Rate the last book you read!!

[masomenos]

Rushdie also said that "The DaVinci Code" was, "a novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name."

[ScipioCowboy]

Originally Posted by SaltwaterServr

I ran across a quote by Salman Rushdie regarding the DaVinci Code. "I, for one, am abjectly at odds with the execution of authors but having read The DaVinci Code, I am willing to revisit my position" or something like that. All I ever needed to know about it.

Originally Posted by masomenos85

Rushdie also said that "The DaVinci Code" was, "a novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name."

From what I've gathered, the general consensus on Dan Brown from literary critics is that, although he can spin a very compelling narrative (as Maso observed), his writing is dreadful.

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by peplaw06

I'll stipulate counselor, provided you stipulate the same regarding your position.

Agreed.

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by ScipioCowboy

Pfft.

I find Dan Brown boring. I lost interest in The Davinci Code well before I could be offended by it.

dd you see the movie? Audrey Tautou is so hot.

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Originally Posted by masomenos85

Rushdie also said that "The DaVinci Code" was, "a novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name."

Not sure if Rushdie is one to be making such a comment.

[vta]

Originally Posted by CanadianCowboysFan

dd you see the movie? Audrey Tautou is so hot.

Do people really sit through awful movies to look at a hot woman?
I'm not saying Da Vinci is awful, because I haven't seen it, but I hear this kind of qualifier all the time. Why sit through a pile of crap just to look someone you can probably see on the internet while bypassing the misery of a lame movie?

[vta]

Originally Posted by CanadianCowboysFan

Not sure if Rushdie is one to be making such a comment.

Hey, he risked his life for his writings. It sounds like a better qualifier for legitimacy than because you can look at hot women.

[peplaw06]

Originally Posted by vta

Do people really sit through awful movies to look at a hot woman?
I'm not saying Da Vinci is awful, because I haven't seen it, but I hear this kind of qualifier all the time. Why sit through a pile of crap just to look someone you can probably see on the internet while bypassing the misery of a lame movie?

I'll admit to having rented DVDs for that reason, but only cause I can fast forward...

[SaltwaterServr]

Originally Posted by vta

Hey, he risked his life for his writings. It sounds like a better qualifier for legitimacy than because you can look at hot women.

Quoted for truth. I caught the movie one night on TBS or something. Not bad, but for the public's love of the story I should have known it wasn't going to be anything to write home about.

[Heisenberg]

'A Clash of Kings' - 10/10

[CanadianCowboysFan]

I thought DaVinci Code was fine. At least I found out Mary Magdalene is buried in the Louvres. Next time I am in Paris, I will check out her coffin.

[Sam I Am]

J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye - 4 / 10

There are many classic books out there that it's the style they are written in that makes them classics. That or just the fact that they are very controversial. For being released in the 50s, this book was extremely controversial.

I liken this book to Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. What I mean by that is there is a lot of what I would characterize as "heretical babbling" in the book. Though Crime and Punishment is easily far more advanced in style and depth than Catcher in the Rye. The only character in the book that you actually learn anything about is Holden Caulfield, (the primary character) and the only way you learn anything about him is through his incessant whining. (I hate this, I hate that, he is a phony, etc) For a book to be good, I think you have to be able to relate to many characters in the book. To relate you must know something about them. If you strongly relate to Holden Caulfield, you're probably the type to assassinate someone famous.

Many people may consider this book a classic, though I'm not sure why. As noted above, I can only think they feel this way due to it's writing style, though I in no way consider that a reason for identifying it as one. This book could have easily been written by a 14 year old as the book has no real focus or plot. It's just about an off-kilter kid burning time in New York City. If it's a classic, I believe it's due to it's controversial nature and the time period that it was released.

Many believe this book was J. D. Salinger writing about his own life and feelings. That very well may be as D. J. Salinger was a bit of a recluse and like Holden Caulfield, a bit off-kilter.

[ethiostar]

'Daemon' by Daniel Suarez


Its a hard book to summarize so i will just say that its about AI, gaming, computer networks, and internet technology. It is a cyber thriller written by a first-time author who works in the technology field. According to those in the field, which i'm not, they say that his scenarios are generally very plausible and he is technically accurate.

I have to say, some of the scenerios got a little too much toward the end and the ending really pissed me off until i read that there is a sequal to it, 'Freedom'. Overall, i enjoyed reading this book. If you are a gamer and/or a tech geek you would probably enjoy this book.

Edit: Here is an overview of the book i got from one website....

Already an underground sensation, a high-tech thriller for the wireless age that explores the unthinkable consequences of a computer program running without human control--a daemon--designed to dismantle society and bring about a new world order

Technology controls almost everything in our modern-day world, from remote entry on our cars to access to our homes, from the flight controls of our airplanes to the movements of the entire world economy. Thousands of autonomous computer programs, or daemons, make our networked world possible, running constantly in the background of our lives, trafficking e-mail, transferring money, and monitoring power grids. For the most part, daemons are benign, but the same can't always be said for the people who design them.

[View Full Quote]Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer--the architect behind half-a-dozen popular online games. His premature death depressed both gamers and his company's stock price. But Sobol's fans aren't the only ones to note his passing. When his obituary is posted online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events intended to unravel the fabric of our hyper-efficient, interconnected world. With Sobol's secrets buried along with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed at every turn, it's up to an unlikely alliance to decipher his intricate plans and wrest the world from the grasp of a nameless, faceless enemy--or learn to live in a society in which we are no longer in control. . . .

Computer technology expert Daniel Suarez blends haunting high-tech realism with gripping suspense in an authentic, complex thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson.

[ScipioCowboy]

Originally Posted by nyc

J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye - 4 / 10

There are many classic books out there that it's the style they are written in that makes them classics. That or just the fact that they are very controversial. For being released in the 50s, this book was extremely controversial.

[View Full Quote]I liken this book to Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. What I mean by that is there is a lot of what I would characterize as "heretical babbling" in the book. Though Crime and Punishment is easily far more advanced in style and depth than Catcher in the Rye. The only character in the book that you actually learn anything about is Holden Caulfield, (the primary character) and the only way you learn anything about him is through his incessant whining. (I hate this, I hate that, he is a phony, etc) For a book to be good, I think you have to be able to relate to many characters in the book. To relate you must know something about them. If you strongly relate to Holden Caulfield, you're probably the type to assassinate someone famous.

Many people may consider this book a classic, though I'm not sure why. As noted above, I can only think they feel this way due to it's writing style, though I in no way consider that a reason for identifying it as one. This book could have easily been written by a 14 year old as the book has no real focus or plot. It's just about an off-kilter kid burning time in New York City. If it's a classic, I believe it's due to it's controversial nature and the time period that it was released.

Many believe this book was J. D. Salinger writing about his own life and feelings. That very well may be as D. J. Salinger was a bit of a recluse and like Holden Caulfield, a bit off-kilter.

You watched that South Park episode, didn't you?

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by ScipioCowboy

You watched that South Park episode, didn't you?

I like South Park, but I do not know what episode you refer too. If there is one about Catcher and the Rye, I have not seen it.

Give me some idea what it was about, and I will try and locate it and watch it.

EDIT: Nevermind, I think I found it (URL removed as it's probably considered inappropriate)

EDIT2: The first 2 minutes where better than the rest of the show.