Happy Towel Day!

[karakael]

Yes, today is May 25th, the patron day of two of my fandoms, Discworld and Hitchhikers. I, for one, celebrate the latter, mostly because its hard to find lilacs in Ohio in May, and also because appreciating ones towel (or bandanna, in my case) is a much more positive experience that remembering a failed fictional revolution

Comments

[animate_mush]

I think one potential issue is that there are a lot of books. And the "classics" aren't always the good ones.

Personally, I come from a similar reading culture to yours, but I have never in fact seen a hardcopy of The Neverending Story, let alone have an opportunity to read it. Not because it wasn't valued, simply because it wasn't available. Or...that's not quite right. I think there are geneologies, almost, to children's literature, and what you read has a lot to do with what your parents read and pass on. My dad read me Narnia and Richard Halliburton as bedtime stories. He took me to a library and handed me a copy of the Hobbit, provided I didn't look at the cover. Beowulf, A New Telling was a Christmas or birthday present. Similarly, I was handed The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle and The Twenty-One balloons. I started Heinlein because my stepbrother was into it, Rama and Hyperion via my dad

[karakael]

There is so much good children's literature out there - I think it would be impossible to make any kind of complete list of what is "essential" or not. Some stuff everyone seems to know, other things I think are essential but no one has ever heard of. Its just odd, sometimes, realizing that and integral part of your childhood is viewed completely differently by someone else. But that knowledge of self vs. others is part of growing up, right? So its not a bad realization. Just a kind of lonely one.

I do think that the reason its so hard to find The Neverending Story is that its originally written in German, as is everything else written by the author.

As for The Last Unicorn...that is not a children's book. It is very, very not a children's book. From what I remember of the movie, they attempted to plop a lot of stereotypical fantasy stuff over the top, and even then couldn't hide the fact that its a really disturbing story. One that makes you wonder about the person who read it and thought "ah hah! this would be perfect for the

[animate_mush]

I hear ya.

Ah, yes. That would explain it.

Oh? All I remember of the movie was it being deeply disturbing. I was pretty young. Less disturbing than Watership Down of course, but still pretty durned frightening. But yeah, it's one I keep hearing that I should read, one way or the other.

Indeed it shall!

[karakael]

The movie is certainly disturbing, no doubt about that. But they put in idiotic musical numbers and comedy, got rid of a lot of the creepy plot. And you're right...all of that couldn't cover up the first scene of running the unicorns into the waves and all of that stuff.

I enjoy the book, but if you find the movie disturbing, the book is even more so.