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Post by Natural Born Farmer on Mar 7, 2024 20:39:27 GMT -5
"Clockers" by Richard Price. Oh, man. Where do I begin? The first thing I will say is that I liked the Spike Lee film adaptation of this film with its grit, and also some techniques that Spike Lee used in his direction worked in the film. I had wanted to read the book when I found out the film was an adaptation. However, I wasn't sure considering it went up to 600 pages. I know there are longer books than that, but reading through this book made me have to slow down a bit, even though I had an idea what was happening in some scenes. I also saw that there were more characters in the book, and there was also more focus on the detective character. It took me a few weeks to finally finish it. I started it in January, but then got to reading a couple of other books and then got back to reading this book in February. While it was long, I was not bored. There were times when it dragged, but at the same time, there were scenes that touched more on the two central characters' lives, so I wasn't bothered by that. Even though there was some description to some of the characters that differed from their movie counterparts, I still imagined Mekhi Phifer, Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, Isaiah Washington, Keith David, and some of the other actors who played the roles of prominent characters in the film in this book. Hell, I couldn't help but hear their voices when reading dialogue. Overall, I may have complained about the length and stuff, I did think it told a good story. I might have to see about reading another long book soon. Until then, I will read some others I got from the library. Been a long time since I've seen the film, but the scene where Harvey Keitel's homicide detective basically walks a suspect through what he's going to say has always stuck with me.
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Post by Limity (BLM) on Mar 7, 2024 21:11:05 GMT -5
I finished my third reading of Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness, and it just gets better and better each time. It's funny to think back to the first time I read it, about twenty years ago, and I had such difficulty with it. This last time I was so absorbed and immersed in Conrad's prose it flew by.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,164
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Post by agent817 on Mar 21, 2024 11:46:51 GMT -5
"Young Lionz" by C.J. Hudson
I recall seeing this book at Walmart. At the time, I was starting to consider doing some more reading but I wasn't going to buy any books. So I took some pictures of some books that seemed appealing. Lucky for me, I found the picture and then requested this book from the library.
While it took me some time to read it, it wasn't because it was long or anything like that. I will say that the author did a good job at portraying "hood life" and stuff. It was clear that this book was more character-based as there were plenty of portions where it touched on the major characters, as well as a few supporting characters. Because it was character-oriented, the whole plot was about their struggles, friendship, and familial issues, while also trying to pull some scores and hustles.
If you're into urban fiction, I would recommend it.
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Perd
Patti Mayonnaise
Leslie needs to butt out for fear of receiving The Bunghole Buster
Posts: 31,953
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Post by Perd on Mar 21, 2024 13:22:36 GMT -5
The Lonesome Crown by Brian Lee Durfee:
This is the third and final book in the Five Warrior Angels series. This was supposed to be a five part series, but for a variety of reasons, was condensed into a trilogy. It’s part ov the grimdark subgenre of epic fantasy. And it definitely fits that category. Which is why I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. The likable characters take a while to reveal themselves. And not many good things happen to them, when they do. The darkness and brutality can be overwhelming. But the story held my interest and I liked the series, overall. And Beermug might be the most lovable dog in all of fiction.
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Post by Starshine on Mar 21, 2024 16:14:25 GMT -5
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
It was… alright. It’s the 3rd book in a series following a genuinely terrific book 1, and equally middling book 2. Lynch is also following the GRRM writing model of not releasing anything new for a decade which is swell, but whatever. There’s still decent stuff, but it’s also in the middle of painfully slow pacing, and some dull padding in the middle that just seems to exist to fill page counts. Plus a particular relationship centered around this book that feels both overwrought and underwritten at points . It’s weird, and kind of developing into a bit of a love/hate relationship between me and the series.
If book 4 ever appears we’ll see whether that sliding scale persists.
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Post by bibboid on Mar 22, 2024 0:24:49 GMT -5
An Alien Affair - book four in L Ron Hubbard’s Mission Earth series
The villain (Gris) follows the hero (Heller) to America to personally interfere with Heller’s plans. Things go very badly for everyone involved.
I was telling someone at work about these books and they asked, “If they are that bad then why are you reading them?” and “Do you realize that you are supporting Scientology by buying his books?” In the same way I love crap movies for the complete awfulness, I enjoy this series for the absolute train wreck that it is. And I will only buy these books now from second hand stores so it does not create royalties for the Hubbard estate.
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mystermystery
Dennis Stamp
Still in the White Hummer
Posts: 4,369
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Post by mystermystery on Mar 24, 2024 20:56:58 GMT -5
"Crow: Wicked Prayer" by Norman Partridge.
After watching the movie that the novel was based on, I was curious to see how the novel described aspects on screen...only to discover that the movie used like five things from the novel.
This is where Johnny Church and Kyra Damon (Yes, Church and "Demon" which is technically better than the movie where they are Crash and Burne) are using a mysterious book written in Latin to figure out a way to gain Crow powers by obtaining blue eyes from a "Crow" Native American. Their chosen victim is the girlfriend of Dan Cody, a cowboy who is ready to propose but instead finds himself in a situation where the woman he loves is murdered in front of him before he bites the dust himself. Thank goodness there is a Crow nearby to bring him back from the dead so he can not only get vengeance but keep Kyra from using the mystical book she stole to obtain Crow powers without the whole unjustified death thing.
From there, it's essentially a chase novel.
Oh, and Church and Damon have a talking shrunken head hanging out with them. Yep. Sure.
It was...interesting.
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Post by Ryback on a Pole! on Mar 24, 2024 22:48:20 GMT -5
Gave Ready Player 2 another chance.
It was just as shit as the first time.
The first book, I loved. It was just a lot of fun. This dragged on and on and on and on and the "quests" were way too convuluted (even more so than in RP1) and the world's were boring. Maybe I've had liked it more if I liked Prince or John Hughes movies, so I could get the references when they spend huge periods of time at those worlds.
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Post by bibboid on Mar 25, 2024 9:14:54 GMT -5
The Sixth Column by Robert Heinlein
Read it on a cross country flight. Set about 100 years in the future after China has absorbed Russia and invaded and conquered America. It is up to a half dozen men in a hidden scientific lab to fight back and save America. It is an odd mix of science bordering on magic, hobos, and raging anti-Asian racism. (It was written in the last 1940s when anti-Japanese sentiment was still running high)
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,164
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Post by agent817 on Apr 3, 2024 21:42:37 GMT -5
"Hustler's Queen" by Saundra (no last name; that is what the author refers to herself as)
I have gotten to into urban fiction, so I am more curious about these types of stories. I could see that this story was about some ordinary girl who is the daughter of a dry cleaners owner (who gets killed) and meets a guy who happens to be a drug dealer. However, she inherits his business. There were plenty of revelations and turns that happen, even though I am not sure where one twist happened. Maybe I should read it again to see some foreshadowing? Anyway, I enjoyed reading it.
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Post by Ryback on a Pole! on Apr 3, 2024 21:52:54 GMT -5
Reading through The Body by Stephen King.
Great book, but how the f*** does King even mange to add pointless filler to a novella (The Stud City side story--completely pointless and just derailed the story)
It's one of the main reasons I could never fully get into his books. Just too much fluff and filler and padding that should be cut. Before The Body, the last King book I read was Cujo, one third of the book was taken up by the cereal side story that was a complete waste of time.
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Post by Limity (BLM) on Apr 4, 2024 1:11:19 GMT -5
The Heartbeat Of Wounded Knee. Incredible book about the history of Native American tribes. A very easy, engrossing read.
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Post by The Legendary Ring Troll {BLM} on Apr 4, 2024 1:29:52 GMT -5
Reading through The Body by Stephen King. Great book, but how the f*** does King even mange to add pointless filler to a novella (The Stud City side story--completely pointless and just derailed the story) It's one of the main reasons I could never fully get into his books. Just too much fluff and filler and padding that should be cut. Before The Body, the last King book I read was Cujo, one third of the book was taken up by the cereal side story that was a complete waste of time. I love Stephen King. Insomnia was one of the first “big” books I read as a kid and even did a book report on. When I got to Cujo, I just could not get through that shit.
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Post by Ryback on a Pole! on Apr 4, 2024 1:40:33 GMT -5
Reading through The Body by Stephen King. Great book, but how the f*** does King even mange to add pointless filler to a novella (The Stud City side story--completely pointless and just derailed the story) It's one of the main reasons I could never fully get into his books. Just too much fluff and filler and padding that should be cut. Before The Body, the last King book I read was Cujo, one third of the book was taken up by the cereal side story that was a complete waste of time. I love Stephen King. Insomnia was one of the first “big” books I read as a kid and even did a book report on. When I got to Cujo, I just could not get through that shit. Of the King books I have read, Cujo is definitely the worse when it comes to padding--Dreamcatcher too. But Cujo it stands out because the cereal sideplot is literally just a crux to get the husband away and yet is a third of the book. That could have been handled by giving him a job as a travelling salesman who is away from home alot. There you go, sorted and 150 pages of guff are gone. Instead we got massive details about cereal advertising and the cereal making kid's urine turn green and the Cereal Professor and none of which matterded
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Post by Limity (BLM) on Apr 6, 2024 23:04:00 GMT -5
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. So I just finished this an hour ago. What did you think? First time I've read anything by Clive Barker.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,164
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Post by agent817 on Apr 6, 2024 23:39:23 GMT -5
"Robocop" by Ed Naha
Yes, it's the novelization of the film. I will say that it was interesting to some stuff that didn't make the final cut. I also think the climax was done differently in this version compared to the film. There was also a dog that had a big part in the climax at the steel mill.
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Post by thechase on Apr 7, 2024 2:50:41 GMT -5
Does Becky's entrance last night count?
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Post by 6pathsoftommy on Apr 7, 2024 3:15:09 GMT -5
As I've recently just gotten into Star Trek (I don't know why I didn't get into it sooner) starting with Enterprise (show and books) I have read: By the Book, What Price Honor?, and Surak's Soul. I'm currently on Daedalus.
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Post by nevthebassist on Apr 7, 2024 4:17:20 GMT -5
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. So I just finished this an hour ago. What did you think? First time I've read anything by Clive Barker. I've been a huge Clive Barker fan since my teens. Hellbound Heart is a perfect introduction to his work in my eyes. It's a nice quick read and sets a tone (and visually) that the Hellraiser adaptation managed to miss at times. I'd recommend the Books of Blood collection or Cabal if his work appealed to you.
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john84
Fry's dog Seymour
Proud Father of 3 :)
Posts: 22,760
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Post by john84 on Apr 7, 2024 5:39:44 GMT -5
It was an autobiography of a former Liverpool player called Mark Walters. Interesting read as a Liverpool fan. Or Aston Villa or Rangers since he played for them too.
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