The FBG Top 300 Books of All Time (fiction edition) | #12 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald | Running list in posts #3 and #4 (34 Viewers)

[El Floppo]

Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.

15

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

kupcho1, ilov80s, Mrs.Marco, Don Quixote, Barry2, Dr_Zaius

15. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Mrs.Marco: #8
Barry2: #8
ilov80s: #11
Dr_Zaius: #11
kupcho1: #26
Don Quixote: #40
Total points: 466
Average: 77.7

This is by far my biggest surprise of a book making the top 20. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good book. But as it was only released ~10 years ago I did not foresee 5 other people putting it on their lists. I vaguely recall that it was made into a movie or series. Perhaps that heightened awareness? (Full disclosure: that's how I discovered Mick Herron's Slow Horses).

Here's a spoiler free synopsis from Doerr's own site:

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks. When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood—every house, every sewer drain—so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris in June of 1940, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan named Werner grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure’s.

Don't worry if you've never even heard of this book, we return to chalk for the rest of the countdown.

I heard the series was pretty bad and didn’t even watch. I just think the book was a big hit, I know I had to wait forever to check it out at the library and they had like a dozen copies. Incredible book but I too am surprised it made it anywhere near this high. It’s a pleasant surprise for sure though. Looks like this is the book we’ve identified as a new classic.

So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?

Weird, I watched the series and enjoyed it very much. RT has it at 80% fresh from viewers. IMDB has it at 7.5/10. Maybe it was just the elite reviewers that didn't like it.

Didn't it completely change the ending? Iirc, that was what I didn't like..but otherwise a good series.

I thought the book was really good.. and I think the last one my English teacher mom (RIP) recommended to me. Despite liking it quite a bit, surprised to see it this high, tbh, given how many outstanding books there are through history.

 

[kupcho1]

All the Words I Cannot See (in light mode)

That's wild. I fixed it with the magic eraser and have been copying from the fixed post since I found out about it.
I guess it reset itself?

 

[kupcho1]

So many great novels have been written since we all were in high school.

This is so true.

The Pulitzer winners, as one example, from 2009 on (i.e., past the overrated Oscar Wao) have been from very good to great.

 

[Eephus]

Personally, I love seeing more recent books on this list because it shows that people are still engaged with reading. So many great novels have been written since we all were in high school. LOL.

I was in high school before some of you were born

 

[Psychopav]

Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.

15

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

kupcho1, ilov80s, Mrs.Marco, Don Quixote, Barry2, Dr_Zaius

15. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Mrs.Marco: #8
Barry2: #8
ilov80s: #11
Dr_Zaius: #11
kupcho1: #26
Don Quixote: #40
Total points: 466
Average: 77.7

This is by far my biggest surprise of a book making the top 20. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good book. But as it was only released ~10 years ago I did not foresee 5 other people putting it on their lists. I vaguely recall that it was made into a movie or series. Perhaps that heightened awareness? (Full disclosure: that's how I discovered Mick Herron's Slow Horses).

Here's a spoiler free synopsis from Doerr's own site:

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks. When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood—every house, every sewer drain—so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris in June of 1940, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.

In another world in Germany, an orphan named Werner grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure’s.

Don't worry if you've never even heard of this book, we return to chalk for the rest of the countdown.

I heard the series was pretty bad and didn’t even watch. I just think the book was a big hit, I know I had to wait forever to check it out at the library and they had like a dozen copies. Incredible book but I too am surprised it made it anywhere near this high. It’s a pleasant surprise for sure though. Looks like this is the book we’ve identified as a new classic.

So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?

Weird, I watched the series and enjoyed it very much. RT has it at 80% fresh from viewers. IMDB has it at 7.5/10. Maybe it was just the elite reviewers that didn't like it.

Ok that gives me some faith. Maybe it was just the initial reactions I saw. It didn’t get much buzz for how acclaimed the book was. Have you read the novel?

I have not.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Personally, I love seeing more recent books on this list because it shows that people are still engaged with reading. So many great novels have been written since we all were in high school. LOL.

I was in high school before some of you were born

So all the books listed were published after your graduation?

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Personally, I love seeing more recent books on this list because it shows that people are still engaged with reading. So many great novels have been written since we all were in high school. LOL.

I was in high school before some of you were born

Not her.

 

[Eephus]

So all the books listed were published after your graduation?

The 26 letter alphabet became standardized when I was a freshman. In junior high school it was either 25 or 26 depending on the teacher.

 

[Don Quixote]

So many great novels have been written since we all were in high school.

This is so true.

The Pulitzer winners, as one example, from 2009 on (i.e., past the overrated Oscar Wao) have been from very good to great.

It looks like 34 of my 70 were published after 2000. So, I did my part.

 

[Psychopav]

So many great novels have been written since we all were in high school.

This is so true.

The Pulitzer winners, as one example, from 2009 on (i.e., past the overrated Oscar Wao) have been from very good to great.

It looks like 34 of my 70 were published after 2000. So, I did my part.

2 here and neither of them made the top 300.

 

[Mrs.Marco]

I have 26 published after 2000.

 

[kupcho1]

Fear is the mind killer.

14

Dune

Frank Herbert

kupcho1, turnjose7, guru_007, Dr. Octopus, scoobus, Dr_Zaius, shuke

14. Dune by Frank Herbert
scoobus: #5
guru_007: #9
Dr. Octopus: #9
turnjose7: #16
Dr_Zaius: #38
shuke: #44
kupcho1: #48
Total points: 473
Average: 67.6

For those who are unfamiliar with the story, here's a spoiler free synopsis:

Dune is set in the distant future in a feudal interstellar society, descended from terrestrial humans, in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family reluctantly accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange or "spice", an enormously valuable drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. As melange can only be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is a coveted and dangerous undertaking. The story explores the multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.

There are five sequels written by Herbert, after which his son and another author picked the carcass clean and then some with two dozen (and counting?) sequels, prequels and short story collections. Elvis' family looks on in awe.

I think I've read all of the Frank Herbert Dune books, but IMHO the first novel is head and shoulders above the rest.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I mentioned Dune in the post about Storm of Swords. Yet another book I thought I would have no interest in, but ended up loving it. I haven't bothered with the sequels yet after reading reviews that they start to get worse and worse, but I really loved the concepts and world that Herbert created. So much that it made me like the movies a bit less than I think I would have not reading the novel.

 

[kupcho1]

OK, so I picked up James this morning and I'm halfway through it already, so I'm going to put some hold requests in at the library. As mentioned previously, I'll be reading (at least) one book from the submitted lists. First up (I'm picking based on the order lists were received) are

@timschochet - #3 The Winds of War by Herman Wouk (skipping over #2 as that is the sequel to this one)
@turnjose7 - #11 The Aeneid by Virgil
@guru_007 - #1 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I'll typically take the highest ranked book I've not yet read unless something else catches my eye. For example, I'm not diving into turnjose7's Star Wars expaned universe and reading The Aenid instead.

 

[guru_007]

I mentioned Dune in the post about Storm of Swords. Yet another book I thought I would have no interest in, but ended up loving it. I haven't bothered with the sequels yet after reading reviews that they start to get worse and worse, but I really loved the concepts and world that Herbert created. So much that it made me like the movies a bit less than I think I would have not reading the novel.

I read Dune in probably mid-80's and was floored. It was tough sledding at first until you got used to it, but at the time, was probably my favorite book.
It was until a few years later I watched the Lynch version of the movie and I am sure I'm in the minority here, but I really liked it as well. There is a LOT to get into here between all the families, guilds, feuds, and of course the whole deal on Arrakis, and to fit something into a movie just over 2 hours was extremely ambitious and it hit all of the main points well enough. Yes it was a dud at the box office, but that's because most people have no taste. I mean, the fact Kupcho has yet to read Siddhartha has been a pretty big gut punch to me as I thought he at least had a bit of culture.
Anywho, the book is longer than most sci-fi books and you can tell that Frank Herbert put a lot of effort into it. I'd rate Dune Messiah and Children of Dune as very worthy reads as well. It isn't until God Emperor of Dune that I tapped out as it started to get a bit off the rails (in my humble opinion of course).
I to intend on re-reading these in the next few years however, and will power through all 6 Frank Herbert books. I may or may not divest into the other books throughout the franchise as it's such an ambitious story line. We'll see how the re-read goes however.

 

[Psychopav]

I mentioned Dune in the post about Storm of Swords. Yet another book I thought I would have no interest in, but ended up loving it. I haven't bothered with the sequels yet after reading reviews that they start to get worse and worse, but I really loved the concepts and world that Herbert created. So much that it made me like the movies a bit less than I think I would have not reading the novel.

I read Dune in probably mid-80's and was floored. It was tough sledding at first until you got used to it, but at the time, was probably my favorite book.
It was until a few years later I watched the Lynch version of the movie and I am sure I'm in the minority here, but I really liked it as well. There is a LOT to get into here between all the families, guilds, feuds, and of course the whole deal on Arrakis, and to fit something into a movie just over 2 hours was extremely ambitious and it hit all of the main points well enough. Yes it was a dud at the box office, but that's because most people have no taste. I mean, the fact Kupcho has yet to read Siddhartha has been a pretty big gut punch to me as I thought he at least had a bit of culture.
Anywho, the book is longer than most sci-fi books and you can tell that Frank Herbert put a lot of effort into it. I'd rate Dune Messiah and Children of Dune as very worthy reads as well. It isn't until God Emperor of Dune that I tapped out as it started to get a bit off the rails (in my humble opinion of course).
I to intend on re-reading these in the next few years however, and will power through all 6 Frank Herbert books. I may or may not divest into the other books throughout the franchise as it's such an ambitious story line. We'll see how the re-read goes however.

at you just slipping this in there

 

[turnjose7]

OK, so I picked up James this morning and I'm halfway through it already, so I'm going to put some hold requests in at the library. As mentioned previously, I'll be reading (at least) one book from the submitted lists. First up (I'm picking based on the order lists were received) are

@timschochet - #3 The Winds of War by Herman Wouk (skipping over #2 as that is the sequel to this one)
@turnjose7 - #11 The Aeneid by Virgil
@guru_007 - #1 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I'll typically take the highest ranked book I've not yet read unless something else catches my eye. For example, I'm not diving into turnjose7's Star Wars expaned universe and reading The Aenid instead.

I think a lot of people would probably recommend the Fagles translation of The Aeneid. I personally like the Fitzgerald translation because I think the language is beautiful, though it is a more challenging version.

 

[kupcho1]

Call me Ishmael.

13

Moby Dìck

Herman Melville

guru_007, chaos34, Mrs.Marco, Oliver Humanzee

13. Moby Dìck by Herman Melville
Oliver Humanzee: #1
Mrs.Marco: #2
chaos34: #3
guru_007: #13
Total points: 487
Average: 121.8

From massive worms to an enormous whale. I read this years ago and found it challenging. I've never revisited it but based on the scoring here, I may need to do so. I look forward to hearing the thoughts of those that ranked it, and very highly at that.

I will be picking up another Melville offering as I work my way through the lists.

 

[Ilov80s]

Haven’t ready Moby **** and never really had the urge.

 

[Don Quixote]

Font showed up normal again today. So, eraser worked.

Moby **** was a DNF for me ~20 years ago. Melville’s writing style was not working for me. It may be one of those should try again, as have sometimes gone back to books a second time and they have resonated better.

 

[Eephus]

I "read" an abridged version of Moby **** in high school but didn't put much effort into and subsequently got little out of it.

It's another one of those classics I'm probably never going to be able to get to but I have one of Melville's nautical novellas Benito Cereno in my queue. Maybe if I love that, I'll go to sea again.

 

[scoobus]

I will echo the thoughts of having read Moby **** in high school and very much not liking it.

 

[kupcho1]

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

12

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

kupcho1, Mrs.Marco, Don Quixote, KeithR, Oliver Humanzee, krista4, rockaction, Long Ball Larry

12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
rockaction: #6
Mrs.Marco: #11
krista4: #12
KeithR: #18
Long Ball Larry: #19
Oliver Humanzee: #24
Don Quixote: #31
kupcho1: #33
Total points: 543
Average: 67.9

This is one of the larger point differentials at the top of the chart supported by 8 nominations. Maybe AI is getting better as the synopsis is pretty good:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows Jay Gatsby, a wealthy self-made millionaire, who throws extravagant parties in his mansion in West Egg, Long Island, to attract the attention of Daisy Buchanan, a woman he loved in the past and who is now married to Tom Buchanan. Nick Carraway, Gatsby's neighbor and the narrator, becomes drawn into Gatsby's world as he tries to rekindle his relationship with Daisy. The story explores themes of wealth, love, and the American Dream.

It's a little more than that though. Fitzgerald does an excellent job of capturing the jazz age where "“gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession” per the NYT.

I don't know what the hell I was assigned to read in High School, but this is yet another classic I dove into years later. Great book indeed.

 

[Frostillicus]

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

12

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

kupcho1, Mrs.Marco, Don Quixote, KeithR, Oliver Humanzee, krista4, rockaction, Long Ball Larry

12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
rockaction: #6
Mrs.Marco: #11
krista4: #12
KeithR: #18
Long Ball Larry: #19
Oliver Humanzee: #24
Don Quixote: #31
kupcho1: #33
Total points: 543
Average: 67.9

This is one of the larger point differentials at the top of the chart supported by 8 nominations. Maybe AI is getting better as the synopsis is pretty good:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows Jay Gatsby, a wealthy self-made millionaire, who throws extravagant parties in his mansion in West Egg, Long Island, to attract the attention of Daisy Buchanan, a woman he loved in the past and who is now married to Tom Buchanan. Nick Carraway, Gatsby's neighbor and the narrator, becomes drawn into Gatsby's world as he tries to rekindle his relationship with Daisy. The story explores themes of wealth, love, and the American Dream.

It's a little more than that though. Fitzgerald does an excellent job of capturing the jazz age where "“gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession” per the NYT.

I don't know what the hell I was assigned to read in High School, but this is yet another classic I dove into years later. Great book indeed.

Never had to read it in high school or college, but I have been meaning to get around to it. For over 20 years.

 

[Ilov80s]

I like Gatsby. Probably my 3rd favorite Fitzgerald book but there’s no doubt about its significance and the quality of the writing

 

[Ilov80s]

Bringing the HS POV to this, Gatsby seems to be a book most kids really hate. There was a small stretch around when the Leo movie came out that kids were really into reading it but right now the general opinion is it’s boring, the characters are all bad and who cares about some sad rich guy. You really have to work hard to sell the jazz era vibes to get kids to buy in.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Bringing the HS POV to this, Gatsby seems to be a book most kids really hate. There was a small stretch around when the Leo movie came out that kids were really into reading it but right now the general opinion is it’s boring, the characters are all bad and who cares about some sad rich guy. You really have to work hard to sell the jazz era vibes to get kids to buy in.

I had to read in either 9th or 10th grade on assignment and despised it. I would have actually rather have re-read Melville going into another 200 page aside on how to tie off a ship or build a harpoon.

I read it again maybe 10 years later and it resonated much more.

 

[Don Quixote]

Bringing the HS POV to this, Gatsby seems to be a book most kids really hate. There was a small stretch around when the Leo movie came out that kids were really into reading it but right now the general opinion is it’s boring, the characters are all bad and who cares about some sad rich guy. You really have to work hard to sell the jazz era vibes to get kids to buy in.

I had to read in either 9th or 10th grade on assignment and despised it. I would have actually rather have re-read Melville going into another 200 page aside on how to tie off a ship or build a harpoon.

I read it again maybe 10 years later and it resonated much more.

Same here. I did not like it in HS. I read a few Fitzgerald books about a decade later and liked those and gave it another chance then, and liked it a lot more.

 

[Ilov80s]

It might just not be a book that makes sense at such a young age maybe. Perhaps its themes just don’t quite resonate with teens. Age is so important for when a book works best.

 

[rockaction]

Dear God, I just wrote about five pages of text to post here. What a potentially and thankfully averted embarrassing disaster.

On a different note, my apologies for totally disappearing. I got a suspension for over ten days and the powers that run stuff nuked all of me by banhammer.

Those five pages ostensibly had to do with Melville.

I think Melville is utterly astounding in literature, thought, and life; I considered him to be my favorite at one time, but I actually am not familiar enough to call him that. So I’m a fan (an enormous fan, and he might be my most revered author—he had a shorter story that I think was my #3 behind two Shakespeare plays), but with all that said, I’m tepid at best about literature set at sea. Kind of limits his great works.

 

[rockaction]

It might just not be a book that makes sense at such a young age maybe. Perhaps its themes just don’t quite resonate with teens. Age is so important for when a book works best.

Couldn’t have cared less about Gatsby in high school but didn’t have any animus or rancor towards the book. I read it when I was older and was blown away. Tender is the Night also really worked wonders for me, but I always caution myself not to put myself too far out there about art that moved me when I was actively drinking. So much about art changed. It’s a humbling bummer.

 

[Mrs.Marco]

It might just not be a book that makes sense at such a young age maybe. Perhaps its themes just don’t quite resonate with teens. Age is so important for when a book works best.

I agree that high school students get stuck reading way too many books that they're not ready to read, and that makes people think that they hate reading.

 

[scoobus]

Gatsby another book I read in high school and didn't care for at all. I think I might've had a bad attitude as a teenager haha.

 

[scoobus]

It might just not be a book that makes sense at such a young age maybe. Perhaps its themes just don’t quite resonate with teens. Age is so important for when a book works best.

I agree that high school students get stuck reading way too many books that they're not ready to read, and that makes people think that they hate reading.

Great post, describes me to a T.

 

[KarmaPolice]

It might just not be a book that makes sense at such a young age maybe. Perhaps its themes just don’t quite resonate with teens. Age is so important for when a book works best.

I agree that high school students get stuck reading way too many books that they're not ready to read, and that makes people think that they hate reading.

I think it is a combo of not ready for some themes and not meeting students 1/2 way on books to read. It doesn't ALL have to be Shakespeare and classic lit, does it?

 

[Mrs.Marco]

Moby **** by Herman Melville
I'm a sucker for a sea-faring story, and I've always loved whales, and for some reason whaling stories too?!? I did enjoy the book in high school even though I didn't quite get it. I read it again after reading Nathaniel Philbrick's nonfiction book In The Heart of The Sea about the whaling disaster that inspired Melville--it made for a truly great reading pairing. I also read Philbrick's silly little book Why Read Moby ****? I guess that one made me feel good, but it's not necessary. I love the huge themes in Moby ****, and I love the way the book reinvents what a novel can do--with poetic asides, and musings like the chapter about krill. I find it just an incredible book, and it just kills me when I think that Melville stopped writing because the book flopped at the time it was published. If he only knew we were here today having a vigorous discussion about his words!

 

[Mrs.Marco]

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I love this book. It's one of those stories that hits all the right notes with great characters and tight writing, a real gem. I also think it's interesting that the story never quite works when adapted into a film, and I like how that makes the book necessary. Like others, I really enjoy Fitzgerald's work and wish he'd lived longer so he could have written more.

 

[Psychopav]

Moby **** by Herman Melville
I'm a sucker for a sea-faring story, and I've always loved whales, and for some reason whaling stories too?!? I did enjoy the book in high school even though I didn't quite get it. I read it again after reading Nathaniel Philbrick's nonfiction book In The Heart of The Sea about the whaling disaster that inspired Melville--it made for a truly great reading pairing. I also read Philbrick's silly little book Why Read Moby ****? I guess that one made me feel good, but it's not necessary. I love the huge themes in Moby ****, and I love the way the book reinvents what a novel can do--with poetic asides, and musings like the chapter about krill. I find it just an incredible book, and it just kills me when I think that Melville stopped writing because the book flopped at the time it was published. If he only knew we were here today having a vigorous discussion about his words!

Such a vulgar post! tsk tsk, you potty mouth, you.

 

[Ilov80s]

It might just not be a book that makes sense at such a young age maybe. Perhaps its themes just don’t quite resonate with teens. Age is so important for when a book works best.

I agree that high school students get stuck reading way too many books that they're not ready to read, and that makes people think that they hate reading.

I think it is a combo of not ready for some themes and not meeting students 1/2 way on books to read. It doesn't ALL have to be Shakespeare and classic lit, does it?

I feel like schools do better now about that. Just off the top of my head, I’ve been at 2 different HS and these modern books were pretty widely read

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson- story of a HS freshman dealing with trauma, lack of friends, poor family relationship.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls- true story of a girl growing up with poor, eclectic and neglectful parents

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer- true story of a very intelligent but unprepared young man who heads out into the Alaska wilderness on his own and dies.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers- the story of a 16 year old Black boy awaiting trial for murder written as a series of letters and a movie script by the fictional boy himself

They almost always go over quite well with the kids.

 

[Chaos34]

Dear God, I just wrote about five pages of text to post here. What a potentially and thankfully averted embarrassing disaster.

Melville can bring that out in this discussion. I started writing a rebuttal to the common complaints about Moby before anyone posted them. It was getting long and I was insulting perfectly fine people who haven't said a word. I decided since OH has it at #1, where I strongly considered it, I'll let him do it justice when he gets around to it and avoid an embarrassing disaster.

 

[kupcho1]

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Can't hold a candle to The Gothic Castle

 

[Eephus]

The Great Gatsby was 50 years old when I read it in high school which is roughly the same age that Jaws and 'Salem's Lot are today.

I enjoyed it more than most of the reading I was assigned in 10th grade Lit. It's one of the few books from high school that I've gone back and re-read later in life. I didn't rank it in my 70 because of my self-imposed two books per author rule--I've always loved Tender Is the Night more than Gatsby and ranked The Last Tycoon because I'm fascinated by the subject matter.

 

[Chaos34]

Also, I didn't read Moby in hs. I read it at 33 in 95. I was in a writing group led by a literary agent with one of my then best friends. She was Dean Koontz literary agent, btw. She was shepherding 9 of us wannabes. We had the spirited Melville discussion. I hadn't read it and just kept quiet. She pointed out those that read it in hs, likely abridged, were anti. Those that digested the full tome later in life were pro. Our discussion was a byproduct of a comment that was going a little viral from a tv talk show: "Nobody has really read all of Moby ****." This was met with laughter on the show.

So like Mrs.Marco, being a sucker for seafaring stories (mostly pirates for me), I decided to really read all of Moby. It was such a humbling experience for a wannabe. It contributed to me coming to my senses and giving up my dream of publishing a novel.

 

[rockaction]

Dear God, I just wrote about five pages of text to post here. What a potentially and thankfully averted embarrassing disaster.

Melville can bring that out in this discussion. I started writing a rebuttal to the common complaints about Moby, before anyone posted them. It was getting long and I was insulting perfectly fine people who haven't said a word. I decided since OH has it at #1, where I strongly considered it, I'll let him do it justice when he gets around to it and avoid an embarrassing disaster.

Chaos34, the discursively emotional thunderheads I clacked into my cell phone relating to Melville and my educative life started around 4 AM PDT and ended sleeplessly around 10 AM. I’m not sure I’m quite finished. They were often ridiculous. I reminded myself of Ignatius J. Reilly. I called my old college's humanities department bad names. LOL.

I hope you post your thoughts about Moby ****; its author, understood from a distance as a most serious man has, since about 2008 or so, struck me as by far the funniest person in literature. I don’t quite know how to explain it; perhaps it’s just a period in my life, but if I can catch his allusions, I'm generally laughing.

I took his diptych, “The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids” (my #3 or 4 or something in this exercise) and did my writing project for law school on it (I got some looks—you thought I’d write for a bankruptcy journal? Child, please). I looked up pretty much every sentence and every allusion I could find. I had such a good time with it, and it was accessible enough where half the stuff was just funny; at least it was to me.

I also grew up not on top of but close to his MA home where he lived when he'd just become a minor literary success (in the mid-1840s and 50s, I think). I did a PG year of high school at The Berkshire School, which actually is pretty much on top of the area where he and Hawthorne lived for a time (they lived in Pittsfield, MA, who we used to play in youth hockey ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). And it sounds stupid, but that area—and I was unaware they lived there—still feels them. It also still feels the kind of unrelated old, weird free love colonies/communes that were around that area. **** like that passes down. It’s different.

 

[rockaction]

Also, I didn't read Moby in hs. I read it at 33 in 95. I was in a writing group led by a literary agent with one of my then best friends. She was Dean Koontz literary agent, btw. She was shepherding 9 of us wannabes. We had the spirited Melville discussion. I hadn't read it and just kept quiet. She pointed out those that read it in hs, likely abridged, were anti. Those that digested the full tome later in life were pro. Our discussion was a byproduct of a comment that was going a little viral from a tv talk show: "Nobody has really read all of Moby ****." This was met with laughter on the show.

So like Mrs.Marco, being a sucker for seafaring stories (mostly pirates for me), I decided to really read all of Moby. It was such a humbling experience for a wannabe, it contributed to me coming to my senses and giving up my dream of publishing a novel.

I’m not going to volunteer your time and tell you to write your novel (and I even kind of got it for a second, but now I don’t), but please allow me to point out that the reason you just gave is like if when I was in college I said I’m never going to try to ever play hockey again because I’ll never be Gretzky or Mario.

 

[Mrs.Marco]

It might just not be a book that makes sense at such a young age maybe. Perhaps its themes just don’t quite resonate with teens. Age is so important for when a book works best.

I agree that high school students get stuck reading way too many books that they're not ready to read, and that makes people think that they hate reading.

I think it is a combo of not ready for some themes and not meeting students 1/2 way on books to read. It doesn't ALL have to be Shakespeare and classic lit, does it?

I feel like schools do better now about that. Just off the top of my head, I’ve been at 2 different HS and these modern books were pretty widely read

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson- story of a HS freshman dealing with trauma, lack of friends, poor family relationship.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls- true story of a girl growing up with poor, eclectic and neglectful parents

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer- true story of a very intelligent but unprepared young man who heads out into the Alaska wilderness on his own and dies.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers- the story of a 16 year old Black boy awaiting trial for murder written as a series of letters and a movie script by the fictional boy himself

They almost always go over quite well with the kids.

All of those books are such great reads--I like the combo of YA books (now in a golden age) and books that make teen readers stretch a bit more like the two memoirs.

 

[Mrs.Marco]

Also, I didn't read Moby in hs. I read it at 33 in 95. I was in a writing group led by a literary agent with one of my then best friends. She was Dean Koontz literary agent, btw. She was shepherding 9 of us wannabes. We had the spirited Melville discussion. I hadn't read it and just kept quiet. She pointed out those that read it in hs, likely abridged, were anti. Those that digested the full tome later in life were pro. Our discussion was a byproduct of a comment that was going a little viral from a tv talk show: "Nobody has really read all of Moby ****." This was met with laughter on the show.

So like Mrs.Marco, being a sucker for seafaring stories (mostly pirates for me), I decided to really read all of Moby. It was such a humbling experience for a wannabe, it contributed to me coming to my senses and giving up my dream of publishing a novel.

Write your bad novel--and then keep at it making it a better novel. I promise that's what Melville did. It's the process

 

[Ilov80s]

It might just not be a book that makes sense at such a young age maybe. Perhaps its themes just don’t quite resonate with teens. Age is so important for when a book works best.

I agree that high school students get stuck reading way too many books that they're not ready to read, and that makes people think that they hate reading.

I think it is a combo of not ready for some themes and not meeting students 1/2 way on books to read. It doesn't ALL have to be Shakespeare and classic lit, does it?

I feel like schools do better now about that. Just off the top of my head, I’ve been at 2 different HS and these modern books were pretty widely read

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson- story of a HS freshman dealing with trauma, lack of friends, poor family relationship.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls- true story of a girl growing up with poor, eclectic and neglectful parents

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer- true story of a very intelligent but unprepared young man who heads out into the Alaska wilderness on his own and dies.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers- the story of a 16 year old Black boy awaiting trial for murder written as a series of letters and a movie script by the fictional boy himself

They almost always go over quite well with the kids.

All of those books are such great reads--I like the combo of YA books (now in a golden age) and books that make teen readers stretch a bit more like the two memoirs.

Yep and obviously trying to get more female storytellers, people of color, people coming from difficult but relatable backgrounds. Into the Wild is fun because it can be posed as a bit of a mystery and there’s some very differing opinions one can walk away with when it comes to McCandles. Plus theres even info after the book was made about some of its validity. Speak is great too because it has the big shock as kids slowly realize what happened but I do struggle sometimes because it might not too close for some kids. To trigger warning or to leave her surprise? A debate I always have but so far I think I’ve managed to balance it.

 

[Psychopav]

I look forward to this thread way too much for it to be over in 11 more days.