DBD 7.9.09 THE POLITICS OF FAILURE HAVE FAILED!

Where does she put them out?

I tried to figure out how many books I read. I think we must be higher than average, because I read about 40-50 books a year. Probably 15 non-fiction, the rest fiction. Perhaps this is why the CGB has the occasional intelligent discussion.

I’m more forgiving of character development, plot, etc in movies, where I know I’m just there to be entertained for a specific amount of time. But with a book, I’m investing time which can be revoked at any moment. So if anything is cliche or boring, I move on. (about 5 more books a year I will start and then drop.) I read fiction for enjoyment and new worlds to delve into, but it has to be engrossing and encompassing.

Orson Scott Card is one of the better authors out right now when it comes to character development.

Another to check out is John Scalazi, his dialogue is very good.

So going back to your Harry Potter comment, by your definition one could say that it does in fact have literary merit because it addresses universal themes. The use of stock characters doesn’t eliminate that possibility. As to the clunky dialog etc., fine, but that’s a technical deficiency.

It seems like you’re dancing around saying that if something isn’t hard to read, it’s not got any merit… and in the case of the Harry Potter books, we’re talking about children’s books here.

Oh My GOD, that’s fantastic!!!

Shakespeare and other Ye Olde Englishe books ruined reading for me in high school. I hated that decoding words crap. I’d tell kids to read anything, just as long as you are reading it’s all good with me.

new, I find used bookstores have the same problem for me that the library has. I like to go into a bookstore and see what’s new, what’s glossy, I like to browse. I especially like the staff recommends. But used and the library really work if I know what I’m looking for at the start… Just my opinion.

But my all means if you know of a great used bookstore that has nice displays and staff recommends, then let me know!

Rec’d! That’s where I got most of my textbooks, and a decent number of other books I couldn’t find other places. “California Pilgrimage” FTW (well, tomorrow)!

geez, at this rate, I might get to finish reading Robert Jordan’s “Wheel Of Time” before I get back to this series…and Robert Jordan died last year!

Note, this is a discussion point, not an endorsement of what Wikipedia says:

The word “literature” has different meanings depending on who is using it. It could be applied broadly to mean any symbolic record, encompassing everything from images and sculptures to letters. In a more narrow sense the term could mean only text composed of letters, or other examples of symbolic written language (Egyptian hieroglyphs, for example). An even more narrow interpretation is that text have a physical form, such as on paper or some other portable form, to the exclusion of inscriptions or digital media. The Muslim scholar and philosopher Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (702-765 AD) defined “literature” as follows: “Literature is the garment which one puts on what he says or writes so that it may appear more attractive.”1 added that literature is a slice of life that has been given direction and meaning, an artistic interpretation of the world according to the percipient’s point of views. Frequently, the texts that make up literature crossed over these boundaries. Russian Formalist Roman Jakobson defines literature as “organized violence committed on ordinary speech”, highlighting literature’s deviation from the day-to-day and conversational structure of words. Illustrated stories, hypertexts, cave paintings and inscribed monuments have all at one time or another pushed the boundaries of “literature.”

People may perceive a difference between “literature” and some popular forms of written work. The terms “literary fiction” and “literary merit” often serve to distinguish between individual works. For example, almost all literate people perceive the works of Charles Dickens as “literature,” whereas some critics[citation needed] look down on the works of Jeffrey Archer as unworthy of inclusion under the general heading of “English literature.” Critics may exclude works from the classification “literature,” for example, on the grounds of a poor standard of grammar and syntax, of an unbelievable or disjointed story-line, or of inconsistent or unconvincing characters. Genre fiction (for example: romance, crime, or science fiction) may also become excluded from consideration as “literature.”

What evidence do you have that they read books less?

Is passing a budget Arnold’s job? Doesn’t at least some, if not most, of the responsibility fall to the legislature? Of course, the legislature as a body is the perfect structure for diffusing blame, as everyone is frustrated that they can’t get anything done, but everyone is proud of their own particular representative for advocating their own interests, even if that means being little more than an obstructionist. The Governor is just an easy target for blame.