Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Stephen King...and gifted writers of the last quarter century Not really. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Five of her books are among the most challenged, actually, which is just weird to me. I'm guessing Are You There God, It's Me Margaret has been challenged so much (68 tmes I think the ALA site said) is not because of the fact that it's about a girl getting her period, but also because of the sexuality in it. Well, it's hardly sexual, but there is a scene in the basement at a party involving a game of spin the bottle (scandalous, I tell you!), and a scene where Margaret stuffs her bra so that she'll have breasts like her next door neighbor. The game of Spin the Bottle involved the boy and girl (the person spinning and the person the bottle pointed to) going into a closet in the basement and having to stay in there for a certain amount of time, during which they were supposed to kiss each other. I'm guessing it's because of that alone that the book has been challenged so many times, although since some of the books have been challenged because of "sexual education," it might have been challenged for that, too, because Lord knows we don't need 13-year-old girls reading about other girls their age getting their periods and kissing boys for the first time and also dealing with peer pressure. It's probably because the name "God" appears in the title. I mean, we can't have such a blatant endorsement of God and/or Jesus in a school anywhere. Y'know, that's probably true, too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CheroneWasMurdered Report post Posted September 23, 2003 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine Cujo by Stephen King Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Dead Zone by Stephen King The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene The books in bold, are the ones I have read, all I have to say is, you gotta be fuckin' kidding me, right?! The others ones that I plan to read, again let me say, you gotta be fuckin' kidding me, right?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheZsaszHorsemen Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Stephen King...and gifted writers of the last quarter century Not really. Name a writer in the last 25 years who has been more influential. Hell, name any horror author post-Lovecraft who's his equal. If you read his better work, his characters are brilliantly done. They become real. And you care for them as they're put through absolute hell by King. I mean, it's not as if he's a "horror author" he's an author who just happens to do horror and he does it very well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CheroneWasMurdered Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Why isn't 1984 on the list? We can't have our kids realizing what the current world is turning into now can we? Shhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! John Ashcroft might hear you and join in on the fun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HarleyQuinn 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Jeez...I've read 24 books on that list, I must be such a criminal eh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vyce 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Stephen King really is a great writer. I'm not getting all snooty and putting him on the same level as Melville or Tolstoy, mind you, but a hundred years from now he will be remembered fondly by the literary community. It may pain some for me to say this, but he's likely "our" generation's Edgar Allan Poe (although at pushing 60 he's likely a bit too old to be in most of our generation). Certainly he's at least "our" generation's Lovecraft. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted September 23, 2003 I'd have no problem with the banning and burning of Where's Waldo books. awful horrible stuff...make it go away Bastard parent and religous groups were also responsible for sweeping horror comics and magazines under the rug in late '60's. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dmann2000 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Years ago when I was in grade school those Choose-your-own-adventure books were big. Basically, you were a character and were on some sort of quest and got to pick your person's actions. I usued to just fly through a book and read all the bad endings. Well anyway, there was this line of books called Wizards, Warriors & You. Each book was a different adventure and you got to pick being, surprise, a wizard or warrior (I was usually the warrior first). Anyway, soon after I started getting these books from some monthly book club my school had, it got banned. End of story... Lone Wolf was my choice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Corey_Lazarus 0 Report post Posted September 23, 2003 As a Lovecraft mark, I'm somewhat insulted that King is considered to be his equal. Lovecraft created a world of characters and creatures that have been used ever since. Name me ONE horror/sci-fi fan that does not have an idea of what the Necronomicon is. You'll also note the over-abundance of "Cthulhu" in modern horror/sci-fi culture. King's a very good author, and might one day make as big an impact as Lovecraft did, but until that day? No, sorry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Insanityman Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Catcher in the Rye is perhaps one of my favorite books. It really irks me to think that so many great books, classics, and senseless books are being banned. But whatever, delay the inevitable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Years ago when I was in grade school those Choose-your-own-adventure books were big. Basically, you were a character and were on some sort of quest and got to pick your person's actions. I usued to just fly through a book and read all the bad endings. I used to write choose-your-own-adventure posts here on the board. Back on topic, I've read many of these books and enjoyed many of those.I was very lucky in my American Studies class to read the books that I did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 The reason I say that King isn't that great an author is because he continues pumping out books at an absurd rate -- most of which are barely any different than his previous ones -- simply to continue making a profit. I'd put him more on the level of Tom Clancy than any "great" author simply for that reason. He had some very influential books, mind you; I'm not stupid enough to deny that. However, the sheer fact that his books really aren't exceptionally well written and the further fact that most are just drivel written for profit, and I can't say with a straight face that the man is our best author. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 I'd say Tim O'Brien is one of the best authors of modern years, if only for The Things They Carried. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 man, that list is pretty whacked... and no Tom Clancy books is pretty rare, since his books are painful to read and get hit by them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Well it makes sense. After all Worms > Jews. You witless xenophobe... If you can post your black hate I can post my Jew hate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Eagan469 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Why is there a topless woman in a children's picture book? The "Where's Waldo?" books were originally made in Europe (called "Where's Wally?"), where the sense of humor and sexual tolerance is much different than here in America. Specifically, in the upper right section of one illustration there is the tiny drawing of a topless sunbather lying face down. Someone is splashing her, causing her to arch her back, making one breast partially visible. So according to that statement, it's really not that big of a deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jay Z. Hollywood Report post Posted September 24, 2003 "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" actually isn't poetry. It's Angelou's autobiography. It's probably on the list because there's pedophilia, rape, murder and teen pregnancy in the story. As a book, eh, it's decent. I don't see why school's teach it. It cuts off before Angelou has any giant revelations about her life. I'm pretty sure it got continued in another one of her books. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kahran Ramsus 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 There was a lot of nudity in the books we had in elementary school here in Canada. Quite a few grusome deaths too. Canadian children's lit is far more fatalistic than most American books (To Kill a Mockingbird being an exception). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheZsaszHorsemen Report post Posted September 24, 2003 As a Lovecraft mark, I'm somewhat insulted that King is considered to be his equal. Lovecraft created a world of characters and creatures that have been used ever since. Name me ONE horror/sci-fi fan that does not have an idea of what the Necronomicon is. You'll also note the over-abundance of "Cthulhu" in modern horror/sci-fi culture. King's a very good author, and might one day make as big an impact as Lovecraft did, but until that day? No, sorry. King created two or three distinct universes, the Bachman universe, the Castle Rock/Derry/Salem's Lot universe, and the Dark Tower universe. Not all his work is in one of those three but most is. I hate to burst anyone's bubbles but while Lovecraft's imagination may have been greater, King is easily his better in terms of pure talent as a writer. I mean compare the two characterization, plot, dialogue and so on. King smokes him in every way. To be fair, no one likes Lovecraft for his prose or style anyway, but I still consider King's horror which is so diverse and surprisingly cerebral better then Lovecraft's de-evolved humans and monstrosities. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest TheZsaszHorsemen Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Oh and King in his short period of time already rivals Lovecraft in terms of influence in the horror genre, the entire crop of horror writers that's followed him was directly influenced him. You can't find a horror movie actor, director, or fan, that doesn't have a favorite King novel and doesn't consider him a great. (Hell, I'm sure you have a favorite King novel) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tom 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Christ, where did all the Stephen King love come from? The interesting this is, King was quite good for a while. I think his work entered a very serious decline around 1991-1992. He churned out three books (Misery, The Dark Half, Needful Things) that were all very good, and everything else since then has been pretty awful. It's obvious he chose quantity over quality a long time ago, which is a real shame. I think he could have been an influential writer had he wanted to, but he decided to saturate the market and go for the almighty dollar. C'est la vie. There is no question that Lovecraft and Poe are both better horror writers than King. King did write a tremendous book recently, though it's nonfiction: On Writing is a wonderful and thought-provoking treatise on the craft and those who undertake it. It's by far the best thing he's put out in more than a decade, and I have no doubts that sad trend will continue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Now are these books no longer available in libraries or bookstores, or what? Can I still own them, just not get them at a Library anymore? You can still find them in any library, bookstore, etc. They were just challenged by particular interests at some point in time. And they've been banned by some school districts/libraries in southern and midwest states. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Lone Wolf was my choice Woah, that name brought up some memories. I may be thinking of something else, but was that the one where you had a "mini D&D game" when you had to roll dice to determine if you beat a creature or not? Either way, those books had some great artwork... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vyce 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 I haven't read any of King's recent work (outside of Dreamcatcher, which was rather mediocre). I personally think he's more talented than author's who just churn out book after book for the almight dollar (like Clancy or Grisham). My comparison of him to Poe / Lovecraft is based upon posterity. Think about it, and you may reach the same conclusion. King has been, for that genre of literature, so influential that he has left a mark which, in the decades to come, will place him on a pedestal and allow him to be remembered with the same sort of notoriety that Poe or Lovecraft share. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
River City Rocker 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Catcher in the Rye is perhaps one of my favorite books. It really irks me to think that so many great books, classics, and senseless books are being banned. But whatever, delay the inevitable. I've always wondered exactly the reason why Catcher in the Rye is always being challenged, or even banned from the school. Is it strictly the foul language, or is it the fact that parents are afraid that their precious children could or would relate to Holden Caulfield's feelings and attitude? I read that book in senior year. I was one of maybe three or four students in my class who liked it. The rest were like "Eww! This book is messed up!" -Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted September 24, 2003 I think it easy to see why Religous, Parent or School groups could have a problem with Catcher In The Rye. The character of Holden. He's quite the little bastard and I can see why groups would have problems with younger children having access to it. I don't agree with the mindset, but it all goes back to the thinking of "won't someone think of the children". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 Well of course there are books that are probably iffy to have in a children's library or for a young child to be reading. Certainly Catcher In The Rye is not 5th grade reading material (and it shouldn't be because they probably wouldn't understand it) but is find for 8th grade and up at least. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cran Da Maniac 0 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 The Giver by Lois Lowry What the fuck? What was so offensive about this book? Cause the kid steals the baby and runs off? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dmann2000 Report post Posted September 24, 2003 I'd say Tim O'Brien is one of the best authors of modern years, if only for The Things They Carried. Which I read in High School and absolutely love (and this was a Catholic High School). Ever since I've wanted to try and write a screenplay from it, I even had the trailer in my head set to "Gimmie Shelter". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
