Calling All Bookworms 2.0

[piccolo#1]

Here's another book topic since the first one is up to the 500 page limit. I've also provided a link to the 1st one. Enjoy.

http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=301351

[WildWill]

Originally Posted by jiggy ninja

Obviously you haven't seen much of modern paintings. When a painting called "Black Circle", which is literally nothing more than a black circle on a white canvas, can sell for $13 million dollars (I don't remember if that is the exact figure, but it was huge), you know something is wrong.

Um...no, I've probably seen MORE modern art in my time than you have - I go to the MOCA in Los Angeles at least twice a year, plus I've seen shows from Magritte and Dali - and I am an aficinado of modern art. I probably know more about modern art theory than you've learned in High School. REPUTABLE artists have training, they've gone to art school, they understand the basics of composition and line, of perspective and shading, how to use chiaroscuro and materials. There's even a school of art called "Minimalism" which utilizes a minimal amount of technique and colors to communicate an idea or statement. A black dot is much more than a black dot. Would I pay $13M for a painting of a black dot? No, but there's also such a thing as art galleries and an art market. Personally I've never paid more than $100 for a piece of original art, but I have paid that much, and I own several pieces of original art. Helps that my Uncle and my Father's best friends were artists.

And if you can do the same, why don't you? See how much you can sell your pieces for? If you don't have a name or education in art, it won't be much. That I guarantee.

On top of that, I remember watching a TV show were college educated art critics could not tell the difference between a professional modern artist's paintings and the random blatherings of a pair of 4-year old girls.

Really? I'd love to see that segment. I'd also wonder what their credentials were and what college they teach at, they're not all the same you know.

When that sort of stuff happens, it really makes you wonder about how worthwhile an education in art really is.

If you have natural talent and ability in art, probably not much, but you do need to learn the fundamentals. I see BAD art being done all the time in comics and other mediums. There's nothing wrong with the attempt, but the execution makes the piece.

I don't need to understand the form and composition of art to get it. All I need to know is what I like in my art. I like presence, the sense of being surrounded and totally engrossed in something beautiful. Which is why I like music so much. I almost cry sometimes listening to Lugia's Song it's so beautiful.

Trust me, a few classes in Art History will greatly assist in your appreciation of art.

I personally don't consider literature art since it lacks the presence that I like. But that's just me. You are certainly entitled to your own opinions.

Pretty egotistical of you there. YOU don't consider literature an artform? Whoopee. You have no background in literary theory, and you've learned, what in your English classes again? You have no idea what Faulkner was trying to say when he wrote The Sound and the Fury or what James Joyce accomplished when he published Ulysses. To say that literature is not an art form is sadly ignorant. Some people consider mathematics and art form, would you tell them that they are wrong as well? It's not art because you say it's not art? Who the hell are you to make that ASSumption?

Has anyone here read any Harry Potter? I heard that some of his books were good, but I hated the movies, so I never read the books.

Movies are almost always worse than books. I stopped watching them after Prisoner of Azkaban because the movies were totally destroying the stories by leaving out so many awesome parts.

Not always, for example, the film M*A*S*H by Robert Altman is far superior to the book by Richard Hooker. I might be able to come up with more examples, but that's the one that always pops into mind. And jeeze, what is with the questions, "Is this book good, is that book good"? Just pick up the damn thing and start reading. If you make it 50 pages in and you don't like it, put it down and try something else. For chrissakes, if you don't care what other's opinions are, and that's been made pretty clear that no one here respects reviewers, then why bother asking?

A European firm, Plastic Logic, will open the first factory in the world to mass produce plastic digital displays, a key component of flexible e-book readers.

Gentleman (and ladies, the few that are actually here), I have but two words to say about this news.

Hell.
Yeah.

The Amazon Kindle looks pretty nice too. Portability and selection of available material is going to be key for e-book readers going forward. I mean I have no issues whatsoever reading on my MacBook's 13" wide-screen (I make the fonts VERY large for my crappy eyesight), and I swear when I'm reading comics on my Mac they look BETTER than the actual paper item.

And yeah, storage is becoming an issue for me. In a small apartment, I have room for MAYBE four or five bookcases. I have about a 10th of my library in my apartment and the rest is in storage. I would love to have every book I own out on a shelf for easy reference, but unfortunately I don't have the space. Besides that, electronic texts are much easier to search for keywords and passages. Without electronic texts I would not have done half as well at UCLA - it was very easy to have the text open on my laptop in class and copy full on passages into my notes rather than use a clunky highlighter on my expensive text books.

[Jiggy-Ninja]

Originally Posted by WildWill

Um...no, I've probably seen MORE modern art in my time than you have - I go to the MOCA in Los Angeles at least twice a year, plus I've seen shows from Magritte and Dali - and I am an aficinado of modern art. I probably know more about modern art theory than you've learned in High School. REPUTABLE artists have training, they've gone to art school, they understand the basics of composition and line, of perspective and shading, how to use chiaroscuro and materials. There's even a school of art called "Minimalism" which utilizes a minimal amount of technique and colors to communicate an idea or statement. A black dot is much more than a black dot. Would I pay $13M for a painting of a black dot? No, but there's also such a thing as art galleries and an art market. Personally I've never paid more than $100 for a piece of original art, but I have paid that much, and I own several pieces of original art. Helps that my Uncle and my Father's best friends were artists.

Hey, you're entitled to your own opinions. Art is a subjective experience, so it's natural that different people have different views on things.

And trust me, it was just a big, back circle near the center of the canvas. I could have done it in 30 seconds with a compass and some paint.

And if you can do the same, why don't you? See how much you can sell your pieces for? If you don't have a name or education in art, it won't be much. That I guarantee.

So the name makes the artist? That kinda defeats the purpose of art, doesn't it?

Really? I'd love to see that segment. I'd also wonder what their credentials were and what college they teach at, they're not all the same you know.

It was from some news show that I saw a few years ago. I don't think they said what college they were taught at. I remember that segment well partly because it was something that was of interest to me and because it was followed by a segment about the existence of "gaydar" (gay radar) which was amusing.

If you have natural talent and ability in art, probably not much, but you do need to learn the fundamentals. I see BAD art being done all the time in comics and other mediums. There's nothing wrong with the attempt, but the execution makes the piece.

Execution is everything, I couldn't agree more. And that's where a lot of stuff fails.

Trust me, a few classes in Art History will greatly assist in your appreciation of art.

Maybe if I ever took an interest in it. As it stands now, that's not very likely.

Pretty egotistical of you there. YOU don't consider literature an artform? Whoopee. You have no background in literary theory, and you've learned, what in your English classes again? You have no idea what Faulkner was trying to say when he wrote The Sound and the Fury or what James Joyce accomplished when he published Ulysses. To say that literature is not an art form is sadly ignorant. Some people consider mathematics and art form, would you tell them that they are wrong as well? It's not art because you say it's not art? Who the hell are you to make that ASSumption?

I happen to be Mark, 17-year old Senior in high school living in Michigan, living a fairly miserable life, on the track of possible failing this year and not graduating, never had a girlfriend (too shy to find one, nor have I ever met a girl that seemed to have the potential to match what I want), and currently have an appointment with a psychologist (or psychiatrist, I forgot which) on Friday to help deal with my depression problem and suicidal thoughts. I spend way too much time on Pojo since it is basically one of my only distractions from that stuff. My current potential career interest is computer science, and every teacher that I have had since forever has said that I am a genius or damn close to it. I bowl on Saturdays with my friends and do decently. I am very vocal in my opinions about things, but can accept different opinions as long as they are not forced on me. Then I get pissy. I believe firmly that a person's opinions are their own, and should be accepted unless they are harmful to others (such as racism and the like). Basically, live and let live. I have terrible eyesight, and without my glasses I can't see anything clearly farther than about 6 inches away from my face.

That, if you must know, is who I am. Should I go on?

I can make whatever assumptions and opinions that I wish to make, and we can debate them back and forth until the end of time. In th end, my assumptions and opinions will be my own, and they may change as time goes on. But really, what I happen to believe about a subject doesn't affect you or anyone else in any significant way, nor would I ever insult or judge someone for having a different opinion than me. My opinion is just my opinion, nothing more. Only I can define what I believe, and I can't define what everyone else believes.

And FYI, as much as I love math, I don't consider it a form of art. art to me implies a form of emotional expression, and pure math has no room for emotional expression in it.

Not always, for example, the film M*A*S*H by Robert Altman is far superior to the book by Richard Hooker. I might be able to come up with more examples, but that's the one that always pops into mind. And jeeze, what is with the questions, "Is this book good, is that book good"? Just pick up the damn thing and start reading. If you make it 50 pages in and you don't like it, put it down and try something else. For chrissakes, if you don't care what other's opinions are, and that's been made pretty clear that no one here respects reviewers, then why bother asking?

Movies are generally worse than the books they were based off of. I know there was a couple movies I saw that I liked better thanthe books (namely the LoTR trilogy).

[WildWill]

Jiggy's post is a FINE example of egocentrism

You could learn from it if you read between the lines (and no, that wasn't a compliment).

I can only hope that you acquire some good anti-depression drugs.

[Anbu_Zim]

Originally Posted by WildWill

Jiggy's post is a FINE example of egocentrism

You could learn from it if you read between the lines (and no, that wasn't a compliment).

I can only hope that you acquire some good anti-depression drugs.

I thought this was a book thread,not a bashing thread?

[d-zero]

Do You Mind If I Derail This Thread?

I'm not an avid book reader but I do pickup a paperback from time to time. I mostly read stuff from Dale Brown, Tom Clancy, and Stephen Coonts just to name a few off the top of my head. I'm currently reading a light novel Welcome to the N.H.K. by Tatsuhiko Takimoto.

[~*Occulence*~]

Originally Posted by d-zero

Do You Mind If I Derail This Thread?

I'm not an avid book reader but I do pickup a paperback from time to time. I mostly read stuff from Dale Brown, Tom Clancy, and Stephen Coonts just to name a few off the top of my head. I'm currently reading a light novel Welcome to the N.H.K. by Tatsuhiko Takimoto.

Dale brown? Dan Browm?
Stephen Coonts? Dean Koontz?

If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but I thought those names were wrong.

~*Occulence*~

[WildWill]

Originally Posted by Anbu_Zim

I thought this was a book thread,not a bashing thread?

I wasn't bashing Jiggy at all. If it came off that way it wasn't intended to. I do truly hope that Jiggy does get some anti-depression drugs, they're freaking awesome. In fact I think I need to up my dosage.

Additional Comment:

Originally Posted by ~*Occulence*~

Dale brown? Dan Browm?
Stephen Coonts? Dean Koontz?



If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but I thought those names were wrong.

~*Occulence*~

ALL four of those names are prominent authors.

[Anbu_Zim]

Originally Posted by WildWill

I wasn't bashing Jiggy at all. If it came off that way it wasn't intended to. I do truly hope that Jiggy does get some anti-depression drugs, they're freaking awesome. In fact I think I need to up my dosage.

Good one.


So,anyone read any good books lately?

[Jiggy-Ninja]

Originally Posted by WildWill

Jiggy's post is a FINE example of egocentrism

Yeah, that sounds a lot like me. Unfortunately, that's the reason for my depression. There doesn't seem to be any any other sensible interpretation of the world other than my own, and my interpretation is only a few steps above "Why bother?", and we all know where that particular road leads to...

You could learn from it if you read between the lines (and no, that wasn't a compliment).

I can only hope that you acquire some good anti-depression drugs.

Same here. Thanks for the goodwill.

Originally Posted by ~*Occulence*~

Dale brown? Dan Browm?
Stephen Coonts? Dean Koontz?

If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but I thought those names were wrong.

~*Occulence*~

Dale Brown is a totally different author than Dan Brown. Dale Brown's main series is about a high-tech B-52 called "The Old Dog". a pretty good series IMO, a lot like Clancy's and Cussler's stuff.

Not personally familiar with Stephen Coonts, but I'm sure I remember seeing the name. I remember remarking about how similar it was to Dean Koontz.

Originally Posted by WildWill

I wasn't bashing Jiggy at all. If it came off that way it wasn't intended to. I do truly hope that Jiggy does get some anti-depression drugs, they're freaking awesome. In fact I think I need to up my dosage.

Don't worry, I know what you meant. I take no offense at stating the truth.

[Charninja]

Maybe your problem is that you are using a pink font. Seriously, dude, it's making ME depressed.

[Jiggy-Ninja]

Originally Posted by Charninja

Maybe your problem is that you are using a pink font. Seriously, dude, it's making ME depressed.

No, it's not pink, I like pink. My problems have been brewing since before I was even joined Pojo.

[~*Occulence*~]

Originally Posted by WildWill

ALL four of those names are prominent authors.

Ah, ok, shows how much I know about literature.

I recently found out that I don't have the attention span to truly understand a lot of older novels (not that those four are old)

~*Occulence*~

[shadow gamer]

I can't past the antiquated linguistic style of most classics. I figure that my mind is too busy "translating" the words for me to understand many of the underlying concepts and meaning. Script format is another deterrent for me, so I can't stand Shakespeare.

[WildWill]

Ahh the youth of today - if it doesn't come out in bite size chunks that you can read on your cell phone, you have no interest or can't understand it.

And they WONDER why the older generations can't stand the younger.

(oh and in case ANYONE was wondering, I'm not fond of Baby Boomers either).

[~*Occulence*~]

Originally Posted by WildWill

Ahh the youth of today - if it doesn't come out in bite size chunks that you can read on your cell phone, you have no interest or can't understand it.

And they WONDER why the older generations can't stand the younger.

(oh and in case ANYONE was wondering, I'm not fond of Baby Boomers either).

Lol, prior to contrary belief, not all of us are like that, I mean sure, I can't read the classics, but don't group me in with the other, boring, snobby, pretentious teenagers of today.

And my cell phone sucks.

~*Occulence*~

[shadow gamer]

Originally Posted by WildWill

Ahh the youth of today - if it doesn't come out in bite size chunks that you can read on your cell phone, you have no interest or can't understand it.

And they WONDER why the older generations can't stand the younger.

(oh and in case ANYONE was wondering, I'm not fond of Baby Boomers either).

It's not the size of the text that matters, and it's not as if I have no appreciation for the works of the yesteryear, I'm just kind of stupid.

[Watto]

http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.html

Originally Posted by Terry Pratchett

AN EMBUGGERANCE

Folks,

I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, which lay behind this year's phantom "stroke".

We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of Nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet )

Terry Pratchett

PS I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it's too soon to tell. I know it's a very human thing to say "Is there anything I can do", but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.

[Charninja]

Originally Posted by Watto

I heard that earlier. Luckily he's still gonna finish up at least a few more books, but goddammit, this man is funnier in the face of losing his mind than most people are during their entire life.

[Jiggy-Ninja]

Originally Posted by WildWill

Ahh the youth of today - if it doesn't come out in bite size chunks that you can read on your cell phone, you have no interest or can't understand it.

And they WONDER why the older generations can't stand the younger.

(oh and in case ANYONE was wondering, I'm not fond of Baby Boomers either).

Please don't even start down that road. That sort of stuff has been said for literally thousands of years, and I guarantee your parents said the same thing about your generation. Kids have been, are, and will always be the same, whether it was 3,000 years ago or 3,000 years into the future.

[Anbu_Zim]

Originally Posted by WildWill

Ahh the youth of today - if it doesn't come out in bite size chunks that you can read on your cell phone, you have no interest or can't understand it.

And they WONDER why the older generations can't stand the younger.

(oh and in case ANYONE was wondering, I'm not fond of Baby Boomers either).

Are you saying that kids don't like to read books? I love reading books, if you read my above Posts i'm planning on reading abunch of books soon. Including alot of big books by Orwell and Shakespeare. Not all kids are the same, some do enjoy reading.

[WildWill]

Originally Posted by Jiggy-Ninja

Please don't even start down that road. That sort of stuff has been said for literally thousands of years, and I guarantee your parents said the same thing about your generation. Kids have been, are, and will always be the same, whether it was 3,000 years ago or 3,000 years into the future.

Spoken like a true kid. Kids are NOT the same, generations change on a sociological level, and what's true about kids from 30 years ago is no longer true today, and vice-versa. I refer you to the ground-breaking sociological writings of Neil Howe and William Strauss - read ANY of their recent works and you'll see that children of more recent vintage have far more advantages and less attention span than children of previous generations. THAT'S A FACT. It can be proven scientifically and observationally.

My parents are of the Baby Boomer generation, and that generation have had their fair share of ups and downs, and are now reveling in the fact that they're turing 65 and getting social security. They could now care less about their children and are proving it each and every day. But I digress.

You make a lot of ASSumptions that your 17 years on the planet cannot possibly back up. I'm sorry to say, but a little bit of education will go a LONG way to dispelling the things that you have predetermed are correct, which are, in fact, false.

Originally Posted by Anbu_Zim

Are you saying that kids don't like to read books? I love reading books, if you read my above Posts i'm planning on reading abunch of books soon. Including alot of big books by Orwell and Shakespeare. Not all kids are the same, some do enjoy reading.

In every generalization there are fallacies. You cannot make a broad sweeping statement without SOMEONE saying "but you're wrong I don't do that." OF COURSE there will be some youths who enjoy reading for pleasure, but, BY AND LARGE THOSE YOUNGER THAN 15 DO NOT ENJOY READING FOR PLEASURE, and that has been the case since the invention of RADIO, let alone TELEVISION.

My statement was meant more to indicate that the attention-span, the prevalence of ADD and ADHD, and the instant gratification levels that the current generation of youths have running rampant in their genetic makeup precludes their reading of complicated texts because they either a) just don't understand big words, or b) are too lazy to read anything longer than a text message. I will stand by that statement as well. For every ONE person you can show me who loves Shakespeare at age 14, I'll show you a dozen 14-year olds who can't even name one of his plays.

Let's face it, if it isn't Hannah Montana or High School Musical, most tweens could care less.

[Charninja]

I still think that ADD and ADHD are made up. Seriously, parents, if your little monster can't pay attention for more than a few seconds, give em a good hard smack to bring em back to reality. You don't need to waste several hundred dollars a month on medications when an open palm is completely free.

[Anbu_Zim]

Originally Posted by Charninja

I still think that ADD and ADHD are made up. Seriously, parents, if your little monster can't pay attention for more than a few seconds, give em a good hard smack to bring em back to reality. You don't need to waste several hundred dollars a month on medications when an open palm is completely free.

Maybe they give them some medicine to make em shut up? Wait. Isnt that the point of the medicine? Idk. But a palm would work, unless your freaking massive, and your kid is very small.

Additional Comment:

Originally Posted by WildWill

Let's face it, if it isn't Hannah Montana or High School Musical, most tweens could care less.

I dont like either, and im a teenager. Although, most girls my age enjoy that crap, I dont know why, but they do (no bashing intended). And you said something about attention spans, after that.......ooo squirrel!

[WildWill]

I dont like either, and im a teenager. Although, most girls my age enjoy that crap, I dont know why, but they do (no bashing intended). And you said something about attention spans, after that.......ooo squirrel!

Once again proving my point - there will ALWAYS be someone who dissents, that's human nature. Which is why I said MOST, not all.