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[Empiricist]

My god, IronTomato... I've finally found a kindred spirit. JD Salinger is the worst.

Wait, it's meant to be liked? Because everyone I know in real-life who read it also utterly hated it.
I mean, I understand that nothing is meant to happen, but generally you're still meant to learn some sort of new non-trivial information by the end other than the depths of your contempt for the author and the protagonist.

[penguinofhonor]

I read it in high school (it wasn't assigned - I regret reading it voluntarily) and pretty much everyone I've discussed it with since then either hasn't read it or loved it.

[Empiricist]

Wait really? Everyone in my class (the only class that read it) absolutely hated it, as in, even more so than the other prescribed texts a good proportion of which already were quite far from being anything remotely worthwhile.

[penguinofhonor]

I don't know anyone who was required to read it. I'm sure it would have been universally hated then, as required reading tends to be. No, I've mostly discussed it with JD Salinger fans. The worst kind of people.

[Empiricist]

The thought that someone would actually read through the whole ordeal, and appreciate it terrifies me.

[IronTomato]

My god, IronTomato... I've finally found a kindred spirit. JD Salinger is the worst.

You and me, we're the same.

* IronTomato hugs penguin and cries on them

[TheDarkStar]

I didn't like the book either, basically for the reasons that IronTomato described.

[Arcvasti]

I just finished reading Catcher in the Rye.

It feels like I am the only person on the planet with this opinion, but to be honest, Catcher in the Rye is by a huge margin the worst book I have ever read in my life.

M8, what you've described is par for the course. There are many many terrible books. You'll find worse.

Still, it sucks when you're prescribed unequivocally terrible books in class. Its worse when they don't even have the defense of being "classics" and the teacher just has absurdly shitty taste.

[Xantalos]

People liked Catcher in the Rye? Shit was some of the worst literature (in my opinion) I've read in my existence.

[Amperzand]

I  never understood the whole "Read this book everyone reads it! You'll love it because they did!" thing people tend to do. Sheakspear is a good example in the US; We're required to read it, whether we want to or not, IIRC. No one really cares what an individual thinks, just so long as they get their paychecks. Needless to say, I don't really like the education system I'm currently stuck in. Although everyone I talk to tells me I have no right to judge it because I'm a part of it, which is exactly why I have every right to judge/critisize it.

In my- admittedly unusual -experience, tiny colleges are effectively the opposite of that, provided you get the right teachers. The school has less students than it wants, the teachers are largely there because they find the subject matter interesting, and they make little enough money that they actually want to ensure student appreciation so said students actually come back.

People liked Catcher in the Rye? Shit was some of the worst literature (in my opinion) I've read in my existence.

I have yet to read it, but having had it recommended and done some basic research, my general impression was that I didn't need that shit in my life.

[CaptainMcClellan]

To this whole conversation about :classic" or "important" literature: Atlas Shrugged. I don't think the sleeve of a book has ever noped me out so completely. And based on the TV tropes page I think this is one that I have no qualms skipping.

[Orange Wizard]

Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I mean if you can get past the atrocious "romance" it's a good 40% antireligious wank.

[hops]

Humanity. The general population of the Earth. This saddens me. Yes, there are good people. But they're so few and far between. Most of them end up overrun and hidden under the endless masses of selfish people. I'm no better, either. I go through my day, calculating my every move on some level, trying to find the best outcome for me. Or atleast the one that leaves the fewest people angry at me. I don't think "Oh so-and-so might be hurt and/or angry at me if I do this," it's almost always "I'm going to leave. Let's start damage control now, when I still have a good 5 years till then."

If everyone are good people, would good exist? Is a purely good world truly desirable?

I mean, obviously the state of living would be better, but there's something kind of sinister about a society where people literally lack the capability to be evil. And I'm not debating philosophy but if these theoretical people are all capable of evil, but are refraining from doing so out of free will, would they actually be capable of evil?

And even then, how would you truly define what is evil? Selfishness? Most dictators are not truly selfish. They are idealists which oppress people in the belief that it is for their own good.

I don't mean to go on a philosophical tangent but, even though I myself feel that way sometimes, I don't think it's correct to judge humanity because we are grey (maybe a dark shade of grey if you're being pessimistic) rather than pure white.

Not to mention, some people don't think they are bad people. (i.e. terrorists) So again, even if everyone is "nice" in the world we'll probably have wars and famines and all around unpleasantness, except that the atrocity will be committed at a faster rate as the perpetrators believe themselves to be in the right.

tl;dr Matters are complex.

Though, I'm not saying you shouldn't think that way, it's just that these sort of sad thoughts are ones that need to be logicked to death.

* Cinder make discount Tiruin noises

[TD1]

I just finished reading Catcher in the Rye.

It feels like I am the only person on the planet with this opinion, but to be honest, Catcher in the Rye is by a huge margin the worst book I have ever read in my life.

M8, what you've described is par for the course. There are many many terrible books. You'll find worse.

Still, it sucks when you're prescribed unequivocally terrible books in class. Its worse when they don't even have the defense of being "classics" and the teacher just has absurdly shitty taste.

I have a contemporary fiction module. All right. But why inflict Gone Girl on us.

[i2amroy]

To this whole conversation about :classic" or "important" literature: Atlas Shrugged. I don't think the sleeve of a book has ever noped me out so completely. And based on the TV tropes page I think this is one that I have no qualms skipping.

Isn't Atlas Shrugged one of those books where the author essentially goes "Here's all this evidence why everything right now is horrible... now here's my totally unsupported theory without any sort of arguments given to show that it isn't shit! (Please believe it now)"?