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Seven of the top ten books of all time are by Ayn Rand or L. Ron Hubbard... who knew?

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Posts

  • DisruptedCapitalistDisruptedCapitalist Registered User regular
    See, after seeing the thread title, I said to myself, "I know this will descend into a discussion of Tolkien by page 10."

    Seems like you guys started early.
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  • RozRoz Registered User regular
    godmode wrote: »
    I don't understand why so many people get a hard-on for Faulkner. I tried to read The Sound and the Fury a few years back and I could barely understand the language...and it was in English.

    I heard similar ravings about Ulysses and it may have had potential, but I remember that one being difficult to stick to as well.

    As someone currently working on their Masters in English, let me tell you I hate Faulkner. I think he's massively overrated.
  • Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus The machine is broken. The universe is broken.Registered User regular
    Sassori wrote: »
    Also, the question itself is stupid.

    Why didn't the eagles help Frodo blah blah blah?

    What you should really be asking is:
    Why didn't Manwë tell the eagles to do it?


    Ya dummies.

    the Valar in general are incredibly lazy throughout the history of Middle Earth, with the one notable exception of the War of Wrath
  • SassoriSassori Registered User regular
    Sassori wrote: »
    Also, the question itself is stupid.

    Why didn't the eagles help Frodo blah blah blah?

    What you should really be asking is:
    Why didn't Manwë tell the eagles to do it?


    Ya dummies.

    the Valar in general are incredibly lazy throughout the history of Middle Earth, with the one notable exception of the War of Wrath

    I can't blame them.

    I am also very lazy.
  • Peter EbelPeter Ebel Deus Vult! OsloRegistered User regular
    The fucking eagle argument. Jesus, I'm gotta get drunk in the dark.
    Fuck off and die.
  • BucketmanBucketman Dyslexic Puppy Skraggle RockRegistered User regular
    Bucketman wrote: »
    Nazgurl dragons

    Nazgurl, you look good.

    she_nazgul_by_samael1103-d2zudhf.jpg

    Hey Gurl, let me show you my Sting

    it glows
    sayiamansig_zps3b961859.jpg
  • LTMLTM Registered User regular
    Dammit, Bucket. I thought we left that on page 6 ffs.
  • AntimatterAntimatter I remember touch I need something moreRegistered User regular
    i am entirely okay with nazgurl
    15Tpj.jpeg
  • BucketmanBucketman Dyslexic Puppy Skraggle RockRegistered User regular
    There, now no nerd ever complains again.

    This is one hell of a pipe dream
    sayiamansig_zps3b961859.jpg
  • Big Red TieBig Red Tie gem flipping just to get by stack your billions till they get sky highRegistered User regular
    also in the GBA lotr games gandalf could summon the eagles to attack as his level 30 spell

    talk about plot hole right
  • Big Red TieBig Red Tie gem flipping just to get by stack your billions till they get sky highRegistered User regular
    Antimatter wrote: »
    i am entirely okay with nazgurl

    man
  • BucketmanBucketman Dyslexic Puppy Skraggle RockRegistered User regular
    Ok lets go back to whats important, because I have a serious question for nerds that read:
    What classifies literature vs. a book
    like there are books that we consider to be great works or important works and least and we classify those as literature right? But what makes it that way. I would say I've read some books that I enjoy a great deal more then classic lit, but they aren't considered great works.
    sayiamansig_zps3b961859.jpg
  • LTMLTM Registered User regular
    also in the GBA lotr games gandalf could summon the eagles to attack as his level 30 spell

    talk about plot hole right

    That shit's not canon, though.
  • SassoriSassori Registered User regular
    Now I want to play the LOTR computer game.

    You could summon Tom Bombadil to come fuck shit up.
  • Big Red TieBig Red Tie gem flipping just to get by stack your billions till they get sky highRegistered User regular
    LTM wrote: »
    also in the GBA lotr games gandalf could summon the eagles to attack as his level 30 spell

    talk about plot hole right

    That shit's not canon, though.

    also gandalf uses fireworks as his primary attack
  • MysstMysst King Monkey of Hedonism IslandRegistered User regular
    Sassori wrote: »
    Now I want to play the LOTR computer game.

    You could summon Tom Bombadil to come fuck shit up.

    that seems pretty rude
  • BucketmanBucketman Dyslexic Puppy Skraggle RockRegistered User regular
    Sassori wrote: »
    Now I want to play the LOTR computer game.

    You could summon Tom Bombadil to come fuck shit up.

    And he WRECKS SHIT MERRILY
    sayiamansig_zps3b961859.jpg
  • NikolaiNikolai HHHEHEHE That one tasted purpleRegistered User regular
    Why didn't the eagles have missiles?
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  • Big Red TieBig Red Tie gem flipping just to get by stack your billions till they get sky highRegistered User regular
    gandalf should have designed one massive firework and calibrated it to fire directly into mount doom

    then attached the ring to it
  • DichotomyDichotomy Registered User regular
    they did, they spent most of LOTR offscreen fighting the decepticons to stop them getting their hands on the ring
    xutFvZ4.gif
  • Big Red TieBig Red Tie gem flipping just to get by stack your billions till they get sky highRegistered User regular
    also frodo

    because
  • NikolaiNikolai HHHEHEHE That one tasted purpleRegistered User regular
    Why didn't gandalf strap magic staves to the eagles so they could strafe bad guys?
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  • Theodore FlooseveltTheodore Floosevelt w o r s h i p c a t g o dRegistered User regular
    eagles rarely give a fuck about things
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  • QuothQuoth the Raven Miami, FL FOR REALRegistered User regular
    Bucketman wrote: »
    Ok lets go back to whats important, because I have a serious question for nerds that read:
    What classifies literature vs. a book
    like there are books that we consider to be great works or important works and least and we classify those as literature right? But what makes it that way. I would say I've read some books that I enjoy a great deal more then classic lit, but they aren't considered great works.

    This is a question that every generation asks itself and I think there is never really agreement

    As a tentative answer I would say the book should illuminate some aspect of human experience in a way that transcends the time in which it was written, and is relatable to a large portion of humanity by virtue of its themes/content/characters
    “Hic non defectus est, sed cattus minxit desuper nocte quadam. Confundatur pessimus cattus qui minxit super librum istum in nocte Daventrie, et consimiliter omnes alii propter illum. Et cavendum valde ne permittantur libri aperti per noctem ubi cattie venire possunt.”
    vis a tergo | Blog | Twitter | Blip.fm | Dropbox
  • POKÉMON MASTER WT SHERMANPOKÉMON MASTER WT SHERMAN sherman is coming. hold out. rockville, mdRegistered User regular
    Sassori wrote: »
    Now I want to play the LOTR computer game.

    You could summon Tom Bombadil to come fuck shit up.

    so does "weird forest scatman" function as an advanced bard class
    OcO9aqV.png
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  • ArangArang Registered User regular
    Quoth wrote: »
    Bucketman wrote: »
    Ok lets go back to whats important, because I have a serious question for nerds that read:
    What classifies literature vs. a book
    like there are books that we consider to be great works or important works and least and we classify those as literature right? But what makes it that way. I would say I've read some books that I enjoy a great deal more then classic lit, but they aren't considered great works.

    This is a question that every generation asks itself and I think there is never really agreement

    As a tentative answer I would say the book should illuminate some aspect of human experience in a way that transcends the time in which it was written, and is relatable to a large portion of humanity by virtue of its themes/content/characters

    the closest I've ever heard anyone get to answering this (I haven't heard a lot of people try to, though) was "the book needs to have more going on than what happens"

    which is loose, sure, but it elegantly excludes a lot or even all of what isn't literature
    thenews.jpg
  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    Antimatter wrote: »
    i am entirely okay with nazgurl

    gurl

  • DruhimDruhim Usagi's cuddlefish Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Mortal Sky wrote: »
    The nastiest book in terms of literary depth that I've ever actually enjoyed was probably In the Name of the Rose

    Or House of Leaves, depending on how you want to categorize depth

    House of Leaves is a pretty standard horror story with some pretty daring formatting

    Which ain't a knock against it at all, it's a really fun book

    But I'm not sure I'd be comfortable calling it particularly deep

    God, yes. Not knocking the book either, but it is not deep. It's gimmicky, and gimmicky is fine if you dig the gimmick. But it also means you have to willingly buy into the gimmick to dig the book at all. Doesn't make it a bad book, just not nearly as clever as it thinks it is.
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  • JoeUserJoeUser Registered User regular
    Who would win in a fight: Goku or Gandalf?
    PSN: JoeUser80 Steam
  • ButtlordButtlord Fornicus Lord of Bondage and PainRegistered User regular
    Bucketman wrote: »
    Ok lets go back to whats important, because I have a serious question for nerds that read:
    What classifies literature vs. a book\

    how big of a ding dong the person making the distinction is

    see also: movies vs films
  • Big Red TieBig Red Tie gem flipping just to get by stack your billions till they get sky highRegistered User regular
    I read the Wikipedia for house of leaves and now I want to read it
  • simosimo Registered User regular
    Roz wrote: »
    godmode wrote: »
    I don't understand why so many people get a hard-on for Faulkner. I tried to read The Sound and the Fury a few years back and I could barely understand the language...and it was in English.

    I heard similar ravings about Ulysses and it may have had potential, but I remember that one being difficult to stick to as well.

    As someone currently working on their Masters in English, let me tell you I hate Faulkner. I think he's massively overrated.

    nah he's great

    though even excluding his novels and short stories, i would still love him endlessly for his howard hawks screenplays
    bugss2.jpg
  • rhylithrhylith Registered User regular
    I read the Wikipedia for house of leaves and now I want to read it

    It's pretty cool. Not the greatest thing ever written or anything, but genuinely creepy and the gimmicks actually work.
    Rhylith - <Shambler Milk>, XBL/LoL/HoN- Amalockh, SC2- Rhylith.485
  • Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus The machine is broken. The universe is broken.Registered User regular
    Roz wrote: »
    godmode wrote: »
    I don't understand why so many people get a hard-on for Faulkner. I tried to read The Sound and the Fury a few years back and I could barely understand the language...and it was in English.

    I heard similar ravings about Ulysses and it may have had potential, but I remember that one being difficult to stick to as well.

    As someone currently working on their Masters in English, let me tell you I hate Faulkner. I think he's massively overrated.

    how about Flannery O'Connor?
  • Theodore FlooseveltTheodore Floosevelt w o r s h i p c a t g o dRegistered User regular
    I read the Wikipedia for house of leaves and now I want to read it

    It's a pretty cool read, especially considering the fun little formatting techniques shine when you actually read the book (as opposed to reading about it or being told about it or whatev)
    02YsrWP.jpg
  • Mortal SkyMortal Sky Tails, You're my realest friend.Registered User regular
    Druhim wrote: »
    Mortal Sky wrote: »
    The nastiest book in terms of literary depth that I've ever actually enjoyed was probably In the Name of the Rose

    Or House of Leaves, depending on how you want to categorize depth

    House of Leaves is a pretty standard horror story with some pretty daring formatting

    Which ain't a knock against it at all, it's a really fun book

    But I'm not sure I'd be comfortable calling it particularly deep

    God, yes. Not knocking the book either, but it is not deep. It's gimmicky, and gimmicky is fine if you dig the gimmick. But it also means you have to willingly buy into the gimmick to dig the book at all. Doesn't make it a bad book, just not nearly as clever as it thinks it is.

    I wouldn't necessarily say the book is gimmicky. If the formatting were more conventional it'd still be well written. And there's not much of the book where the formatting is really that weird beyond the footnotes.
  • Theodore FlooseveltTheodore Floosevelt w o r s h i p c a t g o dRegistered User regular
    House of Leaves is a victim of a warped reputation. It's an interesting book for what it is, but I had inflated expectations of what it would eventually do from hype or press blurbs and so it was a bit of a letdown when it never really culminated in anything more than the expected. It's a book of very mundane horror, which it does well, just don't turn the page expecting a reveal.
    02YsrWP.jpg
  • DisruptedCapitalistDisruptedCapitalist Registered User regular
    How 'bout Cormac McCarthy? Every time I read his books I need to keep a dictionary nearby because his vocabulary is soooo much bigger than mine.
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