Show Library: Pseudointellectual Books That, in Fact, Suck

[Nate.]

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Hi gang.

In this thread we will list, and probably argue about, various books that the tiresomely pretentious love to talk about, but which are either impossible reads or have no real intellectual value.

I'll open with: Levitt and Dubner's <u>Freakonomics,</u> one of the more lightweight reads of my 'serious reading' career, that goes to show why, hey, it is a bad idea to try to write an entire book without a thesis. Oh, hey, 'Lemonjello' looks bad on a resume, imagine that.

Rattle 'em off.

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Interesting. I found the thesis to be "It's valuable and important to analyze data from the real world, and we should be prepared to accept results that surprise us and counter our instinct."

I'm familiar with math, statistics, and some of the more shocking fringes of contemporary academia, and I was still engaged and enlightened by much of Freakonomics. Work that illuminates the nature of discrimination, gang organization, and educational fraud can be readable without being lightweight.

--Nate

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while the work highlighted in freakonomics was interesting, levitt's original papers were well-written and accessible enough to have been collected as a book on their own, without dumbing down everything and removing all the econometrics in an attempt to pander to a wider audience.

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I think that's a fair criticism (though I'd disagree); claims that the book is pointless and mere fodder for pseudointellectual quacking, as the OP seems to make, strike me as unfair.

--Nate

[Blarg]

Gatsby is one of those I found really improves on subsequent readings. I was somewhat of a fan at first, but less certain than after I read it again.

[Nate.]

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Gatsby is one of those I found really improves on subsequent readings. I was somewhat of a fan at first, but less certain than after I read it again.

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Interesting. I'm on my second reading and am absolutely luxuriating in it. That said, I cried when I read it the first time, so it's going to be hard for me to enjoy it more now.

--Nate

[0evg0]

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Fight Club, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

No explanation needed

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Good call on Fight Club (going by the movie), but sarcasm about the Grinch right?

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You're a retard.

Do you see why?

[EYEWHITES]

i really dislike poe. everyone raves about him, but i think it sucks. I feel the shaksphere good but not all the hype comment.

i loved everybook kerouac wrote. And i disliked most of hemmingways books.

[Nate.]

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i really dislike poe. everyone raves about him, but i think it sucks. I feel the shaksphere good but not all the hype comment.

i loved everybook kerouac wrote. And i disliked most of hemmingways books.

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Harold Bloom agrees with you about Poe. I'm inclined to agree: I never find myself turning to Poe when I want to read something great.

Many scholars and lovers of literature have found Hemingway's short stories better and more enjoyable than his novels. They're quick reads. "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" and "Hills Like White Elephants" are two that are close to my heart.

--Nate

[wmonfor]

Cardo,

This is a good topic to discuss with a few friends that will agree with you, but it doesn't seem to work well on a message board. As you can see, all the pretentious a-holes came out in force to defend their book collections.

[fish2plus2]

I have to disagree about Poe. He is one of my favorites. Youve gotta listen to The Raven read by Christopher Walken.

[Nate.]

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Cardo,

This is a good topic to discuss with a few friends that will agree with you, but it doesn't seem to work well on a message board. As you can see, all the pretentious a-holes came out in force to defend their book collections.

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Heaven forbid you talk about books with someone that doesn't agree with you.

So if you think I'm (or someone else is) a "pretentious a-hole," why? What do you disagree with? Isn't the point to talk about these books?

--Nate

[Jeff W]

Catcher in the Rye makes me want to vomit.

I hate Ayn Rand(not politically motivated--I vote libertarian).

Steinbeck
Dickens
Whitman
Thoreau

I hate Faulkner and dislike Joyce, but I'm less confident since I've read few of their works.