http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d?format=rss Tribe.net. Local Connections http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#0357cee2-8ae3-4955-b685-29932712b272 Danielle Steele writes insipid boring predictable drivel. I can't understand why anyone likes her work. And why bother going back and replying to the specific post about John Grisham, I'll just state here that he couldn't create a likeable character if his life depended on it, and he takes forever to say nothing very valuable, much less entertaining! Ahhh, I feel so much better now! Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:18:24 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#0357cee2-8ae3-4955-b685-29932712b272 Rebecca 2007-12-08T11:18:24Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#c095a531-ee4f-4fa0-9900-413cf19048dd I used to like both King and Rice, but now think they have become diluted, formulaic, greedy, arrogant, novel-cranking sell-outs. Before I got to this post I was thinking of starting a sub-thread called "Formerly Good Authors Who Have Gone to $h!T," but the two you've mentioned and my ensuing rant pretty much got that out of my system. Thanks! Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:13:12 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#c095a531-ee4f-4fa0-9900-413cf19048dd Rebecca 2007-12-08T11:13:12Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#444e4ee0-2bf8-4c99-aaf3-5d53e2fa0e90 Yes Boredom spelled w/ a Wh. Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:08:46 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#444e4ee0-2bf8-4c99-aaf3-5d53e2fa0e90 $item.owner.firstName 2007-12-05T16:08:46Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#c5d10585-ea9a-4d85-88cd-c71f41f0ec9c Sometimes when you go to this place called COLLEGE and you take a required course for your major you may have to read some books you dont like by authors you hate so you can take a test and get a grade and get a degree. Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:35:05 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#c5d10585-ea9a-4d85-88cd-c71f41f0ec9c HunnyDu 2007-12-05T06:35:05Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#4d966afb-c214-4fec-9d4a-83ca6e62aea2 Danielle Steel -who is buying that stuff? ?? James MIchner - though I read his books once in a while still. Ayn Rand/J.R Tolkien Just beat me why don't ya. OMG we are all big Stephen King fans. He'll get over this. I think his writing is brilliant. Well not all of it but hey he has so many stories and alias. Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:18:53 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#4d966afb-c214-4fec-9d4a-83ca6e62aea2 $item.owner.firstName 2007-12-03T18:18:53Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#58ac8d80-048d-4281-aca8-8018be375dad I don't know if James Frey is commonly popular, more like a one hit wonder, but a million little pieces is one of the worst books I have ever suffered through. Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:50:57 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#58ac8d80-048d-4281-aca8-8018be375dad Kent 2007-12-03T03:50:57Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#c7c74163-59b4-4f6d-aaed-7415c4e1bee8 I give (most) authors a chance, and if you hear that they are unbelievable writers you may give them more than one chance. I don't personally know that Danielle Steele's books are garbage, but I'm seeing her name mentioned here a lot and that's just firming up my decision to not read her stuff. I think when you read as much as the people in this tribe do, you will occasionally run across some stuff you think is crap. Hence the thread. Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:47:02 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#c7c74163-59b4-4f6d-aaed-7415c4e1bee8 $item.owner.firstName 2007-12-01T20:47:02Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#be61ef7b-7439-42f8-8516-aa270fe55758 In my case it's books I read when desparate or in some earnest attempt to participate in what seemed to be an important cultural phenom. I"m guessing that there's a sort of train wreck thing that goes on as well, when you just have to see how bad the horror is. then the pleasure is in the hatred, not in the book per se. Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:16:08 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#be61ef7b-7439-42f8-8516-aa270fe55758 Crypto 2007-12-01T20:16:08Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#add25fa8-d903-4a16-8ac6-7029810213be So the impression I'm getting here is that people spend a whole lot of time reading books they don't like by authors they think are talentless hacks. What's up with that? If I don't like a book I just don't read it, so it's difficult to determine whether or not it's crap. So this is really a thread about "guilty pleasures"? Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:08:51 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#add25fa8-d903-4a16-8ac6-7029810213be Dave (aka Frenhofer) 2007-12-01T20:08:51Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#16a8151a-9933-412f-a0f4-bede5abb1418 Anne Rice Danielle Steel Stephen King M. Atwood Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:31:18 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#16a8151a-9933-412f-a0f4-bede5abb1418 mcjb 2007-12-01T17:31:18Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#7e4004d5-2d23-4610-ad62-76601667ae8b <<Shakespearean Comedies >> Reading them can be a bit ho-mum - and they are not all "masterpieces" - but the way to study them is to go to the theatre where the characters, wit and bawdiness is brought to life ,, Sat, 01 Dec 2007 04:14:51 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#7e4004d5-2d23-4610-ad62-76601667ae8b Bloke. Trivia Pimp 2007-12-01T04:14:51Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#b6c1b21d-589a-4f21-bbc1-ba3713789c46 i'd be sick of anybody being crammed down my throught seriously 10 in 10 weeks. what a way to teach art... let alone what you think of his works, sir bacon, i mean shakespeare, practically invented the english language with all his works. now if you have ills with the english language then, that's another story Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:42:05 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#b6c1b21d-589a-4f21-bbc1-ba3713789c46 nommolucas 2007-12-01T02:42:05Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#63449611-e137-4131-af52-856e122a677f Honestly? Has anyone ever taken a Shakespearean literature class? I never minded reading Shakespear until I took Shakespearean Comdies in college. We read 10 in 10 weeks. It is nothing but garbage. It's like reading the same play over and over again, but someone did find and replace on the city / character names. It's John and Jane in Juneau in one story, the next is Sam and Sandy in San Diego - the rest the same. I wanted to vomit by the end of the 10 weeks. Sat, 01 Dec 2007 01:38:22 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#63449611-e137-4131-af52-856e122a677f Lesley 2007-12-01T01:38:22Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#803e5ef1-d4f0-4b86-9ca5-b6335a5783a3 Mary Higgins Clark Stuart Woods--you've read one of his, you've read them all. Stone Barrington gets in some sort of trouble, has sex with some hot rich girl, gets out of trouble, drives his fancy Mercedes, eats at the same restaurant-hell-I know he is a fictional character but my God he has a boring life!! Jonathan Franzen--does this guy even know why periods are used??? Alex, I'll take periods for one thousand and then sell a gross of them to this dimwit--maybe if he gets a truckload of 'em he will realize he needs to start using them!! Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:30:42 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#803e5ef1-d4f0-4b86-9ca5-b6335a5783a3 Lee Ann 2007-11-21T13:30:42Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#9df8af5d-7023-43e5-85d0-5f02ed8abaa3 The Shining is where he should have retired and stayed retired. That was like another planet though. Even though I liked the book amazingly enough I liked the movie better. Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:25:06 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#9df8af5d-7023-43e5-85d0-5f02ed8abaa3 Tony 2007-11-14T21:25:06Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#9354ebbf-81a0-4f7d-aea8-09e5b8d19704 ... who couldn't love and freak out over the Shining. I suppose I should have qualified my statement to "recent as in after the 80s were over but I'm sure there are still exceptions" books and cinema. I got all carried away with the bombardment of ads for the new King based movie coming out that is so close to the last King based movie that was following the mini-series before that, all of which have all been total tripe. Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:33:18 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#9354ebbf-81a0-4f7d-aea8-09e5b8d19704 Major 2007-11-13T22:33:18Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#5f7b9232-8ce3-47cc-a39d-19e06b70d01c You didn't like The Shining? Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:43:17 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#5f7b9232-8ce3-47cc-a39d-19e06b70d01c Devastator Jr. 2007-11-13T19:43:17Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#6a37151e-879e-42a3-8d8d-2b83f406a0c0 Anything with Chicken Soup in it. Anything with Secret in it. Patterson & King & Clancy make me want to vomit and snore and . . . well . . . you get the point. Tue, 13 Nov 2007 04:42:23 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#6a37151e-879e-42a3-8d8d-2b83f406a0c0 Tony 2007-11-13T04:42:23Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#b9833767-cf37-4cb9-888b-1900b239b608 >>Speaking of Steel, here is another funny book, supposedly about her, Postcards from the Edge. Hilarous. << Actually, Postcards from the Edge is about Carrie Fisher and her mom, Debbie Reynolds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcards_from_the_Edge Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:48:01 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#b9833767-cf37-4cb9-888b-1900b239b608 Tri 2007-11-12T23:48:01Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#06eb097f-6a57-47f3-a8ad-e8849c54fffe L. Ron Hubbard ... need I say more? Any Rand - she makes me want to take my eyes out with a spoon. Stephen King - For inspiring the most gawd awful never-ending horror mini-series / movies. Not only are his stories simplistic and boring but they spawn into the most idiotic cinema as well. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:54:21 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#06eb097f-6a57-47f3-a8ad-e8849c54fffe Major 2007-11-12T22:54:21Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#213ebcc5-0311-49cf-92c3-5e1a9f916cbe Postcards from the Edge is a semi-autobiographical novel by Carrie Fisher Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:04:49 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#213ebcc5-0311-49cf-92c3-5e1a9f916cbe candy cain 2007-11-12T22:04:49Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#eaeaf8d2-87c9-4586-81bb-74a7d3067915 And John Irving showed such promise, then spun out of control. For the Danielle haters, some info: She lives in the toniest neighborhood in San Francisco in a house the size of am embassy. It used to be an Embassy. It is so big that she got in trouble with the City because some investigative reporter found out that she had 53 parking permits. She is on the society pages every day and keeps her hair pulled back so tight it must help her face lift. Her books are crapola with a capital crap but she was poor and now she is quite wealthy. Speaking of Steel, here is another funny book, supposedly about her, Postcards from the Edge. Hilarous. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:56:40 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#eaeaf8d2-87c9-4586-81bb-74a7d3067915 Marie 2007-11-12T21:56:40Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#dcf4fe46-3e43-41e2-8cbe-d2142ec742c4 Yes, John Irving and JK Rowling would have topped my list. And I agree, Stephen King used to be good, but I think IT was the beginning of the end. Don DeLilo isn't exactly bad, but he isn't all he's cracked up to be. Neither is Michael Chabon. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:57:41 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#dcf4fe46-3e43-41e2-8cbe-d2142ec742c4 Devastator Jr. 2007-11-12T20:57:41Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#13cb0a5f-0921-4786-8cd3-2158bf89b710 Scary crap to boot. I mean, they are serving this up to people who may not have read many novels before and don't really know how to deal with fiction... Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:30:44 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#13cb0a5f-0921-4786-8cd3-2158bf89b710 Crypto 2007-11-12T14:30:44Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#50064d85-3059-4282-930f-f3f95e3a5abb Ahhhh LEFT BEHIND. Crap crap crap. Even worse is the TV movie with Kirk Cameron. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:38:06 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#50064d85-3059-4282-930f-f3f95e3a5abb Victoria 2007-11-12T03:38:06Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#f000890b-fe5b-4a2d-b86a-47cb6bd98597 Mary Higgins Clark. When I was in high school I read her and even then I found it predictable and pretty boring - although easy and quick (my cousin had a collection I would borrow from). I haven't read her daughter's work (Carol Higgins Clark), but it makes me think that she's just living off her mother's "fame" and her awful book covers look just like her mother's. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 02:37:37 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#f000890b-fe5b-4a2d-b86a-47cb6bd98597 Tri 2007-11-12T02:37:37Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#aa719f5a-0960-4321-809b-ac1c58dcdf08 I worked in a used-bookstore for 3 years (yes, it WAS heaven) And the top authors I know are crap: Nora Roberts. bad. ick. bad. Dean Koonts I couldn't read, same with Danielle Steel, (i tried, see what its all about) A book I couldn't get past the first few pages:: Those "Left Behind" hacks. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 02:11:32 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#aa719f5a-0960-4321-809b-ac1c58dcdf08 Miss Roach 2007-11-12T02:11:32Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#7da3d0e4-df9c-4574-882e-b0a8c04daca0 Lovely Bones what's her face?? Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:56:26 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#7da3d0e4-df9c-4574-882e-b0a8c04daca0 christine 2007-11-12T01:56:26Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#f2b22775-6bfb-4797-b20e-5f78c4d6f144 Stephen King Anne Rice James Patterson Dan Brown Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:18:03 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#f2b22775-6bfb-4797-b20e-5f78c4d6f144 candy cain 2007-11-11T22:18:03Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#2639d1ff-1f11-4a6f-bfc3-313d8d7d256a I am a creative writing major, and my first name is Danielle, and I encounter illiterate jackasses all the time who say, "Oh, so you're going to be a writer like Danielle Steel!!!" I want to strangle them! Why would I be a writer like Danielle Steel just because I have the same first name as her? FUCKING MORONS! If I do decide to go the route of the writer, I am adopting a pen name! Sun, 11 Nov 2007 06:30:56 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#2639d1ff-1f11-4a6f-bfc3-313d8d7d256a )'(Ms. Meow)'( 2007-11-11T06:30:56Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#0119d885-c56b-43a3-bc3d-26ae421f2f44 I've never read Danelle Steel, and have no intention of doing so. But I still feel this horror for her for the experience of having a bi-polar son who suicided. Unless that was Jackie Collins. I can't really tell them apart. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:41:53 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#0119d885-c56b-43a3-bc3d-26ae421f2f44 Crypto 2007-11-07T18:41:53Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#3102dc36-8beb-43a2-ab98-e7c826145409 Danielle Steel - that's the pink-covered grocery store novelist I was trying to remember above - thanks! (and my god is she awful) Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:33:02 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#3102dc36-8beb-43a2-ab98-e7c826145409 $item.owner.firstName 2007-11-07T18:33:02Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#019b8f70-aff1-47ea-8aa6-c39767783e98 I'm not sure I can restrict myself to three but here goes: Stephen King (the more popular he gets the less editorial input he must get so the books get longer and worse) Ann Rice (the more popular she gets the less editorial input he must get so the books get longer and worse) Danielle Steel - I've never even read one of her books, I can't get past the first paragraph in the bookstore. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:23:55 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#019b8f70-aff1-47ea-8aa6-c39767783e98 Marie 2007-11-07T18:23:55Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#6a550bce-ce0a-445a-b3a8-b9223bf38cad Agreed on Nicholas Sparks - I had to write a paper on his horrid "Three Weeks with my Brother" in a college English class - yuck. I tried to like him since he and I are from the same town, but the book was just too terrible... And that one female mystery writer (whose name I always forget) - she seems to come out with a book every six months and they show up in the grocery store check out line with titles and hot-pink covers that make me nauseous. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:18:25 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#6a550bce-ce0a-445a-b3a8-b9223bf38cad $item.owner.firstName 2007-11-07T18:18:25Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#7b037f87-f1e6-4dfc-8f26-a52f429f9782 Oh, and just so I actually participate in this thread: I second Steven King. I've enjoyed a few of his short stories, but the longer ones are terrible. I wasn't surprised at all to find out he was drunk writing most of them. Also, Joyce Carole Oats. BOR. ING. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:53:29 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#7b037f87-f1e6-4dfc-8f26-a52f429f9782 $item.owner.firstName 2007-11-07T17:53:29Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#b7a2785d-1abe-4c77-9413-f7406af50659 Thanks Mr. Indie, I hadn't intended my original post to be rude :) Music wise, I've found www.cdbaby.com to be a great way to find lesser known bands, but I'm sure you're already familiar with that one. Books for me tends to be more word of mouth through friends than anything; I've noticed that bookmooch keeps recommending the same ten Oprah's picks to me over and over again. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:51:46 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#b7a2785d-1abe-4c77-9413-f7406af50659 $item.owner.firstName 2007-11-07T17:51:46Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#fda41315-e25b-4616-82d4-12bde5a72739 Heya Elyse... I had no problems with your post to us at all. Frankly I would love to discuss books that I loved, however as Crypto has mentioned, none of the threads I have started have gone anywhere. *Laugh* It's the same when I go into music stores, and ask if they have any CD's by bands I enjoy. (No one knows who or what I am talking about...) Also I do not claim in any way to have discovered some hidden stash of eminently amazing writers. I love off beat writers, music and movies. If it gets played on the radio, put on an endcap at Borders, or played in the theater, than the odds that I will like it are very slim. Everything has become so very cookie cutter in the entertainment world. As for this thread... well let's all admit that it is much easier to point out things you dislike, than the things you love. *Laugh* Lately I seem to have little energy for either. What I really dislike, is when something gets over exposed, and called the greatest "Fill in the blank", when in reality there are thousands of better authors, bands, or movies... Lastly, and I am being totally open and honest to the extreme here... I have a memory like a steel sieve... I forget about 95% of what I read in a given year. I used to keep a list but I stopped years ago. So maybe one book out of the hundred plus I read a year will stick in my mind, and that book is rarely the best, just the most interesting or funny. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:21:20 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#fda41315-e25b-4616-82d4-12bde5a72739 Mr. Indie 2007-11-07T16:21:20Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#a7834e48-2be4-48e0-bee3-a997c8125b97 1.) Anne Rice (Argghhhh!! She is WAYYYyyyyyyyy Overrated!!) 2.) Stephen King (Sorry Mr. King...you USE to write stuff that was actually good at one point!) 3.) Michael Crichton (see above statement) Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:51:41 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#a7834e48-2be4-48e0-bee3-a997c8125b97 Arcangel 2007-11-07T15:51:41Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#6c95e462-f5fb-44be-aec3-c0eb91ea2438 J.K. God Damn Rowling Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:07:56 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#6c95e462-f5fb-44be-aec3-c0eb91ea2438 stefographer 2007-11-07T15:07:56Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#66b979fd-c09f-4f11-b79f-ea5f18a79b6c I agree that John Gray is crap, and ditto whoever wrote "Why men can't listgen and women don't read maps", however, I disagree on "John fucking Irving". Irving is one of my favourite authors. Yes, some of his books have similar, recurring themes, but stilｌ I loved reading most of them. I hate those that claim to offer the only/revolutionarily new or whatever solution to some problem and then sell you their glib line of bs. A lot of the self help books are written in that fashion (see above exemples). Coelho's Alchemist was a wonderful read, but the rest of his I found hard to finish. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:30:35 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#66b979fd-c09f-4f11-b79f-ea5f18a79b6c Canela, too hot for you 2007-11-07T13:30:35Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#32ac9b0d-587c-474c-b4a2-abcbdddf79bb I think we've all had threads in here that went unanswered. I'm sorry I worded my statement the way I did, I didn't expect you to be quite so sensitive. I meant it as a suggestion, not a demand. I do notice mostly negative responses from you, and I certainly am not asking you to be anything other than who you are, but it would be nice to hear about books that you DO like. I would like to know more about some of the books you read, and I'm sorry that my comment hit you the way it did. I was trying to be lighthearted, and poke some fun at how negative you can be in most other threads. Sometimes things don't come across quite the way you intend them to online I suppose. You don't have to do anything anyone tells you, much less twits (thanks). Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:35:29 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#32ac9b0d-587c-474c-b4a2-abcbdddf79bb $item.owner.firstName 2007-11-07T06:35:29Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#2ffbe762-f543-44a1-a0f8-dd3057be243d You know John Gray got his PhD. from a now unaccredited diploma mill, right? He's a hack and a shyster and should be laughed off the face of this planet at least. For more read here: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/women_rebuttal_from_uranus/school.htm And yes, Heinlein is a sad little pulp writer best suited to the lower levels of the YA category. There is so much wonderful, thoughtful, beautifully written science fiction available to readers that it just makes me sad that people continue to blindly lionize a hack. I'd nominate Paulo Coelho as crappiest current popular author. I can read him in the original Portuguese and he's *still* not any good. How sad that great, profoundly humanistic writers like Patrick Modiano, Liliane Giraudon, Dacia Maraini and Kono Taeko get passed over by major publishers for dreck like this. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:20:40 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#2ffbe762-f543-44a1-a0f8-dd3057be243d Marie Therese 2007-11-07T06:20:40Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#05ccc0b6-7c97-42a3-a4cb-633f55ca979d Next time you might try: "Crypto and Mr. Indie, you both are so passionate about books, and I'd really like to know more about some of the books you love." I'm not the only person to whom "you need to" amounts to fighting words. And for what it's worth, the last thread I started about a book has absolutely no answers. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:15:01 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#05ccc0b6-7c97-42a3-a4cb-633f55ca979d Crypto 2007-11-07T06:15:01Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#8d94280c-6e21-4cde-ad55-291509429195 I just wanted to know what books you liked, Crypto. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:19:38 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#8d94280c-6e21-4cde-ad55-291509429195 $item.owner.firstName 2007-11-07T05:19:38Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#1248163d-4fa1-44a5-a413-957cd13466fb OOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOO. What I need to do. Maybe there's someone out there who knows what I must do. And someone who knows what I should do. And someone who knows what I ought to do. How do I manage to live my life without all these helpful people and their special insights into the horrible life changing events I've experienced over the past two years. Dang, when you get down to it, I've been struggling alone for 43 years, it's amazing I'm not dead! Well, I'm gonna tell you what I WILL do. I'm going to continue to be the contankerous old cuss I've been, that my husband fell in love with, that far to many others find to be an inspiration and I'm going to IGNORE helpful advice from twits. I can make amess of my own life, thank you. and by the way John Fucking Irving. Hotel New Hampshire is its own circle of hell. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 02:11:34 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#1248163d-4fa1-44a5-a413-957cd13466fb Crypto 2007-11-07T02:11:34Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#3735ed1d-f8af-4245-8ce2-7d5a0fcc7ba0 What a great fewkin' thread! Except y'all already nailed most of the bad writers I'd choose. I agree wholeheartedly on Crichton. When you read one of his books, it almost reads like a screenplay for a bad movie, which is appropriate, since all of his books get made into fairly cheezy movies 3 seconds after they're published...(although I'll admit to liking Jurassic Park...only the first one, mind you). Ditto on Heinlein. THE most overrated scifi writer EVER!!! And since someone also already took Celestine Prophecy, I'm gonna knock hard on John Gray and his whole "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" empire. What a load of crap! He came and signed at our bookstore like 12 years ago. I wanted to slap the fawn eyed looks offa each and every one of his acolyte's faces! I mean, you take a basic meme from Roman mythology and make it into a billion bucks worth of bullshit. Okay, mayhap I'm a litle jealous he thought of it first... Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:30:48 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#3735ed1d-f8af-4245-8ce2-7d5a0fcc7ba0 Yoshi 2007-11-07T01:30:48Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#ac822f20-0a6d-4739-bec8-ec7e6b038845 Anne Rice, why is it that i can power my way through just about anything but her work? I think she writes like an arrogant high schooler who never learned how to edit her first draft. I also agree with Dean Koontz and Michael Chriton, (people get exited when they put out a new book, but I still can't understand why) Heinlein, I can't really say that he's such a horrible writer, I just don't understand why people think he's a good writer. Tue, 06 Nov 2007 23:52:24 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#ac822f20-0a6d-4739-bec8-ec7e6b038845 Linsey 2007-11-06T23:52:24Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#129800d9-caed-44de-8fd9-5eb3ceef3e25 Crypto and Mr. Indie, you guys need to start some threads about books you like! So far most of the commentary you give us is what you think is total shit. Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:01:19 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#129800d9-caed-44de-8fd9-5eb3ceef3e25 $item.owner.firstName 2007-11-06T21:01:19Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#e5cb46ca-1aef-4d84-ab5e-7af278300d8f Oh man, good call!!! Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:01:54 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#e5cb46ca-1aef-4d84-ab5e-7af278300d8f Bannefin 2007-11-06T17:01:54Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#b93ca11d-f982-4147-926e-1bdfe8de7b04 Maeve Bingy, she writes like a 6 grader who is trying to get an A for spelling. Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:41:42 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#b93ca11d-f982-4147-926e-1bdfe8de7b04 christine 2007-11-06T16:41:42Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#f7f61e62-3185-4dbb-8f2e-9343477354f3 Robert Jordan John Grisham Robin Cook Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:52:07 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#f7f61e62-3185-4dbb-8f2e-9343477354f3 Bannefin 2007-11-06T13:52:07Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#9dedaa84-1ad5-45fb-9140-3c431c6a8bdf I have to nod and agree with Cussler... He never makes any pretense to being a world class writer. He is Hardy Boys for adults... It's the Oprah Book Club/Chick Lit crap that makes me sick... People read this drivel as if it is some amazing breakthroughs in writing... Nicholas Sparks, Life of Pi etc... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Tue, 06 Nov 2007 02:10:54 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#9dedaa84-1ad5-45fb-9140-3c431c6a8bdf Mr. Indie 2007-11-06T02:10:54Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#78fc9b6e-23c7-4274-8171-719b3da7624d See, to me, Cussler isn't really aspiring to be much more that a writer of adventure stories and as far as I can tell except for science fiction fantasy modern writers of adventure stories have to walk a minefeild (SF/Fantasy walk a different one) in termsof what they can and cannot say. Anyway, what he's trying to do is just write a book, and he succeeds. He would have been better in the hospital than Colbert... I'm too confused to say, but what I'm getting at is his work is basically minor with no pretentions to more. So for me, he's not worth putting in effort hating him. Oh well. Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:50:00 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#78fc9b6e-23c7-4274-8171-719b3da7624d Crypto 2007-11-06T01:50:00Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#15dad975-8b9b-4263-a192-2a436580ade8 Clive Cussler is by far the WORST author I've ever read. Ever. Tom Robbins got really boring really quick, although I still enjoy Skinny Legs and All. I know there's more...hmm... Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:37:15 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#15dad975-8b9b-4263-a192-2a436580ade8 GibsonPearl 2007-11-06T01:37:15Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#28dd9a7f-cfd4-4ca8-9167-792007c510d4 Well, I gotta say Robbins, don't I? Dickens. I don't like Atwood, but it doesnt rise to that level. Swathes of the self help industry...I can't actually say that I read any of the 4 Agreements, but it has that smell. And the Celestine Prophacy. Dan Brown, at a guess. Mitchner too. Someone I'm not going to name, because last time I slammed the person I stopped hearing about him in this tribe. Judy Blume. Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:29:15 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#28dd9a7f-cfd4-4ca8-9167-792007c510d4 Crypto 2007-11-06T00:29:15Z http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#12c5e3cb-3d77-49ec-9998-81dcc7e8f48e list your top 3 *Robin Cook *Dean Koontz *Michael Chriton Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:20:38 GMT http://ijustfinishedreading.tribe.net/thread/617fd119-0331-4db0-846f-e7cff36dab1d#12c5e3cb-3d77-49ec-9998-81dcc7e8f48e HunnyDu 2007-11-06T00:20:38Z