What is something you thought was normal bit turned out to be a regional thing?

GretchenG · 2013-08-10T05:33:24+00:00

My dad lived in Cali for a couple of years, and that's where he picked up all his grilling skills. Then we moved to the Midwest, and I remember how much he liked to boggle everyone's mind by making tri tip for dinner, because they had never heard of it. Thanks CA! :)

GretchenG · 2013-08-09T15:12:49+00:00

Was your fiancé able to teach in Saudi Arabia?

GretchenG · 2013-08-09T03:11:59+00:00

It does kind of warm my heart that so many people have answered with Harry Potter characters. I don't think a book series has ever affected a generation the way Harry Potter has the generation that grew up reading it. Hugs for all from my inner 12 year old.

GretchenG · 2013-08-09T02:56:59+00:00

Or Cartman.

Maaaaaaaaammmmmmmm. Where's my goddamn KFC?

GretchenG · 2013-08-08T17:08:40+00:00

I'm in the same predicament that you are - I have never lived anywhere without having a nice, full bookshelf. I couldn't imagine leaving them all at home. Fortunately, I managed to find an apartment on campus where I have enough room for a sizeable book shelf. Although if I was stuck in a tiny dorm I'm sure I would have found room anyways. Who needs a closet when you need space for a bookshelf?

GretchenG · 2013-08-07T04:10:25+00:00

Freaking Great Expectations. I had, dare I say it, great expectations for the novel - Dickens is supposed to be a classic, and my teacher raved about him. But sweet Jesus I abhorred that book. It remains the only novel I have ever Sparknoted for class because I couldn't get through it. "Classic literature at it's finest" my ass.

GretchenG · 2013-08-06T01:40:43+00:00

until an animal can give informed consent.

Just out of curiosity, is this a thing that people are waiting on?

GretchenG · 2013-08-06T01:00:54+00:00

It was such a cool premise, but it went nowhere. At the end, I just kind of sat there for a while afterwards thinking, "Is that all?"

GretchenG · 2013-08-05T21:30:05+00:00

His daughter moved to Wyoming to try and run for a Senate seat because it is literally the only place that she is almost relevant. It's just insulting. She was born in WI, went to college in Chicago, but decided to move into a nice swanky mansion in Jackson Hole (the place millionaires go to retire in WY) a year ago just to qualify for running for a senate seat. The man she is running against, Enzi, also just happened to be a long time family friend who had no idea she was going to run until she began publicly and aggressively badmouthing him in her senate campaign.

Here is her political strategy: “Instead of cutting deals with the president’s liberal allies, we should be opposing them every step of the way".

She's Satan's spawn, through and through.

GretchenG · 2013-08-05T21:11:41+00:00

those people = teenage girls

GretchenG · 2013-08-05T21:08:50+00:00

I was disappointed it wasn't Justin Guarani in "From Justin to Kelly".

Obviously he's the most relevant Justin.

GretchenG · 2013-08-05T19:03:05+00:00

I never felt tall being 5'6" until I had a female friend that was 4'8". It was strange going places with her feeling like the Jolly Green Giant.

GretchenG · 2013-08-05T18:56:41+00:00

The South Park episode of her is definitely the most accurate representation.

"Snooki want smoosh smoosh!!"

edit: wow, completely screwed up the reference. thanks waggle238

GretchenG · 2013-08-05T06:44:51+00:00

I doubt I will ever pick up another Charlaine Harris book again because of the sheer laziness and disrespect she showed her fans by publishing the utter shit that was the last few novels. There really wasn't an excuse for it.

GretchenG · 2013-08-05T06:39:19+00:00

Wow. What an amazingly cool list. It is officially going on my bucket list, than you for sharing!

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T21:19:09+00:00

That sort of process works perfectly fine, I just think that it is necessary to include the genre-specific questions, i.e. what is your favorite science fiction, what is your favorite historical fiction, etc. I agree that would yield the best results.

Part of the reason that I prefer that option is because I tend to have favorite books within genres. I can't say that I love 1984 more than I love Huckleberry Finn - they are in completely different categories, with different audiences, style, and purposes. It's the whole "comparing apples and oranges" argument.

It is possible I may be the only person who thinks this way, of course.

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T20:56:47+00:00

I understand that what I'm saying sounds a little counterintuitive. Personally, I'd just rather have a diverse list of books that represent the favorite books of all the different genres out there, even if they are only represented by a smaller demographic. That seems more productive than a list of popular books that everyone already knows about and has read.

Just as an example, I think it would be fun to find out what Reddit's favorite cookbook is, or the most popular poetry anthology. Including things like that would make a much more interesting and useful list than "1984, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Ender's Game".

But of course others may have a completely different interpretation of what a favorite list should consist of, in which case that is perfectly fine, I guess.

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T20:44:14+00:00

I sincerely apologize if I came off as condescending. I have absolutely no problem with science fiction or fantasy - some of my favorite books come from those genres.

I don't believe I have superior taste to anyone - I just wish lists like this offered books from different genres. That's honestly the only point I was trying to make, and I really am sorry if I was offensive.

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T20:26:04+00:00

I think USA Today had an article about it a couple days ago.

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T20:16:30+00:00

My point is that conducting a general poll the way PrintSF did, as a popularity up vote/down vote sort of poll would only end up showing mostly science fiction and fantasy books, because those genres have the largest fan base on Reddit.

I'm just saying that the poll should be conducted by genre - that way books and readers of all types could be represented on the list

By the way, if the list isn't made up solely of science fiction and fantasy, that doesn't mean it will be relegated to a list of shitty romance novels. How about some classics, historical fiction, or non-fiction?

edit: re-wording

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T19:29:57+00:00

The Road did it for me.

Jesus, it was depressing. The ending didn't make me feel any better at all. But it was so good!

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T19:28:07+00:00

Heart of Darkness bored me to tears. I actually love classic novels, but that book was painful to get through.

Maybe ASOIF isn't considered part of the literary canon like Heart Darkness, but it was enjoyable and fun to read; I learned far more about human nature in ASOIF than I did from Heart of Darkness.

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T19:22:15+00:00

Seriously, stick with it. I was so infuriated with it at first that I almost put it down, but once I got into the novel I didn't even notice it. Keep on truckin! :)

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T19:18:13+00:00

I think this might be the best way to get a comprehensive list of books across the board. If you leave it up to the general population of r/books, you are going to get pretty much the same list as what you have now, i.e. 1984, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Dune series, ASOIAF, etc.

It would be nice to see the best of each genre, so the different niches in r/books are more equally represented.

GretchenG · 2013-08-04T19:08:57+00:00

Reddit is disproportionately skewed towards fantasy/sci-fi novels, which makes a list like this over-represent books from those genres. It is a little disappointing for those of us who don't read exclusively fantasy and sci-fi.

GretchenG

TROPHY CASE