Book (only real Litrature, no airport pulp) that you hated the most.

[Duke]

[ QUOTE ]
Can someone define the line between literature and pulp.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the way this works is that it's all pulp, unless it's very good. Then it can become 'literature.' I'd already classify much of Asimov and Clarke as literature. Tolkien's work began with a children's story, but I think that's definitely literature by now.

~D

[Duke]

[ QUOTE ]

Heart of Darkness

Just couldn't get into it, only made twenty or so pages

[/ QUOTE ]

I read it. I didn't love it, but it wasn't horrible either. I think you have to read the whole book before formulating a valuable opinion. Your assessment is fine for you, but reading 20 pages and stopping isn't much more than saying you didn't like the cover art so the book sucks. It's not going to tell someone else anything useful.

~D

[The once and future king]

Id qualify Litrature as writing as where the writing is good in off it self.

Asimov tells a great story, and I like his books. His writing in and off itself isnt that great. His book are driven by plot and scene mostly.

As for Clarke, his writing is just horrid, but he still tells a good story.

My favourite Sci fi writer is P.K.Dick. His writing is often awful but his plots and themes rock.

Very grey very subjective area.

[nicky g]

There's no adequate definition, but you can be sure if it contains the phrase "throbbing manhood", it's not proper literature.

More seriously I'd define it, if forced to do so, as what lasts. Good literature is still reasonably widely read and studied 100 years later. Bad isn't. The only people reading Jackie Collins in 100 years times will be amused social historians.

[elwoodblues]

[ QUOTE ]
My favourite Sci fi writer is P.K.Dick

[/ QUOTE ]

He's great. Have you read A Scanner Darkly? They are making it into a movie -- Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder. With this cast it could either be fantastic or a disaster --- no middle ground.

[The once and future king]

Through a Scanner is one of my faves.
Given the complexity of the plot (A guy spying on himself and not realising etc) I bet they [censored] the bed on this one.

My all time PKD read is UBIQ. Cant see how they could turn that into a movie either.

I cant remeber the name but I also liked the one where miners on mars would spend all there money on Barbi and Ken accesories, biuld up a town etc and then take a drug that put all the men and women inside the Ken and Barbie doll repsectively.

They would then go for a drive in the model car in the model town. Classic.

What did you think of Vanila Sky. I think this was the bravest and best screen adaption of PKDs themes and ideas. Though I imagine many would take issues with this.

Of course Blade Runner warrents a mention, but the sense of paranoir wasnt carried across from the Novel DADOES effectively IMHO.

[elwoodblues]

I agree about Scanner Darkly --- complicated. However, there were times when I was reading the book that I thought I was reading a screenplay. There's a scene where the druggies are accusing someone of stealing 3 of the gears on their 10 speed bike (because there were only 2 in front and five in back) that was priceless.

[ChipWrecked]

Horrid writing, um, well, if I took that much speed, I couldn't even sit at a keyboard, let alone be coherent.

I hear The Man in the High Castle is being made into a movie.

One of my favorites is Martian Time-Slip. A guy is en route to a meeting, but has memories of the meeting, and also of missing the meeting. Whoa.

[Senor Choppy]

[ QUOTE ]

ULYSSES by James Joyce

I defy ANYONE to read this book without going, "what the..." at least 20 times. It's unreadable.

How was this voted the greatest fiction work of the 20th century?

[/ QUOTE ]

I couldn't get anything out of it either, but I can understand why academics feel this way.

[sfer]

Yes, it is a great book. To not like it just makes me think, "The horror."