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There is a weird mentality that has proliferated that just reading a bunch=good regardless of what you read or if you even understood it. Going back once again to gym/exercise metaphors, what good is it going to do you if you just do a hundred sit ups regardless of form or even checking if you did proper technique and then kinda half sat up sometimes. You will just be able to say you did a hundred "sit ups" that really didn't do you poo poo in the long run and if anyone saw you doing them would call you out or at least snicker and shake their heads.
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Feb 9, 2014 05:59
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Stravinsky posted:So what's the point of counting comics as part of your reading challenge log? Like would you honestly tell people you read fifty two books in a year when a number of those were like Hawkeye trades or One Piece volume one or something like that. Would you really if asked to expand on what you read mention that you counted those in your total? My reasons for including graphic novels in my reading list are pretty much the same as what other posters have already said, so I'll try not to belabour the point. It seems you have a different view on the medium than other people have. Which is fine. I feel my view is probably different from yours though. You also seem to have a particular idea of what constitutes "high art" and "low art," or more specifically, books that you feel enrich people's lives and those you feel don't. Feel free to correct me, I'm just inferring from your posts in this thread. I, too, discern between what I consider worthwhile and useless media, but it's a pretty darn subjective thing. For my own reading challenge, I have arbitrary definitions of what I consider to be a "book." I'm a busy person and sometimes have trouble sitting down and reading things that aren't text messages, forum posts, or e-mails between life and work. With my challenge, I am aiming to try and read 52 books between 100-200 pages in length. That's an approximation, though, as a book can have more or less pages. I read Infinite Jest last year and that took me two months, which "set me back" on my challenge despite having such a huge page count. I also read a number of Shakespeare's works. However, they were part of a single collection that was over 2000 pages. I counted the individual plays as a book each. For me, it's not the completion of a single book that is the goal, but an arbitrary volume of read material. I don't see much difference in reading a well-written novel or a well-written comic, but trade paper backs often have much smaller page counts. For me, a 100 page novel is equivalent to reading two 50ish page graphic novels. This is a lot of words about something that's basically just a personal challenge, but you seem bothered by it, so I hope this helps illuminate at least my position.
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Feb 9, 2014 06:17
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Stravinsky posted:There is a weird mentality that has proliferated that just reading a bunch=good regardless of what you read or if you even understood it. Going back once again to gym/exercise metaphors, what good is it going to do you if you just do a hundred sit ups regardless of form or even checking if you did proper technique and then kinda half sat up sometimes. You will just be able to say you did a hundred "sit ups" that really didn't do you poo poo in the long run and if anyone saw you doing them would call you out or at least snicker and shake their heads. I don't know if I agree with or even understand what you're talking about, as I don't know many people with this sort of mentality, but it's more about focus for me. With the proliferation of new technologies and social media, I've found myself multi-tasking more and more. I can work on an essay, check e-mails, check phone and social media messages, listen to music, and watch YouTube videos pretty much all at once. Research I've found basically shows that multi-tasking is bullshit, though, and all you're really doing is hurting your ability to concentrate. I do know that years ago I could sit through a 3-hour movie comfortably, while now I have trouble sitting through 40 minute television episodes. I can't speak for other people, but I challenge myself to read so that I can sit down and focus on a single thing without distraction. Stravinsky posted:B) How exactly did Hawkeye volume 5 lead you to appreciate writing? I've only read the first two volumes, but I had an appreciation for writing before I read them anyways. The first two volumes were fairly well-written, even though I am fairly tired of the down-on-himself-lone-wolf antihero trope. It's clever, punchy, and the art is truly brilliant. It's an entertaining bit of fiction--but you don't strike me as someone who likes comics much anyways, so does my opinion matter? (I know that this question wasn't explicitly directed at me, I'm just trying to make a point).
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Feb 9, 2014 06:33
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Is there really someone going full sperg over the fact that someone who they will never meet and rarely interact with decided that a collection of comic books counts as a book in their own personal reading challenge that doesn't effect anyone else? I think that's what I'm gathering at least.
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Feb 9, 2014 06:41
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Blind Sally posted:For me, it's not the completion of a single book that is the goal,but an arbitrary volume of read material. This is mostly what my problem is to be honest. Its just seeing how much poo poo you can get through and really doesn't do much to make you a better reader and leads to putting dumb poo poo on your list because its a bunch of words you read so you can feel good about yourself at the end of the day. GreyPowerVan posted:Is there really someone going full sperg over the fact that someone who they will never meet and rarely interact with decided that a collection of comic books counts as a book in their own personal reading challenge that doesn't effect anyone else? Thank you. I diagnosed myself with aspergers back in 2007 and so every time some one acknowledges that fact I can feel like the special little snowflake that I know I am.
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Feb 9, 2014 06:51
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GreyPowerVan posted:Is there really someone going full sperg over the fact that someone who they will never meet and rarely interact with decided that a collection of comic books counts as a book in their own personal reading challenge that doesn't effect anyone else? He is trying to genuinely help people by openly scorning their reading choices and berating them until they choose to read better things. Can't you all see he is the real hero here?
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Feb 9, 2014 06:52
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Stravinsky posted:This is mostly what my problem is to be honest. Its just seeing how much poo poo you can get through and really doesn't do much to make you a better reader and leads to putting dumb poo poo on your list because its a bunch of words you read so you can feel good about yourself at the end of the day. I must have missed "How To Become A Better Reader 101." Care to enlighten us? Also, we clearly have a difference of opinion on what we consider "dumb poo poo" and "good poo poo", so, wanna let us know what we should be reading?
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Feb 9, 2014 07:11
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Stravinsky posted:This is mostly what my problem is to be honest. Its just seeing how much poo poo you can get through and really doesn't do much to make you a better reader and leads to putting dumb poo poo on your list because its a bunch of words you read so you can feel good about yourself at the end of the day. Dude, why do you even care? I mean it's great that you love to read heavy stuff to 'enrich' yourself but if someone else just wants to read a comic book about ninjas why not just let them enjoy it? When I was in my twenties I had the same mentality as you and judged people heavily and read only high level classics and the best of world fiction. Now that I'm in my thirties, I honestly couldn't give a poo poo if I'm reading a 'schlocky fantasy' over Auto-da-fe. In fact, my reading these days leans towards the former rather than the latter simply because my job is intellectually taxing and takes up most of my mental capacity and between that and the gym by the time I get home, I'd rather read something lighter, and I figure reading is still better than watching TV. There are a lot of people here that I think are just trying to get back into the habit of reading and keep up that habit because let's face it in this day and age, there's so much other stimulation that attention spans really aren't geared to sitting down and reading an entire book. Good for you for pursuing your intellectual development but stop harshing on other peoples' buzz. I bet you're an English Literature/Philosophy double major. Guy A. Person posted:He is trying to genuinely help people by openly scorning their reading choices and berating them until they choose to read better things. Even better, he doesn't even have a reading challenge, he just came in here because he wanted to lord his massive intellect and literary diversity over his inferiors.
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Feb 9, 2014 07:15
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Blind Sally posted:I've only read the first two volumes, but I had an appreciation for writing before I read them anyways. The first two volumes were fairly well-written, even though I am fairly tired of the down-on-himself-lone-wolf antihero trope. It's clever, punchy, and the art is truly brilliant. It's an entertaining bit of fiction--but you don't strike me as someone who likes comics much anyways, so does my opinion matter? Comics are cool. Sick and tired of the superhero comics personally but its all good. I was not attacking comics as a valid medium or anything. Just wondering if it should really exist on a challenge reading list. Blind Sally posted:I don't know if I agree with or even understand what you're talking about, as I don't know many people with this sort of mentality, but it's more about focus for me. Then shouldn't you challenge yourself then with something other than a comic book? I mean read what you really want but wouldn't a novel or a short story or something along those lines go a lot further in the way of helping you focus on one thing than Hawkeye can?
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Feb 9, 2014 07:17
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Stravinsky posted:Then shouldn't you challenge yourself then with something other than a comic book? I mean read what you really want but wouldn't a novel or a short story or something along those lines go a lot further in the way of helping you focus on one thing than Hawkeye can? How would a comic book help me focus any better than a novel or a short story? I read novels, short stories, and comics, among other things. You're making a distinction between comics and novels/short stories where I don't. Poutling posted:I mean it's great that you love to read heavy stuff to 'enrich' yourself but if someone else just wants to read a comic book about ninjas why not just let them enjoy it? We don't even know that, since Stravinsky hasn't deigned to tell us what we should be reading. Maybe they think we should all be reading Terry Goodkind's body of work. quote:I bet you're an English Literature/Philosophy double major. Haha, that's pretty much what I have. 
Sally fucked around with this message at 07:31 on Feb 9, 2014 |
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Feb 9, 2014 07:23
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Stravinsky posted:This is mostly what my problem is to be honest. Its just seeing how much poo poo you can get through and really doesn't do much to make you a better reader and leads to putting dumb poo poo on your list because its a bunch of words you read so you can feel good about yourself at the end of the day. I don't even know why you have this assumption that people read solely to "become better readers" or why you hold this ridiculous notion that people shouldn't feel good or enjoy reading unless what they are reading meets your personal standard of complexity. Your mindset is so foreign to me I can't even begin to understand it. I read because I enjoy reading and I read things I enjoy (science fiction and trashy space opera mostly). I don't care if "I'm getting better at reading" and I certainly don't care if someone thinks they are somehow a better person then me because they read books with longer words in it. For the record, I don't pat myself on the back every time I finish a book, but if some folks do, why shouldn't they? There are all sorts of different people in this world that are at different reading levels, maybe getting through a single graphic novel is an achievement worth celebrating for them? Sometimes the act of taking time out of life to just sit down and finish a novel you started is worth a little personal celebration.
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Feb 9, 2014 07:24
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Poutling posted:Dude, why do you even care? I mean it's great that you love to read heavy stuff to 'enrich' yourself but if someone else just wants to read a comic book about ninjas why not just let them enjoy it? When I was in my twenties I had the same mentality as you and judged people heavily and read only high level classics and the best of world fiction. Now that I'm in my thirties, I honestly couldn't give a poo poo if I'm reading a 'schlocky fantasy' over Auto-da-fe. In fact, my reading these days leans towards the former rather than the latter simply because my job is intellectually taxing and takes up most of my mental capacity and between that and the gym by the time I get home, I'd rather read something lighter, and I figure reading is still better than watching TV. Awesome good for you. Read what you want. I am literally some internet wierdo you do not know and so you don't actually have to care what about a single thing I say. quote:There are a lot of people here that I think are just trying to get back into the habit of reading and keep up that habit because let's face it in this day and age, there's so much other stimulation that attention spans really aren't geared to sitting down and reading an entire book. Good for you for pursuing your intellectual development but stop harshing on other peoples' buzz. I bet you're an English Literature/Philosophy double major. If you can watch a tv show/movie or read a comic you can read a book. Fun fact you don't need to race through it all at once and can read it a piece at a time. And also I'm none of those things. quote:Even better, he doesn't even have a reading challenge, he just came in here because he wanted to lord his massive intellect and literary diversity over his inferiors. Here is my challenge: I'm going to read more poetry. That it. Thank you.
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Feb 9, 2014 07:28
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Stravinsky posted:Here is my challenge: Dr. Seuss?
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Feb 9, 2014 07:33
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Blind Sally posted:Dr. Seuss? One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is a deep work of art that really touches base on our vapid consumerist culture.
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Feb 9, 2014 07:38
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gently caress off already.     19. Adventure Time Vol. 3 by Ryan North - I think at this point I'm done with this comic series. It's a good long-form approximation of the show and Ryan North is rockin' it—plus when I was a kid I read way too much Bongo comics and this tickles that bone—but ehhh. Adventure Time is nice and zany and fun but it's like a big huge sugar-blast to the face that sends me into diabetic shock if I have too much of it. I found myself skimming a lot of this volume. 3 stars. 20. Prince Valiant, Vol. 1: 1937-1938 by Hal Foster - This poo poo blew my mind with how good it is. I loved Dick Tracy and Tintin as a kid, I don't know I never got into Prince Valiant. Really, this comic series is phenomenal. I want to say it's the best newspaper comic ever made, but I gotta read me some A.D. Condo and Winsor McCay to see if that's actually the case. Valiant is a bad-rear end protagonist for being such a sissy-haired nancy squire kid. Dude slits throats all over the place and gets into so much poo poo. Fantagraphics's Valiant volumes are far and away the most loving reproductions of an old comic I have ever read. The pages are MASSIVE, the colors wonderful. God it is so gooood. 5 stars. 21. Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 1: The Ronin by Stan Sakai - After hearing about all the trouble Stan Sakai has been going through recently, I bit the bullet and got my hands on the entire run of Usagi Yojimbo. It's as great as I remember! This volume is a collection of the various pre-series short comics starring Usagi, and even before it begins the art is great, the world is vivid, and the characterizations strong. Sakai doesn't really succumb to any of the teething issues that other artists have when kicking something off (although his art certainly evolves, of course). Really harmless, happy, cozy fun. I wish I had a fireplace to read these books next to. 4 stars. 22. Usagi Yojimbo, Vol. 2: Samurai by Stan Sakai - More of the same goodness. It's just a really earnest and sweet series. The villains are always ridiculous strawmen caricatures of evil-ness, but I can deal with how cartoonish everything is amidst the somber Kurosawa framing. That's just Stan Sakai's thing. 4 smiley faces. 23. Blacksad by Juan Díaz Canales, Juanjo Guarnido - This is one of the best BDs of the 2000s, but it's definitely not perfect. The art is perfect, of course, it's so good as to be beyond compare. But the writing is a little sub-par. It's not bad, especially after I've had to suffer through a few Cinebook BD translations, but the prose never approximates the noir-ish flavor it seems to aspire for. And the plotting can be messy; each of the three stories ends with Blacksad soliloquying about how he solved the problems that seemed insurmountable one page before. Additionally, European treatments of racism and sex are always spotty, they're arguably not great here, but it didn't bother me. I can see how it would bother some folks, though. I had a lot of problems with this comic series but I still think it's great and would recommend it to anyone. 4 stars.
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Feb 9, 2014 07:39
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Stravinsky posted:Awesome good for you. Read what you want. I am literally some internet wierdo you do not know and so you don't actually have to care what about a single thing I say. No, no I don't. Here's the thing, *you* obviously care enough about it that you walked into a thread and started throwing around statements like: Stravinsky posted:A) I like it when people better themselves/enrich thier lives. I'm not going to encourage people who say they are going to do fifty pull ups and then for a number of them just kinda stand on their toes like they actually pulled themselves over the bar. Should I really say wow good job your so strong? Trying to make people feel bad for wanting to read comics about ninjas. It's great that you don't like comics about ninjas. Good for you. Isn't it great that you don't know any of these people in this thread that like reading comics about ninjas? That means you don't have to care about how they choose to enrich their lives. Stravinsky posted:If you can watch a tv show/movie or read a comic you can read a book. Fun fact you don't need to race through it all at once and can read it a piece at a time. And also I'm none of those things. Hey, thanks for that fun fact! If you had deigned to look at my post history you would have noticed that I somehow managed to read 106 books last year, only 1 of which was a graphic novel, and of which at least a few were actual novels with literary awards to back them up. Huh, kind of shocking isn't it? But, I don't look down on people that might not read as fast or absorb as well as I do, and do take longer or want to ease into reading with something a little easier. Every step towards reading, regardless of the material or length, is a step in the right direction. Stravinsky posted:Here is my challenge: Good for you. Start with Derek Walcott. He's my favorite.
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Feb 9, 2014 07:42
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If you want to ask me what you should be reading, its a book or something along those lines. Not counting D&D manuals and comics. Read Joyce, Asimov, Murakami, Ellis, Frost, Tolkien or whatever.
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Feb 9, 2014 07:45
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Poutling posted:No, no I don't. Here's the thing, *you* obviously care enough about it that you walked into a thread and started throwing around statements like: I do care. No body else has to care that I care though. Plus if they want to read about ninjas comics then whatever. Just was questioning if it really belongs on a reading challenge list. quote:Hey, thanks for that fun fact! If you had deigned to look at my post history you would have noticed that I somehow managed to read 106 books last year, only 1 of which was a graphic novel, and of which at least a few were actual novels with literary awards to back them up. Huh, kind of shocking isn't it? But, I don't look down on people that might not read as fast or absorb as well as I do, and do take longer or want to ease into reading with something a little easier. Every step towards reading, regardless of the material or length, is a step in the right direction. This is what you said: There are a lot of people here that I think are just trying to get back into the habit of reading and keep up that habit because let's face it in this day and age, there's so much other stimulation that attention spans really aren't geared to sitting down and reading an entire book. I was just saying that is not a valid excuse for those people. It was not a personal attack. Also please point to someone in thread or in one of the old threads who had comic books or d and d manuals that was easing themselves back into reading. quote:Good for you. Start with Derek Walcott. He's my favorite. Thanks I will look into him. Stravinsky fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Feb 9, 2014 |
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Feb 9, 2014 07:53
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Oh god, please don't make reading this thread a challenge, ok? Berating other people's choices is just going to take this thread all "meta" and then I won't see cool posts about neat things people are actually reading (Prince Valiant used to be good? Who knew?!?!), just bad posts that don't actually mention any books at all. Let's try to make sure every post for the next few pages mentions at least one reading goal you're setting for yourself and/or at least one actual, specific item of readable material. If you really want to get crazy, maybe even include a statement of opinion about that item of readable material you've just read or plan to read! If your statement of opinion is about another poster, and not about an item of readable material, it's probably off-topic for this thread! My challenge: Now that I'm the Book Barn mod, I'm going to read every Awful Book of the Month this year. I don't always read them because most of my reading these days is either fantasy fluff or historical fiction, and the Awful Books tend to be more literary than I have the energy for sometimes. It's been decades since I read The Master and Margarita just because every time I see it on my shelf, I'd think "that book was really good, and really hard. I will read something with a dragon in it instead." No more! Now I will bravely slay that dragon! By which I mean, book! I mean the harder book! You know what I mean. At least, once a month. Rest of the month, it's all dragons, all the time. Dragons with lasers and loose cannon cops breakin' the rules.
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Feb 9, 2014 09:07
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Prince Valiant used to be good? Who knew?!?! Prince Valiant is still good.
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Feb 9, 2014 11:08
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The Telstar - Samuel Addison An excellent piece of dark, comedic speculative fiction about time travel, artificial intelligence and programming. 2) Point Close All Quotes: A Quietus Anthology A really solid collection from one of the best music sites around. I hope they do some more of these in future. 3) This is the Way the World Ends - James Morrow A horrific and melancholy sci-fi fable, with the nuclear attack sequence being one of toughest things I've ever read. I could see the allegorical elements of the story being a real turn off for some readers, though. 4) Candide - Voltaire Pretty sure everyone says this, but a lot funnier and more easily readable than I could have imagined. 5) Love is a Dog From Hell - Charles Bukowski The first book read as part of my goal to increase the amount of plays and poetry I read. Bukowski was a lot funnier and drier than I imagined. I'll definitely be seeking more. 6) Mona Lisa Overdrive - William Gibson I'm catching up on the Gibson I've missed. This was certainly enjoyable. 7) Again, Dangerous Visions - ed. Harlan Ellison 2014's first clunker. I read enough of the stories to include it and while some were great ('The Word for World is Forest'), there was a lot of awkward, dated work in here. A real let down after how essential the original 'Dangerous Visions' was. 8) Difficult Men - Brett Martin Another weak one. A real analytical study of the current age of TV would have been great, but this mainly focused on behind the scenes goings-on. Not totally without merit, just disappointingly shallow. 9) Distrust That Particular Flavour - William Gibson A solid collection of non-fiction pieces. Certainly not essential, but definitely worthwhile for fans. 10) Cotton Comes to Harlem - Chester Himes I needed a break from speculative fiction for a bit. Great pulpy fun with a surprisingly wry and angry edge. 11) Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut I could never find a physical copy of this. It's not bad, but I can see why it's not considered one of Vonnegut's best. 12)I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Harlan Ellison A pretty good collection of sci-fi short stories. The titular story in collection is great. 13) Howl - Allen Ginsberg I may need to give this another read. I enjoyed it, but I think I need some context to get more out of it. 14) Judge Dredd Case Files 7 Because Spug you, that's why. I'm also currently reading Homicide by David Simon, my book of the year so far. I've upped my goal to 60.
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Feb 9, 2014 17:39
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Prince Valiant used to be good? Who knew?!?! Hey, now! Yeah, actually, Prince Valiant is pretty cool.
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Feb 9, 2014 18:01
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Xik posted:If taken to the extreme I guess I can see your point. I'm having a laugh thinking of a hypothetical scenario where someone proclaims they read "200 books" and then dump a few boxes of comic books on the table, but let's be honest, does it really matter? Qwo posted:
Qwo posted:So I managed to read 4 books this week, which I think is a pretty good start! Hoping to surpass my goal of 52 this year. Qwo posted:Okay, so I think that's it for January. I'm already 35% of the way towards my goal, geez. The Berzerker posted:I wound up going really heavy on graphic novels this month, but things will probably even out as I start digging into more ASOIAF books and other big books in my to-read pile. loving lol (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Feb 9, 2014 22:17
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"books", but they're mostly comics. Still, this challenge is basically an exercise for me to whittle down my massive to-read shelf, which does contain quite a few comics!
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Anyway, these last few issues are the loving best of the lot. The characters really get the poo poo fleshed out of them. 5 stars.
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Stravinsky posted:loving lol I found a TBB thread that might be more your speed. You should just go there and post. Here it is: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3607624 (on a serious note: would you recommend The Blind Owl as a good starting point to his work? I'm unfamiliar with any of Hedayat's writing, but know that an author's "most enduring" work isn't necessarily the best place to start). Sally fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Feb 9, 2014 |
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Feb 9, 2014 22:53
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19. Yesterday's Gone: Season 1 by Sean Platt The first 'season' of this serial novel was online for really cheap, I thought the premise was interesting so I gave it a shot. Platt is super prolific and has a number of series on Amazon. I don't see myself checking out others. Yesterday's Gone wasn't terrible, but it lacks the oversight that would have made it better. There are too many characters, too many points of view, too much jumping around. The second you start to get a grasp on a story, it steals you away to somewhere else. Also in a story about the population disspearing, we've now got zombies. 20. Patriot Games: Tom Clancy Didn't like it as much as Red October, but it wasn't a bad book. It's just really inconsistent. There are periods where the book is really fun and really exciting, and then there are long chunks of the book in which you watch the innerworkings of the American intelligence system. I can see why people dig Clancy, and I'll be reading more, but I don't see a need to binge on the guy. I'm going to give a few other spy thrillers a shot this month. I hope that's okay since some of us are now judging each other based on our reading choices.
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Feb 9, 2014 22:56
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Blind Sally posted:(on a serious note: would you recommend The Blind Owl as a good starting point to his work? I'm unfamiliar with any of Hedayat's writing, but know that an author's "most enduring" work isn't necessarily the best place to start). Honestly probably not. The Blind Owl may take more than one read through to understand it (not that its very long at all) if you do not know a couple of things beforehand. If you are confident in your ability to parse out symbolism referencing the Tibetan book of the dead then I would say go for it. If not Three Drops of Blood is a really great short story and I think that would be a great place to start out.
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Feb 9, 2014 23:25
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I just want to repeat a standing offer I made a while ago on goodreads and twitter. More often than not when I'm done with a book I trade it in for credit at Half Priced Books, but if you see me review something and you want to read it just send me a PM and I'll mail you the book, as I'd rather see them go to someone who wants to read them. There are books that I do keep, but it's rare. Now with that, a tie-in laden update dedicated to Stravinsky: 16) Return from the Dead (Starship Orpheus #1) by Symon Jade I wasn't expecting to determine my "Worst Book Read" award for 2014 in January, but wow is this bad. Terrible dialogue, horrible world building, a Mary Sue protagonist of the worst sort, and throughout the entire thing you get the feeling that it was written for some middle school class assignment. 17) That Which Divides (Star Trek) by Dayton Ward This was a fun read. It's a sequel of sorts to an old TOS episode, but it stands on its own. The author keeps the pace brisk and it felt like a proper episode of the series. 18) Red Sails in the Fallout (Gamma World) by Paul Kidd I have to say I enjoyed the hell out of this, and it's not just because it's tie-in fiction of a game setting I really enjoy. Paul Kidd has a way of taking absurd character concepts and really making them shine. The main characters are a precognitive quoll, a chainsaw wielding lab-rat, and a sapient swarm of earwigs, and the author does a fantastic job of making them distinct from one another and making you care about their adventures. I would recommend this for fans of fantastic, sci-fi, gonzo post-apoc settings, and anyone who enjoys a fun read! 19) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller I know I'm going to catch poo poo for it, but I honestly did not like this book. It's repetitive and disjointed, and I know that's the point, but for someone like me who reads for pleasure it made it impossible to enjoy. I'm going to assume the fault lies with me and not the book. I've never served in the armed forces, so I've never been exposed to the military bureaucracy that the book exists to make fun of. 20) Halo: The Flood (Halo #2) by William C. Dietz As far as novelizations of video games go this isn't very good. It tries to follow a half dozen different characters, but if you're reading it you really only care about Master Chief. It's written in a generic military fiction style, and I kept getting the impression that the author was angry that he had to write in the setting, with things like complaining about ship features and a weird dressing down that Master Chief gets from the marine commander. This was a slog to get through from page one. What is especially disappointing about this one is the previous book in the series, The Fall of Reach, was actually well written and fun to read. In the end if you're interested in the Halo universe, read Fall of Reach, then play the video games, and give this book a pass. 21) Kingdom Come by Mark Waid, Alex Ross (Illustrator) I read this on the recommendation of a friend, and I really enjoyed it. That brings my running total to 21/100. There's a good chance that I may be increasing my goal at some point.
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Feb 10, 2014 06:47
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1) The Captive Temple (Jedi Apprentice #7) Could hardly contain my excitement as qui-gon jin and ben kenobi used their light sabers to fight thing.s Xanatos was the villain, a strong yet firm man who wishes for a word without the jedi... dont want to spoil anyone but I think it'd be okay to say that the jedi live to fight another day. Have to commend the author for writing fifteen (15) of these in 3 years a dedicated man. 2) Jedi Trial (Clone Wars #5) Can Anakkin win the case? Don't want to spoil anyone but I think it'd be okay to say that the jedi live to fight another day. A hardhitting story about the laws of being a jedi also anakkin has to learn the law to save an old friend. Action fans don't worry light sabers come out at some point. 3) Han Solo and the Lost Legacy (han solo #3) Han and chewey go across the stars to make money to do the fabled kessel run. No light sabers unfortunately but lots of blasters. lots of dudes getting shot in this good stuff. Now I know everyone is wondering do they get the money and I dont waqnt to spoil anyone but I think itd be okay to say that the jedi live to fight another day. 4) White Noise I thought id branch out to try something new but honestly this book sucks. Like who cares about a dude who is the pioneer in hitler studies yet doesn't know german? I mean the lack of action I'm okay with I've read the Halo novels after all I'm used to things going slow, but this was just too much! I mean the nerve of t hese people talking about high culture versus low culture hey idiots it's all the same! words are words don't really get why some people get all worked up over them. Reading list status: 63/20](reading 1-60 of the recent iron man series really helped me meet my goal this year)
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Feb 10, 2014 07:17
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I'm off to a late start but I feel like challenging myself. I'm going for 50 reads by the end of the year. I think I'm off to a good start. Wish me luck! 1/50 Battle in the Clouds  Mer-Man sees that He-Man's sword gives him great power and wants it for his own. He teams up with Skeletor and they temporarily defeat He-Man so Mer-Man can steal the Battle Ram and Power Sword. He-Man and Man-At-Arms go after Mer-Man in the Wind Raider but it is Stratos that saves the day when he tackles Mer-Man off the Sky Sled several hundred feet and into the ocean. 2/50 Enter...Buzz Saw Hordak  Upon learning of the Towers of Eternia's return, Hordak realizes there is enough power in them to destroy Grayskull forever (interestingly, according to him, he also helped build them!). Hordak captures the Sorceress and devises a plan to lure Randor to the three towers and abduct him. Adam, upon realizing the scheme, changes into He-Man and follows Randor's tracks. Apparently only the king of Eternia can pass through the gates of the towers unharmed, and that is why Hordak has tricked him into coming. Upon arriving, Randor gets hurt, while He-Man mops up with Hordak's cronies. He-Man checks on Randor and sets after Hordak, who is inside the Central Tower. Hordak turns and greets He-Man nicely, but runs out of the tower in disgust because the tower is making him good. Outside, Hordak tries to destroy the tower with his Hurricane powers, but they are gone. The Sorceress and He-Man can't understand how Hordak has been made helpless. Angered, Hordak lashes out with his new Buzz-Saw powers. He-Man defends himself, and Hordak leaves to learn about his new powers. He-Man comments that Hordak has clued them to the fact that the Towers enable time travel and how to enter the towers, and that they have a greater foe to face now. 3/50 Box of Lucky Charms  Magically delicious Lucky Charms cereal features frosted oats and colored marshmallows. Made with whole grain, Lucky Charms is fortified with 12 vitamins and minerals, and is a good source of calcium. 4/50 Microwave Oven Owners Manual  PRECAUTIONS TO AVOID POSSIBLE EXPOSURE TO EXCESSIVE MICROWAVE ENERGY
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Feb 10, 2014 07:32
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8one6 posted:19) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Yeah, I didn't get Catch-22 at all. I didn't find any of it funny, and I don't really understand what the point of it was. Oh, and I felt like it was supposed to be as surprising to the reader as it was to Yossarian that Orr hadn't died, but it was really, really obvious. And the stuff about Milo's syndicate made no sense to me. I felt like maybe it was supposed to be a parody of futures trading, but if so it seemed to be a poor one.
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Feb 10, 2014 09:56
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8) The Hounds of the Morrigan - Pat O'Shea. A children's fantasy book based in Irish mythology, where two kids try to get hold of a bloodstained pebble to prevent the Morrigan from just royally loving up everyone's poo poo. It was cute, if a bit lacking in tension. Goodreads review. 9) The Gallows Curse - Karen Maitland. Set in 1210/11, while England was under an interdict because of stupid church crap and all religious services were put on hiatus. A guy dies without giving confession or getting the last rites and everyone freaks out and decides the best plan is to magically transfer all his sins (and there's a lot of them) onto this random girl who sadly has a brain like a chunk of wood. Goodreads review.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:30
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8one6 posted:19) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller You need to give this another try down the road. It has zero to do with knowing about military bureaucracy. If you know what a bureaucracy is at all then you should be able to understand what is funny about situations where you can not do anything because you are stuck in a "catch-22" or where you have one hand that does not know what the other is doing. Big machine where no one knows what the parts are doing and all that. Also next time look at the book as if it was serialized where each chapter is its own stand alone thing. Kinda like a tv episode of your favorite sitcom. Each chapter is a different episode that you can walk in on at any time and does not necessarily have much to do with the last one except being in the same overarching meta plot. And it is a funny book because its something that is insanely absurd but you totally see things like this happening in real life. Tiggum posted:Yeah, I didn't get Catch-22 at all. I didn't find any of it funny, and I don't really understand what the point of it was. Oh, and I felt like it was supposed to be as surprising to the reader as it was to Yossarian that Orr hadn't died, but it was really, really obvious. And the stuff about Milo's syndicate made no sense to me. I felt like maybe it was supposed to be a parody of futures trading, but if so it seemed to be a poor one. Do not do this. You really did not get it either at all. Sometimes things should be taking at face value. The humor of Milo is that he was a requisition officer left on his own and then began to become a continent spanning center of crime just so that he was doing his job, with side benefits of course. Stravinsky fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Feb 11, 2014 |
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Feb 11, 2014 00:24
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8one6 posted:18) Red Sails in the Fallout (Gamma World) by Paul Kidd I went on google and searched that book and well..... look at the second result: https://www.google.com/search?q=pre...:en-US:official “Red Sails in the Fallout” is not just anthropomorphic, it is flamboyantly and bizarrely Furry.
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Feb 11, 2014 00:34
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Stravinsky posted:Do not do this. You really did not get it either at all. Sometimes things should be taking at face value. The humor of Milo is that he was a requisition officer left on his own and then began to become a continent spanning center of crime just soo that he was doing his job, with side benefits of course. Maybe these chumps better cut their teeth on some comic books for a while.
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Feb 11, 2014 00:54
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Rando posted:I'm off to a late start but I feel like challenging myself. I'm going for 50 reads by the end of the year. I think I'm off to a good start. Wish me luck! I read this last year, and I was a little dissapointed. I feel that it lacks some of the imagination held by earlier editions. The mystery at the end was far to easy to resolve and created very little suspense. I think authors from earler decades had a much better handle of the genre and what it was capable of accomplishing. I also felt that the symbolism of the main characters was far too transparent and based around traditional ideas. That being said, they were a lot more captivating than the wooden, personality-less supporting cast who seemed to overwhelm the narrative. I would imagine if you just picked out the best parts and tossed the rest in the trash, it would be a much more satisfying experience, particularly for younger readers. Roydrowsy fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Feb 11, 2014 |
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Feb 11, 2014 01:13
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Roydrowsy posted:I read this last year, and I was a little dissapointed. I feel that it lacks some of the imagination held by earlier editions. The mystery at the end was far to easy to resolve and created very little suspense. I think authors from earler decades had a much better handle of the genre and what it was capable of accomplishing. I also felt that the symbolism of the main characters was far too transparent and based around traditional ideas. That being said, they were a lot more captivating than the wooden, personality-less supporting cast who seemed to overwhelm the narrative. I would imagine if you just picked out the best parts and tossed the rest in the trash, it would be a much more satisfying experience, particularly for younger readers. I don't know; I feel like it deals with some concepts that may be difficult for the so-called "target audience" to fully grasp, e.g. the complicated subtextual dynamic between empty calories and type 2 diabetes (two of the primary characters in the works of G. Mills). I think it really takes a discerning and discriminating palate to truly appreciate all of its subtleties.
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Feb 11, 2014 01:35
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Catch-22 is pretty much my favourite book ever, but I still find it a difficult book to recommend to friends. I could rave about it all day and write an essay about how brilliant the book is, yet when I recommend it to people I always feel that I have to give some disclaimers "don't worry if the overarching story is confusing", "it's not chronological but it doesn't matter", "there is slapstick, but it's necessary to counteract the otherwise depressing story", etc. I imagine it's one of those books you either fall in love with or don't get at all. However, I do have to admit that it's the only book ever where I had to give up on the English version and switch to a translation. I'm planning to try it again in English soon though.
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Feb 11, 2014 01:51
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Tiggum posted:Yeah, I didn't get Catch-22 at all. I didn't find any of it funny, and I don't really understand what the point of it was. Oh, and I felt like it was supposed to be as surprising to the reader as it was to Yossarian that Orr hadn't died, but it was really, really obvious. And the stuff about Milo's syndicate made no sense to me. I felt like maybe it was supposed to be a parody of futures trading, but if so it seemed to be a poor one. It's a book about war making people broken and the futility of trying to escape. If you really want to read into it at more than face value then you can start looking at the dates of events in the books and how there is no way some of the events could have actually happened and then trying to piece together the actual story you want to see, it's been years since I did this but if I remember correctly a lot of the Milo adventures happen extremely close to when Yossarian loses friends in battles. The book is supposed to be silly but at the same time use the silliness to heighten the hosed up aspects of war, such as Snowden dying in Yossarian's arms. Also think of how absurd the things the commanding officers who never saw the actual war are asking of their troops instead of actually caring about them getting through the missions with their lives they are more concerned with tightening up bombing patterns. Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse-Five are two of my favorite books because they don't just tell you "Hey you should hate war its hell" they show you what being in incredibly hosed up positions does to people who were somewhat normal. Catch-22 has a very strange timeline and starts kinda in the middle of the sequence of events the book entails so it is hard to see the descent into madness Yossarian undergoes but if you actually pay attention to dates you can see it there.
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Feb 11, 2014 01:54
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I can't tell if anyone is serious about reading He-Man books or Adventure Time comics or furry post-apocalyptic fiction or whatever. I'm reading American Prometheus which is a biography of Robert Oppenheimer and it seems pretty cool so far. lol check me out I've gotta be an english/philosophy major because I'm not reading comic books and novelizations of Saturday morning cartoons Zebco fucked around with this message at 02:53 on Feb 11, 2014 |
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Feb 11, 2014 02:47
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Walh Hara posted:Catch-22 is pretty much my favourite book ever, but I still find it a difficult book to recommend to friends. I could rave about it all day and write an essay about how brilliant the book is, yet when I recommend it to people I always feel that I have to give some disclaimers "don't worry if the overarching story is confusing", "it's not chronological but it doesn't matter", "there is slapstick, but it's necessary to counteract the otherwise depressing story", etc. I imagine it's one of those books you either fall in love with or don't get at all. I think the best way to read Catch-22 is the way I did: as a ten year old running hard up against the first book that was ever legitimately too loving hard for him to understand (well, apart from my father's idea that leaving Gravity's Rainbow lying around was a good substitute for sex ed, but that's a different story). My pain and bewilderment was a mirror of Yossarian's! It was my introduction to surrealism and absurdism and postmodernism and it'll always have a special place on my shelf. I'd read All Quiet on the Western Front by then and I got the whole "war is BAD" thing, but that was my first exposure to war as horrible absurdity. I think the largest value in the work is that it created and gave a language to describe the special kind of hell that exists between its pages. Without Catch-22 we wouldn't have MASH, we wouldn't have Full Metal Jacket.
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Feb 11, 2014 02:54
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