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I saw the trailer for the movie version they're doing of "The Road". It has some minor spoilers in it, though I haven't finished the book so I can't tell if the spoilers are for the book or the movie, or both.
I really wish movie trailers would stop putting so many spoilers in them. For instance, I think I would've been much more impressed with Terminator Salvation if I hadn't known Sam Worthington was a machine.
Diablo 3 - ArtfulDodger#1572
Minecraft - ArtfulDodger42
I could never finish Dharma Bums. It was just so much less engaging then On The Road.
Edit: I am reading a 600-page collection of Charles Darwin's crap. Why? I don't know. I just... don't know.
Thank you, Rubacava!
Probably my favorite book series of all time.
WHY?
Loving it.
Steam - Talon Valdez : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk
Awesome, awesome stuff.
"I like this plan. I'm excited to be a part of it." -Dr. Peter Venkman
Yes.
Steam - Talon Valdez : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk
Definitely
I bought it already. It better be good.
3DS 3652-1506-4398
B/W 3139-2627-3982
HG/SS 4342-0049-1485
B2/W2 1936-8473-5370
Dunno, I've given up on it twice. 600 pages in and I've lost track of the plethora of characters and pointless scenes. i think at one point old Mother Abagail had a 20 or 30 page flashback and that was when I realised King needs a more hard-nosed editor.
I thought the Gunslinger was pretty great. The first three or so books in the Dark Tower were really good, in my opinion.
It's pretty easy to spot where King loses control of the novel. It meanders for awhile, before a sudden change towards a conclusion. It's interesting to read him talk about what writing that novel was like. I think it's brought up in On Writing.
I'm reading Brandon Sanderson's warbreaker, which he released for free on his site prior to its release. It's pretty neat, and it's a single volume fantasy which is something I appreciate.
The entire first essay is about porn.
I'm only about 10 pages into each, but they're both awesome so far.
I just finished both Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner and The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler. Fucking phenomenal.
Have you checked out any Fritz Lieber stuff? I have a big collection of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories that I dive into whenever the mood strikes.
I read that, too, on the recommendation of Robert Ashley from the Out of the Game Podcast.
It's about a 40 minute read and can be read for free here at gourmet.com.
The paper-book reading I've been doing is Game Boys: Professional Videogaming's Rise from the Basement to the Big Time by Michael Kane (not the actor).
Although nonfiction, the writing style is anything but dry, focusing on the personalities in the top two USA counter-strike teams as they compete for a slice of the miniscule economic pie. What fuels them is not economics so much as raw competitiveness and the belief that what they find so compelling about the game can translate to a larger audience, either through television or spectator events.
Another strength of the book are Kane's insights into the larger personalities and finding a memorable metaphor for them. For instance, the observation that CPL founder Angel Munoz wears suits with contrasting lines and dots, and that his house is designed with a half angular, half rounded sensibility that illustrates his worldview of clashing X's vs. O's. Similarly, coach Lake's house sits a little higher and is a little larger than the others on his street, underscoring his constant desire to be just a little better than any competition.
Although I haven't finished, a glaring weakness in the story thus far is that it has focused on the managers, organizers, and coaches, while not giving any great insight into what kind of psychology it takes to dedicate eight hours a day, six days a week to playing the same game. Often, this is done in conjunction with, or at the sacrifice of, collegiate studies. Even world class players don't earn much more than a shift manager, so you have to ask why they do it. Maybe it's because these guys are a tight-lipped bunch, but the unwritten message seems to be that somebody who spends that much time in front of a computer screen is boring, which I refuse to believe. I mean, professional athletes spend just as much time in the gym or practice, yet their quirks, enhanced by a high-pressure job, make for great copy. I'm hoping Kane gets to that, as he has been working toward establishing the parallel between sports and video games since page one.
A good book, though. I don't think I've been this jazzed about nonfiction since Wolfe's The Right Stuff.
God, I need to find some new books that are witty like pratchett
"Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but it dies in the process."
Imagine all of my posts being spoken by Alec Baldwin
GamerTag: MunkusBeaver ||||| Steam: munkus
It's nowhere near as good as I expected, unfortunately.
Season's greetings, Satan!
Now I have no idea what I'm going to read... It's always a stuggle.
I'm leaning towards some Vernor Vinge, since I've never actually read a novel of his. I have A Fire Upon the Deep, but the plot of Rainbow's End intrigues me more, despite it's generally lower review scores.
I need to finish reading Catch-22. First, I need to finish Sword of the Lictor.