[shap_half]

Let the 13 year old. You don't have to agree with him/her. This is why a canon is unnecessary. You don't need to tell people which books are important - they'll decide for themselves. That's the conversation, though, right? Should the canon be the best written books or the books that have had the most impact on the zeitgeist. If it's the former, then of course there's no way you can argue that Twilight belongs there, but if it's the latter, then, yes, you have to recognize the contributions that book has made to literature and pop culture.

[Gagsquet]

I don't like this point of view. It makes everything equal. It would lead to make study Twilight in class because the majority of the class like it. Indeed sum of personal preferences = classics in your world.

[stromatolite]

I thought this thread was supposed to be about favorite novels, not greatest novels.

[Gagsquet]

Originally Posted by stromatolite

I thought this thread was supposed to be about favorite novels, not greatest novels.

That's why the thread is made for

[shap_half]

Originally Posted by Gagsquet

I don't like this point of view. It makes everything equal. It would lead to make study Twilight in class because the majority of the class like it. Indeed sum of personal preferences = classics in your world.

It means respecting other people's opinions. And it doesn't mean that it would lead to the close reading and critical analysis of any book. A book like Twilight has a lot of flaws that I think most people recognize, which is why it doesn't get taught in schools. You however can't deny the impact it has made. And you're right, personal preferences are the classics of my own world. Why should your personal preferences trump mine, anyway? Why should Professor Pretentious's matter more? Your taste isn't more important than mine if we're talking about favorites. The whole point of a canon is what exactly?

[stromatolite]

Originally Posted by Gagsquet

That's why the thread is made for

If it's about favorite novels, Twilight has as much right to be mentioned here as Madame Bovary or War & Peace. If it's about greatest novels, maybe not

[Gagsquet]

Originally Posted by shap_half

It means respecting other people's opinions. And it doesn't mean that it would lead to the close reading and critical analysis of any book. A book like Twilight has a lot of flaws that I think most people recognize, which is why it doesn't get taught in schools. You however can't deny the impact it has made. And you're right, personal preferences are the classics of my own world. Why should your personal preferences trump mine, anyway? Why should Professor Pretentious's matter more? Your taste isn't more important than mine if we're talking about favorites. The whole point of a canon is what exactly?

Some people have bad taste.
If you like Twilight, that's ok.
But it doesn't make it a classic regardless if you like it or not.

Originally Posted by stromatolite

If it's about favorite novels, Twilight has as much right to be mentioned here as Madame Bovary or War & Peace. If it's about greatest novels, maybe not

I completely agree with you
But the person above pretends that if Twilight is your personal favourite then it's a classic. Just no.

[stromatolite]

^Actually, my point is that people pretty much stopped posting lists here after the thread turned into a hardcore literary discussion forum.

That's a shame. It's nice to learn what people like to read, whether highbrow or lowbrow.

[fantic]

Harry Potter series is the greatest literary output of all, maybe behind the Bible.

It's an ultra mega buster bestseller!!

And it's even translated into LATIN and ANCIENT GREEK, dead languages! Even Tolkien's Hobbit was only translated into Latin

[pov]

Originally Posted by stromatolite

I thought this thread was supposed to be about favorite novels, not greatest novels.

Plus . . who gets to decide what the greatest novels are? There are no "greatest novels." Like everything else in art it's all just preference and opinion.

[Ksenia.]

Originally Posted by fantic

Harry Potter series is the greatest literary output of all, maybe behind the Bible.

It's an ultra mega buster bestseller!!

And it's even translated into LATIN and ANCIENT GREEK, dead languages! Even Tolkien's Hobbit was only translated into Latin

Please be not serious
And it is hardly an indication of literary value.

[fantic]

Originally Posted by Ksenia.

Please be not serious
And it is hardly an indication of literary value.

It was a joke But surely it had MUCH bigger impact than the Twilight series?

Curious though; why did they even BOTHER to translate those to dead languages???!!

[Cajka]

Originally Posted by Sam L

I have René and Atala. These two are just the best. Maybe you are right with Austen. That's probably it feels neither here nor there with her for me. One thing she does very well is describe the world that she is familiar with. I mean there are embellishments there. But it's just that the themes and subjects are always the same. What have I read, S&S, P&P, Emma. I have her other novels. I haven't read them. One day I might read Northanger Abbey.

There's one thing I honestly appreciate about Austen. In the era when women could rarely get proper education, when most of them were similar to characters in her novels (which is not their own fault, that's how the society was), she made something big and it made a difference. I don't like her novels, but there's a bigger picture. As a female, I have to appreciate her role in history when it comes to women's emancipation. It gives me another perspective.

[SilverPersian]

Originally Posted by fantic

It was a joke But surely it had MUCH bigger impact than the Twilight series?

Curious though; why did they even BOTHER to translate those to dead languages???!!

I've been trying to read Harry Potter in Italian to try and improve in my reading skills. I guess people might use them to learn Ancient Greek and Latin.

[fantic]

Originally Posted by SilverPersian

I've been trying to read Harry Potter in Italian to try and improve in my reading skills. I guess people might use them to learn Ancient Greek and Latin.

HP is so 'useful', isn't it