Books motherfuckers, do you read them?

[Squishy3]

A Dance with Dragons needs to hurry up and come out in paperback, hardbacks area little cumbersome in a war zone.

But you can't knock someone out with a paperback.

[A. Crow]

[quote author=LT Crow link=topic=1145.msg223064#msg223064 date=1316271731]
A Dance with Dragons needs to hurry up and come out in paperback, hardbacks area little cumbersome in a war zone.

But you can't knock someone out with a paperback.
[/quote]

I have a pistol and 3 different knives I carry in addition to the rifle.  By the time I get down to using the book, it'll be easier to pick up a dead guy to defend myself with.  

[matter11]

[quote author=Squishy link=topic=1145.msg223067#msg223067 date=1316273559]
[quote author=LT Crow link=topic=1145.msg223064#msg223064 date=1316271731]
A Dance with Dragons needs to hurry up and come out in paperback, hardbacks area little cumbersome in a war zone.

But you can't knock someone out with a paperback.
[/quote]

I have a pistol and 3 different knives I carry in addition to the rifle.  By the time I get down to using the book, it'll be easier to pick up a dead guy to defend myself with.  
[/quote]

you can smack disobedient people in your squad or under you in general with a hardback though.

[at0m]

Just finished the third Song of Ice and Fire book. Wtf doesn't even begin to cover it.

[spoiler] although it is really interesting how magic isn't ridiculously obvious, until the characters start believing in it themselves. [/spoiler]

Also, valar morghulis motherfuckers. Arya and Brienne are gaining on Tyrion in the race for most badass character.

[Elder]

Just finished the third Song of Ice and Fire book. Wtf doesn't even begin to cover it.

[spoiler] although it is really interesting how magic isn't ridiculously obvious, until the characters start believing in it themselves. [/spoiler]

Also, valar morghulis motherfuckers. Arya and Brienne are gaining on Tyrion in the race for most badass character.

this is true but i am still very sad that i finished the a dance with dragons, and now i have nothing to read.. and of course cliffhangers

[at0m]

Just finished the fourth book (Feast for Crows). I was happy to find that he wasn't simply skipping half the characters when he wrote it, and interested to find out what happened to them. [spoiler]I'm going to be super depressed if Davos is actually dead though[/spoiler].

[Maxon]

Listened to my first audio book over the past week.  Was interesting to do so, cause I had bought the newest Star Wars book, but realized I hadn't read the one before, so I just grabbed an audio book of it and it wasn't too bad.  Kinda weird listening to one guy do like over a dozen different voices, including the women, but it was entertaining.  I just treated it like a super long podcast and listened to it while gaming, mostly Battlefield 3.

[at0m]

Ender's Game in audiobook form is very entertaining, as they have different actors do all of the adult voices.

I listened to a Star Wars book where they had sound effects, that was pretty cool. Can't remember what it was, I think it took place between episodes 2 and 3 though.

[Elder]

finally getting back to reading Dune.. Then i need to get the metro 2033 and 2034 books

[A. Crow]

Ender's Game in audiobook form is very entertaining, as they have different actors do all of the adult voices.

I listened to a Star Wars book where they had sound effects, that was pretty cool. Can't remember what it was, I think it took place between episodes 2 and 3 though.

I highly enjoyed Ender's Game on audio book.

[rumsfald]

I don't think I will ever read anything by Card. Here's why.

[at0m]

I don't think I will ever read anything by Card. Here's why.

I think you should read it and decide for yourself. Ender's Game isn't a huge time investment.

That's before reading more than a few comments in that article, because he stops making sense after he mentions Hitler. In order to get any sort of background to make sense of his article, I have to read a 30+ page essay that he flat out refuses to summarize, that in turn doesn't even mention Hitler until the middle of it, and does so in a paragraph referencing it gets the concept from yet another essay.

Shit's fucked. Just sayin'.

[Saxxy]

I don't think I will ever read anything by Card. Here's why.

A committee of Neo-Nazi Mormons wrote Ender's Game so that the young minds of America could be infected with moral absolutism.

Ok.

[rumsfald]

Le sigh. Here's the short version, in four words:

Attempt to justify genocide.

For me, Sci-Fi should be just that - FICTION ABOUT THE FUTURE. Not attempts to pretty-up history.

And it's not helping that Orson Scott Card doesn't have much of a positive reputation beyond that book.

[Surf314]

Listened to my first audio book over the past week.  Was interesting to do so, cause I had bought the newest Star Wars book, but realized I hadn't read the one before, so I just grabbed an audio book of it and it wasn't too bad.  Kinda weird listening to one guy do like over a dozen different voices, including the women, but it was entertaining.  I just treated it like a super long podcast and listened to it while gaming, mostly Battlefield 3.

Most Terry Pratchett books are better experiences in audio book format. It's because at least one of the voice actors is a huge fan and goes to great lengths to make them awesome.

[at0m]

Le sigh. Here's the short version, in four words:

Attempt to justify genocide.

For me, Sci-Fi should be just that - FICTION ABOUT THE FUTURE. Not attempts to pretty-up history.

And it's not helping that Orson Scott Card doesn't have much of a positive reputation beyond that book.

That's fair. And after taking the time to read through the article you linked, and then finding and reading the original Hitler article written by his friend, I can understand where he/she/you is/are coming from. I never read the book that way, because in my mind Ender was tricked into genocide, but I understand how they're drawing the parallels. The accusations of the book being team-written sound pretty tinfoil hat to me, though.

[Saxxy]

Le sigh. Here's the short version, in four words:

Attempt to justify genocide.

For me, Sci-Fi should be just that - FICTION ABOUT THE FUTURE. Not attempts to pretty-up history.

And it's not helping that Orson Scott Card doesn't have much of a positive reputation beyond that book.

Not gonna fault you for not wanting to read it because of the author.  I get completely pulled out of the experience of watching movies/shows if they have actors that are crazy irl.

Neal Stephenson is one of the best, and ya'll should read all his stuff.  Don't be disturbed that his books can be as thick as bricks  8)

[Greatbacon]

[quote author=Maxon link=topic=1145.msg229769#msg229769 date=1320700239]
Listened to my first audio book over the past week.  Was interesting to do so, cause I had bought the newest Star Wars book, but realized I hadn't read the one before, so I just grabbed an audio book of it and it wasn't too bad.  Kinda weird listening to one guy do like over a dozen different voices, including the women, but it was entertaining.  I just treated it like a super long podcast and listened to it while gaming, mostly Battlefield 3.

Most Terry Pratchett books are better experiences in audio book format. It's because at least one of the voice actors is a huge fan and goes to great lengths to make them awesome.
[/quote]
It's amazing what a good reader can bring to a book.  Or at least a competent one.  I'm currently listening to American Psycho and the reader is pretty spot on.  Enough variation when reading different characters and his default tone sounds very much like Bateman.  I tried listening to A Game of Thrones on audiobook and the author spoke in a dry, droll, British accent.  Just didn't do enough to liven up the book and make it worth listening to.

[quote author=rumsfald link=topic=1145.msg229933#msg229933 date=1320805125]
Le sigh. Here's the short version, in four words:

Attempt to justify genocide.

For me, Sci-Fi should be just that - FICTION ABOUT THE FUTURE. Not attempts to pretty-up history.

And it's not helping that Orson Scott Card doesn't have much of a positive reputation beyond that book.

Not gonna fault you for not wanting to read it because of the author.  I get completely pulled out of the experience of watching movies/shows if they have actors that are crazy irl.

Neal Stephenson is one of the best, and ya'll should read all his stuff.  Don't be disturbed that his books can be as thick as bricks  8)
[/quote]Loves me some Neal Steaphenson.  Been meaning to go back and read Cyrptonomicon now that I actually have some computer science and crypto under my belt and see what all I missed my first time through.

And on an unrelated note, I've picked up Infinite Jest and am about 50 pages in and am slowly starting to get drawn in.  I admit I haven't heard much about it past how much of a beast of a book it is so I'm excited to see where the story goes.

[A. Crow]

Wow, that's what I get for not checking up on this thread: missing the tinfoil hat party about the Nazi-Mormon party or some such bs.  Meh.  I think genocide, as a whole, can exist without invoking Nazis.  But, if that's what we're working with... Here's the comparison I'd make: Did the Jewish people bring horrible space battle to Germany that legitimately threatened to utterly destroy them?  No?  Ok, Genocide was not the proper choice there.  Did the Buggers bring horrible space battle to earth?  The book made it seem so.  Of, course that could have been part of the evil book universe propaganda.  But if you don't trust what the fucking book tells you, why bother reading it in the first place. 

Goodwin.

Next:

Every time Clive Cussler writes himself into one of his books, I want to find someone with a prosthetic leg, steal it, and then beat Mr. Cussler with it. 

[at0m]

Finished A Dance for Dragons. Goddamn, why are these so addicting.