That was actually one of my four recent DNFs. Chapter two was basically a giant (and unforgivable imo) info dump, and I gave up on it a few chapters after that.
Currently reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Never read it before, each of the stories are very short and I’m finding most of those very interesting
Ah, that'd be the short story collection, would it? I think I have it on some shelf somewhere. In fact, I think what I have is the collected works. Never made it past A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four, though not because it's bad at all, just... because. I could get behind reading some shorts right now. Would you say you can pick it up whenever, or should you save it for when you've read the main body of work? I'm honestly not sure what order this stuff is supposed to go in, if any.
I pride myself a bit on being able to finish just about any book I start, but this might end up a DNF for me too.
Yes, I would say you can pick it up whenever. In fact the first story in the collection (A Scandal In Bohemia) is probably the first Holmes story I’ve ever read. It was enough to give me an idea on who Holmes is, who Watson is, the nature of their partnership (although I never quite know why Holmes always wants Watson by his side every time there’s a case to crack - he never seems to deduce that much - but to his credit he is a good observer of Holmes and has tons of respect for him). It’s also amazing how Holmes seems to deduce so much out of virtually nothing. You’ll get all that in the first story and it isn’t really very long. Then the author sets the same idea for all the other ones.
I haven't read much Holmes (though I downloaded a massive book from Archive.org, I think it's all the shorts plus one novel), but I can give a little insight. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the Holmes stories I believe after writing Professor Challenger, and the team of Holmes and Watson is essentially the same as Challenger and Professor Sumerlee—the MC is a misanthropic genius who hates all humanity except for his one friend, who is the 'everyman' who tells his story (because you don't want an irascible misanthropic genius to tell his own story, you need somebody more relatable). And while Holmes and Challenger mistreat and insult their partners, there really is some level of brotherhood there, or maybe more properly a certain need for human companionship. The relationship is made pretty clear in the show Dr House MD, based on the Holmes stories (get it—House/Holmes?) Greg House has the same relationship to his only friend, the long-suffering Wilson, who is pretty much his opposite number. Where House is egotistical he's humble, where House is outspoken and even brazen he's polite (perhaps overly so). They seem to have that typical codependent relationship that's sort of parodied in all the classic comedy teams, where you've got the straight man who's always mean to the 'magical child'—fails to see his charm and blames him for all his own shortcomings. This is a pretty common sort of teamup—the mean-hearted users and abusers tend to latch onto the humble, helpful codependents. I think without their Watsons, Wilsons and Sumerlees, the Holmeses, Houses and Challengers of the world would have no friends and no relationships at all.
I just started Dune, on account of having seen the film. Well, not impressed so far. Kinda cheap writing. I hope it gets better.
Hey, thanks for this short insight re: the background of this book. I think a lot of people know about Sherlock Holmes and Watson but fewer people still would know about Dr Challenger and Professor Sumerlee or that this was ACD’s inspiration for writing this story. Have you ever seen The Great Mouse Detective? It’s basically Disney’s answer to Sherlock and Watson but parodied by mice! If you don’t like the book so far, I’m not sure if you’re going to start to like it as it goes along. I personally didn’t find the protagonists very relatable and that was my issue with the book. I found the themes too hard for my comfort, too much warfare, too much injustice, even while the MC was being declared a messiah. To its credit, I haven’t read too many stories that write from the POV of a Messiah, or how religions are asserted and how messiahs have to prove themselves to get a following. This book practically has a religious transcript of its own. I guess my other issue with the book is that while the series goes along, it drops its previous protagonists and gets itself new ones. I did not think that the author seemed to care too much for his characters, where the outcome was mostly too tragic. Didn’t reckon the planet was too hygienic without water as a resource, how they could live like that. A description of the lack of hygiene and the stink is hardly ever mentioned, nor the fact that they could easily have transported buckets of water from Caladan to Arrakis, considering the planet is in desperate need of it. It’s really just a very bewildering bit of sci-fi, Selbbin.
I was hoping for a more "this is what I like about her writing" kind of answer, something that could feed my curiosity and help me find a way to appreciate her.
I, like the rest of us here, am responsible of what I write, not how others take my words. So take them the way you prefer to take them. I'm not a restaurant by the way.
I am not sure what prompted a negative response on your part. I wanted to know why you consider the book one of the best pieces of contemporary writing. I won't get offended if you choose not to answer, but I assure you I never thought of you as a "restaurant". Hope you feel in a better mood soon
Thanks. I'm not sure I'm going to get very far with it. On paper I should like it but the actual writing is not as good as it's reputation had me believe.
You could totally apply right now for the Nobel on Internet PC Kindness. Please, go for it... Never mind last year's winner sentence was identical as yours. Now seriously, since you seem so worried - My day was already going pretty good, but we all appreciate a (good) foot massage... I am not sure why you interpreted my response as negative. 'Milkman' is not for everyone. I can interpret that as a kind or as a negative remark. Kind on the sense 'Don't worry if you don't like it'. If you want to interpret that in some other way, there is little I can (and want to) do to stop you. Anna Burn's voice first. Then comes setting, themes and characters. Third how she handles the plot of a (quite ambitious) novel like this. I won't write here a breakdown of the whole thing with examples. I'd rather do an essay or a blog post. That is if the cook here were on the mood, of course... If you want to give the novel a second chance as a writer, to improve your skills, and you are not used to that sort of long paced, 'quiet and subtle' writing, try to read other Booker Prizes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_and_shortlisted_authors_of_the_Booker_Prize Start with Paul Auster New York Trilogy books. If you 'want to like it' (as a reader), I'm not helping you. I see no reason why a reader should ever make an effort to 'like things'. I'd rather have a reader happy reading whatever she prefers, even if I might think of it as complete rubbish. But it is your rubbish, and I'll respect your right to like it. Reading should bring joy, not headaches. Shouldn't feel like a burden, or an obligation.
Sometimes I want to like books and movies I don't care for because other people seem to get so much enjoyment or enlightenment out of the same. Makes me wonder what essential information I'm missing. I didn't enjoy a fair number of art genres until someone explained to me what to look for, then wham! Whole new horizons in art to contemplate. In another thread, Xoic made a fascinating analysis of Black Swan which intrigues me enough that I'll watch the film again someday without focusing on "why didn't they get a real dancer to play Natalie Portman's part?"
There are lots of reasons why I think and want to like things I don't like--for me reading about learning and changing perspective in life. I find that you express yourself in the posts to me in this thread in a way that you think is nonchalantly cool but comes across to me full of hidden contempt. In addition, I am sorry my kindness rubs you off the wrong way, however I won't change on that front, because being kind makes me feel f* good! And with this, I won't respond to other posts that veil offending my person or potentially lead to a fight. If you change attitude, of course I am happy to communicate and exchange ideas.
IMMUNE ~ Phillip Dettmer. 300+ pages on the human immune system. The above guy's the best science communicator I've ever come across. His knack of finding and using perfectly vivid metaphors/analogies has me super comfortable understanding the complicated subjects he portrays. Granted the imagery fades from memory too soon after its concoction, but that's just me and my ageing teflon brain.
For the last forty years, I have associated SH with lemon juice bars and the two weeks I lay on a couch in front of a woodstove, first enduring, then recovering from pneumonitis. The Speckled Band was the first story I read in the fourth grade and is still my favorite, originally because it gave me a delicious case of the creeps and now because it gives me a delicious case of the giggles.
Picked up a book I read in high school nearly fifty years ago. Like reading it for the first time. Still good. Mother Night. Kurt Vonnegut.
Some interesting observations about Sherlock Holmes abounding. I don't think I've ever read a single SH story, although I've seen almost every SH tv/film adaption made (except maybe the b/w ones). Not sure why, since I do like detective stories in general. I do remember reading almost all Agatha Christie's novels when I was a youngling although having revisited them recently I find I'm not as enamoured of them as I used to be. Our tastes change I guess. I have finally found myself reading the last of the Expanse series. After eight books and five shorts it's been a bit of a marathon, but I have to say I don't think the writing quality has dropped for one sentence.
I remember the first two books I read in the fourth grade. Swiss Family Robinson, and a pulp SF by Poul Anderson called Vault of the Ages, an early introduction to dystopian fiction. I got hooked on SciFi.
