# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/41 "2006-12-31T19:34:54Z")
My list is too long! Here are some highlights: Ayn Rand-check. Let’s throw _Catcher in the Rye_ in there, too. _Bonfire of the Vanities_ --and anything else that man has written; throw him on as well. some horrid “Christian” book entitled, _We All Fall Down_ by Michael someone-worst book, ever. Left Behind Series-IMO, they should NOT be left behind for others to discover. They need to GO. And let’s burn some of the more “reader friendly” versions of the Bible while we’re at it-talk about mangled syntax, poor grammar and banal, shallow sentiment-it takes some evil genuis to ruin the poetry of the Bible, but it has happened. _My Sister’s Keeper_ --what a waste. A good book with a cowardly, sick ending. Gimme a match. Let’s burn Faulkner as well-and Joyce. I hated having to read them in HS and upon revisiting, find them pretentious and boring. And how about all those poorly written history, chemistry, bio and social studies texts we all had to endure throughout school? One of my friends’ books never so much as mentioned the Japanese internment camps, for one example. (does anyone else feel a bit like the Red Queen? Off with their heads!) ---
**Author:** ![aclubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@aclubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aclubs)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/42 "2006-12-31T19:37:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My German-English dictionary. I could only understand about half of it. _snicker_ Here’s another vote for metaphorically burning _The DaVinci Code_. Dumb history plus a bad prose style. Did anyone else find annoying the overuse of cliffhangers? Things along the lines of: "And then Meg looked up at her shooter. Through the blurry haze, she finally recognized it as a man. And in his hand, he held a piece of paper, and what was written on that paper would change the course of history forever! It was a fact so explosive, so exceptionally surprising, so unexpected, that entire empires had risen and fallen to keep it secret! The sheer enormity of this paper was hardly enough for Meg to bear. The man lifted the paper to his eyes and began to read… Chapter 23" ---
**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, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/43 "2006-12-31T19:44:33Z")
Oooh oooh ooh - let me play **aclubs**! “What?” said Sophie. “Yes!” said Robert. “But that would mean…” said Sophie urgently. “I know, if we don’t act now it’ll be too late” said Robert. Robert and Sophie quickly sprinted down the steps of the building and out into the street. They couldn’t for one moment imagine what would meet them there… Chapter 437 ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/44 "2006-12-31T19:46:17Z")
All diet books. **All** of them. Eat right for your blood type? Your _blood type_?? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/45 "2006-12-31T20:12:04Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Anne Coulter goes in the fire. Okay, I’ll settle for her books going in the fire. [/QUOTE] Witches do not burn. ---
**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, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/46 "2006-12-31T20:16:52Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Witches do not burn. [/QUOTE] Nonsense. Witches float. Wood floats. Therefore, witches are made of wood. And what do you burn in a fire? ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/47 "2006-12-31T21:22:07Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Nonsense. Witches float. Wood floats. Therefore, witches are made of wood. And what do you burn in a fire? [/QUOTE] A duck! I’d like to add _Wuthering Heights_ to the fire, if I may. It’s a masterpiece of English literature and all that but every time I read it I nearly drown in all the Atmosphere. Don’t ask why I keep re-reading it; it’s some kind of self-destructive compulsion that leaves me in a black depression for days. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/48 "2006-12-31T22:06:16Z")
Mein Kampf Das Kapital The Communist Manifesto All of Michael Moore’s books ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/49 "2006-12-31T22:12:21Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] THE HANDMAID’S TALE and THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION, both peas in a pod. [/QUOTE] Hmmm, let’s see: Speculative science **fiction** that depicts religious fundamentalists hijacking North America and turning it into a theocracy vs. a rabidly anti-semitic hoax concocted anonymously and used to justify throwing molotov cocktails and spray-painting swatiskas **in real life** on **actual people’s** property. Sorry, I don’t see the similarities. Oh and let’s not forget that _The Handmaid’s Tale_ has actual literary merit. It was written by an author who is so accomplished and well-respected that she is practically a national treasure. Have you even read _The Handmaid’s Tale_, or did some churchy busybody just tell you that it was anti-Christian propaganda? I don’t want to hijack this thread, but I am moved to say that I am extremely offended by the implications of your post, and if I weren’t heading out to welcome 2007 in the snowy wonderland that is my corner of the world, I would pit you. ---
**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, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/50 "2006-12-31T22:13:51Z")
[QUOTE=Marlitharn] I’d like to add _Wuthering Heights_ to the fire, if I may. It’s a masterpiece of English literature and all that but every time I read it I nearly drown in all the Atmosphere. Don’t ask why I keep re-reading it; it’s some kind of self-destructive compulsion that leaves me in a black depression for days. [/QUOTE] Amen! Jesus, I was ready to slit my wrists back in high school when we had to read that tripe. The movie is no better. ---
**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, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/51 "2006-12-31T22:30:41Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Amen! Jesus, I was ready to slit my wrists back in high school when we had to read that tripe. The movie is no better. [/QUOTE] Are you disrespecting Kate Bush? :dubious: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/52 "2006-12-31T22:39:46Z")
_The Butlerian Jihad_ by Brian Herbert. A cheap, boring space opera that just happens to be set in the Dune universe. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/53 "2006-12-31T22:42:49Z")
_Wicked_ by Gregory Maguire, starting with the last increasingly shrill chapters. _Carol Bird’s Christmas_, a treacly Victorian reprint about a saintly dying child that traumatized me at age eight. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/54 "2006-12-31T23:51:35Z")
God, I had forgotten about _Wicked_ --that shrieking rant about nothing. He needs better drugs. I’ll get the lighter fluid. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/55 "2007-01-01T00:12:18Z")
[QUOTE=Regallag\_The\_Axe] _The Butlerian Jihad_ by Brian Herbert. A cheap, boring space opera that just happens to be set in the Dune universe. [/QUOTE] I’ll add my copy too - my mother still seems determined to keep reading the Anderson/Herbert Jr works despite the fact that they’re shit. If they really wanted to desecrate Herbert Senior’s memory why didn’t they just haul him out of his grave and start having sex with his corpse live on TV - it would have been far easier and less offensive to the world of literature. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/56 "2007-01-01T01:20:42Z")
Let’s toss a few Silvia Brown and John Edward books on the heap while we’re at it! ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/57 "2007-01-01T01:48:50Z")
Piers Anthony, except MAYBE the first three Xanth books. Anything that talks about panties. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/58 "2007-01-01T02:45:52Z")
[QUOTE=lawoot] Piers Anthony, except MAYBE the first three Xanth books. Anything that talks about panties. [/QUOTE] HAHAHAHAHA - I came into this thread to post almost exactly what you did. The vast majority of the Xanth books were boring, derivative, unoriginal… Anthony figured out he had a formula and didn’t bother putting any thought into them. Bleah. His non-Xanth stuff was worse - pure nastiness, and not even the weak pleasure of the occasional half-assed pun. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/59 "2007-01-01T03:03:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Wicked by Gregory Maguire, starting with the last increasingly shrill chapters. I tried to reread that recently, and soon stopped. I’ve got no idea why I liked it so much, a few years ago. I remember actually thinking that it was ballsy to set a novel in a beloved fantasy milieu created by another (now dead) writer, and to change it to suit your own dramatic ends. (And, I was glad to find that I wasn’t the only one who thought the Wizard in Baum’s book deserved a bullet in the brain.) But now I find Maguire’s book practically unreadably pretentious. As for book-burning – I wrote a book thirty years ago. It was probably pretty bad, but it really hurt that somebody did, in fact, burn the only copy. However, since we’re just fantasizing . . . Am I really the first to mention _The Bridges of Madison County_? And there’s this little thing called _Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus_, by “Dr.” John Gray. Light 'em up. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200/60 "2007-01-01T03:08:37Z")
_Their Eyes Were Watching God_ - Zora Neale Hurston. There were many books in all my years of schooling that I didn’t read cover to cover; this was the only one that I simply could not read. To call it a steaming pile of shite does a grave injustice to the alimentary canal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-book-burning/386200.md?page=4)