I had World Lit in 9th grade, Brit lit in 10th, Amer Lit in 11th, and the "classics" in 12th.
Greek tragedies, Dante's inferno (which I really loved) - all 12th grade.
The King of Cups expects a picnic. But this is not his birthday!
Drusilla ,'Conversations with Dead People'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
le nubian - Mar 31, 2011 10:14:30 am PDT #14227 of 28292
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
Pix - Mar 31, 2011 10:29:44 am PDT #14228 of 28292
The status is NOT quo.
Dark urban fantasy, le nub.
Laga - Mar 31, 2011 2:26:48 pm PDT #14229 of 28292
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
If you were reading a classic for the first time, for instance: Penguin Classics: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, would you read the 40 page introduction? If you did read that introduction, would you be surprised to find it contains spoilers for several major plot points? Do we suppose the gang at Penguin assume anyone reading this edition already knows the story fairly well? (I knew about half the things I was spoiled for).
I loved the introduction for Moby Dick. It mostly focused on Melville's experiences with whaling and I don't recall if it spoiled me for anything I didn't already know.
I'm a bit pissed now that the few things I didn't alredy know about Frankenstein will no longer be surprises.
Pix - Mar 31, 2011 2:31:31 pm PDT #14230 of 28292
The status is NOT quo.
Always read the introduction after you've read the book if you don't want to be spoiled. I tell my kidlets that all the time. Think of them as critical essays about the book rather than an intro to the author, generally. I think most introductions should actually be Afterwords.
Strix - Mar 31, 2011 2:31:57 pm PDT #14231 of 28292
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Laga, I do assume that intros or prefaces to a classic novel are going to be a form of lit crit for the novel.
Now, if an intro or preface for a newer novel contained spoilers, I'd be pissed -- general rule, if an intro is more than two pages, it's a critical essay and probably will contain spoilers.
(I LOVE prefaces, intros and footnotes. Especially footnotes for a biography. You can find the JUICIEST stuff there! I also always read a bibliography. I R GEEK.)
ETA -- English teacher x-post! Hee!
Pix - Mar 31, 2011 2:32:33 pm PDT #14232 of 28292
The status is NOT quo.
As per usual, I am Erin.
EpicTangent - Mar 31, 2011 2:40:31 pm PDT #14233 of 28292
Why isn't everyone pelting me with JOY, dammit? - Zenkitty
One word of warning--it's basically one long story broken into five books, and each one ends on a mega cliffhanger.
So it does eventually end? I got the first for free at ComicCon and liked it enough that I bought the 2nd. I bought the 3rd thinking that it would wrap a trilogy, but then saw on Amazon there were more, got a little ticked at the constant stream of cliffhangers with no real resolution, and got accidentally spoiled about Mack getting caught in the sexual thrall of one of the fae and put the third aside in disgust/disdain. It does redeem itself?
le nubian - Mar 31, 2011 2:55:27 pm PDT #14234 of 28292
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
Pix, I have never heard of the category "urban fantasy." What is it? Should I just google?
I learn something new every day.
Strix - Mar 31, 2011 3:02:17 pm PDT #14235 of 28292
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Urban fantasy is a huge genre subset -- it can incorporate traditional elements of fantasy, but usually in a modern setting.
Often, it has a female protagonist. The Wikipedia definition is actually pretty good.
Pix - Mar 31, 2011 3:03:39 pm PDT #14236 of 28292
The status is NOT quo.
Urban Fantasy. It's one of my favorite genres when done well. If you're new to it, I'd suggest starting with Patricia Briggs' Moon Called or Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking.
Epic, yes, it ends in epic fashion (no pun intended) with the fifth book. I read them all in a row, so I didn't get frustrated, but I can see how you would be if you didn't have access to them. The first book was meh compared to the rest, IMO.