What are you reading now?
- Thread starter PaulyT
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D
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That one looks really interesting hawk52. Just put a hold on a library copy.
Jeff
Jeff
Just finished this:
or in the newer cover:
Very good book. Certainly as good as the movie. But this is one of those cases where I don't feel like the movie really missed the mark compared to the book, not surprising I guess since Chbosky wrote the book and the screenplay and directed the movie. I'm wondering how much of Charlie is auto-biographical?
Anyway, well worth the read. Now I'm gonna have to go watch the movie again.
or in the newer cover:
Very good book. Certainly as good as the movie. But this is one of those cases where I don't feel like the movie really missed the mark compared to the book, not surprising I guess since Chbosky wrote the book and the screenplay and directed the movie. I'm wondering how much of Charlie is auto-biographical?
Anyway, well worth the read. Now I'm gonna have to go watch the movie again.
CMonster
Well-Known Member
PaulyT said:Just finished this:
or in the newer cover:
Very good book. Certainly as good as the movie. But this is one of those cases where I don't feel like the movie really missed the mark compared to the book, not surprising I guess since Chbosky wrote the book and the screenplay and directed the movie. I'm wondering how much of Charlie is auto-biographical?
Anyway, well worth the read. Now I'm gonna have to go watch the movie again.
I didn't want to mention it in the movie thread, but I thought the book was much, much better.
And next up for me to read is Catcher in the Rye. Mentioned in the Perks movie/book. And I remember liking it a lot when I read it, probably back in high school or college, I don't remember for sure, nor do I remember the least thing about it. Maybe I'll appreciate it more now.
PaulyT said:
Finished. Nope, not much changed. Yeah naturally the book has more detail in a lot of the characters and of course Charlie's thoughts. But I think the movie hit all the major plot points, and more importantly captured the spirit of the book. More than most film adaptations of books, anyway. IMHO.
My 11yo daughter now wants to see this movie and read this book. I have mixed feelings on that, honestly. I think she needs to wait a few years. And as a father, I kept thinking, "damn I hope this isn't the high school and post-pubescent young adult culture my kids grow up with." :scared-eek: Maybe what's portrayed in this book/movie is the norm for a lot of folks, but I can honestly say my formative years were nothing like this, in the details. Yeah sure teenage angst and admiring/desiring girls from afar, I totally get that. But this culture of sex/drugs is NOT how I grew up, not at all.
D
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Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now - by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
This is a fascinating read. Fascinating in that it is one of the very few "insider" looks at Islam.
A few years ago I read the "official" English translation of the Quran. Much like why I've read the Bible a number of times, I did so as part of my continuing fascination with religions and belief structures.
To be succinct, I found the Quran to be very disturbing, much more so than the Bible. And while I could understand the very straightforward words in the Quran, my readings up until then had not provided me with the necessary context in which to most properly form an opinion of it. I could see the inconsistencies. I could see conflicts within its "teachings." But there was no "why" to be found within its pages.
Ali's book lays bare all of the whys.
Just as it took a Catholic's book to properly explain the Bible's Old Testament's inconsistencies to me, Ali's (a Muslim) book does much the same with the Quran by exploring the differences between Mohammed's Mecca (can't we all just get along) and Medina (join us or die) periods, and how, because of the way that conflicts between the two are to be "prioritized" it is the Medina teachings that end up on top.
Her book contains straightforward recommendations for the renewal of Islam - to bring it back to the Mecca teachings - much as Christianity went through its reformation and emerged from the dark ages. But she's a realist and knows that it might take generations for that to happen.
As I said, it's a fascinating read and one that I can't recommend highly enough to those with any interest in the subject. Enough so that I'll probably re-read the Quran at some point, armed with this new-found insight.
Jeff
(A devout atheist - in case there was any doubt!)
This is a fascinating read. Fascinating in that it is one of the very few "insider" looks at Islam.
A few years ago I read the "official" English translation of the Quran. Much like why I've read the Bible a number of times, I did so as part of my continuing fascination with religions and belief structures.
To be succinct, I found the Quran to be very disturbing, much more so than the Bible. And while I could understand the very straightforward words in the Quran, my readings up until then had not provided me with the necessary context in which to most properly form an opinion of it. I could see the inconsistencies. I could see conflicts within its "teachings." But there was no "why" to be found within its pages.
Ali's book lays bare all of the whys.
Just as it took a Catholic's book to properly explain the Bible's Old Testament's inconsistencies to me, Ali's (a Muslim) book does much the same with the Quran by exploring the differences between Mohammed's Mecca (can't we all just get along) and Medina (join us or die) periods, and how, because of the way that conflicts between the two are to be "prioritized" it is the Medina teachings that end up on top.
Her book contains straightforward recommendations for the renewal of Islam - to bring it back to the Mecca teachings - much as Christianity went through its reformation and emerged from the dark ages. But she's a realist and knows that it might take generations for that to happen.
As I said, it's a fascinating read and one that I can't recommend highly enough to those with any interest in the subject. Enough so that I'll probably re-read the Quran at some point, armed with this new-found insight.
Jeff
(A devout atheist - in case there was any doubt!)
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CMonster
Well-Known Member
I just started reading the first Harry Potter book to prep for a trip to Universal Studios next January with family. It was a secret goal of mine to make it through life without having read the books or seen the movies, but oh well, if it'll make the trip a little more enjoyable for the nieces, I'll give 'em a shot.
When I first set up my current system I bought the set of films on bluray. Made it about 1/3 thru the first film and stopped it. Perhaps when I retire.
CMonster
Well-Known Member
I watched about a five minute segment of the first film years ago when it was on TV and it was horrible, absolutely horrible. I'm six chapters into the book and thus far I'm pleasantly surprised. I should probably admit that I've read the following Harry Potter related article by my favorite sports writer at least a dozen times and always seem to get a little dirt in my eye when I do so:
http://joeposnanski.com/katie-the-prefect/
I absolutely love the Harry Potter books, which are some of the only books I've read more than once. My family watches the entire movie series every year around Christmas. The first movie is establishing the world. You need to get through the first half of the movie to get to the good stuff. I think the movies are decent and reasonably true to the books, but the books are amazing.
Agreed, the books really are very well written, an amazingly detailed and interesting world she's created. Granted, the first book (and hence the movie) is written in a style aimed more at younger readers so it may seem a little shallow at first. But as you progress the story and characters deepen tremendously. Stick with it.
And as always, I like the books more than the movies. Overall I think the movies are good adaptations and they're fun, but there's always more depth in the books that the movies just can't cover. So if you're a reader at all, don't judge the series based solely on the movies.
And as always, I like the books more than the movies. Overall I think the movies are good adaptations and they're fun, but there's always more depth in the books that the movies just can't cover. So if you're a reader at all, don't judge the series based solely on the movies.