71–80 of 109 posts
> Most of the fiction books are based on the presentation of a concept or a group of concepts. This is quite a narrow view of fiction. Story, relationships, worldbuilding, emotion, and language are just some of the reasons I read fiction (and I imagine, just some of the reasons many authors write fiction).
Reading SRD, Ballard and so on
> I find audiobooks are a better medium for consuming fiction. By doing so, you also save your time. There should be a YMMV attached to this sentence because it's certainly not the case for me. The best that I get and retain comprehensibility of audio is 1.75x speed and that's still a lot slower than I can read the same text. Maybe the author meant that it saves time because you can do it in the car, whilst jogging/w…
The author tried to advocate a "practical view" of fiction books. When your sole aim is to extract some useful idea, why not read the abbreviated version or community reviews on Goodreads?
I was honestly looking forward to an explanation of what utensils to use, and what sort of wines to pair them with. As it turns out, lignin is not especially nutritious to human beings, so perhaps “read books” would be a more helpful choice of words. Obviously the implication is that you only read a book once, but I’m not sure I can get on board with that. I think I’ll go reread Red Dragon , which has a lot to say on…
This may not be the best forum for this, but I actually have a (what I believe to be) really good story about consuming books. The first time I read Howl by Ginsberg, it was a copy given to me by someone who, as I look back now, was trying to guide my life away from its trajectory at the time. I was young, had, again as I look back now, an un-diagnosed mental illness, and was self-medicating through a combination of…
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Exactly. Reading any good book and fully understanding it takes a lot more than a simple once-through hearing. Sure, you might catch the themes and be able to have a water cooler conversation, but the best books are the ones that aren't page turners; ones that you spend all night on, and only make it through 20 pages. Besides, when I read something really good, like Hitchhiker's Guide, I usually flip it over and star…
I know that I'm in minority, but could you tell me what do you find great about Hitchhiker's Guide? I find it ok-ish. It feels overly chaotic for me. Like it really tries to wave the idea of improbability at me and eventually shove it. Of course everything is exaggerated for comedic effects, but for me it's like it tries too hard. The result is very incoherent. It reminds me of a few movies I enjoyed dearly when I wa…
You mentioned judging the scenes by themselves; this is how I view Hitchhiker's Guide, as a compilation of great scenes that each occasionally do have some great meta-commentary on the world at large, and almost all are funny and self-contained. There isn't so much "development" as there is a progression of in-jokes.
The characters are more or less used as puzzle pieces to fit into a scene; while they might not really "develop" so to speak, they are fun archetypes that are thrown into silly situations, and we recognize them by what they do and say. They don't compare to most novels or literature when it comes to character development, but it can often be a gag as well just how far they've come without developing whatsoever.
It definitely does try hard, and it definitely is incoherent. This turns it off to a lot of people, and that's totally reasonable. For those who essentially want to read Spaceballs, however, it is a work of art comparable to Plato's Republic.
>his knowledge is small compared to non-fiction. Rest of the book is for your entertainment. And fiction does a good job of presenting the idea. To absorb the idea, it doesn’t require a thorough reading of the book (sometimes it does). For the same reason, I find audiobooks are a better medium for consuming fiction. By doing so, you also save your time. this is such a horrible take on fiction that I've seen popup in…
> As Stephen Frears, the director of High Fidelity , worked to translate the best moments of the Nick Hornby novel on which the movie was based, he found to his surprise that the best moments were the voice-overs, especially the direct speeches of Rob Gordon (John Cusack) to the camera. > Frears said, “What we realized was that the novel was a machine to get to twelve crucial speeches in the book about romance and ar…
This is a pet peeve of mine in any type of art, especially installation art or sculpture where a clear and simple point can be quite literally expanded into a elaborate and overbuilt set that doesn't add to the impact. Or worse, obfuscates the original idea.
But then there's an explorative type of art where the method and the process is much more meaningful than the insight or punchline that the novel may have been built around. The Waves by Virginia Woolf, for example.
(edited to use my words more good)
> I like Fantasy and Young Adult stories. What are Young Adult stories? Anyone have any examples? I am genuinely curious.
Young Adult stories are stories that are often where the protagonists are coming-of-age, still dealing with school or part-time jobs, parents are significant in their lives, etc. The themes are often coming-of-age, finding suitable mentors (and avoiding villanous mentors), new love, etc. I'd suggest: The City Of Ember Akata Witch The Hate U Give The Sun Is Also A Star There's also the ones most people know: Silverwin…
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> most fiction books I read don't have any deeper meaning That's fine; keep doing what you enjoy. But there is life-changing fiction, so it is not as though there is nothing a person could choose to read that would be great.
Both you and the post I replied to seem to imply that fiction books without any deeper meaning cannot be good or great.