Are The "Great American Novels" Actually Worth Reading?

[Babalu1]

Considering all you Ameribrahs were probably forced to read them in high school, can you confirm if any of these are worth reading today;

- The Catcher in the Rye
- The Great Gatsby
- Moby-Dick
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- Grapes of Wrath

The only really famous American book I had to read in high school was "Of Mice and Men", the rest were plays and British books.

I love reading and I'm wanted to expand out from my usual horror stories. TY men.

[JewishSuperHero]

I didn't like Huck Finn. Gatsby is good but a bit overrated. I loved To Kill a Mockingbird. Can't say on the others.

[Shardbearer]

Catcher in the rye is ****, don't waste your time. Thought Gatsby was boring as hell but others seem to like it.

[supman160]

Props to you for actually enjoying reading. Most people these days don't.

[mirroraddict]

yes


All the books which you're supposed to read in high school are actually pretty good books

most high schoolers never even give them a chance aside from considering them schoolwork

[Muscletron]

Gatsby

[proudmanlet]

all r worth reading and good to read to be well rounded, catcher and gatsby would be my two top recs, 2 of my fave all time books and pretty short and easy to read. kill a mockingbird is good, also worth seeing the old classic movie of it. not big fan of grapes of wrath/Steinbeck personally but that's just me, and confess I could never finish moby dick, will prolly try to get thru it all on audiobook tho sometime

[FSEC]

Considering all you Ameribrahs were probably forced to read them in high school, can you confirm if any of these are worth reading today;

- The Catcher in the Rye
- The Great Gatsby
- Moby-Dick
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- Grapes of Wrath

The only really famous American book I had to read in high school was "Of Mice and Men", the rest were plays and British books.

I love reading and I'm wanted to expand out from my usual horror stories. TY men.

catcher in the rye was good but if you're out of HS (and not American), then i wouldnt recommend it

i thought great gatsby was boring. same as moby dick, huckleberry finn, to kill a mockingbird, and grapes of wrath. IMO, there were much better "classic" books from HS such as 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, and Animal Farm.

Should add that I'm not a fan of old English where people go into huge monologues with allusions/symbolism. I recently read Lolita, and it was hnnghh, but cot dam did the author go off on tangents.

[hight3chredneck]

I would skip all of those, and read Atlas shrugged. Srs. I have read all but Moby dick and huck Finn, but Atlas by any rand far surpasses all of them.

The fountainhead is great also.

[Babalu1]

all r worth reading and good to read to be well rounded, catcher and gatsby would be my two top recs, 2 of my fave all time books and pretty short and easy to read. kill a mockingbird is good, also worth seeing the old classic movie of it. not big fan of grapes of wrath/Steinbeck personally but that's just me, and confess I could never finish moby dick, will prolly try to get thru it all on audiobook tho sometime

Moby Dick sounds interesting. Apparently when it was first published it was absolutely panned by critics and the author was really upset about it. Then when he died people started to love it and now it's regarded as one of the best novels of all time. Unlucky Melville brah.

[Jecoma]

Ayn Rand is good, as someone said before, but anything by Faulkner is great, too.

[Babalu1]

catcher in the rye was good but if you're out of HS (and not American), then i wouldnt recommend it

i thought great gatsby was boring. same as moby dick, huckleberry finn, to kill a mockingbird, and grapes of wrath. IMO, there were much better "classic" books from HS such as 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, and Animal Farm.

Should add that I'm not a fan of old English where people go into huge monologues with allusions/symbolism. I recently read Lolita, and it was hnnghh, but cot dam did the author go off on tangents.

I'm reading Lord of the Flies currently and it is really good.

I know there are are lot of great older books out there but the ones I have posted in this thread are regarded as the "Great American Novels" and I just wanted to get a feel of them from you Yanks.

[JustAGuy94]

To Kill A Mockingbird is worth the read

[lolpatto]

Can't comment on any of the books you listed op, but can recommend Bukowski, considered a "great American writer". Books like Woman and Post Office are just awesome, easy to read novels, and one of the few reads that I just powered through and really wanted to read all the time.

[proudmanlet]

Moby Dick sounds interesting. Apparently when it was first published it was absolutely panned by critics and the author was really upset about it. Then when he died people started to love it and now it's regarded as one of the best novels of all time. Unlucky Melville brah.

yeah I feel it's a good book just hella long, I have started it a couple times and was into it as far as I read but just kinda got away from it before I could finish and didn't pick it back up, since I discovered audiobooks tho learning it's a good way to go back and finish books like that I didn't have time to get thru reading since u can listen while doing other stuff

[Babalu1]

I would skip all of those, and read Atlas shrugged. Srs. I have read all but Moby dick and huck Finn, but Atlas by any rand far surpasses all of them.

Sounds pretty hnnng, also read that it's long as fuk doe. I don't mind longer books provided there isn't too much filler.

[HeeHee23]

I personally prefer reading British stuff but yes most of the American stuff you hear about is worth reading. Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye aren't my favorite. Definitely do Moby Dick, Mark Twain, Steinbeck, Hemingway, etc. Don't know if you like poetry but the Transcendentalist poets (Emerson, Thoreau, etc) aside from being very good, I think would give a foreigner some insight into the American mind. Also interesting to see how they compare to the British Romantic writers.

Others: Kurt Vonnegut, Jack London, T.S. Eliot, Jack Kerouac. Lovecraft, Poe, Stephen King I'm sure you've heard of if you like horror. Honestly you can skip Ayn Rand. Too long, writing is terrible. If you insist read Anthem since it's short.

[JewishSuperHero]

My favorite American books have been anything by Faulkner. Particularly The Sound and the Fury and Light in August. The Sound and the Fury can be a difficult read because of the stream of conscious style of writing especially in the first chapter but it's worth it.

[suave2000]

they're all well worth a read

[Shardbearer]

Read The Way of Kings OP

[brrealtea]

Read 'em. More than half of them just infuriated me esp. Great Gatsby - and this is before I misced. It pisses me off just thinking about it now that I am a miscer. Don't read it unless you want your jimmies severely rustled.

[FSEC]

I personally prefer reading British stuff but yes most of the American stuff you hear about is worth reading. Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye aren't my favorite. Definitely do Moby Dick, Mark Twain, Steinbeck, Hemingway, etc. Don't know if you like poetry but the Transcendentalist poets (Emerson, Thoreau, etc) aside from being very good, I think would give a foreigner some insight into the American mind. Also interesting to see how they compare to the British Romantic writers.

Others: Kurt Vonnegut, Jack London, T.S. Eliot, Jack Kerouac. Lovecraft, Poe, Stephen King I'm sure you've heard of if you like horror. Honestly you can skip Ayn Rand. Too long, writing is terrible. If you insist read Anthem since it's short.

big fan of Kurt Vonnegut's works. Sure, his stories can be random as heck but he knows how to write.

Currently reading the extended version of Stephen King's, The Stand. Never really got into SK's books but so far, it's solid. Can't say I'm blown away though quite yet

Since there are a few well-read ppl ITT, I'll ask if anyone read Crime and Punishment and actually got something out of it

[Babalu1]

Read 'em. More than half of them just infuriated me esp. Great Gatsby - and this is before I misced. It pisses me off just thinking about it now that I am a miscer. Don't read it unless you want your jimmies severely rustled.

In what way? Were they difficult to read? Boring?

[brrealtea]

In what way? Were they difficult to read? Boring?

Some parts can be a bit boring, but it's the characters(half the time) that will drive you insane.

[PlatypusMounter]

Read 'Walden', disregard other poverty books on your list. Ayn Rand books are passable too.

[hight3chredneck]

Ayn Rand is good, as someone said before, but anything by Faulkner is great, too.

Aware me on Faulkner

[ShooterMcGainin]

You need to get on an Orwell stack

Start with 'Down and out in Paris and London', then Homage to Catalonia, then Burmese days then 1984 then Animal Farm.

[Babalu1]

Aware me on Faulkner

William Faulkner;

The Sound and the Fury
As I Lay Dying
Absalom, Absalom!

Those are his notable books from the 30's.

[bigtex89]

Don't be afraid to Better yourself. You should read them all.

[JewishSuperHero]

Aware me on Faulkner

Start with Light in August. It's his easiest book and kind of a "gateway drug" into his style of writing. He writes a bunch of Southern gothic novels that take place in the same fictional county in Mississippi. His characters are always well drawn out but his books can be really violent and fukked up. They leave an impression on you.