Chrysalis Academy Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 It seems to me that we're talking about two different judgments here. There's the question of merit (whether a book is 'good' - whatever that means - and some parents set the bar very high). Then there is the concept of 'appropriateness', or whether a book contains subject matter that might be detrimental for a child of a certain age. For some of us, there can be many books and movies that would fall into the middle ground of not-great-but-not-immoral-or-dangerous. Totally agree with your distinction. I don't know that I have high standards, I'm just easily annoyed. ;) :D I hate books written in the present tense. I had the same trouble with Joy Hakim's science books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Totally agree with your distinction. I don't know that I have high standards, I'm just easily annoyed. ;) :D I hate books written in the present tense. I had the same trouble with Joy Hakim's science books. This article says there are parts of Jane Eyre that use the present tense, but they don't actually quote any, so who knows? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I can verify that parts of Jane Eyre are present tense. Rose, get ready to be annoyed. Present tense is massively more popular as a literary device than ever before. I actually don't think present tense means poorly written at all. I mean, Hillary Mantel. Come on. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I can verify that parts of Jane Eyre are present tense. Rose, get ready to be annoyed. Present tense is massively more popular as a literary device than ever before. I actually don't think present tense means poorly written at all. I mean, Hillary Mantel. Come on. Point taken! And I was mostly being silly, that's not my only criterion for judgment, obviously. But if it's the main thing I notice about the book, and have trouble getting past, then it's definitely missing . . . something. I'm actually trying to avoid really and truly criticizing HG on this thread, given how many people really like it. ;) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Point taken! And I was mostly being silly, that's not my only criterion for judgment, obviously. But if it's the main thing I notice about the book, and have trouble getting past, then it's definitely missing . . . something. I'm actually trying to avoid really and truly criticizing HG on this thread, given how many people really like it. ;) And I'm hesitant to over defend it. I mean, I enjoyed it and think the writing wasn't terrible, but I also don't think it's a don't miss sort of book. If it's not a kid's cup of tea, that's fine. I keep being surprised that it's on so many school reading lists these days. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplejackmama Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Life is too short to spend your life only reading Great WritingTM, if you ask me :)Ha! I see it the exact opposite. Life is too short to read bad writing. ;) Different strokes for different folks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summerhauss Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Honestly, I would wait though it does depend on the maturity of your kiddos. In our household we've made it a rule to wait for "grown-up book" such as the Hunger Games until they are 12 or 13. This turn into something they can look forward to and get more excited about then they would if I just handed it to them before they were ready to understand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.