Underappreciated Literature Gems

Brotherofwill

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Hubilub said:
"The Long Ships" by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson.

It's well-known in Sweden, but more people need to read it! It's about the viking Red Orm and his adventures over the world.
Sounds awesome, would love to read it. Is it available in English?

On a similar note, I'd recommend Nibelungenlied, or The Song of the Nibelungs. It's the most traditional and classic fantasy epic I've ever read, the kind of stuff that all the derivative modern games (like Soul Calibur) are based on. It was written in the 13th Century and has that really old feel to it, it's totally worth it.
 

mekose

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I'm a big Garth Nix fan myself. I've read nearly all his work, my favorite of course being the old kingdom series. More commonly know as Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen. Although I just finished The Seventh Tower series and it's damn near inspired me to make a video game mod adaptation.
 

un533n

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Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
1984, more people should seriously read it,
1984... seriously.. You and the guy who think The Catcher in the Rye are under-appreciated are crazy. Those books are literally required reading for most high schools.
Really? You are the first person that has mentioned so, In fact I have never encounted a high school that has required people to read 1984, I should know I work as a TA.
It's on EVERY list of suggested books for high school students I've ever seen. It's referenced out the ass. We're talking about gems here.. not something every English teacher I know could ramble on about for an hour.

The Fifty Year Sword is probably the most elusive gem of underrated books. Mark Z originally had it published in the Netherlands.. and hardly any American copies were around until much after. If you can speak Dutch you can find a copy for 15$, but if you're not so inclined.. it's a little more pricey. Border's definitely doesn't carry this one.
 

Jamieson 90

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un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
1984, more people should seriously read it,
1984... seriously.. You and the guy who think The Catcher in the Rye are under-appreciated are crazy. Those books are literally required reading for most high schools.
Really? You are the first person that has mentioned so, In fact I have never encounted a high school that has required people to read 1984, I should know I work as a TA.
It's on EVERY list of suggested books for high school students I've ever seen. It's referenced out the ass. We're talking about gems here.. not something every English teacher I know could ramble on about for an hour.

The Fifty Year Sword is probably the most elusive gem of underrated books. Mark Z originally had it published in the Netherlands.. and hardly any American copies were around until much after. If you can speak Dutch you can find a copy for 15$, but if you're not so inclined.. it's a little more pricey. Border's definitely doesn't carry this one.
It may have been required for your school, but how do you know it was on other schools required reading? I can't imagine you went to many High schools during your education.

It also depends on what schools we are talking about as well, State comprehensives don't have the same lists as private schools. As I intially said, I work as a TA, Teachers Assistant, I have never encountered any school that requires pupils to read 1984, Maybe thats just in my local area though so perhaps it differs where you live.
 

bubba145

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Khaiseri said:
The Bartimaeus Trilogy, only one person in the Escapist apart from me has read it. And no one I know has read it.
I read them but i think the Turtledove series are awesome Magic bah an American made Assualt rifle Awesome.
also i hated the final ending
 

psivamp

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Layz92 said:
The "Watch" series of books by Sergei Lukyanenko. I have read them all and they rock. They won't ruin the movies made about them either because the movies have little in common other than character names and a few scenes that they take from books later in the series etc.
Agreed.

Mitzi952 said:
Joe Abercrombie's "First Law" Series - they rule.
Not deep works, but very enjoyable.

Fantasy: Anything China Mieville, but especially those set in Bas-Lag (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council).

Sci-Fi: Scott Westerfeld's Risen Empire. Joe Haldeman's The Forever War - not sure this one's "underrated", I just think more people should read it.

Literature: 19th century Russian novels beginning with Lermontov's A Hero of our Times
 

aboyokayak

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There are two series that I constantly recommend that no one has heard of. The Honorverse by David Weber and Paladin of Shadows by John Ringo.

Honorverse is some of the best modern space opera I have read. There is so much development of characters, not to mention details on tech and governments that you really come to understand the universe. David Weber is also not afraid to kill off characters he has spent a lot of time developing.

The Paladin of Shadows series contains some extremely offensive scenes but at the same time has some of the most amazing battle sequences I have read. In one scene a heli gives new meaning to overkill while blaring DragonForce out its speakers. Another scene involves a man getting blown in half by a large caliber sniper round while giving an interview. It is pure liquid awesome when it stays away from certain issues that downgrade it to simply liquid awesome.
 

un533n

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Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
1984, more people should seriously read it,
1984... seriously.. You and the guy who think The Catcher in the Rye are under-appreciated are crazy. Those books are literally required reading for most high schools.
Really? You are the first person that has mentioned so, In fact I have never encounted a high school that has required people to read 1984, I should know I work as a TA.
It's on EVERY list of suggested books for high school students I've ever seen. It's referenced out the ass. We're talking about gems here.. not something every English teacher I know could ramble on about for an hour.

The Fifty Year Sword is probably the most elusive gem of underrated books. Mark Z originally had it published in the Netherlands.. and hardly any American copies were around until much after. If you can speak Dutch you can find a copy for 15$, but if you're not so inclined.. it's a little more pricey. Border's definitely doesn't carry this one.
It may have been required for your school, but how do you know it was on other schools required reading? I can't imagine you went to many High schools during your education.

It also depends on what schools we are talking about as well, State comprehensives don't have the same lists as private schools. As I intially said, I work as a TA, Teachers Assistant, I have never encountered any school that requires pupils to read 1984, Maybe thats just in my local area though so perhaps it differs where you live.
I don't know many intelligent people who haven't read 1984, or The Catcher in the Rye. Big whoop, Mr. TA. I would scoff at you and make a joke about how you probably teach at some run down inner city school, but I currently attend such a school, and that would make me look silly.

I could have made my point clearer by saying that they're practically required reading. They're 2 books that any young reader would be foolish to pass up.

They're both absolute classics, and you're an idiot if you think they're "gems."
 

Jamieson 90

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un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
1984, more people should seriously read it,
1984... seriously.. You and the guy who think The Catcher in the Rye are under-appreciated are crazy. Those books are literally required reading for most high schools.
Really? You are the first person that has mentioned so, In fact I have never encounted a high school that has required people to read 1984, I should know I work as a TA.
It's on EVERY list of suggested books for high school students I've ever seen. It's referenced out the ass. We're talking about gems here.. not something every English teacher I know could ramble on about for an hour.

The Fifty Year Sword is probably the most elusive gem of underrated books. Mark Z originally had it published in the Netherlands.. and hardly any American copies were around until much after. If you can speak Dutch you can find a copy for 15$, but if you're not so inclined.. it's a little more pricey. Border's definitely doesn't carry this one.
It may have been required for your school, but how do you know it was on other schools required reading? I can't imagine you went to many High schools during your education.

It also depends on what schools we are talking about as well, State comprehensives don't have the same lists as private schools. As I intially said, I work as a TA, Teachers Assistant, I have never encountered any school that requires pupils to read 1984, Maybe thats just in my local area though so perhaps it differs where you live.
I don't know many intelligent people who haven't read 1984, or The Catcher in the Rye. Big whoop, Mr. TA. I would scoff at you and make a joke about how you probably teach at some run down inner city school, but I currently attend such a school, and that would make me look silly.

I could have made my point clearer by saying that they're practically required reading. They're 2 books that any young reader would be foolish to pass up.

They're both absolute classics, and you're an idiot if you think they're "gems."
Highlighted in bold is where your argument falls down, "I don't know many intellgent people who haven't read 1984,or the Catcher in the Rye". some people are not intelligent, Some don't consider reading a valuable way to pass their time, some people are illterate or have SEN (special educational needs), the point is there are many reasons why someone would not read either of the books.

I regard the two as classics, especially 1984, However in my experience I know rather a lot of people (including school children) who have not read them, so in my eyes they are gems.

Quite a lot of young people in run down comprehensives do not even like school nevermind reading, trying to get them to read something like 1984 would be equal to suicide, so teachers unfortunately don't bother and would rather study more contemporary books that are more interesting to their classes, in an attempt to keep their attention.

You need to understand that not everyone lives in the same circumstances as yourself, not everyone will read the same books or poetry that you do/did in school, I' am simply trying to demonstrate that things are different in other schools/places.

Anyway you can either accept that or not, either way I no longer care to discuss the matter anymore.
 

un533n

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Nov 24, 2008
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Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
1984, more people should seriously read it,
1984... seriously.. You and the guy who think The Catcher in the Rye are under-appreciated are crazy. Those books are literally required reading for most high schools.
Really? You are the first person that has mentioned so, In fact I have never encounted a high school that has required people to read 1984, I should know I work as a TA.
It's on EVERY list of suggested books for high school students I've ever seen. It's referenced out the ass. We're talking about gems here.. not something every English teacher I know could ramble on about for an hour.

The Fifty Year Sword is probably the most elusive gem of underrated books. Mark Z originally had it published in the Netherlands.. and hardly any American copies were around until much after. If you can speak Dutch you can find a copy for 15$, but if you're not so inclined.. it's a little more pricey. Border's definitely doesn't carry this one.
It may have been required for your school, but how do you know it was on other schools required reading? I can't imagine you went to many High schools during your education.

It also depends on what schools we are talking about as well, State comprehensives don't have the same lists as private schools. As I intially said, I work as a TA, Teachers Assistant, I have never encountered any school that requires pupils to read 1984, Maybe thats just in my local area though so perhaps it differs where you live.
I don't know many intelligent people who haven't read 1984, or The Catcher in the Rye. Big whoop, Mr. TA. I would scoff at you and make a joke about how you probably teach at some run down inner city school, but I currently attend such a school, and that would make me look silly.

I could have made my point clearer by saying that they're practically required reading. They're 2 books that any young reader would be foolish to pass up.

They're both absolute classics, and you're an idiot if you think they're "gems."
Highlighted in bold is where your argument falls down, "I don't know many intellgent people who haven't read 1984,or the Catcher in the Rye". some people are not intelligent, Some don't consider reading a valuable way to pass their time, some people are illterate or have SEN (special educational needs), the point is there are many reasons why someone would not read either of the books.

I regard the two as classics, especially 1984, However in my experience I know rather a lot of people (including school children) who have not read them, so in my eyes they are gems.

Quite a lot of young people in run down comprehensives do not even like school nevermind reading, trying to get them to read something like 1984 would be equal to suicide, so teachers unfortunately don't bother and would rather study more contemporary books that are more interesting to their classes, in an attempt to keep their attention.

You need to understand that not everyone lives in the same circumstances as yourself, not everyone will read the same books or poetry that you do/did in school, I' am simply trying to demonstrate that things are different in other schools/places.

Anyway you can either accept that or not, either way I no longer care to discuss the matter anymore.
I thought we were discussing literary gems, not books that teachers decided not to suggest because the kids you're describing would rather smoke pot and work at wendy's forever(ie. kill themselves.). Your argument is bunk.

Next time you're being a TA, pick a smart kid and hand him a copy of 1984, or give him a hall pass to the library and suggest it to him. Give The Catcher in the Rye to a freshmen though, you know what I'm sayin? The younger the reader of that one, the better. The whole coming of age idea is a great step in high school, and the book showcases that.

A literary gem to compare to The Catcher would be a book called "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. I might have cried, I can't remember. Really pleasant read though.

It's more modern than Catcher, it's similar in a few ways, but drastically different in a few key ways. Read it!


Good day, Sir
 

Anticitizen_Two

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Jan 18, 2010
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TheFacelessOne said:
Recently, I have been very addicted to the Ender's Game series. I swear, it's like readable crack.

But sadly, this book series doesn't get much attention (at least where I am) or is even well known. Which is really, really sad and makes me very sad because the books are very good and Orson Scott Card is a good author.

So, have you ever loved a book that is not well known?
I always thought Ender's Game was really well-known... but then again I'm more well-versed on sci-fi than those around me, that might contribute to my thinking that.
 

Jamieson 90

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Mar 29, 2010
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un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
un533n said:
Jamieson 90 said:
1984, more people should seriously read it,
1984... seriously.. You and the guy who think The Catcher in the Rye are under-appreciated are crazy. Those books are literally required reading for most high schools.
Really? You are the first person that has mentioned so, In fact I have never encounted a high school that has required people to read 1984, I should know I work as a TA.
It's on EVERY list of suggested books for high school students I've ever seen. It's referenced out the ass. We're talking about gems here.. not something every English teacher I know could ramble on about for an hour.

The Fifty Year Sword is probably the most elusive gem of underrated books. Mark Z originally had it published in the Netherlands.. and hardly any American copies were around until much after. If you can speak Dutch you can find a copy for 15$, but if you're not so inclined.. it's a little more pricey. Border's definitely doesn't carry this one.
It may have been required for your school, but how do you know it was on other schools required reading? I can't imagine you went to many High schools during your education.

It also depends on what schools we are talking about as well, State comprehensives don't have the same lists as private schools. As I intially said, I work as a TA, Teachers Assistant, I have never encountered any school that requires pupils to read 1984, Maybe thats just in my local area though so perhaps it differs where you live.
I don't know many intelligent people who haven't read 1984, or The Catcher in the Rye. Big whoop, Mr. TA. I would scoff at you and make a joke about how you probably teach at some run down inner city school, but I currently attend such a school, and that would make me look silly.

I could have made my point clearer by saying that they're practically required reading. They're 2 books that any young reader would be foolish to pass up.

They're both absolute classics, and you're an idiot if you think they're "gems."
Highlighted in bold is where your argument falls down, "I don't know many intellgent people who haven't read 1984,or the Catcher in the Rye". some people are not intelligent, Some don't consider reading a valuable way to pass their time, some people are illterate or have SEN (special educational needs), the point is there are many reasons why someone would not read either of the books.

I regard the two as classics, especially 1984, However in my experience I know rather a lot of people (including school children) who have not read them, so in my eyes they are gems.

Quite a lot of young people in run down comprehensives do not even like school nevermind reading, trying to get them to read something like 1984 would be equal to suicide, so teachers unfortunately don't bother and would rather study more contemporary books that are more interesting to their classes, in an attempt to keep their attention.

You need to understand that not everyone lives in the same circumstances as yourself, not everyone will read the same books or poetry that you do/did in school, I' am simply trying to demonstrate that things are different in other schools/places.

Anyway you can either accept that or not, either way I no longer care to discuss the matter anymore.
I thought we were discussing literary gems, not books that teachers decided not to suggest because the kids you're describing would rather smoke pot and work at wendy's forever(ie. kill themselves.). Your argument is bunk.

Next time you're being a TA, pick a smart kid and hand him a copy of 1984, or give him a hall pass to the library and suggest it to him. Give The Catcher in the Rye to a freshmen though, you know what I'm sayin? The younger the reader of that one, the better. The whole coming of age idea is a great step in high school, and the book showcases that.

A literary gem to compare to The Catcher would be a book called "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. I might have cried, I can't remember. Really pleasant read though.

It's more modern than Catcher, it's similar in a few ways, but drastically different in a few key ways. Read it!


Good day, Sir
I see you mentioned "freshmen" I would take that means you live in the States, this might explain why our views differ so much, I live and work in the UK where education is much different, hence our differing views. Highschool in the UK is 11-16 year olds, there is no middle school.

I was discussing "literary gems" , I was explaining the reasons for why people don't read them, i.e books that are not properly valued and should be read more, we both agree that people should read both books anyway.

I like how you mention that I should hand out books to pupils lol, I would probably get into some disiplinary action if I provided pupils material that was not authorised by the teacher/departement, its not good for preparing pupils for exam papers either.

Have a good day,
 

Mostly Harmless

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Aug 11, 2008
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And now back to the topic at hand: The Song of Ice and Fire series. Best fantasy series I have ever read. Do no be intimidated by its size. I read the second book in a week even though it was close to a thousand pages.
Oh and I agree with the enders series being literary crack, great series even if the last one book ended with its own dues-ex machine.
 

Samurai Goomba

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Read Broken Angels by Richard Morgan. I read it about the same time as Neuromancer, but I like Morgan's writing style a lot more. Gibson is just really stiff, and seems to get hung up on long descriptions. Morgan conveys the same information more casually. Neurachem is just a great idea which works really well in the story. I find all the jargon (every cyberpunk story has some) is easy to follow, since each piece is introduced fairly leisurely and the concepts are central to the story (rather than being random nonsense which is mentioned once and never again).

The science fiction anthology "space dreadnoughts" contains some great stories. "A Question of Courage" is an excellent piece about war and bravado/courage/heroism. It's not what you think (probably.) "Superiority" is a sweet Arthur C. Clarke story about the difference between lab and field testing, and how you can lose a war by being too good. "Shadow on the Stars" is my favorite. It's a tactical science fiction piece in the style of Timothy Zahn's better works.
 

Mr Somewhere

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John Connolly is a fairly popular author over here. His Charlie Parker detective series are all bestsellers I believe, yet, it's odd that nobody seems to mention his fantastic collection of horror stories and his novel The Books of Lost Things. Really refreshing works, I was hooked and read 'em all in one go. I wish people would talk about it more, he deserves recognition.