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Genre is a state of mind. Wheat Loaf posted:I've read most of the Cormac McCarthy novels and they're mostly just westerns to me. There must be something more to it than the particular category you sort them into. I don't think you've read them. The Secret Agent for example has little resemblance to a novel in the spy genre aside from the general theme of espionage and terrorism.
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Oct 10, 2017 17:51
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Wheat Loaf posted:I'm not sure what the worst detective/mystery/crime novel I've read is. Aren't there better-than-even odds Harris didn't want to write those and only did it because the publisher was gonna have sequels done either way after the success of the adaptation of Silence of the Lambs?
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Oct 10, 2017 18:11
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Sagebrush posted:The movie will probably be quite different from the book, because the plot of the book is based entirely on the pop-culture it references, and I'm sure the producers aren't going out of their way to acquire the rights for each of those specific elements. In the trailer it looks like they're just cramming it full of whatever properties Warner Brothers owns instead. It would be sort of funny if RPO the film ends up being an extended marketing joke with these egregious shots of other WB brands or whatever gamer fuel and crisps they get the rights to showcase for tie-ins. I have a strong memory of Snakes on a Plane of all things where early on the main guy is on his computer with literal palettes of Red Bull stacked as high as he's sitting. For a bit I wondered if the snakes were all going to get doused in energy drinks and go crazy because I figured it couldn't get much stupider (it did).
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Oct 10, 2017 19:34
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BravestOfTheLamps posted:I don't think you've read them. The Secret Agent for example has little resemblance to a novel in the spy genre aside from the general theme of espionage and terrorism. Nah, I've definitely read them. I would remember if I hadn't. Ugly In The Morning posted:Aren't there better-than-even odds Harris didn't want to write those and only did it because the publisher was gonna have sequels done either way after the success of the adaptation of Silence of the Lambs? Hannibal Rising is the one where he was told that Dino De Laurentiis wanted a novel to adapt into a movie and that if Harris wouldn't write it they'd get someone else to do it. I'm not sure about Hannibal, though.
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Oct 10, 2017 19:42
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SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL posted:I have a strong memory of Snakes on a Plane of all things where early on the main guy is on his computer with literal palettes of Red Bull stacked as high as he's sitting.
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Oct 10, 2017 19:55
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Autonomous is a book that came out last month. It's about a drug that makes you addicted to work, the pharmaceutical pirate that realizes this when she sells a batch and people start dying, and the ruthless corporate assassin and military robot sent to stop her from making that public. You'd think it would be a fun pulp adventure but the prose is as cluttered and unfun as wading through a hoarder house. The plot contains no twists or surprises. None of the characters seem to have an internal life or are in any way more than puppets doing what the plot needs them to, foreshadowing is basically nonexistent, and at least one plot point comes from a drugged rando blurting it out unprompted. Worse, in a book praised for its lgbt content, the corporate assassin is attracted to Paladin (the robot) but won't admit to it because he's "not a human being". So the robot changes their gender pronouns from he to she so they can gently caress and it won't be gay. This is literally the only reason it happens. It's also later revealed that because the assassin is Paladin's handler Paladin has no choice but to love him. They go off into the sunset together in the end, how romantic. What the gently caress. Brass Key has a new favorite as of 02:24 on Oct 11, 2017 |
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Oct 11, 2017 02:20
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RoboRodent posted:But it did make me imagine a horror story about shellfish, which sounds far more entertaining. If you haven't read Night of the Crabs, you're in for a treat.
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Oct 11, 2017 02:37
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Wheat Loaf posted:I'm not sure what the worst detective/mystery/crime novel I've read is. Hannibal is the only book that made me so mad at the ending I literally threw it across the room after finishing it. I was so pissed that Starling's character changes completely and she "falls in love" with Lecter. What the gently caress was that poo poo?
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Oct 11, 2017 04:43
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RoboRodent posted:But it did make me imagine a horror story about shellfish, which sounds far more entertaining. 
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Oct 11, 2017 08:06
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Then again, some others are...   WHY MARRY A VIRGIN?
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Oct 11, 2017 08:15
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RoboRodent posted:But it did make me imagine a horror story about shellfish, which sounds far more entertaining. Clickers 1 and 2 are... ok. They're these b-horror books about giant lobster/scorpion things, and are definitely flawed (there are chapters giving new characters backstories and everything only for them to die the very next chapter without doing anything to the plot?), but entertaining enough if that's your thing. 3 suuucks though, it totally belongs here.
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Oct 11, 2017 08:17
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That woman looks fairly unconcerned about the situation. The man is freaking out, but she's just sort of calmly dealing with it.
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Oct 11, 2017 10:11
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If you're willing to go for molluscs in general, there's always Testimony Before an Emergency Session of The Naval Cephalopod Command. By a goon, no less.
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Oct 11, 2017 10:14
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I am absolutely not turning this into an e/n thread derail, but I'm doing the online dating thing, and so you know how that basically goes with the introductory "getting to know you messages" and such: me (paraphrase) : "What have you really lately that you really liked?" she (verbatim) : "My current favorite book is Ready Player One. I've read it multiple times." me (at my screen) :  I literally sucked air through clenched teeth when I got to that sentence, and I thought this thread would appreciate it.
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Oct 11, 2017 11:38
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Tiggum posted:That woman looks fairly unconcerned about the situation. The man is freaking out, but she's just sort of calmly dealing with it.
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Oct 11, 2017 12:14
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Pastry of the Year posted:I am absolutely not turning this into an e/n thread derail, but I'm doing the online dating thing, and so you know how that basically goes with the introductory "getting to know you messages" and such: Channel that book rage into a creative profile! "Here is a list of books. Most of them I love, one of them I hate with an intensity that sometimes worries me. Guess correctly and I'll buy you a dessert!" Can't fail.
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Oct 11, 2017 12:17
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Strom Cuzewon posted:Channel that book rage into a creative profile! I... actually loving love this idea.
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Oct 11, 2017 12:23
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Sounds like a bullet dodged! e: for her I mean
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Oct 11, 2017 12:26
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Pastry of the Year posted:I... actually loving love this idea. Me too, though more for the potential entertainment value. For a bonus, mention one is a guilty pleasure as well.
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Oct 11, 2017 12:41
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Tiggum posted:That woman looks fairly unconcerned about the situation. The man is freaking out, but she's just sort of calmly dealing with it. Who do you think hired the crabassins?
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Oct 11, 2017 12:44
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catlord posted:Clickers 1 and 2 are... ok. They're these b-horror books about giant lobster/scorpion things, and are definitely flawed (there are chapters giving new characters backstories and everything only for them to die the very next chapter without doing anything to the plot?) You've reminded me of a Terrible Book from years ago (the mid-80s?): Airscream. For a while, it seemed to be in every used book shop and pile of free books, so as a bookish youth I ended up reading it. Essentially it's the lead to a horrific mid-air collision and the public inquiry afterward. The court material is decently readable, but the crash itself features lots of characters being finely detailed and then suddenly killed. The one that sticks in my mind is a whole chapter about a farmer, the details of his life, his worries about the farm, the conversations with his family, what he does that day, etc. etc. Then in the final paragraph of the chapter, he's eviscerated by red-hot falling debris and never mentioned for the rest of the book. I think it may have been a genre in the 70s: disaster-porn.
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Oct 11, 2017 12:48
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outlier posted:I think it may have been a genre in the 70s: disaster-porn. Sure. Disasters were big business in the 70s. Some of the most popular movies of the decade included Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, The Towering Inferno etc. People liked disaster scenarios so it's no surprise that books would be a bit more graphic about it than the movies could be.
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Oct 11, 2017 12:54
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Carbon Thief posted:Hannibal is the only book that made me so mad at the ending I literally threw it across the room after finishing it. I was so pissed that Starling's character changes completely and she "falls in love" with Lecter. What the gently caress was that poo poo? Wasn't that on purpose? I thought there was a rumor he didn't want to write about those characters anymore, and the publisher forced the issue, so he tried to write something as gross and aggravating as possible.
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Oct 11, 2017 14:13
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Dienes posted:Wasn't that on purpose? I thought there was a rumor he didn't want to write about those characters anymore, and the publisher forced the issue, so he tried to write something as gross and aggravating as possible. I mean that probably doesn't really matter to the average consumer who reads the book.
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Oct 11, 2017 14:32
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[quote="“Pastry of the Year”" post="“477268430”"] me (paraphrase) : “What have you really lately that you really liked?” she (verbatim) : “My current favorite book is Ready Player One. I’ve read it multiple times." [/quote] See, I think this depends on context. Like does she enjoy RPO with no irony whatsoever or does she enjoy it from a "this is some fun garbage, I can't look away" perspective like we discuss in this thread? Or even "this is my favorite atm because I can shut my brain off and relax?" In my case it was a former friend, but I remember when RPO came out in 2011 he kept extolling the virtues of this book, how amazing it was, how fun all the references are, etc. Said friend was also a completionist collector of multiple 80s and 90s toy properties to a degree where it was a crutch for unaddressed mental issues and was consistently near-broke despite a full-time tenured job. [quote="“EmmyOk”" post="“477268891”"] Sounds like a bullet dodged! e: for her I mean [/quote]
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Oct 11, 2017 14:42
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Dienes posted:Wasn't that on purpose? I thought there was a rumor he didn't want to write about those characters anymore, and the publisher forced the issue, so he tried to write something as gross and aggravating as possible. AFAIK, yes, he had to finish a publishing contract. But I was like 16 and a big fan of the first two books/movies. Huge letdown when I finally read it, having been so excited for it.
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Oct 11, 2017 16:14
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Tiggum posted:That woman looks fairly unconcerned about the situation. The man is freaking out, but she's just sort of calmly dealing with it. Look, you don't let your impending death by crustacean stop you from posing sexily, come on.
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Oct 11, 2017 16:29
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It is because of this thread that I've started reading the let's read thread of both "Twisted" and the cat alien book who's name I can't be bothered to look up. I don't know if I should be relieved or disappointed that most of the images for "Twisted" are dead links.
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Oct 11, 2017 19:42
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TheSmilingJackal posted:It is because of this thread that I've started reading the let's read thread of both "Twisted" and the cat alien book who's name I can't be bothered to look up. Definitely disappointed. The pictures bring it to a whole new level. 
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Oct 11, 2017 19:50
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TheSmilingJackal posted:It is because of this thread that I've started reading the let's read thread of both "Twisted" and the cat alien book who's name I can't be bothered to look up. There is no greater feeling than the sweet whiskey induced oblivion after successfully erasing the memory of a picture of an anthropomorphic roller coaster giving birth.
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Oct 11, 2017 20:03
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My shartball squad is unstoppable.
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Oct 11, 2017 20:04
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RoboRodent posted:Look, you don't let your impending death by crustacean stop you from posing sexily, come on. If you stop posing sexily you won't be TRAPPED IN A SEX OF GIANT CRABS
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Oct 11, 2017 20:08
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Count Uvula posted:I mean that probably doesn't really matter to the average consumer who reads the book. By the time it gets to Hannibal, I'm not sure if Harris is himself in awe of Lecter and wants his readers to be as well, but he certainly stumbled into it if he didn't. In Red Dragon and especially The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter is a psychopathic monster no matter how charming and intelligent he is. Then you get to Hannibal and Hannibal Rising and he might as well be a superhero who happens to murder and eat people on occasion. 
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Oct 11, 2017 21:09
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SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL posted:See, I think this depends on context. Like does she enjoy RPO with no irony whatsoever or does she enjoy it from a "this is some fun garbage, I can't look away" perspective like we discuss in this thread? Or even "this is my favorite atm because I can shut my brain off and relax?" Enjoying things ironically is identical to enjoying them normally.
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Oct 11, 2017 21:19
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Reading a bad book once? Sure, we're all guilty of that. Rereading it again and again and again? Something is wrong.
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Oct 11, 2017 23:09
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Trauma Dog 3000 posted:Enjoying things ironically is identical to enjoying them normally.
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Oct 11, 2017 23:15
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Most literary criticism is nothing more than sneering at people of lower social standing by attacking the media they enjoy
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Oct 11, 2017 23:43
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In my experience, people who argue that are always at least reasonably affluent middle-class people.
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Oct 11, 2017 23:50
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BravestOfTheLamps posted:In my experience, people who argue that are always at least reasonably affluent middle-class people. I said social position, not socioeconomic.
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Oct 11, 2017 23:57
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PJOmega posted:There is no greater feeling than the sweet whiskey induced oblivion after successfully erasing the memory of a picture of an anthropomorphic roller coaster giving birth. Thanks for reminding me about those monstrosities. Now I need to find something high-proof and I'm only halfway through the work day.
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Oct 12, 2017 00:04
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