Books People Can't Finish

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Harry wasn't asking about our conversation. He was responding to the following complaint about Harry Potter books (which was made by Dngrsone, not Harold Bloom):

Yes, that is indeed what I was referring to. The claim was, I believe, that the errors were in books 4 and 5 of the series.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Yes, that is indeed what I was referring to. The claim was, I believe, that the errors were in books 4 and 5 of the series.

Thanks, guys! I'll peruse it most carefully. Sunday, most likely. And shall report back.

Hitch

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Yes, that is indeed what I was referring to. The claim was, I believe, that the errors were in books 4 and 5 of the series.

No errata in Book 5, chapter one in toto. Will report on Book 6 later. One possible typo in Book One, first chapter, First Scholastic Trade PPBK, 1999, page 10, line 10, which reads, from left margin:

heard it. Flocks of owls . . . shooting stars . . . Well, they're not[...]

If I'd had the book, I would have set the "w" in Well as lower-case. But thus far, in 1 and 5, that's all I've seen. I'll check book 6 (I went back and checked Dngrsone's post, it was books 5 and 6 he was talking about) later tonight. I checked 1, originally, because I erroneously thought that's what he was talking about. (Duh).

Your faithful correspondent,
Hitch

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by Hitch

No errata in Book 5, chapter one in toto. Will report on Book 6 later. One possible typo in Book One, first chapter, First Scholastic Trade PPBK, 1999, page 10, line 10, which reads, from left margin:

Do you use calibre and, if so, does it set all ellipses to three points? If so, then it's possible that four-point ellipses were used before the word Well and calibre (or one of your plugins) "fixed" them by rendering them incorrect.

As I'm sure you know, three points are used after an incomplete sentence (or within a sentence that continues); four, after a complete sentence. When a writer uses sentence fragments consistently and deliberately, the status of a clause can become ambiguous even when it isn't independent (implied omissions, etc.).

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Do you use calibre and, if so, does it set all ellipses to three points? If so, then it's possible that four-point ellipses were used before the word Well and calibre (or one of your plugins) "fixed" them by rendering them incorrect.

As I'm sure you know, three points are used after an incomplete sentence (or within a sentence that continues); four, after a complete sentence. When a writer uses sentence fragments consistently and deliberately, the status of a clause can become ambiguous even when it isn't independent (implied omissions, etc.).

Prestidigitweeze:

No. I don't use Calibre for reading, nor to fix, tweak, etc., books. (I do use it to keep a catalog of books we've made). Book 5 (the Book 5 I'm checking) is a Pottermore version (reading on a Fire).

The "typo" I reported was in the Book 1 (Philsopher's/Sorcerer's Stone) 1997 paperback version, Scholastic, which I bought second-hand a couple of years ago when I decided to finally read the books. So, it's nothing that "we" did; it's print. And I still think it was an error; a capital after ellipses should only be a proper noun, as far as I know; otherwise, there should be an ellipses and a period (the ubiquitously-badly-done "4 dots").

HOWEVER, the book 1 info was gratuitous; it was, after all, Books 5 and 6 that Dangrsone thought were rife with typos and errors. I've checked Book 5, and found none in the first chapter. I haven't had a chance to check Book 6 yet. I shall report back as soon as I have.

Hitch

[Prestidigitweeze]

I'm not trying to prove you wrong, Hitch. An idiosyncrasy in a Calibre (or plugin) default -- one that a reader might only notice if they happened to be paying close attention to formatting before and after a book was processed -- might have helped to solve the issue without making anyone look wrong: not you, not the author and not the person who reported he didn't find any errors in the books.

Sadly, that explanation didn't apply.

Originally Posted by Hitch

Prestidigitweeze:

No. I don't use Calibre for reading, nor to fix, tweak, etc., books. (I do use it to keep a catalog of books we've made). Book 5 (the Book 5 I'm checking) is a Pottermore version (reading on a Fire).

The "typo" I reported was in the Book 1 (Philsopher's/Sorcerer's Stone) 1997 paperback version, Scholastic, which I bought second-hand a couple of years ago when I decided to finally read the books. So, it's nothing that "we" did; it's print. And I still think it was an error; a capital after ellipses should only be a proper noun, as far as I know; otherwise, there should be an ellipses and a period (the ubiquitously-badly-done "4 dots").

HOWEVER, the book 1 info was gratuitous; it was, after all, Books 5 and 6 that Dangrsone thought were rife with typos and errors. I've checked Book 5, and found none in the first chapter. I haven't had a chance to check Book 6 yet. I shall report back as soon as I have.

Hitch

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

I'm not trying to prove you wrong, Hitch. An idiosyncrasy in a Calibre (or plugin) default -- one that a reader might only notice if they happened to be paying close attention to formatting before and after a book was processed -- might have helped to solve the issue without making anyone look wrong: not you, not the author and not the person who reported he didn't find any errors in the books.

Sadly, that explanation didn't apply.

Oh!

I never thought that; I was clarifying. I sometimes get down too low in the weeds when explaining stuff. It's an unfortunate UC (Unintended Consequence) of explaining "stuff," over and over, all day long, to folks who won't RTFI.

So, please: I didn't think that, and wasn't remotely considering that when I explained. I was just...Over-explaining. T'was indeed the print edition. OTOH, it was Scholastic, so who knows? Maybe the "well" was Well.

URGH...long week already. I'm bailing on this answer before I make myself look stupider than I do now.

n.b.: I do enjoy, having been sucked into re-reading the things, (gonna kill ya, Harry!) though the discussion about typos, re-discovering all the cleverly humorous bits that were omitted from the movies, like the ELF and SPEW. It's easy to forget--at least, it is for me--that Rowling had a nice sense of humor that she applied deftly at times throughout. Yes, some things were slapstick--but others were indeed nicely done, and thoroughly enjoyable for adult readers.

Hitch

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Gazella

But I guess this was the standard with Russian literature, most are long and ponderous.

And boring.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Do most people abandon "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"? I thought it was alright, and had no trouble finishing it. Like Rowling, Larsson is very good at pacing the action to make you want to keep reading. You don't get bored or overly fatigued from excitement.

The problem is that the beginning is a bit dull and (IMHO) I think the problem is that those that stop reading it don't bother to get past the dull opening to get to the good stuff. I read it and I'm glad I stuck with it past the dull beginning.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by MichelleLouring

When I started reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", everyone kept telling me that I just had to get through the first 100 pages, then it got really good. I gave up at page 115.

Well pick it up and keep going. And the people who said you have to make it past the first 100 pages may be wrong. Make it the first half and then if you don't like it, give it up. 5 pages past the dull beginning is not enough to get into it. That's like reading only the first five pages and then putting the book down. 5 pages is not enough to tell if you like a book. I consider the dull beginning to not count in terms of whether you like it or not. I consider after the dull bits to be the part where you start reading. So treat it as such and 5 pages doesn't cut it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by latepaul

But back on topic. Books I genuinely can't finish tend to be ones I felt like would be good or should be good because they're popular or classics but which I might not have chosen otherwise.

A lot of the NYT bestsellers are not my style. So I don't bother with them. I don't read a book just because it's popular. I'll notice a book because it's popular and if it sounds like I might like it I might give it a go.

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And boring.

Wolf, have you ever read a novel by a Russian author?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Well pick it up and keep going. And the people who said you have to make it past the first 100 pages may be wrong. Make it the first half and then if you don't like it, give it up. 5 pages past the dull beginning is not enough to get into it. That's like reading only the first five pages and then putting the book down. 5 pages is not enough to tell if you like a book. I consider the dull beginning to not count in terms of whether you like it or not. I consider after the dull bits to be the part where you start reading. So treat it as such and 5 pages doesn't cut it.

I read the whole thing and couldn't believe that it was a bestseller. Don't misunderstand me, the creation of Lisbeth Salander (sp?) was brilliant. Loved that part. Didn't care for the protagonist that much, who felt more like a leaf being carried down a stream than a hard-charging investigative journalist. (Also thought that the "every woman he met jumped into bed with him" part was too much anthropomorphizing for his avatar, {yawn}).

Spoiler:

The big "triumph" at the end, over the "evil" industrialist? Never did figure out what on earth they were talking about, if indeed it was a big deal. It seemed pretty minor to me.

The murder mystery?

Spoiler:

And the deal with how the son had tons of women coming up to the "Big House," and they never left? In a small town? With ONE road, going in and out? Anyone ever live in a small town like that? I do. Everybody knows everybody else's comings and goings. Nobody noticed? Pah. Not to mention, I figured out it was him less than half-way through.

AND the BS with the near-identical THREE girls? Not two, but THREE? And the part with the passport? How X falls on her sword, and never gets hers renewed, so the "dead" victim can go to AUS? What's up with that nonsense? Why not get it renewed 1-2 years later, when the chances of AUS and GB ever, ever figuring it out were non-existent?

I just felt it was grossly overrated. No doubt due to Lisbeth's creation, which, again, I thought was fabulous. But the rest just felt turgid. The coincidences were one too many, the solution was forced. The big "reveal" at the end for the "evil capitalist" was deader'n Julius Caesar for me. {shrug}.

Wasn't my cuppa. It was "okay," I suppose, but I never bothered to read the next two.

Hitch

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I read the whole thing and couldn't believe that it was a bestseller. Don't misunderstand me, the creation of Lisbeth Salander (sp?) was brilliant. Loved that part. Didn't care for the protagonist that much, who felt more like a leaf being carried down a stream than a hard-charging investigative journalist. (Also thought that the "every woman he met jumped into bed with him" part was too much anthropomorphizing for his avatar, {yawn}).

Spoiler:

The big "triumph" at the end, over the "evil" industrialist? Never did figure out what on earth they were talking about, if indeed it was a big deal. It seemed pretty minor to me.

The murder mystery?

Spoiler:

And the deal with how the son had tons of women coming up to the "Big House," and they never left? In a small town? With ONE road, going in and out? Anyone ever live in a small town like that? I do. Everybody knows everybody else's comings and goings. Nobody noticed? Pah. Not to mention, I figured out it was him less than half-way through.

AND the BS with the near-identical THREE girls? Not two, but THREE? And the part with the passport? How X falls on her sword, and never gets hers renewed, so the "dead" victim can go to AUS? What's up with that nonsense? Why not get it renewed 1-2 years later, when the chances of AUS and GB ever, ever figuring it out were non-existent?

I just felt it was grossly overrated. No doubt due to Lisbeth's creation, which, again, I thought was fabulous. But the rest just felt turgid. The coincidences were one too many, the solution was forced. The big "reveal" at the end for the "evil capitalist" was deader'n Julius Caesar for me. {shrug}.

Wasn't my cuppa. It was "okay," I suppose, but I never bothered to read the next two.

Hitch

I am with you. I didn't actually finish. Maybe 2/3. I had to keep going back to try and make sense and it didn't seem to work. Still this was a book given to me by a friend who loved it, so each to their own.

Helen

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I am with you. I didn't actually finish. Maybe 2/3. I had to keep going back to try and make sense and it didn't seem to work. Still this was a book given to me by a friend who loved it, so each to their own.

Helen

Ah, Helen:

Somehow, I'm never surprised when we agree. :-) I did force myself to finish it, because I just had to see if there was something so stunning at the end, reveal-wise, that made it such a hit, like Turow's book or whats-is-name's big hit movie, the "I see dead people" film. (Speaking of one-hit-wonders...Shymalan (sp?), I mean, not Turow, although arguably, he hasn't lived up to that book since.)

Hitch