Reading anything?

[sideorderofninjas]

"Wind Rider's Oath" by David Weber and trying to slog through "Quicksilver" by Neal Stephenson...

[Rev. Powell]

"Hunger" by Knut Hamsun... about a writer who starves himself and goes mad, for no good reason.  Hamsun wrote in the late 19th century and is supposed to be a forerunner to Kafka.

[InformationGeek]

Well, its the usual manga for me, while sneaking in The Andromeda Strain to read as well.

[AndyC]

Well, its the usual manga for me, while sneaking in The Andromeda Strain to read as well.

The Andromeda Strain is a good book. I read it back in the early 90s, along with some of Crichton's other earlier books. I think reading Jurassic Park prompted me to check out some of the other stuff. Didn't care much for Crichton's later work. Toward the end, it seemed like he was pretty much writing with movie deals in mind, with books that read like movie novelizations.

But early Crichton is good stuff. The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man and Sphere are all books I'd highly recommend.

[Neville]

It's ben a while since I last read something really absorving, but Ann-Marie McDonald's "The way the crow flies" has kept me awake for a couple of weeks. Beware, it's like 1,000 pages long and the plot doesn't really kick in until the final 500, but it's a terrific book.

It's set in the early 60s, in an American airbase in Canada. It focuses on a small family who moves in there right before the Cuban missiles crisis. The father has an administrative job in the base and the daughter makes friends with the adopted kids of another family. Later on some other subplots start gaining importance. The daughter is sexually abused at school and the father is asked by a British friend to babysit an Eastern German scientist that seeks asylum in the USA. And that's just the beginning.

It's a terrific book, as I said, easily the best I've read in the past six months, but it's not an easy read. The style is extremely literary, with most chapters written with a 9 year old kid POV, and some of its passages, given the themes explored, are vey disturbing.

[Monster Jungle X-Ray]

Well, its the usual manga for me, while sneaking in The Andromeda Strain to read as well.

The Andromeda Strain is a good book. I read it back in the early 90s, along with some of Crichton's other earlier books. I think reading Jurassic Park prompted me to check out some of the other stuff. Didn't care much for Crichton's later work. Toward the end, it seemed like he was pretty much writing with movie deals in mind, with books that read like movie novelizations.

But early Crichton is good stuff. The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man and Sphere are all books I'd highly recommend.

I couldn't agree more, his early stuff was pretty good up until around Jurassic Park, and The Lost World. A few of his later novels (especially that nanobyte swarm one which I've forgotten the title of) do seem like by-the-numbers affairs which is sad as the man definitely had talent. Timeline may be a crime against humanity, at least the film was.

The last novel I read is World War Z by Max Brooks, it is pretty good I thought even if some of the accounts were somewhat repetitive in places. How they handle the inevitable movie adaption will be interesting to see, as it comes off more like a war story.

I just finished Love, Sex, Fear, Death by Timothy Wyllie about the Process Church of the Final Judgment psychotherapy cult of the '60s-70s. Pretty enlightening read written by ex-members who don't shy from showing their experiences warts and all. The Process was most infamously linked to the Manson Murders with some researchers suggesting that they were behind it all. In actuality it turns out that they were only peripherally connected when two members went to visit Manson in jail after he was arrested for a magazine interview. I'd recommend it to any of you who are interested in weird cults, and the like.

[InformationGeek]

Well, its the usual manga for me, while sneaking in The Andromeda Strain to read as well.

The Andromeda Strain is a good book. I read it back in the early 90s, along with some of Crichton's other earlier books. I think reading Jurassic Park prompted me to check out some of the other stuff. Didn't care much for Crichton's later work. Toward the end, it seemed like he was pretty much writing with movie deals in mind, with books that read like movie novelizations.

But early Crichton is good stuff. The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man and Sphere are all books I'd highly recommend.

I own and read Sphere.  It was pretty good, but hard for me to follow.  (I read it when I was 14, very complicated).  I haven't read much of his later works outside of Prey, which was pretty good to me.  I'll probably read his final book that comes out later this year in honor of his memory.

Also, I'm almost finished with The Drifting Classroom, a story about an entire grade school in Japan being transported into the distant future where the whole world has turned into a desert.  They must learn to survive in the harsh wasteland filled with unseen dangers and a food and water supply that is constantly running low.  Worse of all, some of the students aren't that nice when pushed to the extremes.  Made back in 1975, it combines The Lord of the Flies with Battle Royale.  It is my most favorite horror/science fiction comic I have ever read.

[lester1/2jr]

info G-  it was a movie too.  it got horribly panned in the latest Shock cinema but i've never seen it.



I'm reading "introducing machievelli" from the introducing books series.  I really dislike his philosophy but he is referenced rather alot in political sort of writing so I wanted to get a better handle on what he actually said rather than just what he "represents".  I read the introducing marx one for the same reason.  don't like marx but wanted to know what he actually talked abuot.

if I'm going to read a REAL book it will be about murray rothbard or someone I like



also reading "jerusalem 1913" about how the palestinian israeli conflict started.  It talks about the original zionists back in the late 1800's and how basically the whole thing was doomed to become what it has indeed become

[AndyC]

I own and read Sphere.  It was pretty good, but hard for me to follow.  (I read it when I was 14, very complicated).  I haven't read much of his later works outside of Prey, which was pretty good to me.  I'll probably read his final book that comes out later this year in honor of his memory.

Ah, Prey. That was the nanobot swarm book that Monster Jungle X-Ray couldn't put a name to. Funny, I was thinking of the same book as the ultimate example of post-JP Crichton and couldn't remember the title either. Not a bad book. An easy read with interesting ideas, but I didn't think it measured up to the earlier work. It felt like Crichton was trying to repeat past success, cranking out a sci-fi thriller based around a current hot science topic, throwing in some stock characters and setting it all up so it would be easy to film. Seemed like he was just going through the motions. Again, not a bad book, but not on the same level as Crichton's earlier books.

[Monster Jungle X-Ray]

I own and read Sphere.  It was pretty good, but hard for me to follow.  (I read it when I was 14, very complicated).  I haven't read much of his later works outside of Prey, which was pretty good to me.  I'll probably read his final book that comes out later this year in honor of his memory.

Ah, Prey. That was the nanobot swarm book that Monster Jungle X-Ray couldn't put a name to. Funny, I was thinking of the same book as the ultimate example of post-JP Crichton and couldn't remember the title either. Not a bad book. An easy read with interesting ideas, but I didn't think it measured up to the earlier work. It felt like Crichton was trying to repeat past success, cranking out a sci-fi thriller based around a current hot science topic, throwing in some stock characters and setting it all up so it would be easy to film. Seemed like he was just going through the motions. Again, not a bad book, but not on the same level as Crichton's earlier books.

Yes Prey, it wasn't a bad read it did just seem like Crichton was going through the motions on that one, a quickie. As far as his non sci-fi efforts I enjoyed Airframe, and Rising Sun. The Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery, and Donald Sutherland for which he also wrote the screenplay based on his book and directed is an enjoyable film.

[indianasmith]

I think MIchael Crichton's last book, STATE OF FEAR, was incredibly well-written and prescient, given current political trends.  At least he ended on a solid note.

[Monster Jungle X-Ray]

I think MIchael Crichton's last book, STATE OF FEAR, was incredibly well-written and prescient, given current political trends.  At least he ended on a solid note.

Thanks I'll have to check that one out.

[BoyScoutKevin]

David Thomason's "Have You Seen . . . ?" Subtitled: "A Personal Introduction to 1000 Films." Actually, I counted 1009 films, but who's counting.

Alot to like about this one.

1. He knows his earlier films, but he also knows his later films (1895-2007)

2. He knows it is not only the stars, but also the other actors who make up a film.

3. He knows it is not only the acting, but also the writing, sets, music, costumes, etc. which make up a film.

4. He knows his camera angles.

5. It's not only the usual suspects, but also some more obscure films.

6. He likes not only the critical successes/popular flops, but also the popular successes as well.

7. He likes generas (horror, westerns, etc.) sometimes slighted by other critics.

8. He likes remakes and sequels.

9. He likes films that were hated by both critics and audiences. And he dislikes films that were loved by both critics and audiences.

10l. He has some interesting things to say about films. For example: Elsa Lanchester based her character in "Bride of Frankenstein" upon the swans she saw in Hyde Park.

And at an early read through of "Sparatcus," Olivier came in a three-piece suit. Ustinov came in a lightweight summer suit. Laughton came in a bathrobe. And Douglas . . . Douglas came in period costume, which sent the other three men into giggbles, but says more about their different approaches to acting than most books.

11. Unlike some critics, he seems to have a life outside of films. He is--was--married and seems to have a family.

12. Unlike some critics, even in the films he likes, he points out what is wrong with the film.

13. And he writes well.

But, with so much that is right, why can't I recommend it wholeheartedly?

Because, there is so much wrong with it. To whit . . .

1. While there is an useful film chronology, it needs another list. A list of films listed by the director.

2. The profanity must go. He drops in the "f-bomb" ever now and then, which has no context within the revieww.

3. He understands alot about films. More than I do. But, like alot of people, he has no understanding of action sequences. He says "El Cid" has the best action sequences, when in all actuality the action sequences in "The Fall of the Roman Empire" are better shot and lit, and the action seuences in "55 Days at Peiking" make better use of the extras and are more exciting. Thus, of the three, "El Cid" is not the best, but the worst.

4. You'd think, if you'd wanted to introduce films to your friends and neighbors, you'd pikc films you'd like. He does, but he also picks films he dislikes, without an explanation as to why he picked them, which doesn't make sense. Thus, what is needed is a clear explanation as to why the films were picked, which we don't get.

5. He comes across as an intellectual. And Lord protect me from intellectuals and films. Films are not for intellectuals, but for the masses. The masses may be right, or they may be increasingly wrong, but films were made for the masses and not for intellectuals.

6. Which is why he is wrong so much. Not only when we disagree, and we disagree 27% of the time, but even when we agree, I think he/we/I are wrong. What this book needs is a companion volume to point out where and why he is wrong.

Thus, I'd read this book, but I wouldn't use it as a guide as to what to see. As there are better guides out there for that, including this website.

[bladerunnerblues]

Mere Anarchy by Woody Allen
Creepy #11
Judge Dredd #3(Eagle Comics)
Savage Sword of Conan volume 1

[Sister Grace]

Barbara Gowdy- Mister Sandman (so far its been pretty good).