"Book Reviews" by Token

Token · « **on:** July 29, 2012, 03:16:19 PM »

Just finished Stephen King's 11/22/63. Anyone read it? Much different that I expected.

Vandy Vol · « **Reply #1 on:** July 29, 2012, 03:58:10 PM »

Quote from: Token on July 29, 2012, 03:16:19 PM

Just finished Stephen King's 11/22/63. Anyone read it? Much different that I expected.

I was looking into getting a Kindle. Saw that most new e-books were $10+, meanwhile I could still buy new paperbacks for $5.00. I guess you pay a premium for being able to digitally store books, but anyhow, back on track:

I saw that book while looking through the Kindle selections. It interested me, and I plan on picking it up.

A physical copy, of course, because I refuse to pay for an e-reader and pay more per book.

Kaos · « **Reply #2 on:** July 29, 2012, 09:26:31 PM »

Quote from: Token on July 29, 2012, 03:16:19 PM

Just finished Stephen King's 11/22/63. Anyone read it? Much different that I expected.

Read everything King writes. This was better than some of his more recent lazy efforts. Much better in fact.

Enjoyed the book for the most part. Didn't like the shit reference to George Wallace. Wish King had studied his history a little more before putting THAT garbage in there.

There were some WTF plot contrivances that failed me, but that's a constant with King. It's like he writes himself into a corner and makes up a magical tune you can fart to escape that corner.

He also always has trouble ending his books. They never really end in a satisfactory manner to me. They sort of meander to the end like he just runs out of ideas and drifts to a stop.

But I do enjoy the most of his work. The Stand is a masterpiece -- not the expanded, bloated version but the original. The Shining, Salem's Lot, Cujo -- some good horror churning stuff.

RWS · « **Reply #3 on:** July 30, 2012, 02:02:28 AM »

Quote from: Vandy Vol on July 29, 2012, 03:58:10 PM

I was looking into getting a Kindle. Saw that most new e-books were $10+, meanwhile I could still buy new paperbacks for $5.00. I guess you pay a premium for being able to digitally store books, but anyhow, back on track:

I saw that book while looking through the Kindle selections. It interested me, and I plan on picking it up.

A physical copy, of course, because I refuse to pay for an e-reader and pay more per book.

My wife has a Kindle Fire and loves it. We subscribe to Amazon Prime, which is like $80/year. You get lots of books and videos for free that you would have to otherwise pay for. There are still some books and videos that you have to pay for regardless. She travels alot for work, so it is great in airports, etc. Plus if you are reading books and use the cloud, you can use the Kindle app on your phone and it knows exactly what page you left off on while using the Kindle, and vice versa.

Saniflush · « **Reply #4 on:** July 30, 2012, 07:35:14 AM »

Quote from: Vandy Vol on July 29, 2012, 03:58:10 PM

I was looking into getting a Kindle. Saw that most new e-books were $10+, meanwhile I could still buy new paperbacks for $5.00. I guess you pay a premium for being able to digitally store books, but anyhow, back on track:

Have a kindle and like it a lot. You can get books a lot cheaper than that and if you want to go to prison with Chizad then you can get them outright free.

Kaos · « **Reply #5 on:** July 30, 2012, 07:42:16 AM »

Quote from: Saniflush on July 30, 2012, 07:35:14 AM

Have a kindle and like it a lot. You can get books a lot cheaper than that and if you want to go to prison with Chizad then you can get them outright free.

Thought this was a discussion of Stephen King. My bad.

Have a Nook. And a Nook color. Didn't think I would like. Do like. Like much.

AU_Tiger_2000 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 30, 2012, 09:37:45 AM »

If you're a "constant reader" (King reader's will understand that reference) you've seen this book coming for a while. I know he mentioned the basic idea (going back in time to stop the Kennedy assasination) in at least two different books that I remember. I think the first was in the Dead Zone and the second was in one of the latter Dark Tower books. It was at the point when the guys are in the Quonset hut outside of the breaker's camp when they find all the defunct portals where you could go and see things like the Hindenberg, Lincoln assasination, Kennedy assasinaiton, 9/11, etc.

Kaos · « **Reply #7 on:** July 30, 2012, 10:10:57 AM »

I was at Stephen King's house earlier this week.

Saniflush · « **Reply #8 on:** July 30, 2012, 10:27:30 AM »

Quote from: Kaos on July 30, 2012, 10:10:57 AM

I was at Stephen King's house earlier this week.

Let's see the restraining order.

Kaos · « **Reply #9 on:** July 30, 2012, 11:48:08 AM »

Quote from: Saniflush on July 30, 2012, 10:27:30 AM

Let's see the restraining order.

Ran when the cops showed. Did get a good picture of his gate.

Very unassuming home for a reclusive kabillionaire.

Token · « **Reply #10 on:** July 30, 2012, 03:35:14 PM »

Quote from: Kaos on July 29, 2012, 09:26:31 PM

He also always has trouble ending his books. They never really end in a satisfactory manner to me. They sort of meander to the end like he just runs out of ideas and drifts to a stop.

Not giving anything up, but personally that's exactly how I felt about the book. 1/2 through 3/4 of the way through the book I had a lot of great endings in my mind. Or at least more than a few that would be great. I was more than a little pissed by his ending.

Still a good book, and very much worth reading, but I was pissed at the ending.

Token · « **Reply #11 on:** July 30, 2012, 04:08:40 PM »

Ha. Just noticed where this got moved to. I'm not a heavy reader, so not going to be many book reviews. But I am about to start John Grisham's "Litigators".

Kaos · « **Reply #12 on:** July 30, 2012, 04:17:55 PM »

Quote from: Token on July 30, 2012, 04:08:40 PM

Ha. Just noticed where this got moved to. I'm not a heavy reader, so not going to be many book reviews. But I am about to start John Grisham's "Litigators".

I read Grisham's stuff. Usually finish any book of his I start the same day. In my mind he's the literary equivalent of McDonalds. It fills you up and you may even like it while you're scarfing it down but in the end it leaves you with nothing of substance.

I feel like he writes for the lowest common denominator -- and that he has a basic template that he follows every single time. Cayman Islands anyone?

Token · « **Reply #13 on:** August 08, 2012, 09:49:57 AM »

I couldn't get through 7 chapters of the "Litigators". It was that bad. Maybe it gets better, but I don't want to spend the time to find out. Grisham is all over the place. 7 chapters into the book, I know he's trying to go somewhere with all the back and forth, but I really just don't care where. So, I quit reading it.

AUJarhead · « **Reply #14 on:** August 08, 2012, 10:09:17 AM »

Just finished "Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever" by Jack McCallum.

An outstanding read about the 1992 Olympic Team.

Barkley's quote opens the book:

Quote

I don't know anything about Angola, but I know they're in trouble.

AU_Tiger_2000 · « **Reply #15 on:** August 08, 2012, 11:30:55 AM »

Quote from: Kaos on July 30, 2012, 04:17:55 PM

I feel like he writes for the lowest common denominator

Well he is a well know Democratic supporter.

Kaos · « **Reply #16 on:** August 08, 2012, 02:15:49 PM »

I'm trying to read Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies.

Good lord it's a painful read. The author is awful. The story could be compelling but I'm not sure I'll ever know based on how numbingly bad the author is at conveying it.

I've quit it three or four times and I'm not even a third done with it.

AUTiger1 · « **Reply #17 on:** October 15, 2012, 04:48:24 PM »

Quote from: Kaos on August 08, 2012, 02:15:49 PM

I'm trying to read Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies.

Good lord it's a painful read. The author is awful. The story could be compelling but I'm not sure I'll ever know based on how numbingly bad the author is at conveying it.

I've quit it three or four times and I'm not even a third done with it.

I almost bought this book last night and then remembered what you said about it.

I have the Samsung Galaxy Tablet thingy with the Droid OS and the Kindle App on it. I love that thing. I read the Hunger Games trilogy, even though it's an easy read (think Harry Potter) it was a pretty good series. In the middle of "Ambush Valley" by Eric Hammel, really good read. I know one of the Marines that was interviewed in the book.

AU_Tiger_2000 · « **Reply #18 on:** October 23, 2012, 04:53:37 PM »

I bought Micro from the paperback rack before a flight. It was a Michael Crichton novel that was unfinished upon his death and finished by somebody who I can't remember.

A company figures out how to shrink people and machinery down to 1/2" tall so that they can better research plants, insects, and bacteria in the rainforest to develop new drugs and chemical weapons. Some researchers get released into a rain forest while shrunken in an attempt to eliminate them because they "know too much" where they have to fight a bunch of insects, mice, spiders, etc before they can escape. So basically it was Jurassic Park with giant insects.

Had some kinda gross out/chilling/body horror deaths (one guy get torn apart by ants, another gets mistaken for a caterpillar by a wasp who then lays her eggs in him which then burst forth "Alien" style, one of the bad guys gets liquified by a spider) which are made more interesting in the fact that they are really the way insects feed on other insects, but unless you are looking for something mindless you could read in a three hour flight I would skip it and reread Jurassic Park or Andromeda Strain.

wesfau2 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 23, 2012, 08:16:51 PM »

Quote from: AU_Tiger_2000 on October 23, 2012, 04:53:37 PM

So basically it was Jurassic Park with giant insects.

Shit. That's Honey I Shrunk the Kids spliced with Innerspace.