Excuse me for being a bitch, but are there any non-literary snobs on this site?
Since I excused you for being a bitch, you're going to have to excuse me for being an asshole.

Seriously, though, the reason I put up those books is because those are masterpieces of writing, not because that's all I read. I'm reading the New Jedi Order series right now, for crying out loud. The fact of the matter is that truly great works of literature are rare. Sci-fi and Fantasy haven't been around long enough to have a lot of them. Lord of the Rings, for sure, is a tour de force.
Besides, none of the works listed above are remotely obscure. They're all established (and accessible) masterpieces of Western Lit (except Zen). It's not as though people are saying "Well, hmmm, yes, the plebs just can't understand the eloquent phrasing of Ulysses."
I love reading fantasy, but with few exceptions it isn't nearly as high quality as what's been listed above. And the question was about writing that "blew you away." Why shouldn't the greats be listed? Until this post nobody has even so much as suggested that fantasy/sci-fi is inferior to the classics. Your post comes off as pretty insecure, frankly.
"We feel safe when we read what we recognise, what does not challenge our way of thinking.... a steady acceptance of pre-arranged patterns leads to the inability to question what we are told."
~Camilla
Ghavrel is Ghavrel is Ghavrel
*MySmiley*
~Camilla
Ghavrel is Ghavrel is Ghavrel
*MySmiley*
This message last edited by Ghavrel on 02/07/2010 at 11:25:18 PM
One simple question:
01/07/2010 11:00:44 PM
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Lolita *NM*
01/07/2010 11:13:10 PM
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Have you read Pale Fire? *NM*
03/07/2010 12:14:56 AM
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No, I haven't. I have, however, been meaning to read The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov...
03/07/2010 12:36:39 AM
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Re: No, I haven't. I have, however, been meaning to read The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov...
03/07/2010 12:38:22 AM
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Is it unfinished? I seem to recall that, but I could be mistaken... *NM*
03/07/2010 02:15:07 AM
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Pale Fire is an excellent novel, particularly if you like making fun of Robert Frost.
03/07/2010 06:39:29 PM
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I've always planned on reading it.
04/07/2010 06:30:31 PM
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I've read all of Pelevin's books other than t, which recently was released.
04/07/2010 06:40:04 PM
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Sorry. I'm going to have to get back to you on this later.
04/07/2010 07:22:31 PM
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No problem. I'm stinking drunk and blew up shit to celebrate America's independence.
05/07/2010 05:03:42 AM
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Paradise Lost *NM*
01/07/2010 11:23:22 PM
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
01/07/2010 11:31:52 PM
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What is it about?
03/07/2010 12:14:27 AM
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The Aeneid, the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Macbeth come to mind. *NM*
02/07/2010 02:29:13 AM
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I'm amazed by these responses.
02/07/2010 07:10:31 PM
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I spent most of my time trying to decide...
02/07/2010 07:22:26 PM
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Well. I mean a book/story that you thought was pretty close to perfection.
02/07/2010 08:02:55 PM
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Then you need to read more. *shrug*
02/07/2010 11:23:24 PM
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You are not excused.
02/07/2010 11:40:16 PM
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Wow. That read enough like Tom that I had to check to make sure it was you. *NM*
02/07/2010 11:57:26 PM
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I take that as a compliment and concur completely with Larry's statement.
03/07/2010 06:48:05 PM
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You make me want to sing
05/07/2010 02:32:37 PM
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And you make me want to cover my ears
05/07/2010 07:57:12 PM
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What is yours?
05/07/2010 05:19:23 AM
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Wraeththu by Storm Constantine is mine.
05/07/2010 07:51:59 AM
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Easy. The Mahabharatha...
02/07/2010 11:55:27 PM
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Don't tell Roh.
03/07/2010 12:13:57 AM
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Which one?
03/07/2010 12:59:43 AM
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Re: Which one?
05/07/2010 05:28:08 PM
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There's a "proper one"?
06/07/2010 06:03:55 PM
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Re: I sent her Kamala Subramaniam's translation.
09/07/2010 08:20:43 AM
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Ahhh... One of my favorites...
09/07/2010 05:24:55 PM
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Re: Parva is not a translation of the MB, though, is it. It's a reinterpretation. Which is fine.
09/07/2010 11:01:43 PM
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It's spelled "Mahabharata".
03/07/2010 06:51:09 PM
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That's not how it is pronounced though...
03/07/2010 08:54:27 PM
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Traditional pronunciation vs. modern pronunciation
03/07/2010 09:47:52 PM
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I learned Sanskrit for years...
04/07/2010 01:28:34 AM
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However...
04/07/2010 02:31:00 AM
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See, I was taught that ध produced the sound in "that" and थ the sound in "thought".
04/07/2010 02:44:56 AM
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Re: I should have read the thread before bothering to give my skimpy response!
09/07/2010 08:26:35 AM
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American Gods. *NM*
03/07/2010 04:49:18 AM
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I really wanted to enjoy that a lot. It was good, but not amazing, imo.
05/07/2010 05:28:53 PM
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Shogun
03/07/2010 03:08:04 PM
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huh. I always felt that...
05/07/2010 10:00:29 PM
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I really liked Tai Pan as well.
06/07/2010 12:37:58 PM
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I'd have to say Noble House is the most impressive of the three.
06/07/2010 01:30:11 PM
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A few that come to mind: Doctor Zhivago, Master & Margarita and Brothers Karamazov
03/07/2010 06:53:25 PM
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