Lone Star Statements (one-star Amazon reviews)

GrannyGrump · 10-08-2013, 10:34 PM

I don't remember how I stumbled on this little list of perfect gems (hope it hasn't been posted here before)

...excerpts from actual one-star Amazon.com reviews of books from Time’s list of the 100 best novels from 1923 to the present. Some entries have been edited.

http://www.themorningnews.org/articl...tar-statements

I giggled a bit at some of these, shameful, I know.

CWatkinsNash · 10-08-2013, 11:19 PM

Some of those are hilarious! Others are rather... sad (To Kill a Mockingbird) but the review of Lord of the Flies was priceless just for "I am obsessed with Survivor, so I thought it would be fun."

Ntsimp · 10-08-2013, 11:31 PM

I've never read The Sound and the Fury, but I have read books I would describe this way:

Quote:

This book is like an ungrateful girlfriend. You do your best to understand her and get nothing back in return.

tubemonkey · 10-08-2013, 11:53 PM

Quote:

“The only good thing to say about this “literary” drivel is that the person responsible, Virginia Woolf, has been dead for quite some time now. Let us pray to God she stays that way.”

Spoiler:

GrannyGrump · 10-09-2013, 12:33 AM

That one made me snortle. (Poor Virginia, she didn't deserve this...)

Jessica Lares · 10-09-2013, 07:29 AM

When you take out the politics out of To Kill a Mockingbird, it's just a story about two kids being curious about their surroundings and questioning it.

Lord of the Flies is just about some kids stranded on an island subjected to darwinism and lack of parental supervision.

The kind of people who leave one-star reviews are the ones who don't get the significance of these classic works. They read it like any other modern piece of work and apply it to today's standards. There's also the problem that people read these books after reading all the others that derived from them, this causes it to be the "same old thing" and "boring".

If you can't comprehend the material, you might consider extending your education in the English language, including seeing how it has evolved over the last 100+ years. That and a good dictionary and a few encyclopedias.

Too far? Better than to say you lack the knowledge and should just not bother to try to read these books at all.

ProfCrash · 10-09-2013, 07:59 AM

eh

Or the truth is that many folks find classic literature to be boring or uninteresting. I enjoyed To Kill a MOckingbird and Lord of the Flies and pretty much would be content to go back in time and not read anything by the Bronte sisters. I had to read most of their works in school and have tried re-reading them as an adult and they still suck.

Sometimes the story works for folks and sometimes it doesn't. I don't have a problem with that. I can appreciate the language and writing style used in Wuthering Heights and still think the story sucked and that none of the characters were sympathetic. I am not being graded on my ability to recognize wonderful use of language so I think I will focus on books that I enjoy reading. Some of those are classics, some of those are contemporary literary fiction, and a fair amount is sci fi or fantasy.

Read what you like.

Jessica Lares · 10-09-2013, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Read what you like.

Definitely. I think that's another thing. Lot's of educators/people saying "you need to read this", and not that "you need to read more" in general.

And I agree on your comment about the Bronte sisters. I had to write an eight page essay on Jane Eyre my senior year. Ugh. I remember buying the audiobook then speeding it up on my iPhone and getting it over with in one sitting.

The audiobook wasn't even any better than the book.

The narration was slow, slow, slow, slow.

ProfCrash · 10-09-2013, 09:01 AM

I wrote an essay on why Wuthering Heights should not be considered a classic. My argument was the people were so awful and unsympathetic that I did not care about any of them making the book a challenge to read. Literature should be about more then excellent use of language. I got an F, it was my teachers favorite book and I knew that, but I hated it that much. It was worth it to me. I Aced the class and did well on the AP English exam, answering a question on Wuthering Heights, so I had read the book and knew it well.

I simply hated the experience.

So I think it is possible to understand the significance of a book and still think that it is awful.

I have a long list of classics that I hope my son does not have to read because I dread reading them with him or trying to explain why he has to read them.

pidgeon92 · 10-09-2013, 12:00 PM

I've mentioned this one before....

http://leasthelpful.com/

It's one of my favorite time-wasting sites.

Jessica Lares · 10-09-2013, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I've mentioned this one before....

http://leasthelpful.com/

It's one of my favorite time-wasting sites.

I've never seen that. Today's one is just wow.

And these are Verified Purchases?

And to ProfCrash, ouch, no words.

calvin-c · 10-09-2013, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

The kind of people who leave one-star reviews are the ones who don't get the significance of these classic works. They read it like any other modern piece of work and apply it to today's standards. There's also the problem that people read these books after reading all the others that derived from them, this causes it to be the "same old thing" and "boring".

If you can't comprehend the material, you might consider extending your education in the English language, including seeing how it has evolved over the last 100+ years. That and a good dictionary and a few encyclopedias.

Significance of classic works? How pretentious. A work is a classic because it's good enough to be enjoyed no matter how old it is. Yes, I read classic works. Some I re-read because they're that good-but don't kid yourself that they're 'significant'. The only significance is that they're used by educators to make kids hate reading.

Apache · 10-09-2013, 10:12 PM

When I first saw the title I thought it was about ratings in Texas.

Apache

SeaKing · 10-09-2013, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Quote:

“The only good thing to say about this “literary” drivel is that the person responsible, Virginia Woolf, has been dead for quite some time now. Let us pray to God she stays that way.”

I am not much for zombies myself, but I particularly don't want that one to come back. Or James Baldwin.

Sweetpea · 10-10-2013, 03:48 AM

I don't like a lot of those classics while others praise them to heaven. There's only one in there that actually writes how I would have written the review (if I ever would): taste differ.

And about that least helpful:

http://leasthelpful.com/post/6326776...ms-end-with-an

I had to read it over and over to figure out what the real complaint was... Just cannot understand people can make that kind of mistakes....

10-08-2013, 10:34 PM	#1
GrannyGrump Obsessively Dedicated... Posts: 3,200 Karma: 34977896 Join Date: May 2011 Location: JAPAN (US expatriate) Device: Sony PRS-T2, ADE on PC	Lone Star Statements (one-star Amazon reviews) I don't remember how I stumbled on this little list of perfect gems (hope it hasn't been posted here before) ...excerpts from actual one-star Amazon.com reviews of books from Time’s list of the 100 best novels from 1923 to the present. Some entries have been edited. http://www.themorningnews.org/articl...tar-statements I giggled a bit at some of these, shameful, I know.

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10-08-2013, 11:19 PM	#2
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	Some of those are hilarious! Others are rather... sad (To Kill a Mockingbird) but the review of Lord of the Flies was priceless just for "I am obsessed with Survivor, so I thought it would be fun."

10-09-2013, 12:33 AM	#5
GrannyGrump Obsessively Dedicated... Posts: 3,200 Karma: 34977896 Join Date: May 2011 Location: JAPAN (US expatriate) Device: Sony PRS-T2, ADE on PC	That one made me snortle. (Poor Virginia, she didn't deserve this...)

10-09-2013, 07:29 AM	#6
Jessica Lares Wizard Posts: 2,240 Karma: 5759170 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA Device: iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th gen)	When you take out the politics out of To Kill a Mockingbird, it's just a story about two kids being curious about their surroundings and questioning it. Lord of the Flies is just about some kids stranded on an island subjected to darwinism and lack of parental supervision. The kind of people who leave one-star reviews are the ones who don't get the significance of these classic works. They read it like any other modern piece of work and apply it to today's standards. There's also the problem that people read these books after reading all the others that derived from them, this causes it to be the "same old thing" and "boring". If you can't comprehend the material, you might consider extending your education in the English language, including seeing how it has evolved over the last 100+ years. That and a good dictionary and a few encyclopedias. Too far? Better than to say you lack the knowledge and should just not bother to try to read these books at all.

10-09-2013, 07:59 AM	#7
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	eh Or the truth is that many folks find classic literature to be boring or uninteresting. I enjoyed To Kill a MOckingbird and Lord of the Flies and pretty much would be content to go back in time and not read anything by the Bronte sisters. I had to read most of their works in school and have tried re-reading them as an adult and they still suck. Sometimes the story works for folks and sometimes it doesn't. I don't have a problem with that. I can appreciate the language and writing style used in Wuthering Heights and still think the story sucked and that none of the characters were sympathetic. I am not being graded on my ability to recognize wonderful use of language so I think I will focus on books that I enjoy reading. Some of those are classics, some of those are contemporary literary fiction, and a fair amount is sci fi or fantasy. Read what you like.

10-09-2013, 09:01 AM	#9
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	I wrote an essay on why Wuthering Heights should not be considered a classic. My argument was the people were so awful and unsympathetic that I did not care about any of them making the book a challenge to read. Literature should be about more then excellent use of language. I got an F, it was my teachers favorite book and I knew that, but I hated it that much. It was worth it to me. I Aced the class and did well on the AP English exam, answering a question on Wuthering Heights, so I had read the book and knew it well. I simply hated the experience. So I think it is possible to understand the significance of a book and still think that it is awful. I have a long list of classics that I hope my son does not have to read because I dread reading them with him or trying to explain why he has to read them.

10-09-2013, 12:00 PM	#10
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	I've mentioned this one before.... http://leasthelpful.com/ It's one of my favorite time-wasting sites.

10-09-2013, 10:12 PM	#13
Apache Readaholic Posts: 5,132 Karma: 89858112 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: South Georgia Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"	When I first saw the title I thought it was about ratings in Texas. Apache

10-10-2013, 03:48 AM	#15
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I don't like a lot of those classics while others praise them to heaven. There's only one in there that actually writes how I would have written the review (if I ever would): taste differ. And about that least helpful: http://leasthelpful.com/post/6326776...ms-end-with-an I had to read it over and over to figure out what the real complaint was... Just cannot understand people can make that kind of mistakes....

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