Anyone interested in a Heinlein reading group?

[TTBRAHWTMG]

If everyone is amenable, I say read whatever version you have available and let’s charge ahead has best we can. I suggested The Puppet Masters because recent comments on one of the Heinlein threads had sparked my interest and I already had a copy in my to-be-read pile. Nonetheless, it won’t hurt my feelings if the group wants to start with a different book instead.

Sorry...missed your post the first time I reviewed the thread. Keep going, I'm a ways behind you myself. Can't believe how much I've forgotten! It will be interesting to see what we get out of the different versions anyway. I am reading both versions side by side, literally two-fisting them. If you are enjoying it, I do recommend eventually getting the restored though...I think it is a far, far better read.

Pyan...noticed your change of avatar. You inspire me...I've got hundreds of Heinlein related pics, etc. on my drive...think I'll flip my avatar once in a while myself. Maybe I'll find one appropriate for what we're reading.

 

[Razorback]

No problem TT. I’m almost through the unedited version. I’m going by a used bookstore later today to look for the enhanced version, but it’s a long shot.

Now for my perspective on some of the earlier comments about literary knowledge and so forth. Like pyan, this site has shown me how little I really know of the Sci-Fi genre. It is a great source of leads on other writers and books to check out. I have a lot of ground to cover before I would consider myself well read in the genre. But I’m working on it. By the way, I haven’t read any Lovecraft either.

Also, my ability to comment on or recognize the literary value of a writer or book is pretty limited. It’s kind of like pornography. I think I know it when I see it (at least sometimes), but my ability to analyze or articulate what makes it good is slight. Nonetheless, reading the comments of others with more knowledge and skill in this area (you know who you are, j.d., et. al.) does enhance my enjoyment and appreciation of what I read. Covering new ground keeps life interesting.

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

Razor: Sounds like we're all working towards same goals...must say though, I don't have much difficulty recognizing pornography when I see it. That's one genre I can work through without JD's help!

Mollygurl: Just pulling out a chair and dusting it off for you in case you happen to take up the invite! Would love to have you join us! Look out guys...ran in to another Canadian Heinlein fan...we tend to have strong opinions, and are usually more than happy to share them liberally! (maybe generously would be more appropriate...not trying to pigeon hole politically...maybe you have to be Canadian to get that one?)

 

[Mollygurl]

Mollygurl: Just pulling out a chair and dusting it off for you in case you happen to take up the invite! Would love to have you join us!

Thanks for the invite TT! I just checked Amazon and they are displaying the same cover for Puppet Masters as your Avatar. Is that the un-edited version? Am now re-thinking purchasing on Amazon as they want 7$ for shipping+tax. Maybe I'll go back to the bookstore idea and keep my fingers crossed that they'll have it. What are the odds?

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

Maybe I'll go back to the bookstore idea and keep my fingers crossed that they'll have it. What are the odds?

Very good actually...with the movie and the restored version it has a presence in the bookstores. Let me know if you have trouble, and I'll PM you...I can refer you to a good used guy virtually anywhere in Southern Ontario...even Ottawa valley if you're out that way...not so strong up North. As for the avatar...there is a restored and an unrestored version both with this cover. Just look for 1990 or later and you'll be good.

 

[Mollygurl]

Very good actually...with the movie and the restored version it has a presence in the bookstores. Let me know if you have trouble, and I'll PM you. As for the avatar...there is a restored and an unrestored version both with this cover. Just look for 1990 or later and you'll be good.

Movie? Ringing bells...need some nudging...who was in it? What is PM?

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

Fine Canadian, Donald Sutherland, probably most recognizable (late 80s or early 90s...but I'm just ball parking). PM is private message. You can send a message directly and privately to any individual if you so choose.
P.S. I'm still learning myself around here...new to message boards entirely.

 

[Mollygurl]

I agree, Donal Sutherland is great! Thanks for the tip on PM. Out of curiosity - where does one find that? Thanks for the pointers. Oh and if you don't mind my asking; what does your name stand for? A coincidence that Heinlein's initials are in your name? An acronym perhaps?

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

Damn! Everytime I get this question I wish I was more creative! When I joined Chronicles it was to get advice on how to introduce RAH to my eldest daughter. TTBRAHWTMG...trying to bring RAH works to my girls...moot point now, but still fits.
PM...just click on anyone's name, and select send private message. Actually, I just looked at yours and I can't...maybe you need to have a few posts before it kicks in. You might need advice from someone more experienced on this one!

 

[Pyan]

PM...just click on anyone's name, and select send private message. Actually, I just looked at yours and I can't...maybe you need to have a few posts before it kicks in.

You're right, TT - you need to have made 15 countable (top of the thread index, down to General) before the PM option appears. It's to try to make sure that a new chum is serious about the place before he/she can annoy others by spamming them.

Are you sure you and Mollygurl aren't long-lost twins, separated at birth, by the way? Or "lost Howards?"

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

Are you sure you and Mollygurl aren't long-lost twins, separated at birth, by the way? Or "lost Howards?"

LOL...Are you trying to offend her before she even settles in? Molly...I like to think that there are worse things that you could be accused of...please stay! I am confident that I am aware of all of those walking around with the same (and directly similar) DNA...confident, not positive! Those that I am aware of...well, lets just say I can GUARANTEE you would never find one lurking on a computer, let alone Chronicles!

Oh, and seems like a reasonable rule, even if easily circumnavigated.

 

[chrispenycate]

JD/Pyan: Thanks for not flaying...lol...and for the tips on where to get started. I guess its the inferiority complex kicking in. I've read little other than Heinlein, any collateral reading he has directly inspired, and the mountainous volumes of technical works required over the years to get whatever job I needed done, done. I recognize this as a weakness, a hole in my personal development. When I hear names that even I recognize as greats, it triggers that little part of me that is embarassed about how little I've read. Anyway, my problem, and I'll try to control my discomfort in future.
As far as the stretching, I empathize completely. Thankfully I haven't recognized any physical consequences yet.

You only need to worry about tretching your mind when you can pull it out of your ears and tie it in a bow under your chin..
I should have answered this one earlier (by the time I manage it'll probably be two pages down) but I had to authorise (what a strange deformation of thw word) some multilingual DVDs, and I'm not good at it yet.
I wasn't even exaggerating - since Fiona gave up the unequal struggle of keeping the Elm english bookshop running, even ordering new books can take a month to six weeks; however, I don't know "off the shelf", and if they've got "the door into summer" I might pick that up; I haven't read it for an eternity, and we're bound to get round to it
Actually, one of the things I love about this place is how much it's cut down on my reading; I used to get through three novels a week, and the general situation of the studio (combined with the stratospherically high price of books in Switzerland] renders this economically questionable. So, the fact that welcoming people to this haven from reality, annoying them by punctuating their critiquables and giving my definitive opinions of things I know little or nothing about has cut this below one a week is actually a very appreciable benefit.

Chris: You weren't kidding about how difficult it is to find English books over there. I spoke to Elizabeth at the Bookworm (the one on rue Sismondi) and she has confirmed that she does not have a copy. I tracked down a couple of other lines, and have been informed that the Bookworm and a place called "Off The Shelf" are the only real possibilities inside Geneva. Contacted "Off The Shelf" and they do not have a copy either...only Door Into Summer and Troopers. The last hope, I've been informed, is a place called The American Library. Have you heard of this place? Something about it being in a church and hard to find or something. If you know where it is, great, if not, let me know and I'll get more details. Other than that, you're looking at new...which you may want to consider on this one just because the 1990 and later version seems to be far superior, or at least vastly different, than earlier versions.

Hey guys, a question about Chronicles...still a rookie. Can you quote from one thread into another, or do you just cut and paste? I'm sure I could figure it out if I poked around enough, and read through all the rules, etc. Hoping for a shortcut though!

 

[Mollygurl]

Morning TT/Py! *Yawn* Thanks for the tip on PM because that was my next question actually (where does one find this?). I guess that I better keep posting until the option becomes active

Good news is that I've ordered both Puppet Masters and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (broke down re: Amazon). It seems to me that a friend once recommended the latter and I never got around to reading it. Thanks again for the invite to your reading group!

OH and thanks for explaining your name TT; what a great idea! My son is too young for RAH yet but I relish the day that I can introduce him to my extremely vast library of books. Right now he uses the shelves to climb but I'm sure that the day will come where he peruses the titles and rubs his hands in anticipation of what he will read next. I know that it worked that way for me when I stumbled over my parents library as a child.

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

Maybe next time (already hoping) we should review our libraries and our access, and pick one we can all get to relatively easily. In fact, if anyone is interested (getting ahead of myself, I'm sure), I suggest we throw ideas around for a second book, so those that those that don't have a copy have time to find one...and so Razor has something to bite into while he is waiting for the rest of us to read Puppets.

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

Morning TT/Py! *Yawn* ....Right now he uses the shelves to climb but I'm sure that the day will come where he peruses the titles and rubs his hands in anticipation of what he will read next. I know that it worked that way for me when I stumbled over my parents library as a child.

Good morning Molly. I empathize...have climbers in the brood as well (3 kids here). I didn't realize it could be as easy as making them readily available, there weren't many books (none that I can remember) in my house growing up. Learning that was a pleasant surprise, and relief...spent alot of time thinking about how to introduce her without turning her off for good (a repeat experience of mine with several friends).

“Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.”

 

[Mollygurl]

I suggest we throw ideas around for a second book, so those that those that don't have a copy have time to find one...and so Razor has something to bite into while he is waiting for the rest of us to read Puppets.

I'm game for anything except Job. Since you are extremely experienced with his works; can you offer a few suggestions for those of us who may not be as well-versed?

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

I'm game for anything except Job. Since you are extremely experienced with his works; can you offer a few suggestions for those of us who may not be as well-versed?

Don't mean to shirk responsibility here...but my Heinlein library is complete, and I would honestly be as interested and excited regardless of what is chosen...even his weaker works have redeeming value! I'll defer to those that have more limited access for this choice.
I would ask why the exception of Job, but I fear the answer and subsequent discussion would be worthy of a new thread.

 

[Mollygurl]

I would ask why the exception of Job, but I fear the answer and subsequent discussion would be worthy of a new thread.

You may be right about this topic being worthy of a new thread... Job left a bad taste in my mouth. I'll push all the blame on to the friend who handed me the book when I expressed interest in his obsession with RAH. "I've never read Heinlein" (said moi) "Really" (said friend in disbelief). "Ya. Really." (I responded cheekily) "Well, here - start with this" (said friend who then reached blindly behind him, grabbed the first book his hand came to rest on and passed it over to me). "This is a good one to start with" (friend said confidently).

He was wrong. LOL. I found it difficult to get through and after discussing this with my friend; he agreed that he should have given me something else to start off RAH with. I am happy to say that I persevered in reading through others of Heinlein's works and have enjoyed everything since. Some of my faves are Strangers (LOVED that one), Friday, Moon, HSSWT and many more whose titles are escaping me at the moment...

 

[Finnien]

Any book, any time, I'm game. I'll rifle through my spare room and see if I can hunt up my old copy of Puppet Masters... if not, I'll order it. For a second book, I'd suggest I Will Fear No Evil, Time Enough For Love, or Starship Troopers, for personal reasons - they're on my re-read pile as the first few books of the Virginia Edition that Meisha Merlin is doing. However, I'd also love to do Stranger (probably the book that's most influenced me personally). And, like I said, ultimately I'll read anything - it's been far too long since I re-read them with any real attention to detail.

 

[TTBRAHWTMG]

Molly: I am starting to get a sneaking suspicion...if I put phone calls out to all of my "Heinlein friends" might I run across your number by chance? I imagine that if you knew me personally, or even of me, outside of Chronicles and reviewed my posts, it would be hard not to identify me. Hmmm...was that post baited clue from an impish friend, or odd coincidence? I'll have to pay close attention to your posts!

Finnien: Welcome aboard!

We are getting a good number now...should be some healthy discussion and debate!