flies... First day when I started a new school ("real" day, not just walking around trying to not get lost) we watched that, and then we had to read it. Boring as hell both of them.

The worst/most boring book I've read was some Nobel-prize winning thing - in English! It isn't even my mother tongue, and that book was anything but simple. I found it difficult, and I'm at the top of my class (honestly). Many didn't even care about finishing the darned thing.

I like Jane Austen. Every time I read Jane Austen I'm impressed by how exciting a discussion of marriage can be.

Lord of the Rings is poorly written, and Dickens is verbose (he got paid by the word).

I never liked Joseph Conrad though.

Great Gatsby (id rather get f'ed by sandra bearnhardt in the ass with a broken glass dildo than read that book ever again )


You disappoint me. :(

You disappoint me. :(

im sorry, but you have no idea how hard i tried to read that book without falling asleep. impossible.

English is not so much study of the language as of literature. They throw in some of the language just to fuck with people.
Summarizes swedish over here. In one year we've read 9 freggin' books, 5 more than the government has decided we have to in three years. And it's only the good ones, to, like Jane Eyre.

timeless books i hated (and i know some will get mad)

Great Gatsby (id rather get f'ed by sandra bearnhardt in the ass with a broken glass dildo than read that book ever again )

most written hemingway works

i know i can think of more......
The Great Gatsby blew but it has nothing one Sense & Sensibility or any Faulkner work. Their Eyes Were Watching God was boring as all hell until it got a little more than halfway finished.

Gatsby was better as a movie.

And To Kill A Mockingbird was weak.

You fail at reading.
Hey man. This is the guy that can write a three page paper on To Kill a Mockingbird without reading it. I'm also working on a five page paper on Julius Caesar without actually reading that (kinda tough). I've perfected laziness so that I get A's in all of my classes while doing very little work.

By the way, anyone ever read The Things They Carried? If so, how was it?

I like Jane Austen. Every time I read Jane Austen I'm impressed by how exciting a discussion of marriage can be.

Lord of the Rings is poorly written, and Dickens is verbose (he got paid by the word).

I never liked Joseph Conrad though.

Are you a professional cretin, or simply retarded?

Jane Austen's novels could be happily condensed into a chapter.

Dickens is positively concise in comparison to Austen, whilst LOTR is, to my tatse, impeccably well written.

How can you fail/hate English? You fucking speak it.

I speak English. I hate trying to analyse English (which is open to my interpretation) and then have my analysis/opinion marked (which is open to the teachers interpretation). Mathematics and Science is alot easier in this respect, everything is right or wrong.

im sorry, but you have no idea how hard i tried to read that book without falling asleep. impossible.

Again, you disappoint me... :(

Hard Times- the worst book ever wriiten in my opnion.

However I suggest Catch 22. Thats a good read

Mathematics and Science is alot easier in this respect, everything is right or wrong.
Aye, that's why that makes up 80% of my school time. So much easier.

I like Jane Austen. Every time I read Jane Austen I'm impressed by how exciting a discussion of marriage can be.

Lord of the Rings is poorly written, and Dickens is verbose (he got paid by the word).

I never liked Joseph Conrad though.
Dicks may have been paid by word, but all of them were worth reading. Except maybe David Copperfield..

Gatsby was better as a movie.

And To Kill A Mockingbird was weak.

gatsby was 15 times better as a movie, i wrote my report based on the movie and i was 3 quarters through the book (an AMAZING feat. i was suprised i didnt give up sooner) got a B+.


to kill a mockingbird is an overrated book.

Are you a professional cretin, or simply retarded?

Jane Austen's novels could be happily condensed into a chapter.

Dickens is positively concise in comparison to Austen, whilst LOTR is, to my tatse, impeccably well written.

Congratulations on joining the ranks of my favourite Generalites! :D

Congratulations on joining the ranks of my favourite Generalites! :D

is there going to be a party?

to kill a mockingbird is an overrated book.
Like every single book put on English required reading lists. You never see true classics that people would want to read on them.

Like every single book put on English required reading lists. You never see true classics that people would want to read on them.


its all about what the gov't wants you to read.

its all about what the gov't wants you to read.
The government obviously never read books for entertainment. Old fogies.

is there going to be a party?

Life is a party, amigo. ;)

The government obviously never read books for entertainment. Old fogies.

they think a life of reading "classic" works from twain, dickinson, dickens, and hemingway will be fulfilling.

Life is a party, amigo. ;)
That's why the "I only smoke at parties" excuse works so well.

they think a life of reading "classic" works from twain, dickinson, dickens, and hemingway will be fulfilling.
I never saw a required reading book with any of those authors.

Life is a party, amigo. ;)


let me rephrase...is there going to be a keg?

let me rephrase...is there going to be a keg?

You paying?

I never saw a required reading book with any of those authors.


pretty much was my philadelphia public middle school reading cirriculum.

I never saw a required reading book with any of those authors.

Your school system sucked then.

You paying?


of course not! im bringing the liquor.

of course not! im bringing the liquor.

Who needs a keg, then, when we've got liquor? :cool:

I hate Lord of the Flies. It just kept going on and on and on. It felt like the author was trying to take a twenty page story and stretch it to over 200 pages. Should have been called Lord of the Filler because that's what most of it is: filler material. Who would have thought that a book about british school children who, while stranded on a desert island, go from a functional democracy to tribal anarchy would be so damn boring. The chapters where kids died? Surprisingly boring as hell.

If there's a book I loved, it's The Giver.

i love literature, but oh how i hated reading great expectations while in high school. they were originally published serially -- they were meant to be read a chapter a week over long periods of time, not crammed into a two week long unit. reading it was like watching every episode of a tv drama in one one sitting. blech. i even like the basic premise of the story, but holy crap how protracted...
I think I would have loved Great Expectations if we hadn't completely dissected and raped it in 9th grade. It's actually pretty funny if you look at it from the outside. Good irony.

Yeah, Lord of the Flies was dull as crap. Heinlein wrote "Tunnels in the Sky" as a rebuttal, unless I heard wrong.

Most of it runs into the problem of being dull. I suppose it was Novel (heh) at once, but 50+ years later it's lost some of the zing, guys.

High school, bleah! Through my time machine I spot these pieces of crap as the biggest stinkers I remember:

Cat's Cradle!! What a pile of confusing and nonsensical shite. That thing would go in my compost pile, but then my garden would die!

To Kill A Mockingbird. Overrated, and I hate books that preach at the reader so blatantly, no matter what the message is.

1984. Specifically, that part where the "rebel manifesto" (forgot the name of it) is finally disclosed. That section was dull as rocks! I skipped those 3 chapters, and still got a B on that review. If the concepts of the book didn't make it into popular culture, I'm sure I would have dumped the memory of the whole thing by now. Except for the darned "under the spreading chestnut tree" bit, which got stuck in my head.

As for Lord of the Flies, the first half sucked the big one, but it got weird enough by the end that I got more interested. And I could well imagine all the brats turning on each other like savage animals. So I ended up thinking it was pretty good, although I wouldn't go and reread it "just for."

Animal Farm wasn't on a "required reading" list but I came across that one during HS somehow anyway. Seemed kind of sucky then. But when I was older I reread it, and now it's pretty good. Great commentary on how groups really behave. And the "animal" aspect makes it weird enough to keep reading.

A Day No Pigs Would Die gave me an eternal dislike for that genre of literature. It went from teh ubersuck up to "meh" through the years, but just isn't the type of stuff I care about reading. If I want to see plain old real life, I've my own to live. I was left with a big SO WHAT after reading that book.

A Tale of Two Cities. Zzzzzz

NOT sucky, but most thought these were:

Anything written by Shakespeare. I thought his works were pretty good, for something the school liked.

The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg. Great! I love it when the self-righteous get their comeuppance, always have!

Little Lord Fauntleroy was pretty good.

A few others that I forgot the names of, but remember the stories.

The Giver was good. Animal Farm was all right. I just watched the movie To Kill a Mockingbird...

Who needs a keg, then, when we've got liquor? :cool:

for when you run out of liquor of course, besides im short on cash and beer is always cheaper.

All Shakespeare should be taken out of skill. Shakespeare wrote playys yet we are forced to read them like books or short stories.

All Shakespeare should be taken out of skill. Shakespeare wrote playys yet we are forced to read them like books or short stories.
That's because a bunch of teachers spent money on a useless liberal arts degree where the only job you're going to get is to teach liberal arts and now they have to justify it.

Jane Austen's novels could be happily condensed into a chapter.

Dickens is positively concise in comparison to Austen, whilst LOTR is, to my tatse, impeccably well written.

Yes. many Jane Austens can be summarised into a sentence: Some women talked about love, and got married. That does not mean that the novels themselves are not excellently written.
Lord of the Rings is boring in parts, formulaic, repetitive and filled with bad metaphors..walking through jagged toothed mountains, anyone? This reveals more about your taste than Tolkien's wordcraft.

That does not mean that the novels themselves are not excellently written.
They arn't.

The Old Man and the Sea, and El Coronel no tiene quien le escriba. They go on forever and ever without a point. I think that's their point, but still...

They arn't.

This is getting silly. You are the second person to dismiis my opinion with a post containing a spelling mistake. I am finding it hard to take you seriously on this subject.

And To Kill A Mockingbird was weak.

To Kill A Mockingbird was amazing but the movie had horrible acting. Horrible, especailly during the trail. I wanted to get into AP English because they focus on the stuff I'm good at and the normal class focuses on the stuff I'm bad at but because of the stuff I suck at I didn't get a high enough mark (despite getting 93% on the exam) to get into and now I'm in the stream I'm shitty at and my mark's going to die.

And I hate Pride and Prejudice. Whenever I tell someone that they always get "Oh, you just think you're cool by not liking it" and get called book snob by my friends and they say I'm judging it by what I've heard that I haven't read the book. No: I just found it boring.

To Kill A Mockingbird was amazing but the movie had horrible acting. Horrible, especailly during the trail.
I was talking about the book.

another one i thought was a sleeper was alls quiet on the western front.

This is getting silly. You are the second person to dismiis my opinion with a post containing a spelling mistake.
Point out my spelling mistake.

I am finding it hard to take you seriously on this subject.
Jane Austen is long-winded and short-substanced. Sense & Sensibility had to be the most droll, non-sensical thing I have ever read. The flow was terrible, the plot was uninteresting, and the lot was so mind-numbingly empty of anything more than worthless drivel that I couldn't stand to read more than 3 pages at a time. Dr. Seuss' "Hop on Pop" made signficantly more 'sense'.

Anything by Hemingway. *vomit*

100 Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

L'tranger(the stranger) - Albert Camus ...might give it another go though, in French