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Whats everyone reading?

Started by Paul faplad Finch, 30 March, 2009, 10:04:36 PM

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Richmond Clements

Quote from: James S on 22 October, 2009, 03:14:34 PM
Quote from: Mike Gloady on 22 October, 2009, 12:16:55 PM
Agreed, that's a hell of an accusation,not to mention unproven.  

I'm very confused that you say that because I've literally no idea where you'd get that from.  
Maybe pagerising is a tad over the top (although there have been cases brought against her, I don't think anything has been proven) Will "deeply, deeply unoriginal with every concept" do ?

Yup! Though where you see deeply unoriginal, I see clever riffing on the tropes of classic English children's literature.

TordelBack

#586
QuoteThough where you see deeply unoriginal, I see clever riffing on the tropes of classic English children's literature

Ditto.  Also, kids reading hundreds and hundreds of printed pages, in the same way I devoured Biggles or the Famous Five (neither of which have much literary heft).  It's a Good Thing, whatever you feel about the merit of the works themselves.

James Stacey

Absolutely. If it gets children reading, it's a good thing. If other authors had the advertising might of Waner Brothers pimping their books at every turn I'm sure they would have a similar effect. As for comparing JKRowling with WEJohns, Johns was a hugely prolific and respected pioneering author, editor and columnist for 40 years or so. Don't write Biggles off :)

TordelBack

#588
I'd never do Capt. W.E. Johns down, he was my gateway to SF even before Star Wars, and author of two of my favourite book titles: "Gimlet Bores In" and "The Camels are Coming".  But he was no master wordsmith.  And I think Rowling had enjoyed some considerable success before Warners ever got involved, on the strength of the very readable first Potter books.

James Stacey

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one then. Though Johns work is definately 'of a time', some of it being almost 90 years old, he was (in my opinion) a very good writer. I have only read the first Potter book admittedly but it read like it had been written by an ocelot on acid. I've no problem with authors taking concepts and ideas from previous works, hell even Shakespear did that. It only really works though if the resultant product is better than the original. It dismays me when I read about how wonderful and original Rowling is and how her books get children reading when the children never get a chance to read the books that had been ripped off which were in general so much better. She's a clever lady, no doubt about it, don't think she has ever given any credit to the authors that got her where she is.

sorry. I'll shut up and go back to my hole now.

Bolt-01

I'm about 100 pages into Perdido Street Station by China Meiville and it is beginning to pick up- which is nice.

I, Cosh

Quote from: James S on 22 October, 2009, 04:24:35 PM
It dismays me when I read about how wonderful and original Rowling is and how her books get children reading when the children never get a chance to read the books that had been ripped off which were in general so much better. She's a clever lady, no doubt about it, don't think she has ever given any credit to the authors that got her where she is.
Well I've always thought they were a sort of bastard hybrid of Mallory Towers and Earthsea, so I suppose it's 50-50 on whether the originals are better. I fail to see how kids can't read these other books though. The amazing about reading one book is it almost always (the exception being Empire of the Senseless which made me wish I had no eyes. Or fingers, in case there's a braille version) makes you want to read more books. Books by the same author, books in the same section at the library, books that sound similar, books that are completely different, books with lurid covers depicting semi-naked barbarian wenches with wanton eyes, books that inspired the one you liked, books other people mention and so forth.

Rowling always gets plaudits for getting kids reading, but I alwasy think we should take time to appreciate another Edinburgh author who successfully penetrated an even harder demographic. It may not still be the case, and it's almost certainly because I grew up near Edinburgh, but Irvine Welsh managed to shift a lot of copies of some quite structurally experimental books to a large number of young, under-educated men in their teens in twenties. Chapeau, sir.
We never really die.

SmallBlueThing

I'm abot a third of the way through Charlaine Harris's fourth Stookie Sackhouse "Southern Vampire Mysteries" novel- which most people will probably eventually know as 'True Blood series four', if it lasts that long.

I read the first three books in a week- becoming utterly obsessed and addicted to each page... but the fourth one isn't doing it for me at the moment, I'm sorry to say. I'm going to crack on then give them a rest to read 'Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter' ("She loves her country... and hates zombies!") before tackling Sookie books 5-9 in the lead-up to xmas.

Also ploughing through the first volume of 'Death Note'- the very first manga that hasn't made me want to declare war on the East and invade single-handed. Banzai-style.

SBT
.

Paul faplad Finch

Well, since we seem to share absolutely none of the same tastes my recommendation might not mean much but for what it's worth I thoroughly enjoyed Deathnote. While it flags, ever so slightly, in the middle it soon recovers and is well worth the effort.  I'm also not that big a fan of manga but this one definitely won me over.

And True Blood is almost certain to last that long. I may have imagined it, cos I can't find it anywhere, but I'm sure I read somewhere that Season Three had recently launched Stateside and was smashing records. (If I have conjured this up out of thin air someone feel free to tell me)
It doesn't mean that round my way
Pessimism is Realism - Optimism is Insanity
The Impossible Quest
Musings Of A Nobody
Stuff I've Read

SmallBlueThing

Well, I'm enjoying it so far, so your reccommendation is a good one. Did you mean it flags in the middle of volume one- or around the volumes 5 & 6 mark? I picked it up for a quid in a charity shop- which also had volumes 3, 4 and 5. But luckily not 2, or my nerdism would have demanded I buy them all.

The only thing I can't stand is this ridiculous affectation of printing them arse-about-face. Would it REALLY hurt to flip them for a Western audience- like, you know, every other book published in the English language? It's not like the art is particularly good, or that it would suffer if mirrored.

SBT
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Paul faplad Finch

I read that the guys publishing Deathnote in this country print all their stuff in the original format. Thay have quite a lot of series on the go and some of them have suffered in the past from flipped artwork. Plus, I suppose it's at least partly a marketing tool to appeal to the purists.

The flagging I referred to was meant as mid series, rather than mid volume. Without giving too much away, the story kind of peaks and then a second arc kicks in which is a bit too similar to the first to begin with. As I say though, it soon rights itself.
It doesn't mean that round my way
Pessimism is Realism - Optimism is Insanity
The Impossible Quest
Musings Of A Nobody
Stuff I've Read

SmallBlueThing

Quote from: SmallBlueThing on 23 October, 2009, 09:47:41 PM
I'm abot a third of the way through Charlaine Harris's fourth Stookie Sackhouse

Or even Sookie Stackhouse. Ha!

SBT
.

Roger Godpleton

Read the Bizarro story Eric Powell drew today. It's fun, but one thing which irritated was that the Bizarro-Green Lantern was in the Sinestro Corps, and midway through he gets called by his Ring to take part in (I presume) the Sinestro Corps War. This stuff always makes it difficult for me to fully enjoy DC Comics to the full extent of fullness.
He's only trying to be what following how his dreams make you wanna be, man!

House of Usher

I'm reading 'Fables' in trade paperbacks from the library.
STRIKE !!!

Dandontdare

#599
Quote from: House of Usher on 23 October, 2009, 11:40:10 PM
I'm reading 'Fables' in trade paperbacks from the library.

That's how I read 'em - but in a weirdly disjointed order!