So Overrated...

Bodnoirbabe · 09-03-2005, 12:07 PM

I had this conversation a while back with some people on another site. it was about the authors and/or books that we thought were waaaaay overrated. I'd like to hear what you all think is overrated.

Personally, the most overrated book i've read is Dracula. It becamse such a tedious read. It was boring, and Van Helsing kept going on and on about the same stuff. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, but to no avail. The only reason it's a classic is because it's the first book of it's kind to use the letter format to tell the story and its the first book about vampires, i believe. but god, what a snoozer.

cussedness · 09-03-2005, 02:26 PM

For its time period, Dracula was a remarkable read and I enjoyed it. I heavily dislike Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos and think he's overrated.

dreamydancer · 09-03-2005, 04:06 PM

I liked Dracula, but it's true, it is one of those books that you only like to read once. Yet can I watch the movie thousands of times.

The first fourth of the book mainly dealt with Mr. Harker feeling imprisioned in Dracula's castle. There were no maids or sevants, just the two of them. (Of course three sexy vampire ladies made one appearance.) Sounds kind of wrong if you ask me. But then again I'm more perverted than most men, it's quite sad actually.

Anyway Shakespeare is obviously overrated. His works are pretty good, not extradinary. I get tired of him. Year, after year with English teachers raving about Shakespeare. Uggghhhh. There's even an entire shelves at Borders dedicated to his works. And they believe me, they don't take up only a little space.

Imagine his ghost floating around and thinking, "Wow I've been dead for about five hundred years and people love me. This isn't cool I'm too popular."

dreamydancer · 09-03-2005, 04:13 PM

imprisoned and servants.

Kettu · 09-03-2005, 07:10 PM

the bible...

I never finished it

MondoHeather · 09-03-2005, 11:45 PM

I never got into Stoker's Dracula until I checked out a copy of it called "The Essential Dracula." It's the same book but with lavishly detailed footnotes courtesy of Leonard Wolf. It made a huge difference on how enjoyable a read it was. There are just details in the book that most modern day readers, like myself, would normally miss. So to have that kind of historical cushion was really nice.

As for overrated, definitely Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina." I love and respect a lot of Russian literature, even the stuff that I personally didn't care for. But I had an intense reaction to this book. Mainly one of boredom and annoyance.

Sarkphagos · 09-05-2005, 05:54 PM

Well, to be honest, I loved Dracula. The narration through letters, I felt, add realism and personality to the horror. I might as well add the same for Lovecraft. Particullarily his capitalized sudden conclusion lines. Its like a mockery of the punch line of a joke. Of course, Lovecraft has been sort of a personal, 'no one else likes it' sort of thing for me. Everyone loves Poe, no one even knows who Lovecraft is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bodnoirbabe

Personally, the most overrated book i've read is Dracula. It becamse such a tedious read. It was boring, and Van Helsing kept going on and on about the same stuff. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, but to no avail. The only reason it's a classic is because it's the first book of it's kind to use the letter format to tell the story and its the first book about vampires, i believe. but god, what a snoozer.

See right there is your problem: Dracula is a _classic_, thus you must expect it to be slightly boring. Have you _ever_ read a classic that was _gripping_? You don't have the proper mindset to appreciate books like that. If I expected Dante's Divine Comedy to be gripping, I would have been severly dissapointed. As it was, expected it to have insteresting _content_ but boring _syntax_. Thus I greatly enjoyed it. : )

Anyway, The most overrated series I think is the "Left Behind" series. I am Christian (and attended Christian school), so I have met quite a few people who swear by it. I tried reading the first book (my grandmother gave it to me) and it had absolutely no content. The dictionary would have been more insteresting and had a thicker plot.
I suppose the series is a little relavent here tho, since I doubt any of you had the misfortune to read it.

dreamydancer · 09-05-2005, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarkphagos

Its like a mockery of the punch line of a joke. Of course, Lovecraft has been sort of a personal, 'no one else likes it' sort of thing for me. Everyone loves Poe, no one even knows who Lovecraft is.

That's not true a lot of people love him. (If you're referring to goths in particular not people in general.)

winged_dreams · 09-05-2005, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cussedness

For its time period, Dracula was a remarkable read and I enjoyed it. I heavily dislike Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos and think he's overrated.

Le shock! I adore Lovecraft! I think he's an amazing writer.

Bodnoirbabe · 09-06-2005, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarkphagos

Dracula is a _classic_, thus you must expect it to be slightly boring.

Ugh...no it doesn't. I've read plenty of "classics" that i found very entertaining and worth their titles. Pride and Prejudice, 1984, anything my Mr. Twain, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Beowulf, Catch 22, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, ******...

The list goes on.

Maybe if you set out with the expectation that something will be boring, it will be. I however, read classics with the expectation that they will be great. that's why they're classics. Dracula was severly lacking in the sense of entertainment. It was drab, boring and far too much"God will save us! Dracula has a childs brain!" and not enough action.

And i actually LIKED the Left Behind serious. Once you get over all that preaching and get to the action of the books, it's great. The style was simple. i mean, it's not like, the greatest literature of all time, but it was a fun read.

You know what else was overratted? The Five People You Meet In Heaven. God, that book was awful. Which is sad, because it is actually a GREAT concept, but the syle of the writting was so...childish and uneducated that it was too sickining to read. I would like to see a talented author take that idea and make that book better then it was.

Bodnoirbabe · 09-06-2005, 01:13 AM

whoa....i can't type in l o l i t a? What the heck is all that about?

Sarkphagos · 09-06-2005, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bodnoirbabe

Maybe if you set out with the expectation that something will be boring, it will be. I however, read classics with the expectation that they will be great. that's why they're classics. Dracula was severly lacking in the sense of entertainment. It was drab, boring and far too much"God will save us! Dracula has a childs brain!" and not enough action.

And i actually LIKED the Left Behind serious. Once you get over all that preaching and get to the action of the books, it's great. The style was simple. i mean, it's not like, the greatest literature of all time, but it was a fun read.

I kind of liked the "God will save us" part.... Of course people look for different things in their books (just like they do in their music). For instance, I never took to Mark Twain and (obvious) Left Behind. The funny part is one of my complaints of Left Behind (and I only read the first book, so its all based on that one) is: nothing happened, not enough action. :-|

Of Lovecraft, we don't really have a 'goth' population where I live, so I was refering to people I know. Actually, now I have gotten a couple of my friends into it and we have much fun putting up 'Cthulhu for Prez' everytime thier is an election (of any sort) and quoting "Ia, Ia Cthulhu fhtagn!" at passerbys. And of course, that's just the fun part.... :wink:

MorgaineFey · 09-17-2005, 02:44 AM

Ayn Rand...just about anything she wrote seems to get more credit than it's worth for me. The woman seems to just drone on, and on, and on, and...well, you get the idea. Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, same book different names, occupations, etc. really. The only one I remember finding worth the read was Anthem. Short, to the point, and an admirable snapshot of what her philosophy is all about...without the ackward sex scenes and cold metallic women.

Maybe I'm hopeless, but I consider the Bible a good read. Lots of sex and violence, with some interesting ideas on how to Be A Better Person thrown in. Read it as literature, not as a religious manual. You'll probably find it goes down much better.

Alain · 09-17-2005, 04:13 AM

Overrated? David Eddings, and Ann McCaffrey, that's who. I've enjoyed reading their books, don't get me wrong. The stories are fun, and their styles are a lot less awful than many fantasy authors out there, but the one truth remains - there are also many fantasy authors out there who do not write repetetive, cliche and predictable stories. These other authors also seem to have emotions and descriptive talents outside the scope of the initial bestselling novel, and can hold my attention for much longer.

I never object to an Eddings or McCaffrey book, but I would greatly appreciate it if others would stop telling me that they are the epitome of creative talent and paragons of perfect narrative. I get the same emotion when I see my brother thinking he is hardcore alternative because he is listening to Metallica and Aerosmith.

Raven113 · 09-18-2005, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alain

Overrated? David Eddings, and Ann McCaffrey

I'm right there with you when it comes to Ann McCaffrey.
I have several Wiccan friends who keep raving about Kim Harrison. Ascribing Ms. Harrison any form of literary credit makes me question if the person is in fact, literate. Her work is little better than the trash in the "Romance" section of a grocery store. I shouldn't be so harsh, as I was unable to finish the copy of "Dead Witch Walking" that was lent to me... didn't even get halfway through before I tossed aside and read the back of a box of Pepperidge Farm Generous Cut Sourdough Cheese Croutons I had in the cabinet. Pepperidge Farm has some quality writers compared to some of the books I've read lately.

thejugglingtroll · 09-18-2005, 08:05 AM

Need I mention Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings? Though I can't decide if it's the books that are shit or if it's the ridiculous amount of hype surrounding them that pisses me off. I suspect it's a bit of both.

...And I'm afraid to say Stephen King, too. He is a good writer, but for some reason his books never really grabbed me. I always thought his writing translated better onto the screen.

winged_dreams · 09-18-2005, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thejugglingtroll

Need I mention Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings?

Heh. Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite books. XD

Lourleen · 09-18-2005, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thejugglingtroll

Need I mention Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings? Though I can't decide if it's the books that are shit or if it's the ridiculous amount of hype surrounding them that pisses me off. I suspect it's a bit of both.

I totally agree with you!! I read the Hobbit many years ago, but now when I try to face the trilogy........God! I can't stand it!

Regarding overrated writing, as a Spanish student my number one is El Quijote. I could never read it completely when I was at School. It was extreeeemely long and it's not as good as all that! All this Spanish proud in the anniversary traduced on never-ending advertising, sponsors.... (Sorry for the defenders of Cervantes, jeje)

By the way, Dracula was not the first literary work on Vampires; one of the first was The Vampire, by John Polidori. However, it became a reference in the society of that time, because it is located in that moment of time, not in a remote past, and used the historical character of Vlad. Appart from that, it can be a little bit boring, but I still consider it a masterpiece. :wink:

Black Gestalt · 09-18-2005, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kettu

the bible...

I never finished it

Hell yeah.

I would say Frankenstein. I was very dissapointed.

Morpheus_Noctifer · 09-18-2005, 09:57 PM

Well, I think I'll head for a different country and say the most overrated book is James Joyce's <I> Ulysses </I>. His other works are very good, but this proves that just because you can imitate the dominant writing styles of every period of British Literature does NOT mean you should do so in a single text. It's also a very long and tedious read that causes an overwhelming sense of relief when one finishes reading it.

Star of Blight · 09-18-2005, 10:25 PM

I may loose "goth points" for this, but I find Poe heavily fucking over rated.

I just don't understand what people see in that mans writings, I could spew better drivel by swallowing a vial of ink and then vomiting it out over paper. You've heard the Monkey's with Typewriters bit? Well yeah, think that. He's about as evocative and interesting as the sunday paper really. And yeah, feel free to stone me for this one, but I just fucking hate the guy.

Sarkphagos · 09-18-2005, 11:27 PM

Lord of the Rings.... well, I didn't find it gripping put it was good. If I am going to be fanatic about Tolkien, it would be for the Silmarillion. I heard people compare to the Bible, but hey, I like the Bible (favorite book: Eccelasties. "Useless, useless, everything is useless) and the stories are so epic and tragic.
Fingolfin, Hurin (and his whole house), Feanor, Morgoth.... people who dislike the Silmarillion have no passion, I often think.
But whatever.

wikked · 09-20-2005, 11:02 AM

I remember that during high school, I thought ALL of the required readings were overrated. Sure, I enjoyed them, but I often wondered if any of the authors would be disturbed that people were putting the ANAL into analyzing the story. Can't a color or type of tree just be there without any meaning?

Raven113 · 09-20-2005, 12:03 PM

Well, to paraphrase George Carlin paraphrasing Sigmund Freud..."Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes it's a big brown dick".

MrMaelstrom · 09-20-2005, 12:42 PM

How can you decide on what is overrated without agreeing on a definition first?

It's all about what YOU like that ends up on everyone's post.

So this is pointless...

It's all useless...

Life is hopeless...

I hope you know I'm feeling really depressed right now...

So, can we agree on a standard for overrated?... And by whom? Like the mentioning of the Cure and Siouxsie by goths, for example? Does it apply to the rest of the world (outside whatever constitutes this subculture - ain't that one a pickle as well?)?

Just a coupl'a thoughts...