There's a thread on it in the authors section - you'll get all the opinions there.
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There's a thread on it in the authors section - you'll get all the opinions there.
OMG YESS!!!!!!! Modern audiences seem to be more interested in books that do the thinking for them. Even though I loath to say it, Rowling may be a small exception b/c she actually incorporates some archetypal ideas into her works. :idea:Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Darnay
Dan Brown has found a very interesting theme but I don't like his way of writing. I have a feeling of reeding screenplay for the movie not a book. Of course it's only my opinion. It's an easy reading - short sentences, short chapters. But maybe I think so beacuse I read before Hiram's key, Hiram' book, Rex Deus etc. and then Da Vinci's Code. I'm pretty sure that it would be a great movie. ;)
J. K. Rowling, definately. And Dan Brown. Both of them have intriguing stories and ideas but their storytelling abilities themselves get old and boring fast... doesn't seem to drag me in enough. I love the concept of "The Da Vinci Code" though.
Ayn Rand
She is loved for her p[hilosophy ... but modern philosohpy students and proffessors do not consider her a philosopher. She also repeats ideas in the re-accurring themes in her very long books: The Fountainhead went on for about 700 pages of the same old thing to drive home a point that she made in the first 50 pages.
Chuck Palahnuik. He's the "in" thing around here, especially among some of the college kids that would never willingly pick up Crime and Punishment or any sort of actual classic on their own time--he's fallback literature. I've read some of his stuff and it's stale. He starts out with plots that really are pretty good in concept, but his writing style just zaps all the interest out of it.
And totally agree with IrishCanadian about Ayn Rand.
What about Arundhati Roy? I think she is the most overrated.
If anything, Arundhati Roy is underrated.
Sir Walter Scott and Thomas Hardy---their books are just dense and monlithic in tone. You have to read a page twice to get it.
I agree with that. He simply neatly packages existentialism into witty pop culture and viola! A book thats not at all innovative or original.Quote:
Originally Posted by higley
I struggle to say any authors though are overrated - as a community I believe writers are some of the most under-appreciated individuals out there.
That being said, I still feel Jack Kerouac is a bit overrated, though I do greatly enjoy most of his writings it is really just not of the greatest form IMO. I feel similar about John O'Hara. Also JRR Tolkien has never done anything for me.
But cast this thread into the fire! We should all be ashamed! ;)
Awww, I love Tolkien, but I can certainly see how his appeal may be limited. I didn't care for The Hobbit but Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion are always on my 'favorite book' lists.Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoffrey
I agree with Pendragon about Stephen King. He had a moment in time when I think he was writing some great stuff, The Stand has always been a standout for me but he gets a bit repetitious after awhile, which is bound to happen when you write 500 books.
And it pains me to say it, but I have never cared for Hemmingway or Joyce. I've tried to read both of them a few times and I always feel like I must be missing something, like there must be something wrong with me because everyone else considers them to be such geniuses, but I just don't get it, no matter how hard I try, I just can't see it. :confused:
Ok, I was reading all the posts so far and I have to say that I definitely agree with whoever said James Joyce and Herman Melville.
On the Dan Brown topic, I don't hate him, I actually enjoyed The Da Vinci Code when I read it. However, Digital Fortress is a bunch of lies. How do I know? Well, it's set in a city in Spain, which happens to be MY city, and Mr. Brown has made up so many things about it that I almost didn't recognize my own city. By the way, he claims to have lived here for a year, but I honestly can't tell from the book. In the end, everybody here was so outraged about it, that his editor had to publicly apologize for it. So much for his credibility as a researcher. Obviously, that completely spoiled my opinion on The Da Vinci Code.
And needless to say, I think so far he's probably the most over-rated author in present day literature
Brown's novels are just entertaining and pretty interesting to read. Of course, it's not a serious literature and whoever hopes to find some deep thoughts there will be dissapointed. And it's just fiction, so if you really want to learn about Illuminati or Templars, Brown's book are not the best sources of information.
I personally love King and Tolkien and certainly don' think that they are overrated
Quote:
Originally Posted by IrishCanadian
Why..........?