What Is Everyone Reading?

[SneaksieDave]

50 hours, wow. That definitely answers that curiosity I've had but never investigated. For my job years ago, I had an hour commute each way, and that would've been perfect - a month of commute listening. Oh well.

 

As for my activities, hopefully I don't spread too thin - I'm no hercules and neither a chopin (far from it) - but hopefully I get a nice mix of needed and wanted things. Any less (and I do go through periods of more or less) and I tend to lose enthusiasm/get lazy.

 

Here I am saying I never get time to read, and yet I have to return 7 books to the library today or the fines start. Okay, they're just music and architectural books, but still. Maybe I'll pick up book 10 of WoT while I'm there...

[sparhawk]

Anyway, if you want to be really very good at something, you have to focus on it, I don't see much point in being average at 10 different things.

 

Some people do things because they enjoy it...

[sparhawk]

Maybe I'll pick up book 10 of WoT while I'm there...

 

If you are not a fan of WoT, then I wouldn't bother. Especially if you are already short on reading time.

[SneaksieDave]

I think I shall. I'll finish by 2009! I'll be damned if I come this far in the series and quit here (translation: entrapment characteristics, obsessive behavior). Anyway, not meaning to any ruffle feathers, just was wondering how other people find the time.

[Komag]

Since I work security I pretty much have infinite reading time if I want it. While at work I play computer games, read, email and internet, and... that's about it! Crazy!

 

However, I have a weird quirk - I pretty much can only read if I'm eating food or (preferably) eating/spitting sunflower seeds. But I get tired of them after an hour or two at most, so I can never read for longer than that.

[Komag]

By the way, I second audio books. They are usually well read and entertaining. I used to think that a reader imitating other voices would be just retarded, but it's actually usually good and immersive.

 

I remember listening to some Star Trek book around 10 years ago, read by Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker), and when he read Picard's parts it was eerie how close he got the voice! I loved it!

[oDDity]

If you are not a fan of WoT, then I wouldn't bother. Especially if you are already short on reading time.

 

Ahh, those weirdos. I can't enjoy something I'm no good at, it just annoys me. I'm too competitive.

[Maximius]

Well I picked up A Game of Thrones today at Chapters, along with Wuthering Heights, Rise of Endymion, The Name of the Rose, and Atlas Shrugged.

 

I'm like a kid in a candy store when I stop there

 

 

Atlas Shirked? Did you need to balance a short coffee table leg or something?

[SneaksieDave]

Yes, that's more like what I meant! Finding time for all of that boggles my mind. I'll pick up a WoT book and milk it for 6 months (yes, believe it or not), or read some Thich Nhat Hanh when I'm feeling the need or desire, or something to learn from like even an astronomy textbook, but several huge thick novels at a time... holy moly.

 

Especially if it's Ayn Rand. Had to read that for college... won't be repeating that exercise.

[Vadrosaul]

Since I got those, I've only read Rise of Endymion, and now finishing up Wuthering Heights. I try every night to read for at least half an hour (sometimes other *things* come up ) , also sometimes when on the can, and most definitely when on a plane ride.

[sparhawk]

By the way, I second audio books. They are usually well read and entertaining. I used to think that a reader imitating other voices would be just retarded, but it's actually usually good and immersive.

 

If it is a good voice actor it can be really nice to hear it. There is one voice actor (who is quite old by now) I particularly like. He is the only voice actor I even know his name, because he has such a distinctive voice. He used to do a lot of voices for kids audioplays like Huibuh the Ghost and movies like Pumuckl. I really love to hear this guy. Last time I watched an episode of Columbo which played in England and he was the voice actor for one of the servants, which became my favourite episode because of this.

[sparhawk]

I think I shall. I'll finish by 2009!

 

If you take that time, you have a better chance to get the next book in the meantime. Quite an advantage, because it is really annoying to wait so long for the next book.

 

I'll be damned if I come this far in the series and quit here (translation: entrapment characteristics, obsessive behavior). Anyway, not meaning to any ruffle feathers, just was wondering how other people find the time.

 

Wasn't it Oddity who said that the author seems to be dying or something? Not sure, but I think I read this here. Which would really be a shame if he doesn't finish it.

[Crispy]

Yeah, Robert Jordan has some kind of nasty illness (which has a median life expectancy of 4 years). He has been quoted as saying that he's going to finish the series with this next book "if it kills him". Such black humour.

 

Apparently he has been getting somewhat better lately.

 

Wikipedia has more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jordan

[oDDity]

If you take that time, you have a better chance to get the next book in the meantime. Quite an advantage, because it is really annoying to wait so long for the next book.

Wasn't it Oddity who said that the author seems to be dying or something? Not sure, but I think I read this here. Which would really be a shame if he doesn't finish it.

 

Why? WoT is never going to be considered one of the literary greats. It's creap pulp trash, every single sentence of it.

As for 'finish it', if he wasn't dying he'd have carried on milking it for the next 30 years anyway, so it's only because he's going to snuff it that he's bothering to think up an 'ending' at all.

[sparhawk]

BTW: I already started to read Bernard Cornwell's Harlequin and I really like it. Some of the best battle scenes in that book, I ever read. They are so vivid, it makes you almost feel like you actually be there. Unfortunately I'm almost finished with the first book because it got only 500 pages.

[Komag]

I had NO IDEA that Robert Jordan's real name is not Robert Jordan. Why do people use pen names???

[Hewer]

Authors use pen names for various reasons. As for Robert Jordan, he uses a different pen name for each style of writing he's done. He used to write bodice-ripping romance novels under the name Reagan O'neal.

 

Back when TEOTW et. al. were really popular and I was reading them, my wife picked up what looked like an historical fiction book by Reagan O'neal (psudonym of Robert Jordan! - more milking) on a trip we were on with my mother in law. To pass the time driving I started reading the book out loud to everyone- that is until about three pages in- yep- there was a literal bodice rip, and the book went straight into the trash.

Edited January 4, 2007 by Hewer

[sparhawk]

I had NO IDEA that Robert Jordan's real name is not Robert Jordan. Why do people use pen names???

 

Probably for the same reasons why actors use pseudonyms. To protect their family, because it sounds cooler or maybe because your original name is unpronouncable. In austria we had a music professor teaching at the university named Bilgeri. He made good music, and become more popular. But when he managed to enter the english charts, the publishers forced him to take a new name, because they said that "bilge" has a bad association in british english and therefore it would hurt his sales.

[Vadrosaul]

Caught this today: http://www.variety.com/article/VR111795753...yid=14&cs=1

 

This could be either really good, or really bad.

[oDDity]

IF they make it in the same vein as LotR, I suppose it could be watchable. Looks like they're even going to film in New Zealand, and I hope they will have English actors, not Americans, or at least have them using English accents as in LotR,

I can't stand American accents in fantasy, it like listening to Shakespeare with an American twang.

Depends upon what budget they have I suppose. Something like this won't be cheap.

HBO does generally have a lot of the best shows in American TV though. so this could be pretty good.

[Komag]

But it doesn't have to be all that expensive either, since a lot of the books take place in small rooms or halls or whatever, conversations and small dramas between characters. The larger scenes such as the jousting festival and the armies, will be the exceptions I think.

 

I'm almost done with book 1 at this point. My local Waldenbooks is closing and having a 40% off everything in the store, so I plunked down $30 (instead of $50) for the "A Game of Thrones RPG Game" book, a huge volume with gorgeous art and a lot of in depth info on the world. I'll probably never play the RPG, but many reviewers have said it's worth it just if you are a fan of the book/series.

[sparhawk]

Sounds great! I liked that story, and I hope they don't mutilate it to much and make the avergage hollywood production out of it.

[Hewer]

I was terrified that LOTR was going to turn out like Xena or Hercules with Kevin Sorbo. I imagine that HBO will have a bigger budget, so I've got my fingers crossed on this. If done right, I'll definately be buying the DVDs.

[Mr Mike]

I just finished reading "The shadow of the wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Have to say the reviews on that site almost perfectly sum up what I thought of the book. It waivered between what was an articulate story of intruige to being an overly formulaic predictable mystery. Have to say there was enough there to hold me through though, and was an enjoyable read.

 

I think the best thing about it is the depiction of atmosphere and setting. Even though it's mostly set in 1930's Barcelona it gave me a lot of inspiration for architecture and mood Would recommend a read if you see it available.

[AluminumHaste]

If anyone has ever heard of Neil Gaiman then check out his new book that he did with Terry Pratchett; Good Omens

So far it's Gaiman good with a lot of comedy about the end of the world. It's kinda of a serious tone with humor woven in. It seems to be of a lighter tone though than Neverwhere. The funny in that book was kinda brutal. But I loved that book and am enjoying this one at work while it's not busy.

Man this job takes too much of my time, but I'm hoping that my interview went well enough for the other job (Programming for Union Gas) that I can get better pay + better hours. Enough any for me to continue working on the Dark Mod with y'all.