I thought since our favorite MMO is based off the works of a critically acclaimed author, it might be nice to see what other books people on these forums like or can relate the current state of our community to.
I've already compared the self proclaimed 'best duo in the moors' to the works of William Golding, specifically Lord of the Flies but I've overlooked another great literary piece, The Catcher in the Rye. I can see a vast number of similarities between what's going on here and what Salinger wrote about.
The books I named are required reading in most highschool English classes (except Lord of the Rings). Most kids like The Catcher in the Rye because of all the profanity the author uses. Not so much because they haven't heard swears before but because it's unusual for a teacher to insist on reading it. I'd pick a different genre like movies or aneme if the MMO we were playing were Starwars or Aion, but since Lotro is literary based, I felt it appropriate.
They've all been made into movies too. I'm sure there are plenty of pop culture references to works like these to have a few people googling the names. What better way to expand your mind than to go from googling memes and gifs to controversial works.
Besides, it's way more interesting way to look at human nature than the Jerry Springer like mud slinging going on in the RL picture thread.
The books I named are required reading in most highschool English classes (except Lord of the Rings). Most kids like The Catcher in the Rye because of all the profanity the author uses. Not so much because they haven't heard swears before but because it's unusual for a teacher to insist on reading it. I'd pick a different genre like movies or aneme if the MMO we were playing were Starwars or Aion, but since Lotro is literary based, I felt it appropriate.
They've all been made into movies too. I'm sure there are plenty of pop culture references to works like these to have a few people googling the names. What better way to expand your mind than to go from googling memes and gifs to controversial works.
Besides, it's way more interesting way to look at human nature than the Jerry Springer like mud slinging going on in the RL picture thread.
they might be required reading, doesnt mean people read them. and judging from what i have seen on the forums lately, i have a strong feeling most people that post here havent.
i understood why you picked literary works, makes complete sense, but you would need to get rather lucky to find more than a few that have actually read either one.
A Song of Ice and Fire,(certainly not a classic read, but relevant) a series of high fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, strikes home for me for MMO players and book character similarities. The bullies, whiners, solo player, team player, healers, slayers etc., etc. The comparisons between fantasy and reality are IMHO almost equal. The story line is also strikingly similar to Tolkien.
A Song of Ice and Fire,(certainly not a classic read, but relevant) a series of high fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, strikes home for me for MMO players and book character similarities. The bullies, whiners, solo player, team player, healers, slayers etc., etc. The comparisons between fantasy and reality are IMHO almost equal. The story line is also strikingly similar to Tolkien.
****Spoiler Alert****
Yes thank you. I was about to submit this one myself. I'd like to point out the similarities to the character Jofrey to our current 'King of the Iron Throne'. He thinks he's in power when in fact everyone elder to him rules and he really just orders a few dogs to maim and abuse people around him. He's not even the true ruler, he's the illegitimate child claiming to be the true born son of a usurper. Well we all know how it ends for him. Valar morghulis
There are plenty of roles in that series to relate to as well. Many houses in the books all die during war, very representative of the way veteran players ingame move on. As a result, the kingdom divides people change alliances and they lose sight of what they were first set out to do. (Sound familiar?) Who wants to compare Jaime's amputation to an ingame class getting nerfed?
In the deep, dark recesses of your mind where things go bump in the night; the dark matter.
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926
Re: Classic Literature
ill bite, on the classic lit part my favorite is Shakespeare, namely Hamlet and King Henry V. if you can get thru the english of Caucer, The Canterbury Tales. But right now im reading something totally different, by Paul Christopher called Red Templar.
The only reason i read J.D. Salinger in the first place is because i had heard the book was banned because is supposedly made Mark David Chapman kill John Lennon. I wanted to see what the big deal was.
Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell. Any creep or freep should be able to relate the down and out nature of the Moors. You start out poor and weak...life beats you down and so do the wargs. Little by little you grind out and work hard...soon you are mighty and able to take on multiple foes and two-shot your enemies.
Kind of a stretch...Captains and the Kings is a sort of rise from rags to riches story. In the MMO world equivalent to grinding out ranks and lvls and gear to reach your ultimate goal and win over your competition. My two cents...
Catcher in the Rye is possibly one of my most favorite books in the history of literature.
Other classics that I love besides Lotr and the ones bunny mentioned-
Don Quixote
The Great Gatsby
The Count of Monte Cristo
Crime and Punishment
Old Man and the Sea
Othello, Macbeth and Hamlet
(even though it's not in a novel form) Rime of the Ancient Mariner
100 Years of Solitude (the epitome of literature imo; if there was one piece of literature that I would call god-tier, it is this. also, most other things by Marquez)
Metamorphosis (again, not a novel, but I couldn't bear leaving Kafka out of a literature list)
Iliad and Odyssey
Bible, Quran, Torah and Mahabharata (not trying to seem like a bloated lit#####, but ignoring all the religiousness these are some of the most amazing pieces of 'literature' in human history)
it makes me sad that i have to leave out so much good stuff. =(
my dad and i are bibliomaniacs =D
just what our house kinda looks like. every wall of every room haha!
Last edited by Suenami; May 31 2012 at 08:42 PM.
Reason: i love books
ill bite, on the classic lit part my favorite is Shakespeare, namely Hamlet and King Henry V. if you can get thru the english of Caucer, The Canterbury Tales. But right now im reading something totally different, by Paul Christopher called Red Templar.
The only reason i read J.D. Salinger in the first place is because i had heard the book was banned because is supposedly made Mark David Chapman kill John Lennon. I wanted to see what the big deal was.
Hamlet does compare to the emotional state of people on the forums today. I never read King Henry V. Shakespeare isn't easy reading by any means.
The controversy behind Salinger's work just makes the book all the more appealing. It's tame by today's standards regarding teen angst, sexuality and moral values, why people think it needs to be censored is just silly. My favorite pop culture reference of the book is in Conspiracy Theory. The movie has nothing to do with the book but let's all make sure we're wearing our tinfoil hats.
Catcher in the rye is antiquated and bad, doubly evident in the fact that salinger was nuts and also basically the one hit wonder of the literary world. Popular because of controversy. Controversy mainly circled around vulgarity that typical cat-ladies with walnut crushing sphincters can't handle.
Song of ice and fire is basically the copy-pasta of the fantasy genre with a single good character (tyrion lannister, obviously) where the only thing remotely new and or controversial thing that occurs is *spoilers* everyone dying.
Literature is in itself a silly term, the only beneficial quality you could possibly take away is an expanded vocabulary and broadened horizons. But there are much better sources for the latter, rather than ponder over Orwellian allegory and what he could be alluding to.
tl;dr Orwell sucks and GRRM is tubby and probably going to kick out before he finishes his series, queue Brian Sanderson to finish it.
EDIT: special mention for Kafka and Dostoyevsky, good taste Sue. Good reads.
Last edited by Sulfur; May 31 2012 at 09:06 PM.
"Because I'm sane, and I know I am because I'm constantly thinking 'don't be crazy' to myself. Crazy people don't do that because crazy people don't worry about becoming crazy"
In the deep, dark recesses of your mind where things go bump in the night; the dark matter.
Posts
926
Re: Classic Literature
Originally Posted by jennirich
Hamlet does compare to the emotional state of people on the forums today. I never read King Henry V. Shakespeare isn't easy reading by any means.
The controversy behind Salinger's work just makes the book all the more appealing. It's tame by today's standards regarding teen angst, sexuality and moral values, why people think it needs to be censored is just silly. My favorite pop culture reference of the book is in Conspiracy Theory. The movie has nothing to do with the book but let's all make sure we're wearing our tinfoil hats.
mel gibson as he was just starting to go nuts lol
here is a quotation from Henry V i think you may find some similarities:
"Proud of their numbers and secure in soul,
The confident and over-lusty French
Do the low-rated English play at dice"
I've been looking for something new to read while I'm on vacation in an undisclosed tropical paradise in the Pacific at the end of June. (No TVs at the resort.) Thanks for some ideas Sue.
I've been looking for something new to read while I'm on vacation in an undisclosed tropical paradise in the Pacific at the end of June. (No TVs at the resort.) Thanks for some ideas Sue.
Isi, relax.
no no bunny, THIS is what you want to read on a summer getaway~
they might be required reading, doesnt mean people read them. and judging from what i have seen on the forums lately, i have a strong feeling most people that post here havent.
i understood why you picked literary works, makes complete sense, but you would need to get rather lucky to find more than a few that have actually read either one.
thats why you cant judge people by their anonymous actions and posts on the internet. just because i use terrible grammar here, troll sometimes, and dont talk about books doesnt mean i dont know how to write well or read lol.
im sure there are tons of people here who read a good amount, this is lotro
classic literature, hmm i would have to say candide by voltaire its pretty short and easy to read, siddhartha was also good by hesse
Originally Posted by WhiteTiger31
Sorry to be a buzzkill here but... why is this in the PvMP section?
why is there a RL pic thread and a post your music thread in the pvp section?
Shock and Awe
Hydra - Captain. Kraken - Guard. Ra - Warg
thats why you cant judge people by their anonymous actions and posts on the internet. just because i use terrible grammar here, troll sometimes, and dont talk about books doesnt mean i dont know how to write well or read lol.
Its called the fundamental attribution error and it really is the heart of all trolling :P
Not sure what you mean by classic but here are some of my favs...
That isn't literature but a fantastic book regardless. infact all of dawkins' books are awesome reads. I went to three of his book readings so far and have all his books signed. he is sensational =D
Originally Posted by IGolbezI
classic literature, hmm i would have to say candide by voltaire its pretty short and easy to read, siddhartha was also good by hesse
candid is a delight to read =D i'd recommend it to anyone and everyone.
That isn't literature but a fantastic book regardless. infact all of dawkins' books are awesome reads. I went to three of his book readings so far and have all his books signed. he is sensational =D
So Sue will you let me Unweave that Rainbow? See what I did there, its a book joke...
yes it is a great book prolly one of my favorites. if you like that you might also like utopia by thomas more, although its harder to read than candide
Shock and Awe
Hydra - Captain. Kraken - Guard. Ra - Warg
Yes thank you. I was about to submit this one myself. I'd like to point out the similarities to the character Jofrey to our current 'King of the Iron Throne'. He thinks he's in power when in fact everyone elder to him rules and he really just orders a few dogs to maim and abuse people around him. He's not even the true ruler, he's the illegitimate child claiming to be the true born son of a usurper. Well we all know how it ends for him. Valar morghulis
Amazing books
Leader of the Luckyhit Fan Club
League of Legends name: Matdir
So Sue will you let me Unweave that Rainbow? See what I did there, its a book joke...
that book was the reason i went for a double major in arts and science (but then i proved to be too stupid and went for political science, you may laugh... i don't even protest with my feeble, 'but i enjoy it' defense anymore.. *depression*)
Originally Posted by IGolbezI
yes it is a great book prolly one of my favorites. if you like that you might also like utopia by thomas more, although its harder to read than candide
yes!! omg don't get me started on utopian/dystopian fiction geeking.. i have spent a chunk of my life hunting down cult classics, movies, books, music and games inspired by them and thinkers who've written on the moral, ethical, ideological, theological, social, ecographical, political and technological (etc.) ramifications of a Utopian society. i'm just as invested and aroused by the dystopian manifestation of such silly things >=D
..this thread is giving me a umm yeah..
Last edited by Suenami; May 31 2012 at 10:55 PM.
Reason: silly filters
That isn't literature but a fantastic book regardless. infact all of dawkins' books are awesome reads. I went to three of his book readings so far and have all his books signed. he is sensational =D
"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively outnumbers the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state, from which the vast majority have never stirred."
Dawkins is one of my greatest inspirations, both as a man and an evolutionary biologist. Good to know others concur
that book was the reason i went for a double major in arts and science (but then i proved to be too stupid and went for political science, you may laugh... i don't even protest with my feeble, 'but i enjoy it' defense anymore.. *depression*)
yes!! omg don't get me started on utopian/dystopian fiction geeking.. i have spent a chunk of my life hunting down cult classics, movies, books, music and games inspired by them and thinkers who've written on the moral, ethical, ideological, theological, social, ecographical, political and technological (etc.) ramifications of a Utopian society. i'm just as invested and aroused by the dystopian manifestation of such silly things >=D
..this thread is giving me a umm yeah..
Cormac McCarthy's "the road" comes to mind as probably the best in that particular genre. At least, from what I've read.
"Because I'm sane, and I know I am because I'm constantly thinking 'don't be crazy' to myself. Crazy people don't do that because crazy people don't worry about becoming crazy"
It appears the great google machine has lied to me. Also I didn't finish WoT so cbf to care lol, that's series is all quantity little quality.
"Because I'm sane, and I know I am because I'm constantly thinking 'don't be crazy' to myself. Crazy people don't do that because crazy people don't worry about becoming crazy"
Cormac McCarthy's "the road" comes to mind as probably the best in that particular genre. At least, from what I've read.
"the road" is good but I still prefer Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" for my utopian/dystopian read.
I still love A Song of Ice and Fire but mostly I enjoy horror. Clive Barker's "The Hellbound Heart", Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and any HP Lovecraft.
Outside of that its:
William S Burrough's "Junky" and "Naked Lunch"
Jack Kerouac "On the Road" and "The Dharma Bums"
and of course I love some Hunter S Thompson
I'm a fountain of blood
In the shape of a girl
BaalStorm, Sing Omega
"the road" is good but I still prefer Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" for my utopian/dystopian read.
Jack Kerouac "On the Road" and "The Dharma Bums"
man the Brave New World movies are so bad.. =( futurology is so much fun XD read Michio Kaku!! he's a really amusing read. and i used to feel so cool when i was in that Kerouac phase...
Originally Posted by IGolbezI
have you read the handmaid's tale? probably my favorite dystopian piece
I HAVE READ ALL OF MARGARET ATWOOD AND ALL HER POETRY AND I'VE MET HER LIKE 10 TIMES!!! *FANGIRL NERDGASM*
"the road" is good but I still prefer Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" for my utopian/dystopian read.
I still love A Song of Ice and Fire but mostly I enjoy horror. Clive Barker's "The Hellbound Heart", Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and any HP Lovecraft.
Outside of that its:
William S Burrough's "Junky" and "Naked Lunch"
Jack Kerouac "On the Road" and "The Dharma Bums"
and of course I love some Hunter S Thompson
I can easily say Lovecraft is my next favorite writer to Tolkien and he still hasn't been close to outdone or even paralleled. Him Tolkien and Yeats.
Additionally I cannot stand Atwood, omg.
"Because I'm sane, and I know I am because I'm constantly thinking 'don't be crazy' to myself. Crazy people don't do that because crazy people don't worry about becoming crazy"
I can easily say Lovecraft is my next favorite writer to Tolkien and he still hasn't been close to outdone or even paralleled. Him Tolkien and Yeats.
Additionally I cannot stand Atwood, omg.
Lovecraft has to be the best horror writer of our time honestly. I would probably put Barker next despite the fact some of his later books didn't match up to his earlier stuff. But there is just something about how Lovecraft writes. To bad I hear The Secret World sucks, with all its Lovecraftian type beasties.
Also, I love Yeats as well.
I'm a fountain of blood
In the shape of a girl
BaalStorm, Sing Omega
man the Brave New World movies are so bad.. =( futurology is so much fun XD read Michio Kaku!! he's a really amusing read. and i used to feel so cool when i was in that Kerouac phase...
Yes Sue, yes they were, but that is what you get from made for TV adaptations. Plus they get worse with time, really dated. Like Sci-Fi's version of Dune, wasn't great to watch back then, but now OMG so dated.
As far as Kerouac, I am 33 and still love Kerouac.
I'm a fountain of blood
In the shape of a girl
BaalStorm, Sing Omega
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