overrated authors (drama, poets, English, prose)

[Lamplight]

I've tried and failed several times to read Moby Dick. I want to like it, but I just can't. After a few minutes of reading my mind is always somewhere else, and eventually I realize I'm no longer even reading.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Lickety_Split

8--Sylvia Plath

I completely disagree. I think she was a brilliant writer.

[DivronOrl]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

I completely disagree. I think she was a brilliant writer.

Sylvia Plath's works inspired me to write confessional poems.

[DivronOrl]

Originally Posted by Lickety_Split

1--Ernest Hemingway

2--Charles Bukowski

3--Gabriel Garcia Marques

4--Dan Brown

5--James Patterson

6--Herman Melville

7--Emily Bronte

8--Sylvia Plath

agreed, except #s 1, 3, and 8!

[Fear&Whiskey]

Originally Posted by DivronOrl

agreed, except #s 1, 3, and 8!

'For Whom The Bell Tolls' is easily one of the best novels of the 20th Century. I still don't know what Hemingway is doing on a list with Dan Brown

Did anybody anywhere ever really rate Dan Brown?

[mommabear2]

Originally Posted by Sandhillian

James Michener. I've always thought a hallmark of a good writer is being able to convey the meaning clearly in as few words as possible.

I agree with you. Then again, I only read Poland and nearly died of boredom.

[DivronOrl]

Originally Posted by Fear&Whiskey

'For Whom The Bell Tolls' is easily one of the best novels of the 20th Century. I still don't know what Hemingway is doing on a list with Dan Brown

Did anybody anywhere ever really rate Dan Brown?

agreed! i also adore The Sun Also Rises and his short stories like The Killers, A Clean, Well-lighted Place, and Hills Like White Elephant. I wonder why Hemingway and Plath are frequently mentioned.,

[The Homogenizer]

I don't understand why Fitzgerald is popular.

Originally Posted by Fear&Whiskey

Are all objectivists socially inept narcissists? Discuss... Whoops, think that might have been 'The Virtue Of Selfishness'.

Thank you for that display of social competence.

[royalfuchsia]

Stephen King.

I completely admit he is a good writer. I love the way he develops his stories. I even have his books on my shelves, especially the short stories. But I hate his monsters!

When I read a Stephen King book: Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God... I can't believe I'm all alone....

When I reach the last pages: Huh? That's supposed to be scary? Uhm.

[Escort Rider]

Shakespeare. This will be easy to misunderstand, so I will be as clear as possible. I do not view Shakespeare as a bad writer. He is rather obviously a major writer, an astute student of human behavior, and a high achiever in the writing of both poetry and plays. He is an excellent writer. But the thread title asks for opinions about "overrated authors".

So let's look at Shakespeare's rating; he is rated as one of a small handful of the greatest writers of all time, in any language. Such serious and thoughtful academic critics as Harold Bloom rate him as the greatest writer who has written in the English language.

I just do not concur, although I admit that I have not read one-tenth as much as Harold Bloom. However, I think it is understood that we posters here are not (with perhaps the very rare exception) Ph.D.'s in literature; we are just people who like to read and who are sharing our opinions.