I have my list of favorite great writers and great books and I have my list of favorite writers and books, for example great book 1984, most would agree. Favorite writer, John Grisham enjoy his stuff but well I don't rate him with 1984. Another one who is good and popular and successful but not into the classic great writer territory is the late Robert Parker who created Jesse Stone and the Spenser series and others. 
Yeah I guess it is sort of like Mickey Spillane vs. Charles Dickens sort of thing.
Are there any Great Writers who we have tried and thought 'wow don't see this as great.'
I have one that immediately comes to mind.
Proust. Yeah a famous name but has anybody actually ever read him or Remembrance of Things Past?
I tried it once and got nowhere.
Ryder13

I hate "The Prince" it legitimately put me to sleep! No book has ever done that before!

Mickey Spillane has got it all over Charles Dickens.

Dickens: "I have known a vast quantity of nonsense talked about bad men not looking you in the face. Don't trust that conventional idea. Dishonesty will stare honesty out of countenance any day in the week, if there is anything to be got by it."

Spillane: "The mug looked me queer in the face, so my gat spit twice into his guts. I clubbed him down, knocked out a few teeth, then kicked him for mumbling".

No comparison!

SifuPhil (11:03pm Sat, Dec  1, 2012)

Mickey Spillane has got it all over Charles Dickens.

Dickens: "I have known a vast quantity of nonsense talked about bad men not looking you in the face. Don't trust that conventional idea. Dishonesty will stare honesty out of countenance any day in the week, if there is anything to be got by it."

Spillane: "The mug looked me queer in the face, so my gat spit twice into his guts. I clubbed him down, knocked out a few teeth, then kicked him for mumbling".

No comparison!

Point taken.
I have actually read more Mike Hammer than Dickens. (just between you and I). 
I mean I the Jury, that had impact. "How could you? " she gasped.
" It was easy."
The tough guy. Wow much more than Spenser or Marlowe or even Sam Spade. Talk about hard boiled.
Saw a few of the movies too.   
Ryder13

I love Dickens! I also love The Little Prince! I think The Little Prince is a masterpiece. It may be a light read but it's filled with lessons.

Ryder13 (12:18am Sun, Dec  2, 2012)

Point taken.
I have actually read more Mike Hammer than Dickens. (just between you and I). 
I mean I the Jury, that had impact. "How could you? " she gasped.
" It was easy."
The tough guy. Wow much more than Spenser or Marlowe or even Sam Spade. Talk about hard boiled.
Saw a few of the movies too.   
Ryder13

I'm a hard-boiled (ha, ha) fan of Spillane and Hammer. If you'd like, you can see my thoughts on what would have happened if Spillane had written the Bible ...

I think I hijacked my own thread. Now how smart is that? Regardless. Mike Hammer and the Bible. Excellent.
Also came across an interesting site somewhere in my travels. Now what was the URL? See above.
Ryder13

I'm going to have to punish you too now ha ha

Bunny (07:43pm Sat, Dec  1, 2012)

I hate "The Prince" it legitimately put me to sleep! No book has ever done that before!

The Lord of the Rings puts me to sleep. How sad is that? I know a ton of people love those books, but for some reason if I pick up The Lord of the Rings, I am yawning and asleep in minutes. I don't think I've made it through 20 pages and I've attempted it a few times.

FlanneryCam (03:02pm Sat, Dec 15, 2012)

Bunny (07:43pm Sat, Dec  1, 2012)

I hate "The Prince" it legitimately put me to sleep! No book has ever done that before!

The Lord of the Rings puts me to sleep. How sad is that? I know a ton of people love those books, but for some reason if I pick up The Lord of the Rings, I am yawning and asleep in minutes. I don't think I've made it through 20 pages and I've attempted it a few times.

I read the trilogy once. It is a long project for sure, but I did find it pretty enjoyable. My read was before the movie came out. Yeah this title surprised me here.
I was expecting oh maybe Kafka not Tolkien.
Ryder13

FlanneryCam (03:02pm Sat, Dec 15, 2012)

The Lord of the Rings puts me to sleep. How sad is that? I know a ton of people love those books, but for some reason if I pick up The Lord of the Rings, I am yawning and asleep in minutes. I don't think I've made it through 20 pages and I've attempted it a few times.

Same here - all I remember is some little guy with hairy feet called Dildo Big'uns, he just wants to hang but some old fart tells him to go outside and play.

Totally boring.

The only book of Charles Dickens that I can actually say I ever enjoyed was 'A Christmas Carol.' The rest just left me stone cold. I got in trouble with my lecturer for re-naming 'Bleak House' 'Turgid Towers' at University, but the rest of the class thought my name was more appropriate! Turned out it was his favourite book, but he didn't hold it against me, thank goodness.

Sandra Piddock (05:00pm Thu, Dec 20, 2012)

The only book of Charles Dickens that I can actually say I ever enjoyed was 'A Christmas Carol.' The rest just left me stone cold. I got in trouble with my lecturer for re-naming 'Bleak House' 'Turgid Towers' at University, but the rest of the class thought my name was more appropriate! Turned out it was his favourite book, but he didn't hold it against me, thank goodness.

He did create some memorable characters though, Bill Sykes, Uriah Heep, Fagin. etc.
I wasn't a huge fan of Dickens either honestly but the characters not necessarily the heroes
were good. Who was it who said "Then the law is an ass." I have often felt that myself.
Ryder13

SifuPhil (09:10pm Mon, Dec 17, 2012)

FlanneryCam (03:02pm Sat, Dec 15, 2012)

The Lord of the Rings puts me to sleep. How sad is that? I know a ton of people love those books, but for some reason if I pick up The Lord of the Rings, I am yawning and asleep in minutes. I don't think I've made it through 20 pages and I've attempted it a few times.

Oh am I ever glad I'm not the only one! I pretty much exclusively have geeks for friends and they freak out when I tell them I've used The Lord of the Rings as a sleep-aid.

Same here - all I remember is some little guy with hairy feet called Dildo Big'uns, he just wants to hang but some old fart tells him to go outside and play.

Totally boring.