The Classics
Pride and Predjudice, Jane austen, and particularly bloody shakespeare- all mindnumbingly boring to my mind.The pretentious fools that are thesps and gush over macbeth and the like, yet couldn`t tell you why grass is green. Now before you say that I is bitter and twisted(ie. UNEDUCATED AND POOR)- I can`t admit to that- Ive lots of letters after my name and a couple in front (thanks).
But I will never understand shakespeare- ashe wrote it for cash, he wrote in his contemporary times,it`s bloody hard to read/understand, and yet is interpreted in many ways usually off tangent.
Jane austen- she had to pretend to be a man to get published.
Poor old Terry Pratchett- he on the other hand is a bloody genius and yet is never mentioned.( apart from one book he wrote nation which is shite but he does have alzheimers.) His books sell in the millions, but admit to liking them in polite company and they think you are a retard, and yet they will quite pounce about with a "out damn spot" making no bloody sense at all.
Oh and don`t even get me started on Gilbert and Sullivan- jesus wept, something you can only like if you had a fag in your (posh) schooldays of the non nicotine kind.
(rural confucious, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 13:17, 8 replies)

I've never had anyone put me down for liking terry pratchett
he is one of the most widely liked and respected authors we've got.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 13:30, closed)

I can see why you would not be able to get into Jane Austen.
And no, I am not refering to your intelligence at all. Simply that as a gentle comedy of mainly domestic manners it really does appeal more to women than men (I am assuming your male, sorry if I am wrong), and to fans of domestic history and light comedy. The plots are slow, not much happens - everyone knows that the protagonist will marry the rich man of consequence. It seems to be how she stitches them together and makes them believable. Nitpicking, I don't think that her pretending to be a man to be published really says anything other than the sexism of her time.

In terms of Shakespeare, I suppose the reason people still perform and love his plays is because they can perform them in many different ways easily. Perhaps because of this you can deduce that they sum up basic human emotions well and therefore can be decontextualised. I once again think it is a question of personal taste, and there is nothing wrong with that. I keep trying to force myself to read Conrad but end of giving up a few chapters in.

I work in a bookshop and I always recommend Terry Pratchett, The Unseen Academicals is selling really well and I seriously admire his talent and staying power. A genius!
(Turn that bloody gramaphone down has incorrect spelling in her username *WINS*, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 13:36, closed)

i shall be reading unseen academicals next week
my bloody sister won't give t to me before my birthday :(
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 13:40, closed)

How mean!
It will be worth that wait though. Everyone seems to love it.
(Turn that bloody gramaphone down has incorrect spelling in her username *WINS*, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 13:46, closed)

Finished it last night
was very good.
( chenobble rocking his explorer beard on, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 17:08, closed)

It all depends on the book or play
I adore Pride and Prejudice, for example, but can't stand Mansfield Park.
I think Macbeth and Othello are bloody fantastic, but Winter's Tale and As You Like It are terrible.

Never read a Pratchett I didn't like, though.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 14:17, closed)

Actually I really liked Nation
I thought it was better than some of his recent Discworld books
( chenobble rocking his explorer beard on, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 17:09, closed)

Pratchett
I like him, but what wa sthe Australia one (a spoof of a Bryson title??) That was utter wank, the plot made no sense.
(kitescreech still here, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 20:01, closed)