Is there a book you were required to read in school that you loved? one you hated?
61-69, M
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ElwoodBlues · M
The Great Gatsby; and I benefited very much from reading it under the guidance of a teacher who could point out the subtleties.
Ivanhoe was supposed to appeal to boys, but it was just boring to me.
P.S. After college a high school friend introduced me to Pride and Prejudice and Emma, both of which I found spectacularly funny and engaging. Frankly, although I love science fiction and detective novels, Jane Austen would be my favorite author if she had produced more books like those two.
Ivanhoe was supposed to appeal to boys, but it was just boring to me.
P.S. After college a high school friend introduced me to Pride and Prejudice and Emma, both of which I found spectacularly funny and engaging. Frankly, although I love science fiction and detective novels, Jane Austen would be my favorite author if she had produced more books like those two.
originnone · 61-69, M
@ElwoodBlues I just read the great Gatsby. I'm sort of going through the top 100 books...the ones I haven't read yet....
ElwoodBlues · M
@originnone Just curious, is your top 100 an online list? If so, can you point me to it?
originnone · 61-69, M
@ElwoodBlues It is, but I look at different ones. There are a couple of Harry Potter ones on the list; I'm not really a fan. I haven't read Beloved. I'm doing Don Quixote now. There's no point to my reading this....just a meaningless goal....
LeopoldBloom · M
@ElwoodBlues Austen wrote several other books similar to the two you mentioned.
originnone · 61-69, M
@LeopoldBloom So, which ones did you like/dislike?
LeopoldBloom · M
@originnone I really liked Northanger Abbey. It's hilarious. I can't believe that it hasn't been made into a movie yet.
originnone · 61-69, M
@LeopoldBloom I read it years ago...honestly don't remember it.
ElwoodBlues · M
@LeopoldBloom I have read the whole Austen oeuvre. What I didn't mention is that my high school friend became an English professor. He told me that Northanger Abbey is partly a parody of The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. So I read Udolpho prior to Northanger just to increase the pleasures of Northanger. But I just didn't find any characters as pleasing as Lizzie or Emma. I'll re-read it, and I'll re-read Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility, but I expect Pride and Prejudice and Emma will still please me the most.