Ribh's D'Coopage

[drstratton]

That would be awful. Don't expect me to even try that.

I'm with you on that!

 

[Shadrach]

It's all right Lozzy. I did my degree in this stuff & hated most of what I read ~ but I came to a conclusion & I hope I don't offend my American friends. The writers I really can't stand are white American Males.Ugh! Hemingway, Steinbeck, Melville, Poe.. Salinger & Fitzgerald are a little better, but not much. I did better if they were black or Jewish ~ but then I like Dostoyesvsky. And for so long the people who decided what was a classic were white males... And yet my favourite poet is TS Eliot because if you read him you touch on just about everything that has impacted English Literature.Naturally he has gone in & out of critical favour...

Honestly, how could you not like Stienbeck! East of Eden is a stunning read.

 

[Ribh]

Obviously, I like Tolstoy. Different minds I guess.

I read Dostoyesvsky while still in High School. He suits a certain type of angst ridden teenage brain.

We have very different brains.

All my life I've had to work to `try & fit in with how other people think & do things. My brain really is scrambled differently.

As for Poe ~ I can't do things even slightly Gothic/horror. It gives me terrible nightmares so I just have to stay away. Needless to say there's quite a few classics I haven't, & will never, read.

 

[Shadrach]

I came to Hemingway only recently through a trip to Cuba. Not sure I would say I like his work, but you have to admire his ability to craft a sentence with so few words.

I'm jealous now. I would love to visit Cuba. I'm an admirer of Castro and the place itself is supposed to be lovely.

 

[Shadrach]

I have not read Ulysses

You're not missing much imo.

 

[Ribh]

Honestly, how could you not like Stienbeck! East of Eden is a stunning read.

I haven't tried that one. I tried the Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down ,& Of Mice & Men was a compulsory year 11 read. Three strikes & you're out. I didn't get very far with any of them.

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm jealous now. I would love to visit Cuba. I'm an admirer of Castro and the place itself is supposed to be lovely.

It is a stunning country with lovely people. I was there when Fidel died - so I witnessed the early stages of the ceremonies around that and got to talk to people about it.
One of our party was taken ill and I was the 'person on the spot' as it were so I also got to experience their legendary healthcare system which included a very competent doctor showing up with the ambulance.
I also saw the stores with no food available for sale and the censorship.
The classic cars are really quite beautiful and simply everywhere, but unfortunately no multi-toed cats to be seen.
I was optimistic that the border would remain open but I believe visits from the US are once again not allowed - but if you are not in the US and get the chance to go you should take it. Strongly recommended!

 

[Shadrach]

I haven't tried that one. I tried the Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down ,& Of Mice & Men was a compulsory year 11 read. Three strikes & you're out. I didn't get very far with any of them.

I've got those on the bookshelf behind me.

 

[BY Bob]

I read Dostoyesvsky while still in High School. He suits a certain type of angst ridden teenage brain.


All my life I've had to work to `try & fit in with how other people think & do things. My brain really is scrambled differently.

As for Poe ~ I can't do things even slightly Gothic/horror. It gives me terrible nightmares so I just have to stay away. Needless to say there's quite a few classics I haven't, & will never, read.

That would explain Poe. It's not his writing, its his subject. Got it.

As far as brains go, (How far do brains go? I'm going to have to think on that? How do they get where they are going? Do they drive? Do they fly? ✈ Do they ride bikes? I wonder. ) I have always been socially drawn to people who do not think like me. Mrs BY Bob, being a nurse, is the opposite of me in almost all ways. Somehow I must like the challenge or feel that I am more whole when I am with opposite brains.

 

[BY Bob]

You're not missing much imo.

What you suggest as an important must read? Steinbeck?