Unpopular Literary Opinions

[pathtaken]

I did not like The Tenth of December by George Saunders.

All the stories seemd to fall under the category of short stories I hate, trying to hard.

[GirlyGhoul]

Jun 5, 2013 7:42:11 GMT -4 Queena said:

Here's my unpopular opinion.

I really hated the book The Color Purple. I loved the movie, but the book horrified me. Maybe I was too young when I read it, or maybe it was the lesbianism. I have no problems with lesbians, but as a 10 year old...let's just say that I was horribly naive. I'm thinking of re-reading it as an adult, now that I'm older. However, I think I've seen the movie too many times to enjoy how much different the book is. I feel horrible for not liking TCP, because it's considered on of the greatest.

It may be worth another shot- for you and me both. I tried reading it when I was a kid, but had a hard time with it because it's an epistolary(sp?) novel. Meaning it's all in letters. I wasn't used to that sort of thing and couldn't get into it... But the movie was AWESOME!! I've since read other books that are all letters... and I'm older and (maybe) wiser. And maybe TCP would work the second time around.

My Godson who is 15 but very behind in his reading (Bad traumatic childhood- it's not his fault) is still struggling and on a level where he pretty much still needs to read things like Dr. Seuss until he totally gets the hang of it- But is ashamed to be reading Dr. Seuss because they're 'baby' books and he's 15. (I totally disagree, but he's 15. You can't tell him anything) His uncle gave him 'Carrie' to read and of course it didn't work. Uncle's thinking 'But Stephen King is COOL and it's a short book'. Doesn't matter- it's a short book with BIG words and it's weridly structured. It's all flashbacks and news articles and police reports. That's hard for even a strong reader to muddle through.

And getting back on topic. I kinda hate 'Carrie' for it's structure. The core story is awesome, once you cut through the police interviews and news articles and such. But it bugs me that Mr. King went that route. I think the story is interesting enough on it's own that it didn't need all the bells and whistles he added (Trying to make it seem like REAL thing, I guess). I don't know if that's a popular or unpopular opinion, but I like the story of 'Carrie' without liking the actual book. (I'm going to have to re-read The Color Purple, but I have a feeling I might find myself in the same place. Enjoying the core story, but not feeling the whole 'letter' thing)

[chonies]

Dec 13, 2013 17:07:41 GMT -4 GirlyGhoul said:

My Godson who is 15 but very behind in his reading (Bad traumatic childhood- it's not his fault) is still struggling and on a level where he pretty much still needs to read things like Dr. Seuss until he totally gets the hang of it- But is ashamed to be reading Dr. Seuss because they're 'baby' books and he's 15. (I totally disagree, but he's 15. You can't tell him anything)

He's probably already taken care of in school, but a lot of my librarian friends have had amazing success recommending graphic novels (non fiction, fiction, adaptations of 'real' books, etc) to their reluctant readers. Obviously, some are really literary, but there are several that could be reading-level appropriate that also wouldn't hurt his pride.

[GirlyGhoul]

Dec 13, 2013 17:23:27 GMT -4 chonies said:

Dec 13, 2013 17:07:41 GMT -4 GirlyGhoul said:

My Godson who is 15 but very behind in his reading (Bad traumatic childhood- it's not his fault) is still struggling and on a level where he pretty much still needs to read things like Dr. Seuss until he totally gets the hang of it- But is ashamed to be reading Dr. Seuss because they're 'baby' books and he's 15. (I totally disagree, but he's 15. You can't tell him anything)

He's probably already taken care of in school, but a lot of my librarian friends have had amazing success recommending graphic novels (non fiction, fiction, adaptations of 'real' books, etc) to their reluctant readers. Obviously, some are really literary, but there are several that could be reading-level appropriate that also wouldn't hurt his pride.

Yeah, I suggested 'Cycle of the Werewolf' after 'Carrie' was a bust but his aunt wasn't sure it was part of uncle's collection (I'm sure it is since the dude is ALL about Stephen King) But maybe there are more reading level graphic books out there I can look for. My thinking with 'Cycle of the Werewolf' was that maybe the gory pictures would get him interested enough in what the story was about that he'd put in the effort it took to read the words. He CAN read when he sits down and works at it... He just hates to put in the work.

[Mutagen]

There are graphic novel versions of some literary classics out there, too, that might help. I was an English nerd in school but I still remember being transfixed by my classmate's graphic novel version of Macbeth!

Also, I read a LOT of children's abridged versions of classic novels when I was in elementary school... to this day that's still the only reason I know key details of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Black Beauty and Around the World in 80 Days.

[chonies]

There are the non-fiction graphic novels (genre needs to be renamed, stat!) that are really cool, too. Everything from lurid yet PG Ripley's Believe it Or Not books, and even history.

[Gigiree]

There are also several publishers that specialize in what are known as high-lo books--high interest for low-level readers. Here is an entire article about them with links to book lists and such.

I've had very good luck with these in my classroom. (I teach language arts to 8th grade through 12th grade and frequently work with students who are behind in their reading skills.) The important thing to remember is that reading takes practice--the more one reads, the better one becomes at it, so good for you for encouraging your godson in his reading. Sometimes all it takes if finding that one book that total captures their attention, then BAM! Good luck!

[GirlyGhoul]

Those all seem like great ideas. I'm gonna check out the links and hopefully can come up with something for Christmas. I think the main thing with him is he needs to keep practicing to the point that it isn't such a chore. And if he could get to the point that he was reading something he liked and was able to finish- I think it would mean a lot to him. So thanks for all the suggestions!

[Smilla]

Not sure how unpopular this is, but after a Which Horror Writer is/was Better debate, I've come here to pronounce that Peter Straub's work is not scary. Neither is Dean Koontz.

[Queena]

I know Dan Brown isn't that good of a writer, but everything I know about the NSA I learned from one of his books. The whole NSA thing is like a Dan Brown book come true. The book in question is Digital Fortress. I'm not the only person who thinks that upon doing a Google search I've found. I'm sorry if this isn't unpopular, but since Dan Brown is such a crappy writer at times, this is the one time he got it right.

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