# The SDMB book burning **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2006, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200 "2006-12-31T10:01:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/21 "2006-12-31T16:31:09Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] good books end up on the top of the pile. [/QUOTE] I dunno, where I work(ed) the only poet who reliably sold was Maya Angelou and Danielle Steel got her own entire bay – and I’d cheerfully stack 'em up in an attractive pyramid, arrange them in the window and wrap them up pretty for you, too. Look, I wouldn’t even throw [_Find It, Fix It, Flip It_](http://images.overstock.com/f/102/3117/8h/www.overstock.com/images/products/muze/books/0452286697.jpg) into a real fire. Doesn’t mean I can’t fantasize about the whole shipment falling off a truck, or a merry little _virtual_ one ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/22 "2006-12-31T17:06:30Z")
> [@](#): > > I was going to just post the name and see if anyone got the irony, but I decided to make it clear: you don’t burn books. Bad books will be forgotten, so there’s no need to get rid of them, and once you start burning, then inevitably, good books end up on the top of the pile. I disagree. I’m against censorship and book burning as a principle and I certainly agree that it’s almost always abused as a practice. But I don’t agree that there’s no such thing as a book worth burning. Books are ideas and some ideas are dangerous. The world would have been a better place if they’d burned the _Malleus Maleficarum_ instead of all those witches. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/23 "2006-12-31T17:11:14Z")
I know of no good reason to burn all copies of any book. But I’m more than willing to burn _my_ copy of some books. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/24 "2006-12-31T17:19:53Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] World Fantasy Award winner _Thraxis_: it was the doom of our nascent bookclub and my humiliation as its selector, and eminently burnable. [/QUOTE] Hey! I _liked_ that book! Sure it was fluff, but it was well-written fluff. I personally wouldn’t have given it the World Fantasy Award, though. There’s a few books I’ve thrown in the recycle bin immediately upon finishing them, but I’ve repressed the memories of what their titles were. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/25 "2006-12-31T17:20:56Z")
Guys - I’m very aware of the emotive reaction against book burnings and it’s worth stating I would never actually burn a book or condone doing it in reality. I only meant this to be a metaphor for suggesting bad writing, so can we please all stop with the purported ethical dilemma about censorship or potentially being a Nazi that this thread seems to have started. [QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] I know of no good reason to burn all copies of any book. But I’m more than willing to burn _my_ copy of some books. [/QUOTE] That’s the spirit, keep suggesting titles. Another one (or many): a wide selection of chic lit starting with anything by Jane Green or Lisa Jewell . You know before you open them that the heroine will realise that her male best friend is her true love after being mistreated by a few tall, dark and handsome bad boys (and probably a sub-plot about someone having an abortion). The fact that they’re published at all is only slightly less depressing than the fact that they sell so well - it’s like feminism never happened. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/26 "2006-12-31T17:32:50Z")
anything ever written by Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/27 "2006-12-31T17:35:19Z")
I will do my part for this bonfire by contributing a copy of _Wizard’s First Rule_ by Terry Goodkind (atrocious Tolkien-clone fantasy with a generous dose of BDSM and child porn, and some old-fashioned sexism and homophobia for good measure), one copy of _Pallas_ by L. Neal Smith (particularly lousy attempt to spread fascism through science fiction), and one copy of _The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People_, which I hope will prove to be highly effective as fuel. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/28 "2006-12-31T17:38:06Z")
**Battlefield: Earth.** Anything written by Tom Clancy in the last 10 years. That will stop global deforestation in its tracks. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/29 "2006-12-31T17:43:17Z")
agreeing that this is only imaginary-never-in-real-life book burning, here goes: The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. yeah, yeah, award-winner, smarter people than me loved it. I found it to be pretentious overwritten claptrap. and I hate it. Oh - and any outright Tolkien copycats, esp. Shannarra books and Eragon. Come to think of it count me in with the Left Behind & Ayn Rand stuff too. Bombs away. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/30 "2006-12-31T17:49:45Z")
I’ve read Da Vinci Code, several times, and enjoyed it. I liked Crichton until Disclosure (and Airframe, Prey, etc.). Kind of enjoyed the Shannara books, but [The Last Templar](http://www.amazon.com/Last-Templar-Raymond-Khoury/dp/0525949410/sr=8-1/qid=1167586622/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6749950-3752021?ie=UTF8&s=books) is easily the worst book I ever finished. Every 2-page chapter was _almost_ interesting enough to keep reading, and each of the 60-odd plots held the potential to make the book worthwhile, yet somehow never did. Burn it! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/31 "2006-12-31T18:18:35Z")
[QUOTE=Carnac the Magnificent!] Add to that: Ayn Rand. 😉 [/QUOTE] Earlier post made whilst lacking caffeine. I concede the error. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/32 "2006-12-31T18:37:25Z")
[QUOTE=kung fu lola] The _Left Behind_ books. Not only are they vaguely anti-semitic, poorly written, and insulting to the intelligence of the readers which have any, they’re not even sound eschatology. If they were going to write about the Apocalypse, they could have at least used good Bible scholarship. [/QUOTE] And while we’re doing that, I suggest we throw the game discs in a microwave. (What a pretty light show!) My contribution: any fad diet books, since I’m very tired of people waving them in my face while telling me everything that’s wrong with what I’m eating. (What’s the name of the fad diet that says oven-roasted chicken makes you fat? I’ve gotten that one a lot lately.) ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/33 "2006-12-31T18:40:56Z")
[QUOTE=Jeep’s Phoenix] My contribution: any fad diet books, since I’m very tired of people waving them in my face while telling me everything that’s wrong with what I’m eating. [/QUOTE] What, you mean you _don’t_ eat according to your blood group? Man you’re a case or obesity waiting to happen. Next you’re going to tell me you eat carbs on days that don’t start with the letter T. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/34 "2006-12-31T18:41:34Z")
Oh, c’mon, **RealiyChuck**. Not even the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen book series? They should be burned. Likewise the _Gossip Girl_ series. My Mum threw her copy of _The Fountainhead_ into th Atlantic Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/35 "2006-12-31T18:44:42Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] **Battlefield: Earth.** [/QUOTE] I’ll see you that and add _Dianetics_ to the pile. Ditto Ayn Rand. I’d also like to add _A Separate Peace_. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/36 "2006-12-31T19:05:30Z")
I second **kung fu lola** , **ITR champion** , and **silenus** on their nominations of the Left Behind, Terry Goodkind, and Battlefield:Earth series, and I’ll add all of Michael Chrichton’s stuff after _The Andromeda Strain_.The amount of our county’s library shelf space hogged by these doorstops is criminal. My own contribution to the bonfire is _Mother of Storms_ by some author whose name mercifully escapes me. Decent-sounding science fiction premise used as a pretext for lurid jingoistic crap with a snuff-porn filling. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/37 "2006-12-31T19:13:18Z")
My German-English dictionary. I could only understand about half of it. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/38 "2006-12-31T19:17:59Z")
THE HANDMAID’S TALE and THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION, both peas in a pod. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/39 "2006-12-31T19:20:13Z")
**FriarTed** - if I were you I’d re-read the Handmaid’s Tale. It’s rapidly becoming a prophetic depicition of the US’s near future. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/40 "2006-12-31T19:25:34Z")
The whole Harlequin catalogs. Whoever heard of a “best before” book before them ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200.md?page=3)