December Reading Thread

[hitmouse]

Is it anything like the film?

Both superficially appealing and ultimately a bit thin.

 

[Parson]

Both superficially appealing and ultimately a bit thin.

I would agree with this about the movie, but I find the book to be one of the very best SF ever. I remember being enthralled by it from the moment I started reading it. It has always been my recommendation to people who want to read their first SF book, and they've always loved it.

 

[AE35Unit]

I have the book but was a bit put off after seeing the so so film. Plus there are sequels to hunt down

 

[Dave Vicks]

OT :How is the movie MOON?

 

[Dave Vicks]

On deck I MUST SAY, Audio, 2014,memoir
By Martin Short .He does Comedy voices and impersonations.

 

[Vertigo]

I have the book but was a bit put off after seeing the so so film. Plus there are sequels to hunt down

The book is significantly better then the film, but I'd have to say that I have some major issues with the portrayal of such a young child exhibiting much older motivations and attitudes. But that's just my take.

Regarding the sequels Speaker for the Dead was ok, but after that I'd say they fall off quite badly. I actually hadn't realised he was still churning them out but they don't really interest me that much.

If you have the first I'd say read that and then decide if you want to go for the others.

 

[Elentarri]

House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig (YA, gothic fantasy, romance)

This is a beautifully written sequel to House of Salt and Sorrows that tells the tale of Verity (the youngest sister) when she leaves home on a commission to paint a portrait of Duke Laurent's heir. Between all the flowers, the ghosts, the labyrinthine manor house with secret passages, not to mention the vaguely-off hosts, something is not quite right in the Laurent household. Marvelously creepy and atmospheric, not to mention disturbingly horrifying, I will not be looking at plants in quite the same way again.​

 

[AE35Unit]

Well that's annoying! Started reading the second chapter of Cricket on the Hearth last night and saw this. Text missing from inside the illustration. I had to lookup the story online to find the missing text!
It's in The Great Writers edition (1987)

 

[AE35Unit]

Next up Blockade Billy by Stephen King, a novella. The book also contains the story Morality

 

[alexvss]

Is it anything like the film?

I never watched it. But, as I can see on the images, it at least looks quite different from what I imagined it to be. In the book, Ender is six years old. He looks double his age in the movie. Also, the source material is not afraid of using cursing and violence with the children, which I doubt the movie would do.

 

[Parson]

I have to admit that I read the book without considering what it meant that Ender was only 6 at the beginning of the story. If I had considered that I might have been somewhat less enchanted. But if I remember clearly I had no children when I read that book and wasn't nearly as in tune to what a 6 year old actually was. I suspect that the reason the movie had children who looked significantly older than 6 was just for that reason.

 

[AE35Unit]

I'm finding Blockade Billy dull as dishwater. Rare that I dislike a King story. I guess you have to know baseball...

 

[Danny McG]

I'm finding Blockade Billy dull as dishwater. Rare that I dislike a King story. I guess you have to know baseball...

It was a poor tale IIRC

 

[Dave Vicks]

On deck THE EXPERIENCE MACHINE,
Andy Clark.Non-fiction.

 

[Toby Frost]

Does the novel of Ender's Game work if you already know the twist?

 

[Vertigo]

Does the novel of Ender's Game work if you already know the twist?

I'm not sure it would. Although I don't remember it being a huge surprise when I read it.

 

[Danny McG]

Does the novel of Ender's Game work if you already know the twist?

It was a short story originally, and a lot had read it before Card expanded it to the novel length, it still works out good in both versions - despite knowing the end.

(Like when I watched Titanic I knew it was going to sink)

 

[Randy M.]

I didn't read the short story version, but I expect it worked better than the novel length version. (I've never understood the high regard for the novel; it's a Twilight Zone episode in a lengthy written format, the "twist" very guessable.)

 

[Toby Frost]

(Like when I watched Titanic I knew it was going to sink)

It... sinks?

 

[Parson]

I am not the most discerning person when it comes to twists in a story, and I never once saw it coming. But I was gab smacked by the story even before it ended. I thought the scenes at Battle School were among the very best ever written. It's often caused me to wonder why there aren't many novels like that one. I never found it pretentious and Ender is one of the most memorable and likable characters in fiction, let alone S.F.