In June, I wrote four blogs on the first program of "The Great American Read"- a television special. It seems that there are three parts to this program, hosted by Meredith Viera, shown on PBS.
The second part was broadcast recently and it highlighted books that are on the dark side. This seems to be a broad category. The dictionary definition of 'the dark side' is: 'the negative or troubled part of someone or something that is usually concealed'.
Included in this category are the 'thrillers' that I have never appreciated. Dean Koontz and Stephen King are both masters of this genre.
'The dark side' focuses on emotions like fear, hatred, anger, aggression. They don't work for my psyche. But many people find these books 'thrilling'. Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" was at the top of this list, as was a more recent popular book "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn. Also mentioned was "Beloved", "Jurassic Park", and "Frankenstein".
One of the books mentioned on this program that I did enjoy- "The Picture of Dorian Gray". It had such an interesting premise.
Then they talked about gothic novels and I have enjoyed some of those- particularly "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier and "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte. Even Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" was discussed. Oh, yes, how about "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"? That was included in books on the dark side.
I did not enjoy this program as much as the first, but on October 23, the show will focus on the many faces of love- more my style.
I'm not sure if that will be the last show. This is a contest and there will be an announcement of the winner of the Great American Read- perhaps on the next show.
You can see the top 40 in the voting as it stands right now, if you check the website. My vote is for "The Book Thief" and it is ranking in the top 40. Hoorah!
No comments:
Post a Comment