EWB's Favourite Books

[TGC]

It's the first list of its kind I can't find any major problems with. And the top three are just about perfect and in perfect order.

[Gongsun Zan]

Never read BR but always wanted to. Never even heard of 1984. Seeing The Stand at #2 was awesome, I loved that book, perfect in every way. But Gunslinger gets mixed reactions from me.

[NobBe Nobbs]

...

...GET OFF MY BOARDS HEATHEN

[Legend_Killer33]

1984? Is that the one written in 1948 about 1984 and it is obscenely unrealistic?

[caucasianheat]

1984? Is that the one written in 1948 about 1984 and it is obscenely unrealistic?

Post of the fucking year.

[Zaz]

Bah, 1984 shouldn't have been there

Apart from that, great Top 5 though (Y)

[Chasing Lamely]

It's a decent list, granted, shame to see The Virgin Suicides so low, it's one of my all-time favourites, I feel sorry for the people who watched the film before they read the book though.

I know I missed the voting, but... No Wuthering Heights? Jesus H. Christ.

[sirdavinator]

Not many complaints with the list...except I still haven't read Battle Royale. Dammit, I still can't find the book.

[Legend_Killer33]

1984? Is that the one written in 1948 about 1984 and it is obscenely unrealistic?

Post of the fucking year.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Do you know the word "dystopia"?

[Legend_Killer33]

I'm not going to pretend I do but I googled it and got this

A utopia gone sour. A prominent example is George Orwell's 1984.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

This summer (and I'm sure past summers) there were times when Big Brother was on one channel and Room 101 was on the other.

Those terms were created in 1984.

Also, we're actually scarily close (especially in the UK) to the fringes of a dystopian 1984 society.

[Dingle]

Nevermind, apparently its the opposite of a utopia.

Misery and depression and stuff.

Edited December 11, 2006 by Jouzy Dorian

[Legend_Killer33]

Oh OK then. I guess I should read the book considering it's number 1

[caucasianheat]

1984? Is that the one written in 1948 about 1984 and it is obscenely unrealistic?

Post of the fucking year.

So I am wrong?

Yes and no. The book was written in 1948 and is about the year 1984. The idea, though, that it was supposed to be an accurate portrayal of the future is flawed. It is, as Cloudy mentioned, a dystopia - a novel where the world as we know it fails. What people primarily like about 1984 (I myself wasn't a fan of it) is the idea that it portrays a world so radically different than our own, so slagging it for being unrealistic is silly.

[Laice07]

A pretty good list overall, could have been better, but it also could have been worse. Number 1 is very deserving, as it is and continues to be the best piece of literature I have ever read.

[Skummy]

The whole idea of 1984, or of dystopia in general, is to show what theoretically could happen if society continues to make certain mistakes. While the notion that we're close to a 1984-esque society now is tremendous hyperbole, the fact that terms like "Big Brother", "thought police" and "Orwellian" and, to a lesser extent, "newspeak" and "Room 101" are so ingrained in our culture should be enough of a reminder, if one be needed, of how fantastic and how important a book 1984 was, is, and will continue to be.

Interested sidenote, on the topic of utopia and dystopia, utopia is generally assumed to mean the proverbial land of milk and honey, a future where everything's worked out wonderfully, but it's actual literal meaning is "no place". How delightfully cynical.

[Dingle]

As I said elsewhere, I'd like to thank Skum and you people for helping me do my English exam today >_>.