Books you're currently reading??? - Page 28

richlevy · 03-18-2006, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

Sounds like hairy chested men's adventure novels haven't changed all that much. I favored They Call Me the Mercenary and The Survivalist, myself.

Yes, but it wasn't what I expected. His other series didn't have the explicit sex scenes.

Maybe the guy needs to get laid.

wolf · 03-18-2006, 03:56 PM

Moving on to Plato's Republic. I am plodding through the introduction(s).

Why is it that translators of "classics" feel the need to let you know exactly how erudite they are, and make passing, and often unclear, references to at least a half-dozen other works by the author you're about to read (that would have been better handled as footnotes to the main text, since they allude to passages in the text you're holding in your hot little hands)?

Trilby · 03-20-2006, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

Why is it that translators of "classics" feel the need to let you know exactly how erudite they are, and make passing, and often unclear, references to at least a half-dozen other works by the author you're about to read (that would have been better handled as footnotes to the main text, since they allude to passages in the text you're holding in your hot little hands)?

You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that. I just always read those things and thought, "well, brianna, you are one dumb chick 'coz you did NOT understand anything that guy just said."

seakdivers · 03-19-2006, 09:25 PM

Wolf - I liked Angels & Demons, but it didn't "wow" me. It would make a fun movie though.

wolf · 03-20-2006, 12:09 AM

I think it would actually make a better movie than The DaVinci Code.

wolf · 03-20-2006, 09:23 AM

It's not you. They make no fucking sense. Actually, I'm having a bit of a hard time with some of the arguments in the early parts of The Republic. If you accept the assumptions and conclusions, you're all right, but I got stuck on the whole just/unjust thing ... I'm now on book four(?), well, anyway, the part where Socrates is editing all the literature and stories about the gods because he doesn't want people thinking in unjust/incorrect ways in the perfect city.

This is actually quite fascinating, in a 1984 kind of utopia kind of way.

Cyclefrance · 03-20-2006, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

It's not you. They make no fucking sense. Actually, I'm having a bit of a hard time with some of the arguments in the early parts of The Republic. If you accept the assumptions and conclusions, you're all right, but I got stuck on the whole just/unjust thing ... I'm now on book four(?), well, anyway, the part where Socrates is editing all the literature and stories about the gods because he doesn't want people thinking in unjust/incorrect ways in the perfect city.

This is actually quite fascinating, in a 1984 kind of utopia kind of way.

Sounds like an ideal model for justifying an invasion of Iraq....

SteveDallas · 03-29-2006, 09:14 AM

Popco

Pirates of Pensacola

Paladin of Souls

God in the Machine

Kitsune · 03-29-2006, 11:22 AM

I have a tough time with a lot of Neil Gaiman's stuff because I always try to hold him to the standard of Neverwhere. Damn, that was a really, really good book.

Elsewhere in reading...
Someone here posted about cargo cults and referenced Christopher Moore's book The Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Moore isn't quite as witty as Tim Dorsey, but Love Nun has entered my shelf of favorites. I've grown to really enjoy books that favor "broken writing" - i.e., choppy, sometimes including snippets of speech, single verb transitions, etc. The descriptions aren't ornate or detailed, making for a fun read.

SouthOfNoNorth · 03-29-2006, 12:48 PM

a lot of people seem to like neverwhere the most. i enjoyed it quite a bit, but there were things about it that got on my nerves - especially the way that the main character is treated throughout the book. i also thought that it moved along too quickly. when i was done i found myself asking where the other 50 or so pages were (not necessarily on the end of the book, just more "meat").

i've heard there was a television series made from it, but i haven't seen it and have heard mixed reviews on it.

Happy Monkey · 03-29-2006, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthOfNoNorth

a lot of people seem to like neverwhere the most.
...
i've heard there was a television series made from it, but i haven't seen it and have heard mixed reviews on it.

Here it is. It's fun. It's obviously a BBC budget, but you should be able to get past that.

My favorite Gaiman is Sandman, then American Gods, Coraline, Anansi Boys, and Neverwhere. Neverwhere isn't at the top of the list, but I do like it. Croup and Vandemar have some of the funniest lines in any of Gaiman's work.

Kitsune · 03-29-2006, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Here it is. It's fun. It's obviously a BBC budget, but you should be able to get past that.

I couldn't watch much because of the budget problem.

Gaiman's Sandman is a great short story with wonderful illustration. But, ah, I am biased on that one.

Happy Monkey · 03-29-2006, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitsune

Gaiman's Sandman is a great short story with wonderful illustration. But, ah, I am biased on that one.

It's more than a short story. It's a collection of short stories, or one long one, depending on whow you look at it.

SteveBsjb · 04-01-2006, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitsune

I have a tough time with a lot of Neil Gaiman's stuff because I always try to hold him to the standard of Neverwhere. Damn, that was a really, really good book.

Elsewhere in reading...
Someone here posted about cargo cults and referenced Christopher Moore's book The Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Moore isn't quite as witty as Tim Dorsey, but Love Nun has entered my shelf of favorites. I've grown to really enjoy books that favor "broken writing" - i.e., choppy, sometimes including snippets of speech, single verb transitions, etc. The descriptions aren't ornate or detailed, making for a fun read.

I'm always reading something, some book. Neverwhere is one of the few books I started and didn't finish. I read more than half of it. The main character was such a loser it was hard for me to enjoy. Does it have a good ending? Did you see the movie?

richlevy · 04-01-2006, 08:48 PM

I'm halfway through C.J. Cherryh's "Destroyer". It's the 7th book in the Foreigner universe. Or the 1st book of the 3rd sequence of the series if you use their counting method.

Anyway, noone writes xeno-sociology like C.J. Cherryh. She really goes out of her way to remind us that the protagonist, a translator-ambassador, is in an alien culture.

I know I mentioned this before, but I consider this book a must read for anyone in the diplomatic service or who travels to isolated countries. It really pushes the consequences of projecting one's native cultural perspective onto natives of foreign societies.

The books have a great pace, even with the message and a lot of talk about linguistics, psychology, sociology, etc.

It would make a great movie if done right.

03-18-2006, 03:56 PM	#2
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Moving on to Plato's Republic. I am plodding through the introduction(s). Why is it that translators of "classics" feel the need to let you know exactly how erudite they are, and make passing, and often unclear, references to at least a half-dozen other works by the author you're about to read (that would have been better handled as footnotes to the main text, since they allude to passages in the text you're holding in your hot little hands)? __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-20-2006, 12:09 AM	#5
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I think it would actually make a better movie than The DaVinci Code. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-20-2006, 09:23 AM	#6
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	It's not you. They make no fucking sense. Actually, I'm having a bit of a hard time with some of the arguments in the early parts of The Republic. If you accept the assumptions and conclusions, you're all right, but I got stuck on the whole just/unjust thing ... I'm now on book four(?), well, anyway, the part where Socrates is editing all the literature and stories about the gods because he doesn't want people thinking in unjust/incorrect ways in the perfect city. This is actually quite fascinating, in a 1984 kind of utopia kind of way. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

03-29-2006, 12:48 PM	#10
SouthOfNoNorth Colloquialist Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa Posts: 77	a lot of people seem to like neverwhere the most. i enjoyed it quite a bit, but there were things about it that got on my nerves - especially the way that the main character is treated throughout the book. i also thought that it moved along too quickly. when i was done i found myself asking where the other 50 or so pages were (not necessarily on the end of the book, just more "meat"). i've heard there was a television series made from it, but i haven't seen it and have heard mixed reviews on it. __________________ Don't you worry about the day-glo orange life preserver, it won't save you. Swim for the shores just as fast as you're able.....

04-01-2006, 08:48 PM	#15
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	I'm halfway through C.J. Cherryh's "Destroyer". It's the 7th book in the Foreigner universe. Or the 1st book of the 3rd sequence of the series if you use their counting method. Anyway, noone writes xeno-sociology like C.J. Cherryh. She really goes out of her way to remind us that the protagonist, a translator-ambassador, is in an alien culture. I know I mentioned this before, but I consider this book a must read for anyone in the diplomatic service or who travels to isolated countries. It really pushes the consequences of projecting one's native cultural perspective onto natives of foreign societies. The books have a great pace, even with the message and a lot of talk about linguistics, psychology, sociology, etc. It would make a great movie if done right. __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama

03-19-2006, 09:25 PM	#4
seakdivers Icy Queen Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Southeast Alaska Posts: 700	Wolf - I liked Angels & Demons, but it didn't "wow" me. It would make a fun movie though.

03-29-2006, 09:14 AM	#8
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Popco Pirates of Pensacola Paladin of Souls God in the Machine

03-29-2006, 11:22 AM	#9
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	I have a tough time with a lot of Neil Gaiman's stuff because I always try to hold him to the standard of Neverwhere. Damn, that was a really, really good book. Elsewhere in reading... Someone here posted about cargo cults and referenced Christopher Moore's book The Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Moore isn't quite as witty as Tim Dorsey, but Love Nun has entered my shelf of favorites. I've grown to really enjoy books that favor "broken writing" - i.e., choppy, sometimes including snippets of speech, single verb transitions, etc. The descriptions aren't ornate or detailed, making for a fun read.

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