question: how many of you guys like modern books in addition to classic lit? What books do you think will define the era we are living in?
question: how many of you guys like modern books in addition to classic lit? What books do you think will define the era we are living in?
Told by a fool, signifying nothing.
loved the mists of avalon. dreamt about it before i ever read it. all other books aside that one had a huge impact on me. was so grateful when finally realized it was a book, and then when i was making my way through it, had the wonderful experience of "hearing" the characters speak as i was reading. was rather stunning, suprising, and completely wonderful. realize probably won't become one of the books that define our era, but marion zimmer bradley did have a pretty big impact on the s.f./arthurian genre.
Define, modern, a time table.
on one hand, I consider the sirens of titan and slaughterhouse five to be classic literature, because they both came after the second half of the twentieth century. on the other hand, I also consider them to be modern literature, so I don't know.
well what about modern poetry? i adore sonia sanchez, for example. her stuff is classic, and she's still prolific. there are plenty of others to list; she just happens to by my favorite. or do you all only prefer the works from dead guys?
not to be crass.
Modern Fiction is so hard to find gems in because there's sooooo much crap mixed in, but I try my best to sift through it all and try and find good reads in our time. Although lately I've been on a big classics kick. Only modern fic I've read lately has been King and Jordan's Wheel of Time.
...Also baby duck hat would be good for parties.
I don't know much modern stuff, I read mainly classics because, as I've explained somewhere else... they're much cheaper(yes libraries exist but all the ones I know have editions that seem to be from before Chrst, nevermind recent stuff
Now anyway I'm happy about the classics cos there are many of them I'm curious about (and many I bought and haven't read yet).
Anyway I have read some recently written stuff, mainly 'mainstream' things like Coelho and Banana Yoshimoto (know her? I can't say I like her stuff, it seems a bit pretentious...like 'I'm a great philosopher', but then after you've read the book you find you have nothing left of it in mind...or sort of) ..and I can't think of anything else at the moment...Uhm...is Simenon considered modern? Whatever.
dead on the inside, i've got nothing to prove
keep me alive and give me something to lose
Most recently I read and loved Fear of Flying--does that count as modern?
If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft, and of thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, sell one, and with the dole buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
yes - i remember it on the bookshelf back in the '80's. which wasn't the dark ages yet.
it was good? i tried to pick it up a few times, found it perky and boring...kept wanting to like it...
Hmmm...perky and boring, I could see that. I'd even go so far as to say that that is what I thought at first, but then when I finished it certain things about it stuck in my head, especially the questions it asked.
The book seems to revolve around her trying to find her way out of the spinster or suicide paradox of successful women. I'm not sure she found her way out, and that concerns me deeply, as I hope to be successful.
Another more recent book I read was The unbearable Lightness of Being. I was intensely befuddled by this book, and need to read it again. If anyone has the key to what is going on in this book, feel free to reveal it.
If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft, and of thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, sell one, and with the dole buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
Originally posted by IWilKikU
Modern Fiction is so hard to find gems in because there's sooooo much crap mixed in, but I try my best to sift through it all and try and find good reads in our time.
Yes, I agree with you Kik! I never think twice when I found a book by a clasic author, if I can afford it I buy it instantly. But not with modern stuffs. Ussually I'll try to ask my friends about the book and try to get some references from them.
But, when it comes to poetry, I prefer the modern ones than the classic.
Hmmm... On the whole, thinking about it, most of my favourite authors ARE "dead guys" (and gals
Not to say there aren't quite a few living folks out there whose work I like- but it's kinof 75 - 25! I tend to be a little cautious before actually buying a totally new author and I need some time to adjust into the framework of the latest even by people who've been around for a while.
Now WHAT does that imply abut my inclinations, I wonder?
I'm nobody, who are you?
Are you nobody too?
There's a pair of us, don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know!
How dreary to be somebody!
I define Modern as within the last 15 years.
Told by a fool, signifying nothing.
hm....i cannot say that I've read A LOT by modern writers....but from what I have read I'd single out Petrushevskaja and Akunin (letter for letter transcription from Russian. "u" should be read as [u]). I like the former because of the way she writes - she writes fairy-tales, very wise fairy - tales. They are about modern life and society but put in such a way that even a kid can read that. (For example, she represents the society and people as animals living in a forest and so on.) Akunin is just something that appeals to me due to the style and the way of narration. Basically, he imitates the detective stories of the 19th century or so....but the works are also very funny and witty. As to other stuff like Pelevin, for example, I read one book by him Life of Insects I liked the idea but I wouldn't say that it is something very special and a definite must to read.
what book can define the era? To my mind, all books to some extent define and reflect the era as long as they are about contemporary times...
B. Akunin (yeah
dead on the inside, i've got nothing to prove
keep me alive and give me something to lose
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