The Ugly Truth - Reading Snobs

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

What's the reason you couldn't read that book? It's a children's book. Can you also not read Lord of the Rings, or is that different?

Maybe she just doesn't like it? If I wasn't required to read The Hobitt for school, I wouldn't have read it. It isn't the kind of book I would enjoy. Twilight is YA but I struggled to finish the first chapter. Yet, I had no problem reading classics like Jane Eyre or North and South. Those two books are harder to read than Twilight but for me, they were much more enjoyable. Hence, I finished them.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Yes, but even Theo says they won't be contending until 2015. In a spurt of huberist, I bet my daughter, who disses the Cubs, $1000 that they would win the World Series by 2015. I am saving up for it.

Win it?
I... dunno.
She better start saving, too. Just in case.
But the odds...

If you had bet they'd *get* to the WS by then you'd have a pretty good shot. They have a decent core coming up.
And any really good GM with a decent owner behind them--anybody not named Dolan or Loria--can in four or five years build a team that can make the playoffs. After that it is a pure crapshoot unless you have *two* stud #1 pitchers ala Holliday and Lee or Strasburg and Gonzalez. And even then *winning* the thing is far from a certainty. Just ask any Tigger fan about Verlander...
Stuff happens.
Or as Yogi used to say "ya never know".

I assume you hunt for good baseball books?
You ever run into this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Men-Thir.../dp/1891369156

Truly proves that in the one true sport anything can happen and often has.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by piperclassique

oh heck, I'll read the cornflake packet if that's all there is.............

I've done my time eating my cereal reading the box because that's all there was. Now that I have a reader and don't need two hands to use it, I can read my book and eat my cereal without having to read the box.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

What might turn out to be the silver lining in those 50 Shades books is that they are getting people to read who might not have picked up a book before - just like the Harry Potter books did.

And 50 Shades could be getting people hurt by trying out S&M without having a clue what they are doing.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

What's the reason you couldn't read that book? It's a children's book. Can you also not read Lord of the Rings, or is that different?

That you can't read The Silmarillion or The History of Middle-Earth is understandable. That's more like reading The Bible of Ancient Fantasy, and an encyclopedia. Those works are for the die-hard-can-never-get-enough fans. (IMHO.)

Never could get into it. I think it was all the strange names - couldn't keep anyone straight. For years I thought I didn't like SF, but I have really gotten into end of the world stuff or post apocolyptical. Taught me to never say never when it comes to books.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by faithbw

Maybe she just doesn't like it? If I wasn't required to read The Hobitt for school, I wouldn't have read it. It isn't the kind of book I would enjoy. Twilight is YA but I struggled to finish the first chapter. Yet, I had no problem reading classics like Jane Eyre or North and South. Those two books are harder to read than Twilight but for me, they were much more enjoyable. Hence, I finished them.

Exactly! I couldn't get past 10 pages in Twilight.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Win it?
I... dunno.
She better start saving, too. Just in case.
But the odds...

If you had bet they'd *get* to the WS by then you'd have a pretty good shot. They have a decent core coming up.
And any really good GM with a decent owner behind them--anybody not named Dolan or Loria--can in four or five years build a team that can make the playoffs. After that it is a pure crapshoot unless you have *two* stud #1 pitchers ala Holliday and Lee or Strasburg and Gonzalez. And even then *winning* the thing is far from a certainty. Just ask any Tigger fan about Verlander...
Stuff happens.
Or as Yogi used to say "ya never know".

I assume you hunt for good baseball books?
You ever run into this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Men-Thir.../dp/1891369156

Truly proves that in the one true sport anything can happen and often has.

Thanks for the book recommendation - looks great. I thought Moneyball (the book) was terrific.

No, my daughter isn't saving. She is just 15. Sounds like a good bet, huh?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Thanks for the book recommendation - looks great. I thought Moneyball (the book) was terrific.

No, my daughter isn't saving. She is just 15. Sounds like a good bet, huh?

Ah, yes a teenager!
That explains the 'tude.

Moneyball is a great book. Too bad so many in the sports media don't get it.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Exactly! I couldn't get past 10 pages in Twilight.

Neither could I get past chapter one. I have thought to give it another go but I am just not interested. I've seen the movies and I like them but the books just don't interest me.

[BadBilly]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The blue girl is just way too skinny. Eat some food. You need to put on weight.

Without the blue skinny dancer, the cover would be a lot better.

Actually, she is an alien. Amongst her people, who are actually very lithe, she is morbidly obese. She has come to live and work among the humans because she cannot get work as a dancer on her home world. It's a very touching work about lookism and discrimination.

[Freeshadow]

She isn't "way too skinny" because the illustration fits the description of the character as given in the book. Because of that, said illustration is objectively well done.

The personal, subjective, preference in regards of appearance i.e. If the reader thinks skinny or chubby or something in between looks better is a completely different topic.

Again and again, ad nauseam: De gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum.

As a matter of fact she is too skinny for Ivans tastes too.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

As a matter of fact she is too skinny for Ivans tastes too.

And The Gregor.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Exactly! I couldn't get past 10 pages in Twilight.

Kinda the same, except I think I usually doze off by page 15. Funny thing is I actually expected to like Twilight. Heaven knows I've read and liked enough fanfics with similar plot.

[Kurt]

I don't recall ever having been made fun of because of what i read, but for being a reader - lordy

Once made fun of my grandmothers reading material (romances)
Holy crap, that was a mistake
Got a bit of a tirade (for her) about her being a teacher her entire life and having to read stuff she had to and now she was going to read what she wanted to

As a side note - how does one find actual historical fiction instead of historical romance? Use to be my favorite category but there has to be a good way to distinguish between "history" and "bodice rippers"

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by Kurt

As a side note - how does one find actual historical fiction instead of historical romance? Use to be my favorite category but there has to be a good way to distinguish between "history" and "bodice rippers"

Read Amazon's book descriptions. It's usually pretty obvious whether you're getting romance or straight fiction, though in my experience it's pretty hard to get away from some romance in *any* historical fiction.