Seems like an all-encompassing and somewhat personally biased comment?uzique wrote:
99% of sci fi is junk
my personal tutor writes it... cannot stand it.
English literature is 99% junk.
My german teacher used to write it and I hate it.
Fuck Israel
English literature is 99% junk.
My german teacher used to write it and I hate it.
what are you even talking about?
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
anything of everything is 99% junk, yes.
what we were clarifying is that that comment was levelled at sci-fi as a GENRE, i.e. a type of fiction that typically deals with similar formal, structural and thematic occupations. i wasn't denouncing all sci-fi writers based on stylistic or literary ability-- i was talking about it in terms of what critics call 'genre fiction'; that is, addressing the generic conventions and general common traits of the genre.
what we were clarifying is that that comment was levelled at sci-fi as a GENRE, i.e. a type of fiction that typically deals with similar formal, structural and thematic occupations. i wasn't denouncing all sci-fi writers based on stylistic or literary ability-- i was talking about it in terms of what critics call 'genre fiction'; that is, addressing the generic conventions and general common traits of the genre.
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
All genres get stale, and get spammed by people trying to make money.
Fuck Israel
Uzi, I think the only person in this thread that cares about what critics think is you. I think it is perhaps why you're having such a difficult time understanding...
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
exactly what i said just 3 posts back. 'creativity and culture comes in waves'. genres fluctuate in and out of popularity and go through phases of high artistic acclaim and complete commercial plundering. why is it that when i say the exact same thing you fireback with some retort about academics and 'literature being snobby bullshit'... but then why you think the exact same thought and elocute it, it's common sense? jesus christ, exasperating.Dilbert_X wrote:
All genres get stale, and get spammed by people trying to make money.
galt im sorry for caring what literary critics think in a book club. shoot me.
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
So why single out sci-fi?
Us nerds are just going to flame you.
Us nerds are just going to flame you.
Fuck Israel
we were just on the topic of it... nothing particular... and sci-fi is (if only temporarily) in a bit of a lull right now
it was an incidental comment, not a determined war 'pon sci-fi and everything it has ever stood for.
it was an incidental comment, not a determined war 'pon sci-fi and everything it has ever stood for.
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
Speaking as a nerd, I don't really give a damn about sci-fi literature. Asimov was the last writer I read in that category who I actually enjoyed.Dilbert_X wrote:
So why single out sci-fi?
UsWe nerds are just going to flame you.
Only read a couple, didn't think much of them.Grammer Nartzee- wrote:
Speaking as a nerd, I don't really give a damn about sci-fi literature. Asimov was the last writer I read in that category who I actually enjoyed.Dilbert_X wrote:
So why single out sci-fi?
UsWe nerds are just going to flame you.
Fuck Israel
as i've said before, ballard is the last you need to pay any attention to, historicallyDesertFox- wrote:
Speaking as a nerd, I don't really give a damn about sci-fi literature. Asimov was the last writer I read in that category who I actually enjoyed.Dilbert_X wrote:
So why single out sci-fi?
UsWe nerds are just going to flame you.
(imo)
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
J.G. Ballard, really? That's your scope?
Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2011-02-28 19:55:01)
"the last you need to pay attention to historically"
as in, the latest of any significance
as in, not my entire scope
as in, considering authors closest to the present
do i need to repeat and elucidate every point i make about literature about 4-5 times?
as in, the latest of any significance
as in, not my entire scope
as in, considering authors closest to the present
do i need to repeat and elucidate every point i make about literature about 4-5 times?
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
Yes, yes you do.
Calling Ballard the only sci-fi author we need to pay attention to is about as subjective as anything else. Even with an imo disclaimer, it'll draw a few boggles.
Calling Ballard the only sci-fi author we need to pay attention to is about as subjective as anything else. Even with an imo disclaimer, it'll draw a few boggles.
oh
my
fucking
god
as in
THE LAST AUTHOR
as in
THE LAST, TIME-WISE
as in
HISTORICALLY
as in
MOST RECENT 'CLASSIC' SCI-FI WRITER
as in
I DON'T THINK THERE'S MUCH AFTER 1990 WORTH READING... NOT YET ANYWAY
my
fucking
god
as in
THE LAST AUTHOR
as in
THE LAST, TIME-WISE
as in
HISTORICALLY
as in
MOST RECENT 'CLASSIC' SCI-FI WRITER
as in
I DON'T THINK THERE'S MUCH AFTER 1990 WORTH READING... NOT YET ANYWAY
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
I for one find it helpful.Uzique wrote:
do i need to repeat and elucidate every point i make about literature about 4-5 times?
Fuck Israel
Now you know how I feel in the piracy thread.Uzique wrote:
<frustration>
And in the bedroom.unnamednewbie13 wrote:
Now you know how I feel in the piracy thread.Uzique wrote:
<frustration>
amirite folks?
Uzique wrote:
rofl you're being more than a little conveniently reductionist.
you spoke positively about the 'message', hence the book is implicitly engaging. you spoke positively about the descriptive language, hence the implicitly complimentary style comments. this really isn't complicated. i can criticise someone's prose style after the first 10 pages. where are you getting confused, exactly?
Now. Again, the descriptive language I was talking about was later in the book...hence "the structure of the book leaves something to be desired." I've spoken of the lack of character and plot development, as they weren't the point of the book, IMO. Please point to where I spoke either positively or negatively about "the message," btw. I did neither. I said what he did was "interesting." That is a neutral, objective statement.I--once fucking again-- wrote:
Now, before the flames start...
I read it on a lark. I've been struggling to finish up a course and needed a break. I wanted to see what Beck could do with fiction. He's a surprisingly good writer. His use of language, particularly descriptive language is exceptional. The structure of the book leaves something to be desired. It's relatively simplistic and it's clearly used as a platform for his messaging. But his ability to take facts and weave them into a fictional tale, using the central theme of the Overton Window as a teaching point overall was interesting. Sourcing the facts at the end of the book was a nice touch, as well.
Award winning fiction? Not by any stretch. But not a bad freshman effort...assuming one doesn't consider his previous work to be fiction, of course.
Reading comprehension ftmfw.
The bottomline is that you read the first ten pages and decided that, because you are getting a degree in literature--and you don't like the author's politics--you can make a call on a book. You can't--to do so is absurd and the height of conceit. You may very well make the same call after reading it through. That is a matter of personal taste, but you will likely miss the point of the book because you will be focused on something different because you are a literature student and you dislike the author.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
so you're saying i can't read a book without studying it as if it was a degree-level text
or i can't make a reading of a book detached from my own politics?
rofl
it sure is a pain reading every single book in the literary canon through the perspective of a marxist russian formalist... because those are my inescapable biases and critical/political standpoints. lord of the rings was absolute hell, i can tell you. and the great gatsby was such junk! capitalist agitprop!!!!
or i can't make a reading of a book detached from my own politics?
rofl
it sure is a pain reading every single book in the literary canon through the perspective of a marxist russian formalist... because those are my inescapable biases and critical/political standpoints. lord of the rings was absolute hell, i can tell you. and the great gatsby was such junk! capitalist agitprop!!!!
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
Pretty sure I didn't say either of those things. You do seem to have a problem with inferring far too much from too little, though...
But I do agree with you on one thing. Gatsby was utter shit.
But I do agree with you on one thing. Gatsby was utter shit.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
i still want you to all read ulysses
now that would be a discussion
now that would be a discussion
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
Tennyson or Joyce?Uzique wrote:
i still want you to all read ulysses
now that would be a discussion
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
joyce ofc.
heaven forbid recommending poetry to bf2s
(tennyson's ulysses isn't really worth talking about, anyway)
heaven forbid recommending poetry to bf2s
(tennyson's ulysses isn't really worth talking about, anyway)
Last edited by Uzique (2011-03-01 18:04:20)
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/