Book Club

Aug 9, 2020
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I have a rule, that if I’m not enjoying a book by at least 5 chapters in then I move on to a new book.
I did enjoy The Gunslinger. Not as much as I expected, though (it was my very first Stephen King!). And some parts just seemed to drag and then that ending which was... weird, to say the least. It seems to be an intelligent story though, so it still has my cautious curiosity haha
 
Aug 9, 2020
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I couldn’t make it past the first one, but my brother in law was/is really into them. However, I really like King’s old short stories, and he can write some engaging characters. As for novels, it’s hit or mainly miss for me.
The Gunslinger was the first Stephen King that I read haha I do have some of his novels on my to-read list but I don't know, it's not an author that I'm that excited to read.
 

Yue

Member
Jul 5, 2020
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Less than 100 pages to go in The Fellowship of the Ring! Even though I knew certain things were going to happen because I have seen the movies a bunch before reading the book, I was still pretty emotional actually reading it. Tolkien is one amazing author.
 
Aug 9, 2020
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Less than 100 pages to go in The Fellowship of the Ring! Even though I knew certain things were going to happen because I have seen the movies a bunch before reading the book, I was still pretty emotional actually reading it. Tolkien is one amazing author.
I know this is just the first book but how are you liking Frodo's storyline? I like the character in the film but I was curious as to how Tolkien developed him since, in theory, literature would allow for a deeper exploration of Frodo's inner battles.
 
Aug 9, 2020
73
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Two new books for my read list:

Finding Ms. Write:
Already mentioned it before: a collection of short stories from authors of lesbian romance about "book people" finding love through their passion for literature. As with any anthology, some stories are better than others. In the case of Finding Ms. Write, I cannot say I disliked any of them. I did not emotionally connect with one or two, while others I thought could have been a little longer to better explore the characters and the themes. But all of them were enjoyable reads. An excellent anthology!

Finding Ms. Write(1).jpg


Sweet Venom (Medusa Girls #1):
I was captivated by the premise: Medusa being a monster was a story fabricated by Athena and her descendants are huntresses of monsters. The development of this premise, however, was not what I hoped for.

One of the problems, I confess, might be partially on me. It had been a while since I last read YA and this one made me remember why this genre is not among my favourites. A lot of beats felt repetitive, as I knew I had seen them in many other stories before. It took me some chapters to sympathise with the characters and I must say they are not totally bad, as each of them have their own voice and personality. Greer was the only one who didn't grow on me, and I blame this on her late introduction.

This being a trilogy, I understand that mysteries must be left for the other books but I truly expected to know more by the end of this first volume. Sweet Venom poses a lot of questions and most of them are left hanging while the narrative keeps going back and forth between the girls accepting and denying their fate, and then the book is over. Considering the relatively short number of pages, it would have been better if the story had been more dynamic and progressed more.

I will probably give the second volume a chance, just not now, and when I decide to read the next one, I'll be sure to go with lower expectations.

Medusa Girls - Sweet Venom.jpg
 
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Yue

Member
Jul 5, 2020
45
36
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I know this is just the first book but how are you liking Frodo's storyline? I like the character in the film but I was curious as to how Tolkien developed him since, in theory, literature would allow for a deeper exploration of Frodo's inner battles.

I actually like Frodo a lot. He seems to have a lot more motivation in the book. Everything happens so fast in the movie, but Frodo doesn’t actually leave the shire until 50 years after getting the ring from Bilbo. Which makes Frodo the same age as Bilbo was when bilbo left on his adventure in The Hobbit. I have just been enjoying the extra stuff that the movie just couldn’t add
 
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Yue

Member
Jul 5, 2020
45
36
18
Two new books for my read list:

Finding Ms. Write:
Already mentioned it before: a collection of short stories from authors of lesbian romance about "book people" finding love through their passion for literature. As with any anthology, some stories are better than others. In the case of Finding Ms. Write, I cannot say I disliked any of them. I did not emotionally connect with one or two, while others I thought could have been a little longer to better explore the characters and the themes. But all of them were enjoyable reads. An excellent anthology!

View attachment 803

Sweet Venom (Medusa Girls #1):
I was captivated by the premise: Medusa being a monster was a story fabricated by Athena and her descendants are huntresses of monsters. The development of this premise, however, was not what I hoped for.

One of the problems, I confess, might be partially on me. It had been a while since I last read YA and this one made me remember why this genre is not among my favourites. A lot of beats felt repetitive, as I knew I had seen them in many other stories before. It took me some chapters to sympathise with the characters and I must say they are not totally bad, as each of them have their own voice and personality. Greer was the only one who didn't grow on me, and I blame this on her late introduction.

This being a trilogy, I understand that mysteries must be left for the other books but I truly expected to know more by the end of this first volume. Sweet Venom poses a lot of questions and most of them are left hanging while the narrative keeps going back and forth between the girls accepting and denying their fate, and then the book is over. Considering the relatively short number of pages, it would have been better if the story had been more dynamic and progressed more.

I will probably give the second volume a chance, just not now, and when I decide to read the next one, I'll be sure to go with lower expectations.

View attachment 802

You really are just giving me more and more books to add to my ever expanding reading list lol
 
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Aug 9, 2020
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I actually like Frodo a lot. He seems to have a lot more motivation in the book. Everything happens so fast in the movie, but Frodo doesn’t actually leave the shire until 50 years after getting the ring from Bilbo. Which makes Frodo the same age as Bilbo was when bilbo left on his adventure in The Hobbit. I have just been enjoying the extra stuff that the movie just couldn’t add
50 years... damn! Good to know he's an even better character in the books!
 
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Yue

Member
Jul 5, 2020
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50 years... damn! Good to know he's an even better character in the books!

Aragorn was a favorite of mine in the movies, and he is even better in the book. The only thing is since I saw the movies first I only picture the characters as they appear in the movie instead of letting the description of them in the books guide how they look. But that is only a small personal grip.
 
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modern_moron

Gold Standard in Stupidity
Jun 11, 2020
117
88
28
Location
I am trying to read too many things at once and succeeding at reading none of them.

  • Up to Time of Contempt in the Witcher series, but I'm having trouble with the longer form narrative of the stuff following the short story anthologies
  • Got as far as I Have No Mouth and I must Scream in a Harlan Ellison collection before I got distracted
  • Still reading the forward of The New Jim Crow, but it's a big can of worms and it's depressing and anxiety-inducing
  • Still have a 4 year old overdue library copy of Cat's Cradle. I probably should just re-read it at this point
  • Brave New World is somewhere around the house, unfinished
  • A Lovecraft collection I haven't touched in a while
I really need a week long power outage to really get things going
 
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Yue

Member
Jul 5, 2020
45
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97777E04-E79B-4A3C-9F8C-0620920DF75B.jpeg

I finished The fellowship of the Ring. It was an amazing journey, but I am taking a break from Middle Earth to read this book about Donald Trump. Hopefully this book doesn’t piss me off too much.
 
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Yue

Member
Jul 5, 2020
45
36
18
I am trying to read too many things at once and succeeding at reading none of them.

  • Up to Time of Contempt in the Witcher series, but I'm having trouble with the longer form narrative of the stuff following the short story anthologies
  • Got as far as I Have No Mouth and I must Scream in a Harlan Ellison collection before I got distracted
  • Still reading the forward of The New Jim Crow, but it's a big can of worms and it's depressing and anxiety-inducing
  • Still have a 4 year old overdue library copy of Cat's Cradle. I probably should just re-read it at this point
  • Brave New World is somewhere around the house, unfinished
  • A Lovecraft collection I haven't touched in a while
I really need a week long power outage to really get things going

I need a week, maybe month break from my child to really catch up on my reading. I try my best to read when I can or try to play video games when I can lol
 
Aug 9, 2020
73
45
18
I am trying to read too many things at once and succeeding at reading none of them.

  • Up to Time of Contempt in the Witcher series, but I'm having trouble with the longer form narrative of the stuff following the short story anthologies
  • Got as far as I Have No Mouth and I must Scream in a Harlan Ellison collection before I got distracted
  • Still reading the forward of The New Jim Crow, but it's a big can of worms and it's depressing and anxiety-inducing
  • Still have a 4 year old overdue library copy of Cat's Cradle. I probably should just re-read it at this point
  • Brave New World is somewhere around the house, unfinished
  • A Lovecraft collection I haven't touched in a while
I really need a week long power outage to really get things going
I also had a time when I was reading a lot of books at once. The diversity of the titles helped me: fantasy, romance, then a collection of poetry, a non-fiction book here and there... but yeah, it's not easy to maintain the focus x)
 

PhilKenSebben

Lord of Loss
Staff member
Robot
Apr 15, 2020
143
214
43
Cali
Books are for nerds.

I just finished the Zombie Fallout, and Lycan Fallout series, by Mark Tufo. Some good b-grade fiction there. Just started Occult Assassin by William Massa. After that, going to dive into Seal Team 666.
 
Aug 9, 2020
73
45
18
Continuing the quest that I started during the quarantine to read all of Shakespeare's works, Much Ado About Nothing is the latest addition to my read list. It's also the first of his comedies that I read (I did watch National Theatre's live stream ofTwelfth Night, though).

The dynamic between Beatrice and Benedick is fabulous! Some scenes are quite funny in an intelligent way, while others border on the ridiculous - especially those that feature Dogberry and his pals. I didn't think the plot surrounding Hero and Claudio was Shakespeare's most inspiring. But again, Beatrice and Benedick more than make it up to the weaker storyline around them!

Much Ado About Nothing01.jpg
 
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Yue

Member
Jul 5, 2020
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Continuing the quest that I started during the quarantine to read all of Shakespeare's works, Much Ado About Nothing is the latest addition to my read list. It's also the first of his comedies that I read (I did watch National Theatre's live stream ofTwelfth Night, though).

The dynamic between Beatrice and Benedick is fabulous! Some scenes are quite funny in an intelligent way, while others border on the ridiculous - especially those that feature Dogberry and his pals. I didn't think the plot surrounding Hero and Claudio was Shakespeare's most inspiring. But again, Beatrice and Benedick more than make it up to the weaker storyline around them!

View attachment 805

I have only ever read Shakespeare while in school. That’s awesome that you are choosing to read it on our own!

I have read a book series a few years ago that has some historical people in it, one being Shakespeare. It’s call The Alchemist. It has 6 books in the series. I think you might enjoy them.
 
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Yue

Member
Jul 5, 2020
45
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I have only ever read Shakespeare while in school. That’s awesome that you are choosing to read it on our own!

I have read a book series a few years ago that has some historical people in it, one being Shakespeare. It’s call The Alchemist. It has 6 books in the series. I think you might enjoy them.

this is the whole series if you want to look into it.
 

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Aug 9, 2020
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I have only ever read Shakespeare while in school. That’s awesome that you are choosing to read it on our own!

I have read a book series a few years ago that has some historical people in it, one being Shakespeare. It’s call The Alchemist. It has 6 books in the series. I think you might enjoy them.
I was born in Brazil, so we don't really study Shakespeare at school (a shame, indeed). I was postponing my Shakespeare's reading because I wasn't confident about my reading skills. But since last year I've been reading practically everything in English, so I decided it was time to start :D

Oh, that seems like an interesting series! I'll add it to my list!
 
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