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| 5/24 |
| 2007/7/17-19 [Recreation/Media, Computer/SW/WWW/Browsers] UID:47323 Activity:moderate |
7/17 **SPOILERS REMOVED**
\_ Who gives a flying shit?
\_ Barack Obama does:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvY3cSmW1cw
\_ Burbage?
\_ I'm reading Le Morte D'Arthur instead, without wearing
pants - !psb
\- just out of curiosity, what is your point mentioning
LMdA in the same breath as HP? Are they supposed to both
be "kids fatasy books with adult appeal" or something?
Maybe Once and Future King, but not LMdA, I dont think.
\_ I'm reading the Malazan book of the fallen series. I
read it on the toilet so my pants are half off.
\_ I'm reading Charlie Stross's _On Her Majesty's Occult
Service_, which is really good but may seem dated in about
five years. --erikred
\_ I d like to point out that Harry Potter sucks, and doesn't hold a
candle to Tolkien's stuff. And has the adult appeal of Barney
the fucking dinosaur. -- ilyas
\_ Cue unholy CS_LEWIS/PHILLIP_PULLMAN/TOLKEIN/ROWLING/STMG blood
bath. --erikred
\_ "Harry, I am your father." -Darth Voldemort
\- http://tinyurl.com/2ozkrv
\- http://tinyurl.com/2ozkrv (washingtonpost.com)
\_ Maybe when the next Hemingway starts writing people will
start reading fiction again.
start reading [new] fiction again.
\- yes, it is too bad as with Livy most of Hemingway is lost
to history and everybody has read all of what has survived.
\_ What I mean was new fiction, rather than existing
fiction. I've fixed it.
\- i dont think the failure-to-read is the lack of
quality fiction. also, i dont think reading pulp
fiction [at least for adults] is any different from
watching tv. reading the da vinci code is really
mentally the same as watching desperate hwives.
\_ I guess I disagree re the failure-to-read.
I used to try to find new fiction to read
whenever I went to the library, but it was
almost all universally bad (except for the
occasional mystery novel), so I've sort of
given up.
I agree re things like da vinci code. That
sort of crap is really fit only as kindling.
\_ So what, you already read all the old fiction?
I'd expect most new fiction to be rather bad,
as frankly most people don't really have much
to say but they say it anyway. If they can
come up with some nice mindless entertainment in
book form then more power to them.
\- "is there good fiction being written today"
is a separate question from "are people reading
less today than 20 years ago". if the first is
true it might explain the second, if it is true.
i dont have an opinion on #1. and i think #2 is
better explained by more competion ... like i
think internet surfing, dvds, internet chat etc
i dont have an opinion on #1. and i think #2 is T
but better explained by more competition ...
i internet surfing, dvds, internet chat etc
has reduced tv viewing more than "there is nothing
good on".
note also, i wasnt saying davinci code was
good/bad. i was just saying reading pulp like
that ... or michael chichton, or john grisham,
or james patterson ... is the brain equivalent
watching tv than reading shakespeare ... i.e.
the "at least they are reading" is totally
hollow argument.
watching tv ... i.e. the "at least they are
reading" is totally hollow argument.
\_ Oh, I don't know. Books require more patience,
reading comprehension, imagination. They are
not saturated with commercial marketing.
It seems most people can't even read the pulp.
\- this might apply to children ... which is
why i restricted my comments to adults.
my old housemate has an mba from mit/sloan
and is more or less retired before 50, and
reasonably informed about the world ... so
reasonably successful and not a dumbass.
the "can" read pulp ... he just doesnt.
he reads 0 fiction, and maybe 0-2 nonfic
per year (usually a practical/howto book).
judging him differently because
he read a james patterson mystery instead
of watching dvds/tv would be silly. he'd
be the same person. on the other hand,
somebody who goes though 20 books a year
including 5 "challenging" books would be
a different person if they replaced that
time with tv.
\_ So what, you already read all the old fiction?
I'd expect most new fiction to be rather bad,
as frankly most people don't really have much
to say but they say it anyway. If they can
come up with some nice mindless entertainment in
book form then more power to them. (re: desperate
hwives) |
| 5/24 |
|
| www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvY3cSmW1cw Videos (Submit) Search Barack Obama on Harry Potter Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Macromedia's Flash Player. woodoven (5 days ago) Marked as spam "harry and voldemort and all those folks" - that line is kinda funny to me. zoator (6 days ago) Marked as spam Not to mention Da Bears! How is this guy so genuinely approachable and yet so inspiring to listen to? |
| tinyurl.com/2ozkrv -> www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/13/AR2007071301730.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 Stalking My Girlfriend With Google Earth Harry Potter and the Death of Reading By Ron Charles Sunday, July 15, 2007; Page B01 It happened on a dark night, somewhere in the middle of Book IV. Harry Potter" series to my daughter, my voice growing raspy with the effort, page after page. But lately, whole paragraphs of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" had started to slip by without my hearing a word. I'd snap back to attention and realize the action had moved from Harry's room to Hagrid's house, and I had no idea what was happening. And that's when my daughter broke the spell: "Do we have to keep reading this?" Hogwarts, deep down we weren't wild about Harry, and the freedom of finally confessing this secret to each other made us feel like co-conspirators. Along with changing diapers and supervising geometry homework, reading "Harry Potter" was one of those chores of parenthood that I was happy to do -- and then happy to stop. JK Rowling's books to themselves: perfectly intelligent, mature people, poring over "Harry Potter" with nary a child in sight. Waterstone's, a British book chain, predicts that the seventh and (supposedly) final volume, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," may be read by more adults than children. That has an alarmingly illicit sound to it, but don't worry. They're the same books dressed up with more sophisticated dust jackets -- Cap'n Crunch in a Gucci bag. I'd like to think that this is a romantic return to youth, but it looks like a bad case of cultural infantilism. And when we're not horning in on our kids' favorite books, most of us aren't reading anything at all. And the rate of decline has almost tripled in the past decade. That statistic startles me, even though I hear it again and again. Whenever I confess to people who work for a living that I'm a book critic, I inevitably get the same response: "Imagine being able to sit around all day just reading novels!" Then they turn to each other and shake their heads, amazed that anything so effete should pass for a profession. "I have so little time nowadays that when I read, I like to learn something." But before I can suggest what one might learn from reading a good novel, they pop the question about The Boy Who Lived: "How do you like 'Harry Potter'?" In the current state of Potter mania, it's an invitation to recite the loyalty oath. Start carrying on like Moaning Myrtle about the repetitive plots, the static characters, the pedestrian prose, the wit-free tone, the derivative themes, and you'll wish you had your invisibility cloak handy. Besides, from anyone who hasn't sold the 325 million copies that Rowling has, such complaints smack of Bertie Bott's beans, sour-grapes flavor. We keep hearing that "Harry Potter" is the gateway drug that's luring a reluctant populace back into bookstores and libraries. Unfortunately, the evidence doesn't encourage much optimism. Data from the NEA point to a dramatic and accelerating decline in the number of young people reading fiction. Despite their enthusiasm for books in grade school, by high school, most kids are not reading for pleasure at all. My friends who teach English tell me that summaries and critical commentary are now so readily available on the Internet that more and more students are coming to class having read about the books they're studying without having read the books. And when their parents do pick up a novel, it's often one that leaves a lot to be desired. Janet Evanovich's comic mystery series and a vampire love saga. How could the ever-expanding popularity of Harry Potter take place during such an unprecedented decline in the number of Americans reading fiction? Perhaps submerging the world in an orgy of marketing hysteria doesn't encourage the kind of contemplation, independence and solitude that real engagement with books demands -- and rewards. Consider that, with the release of each new volume, Rowling's readers have been driven not only into greater fits of enthusiasm but into more precise synchronization with one another. Through a marvel of modern publishing, advertising and distribution, millions of people will receive or buy "The Deathly Hallows" on a single day. There's something thrilling about that sort of unity, except that it has almost nothing to do with the unique pleasures of reading a novel: that increasingly rare opportunity to step out of sync with the world, to experience something intimate and private, the sense that you and an author are conspiring for a few hours to experience a place by yourselves -- without a movie version or a set of action figures. Through no fault of Rowling's, Potter mania nonetheless trains children and adults to expect the roar of the coliseum, a mass-media experience that no other novel can possibly provide. Top 35 Most Viewed Post a Comment Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. |
| washingtonpost.com -> www.washingtonpost.com/ Numbers, History Cast Shadow on Bush Hopes Despite close horse race with Kerry, president's approval ratings trail those of predecessors who won reelection. Soldier Details Iraq Abuse Defendant in prison scandal gives account of detainee treatment, offers to plead guilty. IN MOVIES New releases: "Troy," "Breakin' All the Rules," "Young Adam," "Godzilla: Uncut," "Word Wars," "With All Deliberate Speed." IN STYLE Fox issued a stunning news release for a reality special called "Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay" in which, two heterosexual men will try to convince people that they are gay. |