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Originally posted by KSig RC
Whoa, you liked The Faerie Queene, but don't like Paradise Lost? Interesting . . . I find the Faerie Queene droll and uninteresting for the most part. Its didacticism makes me want to kick my own ass.
I'm finishing my English (American Lit) degree this year, so I've done extensive reading in the catagories most have picked from, and I'll agree with most all - good selections guys(although Brave New World is potentially the most overrated book ever, in my opinion - Aldous Huxley was a fucking moron).
My favorite "book" of all time would be Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn - although it's more of a full-length essay. My favorite piece of literature of all time would probably be Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" - although I'm not the beatnik epicurian hippy that would make me seem.
In a more "classic" sense, I'll posit that the best (modern) book written would be Moby-Dick, because it never strays from the goals, themes, and style Melville intended (note that Fitzgerald was about there with Gatsby too), although it's not the most interesting read in parts.
For entertainment, however, I stick to things like our good ol' coked-up buddy, Sherlock Holmes, and brain candy. Good stuff.
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I LOVED The Faerie Queene and couldn't stand Paradise Lost -- but I was the only one in my entire class that liked Faerie Queene better. My professor hated me for it too; he was under the impression that Milton was God. Personally, I had to read Paradise Lost out loud just to keep from falling asleep.
I'm pretty sure that it would be fairly rewarding if only I could get into it . . . I liked certain things that Milton did with language -- I just can't get into it. I am a much more visual reader than verbal, too, so imagery appeals to me more than language does.
I love Sherlock Holmes, too. I found a hardcover edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes at a garage sale for three dollars this summer, and that made me so happy.
