The Books/Reading Thread
- Thread starter Matt
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Dak
mentat
Carpe Mortem
Benevolently Batshit
- Aug 21, 2013
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That's where I'd end up if I bothered to read it. I can't now anyway, it's too trendy. For some reason trends in popular fiction seem to bother me more than regular trends. I think because I imagine the people who are going out and picking up Harry Potter and Game of Thrones are a bit phoney when it comes to their interest levels. Like they're weekend warriors or something. I guess it's better than people not reading at all and missing out on all that books have to offer.
In other news, I just read the Ozzy Osbourne Day-by-day book by Martin Popoff called 'Steal Away the Night'. Great, detailed book. I stumbled on a Led Zeppelin day-by-day book a couple of weeks ago and I never had much of a passion for Led Zep, but after reading parts of that I was fascinated. They're a great way to get the details that are often missed.
Carpe Mortem
Benevolently Batshit
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I never understood a dislike of trends. Why be against something that is apparently so good a bunch of people know about it? Granted if the trend turned out to be dumb that's another story.
The Ozzman
Melted by feels
I didn't really get interested in the first GoT book until the last like 200 pages or so. I'm reluctant to read the second book, but I should out of principle. Malazan Book of the Fallen is higher on the list than that.
Dak
mentat
Because if you are reasonably intelligent, that means that whatever is popular was probably targeted at people significantly dumber than you, which means their reason for liking it is probably less than legitimate. Obviously you shouldn't dislike a trend just because it is a trend, but trendiness is a good reason for skepticism.
unknown
fuck ftagn
Chewing on Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane right now. Easy sub-200 page book. Almost borders YA Fantasy. Good stuff
You've definitely got a point, and there's nothing stupider than judging a book by its cover (pun intended). But when it comes to trends in literature you can almost guarantee that the books in question are sufficiently dumbed down to an extent that non-readers feel comfortable reading them, and hence their popularity. People who read regularly have usually trained that part of the brain that can recognise more complex symbols, structures and ideas, and this stimulation is what makes reading for them so enjoyable.
This usually means that when I pick up one of these trendy books I tend to find them poorly plotted or lacking some depth that usually gives me a buzz. Look at 'The Da Vinci Code', 'Twilight', or '50 Shades of Gray'. All multi-million selling 'hits' and they are virtually unreadable.
Does this make me wrong or the millions who bought them? Probably me, I suppose, but at the very least I recognise that if there's a trend going on I should probably opt out.
Carpe Mortem
Benevolently Batshit
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IDK. I see where you're coming from but anything that gets people on board with a generally good thing is usually an improvement to the human race, even if it is the watered down version.
Sometimes sheep herding is beneficial not only to the shepherds but the sheep themselves. And then when they're shorn, they have superior wool due to the joy of company, and getting regular meals, and those without wool of their own have clothing and blankets with which to stay warm.
Fuck, why'd I start reading again....
Sometimes sheep herding is beneficial not only to the shepherds but the sheep themselves. And then when they're shorn, they have superior wool due to the joy of company, and getting regular meals, and those without wool of their own have clothing and blankets with which to stay warm.
Fuck, why'd I start reading again....
no country for old wainds
Active Member
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The Ozzman
Melted by feels
hey sup we 100% agree on something
I still need to read Book of the Fallen but it'll come soon. I really need to finish LOTR before starting something heavy like that so I don't read 2 at once..
Best extended metaphor ever.
So you're saying that the sheep who have the wool pulled over their eyes don't need to raise the baa when it comes to herd behaviour?
TageRyche
Active Member
- May 13, 2007
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Anything that gets people reading is a good thing in my book. Even if it is something I have no interest in reading myself.
I went to a book signing this weekend and had a great time meeting an author whose work I love. After all the signing was done, I even got to do a 15 minute interview with her for an article I'm writing.
I went to a book signing this weekend and had a great time meeting an author whose work I love. After all the signing was done, I even got to do a 15 minute interview with her for an article I'm writing.
unknown
fuck ftagn
This is my contention. I was giving a tour of one of my campuses to some students, and in the library, a student pointed to the Twilight books and asked "Why are these here?" And I replied, "Even though you or I may not think they're good books, they're still books. If it gets somebody interested in reading, more power to them." This is something I stress to my students. You don't need to read David Foster Wallace, Dostoevsky, or Camus or whatever. I had a student last year who was 24 years old, and on the fourth day of class he told me he had never read a book cover-to-cover because all he was presented with in school was the canon. So I gave him a list of books by Bukowski, John Fante, Roald Dahl, etc. By the end of the semester he had read 3.5 books cover to cover.
Cronopio
Glorious Imperator
unknown
fuck ftagn
TageRyche
Active Member
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I pretty much only read fiction. I can't read non fiction for the most part. About the only non fiction I read is the occasional biography about a coach I like.
And I've found that the stuff that I was forced to read in school is the stuff I really despise now.
zerostatic
Damned in Flames
