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Old Books

Uwu_Oocoo2

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This one is pretty self explanatory, how do you feel about old books? My favorite book series are more modern ones I first read back in like Middle School- Percy Jackson, Wings of Fire etc. But the past few years all the books I've read have been older ones like The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, and the Iliad. They're hard to read at first but once you get a few chapters in they're really interesting and funny. Do you guys like old books, or do you prefer newer ones?
 

OGSniper

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I really like older books. I haven't found any newer books that I have appealing to me. Recently, I read Dante's Inferno and Paradiso. I really enjoyed both of them. But like I said, I just havent found any good newer books.
 

Mikey the Moblin

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I was required to read ancient books as part of western civ
They're not bad, but the subject matter is concerning sometimes (Apuleius' The Golden Ass stands out in my mind)
 

TheGreatCthulhu

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Classic literature I do like, though I think literary critics can be up their own asses about certain classic authors.

I'm sorry, but I cannot stand James Joyce, and literary critics constantly put him up as an exalted writer.

Ever read Finnegan's Wake? Literary equivalent of sniffing your own farts. It's the most incomprehensible thing I've ever read in my life.

It could be me, in that I cannot stand a stream of consciousness writing style, but, I don't think he wrote that work to be comprehensible.

It could also be that the various English and literature classes I took we constantly talked about him, and I didn't get or understand why he's considered a genius writer.

Could be that I'm a fantasy and sci-fi nerd, and I tend to prefer a straightforward writing style, but I can dig on exalted prose if it's clever considering I adore Shakespeare.

I dunno, I love books and reading (in spite of my ADHD getting in the way of me finishing a book in a reasonable time), I just don't tend to have a high opinion of literary critics, I guess. Maybe it's because they tend to look down their nose at legitimate forms of literature like fantasy, sci-fi, YA, and horror, and my inner rebel is coming out.
 

Bowsette Plus-Ultra

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My favorite older book would probably be Ender's Game. It's a very good book with some so-so sequels. The author's a massive prick, but he's mostly faded into the background in recent years.
 

Mikey the Moblin

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My favorite older book would probably be Ender's Game. It's a very good book with some so-so sequels. The author's a massive prick, but he's mostly faded into the background in recent years.
Have you read the companion novel Ender's Shadow? I always liked Ender's Shadow better
 

TheGreatCthulhu

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If we're including stuff outside of classic authors, then my absolute favorite work ever is JRR Tolkien's Legendarium.

That includes The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, as well as other tales he's told in Middle-Earth such as Beren and Luthien, and The Unfinished Tales.

I also have a love of classic hard science fiction, so works like Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, and The Foundation I love. I also love Frank Herbert's Dune.

I also quite like George Orwell, with Animal Farm being my favorite, and I think much more succinctly written than 1984, which I also love.
 
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Depends on the book and what genres each individual likes. Some of the older classics that I enjoy and re-read:
Black Beauty
Wind in the Willows
Lord of the Flies
White Fang
Call of the Wild
The first 3 Anne of Green Gables Books
Treasure Island
The Secret Garden

Some of the ones that bored me:
Moby Dick
Frankenstein
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Grapes of Wrath
Hunchback of Notre Dame'
Anything by H.G. Wells
The Scarlet Letter
Pinnochio
Lord of the Rings

@TheGreatCthulhu
May I suggest a book to you as a fellow fantasy fan? It's called The Dragon and the George. If you've ever seen and enjoyed The Flight of Dragons, you may find it interesting.
 
I don't think the age of a book has any impact on its quality. I like to read a lot of older titles. I recently ordered Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, so I'm looking forward to reading that.

As far as fiction goes, I still think series like Harry Potter, The Shadow Children, and Alex Rider hold up.
 

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