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Right, so, Pratchett,
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Most Overrated books/authors in THE UNIVERSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right, so, Pratchett,...
Right, so, Pratchett, Rowling, Tolkien. End of story.
WHY?
Pratchett tries to be funny and usually fails. And who wants to read about Death? And the chapterlessness of his books is just plain old confusing!!!!
Rowling is too annoying. I mean, Harry Potter? That's the soppiest name ever.
And Tolkien. The writing is all confusing and annoying. It's all 'Aragorn did this and then Legolas did that and then lo Frodo was dead (I wish) and peep peep peep. I hate it, in the order from most to least:
Tolkien
Pratchett
Rowling.
submitted by Invisible, unseen
(January 26, 2012 - 7:45 pm)
(January 26, 2012 - 7:45 pm)
A lot of the Bible has figurative meaning even if it is also literally true. If you choose a story and do a lot of research on it, in my experience, you usually find that many elements, which seem like just details if you only think about the literal meaning (and I'm not necessarily saying that isn't important, too), that relate to metaphors that would have been easily understood at the time it was written but are less familiar now--but not necessarily less relevant at all! I'm fascinated when I learn about these things because they often do still apply today, but we often forget about them. This could help explain why certain things were chosen to be in the Bible and others not; I'm assuming you believe everything in the Bible is important, and some parts really seem to be more important taken metaphorically than literally. I'm not saying things in the Bible can't be literally true as well, of course; personally, I think much of it isn't, but what I'm saying about metaphors can still be true even if all of the Bible is literally true as well, because it makes sense for a sacred text to include mostly things that are both literally true and have huge metaphorical significance when applied to our own lives.
History itself can be thought of as "a world somewhat parallel to our own where everything is similar but not exactly the same." I often feel that way when reading about the past. If you think of the Bible, or most/part of it, as truth or history, that doesn't prevent it from fitting the description.
There is one thing I object to in your post, though--just one. You were angry when Admin stated an opinion you disagreed with as if it were a fact. You then proceeded to state your opinion as if it were a fact. When you said, "The Bible is NOT a book about a world somewhat parallel to our own where everything is similar but not exactly the same," that's just as definitive. I'm not commenting on your opinion here at all; I just think you need to try to be consistent. If something makes you angry, you should either a) try not to get angry at it in the future or b) not do that thing yourself. It's up to you to determine which is more appropriate; I'd be happy with either. It's just a little bit... contradictory. It isn't a big deal; everyone does things like that sometimes, but I just thought maybe it was worth pointing out.
(January 30, 2012 - 8:48 pm)
I have'nt read any of your post yet, Ima, but I'm tremendously sorry because my last post was... rude. And immature. Someone not liking J. R.R. Tolkein has nothing to do with my dad, and the Wizard of Oz thing was definitely immature on my part. As for the Bible, my response was not ideal, or anywhere close to it. I was cranky, but that's no excuse. I apologise.
=^..^=
(February 1, 2012 - 7:10 pm)
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa... WHOA. Rowling is amazing, sometimes her sentences do seem to be run-ons or something of the sort, but that is no reason to be ragging on my Rowling! Anyone who can come up with a book with those many components, tie them all together over seven books, and make the world wish they weren't all muggles (hem hem) is a genius.
Tolkien on the other hand, I did not used to like him when I first read The Fellowship of the Ring, either, but I went and read The Hobbit, then The Two Towers, and now I'm on The Return of the King and I am thoroughly enjoying it. He just writes differently then we are used to people writing now-adays. (Sometimes he could've cut some of those confusing sentences, though, I get what you mean.)
And Pratchett, I don't know who that is.
(January 30, 2012 - 10:08 am)
I can like just about every book as long as it doesn't drag on. And on. And on. That includes the Fellowship of the Ring, and right now I'm reading a nonfiction book on psychopaths, so I don't feel like going to the library and checking the LotR books.
There was this book that I read, actually I read half of it, and it was bad. Tiger's Curse. It said that it had originally been published as an ebook, than gained such a great readership that they but in an actual hardcopy. Now, the cover was pretty good. That annoyed me a lot, that it could be so good but the book itself so bad.
It's a romance, but it starts out where this girl gets a job at circus. She lives in Seattle? Portland? and she gets a job at a circus. This is the 21st century, people. She's like seventeen. She gets a job a circus, and she gets to care for the tiger.
Anyway, she ends up going to India and her really nice foster parents let her go, and then it turns out the tiger... never mind, too many spoilers.
But what I really hated was the writing. I remember that she gets to this hotel in India, and then proceeds to describe where she puts every. Little. Thing. "I put toothpaste next to the cup where I put my toothbrush, then I put my coat in the closet, my other coat on the chair, my makeup on the counter... " and on and on and on.
Don't read it.
I now do not trust ebooks.
(January 30, 2012 - 7:37 pm)
Hm. Sounds bad.
(February 1, 2012 - 6:06 pm)
You don't like Harry Potter? I think they're the BEST BOOKS EVER!
Names aren't everything, and it's hard to find the perfect name. Besides, now that I've read all of the books (and practicly memorized them too) It's hard to imagine him named anything different. Besides, J. K. Rowling is a great author. It would be really hard to remember all those twists and turns and create them all at the begining of the series, so that every twist comes in at the right place. The writing is definitely not annoying, and the plot is better than any other books I've read. And I read a lot.
Tolkien's books are ok. I've only read The Hobbit. The thing about those is that they are really descriptive about the surroundings, not just the plot. I kinda skipped the descriptions.
I have no idea who Pratchett is.
(February 7, 2012 - 8:02 pm)
I enjoy both Rowling and Pratchett, although Good Omens was a bit confusing in my opinion.
And as for Tolkien, i do not like it as a story. The author puts in way too much Middle Earth history and doesn't really know how to carry a narrative. But I still look up to someone who creates an entire world with its own history, culture, fully functional conlangs (that's short for Constructed Languages, as opposed to Natural Languages), people, maps, and species-- and founds an entire genre in this way! So although I'm not the biggest Lord of the Rings fan, I think Tolkien is an amazing person.
(February 12, 2012 - 6:50 pm)
I think I'll skip the Bible arguements-
Invisible, there are overrated books/authors. okay? I'm not disagreeing with you on that, but look. Tolkien? Please.
"It is a curse having the epic temperament in an age devoted to snappy bits."
From The Tolkien Himself.
I'm sorry if you can't take his epicness. (Is that a word?) It's just that Tolkien is great literature, hands down. You can't deny that. He happened to be a very knowledgeable scholar and academic, and he was also gifted with a far-reaching and dertile imagination and a wonderful talent for writing. So when this gets all rolled into one monumental fantasy work...wow. It is epic, to say the least. His plot is refreshingly original, the characters well drawn, the world of Middle Earth as meticulously detailed and realistic as ours. I only wish I had the eloquence )and energy right now heheh!) to sing his praises accurately. And his writing? Come on. Confusing? Please. I'd like to see you take a stab at The Brothers Karamazov. If you don't like Tolkien, please keep that to yourself. Whether you like it or not is your own problem- the fact remains that Tolkien's works are the products of a genius capable of creating- well, a work undisputably of genius. Tolkien's writing isn't confusing, for the final time, it's just old-fashioned and epic. (I know I use the word epic too much.) Read Beowulf or The Magic Ring or any of those great works. Tolkien wasn't being confusing, he was just following a glorious tradition of...epicness and power and depth! And he lived in an age where those who would read his books had the attention span and maturity to stand the dry writing.
As far as overrated goes, that's just PJ and Viggo and Orlando and Sean and Liv and salivating fangirls screamin "OMG LEGOLAS IS SOOOO HOOOOOTTT!!!!!!!!!!"
(February 13, 2012 - 9:32 pm)
Excuse the typos, please. I don't do looooong TNO- style comments well. Though I really can't hold a candle to TNO as far as long goes.
(February 14, 2012 - 6:10 pm)
Eh heh heh. Honestly I just let my brain wander and words come out and, if I'm lucky, they make sense. :P
(February 14, 2012 - 8:50 pm)
I agree, even though personally I'm not fond of Tolkien, I'm still in absolute awe of the detail. And would further like to point out that LotR seems much less original now because it was published decades ago and people have been copying from it for decades.
Also, Dostoevsky <3
(February 14, 2012 - 7:01 pm)
Good point, TNO. And Dostoevsky- yes. Though all I've read of his The Brothers Karamazov, which pretty much left me in dumbstruck awe.
(February 18, 2012 - 9:55 pm)
I agree with you, Mattie! :DDDDD
Overrated authors. Hmm. Well, I'd say Rick Riordan and maybe (don't get mad at me Rowling fans) even J.K. Rowling. There was a time when I looooooooved PJ, but I don't think Riordan writes very rich literature. The style is witty and enjoyable in the first book, but it quickly grows predictable and I realized how shallow the characters were (sorry, Annabeth!). As for Rowling, well I never liked Harry Potter (the character) and that makes it harder for me to enjoy the book. And seriously, how can they be that good? I've often noticed the more popular and/or really long series (PJ, Warriors, Twilight XP) are more shallow and not as good, while the less known novels and classics are real treasures sometimes. But I probably don't know what I'm talking about. I should probabaly give HP another try.
(February 15, 2012 - 6:46 pm)
Ok here's the list from top to bottum (fans of LotR and Twilight look away ;):
Tolkien: Never read the books. The movies are WAY too long and WAY too drawn out. I can't sit through 30 minutes of the stupid thing. As for the story line- it's stupid. Who cares about a ring? I mean honestly who cares about a stupid little ring that was forged in the fires of blah blah blah? In my opinion it's the most boring movie on the planet and the stupidest story line like EVER!
Pratchett: No clue who that is
Rowling: I nearly ripped the head off my teddy bear. HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE HARRY POTTER?! Ok first of all, the writing is AMAZING! It's designed for people of all ages literally. There's no mention of any of that stuff they talk about in 6th grade health classes which makes it even better! Next who cares about names? I hate one of my best friend's first name but that doesn't mean I hate her!! I think the name Harry Potter is perfect because it's not some weird name that no one can pronounce, it's simple. And I mean seriously, SHE CREATED AN ENTIRE WORLD!! AND SHE THOUGHT OF IT ON A BUS! How awesome is that?! And besides you shouldn't criticize an entire series of amazing books because of a name.
As for stupid books:
Twilight: No question. This is THE WORST book on the face of the Earth. I got 8 pages in, and (true story my brother saw) literally fell asleep. Not even figuratively. My brother had to wake me up. I think it's the dumbest idea ever made. Here are all of my problems with this book:
- VAMPIRES DON'T SPARKLE!
- Why the heck does Jacob have hair that goes down to his ankles in the first book/movie?
- Bella is the whiniest girl ever. She tries to be dramatic but epicly fails. She's just plain stupid.
- The vampire baby is going to kill Bella. Oh no. What a tragedy. (sarcasm)
- She makes way too big a deal about being turned into a vampire. I mean honestly JUST PICK ALREADY! I cannot believe it takes her what 5 stupid books to decide wether or not she wants to ruin her life.
The Nine Lives of Chloe King: Don't even try. You'll get so bored within the first like 2 pages you'll die. No joke. I guess the TV series is ok but ABC Family cut the show after the first season so obviously not too many people liked it. But trust me- just don't read it.
Hero: by Mike Lupica a sports comentator. I'm telling you you'll never read a book with less story anywhere. It's about this kid who's dad dies and this kid has super powers and for the whole book the kid does like nothing then like 3, 4 pages before the end the kid FINALLY uses his powers- once. Just to knock a guy over and take a bullet for him. That's the whole book. I guess it's supposed to have more story to it because the kid's dad died but there is nothing interesting in this book AT ALL. Sorry Mike Lupica but you just aren't meant to write stories. Stick with sports comentaries. ;)
As for over rated authors:
Erin Hunter: It's like 4 different women who've writen like 3 different series about talking animals. I hate Seekers. I likED Warriors but after 4 stupid series of the same stuff I started to lose my mind! It is WAY overdone. I'm only trying to finish them not because it's now like a goal. I've read 31 of these stupid books I'm not about to stop when I've only got one or two left! But honestly- WHO WRITES 32 BOOKS ABOUT TALKING CATS?!
And in general:
I just hate books that are made books AFTER the movies are made. Like I know there's some for Indiana Jones, where this person who had nothing to do with the movie, writes the movie as a book and puts pictures from the movie in the book. I know Hannah Montanna has some. Can you imagine? A whole book dedicated to just one episode of Hannah Montanna? I think I'd faint. :P
(February 15, 2012 - 5:57 pm)
( This is my opinion and I'm not meaning to offend anyone. )
LotR is awesome! The movie is one of the best movies of all time. I know it's long and people who aren't into very long movies shouldn't watch it. (I am into long movies like Gladiator: Director's Cut, Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut... ) Try watching five hours of Gone with the Wind then you know what pointless, boring and long is. TNÖ has the best arguments, though. :) I don't like writing really long posts.
Wow, Sam, I hope your Teddybear is okay. ;) You are completely correct. If Harry Potter was Bob Builder would you be interested. (No.) Something about the name Harry Potter is intriguing and perfect like no other book name. Also, like Sam said, it's great for everyone of all ages.
(February 16, 2012 - 12:45 am)