The movie will never be better than the book. I’ll say it again for those in the back. Star picks up megaphone star “the movie will never be better than the book!“ @bookstodon@romancelandia@alttextgroup
I should cancel the Subterranean newsletter and unfollow them on all platforms. It is disheartening to know about all their books I would like to buy but will never be able to afford. Today's announcement is for a limited edition of Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future, the least expensive being $195. I'll have to be content with the ebook I already have.
I admit when it comes to knowledge of Peter Straub's work, I am lacking. I know of him thanks to his collaborations with Stephen King (The Talisman, Black House). When Straub passed away last Sept, I felt I had missed something by not enjoying his writing while he was still on this earth.
Many said at the time that Shadowland is his best work. I'm reading it now. Slow going, but good so far.
Ok, if you're in a book club and the book really doesn't speak to you...do you force yourself to finish it?
Maybe a result of being in the middle of a lengthy and serious writing project, but I've bounced out of a lot of books this year, and a lot of them have been from book club. Maybe I should be pushing myself more, but this isn't grad school, so...I don't know.
in the book clubs i participated in, there were always people who didn't read the book, they still showed up & helped out with the ritual drinking of the wine
i think if they're NEVER interested in reading, they'd eventually drift away but some members are always going to have more time to read than others
Recently, I brought a #book from an online seller. I had to the return it due to the low level damage that it had suffered in transit. This is not the first time that this has happend. I have noticed a marked deterioration in the quality of packaging used to transport #books bought online. Before envelopes were used that had bubbled wrapping inside and gave some sort of protection. Now one has to be thankful if paying 'top dollar' for a brand new #book and it arrives without any minor scrapes especially if it is just stuck in a standard cardboard envelope.
if they would ring & run i wouldn't even care since i work at home BUT this guy didn't even ring... argh!
& i feel like some of this is complete disrespect (he DOES make sure to get my actual signature for items shipped from well-known camera companies like Nikon or Adorama)
cameras are valuable, books are not?
why can't they assume if i'm signing for it, it's because i value it regardless of the driver's opinion of its value?
not at all related... the skyrocketing price of ebooks is caused by the skyrocketing costs of marketing & promotion that has far, far, far outpaced normal inflation
a book won't be visible on Amazon if you don't invest, some publishers are spending upwards of $1K a day on ads during a launch-- & these are the indies!
god knows what Simon & Schuster spends
& there's no guarantees anymore that a book will be profitable
If someone, who isn’t an avid reader says, “This is one of the best books I’ve ever read…” (assuming they aren’t talking about something they read when they were 5)
Do you think:
Wow, this must be a phenomenal book, I must find it immediately.
@Jennifer@Likewise@bookstodon agree it's my experience that folks who only read a few books but are strongly impacted by those few only read from the most obvious books so ...
People who rarely read aren't discovering hidden gems
I forgot to post yesterday with all the excitement, but I got a really interesting haul from my small, local library. A good mix, I think:
Blindness - Jose Saramago
Sad Little Men: How Public Schools Failed Britain - Richard Beard
Battersby Hats of Stockport - Rupert Battersby
East West Street - Philippe Sands
In the Castle of my Skin - George Lamming
Taxi For Kiev - Stephen Deponeo
Constable Along the River Bank - Nicholas Rhea
A Death in the Parish - Rev Richard Coles
The Tiger's Wife - Téa Obreht
I am Not Your Eve - Devika Ponnambalam
However, it's not going to help with getting through the to read pile I have already.
I missed (having never read it) the allusions to David Cooperfield in Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead (2022), but it still a very well written if (apart from the more upbeat ending) profoundly depressing tale of #opioids addiction, its supply & the social destruction it has wrought in Virginia (& elsewhere). In the end while appreciating the writing I found the relentlessness hard to take (but perhaps that was the point?).
yes, i think so... there are times & places when somebody has to say, enough with the hero's journey nonsense, some things aren't overcome just by sheer grit & determination or we'd all overcome everything if all we had to do was keep going
the destruction of his knee really hammered that home for me
I really enjoyed the book. An android with human-like features is nothing new in sci-fi, but I really liked this version. The main character android is very likeable.