J.D Salinger is dead, yo

[NachoManLance]

http://tinyurl.com/yjgfhk9

As a fan of literature in general, and in particular The Catcher In The Rye", I was saddened to hear the news even though its been coming for awhile. I'm very glad though that I was able to read his stuff and appreciate it for what it was... even if it was against my own will. (High School sucked that way)

Did "The Cacher In The Rye" mean anything special to you, if you've read? Discuss and such if you'd like.


Is anyone else just a little unnerved that the only threads I seem to start are about somebody dying? Good lord, I need a hobby.

[sdhonda]

I await with dread all the people who will suddenly pick Catcher and Nine Stories for no other reason than that the author of them had died. It reaks of.......... well guess.

It probably won't be as bad as, say, Micheal Jacksons death, given that Mr. Salinger was not as generally popular, and the nature of their mediums and, ah, fandoms, but still...

[Arius]

Is anyone else just a little unnerved that the only threads I seem to start are about somebody dying? Good lord, I need a hobby.

Meh, I start most of my replies by making a pass at someone, gorgeous.

---

I've never actually read Catcher in the Rye. All I've learned about it is that if you buy it, the government follows you in silent helicopters.

[Metcarfre]

When a body meet a body, comin' through the rye...

[Elomin Sha]

Or should I?

[theDreamer]

...I read the first three pages of Catcher in the Rye and simply gave up.

I even managed to get through three chapters of Twilight before giving up on it as utter crap (before all the Twilight hate. I only had heard good things at this point).

Catcher in the Rye is worse than _Twilight._

[tak197]

I await with dread all the people who will suddenly pick Catcher and Nine Stories for no other reason than that the author of them had died. It reaks of.......... well guess.

It probably won't be as bad as, say, Micheal Jacksons death, given that Mr. Salinger was not as generally popular, and the nature of their mediums and, ah, fandoms, but still...

Unfortunately, this logic was used on me for defending the Twilight series, but it still holds true:

"If it gets one more person interested in reading and literature, then it's still valid."

I did not have to read Catcher in the Rye in school, but I read a lot of other "classics", including Cyrano, 1984, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Cat's Cradle, The Crucible, The Jungle, etc...

[infinite_guest]

I personally never liked Catcher in the Rye. It reminded me of too many people I knew at the time I read it who I hated. Including myself, incidentally.

[Gordon Fearman]

I pretty much hated Catcher in the Rye. Seriously, shut up about the fish!

[infinite_guest]

...I read the first three pages of Catcher in the Rye and simply gave up.

I even managed to get through three chapters of Twilight before giving up on it as utter crap (before all the Twilight hate. I only had heard good things at this point).

Catcher in the Rye is worse than _Twilight._

Of course, when you apply this logic, for me, 1984 and Pride and Prejudice are worse than Twilight for me, since I got all the way through Twilight (as much as I hated myself for doing so) and got through about thirty pages of both those classics before giving up. To which I would say no, they've both got a infinitely more literary merit. I just thought they were boring.

Not to say that Twilight wasn't boring, but I could just turn my brain off when I read it.

[tak197]

I attempted Wuthering Heights and Count of Monte Cristo in 9th grade. I refuse to pick up Twilight.

[TheRocket]

The Outsiders and To Kill A Mocking Bird were my favorite school read books. *sighhhhhh*


In English, we were able to chose which book we read and did 25 reports on. I chose Charles Dickens: Great Expectations. I think Catcher in the Rye was one of the choices. I love Charles Dickens stories, I HATE his style of writing.

Did anyone have to read a STUPID FUCKING BOOK about some dude named Dudley? (and no, I'm not talking about the dragon) This book made me FURIOUS.

[sdhonda]

I await with dread all the people who will suddenly pick Catcher and Nine Stories for no other reason than that the author of them had died. It reaks of.......... well guess.

It probably won't be as bad as, say, Micheal Jacksons death, given that Mr. Salinger was not as generally popular, and the nature of their mediums and, ah, fandoms, but still...

Unfortunately, this logic was used on me for defending the Twilight series, but it still holds true.

Huh? No, that is not what I meant.

Certainly, more people ought to be reading the works of Salinger et al. But suddenly picking up these works just because the person who wrote it died, or it's the anniversary of it's publication, or some shit like that, is just shallow. It's like x-mas: the one time of year one should be nice and cheerful.

Like one should not be like that any other time!

[Evil Jim]

I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought Catcher in the Rye was rubbish. A horribly paced, dull & rambling narrative with no character development or real point. It was edgy when published & people just didn't seem to notice that later on, far more shocking things were being printed. I've no ill will toward Salinger tho'. He seemed to have lived a good life. I wish I could write one book & live off it for the rest of my life.

Personally, I prefer his Terminator stuff discovered last summer.

Unrelated, Mark David Chapman is up for parole again in August of this year. Let's hope he gets a release. He's served his time.

[tak197]

The Outsiders and To Kill A Mockingbird were my favorite school read books. *sighhhhhh*

OOooooh, good ones. Especially since AFI named Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird the number one HERO of any movie in the last 100+ years. Atticus really does strike you as a great honorable man.

The Outsiders is a classic from the 50s era too.

[sdhonda]

I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought Catcher in the Rye was rubbish. A horribly paced, dull & rambling narrative with no character development or real point. It was edgy when published & people just didn't seem to notice that later on, far more shocking things were being printed. I've no ill will toward Salinger tho'. He seemed to have lived a good life. I wish I could write one book & live off it for the rest of my life.

Personally, I prefer his Terminator stuff discovered last summer.

Unrelated, Mark David Chapman is up for parole again in August of this year. Let's hope he gets a release. He's served his time.

I would have honestly beleived that if they did Pynchon instead of Salinger.

[It's My Delorean]

I'm a great fan of 1984, which I read in grade twelve English. And which I have to read again for, well, grade twelve English. Curse you, University application minimum of 60% Curse you for not making an exception for 3 friggin' marks! Honestly, redoing a whole course, because you had 57%... utter madness. Ah, well, at least I get to keep some of the books this time.

[Genghis Ares]

I never read "The Catcher in the Rye".

As for books I was forced to read in school, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was the only good one.

[theDreamer]

I was "forced" to read Picture of Dorian Gray.

I had already read it, and so it's like "SCORE! I love this novel!"

[Hakaryu]

Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorite books.

As for books we were forced to read in school,Candide by Voltaire was boring as hell and I thought the main character was very one dimensional.

[Evil Jim]

I enjoyed "To Kill a Mockingbird" & "Fahrenheit 451" despite the fact that they were required reading in school. Most other such assignments were unmemorable. I read a hell of a lot of Stephen King on my own in high school. Some of his books were thicker than my textbooks.

[Jack]

I pretty much hated Catcher in the Rye. Seriously, shut up about the fish!

I'm pretty sure he talks about ducks, but I could be wrong. The ducks are used as a metaphor, I believe.

I liked Catcher in the Rye. I thought it was good. It's sad to hear that J.D. Salinger died.

[Huxley]

I pretty much hated Catcher in the Rye. Seriously, shut up about the fish!

I'm pretty sure he talks about ducks, but I could be wrong. The ducks are used as a metaphor, I believe.

I liked Catcher in the Rye. I thought it was good. It's sad to hear that J.D. Salinger died.

The ducks are supposed represent fish, Jack, you just need to read into the subtext! It's a metaphor, JEEZ.

[Bananafish]

I like Catcher in the Rye in high school, doubt I'd like it now though. Still, I owe the man thanks for my username.

Wasn't there a guy who was making a sequel to Catcher in the Rye and Salinger sued him or something?

This is the first I've heard of him having a safe, I can't wait to find out if it exists or if there's some unpublished books in it!

[Jack]

I pretty much hated Catcher in the Rye. Seriously, shut up about the fish!

I'm pretty sure he talks about ducks, but I could be wrong. The ducks are used as a metaphor, I believe.

I liked Catcher in the Rye. I thought it was good. It's sad to hear that J.D. Salinger died.

The ducks are supposed represent fish, Jack, you just need to read into the subtext! It's a metaphor, JEEZ.

How could I be so ignorant!?