Jordan’s Comments (group member since Jan 18, 2015)

Jordan’s comments from the Return of the Rogue Readers group.

Excellent. I have read this before, but its been a very long time. I look forward to reading it again. There are two versions of this book. I have the audiobook of "The Authors Preferred Version," which seems to be polished and expanded upon. Please take note of which version you are reading and we will have something to compare when it comes to review time.

The book is listed at 370 pages. So, how about two and a half weeks? How does March 13th sound for our discussion date?

The holidays are over and I am no longer accepting excuses. It's time for our next book! Danielle, you are up. What's it gonna be?

I thought the club had been abandoned. I had no notifications that either of you had posted and had almost forgotten about this little sanctuary until Goodreads saw fit to tell me that we had a new member *and* that she has actually engaged us in conversation! It's a Christmas Miracle!

Anyhow, in response to Garret, yes, parts did drag. I was painting my hallway during the last half of the book and there were parts where I felt the focus of my attention shifting to the drying paint on the wall. When I realized I had zoned out I would skip the recording back a few minutes and then mysteriously zone out again. I don't care for budding romances in my reads, though. So little do I care for them that I tuned this one out like background noise until I was abruptly reminded that it existed.

Danielle, yes, the female characters were weak. It always takes me a chapter or two (or more) to figure out who is who in a new audiobook. I usually end up listening to those early chapters twice. Many audiobook narrators don't do different voices and that only makes matters worse.

Amy, glad to have a new member! To answer your question, I listen to audiobooks because I can't be bothered to sit down and read with my eyes. You aren't required to do one or the other, although we have considered doing an "Audiobook Only" month for the club. Or vice versa, for that matter. The only thing we frown on here are members who claim to have read the book and then talk about character names that appeared in the movie adaptation. I try to keep this place friendly and easy going and I realize not every book will interest everyone, so there is never an obligation to read the chosen book. To keep things fair, however, one must read the book and participate in the discussion in order to be eligible to pick the next book when its their turn. Glad to have you here!

As usual, I listened to the audiobook. I got this one as the Audible addition to the Kindle book. It was narrated by Bronson Pinchot. You may remember him from Perfect Strangers and Beverly Hills Cop. He did voices for many of the characters and they were distinct enough to keep track of who was who. He did a great job with this book and I look forward to listening to more of what he has narrated.

As for the story itself, I enjoyed that too. It's different from the usual genres I enjoy and that was refreshing. The characters were amusing and the settings kept me interested. I even laughed a few times! Out loud!

I hope everyone had a good holiday if you celebrate any of them. I did, and now that I finished lengthening my belts and stretching the wastebands of my pants we can get this discussion under way. Ahoy, ye maties!

#dronelivesmatter

The next book is On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers. We seem to be settling into the speed of one book a month. So, since this is the first, how about we set the date for Monday the 28th of December?

Nice! Thanks for sharing that. Are those drills, or are you setting up permanent sites?

I see you hiking through a forest with giant spool of fiber strapped to your back. Occasionally tacking it to a tree or placing a rock on top to keep it from blowing around.

Mike, if you are on mobile you wont see it, but there is an actual poll where we can vote on the main page of the group.

Out on drill? What, they don't let you browse goodreads? That's uncivilized.

Damn, I should have posted this Friday. Let's pretend I did. Garret has proposed a poll for this round. Which books did you have in mind?

Mike:

I'm sorry the book made you angry.

There was a time when a variant of Jordan tried to change hearts and minds. He believed deeply in whatever it was he spoke of and he *needed* you to believe in it too. That Jordan died sometime around the end of the Mayan calendar and I took his place. Then I scalped him and spit dryly. This Jordan understands that life is pointless and everything is open to interpretation.

Like life, Blood Meridian (or The Evening Dryspit in the West) is pointless. The author may have had a point in mind when he wrote it, there may be some deeper meaning or purpose behind it, but that is irrelevant. The creator of the slotted screwdriver intended this tool to loosen or tighten slotted screws, yet you couldn't find a contractor on the planet who hasn't used it to open a paint can if you spent the remainder of your life searching.

That's how I feel about books. Well, it's how I feel about a lot of things, actually. Books, movies, games, breakfast foods. If I know that french toast was created as a breakfast food does that make it any less delicious at dinner time? Take it for what it is and enjoy it (or not) as you see fit.



Garret:

You said "I mean, how hard is it to follow proper rules of writing..." Maybe he never learned the rules? Maybe he doesn't care? Maybe he wrote this book to spite his wicked old English teacher? Does it really matter that he didn't? If it's a pet peeve of yours, then yes, but everything is open to interpretation, after all.

I do agree that the dialog was a bit tough to follow at times and I found myself rewinding my audiobook to make sure I understood it correctly a few times.

I can see why you drew the comparison to HopeScope. Its a weird tale, alright.


Now, my own thoughts:

It was more violent than I typically go for and some moments made me think I was reading Chuck Palahniuk. This is where Mike and I agree. I could imagine the author going through Draft #4 thinking "Not quite there yet, needs more butchery."

I do love a good post-apocalyptic story and had this book been set 50 years after a nuclear war it would require only minor editing for continuity.

I thought The Judge was an interesting character and the rest were just extras compared to him. Still, I would have enjoyed more development of him.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. It wasn't like a nice steak dinner or a frosty chocolate milkshake, but whatever it was worked for me.

Wipe the blood from your face and spit dryly some more, because it's time for our discussion!

Is everyone done? Is anyone done? Shall we extend the deadline a week?

Book 12 is Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It's a dirty, hard western. A palate cleanser. Read it or I will spit dryly into the space between us.

Discussion is Oct 18th.

I listened to a BBC dramatization of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. The voice acting was good and the accompanying music really set a nice vibe.

As for the story itself, I can see why it was a classic. There was enough adventure and danger to keep it exciting, but it stayed upbeat.

The discussion commences on the 13th!

Garret, how does that date work for you?

How about Sept 13?