Book Discussion

I'm at the half of Lord of The Flies and I find it underwhelming in every way. Prose is bland, descriptions are not vivid or descriptive but rather basic with a low effort at being poetic, and the characters are standard stuff as well. I guess I could applaud it for not portraying kids horribly as many things tend to do, but not making anything interesting with em' either prevents me.

Agreed. It's good starter material, which is why it's required reading for most US high school lit courses, but it's reputation doesn't quite hold up for a more experienced reader. The bland prose are accessible enough that the average high school student isn't going to find them too intimidating and give up in frustration, but still makes a good entry point into talking about some of the more basic literary devices.
 
Lord of the Flies needed death at every corner, kids turning into cannibals, feral primal beasts that feast for the flesh of their once comrades and all the brutal savage violence of a world where all the stories were tiger stories.

In something completely unrelated, wrapped up Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, wonderful book, Half a King by Joe Abercrombie (Amazing author and loved the book) and am reading Half a World, also got the third book on the backburner but the second is on par with Abercrombie in being amaziballs.
 
Guys... I think I might have a book problem...
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On a different note, I've started reading The Art of Racing in the Rain, and I am a couple chapters in, about where the dog starts ranting about his lack of thumbs.
 
Guys... I think I might have a book problem...
9nljfZM.jpg

On a different note, I've started reading The Art of Racing in the Rain, and I am a couple chapters in, about where the dog starts ranting about his lack of thumbs.

I had upwards of 20000 books in my family home. Few rooms with walls covered in shelves. If you have a book problem then I'm scared to think what my family had :D

Now I have 20 books and two kindles, so much better :D
 
It doesn't quite have the same charm to it, though. It's much more efficient, but I still like the solid feeling of a book in my hands.

My thought exactly. Then I left for holidays and instead of 10kg of books I took my Kindle and 10kg of surfing stuff and chocolate and changed my mind. Also not having to spend 1 day in a year dusting books is nice :D

Not to mention all the trees you save. And with paperwhite you can read in perfect light conditions all the time. Once you kindle you never go back. To the point when I get book as a gift I put it in public book swap point on the next day and buy ebook.
 
I prefer Audiobooks nowadays. So long as the narrator isn't terrible, I like to be able to multitask somewhat. Going for a walk while listening to a good book is fun, and I find myself taking longer detours repeatedly when it gets to some really good part.
 
I prefer Audiobooks nowadays. So long as the narrator isn't terrible, I like to be able to multitask somewhat. Going for a walk while listening to a good book is fun, and I find myself taking longer detours repeatedly when it gets to some really good part.

My mom's into audio books too... I like reading online or reading print... I'm not too into audio but I think audio is great to have not just for people to enjoy while driving or things but also for older people who may be loosing their eyesight it can be helpful...

when I read novels I try to only use ones I own or read online though because I usually mark them up... fold the corners bend them so their easier to read ect... returning them to the library after using them I have to put them between 2 hardcovers for a couple days...lol
 
audio books are also really helpful for dyslexic ppl like me
saves me having a stare at a page for 10 mins until the letters stop swimming about or having to reread a page 5 times before it makes sense or at its worst sit there having to sound out each part of every word like a 5 year old
 
I prefer Audiobooks nowadays. So long as the narrator isn't terrible, I like to be able to multitask somewhat. Going for a walk while listening to a good book is fun, and I find myself taking longer detours repeatedly when it gets to some really good part.

Yeah, I was never able to get into audio books. I tend to loose focus after few seconds and then I have to rewind. This is how I fouled Dark Elf for myself. I listened to it in an airplane and I dozed off. Now when I start reading the book I have flashbacks from crying babies, drunken British workers coming back from stag party *shudders*. And I have no idea what that book was about. Only bits and pieces.
 
I'm not a fan of auto books myself either, until recently. I haven't the time to read anymore, I haven't the time to do everything and reading is too time consuming due to time restraints. thank goodness a lot comes to audio books, until I get a better chance and time to read that is.
 
Read Bulgakov's Heart of a Dog and I liked it. Besides being proto-sf it has a value for dealing with/predicting the Russian purges that happened few years after the book itself, so that's one more addition to it I guess. Beside dealing with proto-sf concept of man made humans, which get old fast, its commentary about political situation make for a informative and insightful read and it's somewhat decent exploration of humanity gives it more value than your typical sf dealing with its own imaginary concepts. It's not perfect in dealing with either of those, but as a combination mainly focused at critique it's a good read. Prose could be better but I say that for a lot of things so there's no good reason for me not to recommend it. I liked it just fine but I'm definitely on to Master and Margarita in near future.

I'm also reading Stoner by John Williams and I can't remember the last time I was so mesmerized. It's just hits hard, and hits all the right places. I'm on chpt 3 right now but I can easily see myself finishing it in a next day or two.
 
Started reading 5 Days That Shook the World: Seattle and Beyond, about the WTO protests in Seattle of '99.
 
I always wondered if I should start reading The Wheel of Time, but then realized that I actually read like half of the first book many years ago. I just didn't realize it because the book I read was a Norwegian translated version.
I don't even remember why I didn't finish it. I remember liking it quite a bit.
I think I loaned it at the school library, but then spent too long finishing it and had to return it because others wanted to read it, and then I forgot the name of the book, and I graduated.

I guess I'll make a mental note to get an English audio book version eventually.
 
I'm going to re-read Porno by Irvine Welsh. Danny Boyle announced Trainspotting 2 happening with the same cast, based on the novel's sequel known as Porno.
 
Just finished "Matter" by Banks. Got to love The Culture series. How I missed it during my teens remains a mystery since I plowed through everything SF related back then.
 
Powered through Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Witty-tan.

Maaan, I'll be preoccupied by some existential crisis attacks for a while.
 
Just finished "Matter" by Banks. Got to love The Culture series. How I missed it during my teens remains a mystery since I plowed through everything SF related back then.

I just finished The Player of Games which was also really good. The Culture novels really are damn great.
 
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