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What Book Are You Reading?


Wolfbane

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EAPoe as well there Gilbert. Have read all known works, including poems, more than just a couple of times.

4 that stick out at the moment for me is The Narrative Of A.Gordon Pym of Nantucket, a short novel, although a long work for Poe.

The others are The Purloined Letter in which  Auguste Dupin solves mysteries by his methods using deduction, while his companion is always mystified by the inevitable results, along with The Mystery Of Marie Roget and The Murders In The Rue Morgue.

Should sound abit familiar to ACDoyle fans.

Thanks!

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, billybob said:

EAPoe as well there Gilbert. Have read all known works, including poems, more than just a couple of times.

4 that stick out at the moment for me is The Narrative Of A.Gordon Pym of Nantucket, a short novel, although a long work for Poe.

The others are The Purloined Letter in which  Auguste Dupin solves mysteries by his methods using deduction, while his companion is always mystified by the inevitable results, along with The Mystery Of Marie Roget and The Murders In The Rue Morgue.

Should sound abit familiar to ACDoyle fans.

Thanks!

 

 

Poe's imagination and mastery of the english language remains in a category unto it's own. For a romatic, his dark side had no bottom.

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Legend of 1977 Grateful Dead show at Cornell lives on

Sunday, May 7th 2017, 10:35 am EDT by Samantha Wessing
Updated:
Sunday, May 7th 2017, 10:36 am EDT
13812442_G.jpg

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) - The Grateful Dead performed one of their most fabled shows May 8, 1977, at a Cornell University field house.

Revered by Deadheads and honored by the Library of Congress, the Barton Hall show is back in the psychedelic spotlight on its 40th anniversary.

"Grateful Dead Day" will be rung in Monday with Dead tunes played on Cornell's venerable bell tower. A new book on the show - "Cornell '77" - is out. And a recording titled "Cornell 5/8/77" is being commercially released to complement bootleg tapes that have stoked the show's reputation for four decades.

The Dead played an estimated 2,300 shows over three decades before frontman Jerry Garcia's 1995 death. Identifying the best show is impossible. But Barton Hall is a consistent contender listed by critics and fans.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Perhaps my comment was imprecise.  I'm not suggesting that Melville is not a great author -- an American treasure.  All I'm saying is that, IMO, Moby Dick, while one of the best American novels, is not the best American novel.  I feel the same about Citizen Kane.  I sense a bit of "The Emporer's New Clothes" as to both.  So many "experts" have anointed each as the best, that regular folks are pressured into agreeing.

 

I too have read other Melville works, including Bartleby, the Scrivener and Billy Budd.  His writing ability is undeniable.  The fact that Melville has written several worthy works does not, IMO, elevate Moby Dick from a great American novel to the best American novel.

 

If pressed to anoint another American novel -- or film -- as best, I can't.  I guess the concept of "best" is a problem for me.  Instead, I prefer "favorite."  If someone tells me Moby Dick is his/her favorite American novel, I must respect that.  If they were to tell me their favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham, I'd respect that too.  

 

The danger of the Moby Dick issue is that readers might be discouraged from reading.  If a casual reader finds Moby Dick wordy and tedious, it would be easy for him/her to conclude, "If that's a great book, then I guess I don't like great books." Then they won't bother to read classics.

 

Reading anything is better than not reading.  Everyone should read what is enjoyable, but not be afraid to also read "classics," and not be discouraged if a classic is found to be wanting.

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I totally agree about Citizen Kane.  Then again, most here know my general attitude about "film."   I would be hard pressed to name a best or even favorite American novel, but Moby Dick certainly left an impression.  I like Faulkner, too.  I suppose our favorites reveal something of ourselves, as well as our dislikes, or perhaps no so favorite, even though they have been praised.  For example, I slogged through Annie Proulx's The Shipping News.  It won a Pulitzer.  All it did was make me angry that a complete sentence could not be produced with any regularity.  The depressing tone was nothing compared to that.  If I can read something as depressing as Solzhenitsyn (I know, not American) and like it, then I know for sure that was not the issue.

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In the case of Melville and other authors of note in that general era. the general writing style of the day appeared to be rather long, circuitous, and just plain bombastic. Authors tended to try to consciously out-do the other. Longfellow, and his noteworthy Evangeline is a point in case. Although highly regarded by other authors of the time, the era of book critics was coming into being. Whenever an other well regarded author/critic came upon the scene as an editor, whether personal, animosity, the green-eyed monster, or just an attempt at genuine critique, the sparks did fly.

Indeed important for the young to read the classics and be able to comprehend, thus cultivating a desire/yearning to read. All of this just to say, some books require some willingness in order to enjoy. This should apply to both the young and old. Thanks!

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While reading fiction may not please one, it should be apparent by its effect on others that it is not "useless". Mortimer Adler's book, "How to Read a Book" might be a "useful" non-fiction read for someone who thinks that fiction is "useless". This is neither a flippant recommendation, nor a scathing one. The book is a guide for enhancing the "usefulness" of books of all kinds.

SSH

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20 hours ago, Gilbert said:

Poe's imagination and mastery of the english language remains in a category unto it's own. For a romatic, his dark side had no bottom

This has to be the most elaborate, concise, and defining statement of the man, I have read.

Thanks!

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15 minutes ago, ssh said:

Mortimer Adler's book, "How to Read a Book" 

 

See the following link for a pdf version of the 1965 edition. 

 

Chris

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I've found that increasing the relevance of words that we take the time to read has become probably the most central yardstick of our lives, i.e., we're reading all the time.  One of the main themes advocated in How to Read a Book is reading to improve reading skills, which is a noble goal.  However, I find it far too easy to fall into reading that ultimately has low relevance--even if the words are judged by others as having value. 

 

There is one book that I've found that helps its readers to think about what is being said and to avoid investing in trying to make sense out of words (even reading for pleasure, I've found) that ultimately have little relevance:

 

Filters Against Folly: How To Survive Despite Economists, Ecologists, and the Merely Eloquent

 

51c-FJxh+HL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

 

It's a thin book that helps the reader to think to step over the deficiencies of traditional literary and numerical/statistical thought.  Most importantly, it helps the reader sharpen up his/her mind to ask early on: "...and then what?".  I find myself reading a lot of material that many would likely find difficult to read, but I nevertheless benefit from each effort.

 

Chris

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13 minutes ago, Chris A said:

toI find myself reading a lot of material that many would likely find difficult to read, but I nevertheless benefit from each effort.

I have endevoured to read books whether they be complex or not, just to see if I can be assimilated to other ways of thinking about subjects not the least interested in. Found out while at times boring, it built rigor in the idea of looking at other points  of view. Looks interesting.

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