But that <Book> is the ultimate

[Fryk]

I was scrambling to find that Blackadder clip, but you beat me to it!

And yeah, Dune. Not a bad book, but the whole series gets weirder and weirder with each book after. It got so weird, I didn't even make it to book 6.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Shhhhh don't say that, it's the third time I've had to cross myself since I started reading this thread this morning.

Like this?

[machinest]

I really don't think plays should be read through like books. To me, that's part of what makes them so boring.

In high school I lucked out and found a shop that sold Shakespeare as graphic novels( full text versions) much more readable in that fashion.

[bunnyboy]

...Macbeth.

I read Julius Caeser in third year; I got to read as Brutus. It was seriously fun; I got to perform stabbage!

Shhhhh don't say that, it's the third time I've had to cross myself since I started reading this thread this morning.

[LewisLegion]

I love the story of Dune and of the Lord of the Rings but honestly, reading them was a headache and a half. I got through all of Lord of the Rings once, and vowed never again. The concepts are great and much of the language but it gets way too bogged down on certain unimportant aspects that you can literally skip ahead pages and miss nothing. I know that Tolkein is a genius and I truly love his STORY, but man, his writing style drives me bonkers.

Same with Dune. I tried to read that book four times and always stopped a chapter or two in. I read to enjoy the imagery, not get a headache and his style totally gives me a headache. The story and the original movie...I love. The book...not so much.

[Lace Neil Singer]

My fave Shakespeare plays are Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest and Macbeth.

I read Julius Caeser in third year; I got to read as Brutus. It was seriously fun; I got to perform stabbage!

[blas87]

I come from such a bassackwards place that kids loved reading Huck Finn in English because reading aloud, the teacher didn't care if they said "nigger" when reading about the character Nigger Jim.

Personally, I think Twain was a great author and we only read Huck Finn in that class, but I did go to the school library and find other books after that. Walt Whitman and Charles Dickens bored me to DEATH.

[jackfaire]

nor Lewis beyond Narnia.

I wholeheartedly agree.

An author I love that not a lot of others seem to have heard of is Edward Eager

[bunnyboy]

While I like SOME of the Bard, (Midsummer, Tempest, That Scottish Play, Lear) You only get the two he's sooooo well known for in any english class, take your pick of him... but your picks are *trumpets* Romeo and Juliet *sigh* the star crossed lovers, or Julius Ceasar the horrid tragedy.

And all this time I wanted to convince a drama teacher to let us do Titus Andronicus... or even something like.... That Scottish Play, but nope, in the world of High School English lit and drama, he only wrote two plays.

and as for books I dislike that everyone seems to, I can't stand Twain, nor Austin, nor Lewis beyond Narnia.

And I seem to like oddities like Chesterton... go fig.

[Boozy]

I don't like reading plays. I love love LOVE Shakespeare whenever I see it performed, but I have never enjoyed reading one.

Also, AdminAssistant: You are crazy for not liking the comedies! A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing are fantastically funny when done well. But again, a read-through does very little for them. They have to be performed.

[jackfaire]

Over the course of three years I had to study Romeo and Juliet in three different English classes in depth each time. When I went to see the ballet I heard the lines in my head.

[AdminAssistant]

I really don't think plays should be read through like books. To me, that's part of what makes them so boring.

It's a skill that you have to develop; plays have to be read with a mind toward production. If you're the type of person that visualizes well, it's much easier.

[Wingates_Hellsing]

I really don't think plays should be read through like books. To me, that's part of what makes them so boring.

It's roughly equivalent to reading through a film script as if it were a novel... doesn't work.

[Fryk]

I really don't think plays should be read through like books. To me, that's part of what makes them so boring.

[AdminAssistant]

I'm one of those people who didn't enjoy Shakespeare. Why? Well, when you have to read Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth or Hamlet every damn year...and having your English teacher spend about 3 *months* on it every year...you soon get tired of it. Boring as hell, in other words

That's really the fault of the teacher - and the tradition of theatre being taught in English/Literature classes. It's a completely different kind of literature. While R & J is very bleh, Hamlet has plenty in it to hold interest if it's taught well.