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Dust off a seat and discuss a good book here...you do read, right?

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I know there's been a couple of attempts at a CYS book club (I think I started one at some point and then got bored) but... Fuck it, why the hell not try again? I've started a little side gig selling delicious cupcakes and usually spend my baking time listening to audiobooks of classic literature, which means I have no excuse this time.

I'm thinking of generally sticking to stuff in the public domain, since it's free and you can easily find them online as both text and audiobooks.

Figured it would be good to start off with something short, so as there's not too much pressure and people won't just get bored and stop reading. A few ideas are:

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (274 pages)

Call of the Wild (232 pages)

To Kill a Mocking Bird (281 pages)

Of Mice and Men (107 pages)

Animal Farm (112 pages)

or, if you'd like something really short:

The Masque of the Red Death (60 pages)

... Nice and appropriate. ^_^

Anyone interested in reading any of those?

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I'd go with either Call of the Wild or To Kill a Mockingbird, since if you haven't already read those, then wtf is wrong with you?

But I believe BZ is a long time fan of Animal Farm.

Seems smart to start with books most of us are probably shows familiar with though, no excuse that way, nothing needed but to refresh on it and discuss.

Also I hope you're bringing cupcakes for the whole class.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Here!

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I'll take the lemon one.

(Damn now I'm hungry for real...)

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

It sounds like fun, but I don't think my Mom nor Dad is willing to buy me these books or take me to a store where they sell them. 

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
There will be free online copies of any of these, they're all old enough.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Oh, okay! I'll join the book club, then.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Cool, a book club!

Some of those titles I’ve read before, I’ll see what I can do about the rest :)

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Sounds fun! I would totally do it if there are free online copies. Perfect timing actually, I have pretty much read every book in my house at least 3 times, some even more, and other than CYS I have literally no way to read new books. 

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Oh, sounds like fun! I've allready read Of mice and men and animal farm before, but it was a long time ago. The other ones were still on my reading list.

I do have some questions. Will the bookclub be kept on this thread/how was the previous one organized?

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Yeah, kept in this thread. And I guess each member takes turns choosing a different book to read and we all review it at the end of the month (or whenever everyone is finished. Whichever's quickest.) ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Okay, how about everyone gives a vote on which books they'd most like to read. (I've already read them all, and am very happy to read any of them again.) ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Either "To Kill a Mocking Bird" or "Animal Farm".

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Count me in! To kill a mockingbird it is. I want to see what the whole hype around that book is all about.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Okay, haha 9 days too late, but I have finally read the darn book, so let's start right with my impressions. 

The first 8 chapters were boring as heck, no, they even bored me to tears. Jem and Scout were just being scared about some Boo Radley and harassing the poor fella for pages and pages. I just don't like reading about children being unnecessarily cruel like lord of the flies style. I'm just a bit tired of this kind of stuff, because I have seen it too many times. Plus, I honestly didn't give a crap about that subplot. 

There were some fun moments sprinkled through these chapters though. God, I love the whole black church side plot where Cal was taking Scout and Jem to the only black church in town. It really shows the whole segregation stuff nicely. I always thought that it was kind of weird that the US has black churches and white churches, so reading about it was kind of cool. Then there were many times that you can spot the subtle and not so subtle racism displayed by the townpeople. I believe I haven't heard so many different insults and uses of the N word before, or maybe I'm just not reading enough old books. (To be honest, usage of the N word here is kind of justified as this is basically a period piece and a showcase of the mindset of the people of their time, but boy this makes the book very unquotable)

Then, then, then, There was the build-up to the court scene. This was I guess the most 'fun' part for me. Look, I just adored the movie 11 angry men and this gave me the same vibes. Our boy Atticus was just slaying all arguments like it's nothing. God, I love the scene where he points out the left handedness of that Rob Ewell. Atticus is just way too fun to watch when he is in his lawyer mode. He is also a great dad btw.

The aftermath of the court scene went as expected. Our homy Tommy who was probably very innocent got convicted by our 'lovely' jury members. The thing that did surprise me was his death and the sudden death of Ewell. I don't know what to think of this ending. Ewell's death was kind of a cop out to me. It felt a little bit too happy for me. You know, bad racist guy died, everything is solved. That's not really how you handle systematic oppression, at least in my opinion. It's not as simple as "guys, we just kick out the bad people and only have the good people", that whole racism thing is probably a bit deeper than that. 

I think I would have liked it better that Ewell got away with the whole thing, because in real life karma for bad people like him doesn't exist, they get away with bad deeds. It would be more interesting if Scout has to live with that fact.

Also, how the heck, Boo just went and stopped Ewell from murdering the kids. It felt almost humurous that the guy they feared the most in the beginning became their ultimate saviour, talk about the irony. 

At last here are also the funny moments I noted. (These are just some highlights, otgerwhise the list will be way too long.)

Merryweather being merryweather

Tommy just got convicted and was found guilty by the jury although the fellow was not guilty.

miss merryweather: Hmm.. I don't get why my servants are so cranky today, is it the weather or something

Jem being an asshole

Scout: why is my brother such an asshole

Atticus: *shrugs* Oh well, boy's going through puberty

jem's pube-rty

jem: look scout, don't tell anyone

Scout: what is it?

Jem: it's a secret

Scout: what is it?

jem: *proudly shows a single belly hair*

the sheriff after the whole Ewell mcstabby fiasco

Sheriff: look Scout, we have found a dress 

scout: oh that pink one was mine

sheriff: we have also found a brown something with iron wire through it 

scout: .....

I played a ham during halloween.

Tom's conviction

*Jem crying

Jem: why, why, why, what's wrong with you people

Atticus: hey, at least he got an extra hour

Jem: bruh

the whole ham costume in general

Jem: okay, you can get rid of that costume now

Scout: no!

Jem:It's pretty difficult to run in it tho...

Scout: No!

Jem: come on I even brought you your dress

Scout: No!

*ewell mc murder shows up

jem: goddamnit scout get rid of that fucking costume

Scout: I DUN WANNA

during that weird tea party after the trial

one of the ladies: Oh jean louise what do you want to be 

Scout: i dunno

*Auntie alexandra looks expectantly*

scout: I wanna be a lady!

lady: (.....) better put on a dress missy

dill in general

dill: I wanna marry Scout!

Scout: heck yeah!

Dill: *only hangs out with Jem

Our boy raymond 

 jeremy: can I get some of that magic juice

Raymond: sure kid, my super magic juice

*Jeremy gulps the shit down

Jeremy: what the fuck bro, I thought it was the good stuff

Raymond: TrOlololol it's just coke

ULTIMATE CONCLUSION

fun book, it did make me emotional once so that's a bonus. The beginning was darn slow, but the other parts kind of justify that slog. Regarding its message and the time period it was written on (around 1960), it has a very progressive view on this whole subject and it doesn't shy away from it. If it was written during this time, people may say that it is "hamfisted" or "forced", but I think that this book serves the same great purpose just like uncle tom's cabin did years before. People ain't gonna get the message unless you spell it out for them, especially not folks living in the 60's. 

So I kind of get why this book is so applauded and yeah, I would probably recommend it to someone. However, I probably won't reread it in its entirety. (The first part was such a slog)

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Pretty sure it's 12 Angry Men... And YES! That movie was brilliant! Everybody stop what you're doing right now and go and watch it! ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
12 Angry men is my favorite film. It's a masterpiece. The amount of storytelling it manages in its short run time makes a mockery of most other films.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I only just discovered it like a month ago, and all I could think was, "How the fuck have a gone almost my entire life without ever hearing of this movie? Everybody stop going on about Citizen Kane and start talking about this instead!"

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
There was a shoddy remake, I forget what year, that tarnished the name of the movie somewhat. Everyone I've shown the movie to has been very skeptical at first, but they come around.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

"To Kill a Mocking Bird," because I already found a copy online and started reading it. 

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

To Kill a Mocking Bird it is!

Here's a link to an online version.

And here's a link to an audiobook.

Let's all regroup on the 1st of April, or whenever we're all finished. Whichever comes first. ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I'll give this thing a shot, count me in too :)

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

i'll join seems fun

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I'm a bit late, but count me in. Why not?

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
It's never too late for the CYS Book Club!

Never.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Yes! But you're going to have to binge To Kill a Mocking Bird in 4 days :p

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Okay, one small but large problem: I've been busy with school so I haven't really been able to read the book.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I've been busy with school too, but I have been reading it today and will probably read it tomorrow because I have nothing else to do. 

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Just watch the movie and pretend you read it. :p

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
It's not a large book, it can be read over a weekend if there's nothing else going on.

Or maybe just extend this till next weekend since there's suddenly more interest.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I don't think I have time to reread TKAM this weekend but excellent choice, I've read it twice and seen the old black and white movie too. Everyone in the other IF communities would be too triggered by certain words and the reality of history to enjoy this masterpiece, and that's their loss.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I completely forgot we were doing this.

But I'm sure I remember enough from previous reading to fake it.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

After I'm done with the reviews I'm tempted to do a review on a couple of pieces of fine literature.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
^I'd much rather read those than the originals anyway! ^v^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

One book I'd love for you to do is Of Mice and Men. It's one of my favorite books and I'd love to see what you think about it.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Okay children time to hand in your book reports. Lets hear your thoughts on one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time! ^_^

...

...

... And none of you read it, did you? >.<

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Everybody read the book!

April Fool's!

Haha, actually nobody did.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I read a little of it. I also read a book like it last semester for my English class.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

It was pretty good.I like the part where, uh, Scout wears a ham. I appreciated the racial slurs. Atticus seems like he's good at being a lawyer. Also, the movie was good. 

That's all I remember from ninth grade English 

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I read this book in eighth grade and didn't care for it at all.  So about four years ago I picked it up again and read it, and I still didn't like it.  I find Lee's prose style uninteresting.  I like the notion of the book, and I appreciate what she is doing, but I don't like it as a narrative, and other than some of Finch, the characters leave me pretty cold.  I know many, many, many people adore this book, but as for me, it leaves me completely cold.  I know this sort of thing is impossible to fully articulate, I'd be interested to hear why it's one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time for you, Avery.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Wow, you must be some kind of racist.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Only plausible explanation. ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

... The book is amazing and you are wrong! >.<

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I didn't have much time to, I'm sorry. :[

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I read it.

Not terrible, though I don't see what all the hype was about.

Most of the book had a "memoir of summer vacation" vibe, despite taking place over a few years. The rape trial had me hooked, but the rest of the book was just sort of there. The way they presented the education system, though...well, let's just say not much has changed.

Overall, it wasn't really my thing, or maybe I'm just too engrossed in fantasy at this point.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I see, I see. Does your teacher often slap you with rulers or tell the other kids in your segregated classroom to dip their heads in kerosene?

You can probably report that, you know.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Room for a latecomer?

My first time reading it and all I knew about it before hand was that it wasn't about killing birds. It took me a little while to get into the story at the start, but i kept going and I'm glad I did as I liked it. I didn't expect the Boo Radley character to end up saving the kids in the end that was a nice surprise. I found the trial and how that was affecting everything interesting. Despite the story making it clear Tom was going to get a raw deal I still found myself saying "WTF come on!" to the verdict.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I liked it :) I like the fairly unique way the adult author is writing back in her childhood's voice and it comes across as very autobiographical (which it is) and image-invoking. There are a few things I didn't particularly care for like the kind of white saviour role of Atticus Finch (who I think is a bit over-hyped and doesn't really challenge the system sufficiently) and the old lady with the drug addiction character whose deathbed rejection of her drug dependency seems to me to put the children through unnecessary trauma.

There are some things it seems to me that Harper Lee gets absolutely spot-on though like her portrayal of the white trash family the Ewells and the whole Boo Radley, Dill showing up at summers thing seems a very accurate portrayal of childhood. Some of the writing seems clearly contrived in places, even by the characters, as I think on some level Scout knew what she was doing when she manipulated the feelings of the rather half-hearted lynch mob and other times she seems to kind of put an extra country tang into her anecdotes to tell the story.

I like the fact they just let the crazy guy who knifed someone to death go on his merry way which shows a very selective application of justice, which together with the conviction of the innocent Tom Robinson, seems that Lee is suggesting that the justice system that Finch works within is totally broken. Finally, I really like the 1962 movie but the biggest problem in it for me (and Roger Ebert) is that the white characters just totally accept Robinson was killed trying to escape police custody which might show a misplaced faith in the racial tolerance and acceptance of law enforcement officers in the deep south in the 1930's - maybe he was or maybe he wasn't (he was lodging potentially successful appeals at the time of his death). Now more than ever people are becoming aware of excessive violence towards people of colour by some law officers.

It is also interesting for me because of how it relates to real life cases like the Scottsboro boys and Emmett Till (see here or you history buffs https://famous-trials.com/). It seems like these kind of trials like Tom Robinson's crop up all over the South in the sort of 1865-1950 period.

Book report done. :)

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I think the movie kind of bungles that because it's not as explicitly framed from Scout's perspective. In the book, it's pretty obvious that everyone except Scout knows what happened, but she's recounting her perspective on events as they seemed when she was a child instead of recounting them objectively 

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Yeah, I agree. There were bits of the movie I really liked though like the trial and the childhood stuff, I prefer the Scout voice from the book though. I'm not aware of any other books where an adult author has gone back and so accurately used a child's perspective (though there is stuff from children's perspective of course but not retroactively and not usually as social commentary either).

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I recommend Tom Sawyer. Many shenanigans. ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Commended by mizal on 4/1/2021 8:48:40 PM

You are all very bad and naughty children! (Except for Valladar. All the cupcakes are for you.) You all either didn't read the book, in which case you are very, very naughty, or you read the book and didn't like it, in which case you are stupid and your opinion is wrong (also probably racist. Shame on you!) Well, I guess I'll do a book review all by myself.

To Kill A Mocking Bird is easily one of my favourite books of all time, (probably my absolute favourite.) I really have a soft spot for coming of age stories, and while Scout is still a young child by the end of the book, I still feel like it's a coming of age story due to how much she witnesses in such a short space of time. She's going to school and finding out that the education system is holding her back rather than helping her. Her big brother is growing up and no longer wants to play with her all the time like they did when they were little. Her elders all think it's time she outgrew her tomboyish ways and try to turn her into a lady, but most importantly, she's learning a lot about the cruel, harsh realities of the world she lives in.

I've got to say that I really love Scout's character and I enjoy the simple purity of her thought processes and her innocent confusion on human values that just don't make any sense. One scene that comes to mind is when Jem is trying to figure out the results of the trial and comes to the conclusion that there are four kinds of folks in the world. Normal folks, poor folks, scum of the earth folks and black folks. The normal folks look down on the poor folks, the poor folks look down on the scum of the earth folks and the scum of the earth folks look down on the black folks. Scout can't make any sense of his theory and says, "I think there's only one kind of folks. Just folks." Honestly, I think this one little trait is what makes her such a great character. Everybody is trying to tell her what to think, but she doesn't believe something just because everybody tells her too, she thinks about things carefully and decides right and wrong for herself (usually after a discussion with Atticus.)

Now let's talk about Atticus. Honestly, I think that Atticus Finch is the greatest literary character of all time. And really, her doesn't even need to do much to achieve that title. Plain and simple, he's just a good man. He's not the greatest father in the world but he does the best he can do. I really like the fact that he speaks to his children as if he were speaking to an adult, not sugar coating anything or trying to shield them from the cold realities of the world, but still trying to explain things to them in a way that they can understand. He teaches his children right from wrong, he stands up for what he believes in and he does the right thing. Even when the whole world is against him and even though he knows he's fighting a battle he can't win.

As for the court case, one interesting thing that stuck me from this time reading it that I didn't realize before, we, as the readers, don't actually know if Tom is innocent. We do not witness the event through the book, we only witness the court case. We as readers have no more and no less information about the case that the people in the court room did. That said, it's obviously unanimously accepted that Tom is innocent because all the evidence points that way. Which, of course, is why it's so heart breaking when he gets found guilty. With all the evidence stacked in his favour, it's unlikely that even the jury thought he was guilty. They just convicted him because he was a black man being accused by a white woman. Honestly, even the fact that they managed to get one juror to vote not guilty is a pretty huge achievement for the time.

Now for all you people who didn't read the book (and for those ho did, 'cos why the fuck not?) I very highly recommend you watch the old 1962 To Kill A Mocking Bird movie. The film is an absolutely gorgeous adaptation. Gregory Peck portrays Atticus Finch perfectly (infact I think I might go as far to say that I prefer the Gregory Peck portrayal of Atticus to the character from the books.) The trial scene is incredibly hard hitting and the confrontation with Mr Cunningham just melts my heart.

Final note, to all the people who enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird (basically everyone who's not a freak of nature like Gower!) I recommend giving Go Set A Watchman a read. The only other book ever published by Harper Lee

For some reason the book was marketed as a sequel to To Kill A Mocking Bird... It is not. At all. From what I understand, Go Set A Watchman was the original First Draft of To Kill A Mockingbird. (The publishers liked the story but preferred the scenes from Scout's childhood, and asked Harper Lee to rewrite the entire book with Scout as a child protagonist.) There's quite a few noticeable differences that make it impossible to be a sequel (most notable, in Go Set A Watchman, Atticus actually won the Tom Robinson case.)

Go Set A Watchman takes place several years after the events of To Kill A Mocking Bird. Scout is now a young woman and poor Jem has died of the same heart disease that killed his mother. Returning from the big city to visit her father, Scout is horrified to find that tensions between the white and black citizens of Maycomb county have gotten even worse since she was a child. Black rights movements and legislations to end segregation have not exactly gone down well in the South. So much so that even Atticus thinks that things are moving too fast in favour of black rights and that the people of Maycomb aren't ready for such drastic changes. Essentially, Scout's heart is broken when she learns that her father, who she always looked up to, to guide her as her moral compass, isn't the faultless man with all the answers that she thought him to be.

The book got a lot of critisicm and backlash for essentially turning the world's most beloved fictional character into a big old racist, but I actually found it a really interesting read. While I do love the character of Atticus in To Kill A Mockingbird, I think that Go Set A Watchman shows that the image that Scout had of Atticus in To Kill A Mocking Bird was seen through rose tinted glasses. It was the image of an ideal father as seen from a child who loved and admired him, remembering all his virtues and none of his faults. Go Set A Watchman somehow reinstates and shatters that image at the same time.

Anyways, that's all I can think to say and I'm sleepy. Mizal was the first person to join the book club, so she gets to choose the next book! That said, I'm too cheap to buy anything, so something in the public domain (or at least something with a full audiobook available) would be appreciated. ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Oh, l'll think about a new book, and make sure it's one easy to download by somebody that's dead.

I still need to post my takes (and read the rest of yours) but that's probably going to have to wait until tomorrow. I'm operating on a week of three hour sleeps and only capable of shitposting atm.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Mmmm cupcakes!

Will have to look up Go Set A Watchman

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Never read it but I remember there was some controversy about it, Harper Lee had chosen not to have it published for years and years and was basically pressured into it by family when she was old and maybe not in full control of things.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Actually, from what I understand, it was the opposite. Her family really didn't want the book to be published and it was her publishers who pressured her to publish it only after her sister died.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Oh, maybe so, I didn't really look into it that far.

Can't decide which of those scenarios is more or less shitty.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Come on Mizal, choose a book, I have Easter Cupcakes ready! ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Instead of a specific book that no one will read, everyone should revisit a beloved book from their childhood and discuss it and anything that may have changed about your perspective on it now that you're older.

Or just any book you like, if you are currently a child.

And I'm taking all of those cupcakes so I hope you brought some for everybody else.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I'm going to read Harry Potter! ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I'm going to read Out of the Silent Planet, by C.S. Lewis.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
No way...I...I didn't think anybody else would know about that. That's exactly the book I was thinking about when I saw this post an hour ago.

This is my copy from high school, worse for wear, spending the better part of a year in my backpack. I really dragged my feet finishing the third book.

Worse for wear.jpg

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I have never heard of this. Is this set in the Narnia Universe or somewhere completely different? ^_^

Edit: And how the fuck do people keep posting images like this? >.<

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I don't know what happened there, and I can't try to fix it now. Anyway, no, Lewis wrote the space trilogy quite independently from Narnia. He and Tolkein agreed to each write science fiction as they both felt there hadn't been much good written in the genre lately. That is, if my memory from back then can be trusted.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

What did Tolkien write? ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Nothing. He started somekind of time traveling book, I think, but never finished it. Relatable.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Shame. Would've liked to see some time travelling hobbits. ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
That cover art owns.

Never read this series but I've heard of it. Just Narnia as a kid and then some of the non fiction stuff.

If you post images with the RTE you need to remove the float;left or float;right bit because that's what keeps causing this when somebody replies. I've fixed a few of your pictures over the last few days.


I was thinking of doing either Homecoming or Ghosts I Have Been, but I should probably just stick with Watership Down since that's the meme.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Thanks for the fix. I'll avoid the mistake in the future. Curious though because I do not have Use RTE checked.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Can't go wrong with Watership Down.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Never actually read it... Can we not just make Watership Down this month's book instead? ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Only if I wanted this to be a flop, because the meme is me trying to convince everyone on the planet to read Watership Down, and then they never do it, ever.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I'll read it! ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
It's probably too advanced for a Potter fan.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Just do Watership Down, I mean people can at least always half ass their way through it by watching the cartoon.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Nah, people are already committed to reading other things so I'm not going to change it now. And I'm interested in reading people's thoughts on other books they potentially used to be as obsessed with as I was with this one.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I can do both, and then compare the two. :p

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I watched the movie this morning. Pretty good. I don't think the movie bothers to tell you that the new home is called "Watership Down" though. Which is weird. I'm reading any detailed summaries I can find. I want to know the differences.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Funnily it's not called that in the book either, except by the narrator. It's an IRL hill on a map in England, and they're a bunch of illiterate rabbits, they don't know shit.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I didn't read books as a kid but I did use to watch the cartoon movie most weekends on video tape. I've got it on DVD now and still watch it from time to time.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Just please don't watch the CGI remake. Your eyes will burn out. :(

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Oh I sadly did and I can't express enough how much i hated it! Original was much better.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Original is probably one of my favourite cartoons ever. ^_^

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Never could get into the cartoon. Having read the book first, something about the voices always bugged me, and the animation is so lacking in detail. Got spoiled early on Disney I guess.

I always find it funny how many kids were traumatized by it because their parents saw cartoon rabbits on the DVD cover though. Although the book itself isn't excessively grim, I always found it pretty wholesome and uplifting and basically the perfect adventure story.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

I really like the animation! I like how super accurately the rabbits move. ^_^

... And wait, you're telling me that the book doesn't have adorable rabbit blood spewing everywhere? Fuck this shit, I'll read Plague Dogs instead. :p

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
I liked how all the rabbits moved except for Cowslip.

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago

Oh yeah, the excessively camp bunny. :p

CYS Book Club?

3 years ago
Back in my old job I lent a guy my DVD of plague dogs, but I did warn him I'd not let his little kid watch it. He stuck it on for the kid and went to have a shower then later his wife came storming in yelling at him about it.
He didn't find the situation as funny when I laughed about it. Perhaps I watched too much cartoon bunny death as a kid.

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3 years ago

Next time lend him Padak. ^_^

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3 years ago
My wife walked over this morning while I was watching it. The timing was pretty much perfect.

"What are you watching? A cartoon about rabbits? Cute."

"Yeah," I said, "but this one gets pretty wild."

*Immediate death threats and violence*

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3 years ago

Funnily enough, listening to the audiobook of Watership Down is making me appreciate the cartoon even more. The attention to detail is amazing. I mean, the lines in the movie are almost word for word that same as in the book, but what I find interesting is that so much of the movement described in the book is replicated in the movie. Just little things like "Hazel went summersaulting into the bushes" or, "The cat gingerly licked it's front paw, trying not to look affronted" that I really appreciate they took the time to animate as accurately to the book's description as possible. ^_^

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3 years ago

Oh wow, the unabridged version is even better for these sort of comparisons. There's a part right at the beginning that says "When a bumblebee came humming, Fiver jumped and spun round with a start." And I definitely remember that part in the cartoon and it's animated exactly as it's described. ^_^

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3 years ago

Just remembered a cartoon series of Watership Down I used to watch when I was little. Will have to re-watch some episodes. ^_^

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3 years ago

... Well, that was strange. Thought to my self, "would be nice to see the cartoon from the beginning since I only discovered it when it was already half way through the story." ... Turns out I did see the cartoon from the beginning. For some reason they decided to start the show half way through the story.

I don't even mean, they've already found Watership Down and now they have to deal with the trouble from Efrafa half way through the story, I mean it literally starts when the rabbits are halfway through the journey to Watership Down and they're all saying, "You know, I'm getting a bit fed up of travelling all the time. Kind of miss the old warren. I wonder if it really did get destroyed in a horrible catastophe like Fiver said it would. Oh well, guess we'll never know." ... Just why? >.<

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3 years ago

Listening to the audiobook of Watership Down. I think I will be forever happy now, knowing that the scene in the movie where the rabbits are trying to help Kehaar and Kehaar yells "Piss off!" is actually cannon. ^_^

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3 years ago
Kehaar is such a great character in a story full of great characters, and the second half of the book really wouldn't work at all without him. I'm rereading it now and just about at the point he shows up.

Ever since I started paying a little attention to what actually goes on under the hood of putting a story together, it's always impressed me that this one managed to juggle so many characters with distinctive personalities, and just kept introducing more as the book went on without ever collapsing in on itself the way so many do when the author goes overboard.

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3 years ago
Having only watched the movie, my experience with Kehaar was guided by the voice actor. I was annoyed for the first 5 seconds, then deeply amused the rest of the time. His role in the last stretch of the story was critical.

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3 years ago

... Well fuck. I was about to said that Watership Down had a habit of including a lot of pointless characters who never actually said or did anything and were just sort of there, but I've looked into it a bit more and it turns out that the audiobook of Watership Down that I listened to was an abridged version. I mean, it did say that it was an abridged version but I just kind of assumed that they got rid of some of the "he said", "she said" parts since the reader had a very distinctive voice for each rabbit. Nope. I guess it left out a whole lot. And now I shall find the unabridged version and read it again. ^_^

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3 years ago

Found a full audio book and very glad I decided to listen to it. It's considerably better than the abridged version and has a lot more info. I really like the explainations of the rabbit's names and what they mean (particularly enjoyed the fact that the name Bigwig literally means... Well... Big Wig. :p )

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3 years ago

SO glad I found the full version. The abridged version was alright, but the full version is wonderful! Thanks for recommending it, Miz. ^_^

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3 years ago
Just happy someone actually read the thing. The last time I got anyone to try it was Patar/3iguy a couple years ago, and he just said he was used to YA novels and all the imagery was too much.

It's a hard sell because, well, it's talking rabbits and the first few pages are a slow start, but I'm convinced no one is capable of actually disliking it if they give it time to get rolling. All the characters are just too likeable.

Also I've always felt people in the business of abridging books should be blinded and castrated, and this hasn't changed my opinion.

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3 years ago

They're in Cowslip's warren at the moment, and I'm really enjoying the contrast between the two groups of rabbits.

"Check out this awesome mosaic!"

"The fuck's a mosaic?"

"Well, it's like a picture made of stones."

"The fuck's a picture?"

"Well you put a group of stones together and make a shape."

"The fuck's a shape?"

"... Nevermind." ^_^

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3 years ago

Gonna read the Percy Jackson series. 

 

Edit after reading: I still enjoy the book. I liked how Riordan explianed the whole Greek gods coming to america. I also realized that the man who guarded Olympus was reading Harry Potter. He also read Twilight in the last book. He did a great job building the world with a slow story that has very well written action in between scenes. Every part is tense and you don't know how the hero's will solve the problem. 9/10. 

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3 years ago

Ooh, this sounds cool! I would like to join; I shall be reading Redwall by Brian Jacques. 

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3 years ago
That's another one I considered, it's on the short list with books I not only read as a kid, but read multiple times.

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3 years ago

I've only read it once, and that was quite a while ago. It'll definitely be interesting to go back and see what I missed on my first read-through, especially since I was so young.

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3 years ago

Unfortunately a lot of my collection from several years ago has been sold, so I'm really digging into my stuff for this one. I think I'll be reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis since it's one of the remaining few that I've kept.

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3 years ago
I was thinking of working on Hop on Pop, but I'm going to have to find some time to actually read it again...

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3 years ago

Changing my book to Green Eggs and Ham. ^_^

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3 years ago
So I'm reading the first couple pages and the clear animal abuse I'm seeing in just unbelievable. Who would put these poor dogs in cups? Why? Does the humane society know about this? Oh wait. Was this not that kind of review?

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3 years ago

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3 years ago
Excellent drawing!

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3 years ago
Commended by mizal on 4/6/2021 7:17:26 PM
Hop on Pop. By Dr. Seuss. The cover of this one really sets the stage for the book. There’s two kids jumping up and down on pop. Pop looks a bit surprised, but also kind of accepting. This has clearly happened before, and he’s used to it, but maybe not both at one time. Anyone whose ever seen little kids playing with their dads knows this is a pretty accurate representation of kids, how they play, and how they see their parents (as playthings that exist to entertain them). Getting into the meat of the story, the first section features dogs and cups. Of course, they’re not just dogs, but actually pups. This may have been done specifically for the rhyming scheme, but I suspect Mr. Seuss here was really going for relatability. If the readers of this classic work were expected to be younger folks, by making the dog a “pup,” there is an opportunity for the reader to really relate to the book and really feel involved. Also, the pup goes up, and if there were an old, decrepit “Old Yeller” type here, the book might start to feel slightly incredible and unbelievable. You can only stretch the truth so far, even with the younger generation. Okay, based on what younger people believe about politics today, maybe there is no limit. But this book was written in 1960. Yes, the official publication date was 1963, but rumor has it that the book was actually completed in 1960 but there were contract and editorial arguments that delayed the publication of the book for years. The next chapter brings into play a group with balls and bats. What is really interesting here is the amount of play going on on the top of a rather narrow, yet quite tall wall. The balls look generic, but a couple people appear to have juggling balls, another is kicking what might be a soccer ball, another has pitched what must be a baseball to someone else with a bat, and the final two look to be playing with a basketball. But all the balls are colored red. I am not sure any of those balls are typically red. One has to wonder if balls are not red to hide when people bleed on them, as when this book was written, people did often bleed on balls and then play with them, as was the tradition of the time. As you might expect, before the chapter is over, all of the orange-suited creatures have fallen off the wall. Some say this very scene was the influence for the character of “Humpty Dumpty,” not of Digital Underground fame, but of the story (which was contested in trademark court for decades by representatives of Mr. Seuss, but unsuccessfully). Next the story takes a very quick change. We leave the area of the wall and the people falling with their balls and shift over to wildlife. There are two simple folks that are out for a nature walk who get chased by some massively oversized hornets. They do manage to avoid the hornets by hiding under a tree that has some blue fish in it. There is no backstory given for the fish, so one is left to assume that a nearby fisherman was simply storing them while he went down to the local bait shop for some more beer. We shift over to the bait shop in the next section, where we are allowed to learn more about the character of Pat, the fisherman without any beer. He spends some time at the bait shop and takes a number from the cold cuts counter. While waiting for his turn, he tries to find a few different places to sit down, but cannot find a comfortable location until he heads back outside where he finds a nice, soft bat upon which to wait. He then finds his beer and heads out for a walk with his two kids. The kids clearly talk way too much and Pat drinks a little too much beer, so he finds a clearing where he lies down to take a quick nap. The kids eventually notice that he’s missing and they backtrack until they find him napping and they immediately commence with jumping on his beer-inflated belly. He gets a little angry with them, but they make up and the three of them head back to grab the fish out of the tree before they head home. The story ends with what appears to be an excerpt from an upcoming book that apparently never happened. There is a bit where someone is asking about a strange language, and another promises to answer their questions another day. It is rumored that that was part of the editorial arguments that delayed the publication of the initial book. Mr. Seuss wanted to include another chapter that showed the family returning home and taking some of the ball players to the hospital. The editorial board didn’t like the color of the hospital, which led to the initial dispute. They finally agree to allow it, but in a sequential book. However, despite the lead-in to the second book in this one, that second book never saw publication. Serious Seuss collectors believe that there is a manuscript in existence containing that book, but if it does exist, the public has never seen it. If it were to be revealed today, it would likely be priceless. I did enjoy this book, both when I first read it and when I read it again for this review. I do suggest it if you can find the time to set aside to read the entire thing at one sitting. I have been unable to find it in an online free version anywhere, but you can sit in the Barnes and Noble and read it, and many libraries do have a copy of it, despite its age. You might also find videos that include pages from the book, and you can pause the video to read the words if you like. I’m interested in what others might see that I have missed in this complex, heartwarming, family story.

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3 years ago
You forgot to mention the racist underpinnings of the story, but otherwise a great dive into a deep text.

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3 years ago
Honestly, to avoid additional harm to affected people groups, I did intentionally avoid those discussions. I feel that bringing them up again might open old wounds from people who read this book in the early years while in prison, school, or some other oppressive environment.

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3 years ago

I think you're thinking of "If I Ran the Zoo" :p

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3 years ago

Well, we have then alone in the world by hector malot, goddamnit I cried when the monkey died. Such a nice children's book. 

The brothers lionheart was also one of my favourites, haha.

And I guess all books from thea beckham. 

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3 years ago
Crap I forgot about this one sorry. I'm blaming the house move and definitely not me being lazy.

Well I didnt read as a kid so I picked Watership Down as I'd watched the movie most weekends, and what are movies if not just moving picture books? I did read the book last year and I loved it! I think the author did a good job telling the story threw the eyes of the rabbits and keeping their behaviour mostly to things a rabbit would be capable of doing.

One thing I did think when comparing the book to the film was is the General really such an evil bunny? The film for me gives the impression Woundwort is just evil end of story, but the book revealing his tragic early life makes me wonder if he's just a mentally scarred bunny doing what he thinks is best to keep his lot safe. But then again I often tend to prefer the evil characters.

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3 years ago
Well most people who do evil shit have some kind of background that led them to do those things. Running an authoritarian police state forcing all these rabbits into these unnatural lives against their will, and killing and making "examples" of the ones who try to escape is pretty evil no matter how you slice it though, he caused way more misery to others than was ever caused to him. Having a sad backstory can explain a lot of things, but not excuse them.

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3 years ago
Yes true. Doing wrong for what you think are the right reasons is still wrong. Of course he could just power hungry bunny doing wrong for his own benefit too.

Edit to add an after thought that came to me while driving the car.
Can we apply human morality to rabbits? Animal do all sorts of stuff that if a human did it everyone would see as wrong and evil.
The description of the Sandelford warren in the book gives the impression that using violence to get what you want is a common occurrence among the rabbits. When two Owsla threaten to teach Hazel and Fiver that cowslips are for Owsler hazel says how he is sick of it and it's always the same thing. 'These are my claws, so this is my cowslip.' 'These are my teeth, so this is my my burrow.'
We're told the chief rabbit ruthlessly drove out any rabbits who seemed to be sickening when there was Myxomatosis going around. Which gives the impression the potentially sick rabbits didn't all leave of their own free will.

I'm not saying Woundwort isn't a bad. I think even by rabbit standards he probably still is, but wonder if the difference between him and other chief rabbits as wide as the film would have you believe.

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3 years ago

I do agree though. That's one of the main differences I noticed. The portrayal of Woundwort in the film was much darker, more brutal and just generally terrifying, whereas in the book he seemed far more militaristic. Like, in the book he wanted a warren ruled by order and discipline, mainly because he was paranoid that the warren would be discovered and destroyed by humans. In the film he was just kind of a massive jerk who just wanted to control everything just because.

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3 years ago
I'd reread The Giver, but I might realize I regret not killing myself the first time.

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3 years ago
Love how this post wound up sitting here like an emo kid all alone.

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3 years ago
I will keep it company :) So, what's the next book we're reading and when? :D

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3 years ago
Right now the assignment is just to reread any favorite book from your childhood. Seemed easier to let everyone not read and still have a book they'd like talking about, about rather than just assigning one for them to not read. Next one starts at the beginning of May, I guess I'll let @ugilick pick when it's a little closer to the time. Also, we should probably get a fresh thread.

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3 years ago

Wait, I didn't know that was the assignment. I would have mentioned the Fat Cat.

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3 years ago
Hmm, I will think on this. I shall take the responsibility with all due seriously.

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3 years ago
I'll saw at my wrists and listen to Slipknot in solidarity.

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3 years ago
@ugilick should go ahead and pick the next book a little in advance, and I'll make a new thread for it in a few days.

I'll also see about actually contributing to this one on Monday.

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3 years ago
I'll make a couple recommendations: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Published in 1890 you will be pleasantly surprised by how easy of a read this is. The writing feels surprisingly modern, lacking much of the expected stuffiness of works from that century. Oscar Wilde came under a lot of criticism for this piece, published in a magazine before being expanded into its current form. The subject matter was just too indecent for many of the literary types of the day and it was partly censored without the author's knowledge. There were also some legal proceedings as a result because of some laws intended to safeguard public morals.

Also, the dialogue is potent, and there is a lot of dialogue.
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

“You must have a cigarette. A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?”

There is a surplus of great lines to choose from and Lord Henry hits every time he opens his mouth.

If we should not like to read that one, my second recommendation is King Solomon's Mines

This one was published in 1885 and written by Sir H. Rider Haggard. I read once that he wrote it on a bet having said that anyone could write a book. He finished it in less than one year, it kicked off an entire genre of literature, was a best seller, and it couldn't be published today. While The Picture of Dorian Gray was scandalous in its own time, King Solomon's Mines would spark an outrage today.

If neither of those appeal to anyone and we want to read something very short, perhaps The Pit and the Pendulum

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3 years ago
Ah good, if I don't have time to read it I can just wing it from vague recollections from eleven years ago.

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3 years ago

Wait a second, when did this happen? I mean, both sound like awesome suggestions, but I thought we were doing this in order of who joined the group first.

... (That said, I'm not sure AL has actually read anything yet so maybe skipping over a few wouldn't be a crime.) :p

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3 years ago

Oh yeah, I forgot I was meant to be doing this.

Well, anyway, this month's task was to read a book you enjoyed from your childhood. I decided to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. (or Sorcerer's Stone for all of you Americans out there who are, apparently, too fucking stupid to know what a Philosopher is.) But while discussing what books we were going to read, Mizal convinced me to give Watership Down a read as well, so here are my conclusions.

Well, what can I say other than Watership Down was complete shit. There was no magic. No spells, no potions, no pointy talking hats, and the rabbits didn't even have wands. What the fuck are you trying to sell me Mizal? Utter crap. Obviously you have no appreciation for quality literature like me.

... Seriously though, I kind of got bored of Harry Potter and only made it halfway through. Don't get me wrong, I do still love it, but I think I just enjoy the world and setting more than I do the characters, and with the story, you really have to stick with it for awhile before it starts getting good. (Essentially, when people start dying). I think the main thing that I remembered from what I did read was how completely I hated the first chapter. So J.K.Rowling's thought process was, "Okay, so I'm going to write a magical book about a bunch of witches and wizards that go to magic school to learn magic... So let's start with an opening chapter about the most fucking boring family in the world, going out of my way to make sure I emphasize to the audience how fucking boring they are. That should capture a 10 year old's attention."

Anyway, Watership Down was fucking awesome. Thank you very much Mizal. I'm not sure what it was about the book but it was just fucking enchanting! Literally everything about the book was gorgeous. The characters, the lapine language, the thought process of the rabbits, the stories of El-ahrairah. I was just hooked and didn't want to stop listening.

I remember reading an interview with Richard Adams where he said that Watership Down was extremely difficult to publish because, according to the publishers, "Younger children won't like it because it's written in such a grown up way, and older children won't like it because it's about talking rabbits." ... Well fuck you, publishers! No one ever gets too old for talking bunny rabbits!

Was surprised to hear that Mizal wasn't a big fan of the cartoon, since I always loved the cartoon as a kid and, after reading the book, I only appreciate it more for it's incredibly accurate attention to detail in both the rabbit's lines and movements. (Particularly liked the parts in the book when Simon and Garfunkel chimed in with a musical number.)

Any way, to sum up, I didn't get nearly enough of the beautiful Lapine world, and so I think I'm going to have to buy a copy of Tales of Watership Down, since I can't find an audiobook copy anywhere and I want more talking rabbits. ^_^

... Anyway, @AestheticLlama I think you joined the bookclub next. Any good books to recommend. (Public Domain preferred.)

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3 years ago
Ugilick has been the most active so I figure he should go next. And he already made some good picks. The time to protest was 19 days ago, gosh. But if AL has a recommendation too that's fine of course. I'm still going to check out King Solomon's Mines after catching the end of the movie when they played it at the nursing home recently.

The cartoon I haven't seen in years and years and I remember mainly just disliking the voices and a few things about the animation, I might appreciate more what they got right if I watched it now.

Anyway I actually forgot about this, I'll need to do my write ups soon and we really need that new thread, huh.

I will say though that Tales is kind of a dud. I got it at a library so I didn't spend any money at least, but it was disappointing. The magic was gone. It happens sometimes when an author revisits a setting after so many years.

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3 years ago

I do have some book recommendations!

Wonder, by R. J. Palacio
The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill
How to Steal A Dog by Barbara O'Conner
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

And another good book my class read in 3rd grade, but I forgot the name. :[
I was also going to recommend the Harry Potter series, but I fear that might be too long. 

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3 years ago

Yeah, not going to read the Harry Potter series in a month :p

Which of those books do you like best and can any of them be found for free online, either as a book or audiobook? ^_^

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3 years ago

If it's popular enough, you can find a pdf or epub version of it in:

https://z-lib.org/

Or perhaps other pirating sites. 

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3 years ago

Maybe Wonder, Wonder's a popular book. 

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3 years ago
I don't mind waiting my turn. They gave me the once over at work to an almost criminal degree. Like, hairline from criminal. So this week has been busier than normal. Also a tornado destroyed the property I grew up on, and so on. A good book is a fine idea no matter who picks it.

I might not write anything up for Out of the Silent Planet. I will say that it's underrated and its sequel Paralandra is even better.

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3 years ago
I definitely intend to check that trilogy out after the mentions in this thread.

Finding a good chunk of time to read is a bit difficult right now though, and I always feel like any extra time should be spent on something productive around the house of at least the site. But I'm going to give King Solomon's Mines a look for sure as well. Any idea how close the movie was?

Anyway, I'll make the new thread this weekend. And hopefully do my own write ups of the last two books.

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3 years ago

Wow, that's a pretty shitty week. You okay?

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3 years ago
Right, seconded. Just realizing I'd intended to message him and then, I did not.

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3 years ago
No one was hurt and that's all I can ask for. I just wish I could get down there and help my dad clean up. Thank you for asking. I appreciate it.

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3 years ago

Okay, so we got some good suggestions and I'm not actually sure which we're going with. Either AL's Wonder, or one of Ugly Chick's suggestions (I can still never see his name and not read it as Ugly Chick.) Honestly, both sound awesome, but I think King Solomon's Mines appeals to me more since I never actually heard of it, whereas Dorian Grey, I have a pretty good knowledge of the general story.

Either way, I definitely want to read both... Come to think of it, if Wonder is the story about the kid with the face then I think I saw the movie and it was pretty awesome. ^_^

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3 years ago
There are open domain audio recordings of King Solomon's Mines. There may even be one on YouTube presently.

The author spent a lot of time in Africa, I believe due to the Zulu wars, and supposedly had a great deal of respect for the people. More than many of his contemporaries to say the least. One likely gets the idea in the reading of the book. There were many European explorers who fell in love with Africa and it's people.

The short novel doesn't spin terribly complex characters, but it does embellish some of the writer's own experiences and stories from Africa during an interesting time in history, without badly oversimplifying the climate or the people.

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3 years ago

Oh yeah, this was a thing. I forgot. Was listening to the audibook of King Solomon's Mines. It's pretty good. I should finish it... But when I was about half way through I started reading The Colour Purple and kind of forgot about everything else until it was finished. If you haven't read The Colour Purple, then I highly recommend. It's really something special. Not like any book I've ever read before. Plus it actually made me cry, and I can't remember the last time a book made me cry. ^_^

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3 years ago
Is the CYS Book Club still active on another thread?

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3 years ago
Nope, I think we all just got busy or wandered away, but we really do need a new thread if there's ever interest in getting this going again.

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3 years ago
I'm certainly interested, I hope others are too.

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3 years ago
Oh yeah, books exist. I forgot. >.<

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3 years ago
If you didn't like my recommendation, you coulda just said so. :)

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3 years ago
Oh, I do like it! Somehow I just haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. I really should. It's a cool read. Will post again when I've finished it. ^_^