Reading anything?

AndyC · July 26, 2009, 03:53:19 PM

Quote from: lester1/2jr on July 26, 2009, 11:30:05 AM
it was an incredibly strange movie. not strange like abstract or surreal, strange like it's about a woman who is sexually dominated by her computerized house, sorry for the slight spoil

Apparently, the story was heavily altered for the movie. The original book was set in a future where artificial intelligence was already commonplace, and had only two characters, Proteus and a rich, reclusive woman living alone in an automated house. Proteus accesses the house from a nearby university, and sets about terrorizing this woman as he learns more about what makes her tick. There's the same plan to impregnate her, but it's apparently more about breeding an improved human race than about the poor computer wanting to feel the sun on his face. The husband, the backstory, all the stuff about proteus rebelling against its creators, all added later. The book is apparently just a battle of wits between a woman and a computer.

Koontz himself rewrote the book a few years back, telling the story from the computer's point of view, and turning it into something of an allegory on the objectification of women.

Haven't read either book, although I've seen the movie a few times. I should actually give both versions a try.

lester1/2jr · July 26, 2009, 05:50:21 PM

Did you like the movie? I thought it was pretty awesome and pretty edgy for a movie that normal people went and saw

Newt · July 27, 2009, 08:14:20 AM

AndyC: keep trying; 'IT' indeed is very much more than an evil-clown-in-a-sewer.

I just finished "Unidentified" by Matthew Costello. Quantum physics, evil incursions from the multiverses...nicely creepy, if perhaps a bit too understated, all considered. I cannot shake the impression that I have seen the final chapters as film/TV somewhere. I have not found reference to anything being made based on the book - it seems to have been pretty minor in impact - but the scenes I am recalling are annoyingly persistent. Arrgh!

AndyC · July 27, 2009, 05:31:39 PM

Quote from: lester1/2jr on July 26, 2009, 05:50:21 PM
Did you like the movie? I thought it was pretty awesome and pretty edgy for a movie that normal people went and saw

I liked it. It's one of those dark, intelligent (if slightly cheesy), high-concept sci-fi films that were practically a genre in their own right in the 70s. It's the sort of movie I'd watch anytime it happened to be on TV when I was a kid.

3mnkids · August 01, 2009, 11:14:54 AM

The family~ Jeff Sharlet

Rev. Powell · August 01, 2009, 01:54:56 PM

About to dive into "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess. Wish me luck.

Psycho Circus · August 01, 2009, 01:56:32 PM

Quote from: Rev. Powell on August 01, 2009, 01:54:56 PM
About to dive into "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess. Wish me luck.

Good luck

AndyC · August 02, 2009, 09:04:45 AM

Quote from: Newt on July 27, 2009, 08:14:20 AM
AndyC: keep trying; 'IT' indeed is very much more than an evil-clown-in-a-sewer.

I'm well into the adult Losers' exploration of Derry. King does an amazing job of conveying that feeling of returning to your hometown after many years. It's a different town, but still familiar, and the combination can be kind of disturbing. I feel it when I visit my hometown, so it really strikes a chord.

indianasmith · August 02, 2009, 02:06:24 PM

I'm about halfway through a biography of William Lloyd Garrison, the famous American abolitionist, entitled ALL ON FIRE. It's a pretty good read.

RCMerchant · August 03, 2009, 06:44:20 PM

I'm currently reading the UFO ENIGMA : A new Review of the Evidence by Prof.Peter Sturrock. No sensationalism here-but a scientific study of the evidence...it's fascinating!

lester1/2jr · August 04, 2009, 11:30:45 AM

I just read and would recommend "The stewardess is flying the plane!!" about 70's movies. mainly lots and lots of really great pics and trivia

lester1/2jr · August 08, 2009, 09:22:44 AM

various defences of market anarchy ("won't the mafia take over?")

Doggett · August 08, 2009, 09:29:55 AM

One of my faves !

lester1/2jr · August 08, 2009, 10:21:25 AM

doggett- that looks awesome

Fausto · August 08, 2009, 02:37:38 PM

I've been reading The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Its the book that The Ninth Gate was based on, although the film cut out most of the stuff about Dumas and the Three Musketeers. The more I read, the more I want to start an Antiquarian book library of my own (yeah right, I can barely afford to spend 20 bucks on a new book, and thats on a good week). The closest I've come is having some reprints of old grimiores. The insides are nice to look at, but the cheap paperback bindings are no substitute for gilded leather.