What are you reading right now?

[tris]

That's funny, I read the HDM series at 28 and thought that it was something that would really appeal to a 13 year old. My reaction was that the first book was excellent, but the second two so horrific as to make it the second biggest literary disappointment of my life.
Nothing like a guy acting like the discovery that organized religion is bad is somehow new to make me feel annoyed and patronized.

I dont think it was patronising. If you read them as a young teenager it really uses fantasy to bring that message across to you, and it doesnt feel patronising. if you read it at 28, of course it'll feel patronising.
Oh, and the mulefa arent ridiculous. they're so very different from human beings, but sentient, which shows us the idea of seeking to understand those who seem very alien to us, and that being human doesn't make you a person. You need to have a brain and use it, like they do. that's why they're people, not animals.

I see you've already locked horns with Capellini... don't worry HP, the valykrie of Brooklyn occasionally descends to chastise us mere mortals with a mental age of 12... don't be scared, you'll get used to it!
I agree that the book wasnt patronising... I thought it was just a ripping yarn without too many pretensions... he was obviously trying to cater for most readers, but that doesnt necessarily mean condescension... of course he's not everyone's cup of tea, but who is? I just think he went off on too many tangents and tried to get too many ideas in there, and I guess that's what annoyed Cap.
As they say in Italy he "put too much meat on the fire".
Anyway I thought the mulefa were great! They might be implausible, but I dont really see how their existence "defies the most basic principles of evolution" as Cap states...
As she also implies there are plenty of implausible creatures on our planet, so why not on another planet?
On the theme of those who seem very alien to us I'm not reading "Comntact" by Carl Sagan... it's a lot of fun... lots of nice themes, but not " too much meat on the fire"! (altho I think he nabbed off with Fred Hoyle's idea in "A for Andromeda"... he didnt even change the constellation from whcih the aliens make contact!) It's also interesting to compare with the great R Zemekis film, which had some more implausible elements, but was successful in its own way... I still have to finish the last 20 pages of the book before I pass final judgement... I tend to read the last pages of a book very slowly when I've been enjoying it... to prolong the final drops of enjoyment!

[Capellini]

That's funny, I read the HDM series at 28 and thought that it was something that would really appeal to a 13 year old. My reaction was that the first book was excellent, but the second two so horrific as to make it the second biggest literary disappointment of my life.
Nothing like a guy acting like the discovery that organized religion is bad is somehow new to make me feel annoyed and patronized.

I dont think it was patronising. If you read them as a young teenager it really uses fantasy to bring that message across to you, and it doesnt feel patronising. if you read it at 28, of course it'll feel patronising.
Oh, and the mulefa arent ridiculous. they're so very different from human beings, but sentient, which shows us the idea of seeking to understand those who seem very alien to us, and that being human doesn't make you a person. You need to have a brain and use it, like they do. that's why they're people, not animals.

I see you've already locked horns with Capellini... don't worry HP, the valykrie of Brooklyn occasionally descends to chastise us mere mortals with a mental age of 12... don't be scared, you'll get used to it!
I agree that the book wasnt patronising... I thought it was just a ripping yarn without too many pretensions... he was obviously trying to cater for most readers, but that doesnt necessarily mean condescension... of course he's not everyone's cup of tea, but who is? I just think he went off on too many tangents and tried to get too many ideas in there, and I guess that's what annoyed Cap.
As they say in Italy he "put too much meat on the fire".
Anyway I thought the mulefa were great! They might be implausible, but I dont really see how their existence "defies the most basic principles of evolution" as Cap states...
As she also implies there are plenty of implausible creatures on our planet, so why not on another planet?
On the theme of those who seem very alien to us I'm not reading "Comntact" by Carl Sagan... it's a lot of fun... lots of nice themes, but not " too much meat on the fire"! (altho I think he nabbed off with Fred Hoyle's idea in "A for Andromeda"... he didnt even change the constellation from whcih the aliens make contact!) It's also interesting to compare with the great R Zemekis film, which had some more implausible elements, but was successful in its own way... I still have to finish the last 20 pages of the book before I pass final judgement... I tend to read the last pages of a book very slowly when I've been enjoying it... to prolong the final drops of enjoyment!

Wow, even when I agree with someone people decide I'm angry. So now I can't share my feelings on a book and agree with another poster, I either have to agree 100% or get into a fight? Never mind, then.

[daftbeaker]

Well, today was refreshingly dull and I finished Watchmen. Pretty cool, I wasn't fond of the ending but the story was good. It felt like how Tarantino would do a superhero film with the cutting back-and-forth to different time periods.

[tris]

Well, today was refreshingly dull and I finished Watchmen. Pretty cool, I wasn't fond of the ending but the story was good. It felt like how Tarantino would do a superhero film with the cutting back-and-forth to different time periods.

Ummm... excuse me but the title of the thread is "What are you reading right now?".... unless (1) you printed out the credits for bedtime edification I hardly feel that "Watchmen" fits the category, or unless (2) you just finished the comic books... but then what would that have to do with Tarantino?

Wow, even when I agree with someone people decide I'm angry. So now I can't share my feelings on a book and agree with another poster, I either have to agree 100% or get into a fight? Never mind, then.

You've got a funny way of agreeing with people!
Nevertheless I didnt actually say you were "angry"... I'm sure you are a pretty laid back valkyrie even when descending "to chastise us mere mortals" (at least I hope so for your sake)!
Anyway, share your feelings by all means... far be it from me to cramp your style! I'm sure your intellectual honesty and uncompromising directness are worth more than any namby-pamby implodity diplomacy or bowing and kow-towing to our over-sensitive sensibilities!
... altho, to say it in pentameters

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Meseems such steely expostulation
and recalcitrant remonstrance full of
fractious sound and refractory fury
doth oftimes have a rather hard edgéd
and over firey impetus to it...

sorry it wasnt 100% iambic!

PS is "mulefum" the singular of mulefa?

[daftbeaker]

Well, today was refreshingly dull and I finished Watchmen. Pretty cool, I wasn't fond of the ending but the story was good. It felt like how Tarantino would do a superhero film with the cutting back-and-forth to different time periods.

Ummm... excuse me but the title of the thread is "What are you reading right now?".... unless (1) you printed out the credits for bedtime edification I hardly feel that "Watchmen" fits the category, or unless (2) you just finished the comic books... but then what would that have to do with Tarantino?

I got the comics in book form from amazon (see earlier post here). Enjoyed most of the story but the ending felt a bit odd.

The Tarantino reference was there's a lot of cutting back and forwards between time periods and telling the story through diaries and news clippings, it felt similar to the story progression in Pulp Fiction. There's one bit where Dr Manhattan is sitting around telling a story from the perspective of what he's done, what he's doing and what he's about to do and it covers about 30 years, I had to read it a few times to get my head round it Also, the comic doesn't have any problems with killing off characters and there's plenty of violence.

Now I need to watch the film at some point, apparently the ending's different.

[Ubi Dubium]

I've read several books recently where I felt like I was reading a screenplay. They didn't work so well as books, but if you imagined them on a screen, the pacing and relentless non-stop action seemed appropriate. Especially this applies to Dan Brown, but also to my writer friend here locally, who writes thrillers. I don't think any of his have made it to the big screen, but they seem to be written with that in mind.

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

Well, today was refreshingly dull and I finished Watchmen. Pretty cool, I wasn't fond of the ending but the story was good. It felt like how Tarantino would do a superhero film with the cutting back-and-forth to different time periods.

The ending was so much cooler in the graphic novel. I disagree with you on the Tarantino bit - there were no scalpings, and nobody bled for the entire film.

[Charlie]

. . . A little green bag. Sorry, still incredibly overwhelmed by Reservoir Dogs. But I must point out that a nuclear bomb seems more plausible than a giant squid from another dimension, no matter how many colours it has.

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

. . . A little green bag. Sorry, still incredibly overwhelmed by Reservoir Dogs.

Psst! You're supposed to write: "Spoilers ahoy!"

[black bart]

Well, today was refreshingly dull and I finished Watchmen. Pretty cool, I wasn't fond of the ending but the story was good. It felt like how Tarantino would do a superhero film with the cutting back-and-forth to different time periods.

The ending was so much cooler in the graphic novel. I disagree with you on the Tarantino bit - there were no scalpings, and nobody bled for the entire film.

No I think Daftbeaker has a point...the bloke who had his arms sawn off must have bled for about a month.

[Helene Potier]

Wow, even when I agree with someone people decide I'm angry. So now I can't share my feelings on a book and agree with another poster, I either have to agree 100% or get into a fight? Never mind, then.

aww, it wasnt a fight, it was a debate. Theres no fun in discussing something with someone who agrees with you completely. After a while you'll just lapse into silence.

[Helene Potier]

I agree that the book wasnt patronising... I thought it was just a ripping yarn without too many pretensions... he was obviously trying to cater for most readers, but that doesnt necessarily mean condescension... of course he's not everyone's cup of tea, but who is? I just think he went off on too many tangents and tried to get too many ideas in there, and I guess that's what annoyed Cap.
Anyway I thought the mulefa were great! They might be implausible, but I dont really see how their existence "defies the most basic principles of evolution" as Cap states...
As she also implies there are plenty of implausible creatures on our planet, so why not on another planet?

well i think he did a good job of catering for most readers. i think on the one hand you've go the pure fantasy, going into parallel worlds and flying witches and talking bears. Its this that the child enjoys. but what the adult anjoys is the ideas about "original sin", about cosmology, about what it means to have a soul, and the nature of the multiverse.

the mulefa are a bit off the wall, i agree, but it's like the thing about aliens. if we met any aliens, they'd be absolutely nothing like us. life can evolve in amazingly different ways, and for some reason this universe favoured diamond-shaped frames and heads that look like elephants'.

[Capellini]

Wow, even when I agree with someone people decide I'm angry. So now I can't share my feelings on a book and agree with another poster, I either have to agree 100% or get into a fight? Never mind, then.

aww, it wasnt a fight, it was a debate. Theres no fun in discussing something with someone who agrees with you completely. After a while you'll just lapse into silence.

Indeed.

[black bart]

Not much chance of that around here.

[ubidubikid #1]

Eaters of the dead by Michael Crichton. It's my summer reading assignment. It's kind of based of the concept that most legends are spawned by real events. This one is supposedly the original Beowulf, told from the point of view of an arrab traveler who ended up with a group of viking warriors. A little diffrent from your average school assigned book considering the level of sex and violence in it. And of course vikings. Which are like ice pirates. Of death.