Running out of books to read? Post some recommendations...

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Yossarian

Lifer
Dec 26, 2000
18,010
1
81
Originally posted by: Gurck
I am not what you would call a handsome man. The good Lord chose not to bless me with.. with charm, athletic ability, or a fully functional brain.

Based on your trolling in this thread, I agree with your sig wholeheartedly. Especially the last part.
 

CanOWorms

Lifer
Jul 3, 2001
12,404
2
0
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
The classic samurai novel about the real exploits of the most famous swordsman.
 

Goosemaster

Lifer
Apr 10, 2001
48,775
3
81
Anyone have a link to a free and GOOD audiobook online? I have yet to seriously listen to one, and would like to try without spending money in case I hate it....of course i have lsitened to audiobooks, but only bad ones and childrens stories when I was a kid. I have yet to hear a comelling and well-written piece on audio and would be interested.Itunes has a bmuch, but there is no sense in spending a lot of $$ if I can try it out first,...
 

Beau

Lifer
Jun 25, 2001
17,730
0
76
www.beauscott.com
Originally posted by: Goosemaster
East of eden.........by steinbeck
EoE is a sotry, or set of stories set it the Salinas[sic] Valley in California. It covers the lives of quite a few familes, paiting a meticulous picture of the atmosphere in each household, be it good or bad. As the story continues, the myriad of events and characters unfold, the sorry turns into more of a causility piece more so than isolated events. Truely a fantastic novel, with compelling drama, and impecible detail:D I was VERY VERY impressed with that one....

Grapes of warth.........by steinbeck

Haven't read it yet but I have it downstairs.

Into thin air....Krakauer
Very tall mountain Mountain, Verybig glaciers, hikers...you get the picture:D

The great Gatsby........f.s. fitzgerald....

To sum this one up, in short, it is about peering into the life of the wealthy in the last century through all types of eyes, and specifically at at Gatsby. The rise and fall of the money...$$:D

I've read (YES, READ, Gurk) all of those already. Stienbeck is one of my favorite authors (though Of Mice and Men is still my fav. Stienbeck book).
 

Goosemaster

Lifer
Apr 10, 2001
48,775
3
81
Originally posted by: Beau
Originally posted by: Gurck
Originally posted by: Beau
Asshat hypocrite.

Originally posted by: Beau
Actually, sir, I was attempting to avert such immature actions as what you have so thoroughly demonstrated

:confused:

While you may debatably have a point that my comment on audiobooks didn't belong, you killed it by revealing your single-digit age with the namecalling. Which, ironically, reinforces my feelings about audiobooks and the people who utilize them ;)

LOL, you are indeed an asshat if you consider my calling you an "asshat hipocrite" as schoolyard name calling. Giving someone an appropriate title based on their factual actions is hardly the same as simply calling someone an unwarranted slang (e.g.: "childish idiot").
Again, if you have nothing of worth to contribute to my thread please leave.

All of you STFU...who cares who worte what( although you can look back and check;) )

All of you just let it go and don't get a *potentially* worthwhile thread looked, or worse, ignored.
 

Goosemaster

Lifer
Apr 10, 2001
48,775
3
81
Originally posted by: Beau
Originally posted by: Goosemaster
East of eden.........by steinbeck
EoE is a sotry, or set of stories set it the Salinas[sic] Valley in California. It covers the lives of quite a few familes, paiting a meticulous picture of the atmosphere in each household, be it good or bad. As the story continues, the myriad of events and characters unfold, the sorry turns into more of a causility piece more so than isolated events. Truely a fantastic novel, with compelling drama, and impecible detail:D I was VERY VERY impressed with that one....

Grapes of warth.........by steinbeck

Haven't read it yet but I have it downstairs.

Into thin air....Krakauer
Very tall mountain Mountain, Verybig glaciers, hikers...you get the picture:D

The great Gatsby........f.s. fitzgerald....

To sum this one up, in short, it is about peering into the life of the wealthy in the last century through all types of eyes, and specifically at at Gatsby. The rise and fall of the money...$$:D

I've read (YES, READ, Gurk) all of those already. Stienbeck is one of my favorite authors (though Of Mice and Men is still my fav. Stienbeck book).

Whoops, I can;t believe I left that one out :eek: . Of Mice and men was my favorite as well until I read east of eden. I find them to be very different books, but honestly, after reading it, I cannot leave Of Mice and Men at the top alone. They are both admittedly quite different, but OH so GOOD.:D
 

Beau

Lifer
Jun 25, 2001
17,730
0
76
www.beauscott.com
Originally posted by: Goosemaster

All of you STFU...who cares who worte what( although you can look back and check;) )

All of you just let it go and don't get a *potentially* worthwhile thread looked, or worse, ignored.

Yes, master. ;)

Another couple books I've listened to lately:

Dan Brown's Angel's and Demons and The Da Vinci Code.

Both were very interesting in their respective theories, but Brown's dialog leaves much to be desired, and both have so many mysteries in their plots that they leave your head spinning.
 

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
12,963
1
0
Originally posted by: Beau
How is listening to an unabridged audiobook so horribly worse than actually reading the book itself?

- You can't go at your own pace
- You don't get any actual reading in - know how most people, when you're unfortunate enough to hear them read aloud, do it as if it's killing them? Halting, stuttering, sounding out (often wrongly), repeating... Listening != reading, and don't say ATOT counts. Not saying reading aloud is a skill one must have (though it can't hurt to be able to in a non-embarassing fashion), but if that's indicative of what's going on in someone's head as they read, there's a problem.
- Less is left to the imagination. Might sound silly, but it's true. With a voice telling you the story, rather than you grabbing the words off the page for yourself, a mood is set and the story is less 'yours'. The imagination required for reading is not only good mental exercise, but also the reason many people who give it a shot and don't have ADD prefer the book to the movie, where applicable. Audio doesn't entirely do away with it, but dilutes it.
- Doesn't do a thing for spelling or grammar. Most people are simply atrocious spellers (look for the poll I'm about to post), from mispelling words to mixing up your & you're, they're their & there, two too & to, etc, and would greatly benefit from actual reading.
- Vocabulary. Audio happens at its own pace. Reading, you can linger over a word at your discretion; savor it. It sticks in your head if it intrigues you, and expands vocabulary more than audio can, if it does at all.
- Lazy. 'nuff said.
 

Beau

Lifer
Jun 25, 2001
17,730
0
76
www.beauscott.com
Originally posted by: Gurck
Originally posted by: Beau
How is listening to an unabridged audiobook so horribly worse than actually reading the book itself?

- You can't go at your own pace
- You don't get any actual reading in - know how most people, when you're unfortunate enough to hear them read aloud, do it as if it's killing them? Halting, stuttering, sounding out (often wrongly), repeating... Listening != reading, and don't say ATOT counts. Not saying reading aloud is a skill one must have (though it can't hurt to be able to in a non-embarassing fashion), but if that's indicative of what's going on in someone's head as they read, there's a problem.
- Less is left to the imagination. Might sound silly, but it's true. With a voice telling you the story, rather than you grabbing the words off the page for yourself, a mood is set and the story is less 'yours'. The imagination required for reading is not only good mental exercise, but also the reason many people who give it a shot and don't have ADD prefer the book to the movie, where applicable. Audio doesn't entirely do away with it, but dilutes it.
- Doesn't do a thing for spelling or grammar. Most people are simply atrocious spellers (look for the poll I'm about to post), from mispelling words to mixing up your & you're, they're their & there, two too & to, etc, and would greatly benefit from actual reading.
- Vocabulary. Audio happens at its own pace. Reading, you can linger over a word at your discretion; savor it. It sticks in your head if it intrigues you, and expands vocabulary more than audio can, if it does at all.
- Lazy. 'nuff said.

I'd probably agree with you more on most of your points if I did infact read, spell, or dictate poorly. I suppose I get a little offended when people stereotype people who read audiobooks as being illiterate, because I'm hardly so, and listen to books very often. I used to listen to the news or music while working, but found that the news was too repetative to listen to all day, and music can get a little annoying. Audiobooks provide a good mixup of entertainment and sanity because you always have a developing plot, it never repeats, and because it's spoken, you don't get the annoying beats or voices you sometimes do with music.