Member: ajm490

I think I understand what you mean. I read the book version of "A Clockwork Orange"(haven't seen the movie yet though) and the main difference is the ending. As you probably know, there were two versions of the book: the UK version with 21 chapters and the US with 20(the last one left out). The last chapter is kind of a more hopeful ending.
There's one book I read that I think fits your description. It's called "Acide sulfurique" by this Belgian writer, Amelie Nothomb. It's about a TV show that is created to be like a real concentration camp. All the conditions are like in a real concentration camp and they find random victims on the street, burn all their documents and give them number, hire kapos, etc. And everyone talks about how immoral it is, yet they all watch it. I read the book in English though, the translation was kind of awkward.

posted by alcoholicferrets at 2:51 pm (EST) on Aug 14, 2008

No worries. The whole thing reminded me of when I first started posting in the "75 Books" thread and said something about how I found "The Turn of the Screw" disappointing because it was neither scary nor a plausible psychological thriller, and someone else told me that maybe I just didn't get it, or something to that effect. I instantly got defensive, but I always wondered how the comment was meant--it's so hard to gauge one's tone on the internets.
Anyway, happy reading and all that,
Erin

posted by wunderkind at 9:10 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2008

I was looking through your library, and I'm just wondering, what is the "gross" tag supposed to mean?

posted by alcoholicferrets at 6:14 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2008

PS--The "emo" thing was totally based on your haircut and nothing else. It was an incorrect assumption and I apologize, but it was based on the fact that emo boys usually have a similar style. I googled "emo haircut" just now to make sure. I hereby retract all previous statements.

posted by wunderkind at 5:23 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2008

Hi,
Well, I want to say first that your reading list for the year is one of the most interesting in the group and I've been following it with interest; I particularly agree with your comments on Palahniuk. Which is to say that I didn't have any problem with your opinions and certainly don't have any problem with your language or anything like that.

What bothered me was how you reacted to Clea's initial comment, which seemed dismissive and rude. The reason I posted on her wall instead of your thread was perhaps a misguided attempt to support her (not that she needed it), as well as an effort to avoid direct confrontation; it was an easy but fairly wimpy way to go about things, and, yes, I should have just addressed my thoughts to you or kept them to myself. The "high school" comparison was not so much about you as about the way you argued your point, which reminded me a lot of the way people in my high school English class would talk about books they didn't like. I don't know where I used "beaten", but if you meant the "fight the good fight" thing, I meant that in a "keep on expressing your opinion" rather than a "kick the metaphorical shit out of him" way. Anyway, it was not meant literally.

So I'm sorry if any feelings were hurt, but can you at least see what I was afraid of? You said you don't bite, but look how you reacted to Clea's second post. You apologized later, and I understand that internet musings are often given to misunderstanding, but I guess I was just trying to avoid all of that (not writing anything would have been a better method, but oh well).

Anyway, it looks like everyone was making incorrect assumptions about everyone else, but if you're willing to let bygones be bygones, then so am I.

Cheers,
wunderkind

posted by wunderkind at 5:04 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2008

Hey.
Like the other people who commented, I read your "Breaking Dawn" review and I have to say, you've just convinced me to read the Twilight books! I've been avoiding them for the precise reasons most girls love them-the romance stuff. I've seen some comments about how "Twilight" is like fanfiction, the sparkly vampires, etc. so I had at most a morbid curiosity to read the books. But now I actually want to read them seriously. So...thanks, I guess! =]

posted by alcoholicferrets at 10:54 am (EST) on Aug 6, 2008

Hello,
I would also like to just say that I thought your review for Breaking Dawn was good. It covered everything, both the emotional things and the simply things like writting techniques.

I loved the book, and I agree that this is where the series was heading the entire time, but most, if not all, of the fans simply refused to think of this when they've been waiting for the conclusion. I thought it fit well, she wrote it perfectly, and it sank to a whole new depth (As in the characters' feelings, reactions, choices and stories) while still being funny and at times carefree. It was still sweet and romantic, but it was darker than the others, not that I am complaining. And don't worry about you being a guy and liking it-- I knew quite a few men who have read the books and loved them.

In my opinion, the fans that are dissing B.D. and Stephenie Meyer must not have ever been true fans, because if they were, they would have realized that this was the perfect book, the perfect continuation of the story we all have come to love. And even though it's "fantasy" it's always had much deeper roots, reaching out to the audience and connecting with them more than almost any other book or series I have ever read-- and that's saying a lot, since I have read a lot of books so far and loved a great deal of them....

But, anyway, just thought I would say hi and great job.

~TBQ~

posted by The_Book_Queen at 3:25 pm (EST) on Aug 5, 2008

hey man,
i really enjoyed the review that you posted for breaking dawn and i completely agree. Breaking dawn is the true essence of the saga, and therefore of Stephanie Meyer herself, so all we can do is accept it for what it is because those who stop at the romance don't really see that soul of the book. so i'd like to say thats it cool that your a guy that like the books and sees them for what they really are.
Peace. :)

posted by Pyerun at 11:25 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2008