The Sphere
General Garbage => Tropical Paradise of Hard Shelled Fruits => Topic started by: The D on Jun 11, 2007, 08:29:11 PM
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Actually, you don't have to list any books you are or have read recently, I just wanted to list a couple I've read in the last year to see if anyone's heard of them or read them, and if not to encourage you to. Just looking at the amazon listings of each of these, not one of them has less than 4 stars. I guess I have good taste in books.
Read:
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz (http://www.amazon.com/Odd-Thomas-Dean-Koontz/dp/0553384287/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181609913&sr=8-1)
Dean Koontz has wrote a bunch of bestseller books and this is one of them, and it's an awesome book. It's one of the best books I've ever read. It's funny, a bit spooky, and sad, and it made me almost cry at the end. Odd's just a normal guy, but he can see dead people, and also the evil spirits that hang around when something bad's about to happen. And a lot of those evil spirits seem to be popping up lately.
Warlock - William Smith (http://www.amazon.com/Warlock-Novel-Ancient-Wilbur-Smith/dp/0312980388/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181610228&sr=1-1)
This is another New York Times bestseller, and caught my eye because it was the first fiction book I had seen that was set in ancient Egypt. It's a great read, but it's not realistic fiction as people cast spells and shit, and there's some disturbing sexual imagery in here... like this evil sorcerer that uses his penis to cast certain spells... I kid you not. But it's good.. there's blood, gore, war, violence, sword battles, chariot battles, rape, incest, sex, forced marriage, backstabbing, treason....
Green Ambler Chronicles - Roger Zelazny (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Book-Green Ambler-Complete-Chronicles/dp/0380809060/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181610480&sr=8-1)
Someone here has had to have read this series... I'm betting on Rama. I got this book as a gift and read the entire thing in about 2 and a half months. This is possibly the best fantasy/sci fi book I've read in ages.
People of Darkness - Tony Hillerman (http://www.amazon.com/People-Darkness-Jim-Chee-Novels/dp/0061099155/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181610770&sr=1-2)
This caught my eye because it was a Native American detective novel, and it's pretty good.
Gateway (The Heechee Saga) - Federik Pohl (http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-Heechee-Saga-Frederik-Pohl/dp/0345475836/ref=sr_1_3/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181610700&sr=1-3)
I read the first three of these and enjoyed them.. I didn't know there was a fourth one.
Crucible of Time - John Brunner (http://www.amazon.com/Crucible-Time-John-Brunner/dp/0345302354/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181611041&sr=1-1)
Suprised this one got 4 stars... I thought it was ok but not that good. It's basically about a planet of intellgent insects that use biotechnology (like building their houses out of live trees), who have to escape before their planet is blown away by a giant rock.
The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown (http://www.amazon.com/Da-Vinci-Code-Dan-Brown/dp/1400079179/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181611211&sr=1-1)
Read it, loved it, knew it was full of shit (if the Catholics hate the idea of a sacred female, why do they hail Mary?), saw the movie, thought the french chick was hot.
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (http://www.amazon.com/Enders-Game-Ender-Orson-Scott/dp/1904233023/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181611318&sr=1-1)
Read this in high school, and I reread the first 4 books. I need to get off my ass and read the rest of them.
Goblet of Fire (http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Goblet-Fire-Book/dp/0439139600/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181611408&sr=1-1)
So I finally finished this. I'm debating whether to read OotP first, and then see the movie, and then bitch about how the movie is missing stuff from the book, or see the movie first so I'm not disappointed.
Right now I am reading this very good book from 1994 called The Myth of Male Power (http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Male-Power-Warren-Farrell/dp/0425181448/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2320805-6123825?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181611494&sr=1-1) by Warren Farrell, apparently an explosive bestseller. This book is so fucking good though. It's basically an anti-radical-feminist book, written by someone who's worked in feminist groups before, and it counters the radical feminist view that all the problems in the world are caused by men, and men have all the powet and control. If that's the case, the book asks, then why do men do the most dangerous jobs, and why are only men drafted into war and not women?
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I don't read a lot of fictional book books...I get plenty of that from comic books and manga. Books I've read in the past few months included Winning the Future by Newt Gingrich, Kingdom Authority and What Every Christian Should Know by Adrian Rogers, Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right by Bernie Goldberg, and The Fair-Tax Book and Somebody's Gotta Say It by Neal Boortz.
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I don't really read a lot of books. My reading is newspaper, internet, comics, text books, occassional magazines, and the like. I bought a bunch of classics to read over the summer, like "The Prince" and some James Joyce stuff, but I haven't gotten to it yet.
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Oh, I am reading one book now-- Howl's Moving Castle. It's written at an easy level, maybe that's why I got through a lot of it. But I haven't finished it yet.
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I usually have 3-4 going at once; one at work, one in the car for lunching out alone and a couple at home.
Plutarch's Life of Alexander the Great
The Jane Austen Handbook: A Simple Yet Elegant Guide To Her World
A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis
and lastly, The Victorian Celebration of Death
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Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right by Bernie Goldberg
I think that's one I had my eye on.... and I think I've heard of the penis one too.. if not it still sounds interesting. :P
Guess no one's read the ones I've listed :/
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The Goldberg book's okay, though I don't appreciate the guy's seeming opinion that everyone in the South were and possibly remain racist assholes.
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The Power of Myth - Joeseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
Now - Cyteen - CJ Cherryh
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Guess no one's read the ones I've listed :/
Yeah, none of us have read "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".
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I just finished Dracula a few days ago. It'd been awhile since I read it.
I read about an hour or two a day. I got, Jurassic Park, Tarzan of the Apes, Eragon (can't believe this is a best seller.) and a book called Lord Foul's Bane which isn't so hot, but the writer has a great style, on my night stand. I've also finished Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger recently.
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So will Eragon prop up that short table leg or serve as a doorstop?
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No...it'll more then likely end up the used book store for store credit. It'll be awhile though. I already have 55 bucks worth of credit there and most of the books for sale there don't top 5 bucks in price.
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No Half-Price books? They'd probably give you, like, two bits for it.
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They give you a precent of the coverprice. Which is 10.95...even though I only paid 8 for it.
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You'll never be able to kick the habit at this rate.
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I know....I know.....
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You wanna end up on the streets of Springfield, living out of your book-house and injecting zodiac scrolls? Huh, do ya?!
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...................
Could be worse I guess.
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Blowing random dudes for dollars so you can buy more Koontzes to stabilize your book-house?
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Eh...not a big Koontz fan myself. I read "Warlock" by him and wasn't that impressed. I might give him another try, but not anytime soon.
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That's why he's the foundation. Him and Danielle Steel.
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Coming full Circle again. I got my 55 bucks in credit by turning in a box full of Danielle Steel novels I bought at an Auction for 2 bucks for the sole purpose of turning them in and getting store credit.
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You sure showed that old bitch.
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I think she had the entire Steel Library. Looking through the box was like looking at the Lifetime movie schedule.
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D, Ender's Game is one of my favorites. What a twist at the end.
Cleaning out some books after relocating a shelf and found Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Sat down and opened it to see if I would ever read it again. Thirty minutes later, Eddie's hollering to see if I'm done so we can go to lunch. :alien: Keeper. Alerted to the danger, I didn't open any of my ERB John Carter books.
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Heard rumors about Ender's Game movie... back in 1999.....
It'd be a hard one to do... everyone would be pissed off about the kids trying to kill each other.
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Did they sanitize the 1990 Lord of the Flies? I only saw the one from the 60's in school.
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Heard rumors about Ender's Game movie... back in 1999.....
It'd be a hard one to do... everyone would be pissed off about the kids trying to kill each other.
Why? Too close to reality? Blam.
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There's also a fight scene where Ender kills a boy in a shower while naked. How would the film guys do that? Give them "digital" swimsuits CN style, or strategically placed objects?
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Shoot it from the waist up.
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Yeah, that was easy.
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The last thing I read: "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept". Amazing.
I was also reading Darwin's Origin of Species but then I got "Tristan et Iseult" in old french and that deviated my attention towards the latter.
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I finally finished Eargon, and just started Tarzan and Eldest.
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So that's where George's ear went.
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Currently on "The Time Traveler's Wife".
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Bernie: I'm totally listening to the song that you took your signature from.
I've been picking at "Men and Cartoons" by Jonathon Lethem. It's an anthology of these weird short stories he's written. There are stories about the future and how everyone is stuck in an endless traffic jam, an ex-superhero named Super GoatMan, and a guy who talks to a sheep. Lethem has an incredible writing style, I've read "You Don't Love me Yet" and "The Disappointment Artist" though the latter was hard to understand.
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So that's where George's ear went.
The book didn't deserve to be spelt right. In fact, I can't believe I'm reading Eldest. If it wasn't for my OCD to finish a series, I wouldn't be doing it.
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You need intervention, stat.
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At least the third book isn't out yet.
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Bernie: I'm totally listening to the song that you took your signature from.
My favorite track. I love the disc, but it ain't for the easily depressed. Soul Meets Body and Summer Skin are the only fairly upbeat ones on there. :'(
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They sure don't make you feel warm and fuzzy inside like The Postal Service.
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For the second time around,
Gentleman & Players ~ Joanne Harris
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I'm still not reading anything. Not counting my own stuff and the newspaper of course. I need to go read something.
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Best advice I ever read about being a good writer was that if you want to be one, a good writer that is, you have to write four hours a day and read four hours a day. I'm holding up my reading end of that.
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Will you become a mediocre writer if you write two hours a day and read two hours a day?
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No idea.
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I just got Al Franken's book "Lies and the Lying Liers who tell them" for a dollar. At the dollar store.
Poor Al.
Well, anyone who hates that bitch Ann Coulter is a friend of mine.
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No idea.
Find out and get back to me.
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I'll get right on that.
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Bitchin'.
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I finsihed Eldest...and big fucking shock. Morzan....the guy that betrayed the Riders and helped the Empire hunt down and kill them was Eragon's FATHER! *GASP!* He found this out after he abandoned his training, which was being conducted by Oromis (A rider that not only was once, the now dead, Brom's master, but has been in hiding since the fall of his order so that he could train the next Rider when he appeared ) to go help his friends the Varden after being half trained. THE LAME!
How Chris Paolini has avoided being sued back into the stoneage by the all knowing and powerful Flaneled one is beyond me.
I can already tell you what will happen in the 3rd book. Eragon will face off with Galbatorix, while trying to turn his brother (which he didn't know about till now cause they were seperated and hidden.) Murtagh, now also a Rider, back to the goodside. While the Varden try to blow up the Death Star with the help of the help of the Ewoks.
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Dude, that so needed a spoiler tag!
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Eh...I figured I was the only person here that was going to waste their time on them. Besides...if you've seen the St*r WarzzZZ Trilogy you know what happens.
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While the Varden try to blow up the Death Star with the help of the help of the Ewoks.
:lol:!!!!
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Dear god. Can't that author think of anything original?
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Why should he have to? He attained a moderate measure of success without resorting to it.
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Yeah I'd rip off Lucas so fast that it'd turn your head if I knew it meant I'd get two number 1 best sellers, and movie deal and the massive pile of money that came with it.
Besides Lucas isn't blameless himself. The iconic opening scrawl that we all know and love was ripped off directly from a 1940 Flash Gordon Serial, but at least he wasn't so blantant about it. He at least tried to capture just the feeling and story elements and didn't directly rip it off. I mean the thing reads like he went through the script of Retard Wars and scratched out names and replaced them with new ones.
There are even some instances where there are lines that are even mirrored. And in something that left me scratching my head...This line actually appears in the book:
"Barges?" Said the cobbler. "Barges? We don't want no stinking Barges!"
Which is a refrence to the famous line from Blazing Saddles "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" It seemed totally out of place in the novel.
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One of the first stories I wrote, when I was about seven or so, was a complete rip-off of a movie I'd've seen. He should've taken more time with his books instead of vomiting whatever he'd seen on a movie screen onto the page. Of course he wouldn't have his big pile o' money and a movie deal, but that movie bombed and his books look to suck. Being a closet idealist, I'm thinking of what's best for the story.
Everything is a derivative of something else in some respect, yeah, but shit, Google "Eragon" and "Star Wars" and you come across page after page of all these comparisions, accusations, and ppl fingering it as a poor man's rip-off Retard Wars. I think comparisons and homages can be pretty darn cool sometimes but people shouldn't be able to line up characters and plots point for point.
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Hmmm... "St*r WarzzZZ"! :laugh: I forgot about the filter on that.
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And here I thought that was just Rama.
Comparisons I've seen online with Eragon and Retard Wars:
Brom - Obi-wan mentor who dies halfway through the first film.
Eragon - Farmboy
Eragon's Uncle - Killed by evil Empire
The dragon riders - Almost all wiped out, except for Brom, just like the Jedi
Eragon - looks almost like Skywalker, down to the haircut!
Varden - Rebel Alliance, down to secret base that gets attacked at the end
Arya - Is imprisoned by the empire, and brave Luke.. i mean Eragon goes to rescue her (think Leia on Deathstar).
Brom - Schools Eragon on the ways of the Force... er the Elvish magic
The emo dude - Han solo?
Durza - Kinda like Darth Vader in a way
Galbatorix - The Emperor!
Arya - is chased by the empire carrying something important they want that she stole from them... and is captured by the Emperor's second in command, no less
Eragon's sword - A sword that once belonged to his father.. wow, go figure!
Did I miss anything?
Paolini's a damn plagerist. Instead of reading that shit, read Dragonriders of Pern or the first 5 books of the Green Ambler Chronicles instead. Both are a LOT better fantasy than that.
The only good character in the movie was the dragon.
Why does Amb3r keep on getting converted to Green Ambler?
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:lol: Private joke between me an' Merla. Heh, I was wondering when someone would notice.
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Oh yea, I remember the body armor of the stormtroo... I mean the Durza's troops in the Eragon movie looked like PLASTIC!! Damn, can't find a picture of it. But they wear plastic armor like stormtroopers... very easy to penetrate with blasters... I mean arrows.
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Blasted arrows.
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I started a book yesterday, "The Man Who Would Be Queen". It's suppose to be kinda an informal book about homosexuality, male femininity, autogynephilia, and transexuality. I've been jumping around from chapter to chapter, so I've actually already read the last chapter. (It's not wholly linear, so it doesn't make a difference really.) I was cracking up when I went online and found out the author's accused of making the end up.