EPT
What Are You Reading 2013 - Page 96
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corumjhaelen
France6884 Posts
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KillerSOS
United States4207 Posts
![[image loading]](http://thejubjubbird.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/orphans-tale-in-the-night-garden.jpg) Great book, very unique. 9/10 | ||
Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
Am I just biased and/or nostalgic or do they not make YA fantasy like they used to? Now they all look like Twilight ripoffs xP | ||
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Paljas
Germany6926 Posts
On August 01 2013 06:18 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: Read His Dark Materials again, for like the fourth time I think?; it's such a nice series, it was like the first series that made me really sad when I first read it as a little kid all those years ago haha. Am I just biased and/or nostalgic or do they not make YA fantasy like they used to? Now they all look like Twilight ripoffs xP The first two books were pretty good, but last book was terrible in my opinion. I cant quite say why i dislike it so much, but I guess that the pseudo science and the whole religion stuff played a role. But I really enjoyed the first book, maybe i will pick it up again. | ||
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farvacola
United States18838 Posts
On August 01 2013 06:18 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: Read His Dark Materials again, for like the fourth time I think?; it's such a nice series, it was like the first series that made me really sad when I first read it as a little kid all those years ago haha. Am I just biased and/or nostalgic or do they not make YA fantasy like they used to? Now they all look like Twilight ripoffs xP Hard for me to say. I enjoy stuff like Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, and The Giver. Is that long enough ago for me to be nostalgic for it? | ||
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Syn Harvest
United States191 Posts
On August 01 2013 03:03 packrat386 wrote: I dunno, I used to think I liked fantasy and sci-fi books, but now that I've read a lot of them they no longer feel like m favorite genre. There will always be a special place in my heart for Tolkein and Asimov, but on the whole I find myself disappointed more often than not. I feel that way about Sci-fi. I feel like most Sci-fi never lives up to the hype. I used to love it so much but even now going back and rereading some of the old stuff like Hyperion and more childish stuff it feels so mediocre. I have been reading Ender's Game something I never read as a teenager or anything and it feels so boring and Ender especially I don't find to be an interesting character whatsoever. As I get older I find myself more and more drawn to simply regular fiction and classic literature without and fantastical or surreal aspects. However I will say a special place exists in my heart for the work of Haruki Murakami. I think the man is simply brilliant and I love his books I am slowly making my way through all of them. I am about to start The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. | ||
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
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docvoc
United States5491 Posts
On August 01 2013 14:22 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: I find Murakami novels incredibly trite and boring. In contrast, I find stuff like Hyperion and Ender's Game much more imaginative and riveting. Really? I read Kafka on the Shore and the book absolutely fascinated me. His style and the plot line were fantastic. I guess it's a matter of taste in books though, I can definitely see a lot of people not liking Murakami because he can be very dry. | ||
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
I've read Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, and the Wind Up Bird Chronicle, and the first few pages of 1Q84, and it was just a continuous experience of more-of-the-same. | ||
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Dirkzor
Denmark1944 Posts
On August 01 2013 02:51 corumjhaelen wrote: Yeah anyway feeling superior because you read fantasy is silly. + Show Spoiler + I'll find my way out -------->[]  | ||
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maru~
2345 Posts
On August 01 2013 15:04 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: It's less the fact that he's dry, but more the fact that after reading ~50 pages of Murakami, you pretty much have read all of Murakami. There's no denying that all of Murakami's works are extremely similar and , dare I say, repetitive. It's great if you're a fan of his style, then you just get more of what you love, but for someone who's at best apathetic towards that style such as myself, it's hard to find the motivation to read more Murakami. I've read Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, and the Wind Up Bird Chronicle, and the first few pages of 1Q84, and it was just a continuous experience of more-of-the-same. Norwegian Wood is very different from Kafka and Wind-Up Bird, and concluding everything is the same after reading 3 books might be a bit hasty. | ||
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Salteador Neo
Andorra5591 Posts
I literally thought I was reading the last book. I did drop it on the spot, never looked back. | ||
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Carnivorous Sheep
Baa?21244 Posts
On August 01 2013 17:48 maru~ wrote: Norwegian Wood is very different from Kafka and Wind-Up Bird, and concluding everything is the same after reading 3 books might be a bit hasty. How were they different? Felt like the same thing to me. And those are 3 of his 4 most famous works, so I don't see how that's hasty. They're representative of his entire oeuvre, and it's not exactly an uncommon sentiment, even among those who've read everything Murakmi wrote, that his works are extremely similar. | ||
Flicky
England2666 Posts
On August 01 2013 18:44 Salteador Neo wrote: Well I could tell Dan Brown was always the same after reading around 12 pages of the second book I literally thought I was reading the last book. I did drop it on the spot, never looked back. Steven Erikson is like that too. Fortunately for me, I love his style. | ||
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corumjhaelen
France6884 Posts
 So much subleties, such an accurate analysis of relationships, and always with a lot of consideration for her characters. Time Passes reminded me of that famous ellipsis in Sentimental Education, but expanded. And that ending...Now, I'm tempted to pick up Thucydides. | ||
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maru~
2345 Posts
On August 01 2013 18:46 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: How were they different? Felt like the same thing to me. And those are 3 of his 4 most famous works, so I don't see how that's hasty. They're representative of his entire oeuvre, and it's not exactly an uncommon sentiment, even among those who've read everything Murakmi wrote, that his works are extremely similar. Norwegian Wood is realistic and down-to-earth, while the other 2 are quite heavy on fantasy and transcendentality. Judging the entirety of something after experiencing a small part of it is hasty (even if the conclusion might be correct). "They're representative of his entire oeuvre" - isn't that just your assumption? I won't deny that there are recurring themes, similar characters etc., but that doesn't mean that everything is the same or that "after reading ~50 pages of Murakami, you pretty much have read all of Murakami". | ||
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Syn Harvest
United States191 Posts
On August 01 2013 14:22 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: I find Murakami novels incredibly trite and boring. In contrast, I find stuff like Hyperion and Ender's Game much more imaginative and riveting. How is Ender's Game imaginative and riveting? Granted the concept of the novel is interesting with children geniuses trained as soldiers and the exploration of military minds effect on children, I think there is one major flaw with the book. Ender is too good at everything. Everything that he comes across he instantly conquers and nothing is a challenge for him. Games that the other children have been playing for years he comes in and destroys them at the games with virtually no experience whatsoever. He comes up with new ways of playing the games without ever havbing played them. The characters in the book are flat and boring. There is virtually zero character development. | ||
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Prog455
Denmark970 Posts
On August 01 2013 18:46 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: How were they different? Felt like the same thing to me. And those are 3 of his 4 most famous works, so I don't see how that's hasty. They're representative of his entire oeuvre, and it's not exactly an uncommon sentiment, even among those who've read everything Murakmi wrote, that his works are extremely similar. At this point in time A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance are my two favorite novels, and have read most of his novels (that are translated to English) aside from Norwegian Woods, but i have to agree that his themes are extremely similiar. Women with beautiful ears are very common in his works, and most of his male characters enjoy swimming. Furthermore next to all of his characters like Classical music. In my opinion The Wind-Up Bird and 1Q84 is his weakest novels. The Wind-Up Bird was very enjoyable for the first half of the novels, but it got a bit long at the end. What i didn't like about 1Q84 is that the main characters are quite dull compared to most of his other characters. They are simply too good at almost everything they do, which makes them very boring. Also he is much better at first-person narrative than third-person. Also thank you Carnivorous Sheep for recommending some sci-fi. | ||
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maru~
2345 Posts
On August 01 2013 23:52 Prog455 wrote: At this point in time A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance are my two favorite novels, and have read most of his novels (that are translated to English) aside from Norwegian Woods, but i have to agree that his themes are extremely similiar. Women with beautiful ears are very common in his works, and most of his male characters enjoy swimming. Furthermore next to all of his characters like Classical music. ![[image loading]](http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/06/03/books/review/Snider-sub/Snider-sub-custom1.jpg) | ||
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corumjhaelen
France6884 Posts
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