Aussie Readers discussion
Book Related Banter
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Doesn't fit? Book related? Then put it here!
Oh, that Kindle price I saw must have been USD. So I guess I am stingy, then! Spoiled by all my book whispering finds!
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Not stingy at all. That is expensive for something that, while good, is a very light read. I picked up a couple of them from Big W a few days ago and they were going for $4 each, so it wasn't too bad. Like all of us, I guess James Patterson also needs to put food on the table, pay the bills and keep a roof over his head.
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It is! For the past couple of years, Big W's gradually become my go to place to buy books, rather than Dymocks or other places like Harry Hartog [$32 for Darkest Place compared to the $16 being charged at Big W].
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I have to travel a bit out of my way to get to a Big W and I figure that sort of negates the saving....
Brenda wrote: "Big W has always been my "go to" place for books - cheaper than anywhere else! I used to work in the book department of Big W :)"That's awesome! The staff at the book department in the Big W near me are always nice and really helpful, especially when I'm inquiring about new releases.
Now Elias, I didn't see any ;) so I assume you were serious when you said "Like all of us, I guess James Patterson also needs to put food on the table, pay the bills and keep a roof over his head." And thirty years ago, about JP I would have agreed with you, but I think by now that JP is probably just about making ends meet, and this is a marketing ploy for some easy $$
Cross Kill gets some scathing reviews on Amazon, to the effect of "not a complete story, no ending" etc
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That's awesome! The staff at the book department in..."
I loved working there when I was there - always tried to recommend books to people and often had people come back to ask about new books :)
Sounds like great service to me, Brenda!I also agree about the short story thing even though I'm very critical of my own short story not being long enough.
And Marianne, I guess that was my failed attempt at being sarcastic. I have a problem, both online and in real life, where people haven't been able to tell if I was being serious or joking due to my mostly deadpan expression and tone. Some have even pointed it out to me how much it frustrates them. I guess it'd be even harder to discern here.
I've heard a lot people complaining about James Patterson really phoning it in and how much he uses other writers and profits off of their work. I remember Stephen King even having a go at him once. I personally enjoy his work and his writing doesn't draw too much attention to itself, which I like. It's always about the story and the pace.
OK good to know. I actually love a good short story or novella, have no problem at all with the format, but reviewers were complaining about the lack of resolution, wondering if they have to wait until the next BookShot or the next full Alex Cross book, which is not out until November.
Although that's only 5 months, not like the cliff hanger at the end of Cross My Heart, where they had to wait some 22 months until Hope to Die for the resolution. Luckily, I read them both this year, so that wasn't a problem for me....
Cliffhangers can definitely be both exciting and frustrating if you've got your readers hooked!I remember waiting two years from the end of Matthew Reilly's The Six Sacred Stones whose cliffhanger, in my opinion, was one of the best endings I'd read in an action novel, until The 5 Greatest Warriors came out. I hated the waiting but loved the excitement and anticipation of the next book.
I waited nearly thirteen years for the 5th book of the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel (The Clan of the Cave Bear) and another ten years for the 6th and final book! I think the last two lost a lot for having taken so long :/ but I did love the first 4!Lol, I'm glad I didn't start them late in life :o
Thirteen years? Wow! I guess your book better be worth it if you're going to make your readers wait that long!
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Brenda wrote: "I remember that Jools! There was so much hype and build up - and so many people said they'd need to go back and re-read. I was glad I didn't have them on my list to read :)"I loved that series Brenda and was hanging out every year for news of the next one. Her researching was so thorough that it took her deep into the jungles of...I forget where...with special guides to show her original cave drawings and teach her about prehistoric cave dwellers. She spent years studying the details, hencewhy I guess, her books are such tomes ;) though I am afraid the last two didn't come up to expectations...for me anyway. Maybe I was too old by then!! ;)
I still have all of my battered copies of that series :)
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I love the fact that an author can be so invested in one novel over such a long period, especially when doing such thorough research. That's dedication! I'm sure there are plenty who manage to get halfway and eventually sick of the project they're on.
Elias wrote: "I love the fact that an author can be so invested in one novel over such a long period, especially when doing such thorough research. That's dedication! I'm sure there are plenty who manage to get ..."The whole series was about that subject which she was very interested in so I guess for her it was a labour of love. The first book was released in 1980 and the 6th and last 2011. So a long time living with cavemen! She has a fascinating bio. Jean M. Auel
Michael wrote: "Thirteen year wait for a book. O_oThe longest I had heard before that was by Donna Tartt who had 10 year waits for her second book The Little Friend and her latest b..."
Lol, it had 800 pages so good value! ;) the smallest was 500 pages.
Jools, I agree with you about Jean M Auel's books. I came to these a bit later than everyone else, about when the 5th book came out, and read them all then, couldn't get enough, so I still remember the long wait for the 6th book. But the last two did have enormous chunks of repetition, heaps of "copy & paste", and the cave visits, well, they soon became boring. If it takes another 10 years for Auel to bring out another book, she will be 86, so it seems likely that The Land of Painted Caves will be her last.
Michael wrote: "Thirteen year wait for a book. O_oThe longest I had heard before that was by Donna Tartt who had 10 year waits for her second book The Little Friend and her latest b..."
Yes, ten years is quite a wait, but Donna Tartt's books are not series, are they? So you're not hanging out all that time to find out what happened to your favourite characters...
Michael wrote: "True but it is still a looooonnnnngggg time to wait for a book."Their size probably accounts for 2-3 regular books maybe? :)
Marianne wrote: "Jools, I agree with you about Jean M Auel's books. I came to these a bit later than everyone else, about when the 5th book came out, and read them all then, couldn't get enough, s..."There won't be another one The Land of Painted Caves was the final book.
Like many others I didn't enjoy the last two to as much as the first 4.
Marianne wrote: "Now Elias, I didn't see any ;) so I assume you were serious when you said "Like all of us, I guess James Patterson also needs to put food on the table, pay the bills and keep a roof over his head."..."Marianne, I thought you mind find this article interesting/ironic [I really hate using this word but I think it fits here], given what you said about the "Book Shots" series being expensive for such short reads.
http://time.com/money/4375452/james-p...
LOL, thanks Elias. You go for it JP, set the trend, make even more money!
I'm sure he'll need all the support and encouragement he can get!
For anyone who is interested, Chris Cleave is doing a live event on Hachette Aus's Facebook page today at 2pm (AEST I presume).He is mainly promoting his new book, Everyone Brave is Forgiven, but you may also know him as the author of Little Bee/The Other Hand.
Not sure where to put this question so my apologies if it's in the wrong thread.How many pages would you say a "CHUNKY" book is. 400 plus pages or 500 pages plus?
Wanting to do a personal challenge, so that is the reason for my question.
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I just looked at some of my paperbacks and I would say over 500 pages is chunky. But that's just my opinion, for what it's worth :)
Thanks for your opinions, Phrynne and Veronica. Much appreciated.
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I personally think anything over 400 pages is a chunky door stopper - lol!I saw a reading challenge where they only counted books over 1000 pages.
I think realistically 500 like everyone else here suggests.
But if it's personal then you can make your own rules - and change them at will ;)
Thanks Sally. I've decided to go with 500 plus. Fingers crossed I'll get to read at least 12 of them next year :)
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Good luck Sharon. Brenda you will NOT be surprised to hear I declined that challenge!
A few of my maniac challenge obsessed friends are - and putting their hands up to read 12!
Admittedly two of them do a lot of audio books so will do theirs that way :)
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Hubby is working his way through the Game of thrones series by audio. Is no CD involved is downloaded into his iPhone then plays through car radio. He listens too and from work and during his lunch break. Has been going for a few weeks.
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I'm not sure why I keep avoiding these books. I think the size of them scares me lol. And they become quite heavy to hold after awhile.
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For those who are NetGalley users, I just noticed my auto approval for Random House had disappeared, so I emailed one of my contacts. She replied to me straight away to say in part:
I’m afraid Penguin Random House no longer have an active Netgalley account, so that would explain why your auto approval has been removed.
Now for a big publishing house - two of the biggest combined - that's really sad :(
So for us NG users, we will no longer have choices from Penguin Random House...
Brenda wrote: "One of those topics I'm not sure where to put!For those who are NetGalley users, I just noticed my auto approval for Random House had disappeared, so I emailed one of my contacts. She replied to ..."
Oh no that really is sad, Brenda. How terrible :((
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I got two on kindle...