What have you been reading?

#261

^^ This this and MORE OF THIS. I spent 3 years trudging through these books. I kept telling myself I had to see how it ended and that it would hopefully be worth it. Then someone told me the author died before finishing the final book… “Screw that” I thought, and haven’t even thought of picking them back up. I can see how people would like the complex and in-depth story involved, but I found the excessive political intrigue that appeared around book 4 to be tedious and dull.

I got the Collector’s Hardback edition of my favorite trilogy The Dragonlance Chronicles for Christmas since I was in need of a good hardback version to keep on the shelf. I’ve thus started back into Dragonlance. Really good Fantasy for anyone who’s looking for something. Really, I can recommend anything by Tracy Hickman.

Next on my list is The Lord of the Rings, because it dawns on me as much Fantasy as I read, I’ve never gotten around to picking this classic up.

#262

Oh I love Dragonlance so much…classics are always the best, therefore… [I]The Legend of Huma[I]> all others in the series.

#263

IMO (since you’ve read a lot of fantasy), you should start with Children of Húrin and then the Hobbit and then The Lord of the Rings, then The Silmarillion, then Unfinished Tales (all Middle-earth). Maybe switch around Sil and LOTR if you already know the general story of LOTR.

It gives a greater sense of history when reading LOTR that way, and they’re all great (though Sil can be a bit tedious for some people, but that probably isn’t the case for you).

#264

I’ve read The Hobbit and the complete Harry Potter series.

I really enjoyed them.

#265

I really didn’t enjoy Lord of the Rings. No matter which way you look at it, a two-page monologue is bad writing.

#266

Well, I for one enjoyed it quite thoroughly (although it’s been years since I read it), and didn’t find it tedious at all.

Tolkien was a scholar and a philologist, it’s safe to say he knew his stuff. It’s simply the kind of writing-style that’s not for everyone.

#267

Whether he knew his stuff or not, knowing something is not the same as being able to do it. I liked the world and the characters in LotR, it was all fantastically well imagined, but the writing was simply overbearing and pompous: whether it was deliberate or not doesn’t matter, for me it really let the book down.

#268

1984

#269

Never got through that.

#270

You have to take into account the context and the time it was written in though. It was published in the mid 50s and Tolkien was very much a scholar (for lack of a better word) of ye olde times, so to speak. In his other works that are part of Middle-earth he frequently uses thee/thou etc.

It was very much intended to be a Medieval-kinda thing.
I understand how you feel about the writing style, but I strongly disagree with the notion that it is due the inability of Tolkien, and not due to the times it was written in.

The fact that he was born in 1892 alone says enough. That and the fact that he was very much interested (well, he studied and professed it, actually) linguistics (historically) and philology, and his goal was to adopt archaic writing styles, in which he succeeded.

tl;dr: his writing style is not due to inability, but due to choice, interest, contemporary context, etc.

#271

Yeah, I get that it was done for a reason, but all the same it’s not a style that I view as… Well, good. I’d disagree that context has anything to do with it though (in terms of the time period he lived in), his style was kind of unique when you look at other authors at that point.

The fuck? It’s so incredibly short.

#272

readin mason & dixon by thomas pynchon. is cool

#273

Yeah, maybe I didn’t phrase that point very well. I meant more the environment he grew up in (in terms of education), the direction his interests took, and so on (which is at least partly due to the times he grew up in, I think; or maybe more the greater proximity to older times).

But I really love the style of his books. I probably wouldn’t like it from most other authors, because I don’t think they could do it anywhere near as well as Tolkien. But yeah, it’s all a matter of taste of course.

I’m finding it hard to find the right words for some things today for some reason, so I’m probably still not really getting it across entirely right.

#274

It’s probably because I rarely ever read books.

I think I’ve read about 10 books my entire life, most of which were for school.

#275

yeah man reading is for gays

#276

Thanks for your contribution.

#277

thanks for your dumbtribution to being willfully ignorant and showing off about it.

#278

I never said I took pride in the fact that I rarely ever read books, did I?

Stating that not reading books is being ‘willfully ignorant’ is one of the most ignorant statements I’ve ever heard. Plus, coming from someone who really never makes any useful comments on this forum at all, basically always making one sentenced remarks that have no real value regarding the discussed topic, it doesn’t really mean much.

So up yours, asshole.

#279

Too bad. Best parts are near the end.

#280

Yeah, I kinda got that idea too. I stopped somewhere around page 80 or something. I should pick it up again soon.

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