10-22-2019, 09:46 AM | #16 |
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This is exactly what I mean. The first part, the part you suggest skipping, is part of the book. The book as a whole cannot be wonderful as you describe because that not-wonderful part exists.
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10-22-2019, 11:50 AM | #17 |
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I guess it depends on how you define a wonderful book. Is it one with wonderful parts, or one where no parts are not wonderful? I'm a "glass half full" guy and like the first definition, but I can see that the "glass half empty" people may disagree.
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10-22-2019, 12:19 PM | #18 | |
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I read the first hundred or so pages of The Invaders Plan (the first Mission Earth book) before deciding that it was garbage. I don't care how much damn praise Battlefield Earth gets. I've learned my lesson, thank you. |
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10-22-2019, 01:23 PM | #19 | |
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Or, half full vs. half empty doesn't matter when the milk is sour. |
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10-22-2019, 07:46 PM | #20 |
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I didn't mean to start arguments over Moby Dick. I know that some people like it, it just didn't work for me ... at all.
And I can understand the distinction darryl was making about skipping the introductory materials - but this, to me, should also include the many chapters interspersed through this book that follow the same non-fiction - well, not-intentionally-fiction - mode of the "Extracts" at the start. They certainly didn't help; by the time you've waded through them you've lost contact with the story. |
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10-22-2019, 08:01 PM | #21 | |
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I've always wondered if I'd feel more for her as an adult with better understanding of the the societal mores of the time the book is set in. |
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10-24-2019, 12:21 AM | #22 | |
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Back to the "wish I hadn't read it" original topic of this thread, for me that would be Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. I read it because it's supposed to be a classic in SciFi. But I certainly didn't like it - boring all the way through to me - and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. But to each his/her own, I don't mean to disparage people who actually liked this book. |
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11-05-2019, 11:46 PM | #23 |
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I don't generally dislike books, but that's because I almost always pick up something only if it really interests me. Even if I do find certain sections of a book not to my liking, I wouldn't say I dislike the book. I read both fiction and non-fiction simultaneously, and I've noticed that I tend to be more disappointed with the latter. Nonetheless, here's a list (if just two items could ever count as a list):
1. Theories of Personality by Schultz and Schultz - I was expecting more than an exposition of theories derived from the behavioralist perspective. I am not a big fan of behavioral psychology in the first place, so perhaps I shouldn't complain. 2. The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker - This is one of my favorite books, and I only wish I hadn't read this so I can have the joy of reading it for the first time again. |
11-06-2019, 12:45 PM | #24 |
Is that a sandwich?
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Too many to list. A few standouts:
Heirs of Empire by David Weber. The third in the Dahak series. Just awful. Warship by Joshua Dalzelle. Poor self-publishing effort. Invasion by Platt and Truant. Another poor self-publishing effort. The Siren Depths by Martha Wells. Strangely poor after two good earlier books. Inherit the Stars by James Hogan. One star review. Sometimes the author needs to shut up. |
11-06-2019, 03:25 PM | #25 |
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I regret picking up The Last of the Mohicans. And will preach to my dying breath that there is no reason for any person in the 21st Century to try reading this abomination.
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11-06-2019, 03:56 PM | #26 |
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A Passage to India by E. M. Forster was a total waste of my time.
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11-08-2019, 12:16 PM | #27 |
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In no particular order:
Many more could apply, but I don't want to suffer anyone with my 1star list from Goodreads. |
11-10-2019, 07:35 AM | #28 | |
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I agree totally with your assessment. I once had 2 ARCS (or maybe they were Uncorrected Galleys; can't remember; both mint condition) of 'Battlefield Earth' and sold them for $100 each. This is back when the book was first published. I wish I had them now so I could burn them and then call upon Cthulhu to cast them into another waste area so humankind need not suffer needlessly. Last edited by Dr. Drib; 11-10-2019 at 07:38 AM. |
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11-10-2019, 07:42 AM | #29 | |
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11-11-2019, 11:54 AM | #30 | ||
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Then, a few years later I attempted Atlas Shrugged. It didn't go well. The golden age of science fiction might be thirteen. But I'd say Ayn Rand isn't too far distant from that. Quote:
Last edited by ZodWallop; 11-11-2019 at 04:30 PM. |
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