The official NMA board
General Category => Everything Else => Topic started by: Whirlwind on May 23, 2018, 12:49:55 AM
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Here in the United States Of Trump our public television station is putting together a series in which Americans (by vote) will select the most loved novel of all time. End of summer they will announce what America's favorite book is.
Interesting endeavor.
Well, I know a lot of non-Americans are here and am curious to see what are the best, most loved, greatest (however you want to label it) novels you have read. Put down a dozen or so novels you love.
Mine:
"Moby Dick" - Herman Melville
"Bonfire Of The Vanities" - Tom Wolfe
"Frankenstein" - Mary Shelley
"Deliverance" - James Dickey
"Of Mice And Men" - John Steinbeck
"Trainspotting" - Irvine Welsh
"Gone With The Wind" - Margaret Mitchell
"The Book Of Daniel" - E.L. Doctorow
"Barabbas" - Par Lagerkvist
"The Terror" - Dan Simmons
"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" - Ian Fleming
"East Of Eden" - John Steinbeck
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Here are mine (not in order)
Let The Right One In John Ajvide Lindqvist
Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck
Cannery Row John Steinbeck
Animal Farm George Orwell
1984 George Orwell
Homage To Catalonia George Orwell
On The Road To Wigan Pier George Orwell
Down And Out In Paris And London George Orwell
Moby Dick Herman Melville
A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute
A Walk In The Woods Bill Bryson
The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid Bill Bryson
Lord Of The Flies William Golding
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Thought this thread would have generated more interest ..... :(
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Thought this thread would have generated more interest ..... :(
Sure, this is a fantastic thread. Can really get down and know somebody by the books they love.
Two reasons why no posters:
1. People here don't read top literature.
2. People here are childish. ("Oh, can't respond to a Whirlwind thread.")
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Here are mine (not in order)
Let The Right One In John Ajvide Lindqvist
Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck
Cannery Row John Steinbeck
Animal Farm George Orwell
1984 George Orwell
Homage To Catalonia George Orwell
On The Road To Wigan Pier George Orwell
Down And Out In Paris And London George Orwell
Moby Dick Herman Melville
A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute
A Walk In The Woods Bill Bryson
The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid Bill Bryson
Lord Of The Flies William Golding
Well, being that you are the only one who acted as a mature human being and shared your love of books, I'll comment on your list of favorites.
Yes, "1984" and "Lord Of The Flies" should have been on my list. Should be on everybody's list, really. Such brutal and dark books...yet we love them. What about us as creatures attracts us to dark things?
As for your Steinbeck choices...I've never read "Cannery Row." Suppose I will one day. "Grapes Of Wrath" is his masterpiece...but I hated it. I feel "East Of Eden" is his masterpiece. What a book. And if you've seen the James Dean film, well, that's only half the book, literally. First half of that book is incredible.
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I don’t get much time to read novels nowadays what with the book of faeces and other online forums, does that make me immature.
Anyway I have a genuine question regarding MD, what is it about that book that people like so much, similarly Ulysses; I’ve read both and can’t see it.
Cheers
jc
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I assume MD refers to Moby Dick ?........My father was a great fan of what i would call old fashioned / classical books.He loved Charles Dickens,Treasure Island,Black Beauty,Robinson Crusoe,that kind of thing.So as a young boy he encouraged me to read them, we read Moby Dick together and i really liked it.Then as a teenager after seeing the 1956 film with Gregory Peck and Richard Basehart i read it again. Like art and music books are subjective,you either like/get them or you don't............It would be a pretty boring world if we all liked the same things...........
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..regarding MD, what is it about that book that people like so much, .
Few things:
1. it's difficult and hard.
Just as the thrill to climbing Mt Everest comes from the fact that it is so difficult, "Moby Dick" offers an extremely challenging read and the reward is there when you finish. Look, I like doing crossword puzzles. I finish them, no big deal. But one time I actually finished the incredibly difficult "NY Times Sunday Crossword." It was thrilling to work through something mentally challenging. Finishing that crossword puzzle did give me a charge. Same can be said upon finishing "Moby Dick."
2. it has the greatest character in all of literature
Everybody loves STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN. I saw it in the theaters and you can see the audience loved Khan's lines like: "from hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee." Well, as you know that comes from Captain Ahab. We all liked Khan delivering those lines, imagine how much greater they are when the real guy says those lines. Nothing like Ahab. The chapter when Ahab stands before his crew and he God-like controls St. Elmos' fire is astounding. Nothing like Ahab. What he does and what he says inspires awe. Plus he's a loon.
3. it has the greatest line in all of literature
"Ahab is for ever Ahab. This whole act's immutably decreed. 'Twas rehearsed by thee and me a billion years before this ocean rolled. "
Astonishing. That part in italics hit me and moved me like no other bit of art ever did or could. Ahab is Ahab, Ahab will hunt the whale....this whole thing has been worked out and set in motion a billion years before the oceans even formed! Incredible.
Yes, MOBY DICK is a slog to get through. But then suddenly those final one hundred pages move at break-neck speed. The book becomes the greatest adventure tale ever told. The ending is phenomenal. When I finished the book I actually said aloud, "Holy shit." Stunning work.
We all love this guy...but the character he is based upong is a billion times better.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kRm2JG596XA/SW5RXgm6GnI/AAAAAAAAAmA/cKsrNkGWr3w/s320/Khan.jpg)
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Thanks guys for your responses, I really liked the first and last chapters and of MD I felt that the bits in between were just filler. It is interesting. Appreciate your taking the time to reply.
I would like to suggest:-
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- Anna Karenin
Cheers
jc
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What I like about Moby Dick is that it's not (just) a story about whaling; it's a discourse on society, fate, compulsion etc. The whaling is actually quite a small part of it.
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In a nutshell,well put jackroadkill.........
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What I like about Moby Dick is that it's not (just) a story about whaling; it's a discourse on society, fate, compulsion etc. The whaling is actually quite a small part of it.
So true.
There was an insult in a movie (can't remember the movie) that a character levelled at another character. The insult was, 'He thinks MOBY DICK is just a story about a whale."
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Whoosh, that is the sound of MD going straight over my head, I see there is more to it thanks.
Cheers
jc