So, fiction is not literature? Explain Homer, please, the father of modern literature, for me. It's actually only recently that NONfiction has been considered literature. Sure, there's a bit of nonfiction in every fictional story, but even the "truest" story has something fictional about it. It's a story.
"This is fiction, not literature." That sentence makes no sense to me.
optional keyword wrote:
"This is fiction, not literature." That sentence makes no sense to me.
I may be wrong, but my inference was that Follett does not write *well* and this disqualifies it from being literature. Perhaps in the way The Da Vinci Code is fiction, but not very good literature. But to each his (or her) own.
I am just finishing reading "Hawaii" by James Michener. I went to Hawaii for the first time this summmer and someone recommended this book to me as a good fictional history account of the islands. I have really enjoyed it.
I will agree with you on this book as well, read it about 10 years ago,very interesting read!
bauhaus wrote:
Sometimes a Great Notion, Ken Kesey, about logging in Oregon and, oh, the human condition. This is literature
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett; about middle ages, architecture, how society developed. This is fiction, not literature.
First man in rome (and a number of books that follow it). Roman republic during the lead up to the establishment of empire. Marius, sulla, ceaser, pompey; civil war, political intrigue, sex, murder, demagoguery, and all historically accurate. Colleen mccullough
http://www.amazon.com/First-Man-Rome-Colleen-McCullough/dp/0380710811
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bauhaus wrote:
Sometimes a Great Notion, Ken Kesey, about logging in Oregon and, oh, the human condition. This is literature
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett; about middle ages, architecture, how society developed. This is fiction, not literature.
I would also recommend pillars of the earth, it is probably one of the best books I have ever read. There is a sequel, at worlds end, that is also pretty good if you like pillars.
I would say pretty much the four/five books I've read by Michael Crichton all fit that bill. I mean it's all crap fiction, but it is fairly entertaining and the historical/technological stuff is nicely written into the storyline. I have learned quite a few things reading his books.
Big John wrote:
I would say pretty much the four/five books I've read by Michael Crichton all fit that bill. I mean it's all crap fiction, but it is fairly entertaining and the historical/technological stuff is nicely written into the storyline. I have learned quite a few things reading his books.
Crichton books are entertaining to read.
State of Fear will teach you everything you need to know about global warming.
'All Quiet on the Western Front' by Erich Remarque if you want to know what it must have been like to be a WWI soldier fighting in the trenches.
Rand, Orwell, and the book 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull.'
umberto eco's books are pretty informative about the history of ideas, particularly religious beliefs: the name of the rose, baudolino, foucault's pendulum, the island of the day before.
islandgirl wrote:
I am just finishing reading "Hawaii" by James Michener. I went to Hawaii for the first time this summmer and someone recommended this book to me as a good fictional history account of the islands. I have really enjoyed it.
Agree. Michener's books, though now offically "old," encapsulate well historical origins of a place and take the locale and its peoples through the changes of time. I particularly liked "Poland" and "Centennial".
Moby Dick
Anything by David Eggers, especially What Is The What, mentioned earlier. Very introspective writing, I was so impressed with You Shall Know Our Velocity! that he instantly became a favorite.
Anything by Vonnegut and Orwell. Very important lessons in these books. Well, most of Vonnegut, at least.
Of Human Bondage by M. Somerset Maugham.
Grapes of Wrath will teach you a thing or two.
pompos wrote:
Crichton books are entertaining to read.
State of Fear will teach you everything you need to know about global warming.
Very true. And as George Carlin said - "The earth ain't goin' anywhere!"
But since global warming is somewhat of a myth and CERTAINLY NOT CAUSED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY, the fashionable term to get funding, grants, pass bills, and wrap lies with half truths is "Climate CHANGE."
Agreed.
I took it on my last whaling trip, and was pleasantly surprised to realize that I was already well-grounded in the fundamentals.
Vonnegut, Jr.
Robert Heinlein's books explore how various forms of governments could play out and even though he had a clear agenda, he USUALLY let you decide how you feel about each possibility rather than cramming ideology down your throat. Plus, his books are good reads (except for "JOB"...hated that one).
In a similar vein, Jack London's fiction was great and I (at least) feel like I learned something from his books: how pioneering would be and some life lessons, etc.
I second "All Quiet on the Western Front"; really makes you appreciate how terrible and senseless WWI was.
I would also recommend "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison - this book gave me a much better understanding of what racism before the civil rights movement was like.
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.