Cheers, will have a looksee!

Yup! Another great read and in my opinion rotten film - but I always say that about books that have been made into films! Rhys Ifans also put me off.

For returning time and time again to any and all output:

Jane Austen
Terry Pratchett
Christopher Brookmyre

Doing an English degree atm - there's a lot of dross out there - I'm sure some stuff only gets into the Canon because it's unintelligible. I wouldn't trust anyone who said they liked several authors - though the pretensions are amusing

Kurt Vonnegut

Agreed, it never really got going and seemed to miss out vast swaths of the best bits of the book.

So you don't trust yourself?

That seems a very odd thing, even prentious, thing to say. It's perfectly normal to like different writers and read lots of different types of book. In the same way that no one only ever listens to one band or singer.

I thought the same thing earlier. Then i felt like maybe i was pretentious, lol

Agree completely who wants to be one dimensional? I tend to read things that I am interested in. That varies from astro-physics down to football and easy read thrillers etc.

Just because I read it something it doesn't mean I undertsand it all either . I read Thus Spoke Zarathustra a few weeks ago.........whoosh!

when I say several authors I have them in mind but would not name them as am not out to try and insult anyone who may have decided they do like them.

It sounds like some people may suspect they do like such work but I guess any sensitivity says more about them than me. By the way I haven't read every post in depth but I haven't spotted any yet here and anyone who I have met who claimed such things has only backed up my notions (often because despite claiming a preference they are then unable to discuss the work in any interesting detail).

I fully agree that many people like different books - a very intelligent and witty friend of mine told me to give catch 22 a miss cos it was boring and hard to get into - as I'd already bought it I read it anyway and thought it was brilliant. All I was saying is that there are a few novels that only seem to exist to make student life hell. Frankly I'm sure most people who read a lot have a similar list. And I'm certainly not going to get started on anything that's massively popular that a teenager would have done a better job of writing as I'm sure that would be endlessly controversial.

Your signature is quite ironic.

Do you seriously think someone's going to be insulted because you say you like an author they don't?

I'm actually quite curious as to which authors are on this list...

Joyce?
Tolstoy?
David Foster Wallace - "Infinite Jest" is about the only book I can think of that I just can not finish. If you every want to find it - just google "unreadable book about tennis in the future" - I had to as I couldn't remember the title...

Come on - do tell.

I suspect it's that attitude of disregard for the feelings of others that makes many internet forums an uncomfortable place for non confrontational people to express any kind of opinion. I very rarely bother to express anything on BE for this reason.

To be honest it was careless and unfair for me to say authors when I really only meant novels. There are some great authors who just happen to have written terrible individual books that unfairly garner greater credit than their better work.

But I'm leaving this alone now - I should have known better than to express a fairly minor opinion in passing here and not expect some of the people with way too much time on their hands to leap on it like I'd suggested burning books

How bizarre.