MassiveAttack: Ordered A Few Classic Books

Apostle7 05.14.09	Catching up on your dystopian futures, eh?
Asiatic667 05.14.09	I started IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote quite a while ago. I haven't finished yet, but I already would strongly reccomend it, it's fascinating.
MassiveAttack 05.14.09	Most definitely Apostle and Asiatic I'll be sure to keep this list in the future for that book.
Kiran 05.14.09	If you're into the whole dystopia thing, you should check out The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood or read The Children of Men by PD James (you might've seen the movie of that but the book is great as well)
scyther 05.14.09	Those particular novels have been mighty popular lately.
rasputin 05.14.09	1984 is one of my all time favourites
Waior 05.14.09	2+2=5 is a 1984 term, correct? Is Thom Yorke teaching me about classic literature?
rasputin 05.14.09	yeah that's from 1984
Asiatic667 05.14.09	It's just a kids novel, nothing to do with classic literature, but I'd just like to say that BEAST by Ally Kennen is the greatest, and you should all read it
rasputin 05.14.09	1984 is a kid's novel? haha, you obviously don't know much do you
Asiatic667 05.14.09	I wasn't talking about 1984 you twit, I meant the other book I mentioned
scyther 05.14.09	During its time it was, yes, there are more immersive volumes to be had.
rasputin 05.14.09	my bad, i get all hot and sweaty when i see (or think i see) 1984 being downed
Asiatic667 05.14.09	Understandable
kitsch 05.14.09	1984 is one of the biggest pieces of trash written under the guise of modernism. the characters have no depth; their actions are just as predictable as the "plot." the whole book exists so orwell can rant under the pen name "goldstein" about how bad fascism is. i would rather read an essay on fascism than a 200 odd page masturbatory novel that ultimately goes NOWHERE. brave new world is even worse. and dont even get me started on ayn rand. dumbest cunt in literature. i consider dystopian fiction to be on the same level as books like twilight.
Chewie 05.14.09	then you didn't get the picture^ fucking great novels man
kitsch 05.14.09	no i got the picture. i realize how its a larger critique of our society as a whole. with our natural propensity to seek out safety, we must be careful not to sacrifice freedom too much, blah blah blah. if i did miss something, please inform me of it cause im willing to bet ive read the novel more carefully and critically than most people on here.
Chewie 05.14.09	well maybe, but you miss the point of the book. It's not a character driven novel. The brilliantly though-provoking story line as well as the terrific writing by Orwell is what makes it an awesome book. The characters aren't what matters, because its true that there isn't much depth to them, its the world of Oceania, and the ideologies within it that makes it great.
kitsch 05.14.09	the story line isnt thought provoking at all. anyone who's read any books at all could see the big "twist" coming from a mile away (obrien is a govt dude). and thats my point, books about ideologies are boring as hell. why not try notes from the underground by dostoevsky? that has some real dystopianism in it (russian empire) as well as some interesting as hell psychological insights. and orwell is a strictly average writer.
SeaAnemone 05.14.09	1984 was meh for me... I agree w/ Kitsch, storyline/characters are so bland and book becomes predictable and boring once you understand the ideology... writing wasn't anything extraordinary imo.
Mendigo 05.14.09	1984 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Brave New World
Chewie 05.14.09	I didn't see the Obrien/Though Police thing coming at all, nor did I see the crazy shit in Room 101. Don't most good books have ideologies, or at least theme in them? Maybe 1984 is a little more blatant about its delivery then most, but to say that the ideology of perception-is-reality/2+2=5 is boring is plain absurd
tom79 05.14.09	1984 is a great book, towards the end I couldn't put it down.
bloc 05.14.09	i really disliked brave new world. 1984 was good though.
rasputin 05.14.09	yeah kitsch i think you're missing the ultimate point of 1984 the plot, the characters, all those typical elements that you'd identify with are completely irrelevant to its aim rather than being a book about ideology, it's more a book about the weakness of humans (the interaction between Winston and O'Brien after Winston's capture is the essence of this) the plot is merely a vehicle; Orwell took a great deal of it from Zamyatin's We and Notes from Underground deals with very different themes than 1984
Chewie 05.14.09	ya that too^ 1984 is far more deep then just a dystopia novel
MassiveAttack 05.14.09	Then the recommendations go as (so far): In Cold Blood by Capote Handmaid's Tale by Atwood Children of Men by PD James Beast by Kennen Notes From The Underground by Dosteovsky
NovaSilver 05.14.09	1984 is a better novel than Brave New World, which I found to be a mess. 1984 is slightly two dimensional character wise as they pretty much get subsumed by the symbolism but the power of the novel is still there. Brave New World I didn't find to be either powerful or involve any real characters.
londoncalling457 05.14.09	I found 1984 in my grandparent's basement awhile ago and took it home but haven't read it yet. Probably will soon.
kitsch 05.15.09	rasp, then its aim is stupid and pointless. that was my point, i dont like reading orwells thoughts on how bad socialism/communism is and how it lends itself to fascism. its fucking boring and could be better said in an essay than a big ass boring masturbatory novel. and the ideology is a BIG factor. using torture to explain the fragility of the human mind and how physical creatures we are was prob my favorite part of the book. but its a secondary theme only. it is a method used by the party for control. goldsteins book is a glaring clue that orwell was writing this book as a wakeup call to socialists/communists of the day. it contains overt references to stalin, hitler, etc. there are even parallels between things in the book (the little kids turning in thoughtcriminals is like the hilter youth, etc etc) to ignore the fact that this book was preaching an ideology is to ignore the main theme.
kitsch 05.15.09	oh yea underground is quite different but at least its tolerable and has an oppressive govt the only good dystopian novel is farenheit 451 by ray bradbury.
Asiatic667 05.15.09	Once again, Kitsch comes off as an opinionated jerk who can't handle views that differ from his own.
thebhoy 05.15.09	I really need to read 1984. Brave New World is currently tied with Fugitive Pieces and The Dragon Can't Dance as my favourite novel. Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is also fairly enjoyable but I've just started that.
SeaAnemone 05.15.09	sorry to agree with kitsch again, but fahrenheit 451>>>1984
BallsToTheWall 05.15.09	Holy shit Kitsch, you have the most obnoxious and poorly thought out opinions on this whole site and that's saying something. Brave New World was one of my favorites in High School next to The Metamorphosis.
Asiatic667 05.15.09	No one can deny the brutal majesty of LORD OF THE FLIES
BallsToTheWall 05.15.09	Agree there. The book was so much more brutal than the movie. Of Mice And Men is also great. I miss high school, I used to like reading books then, but after getting out. POOFF.
kitsch 05.15.09	haha, sry if i come off as a jerk, i tend to hyperbolate, (calling it trash etc) i just feel i have to be extreme in order to offset the extreme dick sucking this book gets. i can handle opinions other than my own, thats why enjoy discussion about them. also there were days on this site where the mere mention of something like green day would get you flamed incessantly. suppose i need to get over that antiquated notion. hahaha, balls, youre one to talk. someone who almost nothing but metal (recently youve been branching out i suppose), big commercial blockbuster movies and wants to rename himself some god-awful god-knows-what nordic influenced name. having said that, metamorphosis is real tight. of mice and men might just be my favorite book ever. lord of the flies was tight as well.
PuddleSwimmer 05.15.09	"In 'Of Mice And Men', what is Lenny's favorite thing?" "....mice."
kitsch 05.15.09	why dont you tell me bout the rabbits george
kitsch 05.16.09	aaaa
natey 05.16.09	Fahrenheit 451 blows Brave New World is great
rasputin 05.16.09	a lot of your criticisms are very subjective anyway kitsch, not liking it because of the ideology and as a message to socialists of the day, and the parallels to russian politics, are all very subjective i.e. i really liked those things about the book, and those are the very reasons why it became so influential. of course i don't necessarily agree entirely with orwell but that doesn't mean the book isn't any good
joshuatree 05.16.09	the goal of 1984 is obviously not to build upon the characters it's stupid to even criticize it for that. i dunno i liked it though, but i wouldn't consider it a favorite or anything. a pretty engaging read though. to guy who made list, dystopian fiction's a pretty tired genre, and after 1984 and brave new world, there's nothing else really worth reading favorite books personally are infinite jest and trainspotting and i urge anyone who likes to read good shit to get those immediately
Waior 05.16.09	debating classic literature on sputnik
JokesorInsults 05.16.09	I mean, 1984 is good, Brave New World is better, but Candide fucks with your shit all day.
kitsch 05.17.09	infinite jest is so crazy. love that book. well i just dont like books about ideology. its boring. take the jungle, by upton sinclair. most pointless boring read ever. 300 pages of attacking capatalism, 20 pages of some hollow socialist enlightenment. ALL criticism is subjective.
iarescientists 05.17.09	you've entered the no-spin zone
BallsToTheWall 05.17.09	Calling me out Kitsch eh? I realize you're not going to stop being a faggot, especially when you bring my pie charts into play to make an assumption that i'm "just now" branching into other styles of music. I say this with all truth, go FUCK yourself you cunt....
kitsch 05.17.09	and the fact that only a few weeks ago you made a list about "a brotha goin indie" but cant we plz be friends
SeaAnemone 05.17.09	epic comment thread is epic
BallsToTheWall 05.17.09	Indie yes, i'm new to it. And I still have a lot of ground to cover. Metal wasn't even the first genre I started to really enjoy to knock bak several years but it happened to be the most convenient for my state of mind and easily became my dominant choice. Now i'm trying to keep my taste in music as broad as possible. Your original post towards metal and Brave New World is quite easy to spark something out of me.
kitsch 05.17.09	well what do you expect when you say that i have the "most obnoxious and poorly thought out opinions on this whole site?" i just have a developed enough taste to actually like and dislike things. books are one thing i get really upity about i suppose because for years ive read at least 2 to 3 books a month. the more exposure you get to something, the more you see how limited a lot of the high school books are.
MassiveAttack 05.17.09	< has created one of the greatest subject list that has branched out in e-bitch slapping.
kitsch 05.17.09	if you wanted to see a bitch slap, i couldve postulated that balls' other genre was alt rock and dont thump your chest. most threads/lists i post in tend to blow up cause ppl get pissed at someone else's opinion
MassiveAttack 05.17.09	kitsch cool it i was exaggerating no need to thing I'm boasting rofl.
kitsch 05.17.09	so was i man. its cool. my humor is better not on the internet i think
MassiveAttack 05.17.09	sarcasm is difficult to detect on the internet unless it is extremely obvious lol.
rasputin 05.17.09	if people can't take your criticism then that's their own problem, you never have unfounded opinions
Hyperbore 05.17.09	kitsch is right about Ayn Rand - her writings are those of a self-absorbed mongoloid. And 1984 is... not as awful as he says, but it is very overrated. Brave New World is excellent, though.
STOP SHOUTING! 05.21.09	Reading a book atm called Sophie's World by Jostein Gaardner, about a 15yr old girl search for the truth about her existence, summarising along the way Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Berkeley, Descartes, Freud, Darwin amongst others. 'S good, but makes my brain hurt.