B-Two, none taken. As I said, I consider you a friend. I just had to speak my piece to get it off my chest.

B-II, funny you should mention TORTILLA FLATS. My 9th grade English teacher was a huge Steinbeck fan and she assigned the class to do a book report on any novel by Steinbeck. Almost every kid chose OF MICE AND MEN, either because it was small or because they'd seen the movie. Being the rebel I was, I simply could not follow the others like a zombie to the library and take the same book. TORTILLA FLATS... "what an odd title", me thinks. So, I choose that one and never really could get interested in it. With a few days to get the report done, and me not even 100 pages into the book yet, I dash back to the library with odd title in tow and, like a zombie on amphetamines, run to the Steinbeck section hoping against all hope that a copy of OF MICE AND MEN is still on the shelves. There was actually several copies. Because, as it turned out, by that time some of the kids had already completed their reports and returned their books.

[This message has been edited by grasstains (edited 09-14-2006).]

Umm... err... if there is a moral to that story I'm not sure what it would be.

Samuel L. Jackson's next movie--ZOMBIES ON AMPHETAMINES!!!

Good name for a band.

The Count of Monte Cristo is daunting not only for its sheer size but also my copy's fine print. I'm sticking with it though and loving it, I'm on page 150. Should be finished by spring perhaps. Dantes has eaten no bugs yet Grass.

Hmmm, bug count--zero. Well, keep up the vigil and let me know as soon as he lets his self-control slip a bit and plucks one of those forbidden fruits from off the wall.

I keep telling myself, "It's just a crunchy raisin, a crunchy raisin, a crunchy raisin, a crunchy raisin..... "

I just thought of something, maybe the bug eating happens in The Man In The Iron Mask, I think it revolves around prisons and long captivity as well. Darn, now I gotta read that too, will there be a test on this???

Could also be PAPILLON.

http://www.amazon.com/Papillon-Henri-Charri ere/dp/0060934794/sr=1-1/qid=1158822617/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6840757-2051238?ie=UTF8&s=books

Hmmm, the link didn't work for me. Amazon has been acting funny the past few days. In three or four tries I've only gained access to the site once.

[This message has been edited by grasstains (edited 09-21-2006).]

Hey Grass, I am about one fifth of the way into Count and it's finally really gripping me and I am being carried away by its vivid imagery and deep complex story line with twists and turns galore. I guess it took that long to set up, glad I didn't put it down. Papillon sounds really good as well. I loved Steve Mcqueen in the movie, Hoffman too. You must read Three Muskateers, it doesn't disappoint and it isn't real long. Take a break, do ya good.

Good to hear you're enjoying one of the true classics. Do you think Dale Brown, Tom Clancy, John Grisham and Michael Crichton will ever be considered clasic literature? It's odd even to think that old SF is accepted now as "literature" and on many schools' reading lists. It was frowned upon, you know, and lumped together with the crime story as being dimestore pulp fiction until our beloved danced upon the stage.

As for my next read, I think I'll just give the old bookshelf a friendly nudge and read whatever falls upon me head... or... read DAVY... yeah? Another week or so and I'll be ready to swap books with you.

Hey Grass, it's hard to say which authors will stand the test of time. I think Ray will for sure, some others. Reading in the future will probably be too taxing for the person, they will just download entire story directly into their cortex stack...

About the books, I say let 'em fly! I'm kinda excited about it. Either e-mail me your info, or just send the package with return address on it. Do me a favor, I collect stamps, so if possible, pick some pretty commemeratives. I will do the same on this end, cool? Its been stormy and rainy all day here, been moving through quicksand all day long, or so it feels like. Gonna grab some shut eye. Taker easy Grass.

As to what works (literature, music, arts)will be considered classic in the future, I imagine it will depend on the prevalent Zeitgeist; or as today, rated as such within "genres"; e.g. "Classic Rock", "Classic Television", "Classic Mystery Stories", etc.

"When did Motley Crue become classic rock?"
- Bowling For Soup

Many of Stephen King's books and stories are considered modern classics, but how will they hold up in another 50 years? Much of King's reputation was built upon the many movies which were able to reach people who have never read one of his books, and then there was also a certain trendiness to reading the new King novels as they came out. It will be interesting to see what kind of staying power that kind of meteoric, phenomenal success has compared to something tried and true. It would also be interesting to see how much staying power J.K. Rowling's books will have after all of us who were caught up in the fervor have died. I think Bradbury is safe in passing the test of time.

[This message has been edited by grasstains (edited 09-25-2006).]