Bobby’s Comments (group member since Mar 15, 2013)

Bobby’s comments from the Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy group.

G33z3r, dude, you are a STICKLER.

My first drive-in was a double feature. Casablanca followed by Play It Again, Sam.

Spooky1947 wrote: "hey, how do you do "book compare"? is there a button for that???"

Holy smokes, Spooky. How long have you been on this site, yo?

Jason wrote: "I'm sure I'm going to get crap for this, but I live Robert Jordan, and wish he could have put out more besides the wheel of time, his Conan stuff, and the Fallon blood."

For the life of me, I can't imagine why you're going to get grief for that. Wheel of Time was one of the finalists when we did March Madness for sci-fi a while ago. Wasn't it G33z? Or Spooky. Whoever ran that.

Why do you think you're going to get reamed for liking Robert Jordan?

Amelia wrote: "Right, adding to the fail that I read it by accident thinking it was The Thief of Always..."

Which also looks pretty good...

Amelia wrote: "For sure I am reading The Restorer, I started that last night around midnight (insomnia). But, on deck for October I have Books of Blood, Volumes One to Three (thank yo..."

Amelia, I was about to jump into Everville but it turns out, even though it can stand alone, it's second in the series after The Great and Secret Show which means I have to read both -- just because I know that the first one exists, sooooo...hm, maybe that should be my other horror. That should get me through October.

Right now I'm reading A Canticle for Leibowitz, on a recommendation from my ol' sparring partner, G33z3r. So far, it's fantastic so I don't think it'll be too long in the finishing.

Then because it's October and I'm due, I'm going to read A Head Full of Ghosts. And probably some other kind of horror because I'm a traditionalist that way. But also on the docket are The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man because, apparently, I am under-educated in my science fiction canon.

Spooky1947 wrote: "I mean, come on....$10??? In my day, paperbacks were 60 cents...it was a major crisis when they went up to 75 cents, I had to beg for a increase in my allowance...."

What's really funny about that is, had you been in the know, you could have read it for free on his website. Or for $.99 cents on Amazon for a while. But then it became popular...

Spooky1947 wrote: "I mean, come on....$10??? In my day, paperbacks were 60 cents...it was a major crisis when they went up to 75 cents, I had to beg for a increase in my allowance...."

I'm not saying it's not expensive. The world's expensive now. When I think (and ugh, I hate doing this) that we used to go to the movies $1.50 for adults, $ .75 for kids, holy smokes.

Spooky1947 wrote: "I just got back from the book store, saw a copy of The Martian....I wanna know since when a paperback cost $10??????????????????

NOT a trade Paperback mind you, a plain ol paperback..."

Hahahaha, Spooky, you're too funny.

Sully wrote: "A librarian recommended The White Mountains to my mother when I was about twelve. I had no idea what the book was about, and when I realized it was set in the future after aliens conqu..."

Nice recommendation!

Sarah wrote: "I think they were absolutely right to give it away. If they hadn't, viewers expecting aliens would have been very disappointed. Besides, the story pretty much gives itself away in a two-line descri..."

Are you going Friday? I am.

Excellent point, by the way.

Hm, well G33z, when you put it like that...

You know, I'm rarely affected by previews in that way. Comedies, I think, are usually hit harder because you know a joke is coming or you've already heard the punchline.

Of course, I say that but usually, once any interest is sparked in me at all for a movie (or a book for that matter) I try to not learn anything else so I can be as completely surprised as possible.

Interesting though. I read the book before I even knew there was a movie. If I had known, I might not have read the book. Not first, anyway. In my experience, a book can ruin a movie much more than a movie can ruin a book. Especially if the book's any good.

How much of the plot did it really "give away"? Was there anybody who read the book who didn't know he was going to survive at the end?

Oops!

Amelia, nobody's perfect.

And didn't you notice? I'm in chill out mode. I'm so glad you enjoyed The Adventures of Peter Peppy: the Astronaut Who Never Gets Down.

I'm kidding. I liked it too. Just don't tell that to Michael. Or Bryn. Or especially G33z3r.

Pat wrote: "I have to go with Tolkien. Not because of LOTR, but for the Silmarillion. I am also a big Robert E. Howard fan. His Conan and Kull stories are great, just as long as don't associate them with the m..."

Jim's got a Robert E. Howard group Pat. Haha, and no I don't (associate Howard's stories with the movies). His horror stories are pretty good too.

V.W. wrote: "Bobby wrote: "V.W. wrote: "David Drake

His military SF is well researched, well conceived, and fun to read, while not being simply the US Marines in Spaaace."

Who falls into the se..."

What's Drake's best book?

Jim wrote: "Roger Zelazny without a doubt. He blends the two in most stories."

Jim, freaking Lord of Light is one of my all time favorites, I kid you not. Love that book.

What's funny is, that's my favorite but I also really enjoyed Eye of Cat aaaaannnd that's all the Zelazny I've ever read. Don't know what that's about. Recommendations?

And Amelia, likewise to you, sister. Loved The Dragonriders of Pern: Dragonflight / Dragonquest / The White Dragon and then, for some reason, never went back.

V.W. wrote: "David Drake

His military SF is well researched, well conceived, and fun to read, while not being simply the US Marines in Spaaace."

Who falls into the second category, V-Dub?

My first favorite will always be Ray Bradbury. He was the guy who, when I was a really young boy actually, made me realize there might be more to this sci-fi thing than light sabers and dilithium crystals (though I dug those too.) And let's face it, his sci-fi is fantasy for all the "science" in it.

Michael wrote: "Amelia wrote: "April wrote: "I just cannot sell myself on the belief that all tech geeks constantly talk like they are 17 because that's just how "they" are. Maybe a few individuals have that perso..."

I don't think every tech does act one way. I feel like that's my point. I don't think any tech (or given human being) acts one way all the time. Is my other, larger point. Some depth is all I'm asking, some humanity.

And I realize I have gotten into "Must Have the Last Word" mode, so I am now going to switch into "Chill Out" mode.

As you were.

G33z3r wrote: "Bobby wrote: "I don't know, G33z, maybe that's why I never see the journal of Meriwether Lewis on any "Great Literature" lists...."

And I thought your argument was Mark Whatney was unbelievable be..."

Exactly. This is what I mean that I must not have been communicating well. Of course I don't have a problem with him not giving up! But human beings are extraordinary because we don't give up, even when things are really hard for us. It's not that we don't feel fear, or frustration or desperation. The beauty is that we survive and even thrive in the face of these things. But literature is the place where we acknowledge the fear, desperation, etc. Yes, I wanted more Ernest Hemingway. Yes, yes, yes.

You know, there's a short documentary about Apollo 13 on Youtube. In there, they talk about how calm, cool and collected the astronauts (former test pilots -- as opposed to "tech geeks") were. Even within that there is a time when James Lowell gets irritated with the other astronauts for taking pictures of the moon -- which he'd already seen. He says, "Listen, if we don't get back, you're never gonna get a chance to develop those pictures!" or some such. The characterization of how he felt is his own, not mine. That was after a couple of days. I mean, it's just human.

You cracked me up about Station Eleven. "All they did was survive a world wide holocaust, learn to hunt, create crops where there weren't any before, start and sustain a community AND maintain a bit of memory from the old world -- that's nothing after twenty years!"