Book Nerd’s Comments (group member since Dec 20, 2018)

Book Nerd’s comments from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.

So I thought the ending was really interesting. (view spoiler)[He was out of the order what, a week? Then he died. (hide spoiler)]
I liked the poems. All about change and impermanence, which depresses me but they were good poems.
Then the "lives" which were kind of the most interesting part to me. (view spoiler)[In the first one the character with the same name as Knecht learns an important job and then lets himself be sacrificed. Makes me think that Knecht's leaving the order and quickly dying was his attempt to save it.
The second makes me think of his relationship with Tegularius. Knecht helped him a lot but the story shows that Tegularius helped him too and can now take his place.
I don't know how the last one relates to the main story. Any ideas? (hide spoiler)]

The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse


558 pages

Total to date: 444,647

Hi Anna. I really liked Journey to the West.

Yeah, I like games and I thought this would have more details of the game, focus on him becoming a good player and then a master, etc.
Instead it's about his life as an academic monk.
I hope to finish it before the month's over but there are other things I want to read right now.

250 pages in this is really not doing anything for me. I'm putting it aside for Stephen King's new one.

Nora wrote: "I just finished reading Chapter 5 where Bilbo meets Gollum and since Gollum’s my favorite character I absolutely loved this chapter and my favorite part was the riddle game!"
Bilbo totally cheated.

Amanda wrote: "I liked the ending, but I can see where you’re coming from. [spoilers removed]"
Yeah, that makes sense. I'm just thinking about the part where he said (view spoiler)[If they make a mistake they have to wait and try again. (hide spoiler)]

Well I've read the introduction. Have no idea what this game is.

Welcome Patricia and Luis!

What did you think about the ending? (view spoiler)[Throughout the book it implies that the overlords have been to earth before. Then at the end it turns out they hadn't. To me it seems like Clarke changed it at the last minute. (hide spoiler)]

I'll have to check that out.

John wrote: "I've started it also Piyangie. I've never had much success with Clarke, but like you, I'm really enjoying it.

I think this is the third "alien contact" book we've read in the last year; they have all been very different and, at the moment, this is my favourite."
Yeah, I find his sequels really weak. 2001 and Rendezvous With Rama were great and mysterious and gave just enough information. The sequels were pointless.

Piyangie wrote: "I'm not very comfortable in trying out the genre, but if it's good, I'd like to try."
I'm glad you're giving it a try. I love books about possibilities beyond typical human stuff.

I like that Arthur Clarke says that animation the ultimate art form. :)
Especially at the time when it was considered childish.

It's not such a stretch. I definitely see hobbits writing each other long chatty letters, usually accompanied by a big box of snacks.

I don't know how much time I'll have but Shōgun by James Clavell sounds interesting to me.

Nora wrote: "I just finished Chapter 4 and I really feel sorry for Bilbo and the dwarves being chased by goblins. The only time I was taken out of the story was when the author mentioned the post office, but I ..."
I don't recall. A post office in the Shire? I could see that since Hobbits are chatty and gossipy.

Darn if I didnt leave my book on my desk :("
Lol, ever leave a book in the fridge?

Welcome Amanda, Kat, Sandy, Nora, and Cait.
Have fun!

I hope you guys like it.

Amanda wrote: "This will be my first Clarke as well! "2001: A Space Odyssey" is one of my favorite films, so it's about time I read one of his books.
I'm not a fan of the movie, I much prefer the book. You should read it and see what you think. It counts as a classic too.

Piyangie wrote: "I'll read this too. I'm not a Sci-fi fan and rarely read the genre. But I'll take this the opportunity to read my first Arthur C. Clarke. I kind of feel ashamed not to have read any work of a renow..."
I didn't know that either.

I guess it's not too early to put this up.

Childhood's End is my favorite Clarke story.

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

The Overlords appeared suddenly over every city--intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior to humankind. Benevolent, they made few demands: unify earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. With little rebellion, humankind agreed, and a golden age began.

But at what cost? With the advent of peace, man ceases to strive for creative greatness, and a malaise settles over the human race. To those who resist, it becomes evident that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. As civilization approaches the crossroads, will the Overlords spell the end for humankind . . . or the beginning?

Arthur C. Clarke was one of the most important and influential figures in 20th century science fiction. (view spoiler)[He spent the first half of his life in England, where he served in World War Two as a radar operator, before emigrating to Ceylon in 1956. He is best known for the novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-created with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.

Clarke was a graduate of King's College, London where he obtained First Class Honours in Physics and Mathematics. He is past Chairman of the British Interplanetary Society, a member of the Academy of Astronautics, the Royal Astronomical Society, and many other scientific organizations.

Author of over fifty books, his numerous awards include the 1961 Kalinga Prize, the AAAS-Westinghouse science writing prize, the Bradford Washburn Award, and the John W. Campbell Award for his novel Rendezvous With Rama. Clarke also won the Nebula Award of the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo Award of the World Science Fiction Convention in 1974 and 1980, and in 1986 became Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He was awarded the CBE in 1989. (hide spoiler)]