Kemp Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 1. Hunter S Thompson 2. Oscar Wilde 3. Hemmingway 4. Rabbie Burns 5=. Roddy Doyle / Irvine Welsh (ok so its favourites not best!!) and the worst..... 1. Dan Brown 2. James Traynor 3. Gordon Legge 4. that twat who writes the scripts for love actually, all hugh grant movies 5. whoever the f**k writes the Keane songs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Sea Saint Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 and the worst..... 1. Dan Brown 2. James Traynor 3. Gordon Legge 4. that twat who writes the scripts for love actually, all hugh grant movies 5. whoever the f**k writes the Keane songs. 199149[/snapback] Did ye forget about Gerry f'ckn McNee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kemp Posted October 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Well thats the last time I try to start a topic. If I change it to top 5 types of turds will it start a more popular debate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Sea Saint Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Well thats the last time I try to start a topic.If I change it to top 5 types of turds will it start a more popular debate? 199630[/snapback] It'll take time but'll get there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chingford Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Bill Lees is already straining at the ...leash? Richard Curtis is a great - and rich - screenwriter. His writing works for sooo many people including his bank manager... Ah widnae knock him! Apart from being funny - it's excellently structured, positive and emotional Other great writers Alan Sharp Michael Oondaatje(?) - the English patient L. Grassic Gibbon Bud Neill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud the Baker Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 (edited) Kurt Vonnegut - Dropped the Jnr. as at 80+ years he's gotta outlived his dear old papa. Brought a touch of humanity to SF writing and always amusing. Robert Louis Stevenson - "Them that dies'll be the lucky ones" George Orwell - Big Brother IS watching you! Ray Bradbury - More than just science fiction. China Miéville - The best current SF author. King Rat, Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council & now Looking for Jake (just out: Sept. 2005). ******************************************** Close misses Philip K. Dick - Overlooked during his lifetime and died before Blade Runner was released as a film. Since then Total Recall, Screamers, Paycheck Minority Report have all been adapted. Mervyn Peake - Gormenghast Trilogy is superb, was dissapointed by the BBC adaption which treated it as a Austen/Bronte soap opera. Would've included him if he'd produced one other great novel. ********************************************** Most dreaded author - Gotta be J.K. Rowling. The first two Potter novels were OK but since then they've grown alarmingly large. At over 700 pages Book 5 was a real drag, Book 6 at 600 pages not much better. However the sprog likes 'em. Edited October 13, 2005 by Bud the Baker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windae cleaner Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 1 Irvine Welsh 2 James Herbert 3 Stephen King 4 Egdar Allen Poe 5 Robert Louis Stevenson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 I think this may have been done before however for novelists:- 1. Orwell without a doubt. 1984 is the most frightening book I’ve ever read because it all came true. 2. J.M. Coetzee. Writes with such a sparseness of words therefore there’s no place to hide yet he still manages such beauty in his work. 3. RLS. He’s magic. Imaginative and clever, and just think how much into the English language his work has become. How often do you hear of someone being a “Jekyll & Hyde character� And such gems as Treasure Island and Kidnapped as well. 4. Douglas Adams. He was feckin’ mental but never less than very funny and thoroughly entertaining. Died WAY too early. 5. C.S. Lewis. Always been a fan of Tolkien but I think Lewis did his stuff first. I’ve always been entertained by the Narnia books no matter the age I’ve read them and there’s always been a good moral behind them all. Just missing out – Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Bill Bryson, Iain Banks/Iain M. Banks, Carl Hiaasen (I’d say Heart$parky as well but I’d sound all licky-bum-crawl) and Spike Milligan. Ones I don’t like. Irvine Welsh is pish. Trainspotting and the Acid House were good but the rest are completely devoid of plot, characterisation or, indeed, anything other than regional slang, foul language and violence. f**king bollocks. Kathy Lette. I’m stunned at how the moo gets published but I’m even more stunned that she’s not only popular but seen as something of a role model for many females. Stephen King. I read his stuff to remind me how good others are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 1 Irvine Welsh2 James Herbert 3 Stephen King 4 Egdar Allen Poe 5 Robert Louis Stevenson 199744[/snapback] Always look on the briiiight side of life...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lees Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 5. C.S. Lewis. Always been a fan of Tolkien but I think Lewis did his stuff first. I’ve always been entertained by the Narnia books no matter the age I’ve read them and there’s always been a good moral behind them all. 200106[/snapback] Hmmm. The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe was 1950, LOTR 1954. But then again, The Hobbit was 1937, so it's debatable who was first - I'd prefer to think it was Tolkien, and he's preferable to Lewis too, IMO - though both were devout Christians, Tolkien's work is mercifully free of the heavily laboured ham-fisted Christian allegory of the Narnia Chronicles, though equally classifiable as the classic manichean tale of the struggle betwen good & evil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest murdy Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 tale of the struggle betwen good & evil. 200116[/snapback] aren't most stories/films ultimately about the stuggle of good v evil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Hmmm. The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe was 1950, LOTR 1954. But then again, The Hobbit was 1937, so it's debatable who was first - I'd prefer to think it was Tolkien, and he's preferable to Lewis too, IMO - though both were devout Christians, Tolkien's work is mercifully free of the heavily laboured ham-fisted Christian allegory of the Narnia Chronicles, though equally classifiable as the classic manichean tale of the struggle betwen good & evil. 200116[/snapback] Bugger, I forgot, I'm not allowed to have beliefs..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud the Baker Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Basic Plotlines Guy 1. Meets Girl (or mutated female beetle in post apocalytic society) 2. Saves World (with help of said female beetle) 3. Learns Better (or Grows Up) 4. Goes on Quest 5. Goes Home (or finds a home that he might not even have been looking for) 6. Gets Killed (and probably never had a chance to do anything about it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Whoops! Forgot to put in I'll start an argument otherwise.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chingford Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 aren't most stories/films ultimately about the stuggle of good v evil? 200128[/snapback] Bud the Baker has given a good start - but here's more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorizaar Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 1. Orwell without a doubt. 1984 is the most frightening book I’ve ever read because it all came true. 200106[/snapback] Probably because Orwell's nightmare vision of the future was the inspiration to the future itself. It's all Orwell's fault!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 In which case someone needs to write a classic that portrays the human race of pulling it out the fire and making a decent go of being a peaceful race and all being calm and relaxed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 Emdy gimme a hand here? I’ve a list if a few authors I’d like to give a bash at reading their stuff however with each of them I dunno where to start. Anyone got any recommendations? 1. Tom Sharpe 2. P.G. WOdehouse 3. Tom Holt 4. Dickens 5. Graham Greene Ta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lees Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 Bugger, I forgot, I'm not allowed to have beliefs..... 200129[/snapback] You can believe anything you like, Greigy boy, but do you agree with my assessment of CS Lewis or not ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 You can believe anything you like, Greigy boy, but do you agree with my assessment of CS Lewis or not ? 201707[/snapback] Correct, I shall believe what I want and I believe that I’ll disagree. Trying to teach a child the difference between good and bad can’t be heavily laboured and far from being ham-fisted I’ve always thought Lewis was very precise and to the point with what he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lees Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 Correct, I shall believe what I want and I believe that I’ll disagree. Trying to teach a child the difference between good and bad can’t be heavily laboured and far from being ham-fisted I’ve always thought Lewis was very precise and to the point with what he said. 201713[/snapback] I did say that both Tolkien and Lewis were about Good vs Evil, or if you prefer, right vs wrong. My point was that Tolkien lacked the in my view rather laboured and far too obvious, or too precise Christian allegory of Lewis's Narnia (Aslan as Christ, murdered then resurrected, etc, etc). That said, Gandalf has also been interpreted by some as a similar christ-representative figure as Aslan (also undergoing resurrection), although Tolkien himself, when asked, said "I cordially dislike allegory in all its forms". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 I often wonder how many people who’ve read The Lion… have read the rest of the Narnia stuff. It makes for very interesting reading. Some of them are a lot less obvious in their point and have some subtle yet clever meanings. The Last Battle features a haggard old ape throwing a dead lion’s coat on a donkey and pretending it’s Aslan and he’s the spokesman (or spokesmonkey, or whatever). A reference, as far as I can see, to false prophets which is pretty relevant in the present day, what with Dubya allegedly claiming he’s on a mission from God. However, The Magician’s Nephew, which was the first one in the series, partly takes place in a dead world, tired and worn, that existed before Narnia did. What does the reader make of that? That Lewis is saying perhaps there was something before this world? Perhaps it’s what happens at the end of this one? Perhaps this is what happens when you take hallucinogenics? I dunno. I only take from a story what I take and I’ve always taken thorough enjoyment from Lewis’s work. It makes more sense than reading John Grisham and Tom Clancy anyway. My favourite, by the way, is The Horse and His Boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lees Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 Well, you're right HH - I'm one of those people who read the Lion and the Witch but didn't bother reading the others. I found the tone of the book a little too juvenile. I have read all of Tolkien's work though, excepting large chunks of The Silmarillion, and find it preferable. Might have a wee shufti at The Horse and his Boy, mind. Thanks for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RED Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 Emdy gimme a hand here? I’ve a list if a few authors I’d like to give a bash at reading their stuff however with each of them I dunno where to start. Anyone got any recommendations?1. Tom Sharpe 2. P.G. WOdehouse 3. Tom Holt 4. Dickens 5. Graham Greene Ta. 201705[/snapback] Sharpe - Porterhouse Blue or Riotous Assembly Dickens - Great Expectations Greene - Brighton Rock Don't know about the other two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 A bit juvenile??? Well, it IS a childrens book. Anyway, I'd advise going from the first one, The Magician's Nephew, right to the The Last Battle and in that order. Put yourself in a childs state of mind and that should help you appreciate them. You could whizz through them in no time. Yes, the over all feel is that the blokes a God-fearing person, and he makes no bones about it, but from a purely entertaining point of view for a kid then they're second to none as far as I'm concerned. It had always appeared to me that you graduated from reading them to reading Tolkien. I certainly did. Though The Silmarillion was, frankly, pants. By the way, thanks RED. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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