Kylie Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Stieg Larsson's books were holding the top few positions in our bestseller lists for quite a long time, I think. I'm not a crime reader myself, but I jumped on board and thoroughly enjoyed the first book (I still have to read the others). I say if you're curious enough you should give it a go, but perhaps try to commit to reading at least the first couple of hundred pages, because it takes a little while to really get going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I've been reading Edgar Allan Poe this month and I'm terribly unimpressed and can't understand why anyone thinks his writing is any good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Pixie, you better take a look at this ......22 pages http://www.bookclubf...se-film-thread/ 10 million people watch the X-Factor every week, that doesn't make it good ... I also have to agree on Lord of the Rings. I think the problem(?) with Lord of the Rings is that it takes quite a while to get going. The first 50 odd pages of Hobbit-lore aren't easy to get through but once you do, and you are also clear of Tom Bombadil, the story really starts to take off and it just keeps getting better from there on out - problem is, that's nearly 200 page in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Because the notion that Dan Brown does research has been breached in this thread, may I point you all to this list, and sincerely hope that the word "research" is not used in connection with any of his books again. Thank you. Perfect! I am in accord with you there. And I do love adventure/mystery/conspiracy theory stories, so the genre is one I am definitely in to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 10 million people watch the X-Factor every week, that doesn't make it good ... I think the problem(?) with Lord of the Rings is that it takes quite a while to get going. The first 50 odd pages of Hobbit-lore aren't easy to get through but once you do, and you are also clear of Tom Bombadil, the story really starts to take off and it just keeps getting better from there on out - problem is, that's nearly 200 page in! I always had a problem with Fellowship of the Ring too. It took me about three trys to complete it. As Raven said, once you've cleared the first 200 pages, the story really kicks in. It's worth plowing through Now I need to take my own advice and do that for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 10 million people watch the X-Factor every week, that doesn't make it good ... No - it but makes it popular, which is the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 ^ Not mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Hi Emelee. Interesting post there. Stephen King - Aside from Needful Things, The Stand and The Dark Tower series, I don't see the appeal at all. I find he pushes religion in nearly all of his books, something of a turn-off for an atheist, and his obsession with animal cruelty is seriously unhealthy. His writing style never seems to change from that story-tellers voice also, but saying that, it has put a few coins in his pocket, so why change? To me a lot of his characters are cliches too, and he spins his novels out to great length to mask a lack of imagination. The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy - After watching, and loving, the recent(ish) movie translation of the book, I thought I'd give the novel a crack, but couldn't get beyond thirty pages. It's just so poor in comparison, and I can't even pin-point why. I just did not like it one bit. I'm sure there's more but I've moaned enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 Stephen King - Aside from Needful Things, The Stand and The Dark Tower series, I don't see the appeal at all. I find he pushes religion in nearly all of his books, something of a turn-off for an atheist I would not say that is the case in Carrie. If anything, I get the impression that the message is that religion is bad in that novel since Carrie's mother, a fanatic christian, is a complete horror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 (edited) Stephen King - Aside from Needful Things, The Stand and The Dark Tower series, I don't see the appeal at all. I find he pushes religion in nearly all of his books, something of a turn-off for an atheist, and his obsession with animal cruelty is seriously unhealthy. His writing style never seems to change from that story-tellers voice also, but saying that, it has put a few coins in his pocket, so why change? To me a lot of his characters are cliches too, and he spins his novels out to great length to mask a lack of imagination. I agree with the second part of your reasoning. But "he pushes religion in nearly all of his books"? Have we read the same author? I have read a lot of Stephen King (the older stuff, anyway), and from what I remember, it is the opposite. There was the example emelee mentioned, Carrie, and another one that comes to mind where religion is portrayed as evil is the short story Children of the Corn. What books are you thinking of where he does push religion? The only one I can think of is The Stand, and you mentioned that as one you liked. Perhaps I am missing something? You have intrigued me, and I would appreciate it if you would list some other examples. Edited November 26, 2010 by Pixie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pablo Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 It's been a while since I've read any of his stuff, but my overall opinion hasn't just emerged from nowhere. I haven't read Carrie, most likely because I didn't think much of the movie, and although I see where you're coming from with the 'religion can be bad' angle, it's a simple facet of life that there are many degrees between people, and that not all religious people are the archetypal angels they see themselves in the mirror. In fact religion has absolutely nada to do with what makes a person good or bad, so the fact that King uses a religious person to represent badness isn't too much of a stretch of imagination. Anyway, as for his books, how about The Green Mile or IT, and you also rightly mentioned The Stand, which although I enjoyed at the time, has undeniably religious overtones about it. Generally, his characters all seem to believe in god and this in itself can be irritating when it is mentioned consistantly. I think IT though was the final straw for me, for not only did I find it preachy, but it was also an incredible bore for me. I could be wrong though, and even if I'm not, I'm sure it won't turn you King fans off one little bit, and that's cool with me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy - After watching, and loving, the recent(ish) movie translation of the book, I thought I'd give the novel a crack, but couldn't get beyond thirty pages. It's just so poor in comparison, and I can't even pin-point why. I just did not like it one bit. The movie was an absolute travesty of the original story - completely misjudged. If you prefer the movie all well and good, but Hitchhikers was first and foremost a radio series - the books, TV program, video game and film that came thereafter were all inferior (to varying degrees). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 In fact religion has absolutely nada to do with what makes a person good or bad, so the fact that King uses a religious person to represent badness isn't too much of a stretch of imagination. I agree. Anyway, as for his books, how about The Green Mile or IT, and you also rightly mentioned The Stand, which although I enjoyed at the time, has undeniably religious overtones about it. Generally, his characters all seem to believe in god and this in itself can be irritating when it is mentioned consistantly. I think IT though was the final straw for me, for not only did I find it preachy, but it was also an incredible bore for me. Oh, yes. I forgot about The Green Mile. I don't remember IT pushing religion. I don't even remember much religion in it, except for the ritual of Chud nonsense. I could be wrong though, and even if I'm not, I'm sure it won't turn you King fans off one little bit, and that's cool with me too. I'm not sure if you were referring to or including me in this statement, but I'm not a fan, and I absolutely hated The Stand, for all of the reasons you mentioned above, and also for the weak climax which features in most of his books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 I read quite a few King books many, many years ago, but I don't really recall any forcing of religion in ones like Christine, The Shining, Cujo, or his short story books like Different Seasons, Monkey Shines and Night Shift. Perhaps maybe it was there but I didn't notice it? In Carrie he put religion in a negative light. I don't remember if religion was mentioned in Pet Semetery, but I guess I would disagree with you that King lacks imagination. I really enjoyed his books at the time and would put The Shining in my top ten. To each his/her own I guess . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 A moment of silence, while I state what is probably going to be a shocking revelation, for even me - I like novelizations of movies. Don't mistake that for an admiration of all novelizations, as not everything can be as intelligent as the Alan Dean Foster Alien books, nor as valiant an attempt at keeping the timeline as straight as Garry Douglas managed with the Highlander novelization. I know there is a certain hesitancy to regard them alongside "proper" novels, and I appreciate the discomfort that some people have with them being mentioned alongside the "real" authors. A great many of the people who have done novelizations have also done excellent original work, and the opportunity to see how they handle other people's characters is something of a guilty treat for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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