Jeremy’s Comments (group member since Jan 11, 2011)

Jeremy’s comments from the The Sword and Laser group.

I struggle with this constantly. I actually rely on podcasts for my news consumption, along with some narrow interest topics like tech and automotive. I subscribe to just enough to be able to JUST keep up. THEN my Audible subscription renews and I fall woefully behind. If only I could listen to this stuff for a living...

So maybe "read" isn't technically the best verb to use if you listened, but the english language is often lazy in this respect, using one word to cover several meanings. For example, I FLEW to Atlanta for a trade show, but I neither grew wings, nor piloted the plane. Should I have stated that I was a passenger on the plane to make myself clear?
The merits of reading text verses listening to narration can certainly be debated, but I think it is perfectly acceptable to use the word "read" to express the idea of consuming a story, no matter the format.

I've enjoyed reading since my first grade teacher started sending home extra books for me to read outside of class,The first ones I can remember reading on my own are The Cricket in Times Square and Ralph S. Mouse. But at about age 9, Where the Red Fern Grows was the first to really impact me. Nearly 30 years later, I can still remember much of the plot and many of the details. I credit this book with instilling in me a true love of story telling. I followed that withBridge to Terabithia and a year or two later, The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again and I've never looked back.

Despite all my best efforts, I've been unable to discipline myself to any special system of selecting my next book. I keep a wish list on audible that seems to have come to some level of equilibrium... I read (or listen if you're the ticky sort) to two books a month, and I seem to add at a similar rate, so I have about two years worth at any given time to choose from. When my credits re-up, I generally try to get one sci-fi and one "other", but as for which I pick... it usually comes down what I'm in the mood for come the 6th of the month. The only thing I have been fairly successful at imposing on myself is getting through a series before starting another.

I actually have the opposite problem... Once I've devoted the time to more than one book in a series, I feel compelled to read the rest, whether I like them or not. Plus, If I wait too long, I tend to forget too many details and have to re-read the earlier installments. I've lately been trying to alternate between a series installment and a stand-alone work, which keeps me from getting too bored with a longer story. That's worked really well with Neil Stephenson's System of the World, which I'm on track to complete shortly.

I've run into the same issue enough times that I quit using my shuffle to listen to audiobooks. However, there are a couple of coping strategies...
Audible books typically have chapters, and iTunes/iPods can see these, as does the audible app. If you have the book in your iTunes library, you can use the "Chapters" menu to jump chapters until you find your spot. You'll want to sync with the ipod, which will update your (negative) progress in iTunes, then use iTunes to find your place again with the chapter menu, and re-sync. This should get your ipod back to where you want to be. In the end though, the screen-free ipod models are just not ideal for audiobook duties.

Oh, and just in case The Stand doesn't last until the apocolypse, I just recently finished, and very much enjoyed Lucifer's Hammer by Niven/Pournell.

As I am a particularly avid Stephen King fan, you should consider this a biased opinion. Having said that, I think "The Stand" is among his best work. Certainly in the top three, in my opinion. I don't think I've ever met anyone who read it and didn't like it. As for the TV mini-series... I'd say it's as good an adaptation as has been done to any of Stephen King's stories, with the exception of "Stand by Me." But even a multi-episode series has difficulty doing justice to the book. I wish I could recommend the audiobook version, but it appears that one doesn't exist, at least via "Audible."

Sandi wrote: "After reading it, I read The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett and was seriously underwhelmed."

I'd give Terry another chance. I was a little disappointed with "Color..." too, but I came at the series out of order, and have enjoyed several of the other installments. I think the earlier Discworld books were a little rough around the edges, but I think the writing gets better in the later books. I'd give Going Postal a crack, as that's the one that reawakened my interest in the series after many years away. It's not terribly critical that they be read in order.

...and as long as I'm spouting unsolicited recomendations..., Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere is one of my favorite fantasy books of the past couple of years.

I actually just finished (re)reading this at the beginning of December. This was my first experience with either author way back in the 90s, and I enjoyed it even more this go round having since gained a little experience with both. I love both Pratchett and Gaiman's style, and they combine to great effect here. Thoroughly enjoyable read!

I've been steadily working my way through Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. I'm about to start Currency which is #7 of 8.
I've committed to completing the series in six months, and I think I might do it in five.

By the way, this is my second try at these, and I'm finding that they go much easier in Audiobook form. They can be a tough read, but definitely worth the effort.

For the commute, I'm listening to Hyperi..."</i>

I thoroughly enjoyed Hyperion, but was surprised to get to the end and find, no ending. Go ahead and get [book:The Fall of Hyperion if you want any conclusion to the story.

Greetings everyone. Jeremy from Tennessee here. I heard about the podcast on the TWIT podcast and thought I would check things out. Now I'm really glad I did. I'm amazed at how many titles from here are in my pile of "read" books. I'm definitely going to start listening to the back episodes. I'm also new to Goodreads. What a great resource. Anyway, happy to be here.

Cheers