What Are You Reading? Part Deux

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

Edward John

Well-Known Member
Aug 15, 2019
4,004
18,785
23
Is that quote from the Tom Holland of Fright Night and Child's Play fame or the Tobey Maguire wannabe Tom Holland?
LMAO :)
No, this the English historian Tom Holland, who has written much about medievil history.
Also, I agree, Maguire destroys Tom Holland as Spiderman. That last movie, Far From Home, was TERRIBLE! :) Made the third Spiderman Raimi movie seem like a masterpiece.
 

Wayoftheredpanda

Flaming Wonder Telepath
May 15, 2018
4,907
22,094
20
LMAO :)
No, this the English historian Tom Holland, who has written much about medievil history.
Also, I agree, Maguire destroys Tom Holland as Spiderman. That last movie, Far From Home, was TERRIBLE! :) Made the third Spiderman Raimi movie seem like a masterpiece.
I enjoyed Far From Home as the generic marvel movie it was and it was pretty fun to watch regardless, Jake Gyllenhal is a perfect Mysterio. Maguire's deadpan humor and delivery makes the Raimi movies great
 

Edward John

Well-Known Member
Aug 15, 2019
4,004
18,785
23
I enjoyed Far From Home as the generic marvel movie it was and it was pretty fun to watch regardless, Jake Gyllenhal is a perfect Mysterio. Maguire's deadpan humor and delivery makes the Raimi movies great
There was a debate somewhere about who the better MJ is, for me there is no question, KD. Also, I used to be into Marvel until it became the popculture abomination that it is now.
 

Wayoftheredpanda

Flaming Wonder Telepath
May 15, 2018
4,907
22,094
20
There was a debate somewhere about who the better MJ is, for me there is no question, KD. Also, I used to be into Marvel until it became the popculture abomination that it is now.
Eh, the marvel cinematic universe ain't that bad. Mostly good cast, some pretty fun movies, and god I still need to watch Infinity War and Endgame.
 

Edward John

Well-Known Member
Aug 15, 2019
4,004
18,785
23
Eh, the marvel cinematic universe ain't that bad. Mostly good cast, some pretty fun movies, and god I still need to watch Infinity War and Endgame.
I don't have any snobbery towards it, I just think that they seemed to not really care about innovating, story wise, as the series has went on. I mean, a lot of people give Iron Man 3 crap, but at least that did something different.
 

Wayoftheredpanda

Flaming Wonder Telepath
May 15, 2018
4,907
22,094
20
I don't have any snobbery towards it, I just think that they seemed to not really care about innovating, story wise, as the series has went on. I mean, a lot of people give Iron Man 3 crap, but at least that did something different.
Don't remember Iron Man 3 much except for the lego toys, I had a couple of those.
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
9,682
65,192
59
sweden
Started Flood by Stephen Baxter. A Sf- novel about floods and rising sealevels that drowns a big part of the world. A disaster novel in short but based on science as all Baxters novels are. Disasters novels can be good or crap or plain boring, its all depends. One of the better i read about rising water is The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard. Too early yet to tell which way this will turn out. Baxter is a bit uneven i think.
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
9,682
65,192
59
sweden
Finished Murder In The Mews and plunged then straight into Hercule Poirots Christmas, both by Christie.
One thing i like about her and in general early crimestories is the lack of serialkillers and crazy murderers. There is always a reason. The Murderers might be stupid or very intelligent, brutal or gentle, or even try to disguise their murder as something else but there's always a reason. No random murders here. I might be oldfashioned, sue me, but mostly i'm bored with all the serial murders in newer crime fiction the different kind of readers of a criminals psyche that are common. there are exceptions that are well made but often it is just an excuse to write a sloppy story full of blood and murder.
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
82,822
47
United States
I have a TON of paperbacks that were my dad's, that I am finally digging out of the closet. He was a fan of Carl Hiaasan and Tim Dorsey, but I have already read all of their stuff. Now I am reading my way through his James Lee Burke books. :)
James Lee Burke is fantastic! Enjoy the Robicheaux books. That series is very atmospheric. Characters are like family.
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
9,682
65,192
59
sweden
Started Ark by Stephen Baxter. A kind of sequel to his earlier Flood. Also started 20.000 Leagues under the sea by Jules Verne. The unabridged version. The one i have and have read is an abridged youth version. To even make such a version of Verne is sacrilege, i think. This is just as easy to read and just as full of action but fuller in characters and descriptions. Also finished The Andromeda Strain by Crichton. I think this is not as good as Sphere or Timeline. The basic Crichton formula is here but not yet the balance between the fact and the storyside of his plot. Much smoother handled in the later ones. Still very enjoyable.
 

Edward John

Well-Known Member
Aug 15, 2019
4,004
18,785
23
Started Ark by Stephen Baxter. A kind of sequel to his earlier Flood. Also started 20.000 Leagues under the sea by Jules Verne. The unabridged version. The one i have and have read is an abridged youth version. To even make such a version of Verne is sacrilege, i think. This is just as easy to read and just as full of action but fuller in characters and descriptions. Also finished The Andromeda Strain by Crichton. I think this is not as good as Sphere or Timeline. The basic Crichton formula is here but not yet the balance between the fact and the storyside of his plot. Much smoother handled in the later ones. Still very enjoyable.
I got introduced to Jules Verne by the concept album from Rick Wakeman, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, great album and book. Probably the greatest writer France ever produced.
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
9,682
65,192
59
sweden
I got introduced to Jules Verne by the concept album from Rick Wakeman, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, great album and book. Probably the greatest writer France ever produced.
Perhaps if you just count the adventure action side of literature. But we have Dumas, Proust, Hugo, Balzac, Zola, Flaubert and de Maupassant just to name a few of the classical ones. Verne will always be remembered as one of the two founders of science fiction as a genre together with Wells.
 

Edward John

Well-Known Member
Aug 15, 2019
4,004
18,785
23
Perhaps if you just count the adventure action side of literature. But we have Dumas, Proust, Hugo, Balzac, Zola, Flaubert and de Maupassant just to name a few of the classical ones. Verne will always be remembered as one of the two founders of science fiction as a genre together with Wells.
I would also add Voltaire to that list. Yep, Verne is probably the first ever Science Fiction writer.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
I'm reading F*ggots by Larry Kramer. His first novel. It's about a gay man just about to turn 40 and his desperate attempts to find true love before his birthday. Written in 1978 it became a sensation due to it's very graphic depiction of the (then) gay lifestyle. This is before the AIDS crisis. I read it years ago and only remember bits and pieces. Kramer was very brave to write this story. He died May 27 of this year.