What are you reading???

[The Arbitrary]

Originally Posted by ajstudies

I personally didn't like Catching Fire as much b/c there was basically no story without the other two. I enjoy series, but I think the books need to be able to stand on their own as well. And then there was the huge cliffhanger--I hate cliffhangers. They make me feel like the author is just trying to guarantee sale of their next book. A good author doesn't need a cliffhanger to get me to buy/read the next one. It's kind of a copout.

I think there's two different ways of going about that. Some books need to be part of the larger group (Hunger Games, Harry Potter) and others are built in such a way that they can stand alone (Da Vinci Code, Along Came a Spider). I think they both have their merits, and it's really just about how invested you want to get in the series.

[Anthemyst]

Originally Posted by The Arbitrary

I think there's two different ways of going about that. Some books need to be part of the larger group (Hunger Games, Harry Potter) and others are built in such a way that they can stand alone (Da Vinci Code, Along Came a Spider). I think they both have their merits, and it's really just about how invested you want to get in the series.

Yeah, I feel the same. To be fair, most first entries in a trilogy or series (Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc) can stand alone, but once the series has caught on and the author can write as much as they want, they get to stretch their wings a bit and tell a longer story. Sometimes that works out terribly, like with The Matrix or Pirates of the Carribean, but in the Hunger Games I think it works very well.

[Patience]

Originally Posted by Anthemyst

Yeah, I feel the same. To be fair, most first entries in a trilogy or series (Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc) can stand alone, but once the series has caught on and the author can write as much as they want, they get to stretch their wings a bit and tell a longer story. Sometimes that works out terribly, like with The Matrix or Pirates of the Carribean, but in the Hunger Games I think it works very well.

In the quality series, the whole series is already conceived of. The Author doesn't just write due to the success. (Harry Potter, LOTR)

In the weaker ones the newer concepts are after thoughts to build on the initial success. (Dune)

Now of course that can cross over, but I think it holds

[Mel-o-rama]

Originally Posted by Jack

Do people here buy books? My library is pretty good at getting almost anything I request so I rarely actually buy a book.

That depends. I've been waiting to read the Hunger Games (first book), but I've been on the library waiting list for over a month, and I'm still 56th in line. You'd think a movie was getting ready to come out or something!

Seeing that it's now impossible to get the book before such a movie might come out, we've broken down and ordered the trilogy. It should be arriving in the mail any day now.

Any day now...

[Maine-iac]

Originally Posted by Paintball Wizard

Currently reading Jane Eyre for the first time. Took a long time to get into it.

I like Jane Eyre a lot, but the early parts at Lowood, and the later parts with the Rivers family take a lot more effort than the bulk of the story at Thornwood. Although the Lowood bits are useful at establishing how someone like Jane who appears so plain and meek on the surface developed a core of steel, they can get tedious.

[Maine-iac]

Originally Posted by Jack

Do people here buy books? My library is pretty good at getting almost anything I request so I rarely actually buy a book.

Well, I've always bought books I thought I might want to reread, and "fun" books I wanted to treat roughly (read in the tub, take to the beach, etc.). Used the library for most everything else.

Except here. Somewhere around here I've posted my gripes with my local library. I could live with the limited selection, since you can always use interlibrary loan to get what you want. But the chief librarian was terribly rude, and the policies are draconian, so I don't patronize it here. Which is sad.

Thank heavens for the Kindle, because the books stacked around the house were getting out of hand.

[hd]

Originally Posted by Jack

Do people here buy books? My library is pretty good at getting almost anything I request so I rarely actually buy a book.

I used to live about a mile and a half from an awesome library (part of a county-wide system of nearly 40 libraries). The library itself had a great selection, and you could request just about anything you wanted via inter-library loan. Where I live now, there is really only one library, and the selection is terrible. The copy of Hunger Games I read I actually borrowed from someone; until that person buys the second and third books, I'm unlikely to read them.

[Aeitra]

Originally Posted by Paintball Wizard

Currently reading Jane Eyre for the first time. Took a long time to get into it.

>.> It might be some residual high school assignment still wearing off. Hate that book, never have I ever wanted to murder the narrator so much.

[Patience]

Originally Posted by Paintball Wizard

Currently reading Jane Eyre for the first time. Took a long time to get into it.

read that over the summer. Not the easiest read, but held some interest - a lot more intrigue than the Jane Austin's I am reading now

[Maine-iac]

Austen is all character and wit. Relatively few dramatic incidents.

Can't say that about "Jane Eyre", what with lunatics locked in the attic, devastating fires, attempted bigamy, etc.