Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for March 12, 2015

Not on an archaeological dig, you haven’t! It’s not THAT old! -Maybe cleaning out a hoarder’s attic, or hidden in the bottom of a suitcase donated to the Goodwill…

Archeologist Two: “How many does that make it now?”

Yes, you do need time to pass before something is regarded as a classic, no question. But archaeological expeditions are for much, much earlier time periods, and often into time periods where there is either no written record (and the information comes from potshards, ruins of buildings and skeletons), or, if a written record is found, further research is needed to understand the language…

Nice to see that it’s a tablet edition.

how ironic that just recently a lost manuscript to to kill a mockingbird was just found written by harper lee..it was actually written before to kill a mockingbird but never published..it is about an adult scout finch returning to Alabama to visit her father..it is to be published soon..

sorry college freshmen…but I cant wait…

Phylum, it was never lost. Harper Lee has always known where it was—she was persuaded to rework it for publication, even though she is mostly deaf, blind, and confined to a wheelchair in assisted living. Kudos to her!

451 scared the heck out of me.

Superfrog, excellent…The Snow Fly, Joseph Heywood, Jimi Hendrix Turns 80, Tim Sandlin….

Given the age of the tablet, shouldn’t that be a prequel?

Perhaps Nabuquduriuzhur thought that Atticus Finch was wrong to defend Tom Robinson and that social justice wasn’t necessary in the Jim Crow South.

I will admit that many of the classics assigned in high school were difficult, but try going back, you may find that you have matured enough to understand what classic really is.Styles pf writing do change, but good solid story telling is good solid story telling.

freshman english nightmare…..

Yep. The papyrus was titled: To Kill a Vulture.

I read “Animal Farm” in my 20s for fun. Never had to read it in school. I love the line, “all are created equal, but some are more equal than others”. The one sentence tells all why communism cannot work in a society where mankind is a part.

Also read “Watership Down” around that time. I am surprised it’s considered a “children’s book”. I recall it being quite bloody.

I don’t know why Harper Lee would release another book at this point in her life. She has had the status of revered literary idol for decades. The new novel will be merciless analyzed and compared to TKAM.

And I thought he found Commandments XI to XV.

Ever read a new book and judged it to be a future classic? I have. Ender’s Game was that way, as was Stranger in a Strange Land, Startide Rising, Rainbow’s End, and Ready Player One. Author’s names omitted on purpose.

Well, as long as Time is not a factor; going from somewhere in bc to the 20th; something enduring. How early in ‘antiquity’ did they lay bricks that way?

My son, who’s currently in high school, is being subjected to all the same stuff I had to read 40 years ago: Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies (my least favorite book ever), 1984, and even Moby Dick. It’s like his English teachers are only teaching what they were subjected to by their own English teachers.

Some of the comments made here today are very sad indeed. I get that many of you are not avid readers, but I very much doubt that you would be reading more and making better choices about what you read today if only your teachers in high school or college had assigned different books.

I remember hating Lord of the Flies in high school. I reread it when I was in my late 30s and was blown away. There’s so much there that is verboten discussion in a HS classroom. It’s a poor choice for that age group.

I wonder what else is down there….Jimmy Hoffa…Rose Law Firm billing records….could be anything.

Vonne, “The Snow Fly” Tell me that isn’t a classic. It invents a whole new metaphor for life …

This is a perfect test to see if someone has grounds to sue their school for fraud: If they cannot read and understand such as ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ then they either ignorant, or illiterate, or both.

http://liquor.com/recipes/tequila-mockingbird/Alternate recipe: substitute vodka and a cigarette butt for the tequila.And now you know what I think of tequila.

argythree: There is a field called industrial archeology exploring industrial revolution period. For instance, it was discovered that slaves were paid and what wasn’t taken back by the predecessor of thee company store, could be saved to buy their freedom when they were too old to be productive any more. So much for the kind-hearted owner taking care of elderly slaves!

At first glance, it looks to be quite dirty.

Is there an “electric sheep” app for Android? Definitely not for IOS

Oops there is an electric sheep app and it also works on IoS

Pretty much the only type of slave not to exist was the slave who wanted to be a slave.

Aww, come on. Ms. Lee isn’t THAT old. O.o

felinefan55: Communism does work – in voluntary associations such as Israeli Kibbutzim, Tanzanian Ujimaa, North American Hutterite communities, etc. It just can’t work for entire nations. “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need” works fine until you get someone who will take what they need but not contribute what they can. In the voluntary group, you say “bye bye” and that solves it. On a national level, you have to invoke the legal code, and that rapidly makes the system a tyranny because no other country wants them either and those making the judgement are intrinsically too powerful.

The ideal “family sharing” image comes awfully close to communism. What’s the difference? the intent? the relationships? the fact that mom and dad’s dictatorship is assumed rather than overt?

I just went through all the comments…. and I want to say thank you. Everyone that mentioned a title or author – you have expanded my list of stories, books, authorsSummer’s coming. My reading list has suddenly expanded.