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sam_spade 15,745 posts
Seen 1 week ago
Registered 20 years ago -
/glances up from Ulysses
You were saying?
Fits the phenomenon that more and more books are sold, but, allegedly, less and less books are read. -
mrharvest 5,718 posts
Seen 2 weeks ago
Registered 18 years agoI'm a snob. Single malts, cigars, vacuum pot coffee, books; I do it all. Why, just last week I read a play by Harold Pinter. Not because I was interested in but just so I could say I've read it, you know?
Yeah. Great. -
sam_spade 15,745 posts
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Registered 20 years agoThe web is full of fools that's why. -
morriss 71,293 posts
Seen 3 months ago
Registered 17 years agoAnybody else read Lara by Evaristo, she really has mastered the verse-narrative hasn't she? The vernacular she uses is both culturally colloquial and yet somewhat unique, erudite even. .gif)
Edited by morriss at 23:16:31 24-10-2005 -
Furbs wrote:
Personally, I'd say there is a snobbery around books. How many times do you hear "meh, the book is better" with a movie adaptation?
I don't think that has got always much to do with snobbery, and more with the fact that good books, as a general rule, usually don't turn into great movies. Just as books based on movies are worse than the films.
The reason is simply that good books are defined, amongst others of course, through qualities a visual medium just is not suited for, like the literary style, thoughts of the characters, etc. etc. Most great movies are based on original scripts or less stellar books in which the outer story is more important than anything else. Another reason is, of course, that when you've read a book, you've seen your personal film in the head, and no real film ever comes close to what the respective person imagined.
I don't think most people mean this as a general remark on the merits of books on the one and movies on the other hand, it's just a specific "good book to film conversion" problem.
Edited by UncleLou at 23:17:42 24-10-2005 -
sam_spade 15,745 posts
Seen 1 week ago
Registered 20 years agomorriss wrote:
Anybody else read Lara by Evaristo, she really has mastered the verse-narrative hasn't she? The vernacular she uses is both culturally colloquial and yet somewhat unique, erudite even.
Oh darling, it's in the TBR pile. Sometimes it seems I shall never read it, what with all these literary prizes and trying to keep ahead of the curve.
Too many books. -
cov 2,524 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 18 years agopfft book snobbery hasn't anything on game or console snobbery -
Shinji 5,902 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 20 years agoI'm reading Kafka at the moment so that I can better understand the references in Haruki Murakami's latest; I got a little way into it and realised that I wasn't going to enjoy it as much as I should without actually having the Kafka under my belt.
Does this make me a snob? I hope so, I've always wanted to be a snob but it's bloody hard work
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morriss 71,293 posts
Seen 3 months ago
Registered 17 years agoShinji wrote:
I'm reading Kafka at the moment so that I can better understand the references in Haruki Murakami's latest; I got a little way into it and realised that I wasn't going to enjoy it as much as I should without actually having the Kafka under my belt.
Does this make me a snob? I hope so, I've always wanted to be a snob but it's bloody hard work
What Kafka? The Castle's my favourite! -
Frankypanky 932 posts
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Registered 18 years agoPfff, surely you're not suggesting that you read it in English? -
morriss 71,293 posts
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Registered 17 years agoFrankypanky wrote:
Pfff, surely you're not suggesting that you read it in English?
Ah! So I take it you've read Hesse's nobel prize-winning Das Glasperlenspiel? -
sam_spade 15,745 posts
Seen 1 week ago
Registered 20 years agoGlockenspiel - Persuading someone to give you all their money while holding a gun to their face. -
morriss wrote:
Frankypanky wrote:
Pfff, surely you're not suggesting that you read it in English?
Ah! So I take it you've read Hesse's nobel prize-winning Das Glasperlenspiel?
Hess? Worst German author bar none, navel-gazing, humour-fre,e schmaltzy hippie crap.
/is snobby -
morriss 71,293 posts
Seen 3 months ago
Registered 17 years agoUncleLou wrote:
morriss wrote:
Frankypanky wrote:
Pfff, surely you're not suggesting that you read it in English?
Ah! So I take it you've read Hesse's nobel prize-winning Das Glasperlenspiel?
Hess? Worst German author bar none, navel-gazing, humour-fre,e schmaltzy hippie crap.
/is snobby
Bah! humbug! read Narcissus and guldmund and get back to me! Next you'll chastising Mann's Magic Mountain!!
/puts up dukes -
sam_spade 15,745 posts
Seen 1 week ago
Registered 20 years agoHe won't go that far. -
marilena 8,238 posts
Seen 2 weeks ago
Registered 18 years agoI don't know if snobbery is all there is to it. For instance, I genuinely feel guilty when reading an "easy" book, because there are so many really good books out there that I haven't read. I bought 'A la Recherche du Temps Perdu' (don't know the english name) two weeks ago, but I never got to even start reading it. I'm not a snob, I really want to read it.
In fact, at least in my world, reading good books doesn't make you cool, it makes you a bit weird. The height of intelectual reading seems to be Paolo Coelho, who, excuse me for not using IMO, is so crap he makes me want to run and read Gemmel or some other fantasy tripe (sorry). At least Gemmel is funny!
Oh, and speaking of Midnight Children. I had it from the library at some point, but I just couldn't get past page 30 or something. It's incredibly slow and the language is too heavy, or maybe I'm just not good enough at english to be able to read it in it's original language. But I can understand why many people didn't finish it. It has an interesting idea and has received a lot of critical praise but you won't get far into it unless you really, really want to. -
morriss wrote:
UncleLou wrote:
morriss wrote:
Frankypanky wrote:
Pfff, surely you're not suggesting that you read it in English?
Ah! So I take it you've read Hesse's nobel prize-winning Das Glasperlenspiel?
Hess? Worst German author bar none, navel-gazing, humour-fre,e schmaltzy hippie crap.
/is snobby
Bah! humbug! read Narcissus and guldmund and get back to me! Next you'll chastising Mann's Magic Mountain!!
/puts up dukes
Man, I even managed to smuggle in a typo into a German's author name, making him almost look like a Nazi!
But how dare you even mentioning Thomas Mann in an even loose connection to Hesse!
Narziss und Goldmund = cheesy schmaltz
Magic Mountain = my bible
/fills boxing gloves with nails
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Pike 13,459 posts
Seen 1 year ago
Registered 18 years agoI fail to see what's so new about people buying books that they won't read, in order to impress others. Haven't people been doing this since the invention of writing.
I also fail to see why it should be considered snobby to read Kafka. His reputation as a hard read is rather strange if you ask me. The Process, for instance, was a highly enjoyable and fairly easy read if you ask me. -
There is a strange snobbery involved around what people read and what people think they should read. If you read for enjoyment, read whatever the hell you want (except Dan Brown, never go there)- if you get enjoyment from being challenged, work your way through the classics, if you read to relax, read the sort of tat that makes it into the best seller list (except Dan Brown, never go there), if you read to learn, have a rummage through the non fiction. But just pick up a blooming book please.
Reading is an ideal alternative to having the telly on but not really watching it!!! -
drumbaby 2,688 posts
Seen 8 years ago
Registered 17 years agoI loved that book by Steinbeck...that one with the big retard who likes rabbits and kills girls.
I'll get my coat. -
sam_spade 15,745 posts
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Registered 20 years agoDo you prefer the original play or the prose? -
StarchildHypocrethes 33,974 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 17 years agoAhhh. I remember the days of my youth, when I had my trusty copies of August 1914 and A Brief History of Time sat on my bedside table in a vain attempt to convince young ladies of my stunning intellect.
Not really snobbery, more stupidity. I doubt any of them believed it -
MrWorf 64,187 posts
Seen 14 hours ago
Registered 20 years agoMr Harvest wrote:
I'm a snob. Single malts, cigars, vacuum pot coffee, books; I do it all. Why, just last week I read a play by Harold Pinter. Not because I was interested in but just so I could say I've read it, you know?
Yeah. Great.
He's not kidding!
LOL! -
tiddles 3,555 posts
Seen 4 years ago
Registered 20 years agoShinji wrote:
I'm reading Kafka at the moment so that I can better understand the references in Haruki Murakami's latest; I got a little way into it and realised that I wasn't going to enjoy it as much as I should without actually having the Kafka under my belt.
Does this make me a snob? I hope so, I've always wanted to be a snob but it's bloody hard work
Does it have anything to do with Kafka apart from the guy's name? I don't remember anything that stands out, although it's been a while since I read anything by Mr. K... -
mrharvest 5,718 posts
Seen 2 weeks ago
Registered 18 years agoRazz wrote:
Mr Harvest wrote:
I'm a snob. Single malts, cigars, vacuum pot coffee, books; I do it all. Why, just last week I read a play by Harold Pinter. Not because I was interested in but just so I could say I've read it, you know?
Yeah. Great.
He's not kidding! LOL!
You know that was supposed to be a "I don't understand why some people believe you can't actually enjoy critically acclaimed books" post.
It's the same as the gamers here will rather play Katamari than NFS:tfu. We play games we enjoy, not games we believe other gamers will give us more respect for. I hope that's the case anyway. -
MrWorf 64,187 posts
Seen 14 hours ago
Registered 20 years agoWhat the hell are you talking about I get no respect from my friends for not owning a PS2, and not knowing how to play Tekken. They actually think I'm a nutter for loving my cube. Not a snob. ;_; -
Murbs 25,151 posts
Seen 17 hours ago
Registered 17 years ago/Glances over at The Oddysey
Maybe when I've finished this book -
sam_spade 15,745 posts
Seen 1 week ago
Registered 20 years agoI've picked up "high-brow" literature to see what the fuss was. I lasted about ten pages in Ulysses before I put it aside. I lasted about 100 pages in Gravity's Rainbow before that went back to the bottom of the TBR pile.
Now I find it infuriating. I know I will pick those books up again in an attempt to scale them. It's not snobbery, it's frustration. I'm working my way through base camps till I can reach the supposed summit. Although I'm aware that the view might not be all it's cracked up to be. -
Reading encourages brain activity in creating the scenes in the readers head which is healthy exercise for the brain.
TV and films bombard the viewer with prescribed imagery, thus taking away imagination and the brain doesn'e have to work to create images. Its why we now have illiterate chavs everywhere...
Theres a snobbery with music as well though. There seems to be a prescribed set of artists that people say they are fans of in order to impress, such as James Blunt, David gray....y'know....all the Dylan wannabees that warble out middle of the road lyrics and musak like middle glass do-good wannabe Kurt Cobains or something with really pretentiously kerazily 'obscure' names.
The joke is though that if you listen closely to the lyrics they very often make little sense...
Edited by Madder Max at 10:45:33 25-10-2005
.gif)
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