I might be swimming against the tide, but...

[skimom2]

I think Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, and Jack Kerouac are overrated.

And Chuck Palahniuk and Jonathan Franzen are irritating.

And I like being a SAHM, most of the time

Where do you swim against the current?

(Please, no politics or religion. I'm weary unto death of those topics.)

 

[Kurben]

One thing i'm thinking about is the Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer who won the Nobel Prize a couple of years back. I have never understood why people like him and so many, not only in sweden, consider him a great poet. Never liked him and consider him very overrated but i am in the minority. (whats a SAHM?) And i agree about Hemingway and Kerouac. Afraid i havent read Salinger.

Another thing which perhaps will get me into hot water is Dean Koontz. I have read about 10 of his novels. 2 were good, the rest were.... some ok for the moment and some i found boring. Another was Michael Crichton. A lot of great ideas but seldom they were made into a really good book. Decent thrillers but not so very much more.

 

[Sundrop]

I think Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, and Jack Kerouac are overrated.

And Chuck Palahniuk and Jonathan Franzen are irritating.

And I like being a SAHM, most of the time

Where do you swim against the current?

(Please, no politics or religion. I'm weary unto death of those topics.

I've only heard of two of the people you mentioned..... Guess I'm not missing out on much.
I do know some really entertaining local folks if you're interested

 

[Out of Order]

I prefer swimming with the tide. I get too pooped too fast swimming against her.

 

[Dana Jean]

I think Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, and Jack Kerouac are overrated.

And Chuck Palahniuk and Jonathan Franzen are irritating.

And I like being a SAHM, most of the time

Where do you swim against the current?

(Please, no politics or religion. I'm weary unto death of those topics.)

Agree.

Have you read On The Road? I was trying really hard to be cool and think it was a masterpiece like all the brainiacs do, but I just couldn't do it. I thought it was a confusing boring trip. Dean is my friend. We got on the road. We hitched a ride. We got high. We find chicks, man. We are too cool for school. We leave Dean. Bye bye Dean.

Chuck just gets weirder and weirder with his stuff. I just read Beautiful You about sex toys. Good lord. I think Chuck wrote this to see what crap he could get away with and we would still buy it. I bet he cackled the whole way through knowing the sheep would eat it up. Luckily I got it as advanced reader's copy.

Ernest's Old Man and the Sea had me wanting to personally throw Santiago into the murk to sleep with the fishes. The story itself could have been a short story and been interesting. A whole book?

Salinger's Catcher in the Rye did nothing for me either. Not badly written, interesting topic but I was bored once again.

Haven't read any Frandzen.

 

[fushingfeef]

I don't think Meryl Streep is a good actress, at least not since Sophie's Choice, but what do I know?

 

[Spideyman]

I think Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, and Jack Kerouac are overrated.

And Chuck Palahniuk and Jonathan Franzen are irritating.

And I like being a SAHM, most of the time

Where do you swim against the current?

(Please, no politics or religion. I'm weary unto death of those topics.)

Swimming against the tide can be a good thing. Agree with your post.

 

[skimom2]

I've only heard of two of the people you mentioned..... Guess I'm not missing out on much.
I do know some really entertaining local folks if you're interested

Very interested! I love finding something new

 

[swiftdog2.0]

IMHO, all of the Beat writers were pretentious and extremely overrated. Benzedrine fueled gibberish most of it. And Neil Cassady? A horrible, manipulative human being.

 

[skimom2]

Agree.

Have you read On The Road? I was trying really hard to be cool and think it was a masterpiece like all the brainiacs do, but I just couldn't do it. I thought it was a confusing boring trip. Dean is my friend. We got on the road. We hitched a ride. We got high. We find chicks, man. We are too cool for school. We leave Dean. Bye bye Dean.

Chuck just gets weirder and weirder with his stuff. I just read Beautiful You about sex toys. Good lord. I think Chuck wrote this to see what crap he could get away with and we would still buy it. I bet he cackled the whole way through knowing the sheep would eat it up. Luckily I got it as advanced reader's copy.

Ernest's Old Man and the Sea had me wanting to personally throw Santiago into the murk to sleep with the fishes. The story itself could have been a short story and been interesting. A whole book?

Salinger's Catcher in the Rye did nothing for me either. Not badly written, interesting topic but I was bored once again.

Haven't read any Frandzen.

"Well off white people whining" books. Not a fan.

Yup, I was bored to tears by On The Road and Catcher in the Rye.

 

[fushingfeef]

IMHO, all of the Beat writers were pretentious and extremely overrated. Benzedrine fueled gibberish most of it.

I do have a soft spot for the drug-addled spectacle of William S. Burroughs, whom I wouldn't lump in with the rest, but I would concede that his stuff can't be everyone's cup of tea...heck, that's part of the reason I like it.

 

[carrie's younger brother]

I can't stand George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Leo DiCaprio and all the other pretty boy/men actors: their looks or their acting.
Give me a good, real actor like John Turturro, Paul Giamatti, Jeff Goldblum, etc. These guys may not be great looking but they can play against type and act the hell out of everything they are in.

 

[KingAHolic]

John Turturro, Paul Giamatti, Jeff Goldblum

Love, Love, Love! Love all 3 of your choices! Especially Turturro and Giamatti - two of my very very favorites!

 

[swiftdog2.0]

I do have a soft spot for the drug-addled spectacle of William S. Burroughs, whom I wouldn't lump in with the rest, but I would concede that his stuff can't be everyone's cup of tea...heck, that's part of the reason I like it.

Burroughs was more heroin fueled. A contemporary of the Beats but a different style.

 

[skimom2]

Burroughs was more heroin fueled. A contemporary of the Beats but a different style.

I was thinking much the same. He might be contemporary with the Beats, but he came from a different place.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

For me:

I prefer Sammy to Dave in Van Halen.

I hate most everything Disney.

I hated ET.

I don't consider Elvis to be the King of Rock and Roll.

I prefer the DH rule in baseball.

 

[carrie's younger brother]

Love, Love, Love! Love all 3 of your choices! Especially Turturro and Giamatti - two of my very very favorites!

My all-time favorite Turturro movie is Quiz Show. He is so great in that! I love Ralph Fiennes in it too.

 

[carrie's younger brother]

For me:

I prefer Sammy to Dave in Van Halen.

I hate most everything Disney.

I hated ET.

I don't consider Elvis to be the King of Rock and Roll.

I prefer the DH rule in baseball.

I have disliked ET from the day I saw it back in 1982 when it first came out. Bad, bad, bad movie. Bad (and I don't mean good).

 

[skimom2]

I like broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach...all those things 'everyone' hates.
I like having my kids home for the summer.
I don't mind emotional manipulation in books/movies (even when I can see it) if the writer does it well.

 

[swiftdog2.0]

I prefer V8 power to 4 cylinder economy.

I never liked Everybody Loves Raymond.

I routed for the shark in Jaws.

I believe in personal responsibility and accountability.