Emboldened Chimp
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:23 PM
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Poll question: Favorite American Author |
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Edited on Fri Nov-07-03 01:25 PM by manco
Name your fav....
(for the record, I chose Dos Passos)
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Character Assassin
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:25 PM
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Aristus
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:26 PM
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2. "When I was fourteen years old, I thought my father was the |
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stupidest, most ignorant man that had ever lived. By the time I turned twenty-one, I was amazed at how much he'd learned in seven years."
Favorite quote from Mark Twain. :-)
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LearnedHand
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:26 PM
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3. Alice Walker? Annie Dillard? Pat Conroy? |
JitterbugPerfume
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:26 PM
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4. My user name should be |
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a real big ole clue to who my favorite author is
Tom Robbins
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JitterbugPerfume
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:32 PM
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13. Actually it is impossible to pick one favorite |
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Vonnegut, Alice Walker, Mark Twain, Hunter Thompson How do you compare Zora Neale Hurston to Ann Rice ? I love both of 'em for different reasons
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BlueEyedSon
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:27 PM
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bowens43
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:29 PM
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TrogL
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:41 PM
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HERVEPA
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:50 PM
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Redleg
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:45 PM
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38. Kurt Vonnegut is missing from your list! |
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Must have just forgotten to add the greatest American author of the 20th century..
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Emboldened Chimp
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:43 PM
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49. That's because I don't like him |
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Sorry, but I'm not a fan.
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Loonman
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:28 PM
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catzies
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:30 PM
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Terran
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:49 PM
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Another great writer from the 1920's that's sort of falling into obscurity, I fear.
Dirk
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jdsmith
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:31 PM
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Not (by far) the Greatest--that's Melville--but my favorite because he has remained decent through some very indecent times.
"God dammit, babies, you've got to be kind."-- Eliot Rosewater
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DemVet
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:32 PM
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Sorry, but as an ex-military guy, I like reading his stuff. :)
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mac56
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:32 PM
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11. Twain, then Steinbeck, then Vonnegut. |
DoctorMyEyes
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:40 PM
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are you me?
That's my three favorite, in order, also.
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mac56
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:42 PM
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DoctorMyEyes
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:23 PM
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29. Nice to meet you, too! |
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Now that I know we share such similar literary tastes, I'm sure I'll pay closer attention to your posts, and probably agree with you a lot.
(I'm so weak!) :pals:
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CanuckAmok
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:32 PM
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Hmmm... he didn't make the poll---this IS still DU, right?
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Emboldened Chimp
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:30 PM
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33. Sorry, but I'm not a big fan of his |
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not a fan at all, actually.
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CanuckAmok
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:57 PM
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51. then you should have said "name manco's faves" ;) n/t |
Emboldened Chimp
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Fri Nov-07-03 06:07 PM
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55. Well, it's more than that |
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I just didn't think of him. Some of the writers I mentioned I've never read before (Wharton, Morrison, Ellison.) They're really the first that came to mind.
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BurtWorm
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:34 PM
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Sentimental favorite: Henry Miller |
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Not so much for the dirty books but for the essays and New Direction Paperback booklength rants, like The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, The Colossus of Maroussi and Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch. But I liked the sex books, too, despite their utter misogyny.
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Emboldened Chimp
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:29 PM
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32. I've just read the Air-Conditioned Nightmare |
BurtWorm
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:30 PM
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45. I loved Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch even more. |
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In that literary mode, Miller is one of the most generous spirited creatures who ever lived, and his writing is ecstatic.
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stanwyck
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:34 PM
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14. John Irving, Richard Ford |
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Anne Tyler, Alice Hoffman, Anita Shreve, Jonathan Franzan -- living authors. Willa Cather, Faulkner, and Steinbeck from the past.
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cedahlia
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:51 PM
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40. Great choices, stanwyck! |
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Anne Tyler and John Irving are two of my absolute favorites! :) Love, love, love the Cider House Rules, a Widow for one Year, and pretty much everything by Tyler.
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stanwyck
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:34 PM
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15. John Irving, Richard Ford |
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Anne Tyler, Alice Hoffman, Anita Shreve, Jonathan Franzan -- living authors. Willa Cather, Faulkner, and Steinbeck from the past.
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regularguy
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:50 PM
Response to Original message |
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Edited on Fri Nov-07-03 02:00 PM by regularguy
Not that the ones on the list aren't all great authors......
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Gato Moteado
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:39 PM
Response to Reply #19 |
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roth, robbins, vonnegut, irving.
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regularguy
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:10 PM
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42. I thought I might be the only Roth fan here. |
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Phillip Roth: More than masterbation. Much more. :)
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Tripper11
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Fri Nov-07-03 01:57 PM
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21. 1st - Poe, then Kerouac |
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I started reading Poe around grade 10 and just fell in love with the whole mood and sawy of Poe's words. His life was also a real tragic thing that I read about as well, along with the mystery of his death
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Zuni
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:20 PM
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I remember having to read some of his stuff in junior High and fell in love with it.
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jobycom
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:09 PM
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22. What?! No Marilyn Qauyle? |
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I guess we've all gotten over that era.
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phaseolus
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:12 PM
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devilgrrl
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:44 PM
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37. Chandler was born in Britain and fought with Canada during WWII... |
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But I think he's great too. :-) I was going to choose Dashiell Hammett.
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thebigidea
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:14 PM
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24. William S. Burroughs & Philip K. Dick |
Khephra
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #24 |
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In a heartbeat. There isn't another writer who is more relevant today on this entire thread, imo, of course.
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terrya
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:16 PM
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Both fiction and nonfiction.
His novels of the history of the United States...from "Burr" to "The Golden Age" are some of the most readable history ever written.
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kimchi
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:18 PM
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Once you get a grip on Victorian language patterns--she is great at pointing out the hypocrisy of the rich.
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cedahlia
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #26 |
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Ethan Frome is in my top ten favorite books...it's been a while since I read it, but it's one I've been meaning to reread...have to add it to the list!
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Zuni
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:19 PM
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27. Where is hunter S. Thompson? |
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He is a great read, always exciting.
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thebeaglehaslanded
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:27 PM
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30. Walt Whitman. You can't discuss American literature without him. |
Terran
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:28 PM
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31. How utterly cool of you include Dos Passos!! |
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Certainly my favorite from that list--I did my Master's thesis largely on him.
Folks, you should all read his U.S.A. trilogy. There are few older works that are more relevant to our times than these three novels--antiwar, anti-corruption, anti-corporation, and in particular, a passionate hatred for those who twist language to achieve and abuse power. Highly recommended, and high time I re-read them myself.
Dirk
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blueraven95
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:42 PM
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and Charles De Lint (is he American or Canadian? I'm not sure). But I tend to prefer British authors.
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blueraven95
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Fri Nov-07-03 02:43 PM
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and Charles De Lint (is he American or Canadian? I'm not sure). But I tend to prefer British authors.
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RebelOne
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:27 PM
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43. The great Stephen King |
piece sine
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:34 PM
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Iahve read and re-read "The Collected Short Stories" more than any other book, excluding Webster's Unabridged...
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SmileyBoy
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:32 PM
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46. Think you should have put Kurt Vonnegut on there. |
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I'm currently reading my second book written by him.
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Cottonball
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:35 PM
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48. Can't believe you forgot... |
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Edited on Fri Nov-07-03 03:36 PM by Cottonball
Philip K. Dick
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curse10
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Fri Nov-07-03 03:55 PM
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kyrasdad
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Fri Nov-07-03 05:09 PM
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Emboldened Chimp
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Fri Nov-07-03 06:08 PM
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56. Don't mean to sound like a snob |
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but he doesn't deserve to be on that list.
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NashVegas
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Fri Nov-07-03 05:34 PM
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Snellius
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Fri Nov-07-03 05:51 PM
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Surprising that the 19th Century authors are so out of favor: Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthrone.
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Emboldened Chimp
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Fri Nov-07-03 06:09 PM
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Should be on that list. I'd switch-out Kerouac.
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