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I was forced to read her book in school, I didn't care for it. One wonders what percentage of her readers read her willingly.
by ByQuyzzy 3y ago
I was forced to read her book in school, I didn't care for it. One wonders what percentage of her readers read her willingly.
- emseetech 3y agoWhen people say this, I wonder what kind of books they appreciate.
- pbj1968 3y ago…Dan…brown…
- Kye 3y agoI think it's possible to appreciate a book as literature but not want to ever read it again. The Bluest Eye (for example) is a rare glimpse into the horrors of racism and sexism, especially as both intersect with standards of beauty. It's not a book I would pick up without a grade at stake though. I think I would wonder about someone who actually likes it. It's a horrifying read.
- basementcat 3y agoPerhaps this is not unlike how many of my friends and colleagues questioned why I chose to visit places like Auschwitz while I was on vacation in Eastern Europe. I try not to limit the books I read, films I watch and places that I visit to those that aren’t intellectually and/or emotionally challenging and difficult. Or maybe I’m just weird.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- emseetech 3y agoI don’t get a strong sense of appreciation from the parent comment though.
- CSMastermind 3y agoI strongly disliked Morrison's books when I read them, though I'll happily concede they're expertly written. Some fiction books I've read as an adult and appreciate: Gone with the Wind, Fields of Fire, American Psycho, The Turn of the Screw, Anna Karenina Some from school: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Frienheit 451, Moby Dick, Brave New World Some of the more pop fictiony: American Gods, The Stand, His Dark Materials, A Song of Ice and Fire, Imajica
- emseetech 3y ago> though I'll happily concede they're expertly written. Enjoyment is a deeply personal thing but I can’t imagine dismissing Morrison as not worth anyone’s time.
- ByQuyzzy 3y agoCurrently reading Turris Babel in the original Latin. What books are you into? You will be judged by your answer, and assumed to be a non-reader if you don't reply.
- emseetech 3y agoI would love to hear your thoughts on it. I personally just finished Knausgaard (in English, my Norwegian is lacking) and am currently reading Pussy, King of the Pirates by Kathy Acker as a light follow up.
- defrost 3y agoIt's a toss up between Yorro Yorro: Everything Standing Up Alive by David Mowaljarlai and Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar for me. Readers who like Kircher might also enjoy: https://books.google.com.au/books?id=C0iGO0Hr95UC https://books.google.com.au/books?id=C0iGO0Hr95UC and triple check his math .. it gets pretty wonky.
- emseetech 3y ago> Yorro Yorro: Everything Standing Up Alive by David Mowaljarlai This looks incredible. Going to add it to my (always expanding) list.
- defrost 3y agoYour mileage may vary, I enjoyed it :) Obit: https://australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/journal-contents/obituary-david-banggal-mowaljarlai/ https://australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/journal-c... Artwork: https://www.aasd.com.au/artist/1861-david-banggal-mowaljarlai/ https://www.aasd.com.au/artist/1861-david-banggal-mowaljarla... Short trailer for a movie filmed in David's country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJv1AVvPK3Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJv1AVvPK3Q
- bern4444 3y agoI've loved books that have won lots of awards and recognition that I only read cause it was part of a curriculum, but it's perfectly reasonable to also not connect with some of them. I read almost exclusively fantasy and have always loved reading since I was young. Fantasy series are often trilogies or more with some being over 10 books long. You go on adventures, read about relationships, interpersonal problems, power, team work, individualism, religion, and so much more. While it's mostly what I read, it's not all, but it keeps me reading.
- presbyterian 3y agoShe’s a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, National Book Critics Circle Award, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Book Foundation’s Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters; one of the most celebrated writers in American literature. I understand that you may not personally like the book of hers you read, but to suggest that people read her just because they’re required to is absurd.
- Out_of_Characte 3y ago>but to suggest that people read her just because they’re required to is absurd Its not, source: the OP Your comment made me realise how much I hated being required to read X because of all the exact reasons you mentioned above. Just because what I've read didn't win a nobel prize doesn't mean I cant find it subjectively better.
- bombcar 3y agoFrom what I can determine, the books that kids are forced to read in high school are the books that their elders really loved; and often were not forced to read in high school. Most every book I was forced to read I still hate enough that I'll never bother rereading it. I'm sure they're all great; they also weren't for me, not at that time. Which is why the absolute last thing I'd ever do is assign anyone to read any of the books I love.
- emseetech 3y agoI find that I generally love most of the books I was forced to read. Even if I didn’t at the time. I make time to re-read Grapes of Wrath once every decade and I connect with it differently every time I do. Catcher in the Rye has also taken new meaning as I’ve aged to where I can imagine Holden as my troubled, disaffected teenage son. I hated Romeo and Juliet as a teenager because everyone saw it as a beautiful romance and I thought I was so smart recognizing it as a cautionary tale of the impulsiveness of youth. But now I see it as a beautiful love story. I’m grateful that I was forced to read these as a young teenager because now I can reflect on these works and my reaction to them as a reflection of my own life.
- forgotmyinfo 3y agoOh, come on now. You don't have to enjoy Toni Morrison, but to discount her absolute success because she isn't your preference is more than a little ridiculous.
- ByQuyzzy 3y agoEvery school library in the US has 120 copies of this book. I'm just wondering how many non-school / library buyers there were. If her success is government-mandated, it can easily be discounted.
- forgotmyinfo 3y ago[flagged]
- sandspar 3y ago[flagged]
- richardatlarge 3y agoI always thought people borrowing books meant fewer sales, not more. Stephen King will be happy to hear it
- defrost 3y ago> Every school library in the US has 120 copies of this book. This seems improbable. It seems even more unlikely when The Bluest Eye has been banned so often: The ALA placed it on the Top Ten Most Challenged Books Lists for 2006, 2014, 2013, 2020, and 2022. Ultimately, it became the 34th-most banned book in the United States 1990–1999, the 15th-most banned book 2000–2009, and the 10th-most banned book 2010–2019. ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bluest_Eye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bluest_Eye Can you back up this assertion at all?
- SamoyedFurFluff 3y agoI admit some confusion of the idea that Toni Morrison is successful only because she was taught in schools. Schools aren’t known to push literature in classrooms published within that year on a nationwide scale (outside of specifically librarian association recommendations or something like this, a scholastic books thing). From a brief Wikipedia read, The Bluest Eye was published with Toni Morrison was nearly 40 and didn’t sell well, so it makes no sense why that’s the one taught in schools.
- indy 3y agoI was biased to have negative opinions of many books simply because I was 'forced to read them in school'. It was only many years later when I chose to read them that I could appreciate their quality.
- RajT88 3y agoMe too. "The Bluest Eye" - in college. It was devastating. I'm glad I read it, even though parts of it were really uncomfortable.
- dragonwriter 3y agoI was assigned to read many books in schools, but I was never forced to read any of them.
- worddepress 3y agoA stern letter to your parents if you don't might count as force.
- synecdoche 3y agoThis depends on perspective and agency. In my opinion there is nothing you must do in this life, as in forced by others, unless physically unable to resist. You can consider the consequences and make a more or less informed choice. The point being, the choice is yours and noone else is to be blamed for the consequences.
- aprilthird2021 3y agoSince no one else has asked, what did you not like about it? I found the magic realism look towards, specifically, racially segregated chattel slavery and the generations who lived in the shadow of it was a very interesting mix of ideas. I remember her stories being beautiful and horrifying, her prose being precise while being fantastical, and her style and story material being quite unique. Would love to know what you didn't like. Perhaps I have a rose-tinted view of reading those books long ago
- jjgreen 3y ago"Forced to read" is itself a swine. I can't abide Shakespeare for the same reason, and I understand that he's rather well thought of as a writer.
- aprilthird2021 3y agoDo you think compulsory schooling till 18 is bad? It's arguably the single thing which eliminated most child labor and child marriage in countries it exists in.