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#1 |
Obsessively Dedicated...
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Lone Star Statements (one-star Amazon reviews)
I don't remember how I stumbled on this little list of perfect gems (hope it hasn't been posted here before)
...excerpts from actual one-star Amazon.com reviews of books from Time’s list of the 100 best novels from 1923 to the present. Some entries have been edited. http://www.themorningnews.org/articl...tar-statements I giggled a bit at some of these, shameful, I know. |
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#2 |
IOC Chief Archivist
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Some of those are hilarious! Others are rather... sad (To Kill a Mockingbird) but the review of Lord of the Flies was priceless just for "I am obsessed with Survivor, so I thought it would be fun."
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#3 | |
Zealot
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I've never read The Sound and the Fury, but I have read books I would describe this way:
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#4 | |
monkey on the fringe
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Spoiler:
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#5 |
Obsessively Dedicated...
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That one made me snortle. (Poor Virginia, she didn't deserve this...)
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#6 |
Wizard
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![]() Lord of the Flies is just about some kids stranded on an island subjected to darwinism and lack of parental supervision. The kind of people who leave one-star reviews are the ones who don't get the significance of these classic works. They read it like any other modern piece of work and apply it to today's standards. There's also the problem that people read these books after reading all the others that derived from them, this causes it to be the "same old thing" and "boring". If you can't comprehend the material, you might consider extending your education in the English language, including seeing how it has evolved over the last 100+ years. That and a good dictionary and a few encyclopedias. Too far? Better than to say you lack the knowledge and should just not bother to try to read these books at all. |
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#7 |
Tea Enthusiast
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eh
Or the truth is that many folks find classic literature to be boring or uninteresting. I enjoyed To Kill a MOckingbird and Lord of the Flies and pretty much would be content to go back in time and not read anything by the Bronte sisters. I had to read most of their works in school and have tried re-reading them as an adult and they still suck. Sometimes the story works for folks and sometimes it doesn't. I don't have a problem with that. I can appreciate the language and writing style used in Wuthering Heights and still think the story sucked and that none of the characters were sympathetic. I am not being graded on my ability to recognize wonderful use of language so I think I will focus on books that I enjoy reading. Some of those are classics, some of those are contemporary literary fiction, and a fair amount is sci fi or fantasy. Read what you like. |
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#8 |
Wizard
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Definitely. I think that's another thing. Lot's of educators/people saying "you need to read this", and not that "you need to read more" in general.
And I agree on your comment about the Bronte sisters. I had to write an eight page essay on Jane Eyre my senior year. Ugh. I remember buying the audiobook then speeding it up on my iPhone and getting it over with in one sitting. The audiobook wasn't even any better than the book. ![]() |
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#9 |
Tea Enthusiast
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I wrote an essay on why Wuthering Heights should not be considered a classic. My argument was the people were so awful and unsympathetic that I did not care about any of them making the book a challenge to read. Literature should be about more then excellent use of language. I got an F, it was my teachers favorite book and I knew that, but I hated it that much. It was worth it to me. I Aced the class and did well on the AP English exam, answering a question on Wuthering Heights, so I had read the book and knew it well.
I simply hated the experience. So I think it is possible to understand the significance of a book and still think that it is awful. I have a long list of classics that I hope my son does not have to read because I dread reading them with him or trying to explain why he has to read them. |
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#10 |
Wizard
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I've mentioned this one before....
http://leasthelpful.com/ It's one of my favorite time-wasting sites. ![]() |
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#11 | |
Wizard
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Quote:
And these are Verified Purchases? ![]() And to ProfCrash, ouch, no words. |
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#12 | |
Guru
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#13 |
Readaholic
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When I first saw the title I thought it was about ratings in Texas.
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#14 |
Frequent Flier
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I am not much for zombies myself, but I particularly don't want that one to come back. Or James Baldwin.
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#15 |
Grand Sorcerer
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I don't like a lot of those classics while others praise them to heaven. There's only one in there that actually writes how I would have written the review (if I ever would): taste differ.
And about that least helpful: http://leasthelpful.com/post/6326776...ms-end-with-an I had to read it over and over to figure out what the real complaint was... Just cannot understand people can make that kind of mistakes.... |
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