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Brainaddict said:
In my experience there are few more joyless experiences in life than a conversation about books you love with a literature student.

Also, literature students produce pretentious books, on the rare occasions when they actually get around to being creative rather than endlessly repeating the criticisms they were taught in class in an attempt to sound clever.

And they tend to drool over James Joyce.

I'm not prejudiced you understand, I just find literature students annoying when talking about books or writing books. All of them.

Over to you, Pie Face :D
 
Brainaddict said:
In my experience there are few more joyless experiences in life than a conversation about books you love with a literature student.

Also, literature students produce pretentious books, on the rare occasions when they actually get around to being creative rather than endlessly repeating the criticisms they were taught in class in an attempt to sound clever.

And they tend to drool over James Joyce.

I'm not prejudiced you understand, I just find literature students annoying when talking about books or writing books. All of them.

Jesus - I'll keep my mouth shut in future. I'm assuming from your lack of smileys you actually believe this then? You're a real martyr to your cause spending all this painful time talking about books with people who did degrees on literature.

Do you think we hold the reverse opinion?
 
PieEye said:
Jesus - I'll keep my mouth shut in future. I'm assuming from your lack of smileys you actually believe this then? You're a real martyr to your cause spending all this painful time talking about books with people who did degrees on literature.

Do you think we hold the reverse opinion?
Well, I don't think you should take the absence of smilies to mean that it was entirely serious. On the other hand it isn't entirely not serious...

Anyway, I reckon that the further away people get from their literature degrees, the more able they are to talk about books like human beings - which is why I don't mind you lot too much :p
 
PieEye said:
If I had to line everyone up and choose the most literature studenty-esque one of all of us, I'd choose Brainy.

Fairplay - I knew it would irk you slightly but it was essentially a meaningless comment.

I'd take a second to think about what would have happened if I or OU had posted something like your statement about folk who hadn't studied literature.

Reverse snobbery ain't no better than the regular kind, Mr Dignified.

I'd be totally fucking mortified if anyone at BG thought I was trying to look clever at meets and for the record, I've never managed to read a James Joyce :p ;)
 
Brainaddict said:
In my experience there are few more joyless experiences in life than a conversation about books you love with a literature student.

Also, literature students produce pretentious books, on the rare occasions when they actually get around to being creative rather than endlessly repeating the criticisms they were taught in class in an attempt to sound clever.

And they tend to drool over James Joyce.

I'm not prejudiced you understand, I just find literature students annoying when talking about books or writing books. All of them.
I was a literature student. I think you are talking bollocks.
 
PieEye said:
Fairplay - I knew it would irk you slightly but it was essentially a meaningless comment.

I'd take a second to think about what would have happened if I or OU had posted something like your statement about folk who hadn't studied literature.

Reverse snobbery ain't no better than the regular kind, Mr Dignified.

I'd be totally fucking mortified if anyone at BG thought I was trying to look clever at meets and for the record, I've never managed to read a James Joyce :p ;)
Hmm, I think you took it a little more seriously than I intended it - sorry for any offence caused.

But if I go along with your seriousness for a moment - those who haven't studied literature at university aren't necessarily in that state by choice, whereas those who have studied it obviously chose to - I therefore don't think that taking the piss out of those who've done it is as bad as taking the piss out of those who haven't :p
 
PieEye said:
I'd be totally fucking mortified if anyone at BG thought I was trying to look clever at meets and for the record, I've never managed to read a James Joyce :p ;)

I managed Dubliners, but only cos it has some proper writing in it.


I never feel clever at BG meetings - I usually go the populist route compared to the others.
 
Brainaddict said:
those who haven't studied literature at university aren't necessarily in that state by choice, whereas those who have studied it obviously chose to - I therefore don't think that taking the piss out of those who've done it is as bad as taking the piss out of those who haven't :p


This bit confuses me :( Does it mean I chose to be joyless :( :mad:

I've just re-read your OP - I think my knee jerked somewhat :o Perhaps I'm worried about coming across as a wanky stooode. We need more Hollis in these situations.
 
as you can probably tell i am sciences graduate.. but my sister is an uber-literature student (who re-reads middlemarch at least once a year and is currently writing a literary biography ) i cannot think of anyone more enthusiastic about good books.

i think the kernel of truth to brainy's provocative sweeping generalization is that all sorts of people are overly impressed by any cleverness that validates their own modest talents..

the same could be said of unremarkable maths grads feeling like they can relate to einstein or newton :)

a lot of people will have studied literature because they were good at picking apart writing styles, spotting allusions and comparing X to Y... very rarely of course has the author intended to write in a particular style, steal particular themes, they just write what occurs to them.. and so it irks that 'literature' comes to be defined as a game.

but that is far from the whole picture.. lots of people just love 'good' books and a hell of a lot of the greatest of literature is genuinely great..

so on the whole.. i don't think 'liked by literature students' is a very useful yard-stick for rejecting book choices.

whereas 'it's a bit like the da vinci code' is perfect!
 
oooh - glad i missed this one. i must score two demerits - not only an ex literature student, but a literature teacher :eek:
 
Hollis said:
Looking like a very low turnout this month...
:(

I messed this up Hollis - I'm sorry... booked then cos that's when my mum could go and didn't have bg in my diary yet... :(
 
Yeah - I funked up too - bought tix to Nights at the Circus. Oops etc. I'm still rereading it and expect to finish by early next week if someone wants to borrow it? Only 130 pages or so.
 
Seriously though, I can't make the 16th.. alot of other people are double booked now.. does anyone want to shift the date?
 
Hollis said:
Seriously though, I can't make the 16th.. alot of other people are double booked now.. does anyone want to shift the date?
Seems like it would be a good idea. We could go for the 15th perhaps, or if not then the 23rd. I'd go for the 15th.
 
Possibly - I'm supposed to be moving into a new flat but am trying to avoid doing it on a wednesday. I won't know until nearer the time so don't take me into account - I'll try to make it whatever you decide.
 
Assuming nobody else has expressed any opinion on this by the end of the day, I suggest we change it to the 15th then.. ho hum. :)
 
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