UKRM Book Club

I was even lazier and watched the film.

FWIW I'm with you on this one. Stuff like HP and Pratchett is great
for light entertainment, I have most Pratchett books myself. But a
challenging read it is not.

Films provide a good analogy. HP and TP are like Disney. They
produce stuff that appeals to all ages but, at the end of the day, is
aimed at children.

 

Precisely why I'm urging people not to read Potter, but to read /good
books/

I didn't. You think I did. but it's not the same thing.

 

absolutely. Though, to be fair, not a waste of *much* time.

 

I don't know. I liked it. But it isn't the "work of genius" that it's
being hyped up to be. It's good, but flawed.

 

I don't think it *is* a kid's book.

It also happens to contain one of the most obvious and clear
descriptions of the "Monty Hall Problem" I've ever seen.

 

On Sun, 18 Apr 2004 18:04:33 +0100, Ian < (really address

fair enough.

Actually, I value Ben's opinion. He think's it's unmitigated shit. So
do my two step-sons.

OK, I'll come out for the "HP is complete shit" vote too, then.

I'll admit it's very popular shit, mind you.

 

Time for a new thread.
I say "Switch".

 

I don't think it's shit, I just think it's a crying shame that it's heralded
as a literary saviour, like it was terribly ground-breaking or something,
the antidote to some imagined malaise in story telling. It's a fairly
imaginative kids story that's been hyped to the nth degree with the gusto
normally attributed to 'pop idol' types.

When I hear kids talking about it I wonder if they've ever, or will ever,
read anything else. And when I see adults reading it I understand why some
aspects of the world are like they are.

 

Ugh.. Starbucks - The McDonalds of caffiene.

 

I read and understand many adult books. I still like children's books
occasionally.

It's not lazy to deliberately try to shrug off the adult world and
attempt to see it through a child's eyes - see b) below.

I haven't read any hyped books.

or:

a) because you work with children and need to read the stuff you've
put out for them to read.

b) Because you've managed to retain a refreshingly childlike view of
the world with part of your mind and wish to be able to turn it on at
will; children's books help to keep it that way.

And this ^^^, Patronising or what?


--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
XV535 (sold), GPZ500S (promised), SR250 (in bits). BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2.
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

Very true. So your original comment picking up on the sentence
construction is not really what bugs you about HP then? So what is?
From the few pages I read of the first book it seemed to be well
written. From it's huge popularity with children and adults the plot
must be well constructed and the characterisation good. The mechanisms
for suspension of disbelief must be in place. We come back to the nub
of the argument, which is nothing to do with Harry Potter or any other
particular book: adults should not be reading works for children.

I beg to differ. You can look down upon me all you like, you can cast
me as daft or lazy if you want to - but it is not true. I have a
clever and lively mind, I often seek the stimulation of a really
difficult book. I also seek the different, but no less valid,
stimulation of a simple tale simply told. Such tales used to be part
of society; these days, we will more likely find this in children's
literature. I have just finished 'Diddakoi', the one I was reading. I
shall find myself reflecting on its clear moral messages of learning
to fit in and accepting people who are different as I work with some
very difficult children over the next few weeks.

On a different tack, I am sure none of you nay-sayers would object to
an adult reading something like 'Alice in Wonderland', which has been
acclaimed as having something for all, yet it was written as a
children's book.

--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
XV535 (sold), GPZ500S (promised), SR250 (in bits). BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2.
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

I happen to love all the Hemingway books I have read but that's not
the point. Nobody who is holding up the intellectual end of the
argument could sneer at Hemingway.

--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
XV535 (sold), GPZ500S (promised), SR250 (in bits). BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2.
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

Ah, now I'd agree with that.

--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
XV535 (sold), GPZ500S (promised), SR250 (in bits). BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2.
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

No author worth his salt would say "The ball was red, it belonged to
John". An author has to pack a book with ideas. It would go something
like "John's red ball rolled across the grass and stopped at the feet
of a tall angry man". Whether the book is for children or adults, the
colour and ownership of the ball is established and the plot is driven
- what happens next will vary with its intended audience. There is no
excuse for bad writing, for any age.

--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
XV535 (sold), GPZ500S (promised), SR250 (in bits). BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2.
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

Thats typical of you, you f*ck*ng snob...
--
O
1 Black, shortly to undergo extensive surgery.
1 Red, undergoing lightweight surgery. -----
1 Blue, for Power-Ranger baiting. | o |
Numbers ... | o |
Stuff ... | ooo |
Life ... -----

 

So maybe he's a lazy typer... or too lazy to look up words in a
dictionary...
--
O
1 Black, shortly to undergo extensive surgery.
1 Red, undergoing lightweight surgery. -----
1 Blue, for Power-Ranger baiting. | o |
Numbers ... | o |
Stuff ... | ooo |
Life ... -----

 

WRONG. FACT.
--
O
1 Black, shortly to undergo extensive surgery.
1 Red, undergoing lightweight surgery. -----
1 Blue, for Power-Ranger baiting. | o |
Numbers ... | o |
Stuff ... | ooo |
Life ... -----

 

He probably uses a yoga technique... learnt from an adult book for
book snobs...
--
O
1 Black, shortly to undergo extensive surgery.
1 Red, undergoing lightweight surgery. -----
1 Blue, for Power-Ranger baiting. | o |
Numbers ... | o |
Stuff ... | ooo |
Life ... -----

 

snip

'Cause they don't f*ck*ng fit? What drugs are you on?
--
O
1 Black, shortly to undergo extensive surgery.
1 Red, undergoing lightweight surgery. -----
1 Blue, for Power-Ranger baiting. | o |
Numbers ... | o |
Stuff ... | ooo |
Life ... -----

 

It's not a child's eyes, is it? It's an adult, writing about children in a
fantastic setting, who don't actually act like any children ever known
before.