Becky's comments (member since Nov 04, 2008)

Becky's comments from the SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group.

I'd agree with Chris. I believe it is reading, and in some cases may even be much more entertaining than reading the text is.

The way I see it, books are simply a way of extending the shelf life of oral stories. Way back in the day, stories and legends and histories were passed down orally, until eventually people started using more lasting methods of communication and we got out of the habit of listening.

So, what I'm trying to say is that we started out listening. We listened to stories as kids, before we could read. We listened to stories as a people, before we graduated to writing or other forms of communication. Audiobooks just take us back to that, in a way.

It took me a while, and still is iffy for me sometimes, but I am getting more and more accustomed to audiobooks. I used to hate them and would never listen to one. (I can hear the characters in my head well enough without some 3rd party "interpreting" it for me.) But I've had a run of good ones that have changed my opinions, and the stories were just as well communicated via audio as they are on the page. With, dare I say it, a little bit of oopmh. ;)

Silvana, I believe that the books on the group bookshelf are the group reads. I've just looked and I didn't see any of Crichton's books there. I would definitely love to discuss one though.

Stacie wrote: "The cover art may influence me to pick up the book and read the blurb, but I don't buy based on the cover. I will admit that bad cover art often keeps me from picking up a book to look at the blurb though. If the cover looks like the template for free business cards it screams 'lack of effort put into making this book!'... I prefer no art to bad art, fair or not."

I agree with this 100%. I rarely if ever try to buy a fantasy book in the bookstore without first knowing exactly what I want based on recommendation. Some of the covers are so hideous!

Some of them, honestly, remind me of cartoon Harlequin covers where the steamy guy was replaced with an elf with a long-bow or something, and the swooning woman is now a dwarf, or a wizard, or a dragon. Etc.

Awful.

Arthur wrote: "True, but that's it. In one sentence you have summed up the idea. The rest is epic fantasy."

Can't ALL apocalyptic-type stories be summed up similarly? They all feature the end of the world or life in some way, but that's never the whole story.

Can't they all be categorized within a secondary genre, or more? I think all of my apocalyptic-type books are cross-shelved because they all can fit within other genres and appeal to a broader audience than just those of us who love this one.

Granted, I hold pretty broad genre definitions, but for me, for a book to be apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic, whatever, life as we know it needs to end, even if it's not technically destroyed.

You could also try Abe's Books Booksleuths... They are very helpful. www.abesbooks.com

I agree that the possible sycophants are annoying, but I don't really think of that in the same way. To me, on GR, "spam" is when someone is trying to sell me and everyone else something.

I can accept the annoying fans, even if I may not agree, because they have every right to discuss their appreciation for said author or whatever. But when I'm viewed as nothing more than a typing wallet to an author, that's where I draw the line. And signatures are just mini versions of the full length spam posts.

Post goes here.

Sincerely,
Author
--Buy my book!--

Repeat times infinity.

*block*

I will chime in here that I personally think signatures are worse than straight up spam. They are in your face with EVERY SINGLE POST, and I get tired of seeing them, especially when the user is an active member of the group.

If you're an active member of the group and have something to offer, work it appropriately into conversation or post it in the appropriate area. I personally do not appreciate being inundated with signature lines reminding me of what I already know.

It is hard to imagine. Me being so serious all the time and all. I sometimes wish I had a sense of humor, but then I would have to laugh, and that would just be annoying. :P Ooh, progress!

Jim wrote: "No, 'Eureka'. The science is stupid, but the show is fun, IMO. "

Haha... I was being facetious. ;)

At least B&N giftcards don't expire! That's like found money!

I remember trying to read Anne Rice's "Servant of the Bones" when I was in highschool, and after leaving it in several classes and having to retrieve it from angry teachers a few times, I finally and for good misplaced it, either in the ladies' room or on top of my locker, or somewhere... I recall setting it on top of the paper towel dispenser, and on top of my locker, but I couldn't tell you which was the last place I had it.

I think that was a sign though. I've never been able to get through an entire Anne Rice book, much as I'd like to, and I have tried! I think the book was trying to save me from unnecessary suffering, IE: description induced coma.

You mean Ureeka?

True Ben, haha! But I'd prefer if they at least said, out loud, "We messed up, and we will not be deleting or altering ebooks/data/anything at all from people's readers in the future, under any circumstances."

That I would respect and appreciate.

You know, maybe I am really cynical right now, but I'm not impressed with that apology. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.

Am I supposed to pity them, with their "scar tissue"? That's what it seems like to me, a ploy to get sympathy for their "painful mistake" rather than saying anything about their plans to make "better decisions". Speaking of which, any communication on what those will be?

"The power to delete your books, movies, and music remotely is a power no one should have. Here's one way around this: Don't buy a Kindle until Amazon updates its terms of service to prohibit remote deletions. Even better, the company ought to remove the technical capability to do so, making such a mass evisceration impossible in the event that a government compels it."

Sounds good to me.

Eric_W wrote: "I'm truly surprised at the myopia of the publishers who should be begging to make their books available in e-book format. "

Yes, you'd think that they would, huh? It would be great if every book was available in e-book format.

I'll just continue with my weight lifting regimen for now. :)

You're right, Chad, it's not public domain yet in the US, but the fact is that it is available elsewhere... As quite a lot of books are. And free. No download required even on some of the sites, like www.ReadPrint.com. The internet isn't constrained by geography, so anyone can read the book online if they choose.

So why should someone invest in a Kindle when it's not necessary, and when it seems, to me at least, that Amazon doesn't take their job of providing a reputable product seriously?

I certainly won't be making that investment. I'll stick with paper books that I can actually own. ...Own for now anyway.

I could see that, but 1984 is available in e-book format, both free and for purchase from numerous sites:
http://www.readprint.com/work-1249/1984-...
http://www.planetebook.com/1984.asp
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/g...
http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/ite... etc.

Those are only four of quite a lot of sites offering this book, and all I did was google "1984 Ebook". I guess readers don't really need the Kindle after all.

I guess the issue for me is the principle. Amazon should not have the right to remove something I've already purchased. I shouldn't have to assume that every purchase I make could just be a "loaner" in case it's not really legal and Amazon's sleeping on the job of policing their site.

If that's the way that Amazon is going to handle issues like this, it's not worth it to me to have a Kindle. In this particular case, it seems like the Kindle amounted to nothing more than an expensive library card.

I can understand that, but in my opinion, Amazon is at fault, not the purchasers. So Amazon should have taken responsibility and removed it from their system so that nobody else could purchase it, but left the ones already purchased where they were.

I have a real problem with anyone being able to just remove something from my possession that I bought legally. And the purchasers did buy the book legally from Amazon, whether the book was pirated or not.

What they should have done was inform the purchasers that they had mistakenly allowed an illegal copy of the book to be sold on their site, and offered to replace it with a legal copy at no cost to the customer.

You could also try www.Abesbooks.com Book Sleuth area. They are very helpful as well.