ShenmueDojo Book Club

[Rakim]

Maybe I can put the copy I still have lying around from High School to some use.

[Thief]

Aright, so we'll start discussion in two weeks or so from todays date. :)

[Vyse Hazuky]

I've finished part I today. I'm quite enjoying it, but I was expecting something much deeper and more complex in the vein of 1984 or Brave New World. Still, let me see how it ends...

[Rakim]

I was reading a bit of this earlier today and I don't know why but I always picture Montag as looking like the main character from Medi-Evil for PS1. It probably has something to do with how they illustrated him on the cover of the book.

For those who still might be interested in joining in on the conversations but don't feel like springing for a hard copy or can't be arsed to actually read:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYLIaD7PZb0[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSlH1QUUIE8[/youtube]

[mue 26]

^ Brilliant, thanks Ra. I was intending to buy the book soon so I could read and join in with this, but I would rather save the money if possible, and I am too lazy to read as well! So I might just listen to the audio version of this one.

[Rakim]

Finished the book. It was a lot more enjoyable than in high school when they sucked the fun out of it and I barely read a page anyway.

Here's a song that will make a lot more sense after you're done:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jxxagVEO4[/youtube]

It interprets Ecclesiastes(the book of the Bible Montag supposedly has memorized) just like the last few paragraphs of the book. It was an odd coincidence that I was reading up on that song recently and the same lines from that song came flying back at me in this book.

[Vyse Hazuky]

I liked it, but was only a bit disappointed by how contained and simplistic everything was. Maybe this is in part due to the fact that Ray Bradbury was more known apart from this book as a short story writer.
The innocence, youthfulness and pureness of Clarisse is too clear a contrast to Beatty's demon, and Montag's stuck in the middle, and goes from one end of the spectrum to the other.
This is utopia at its simplest, but I thought it too idealistic for its own good. Sure, the message got across, but apart from its message, I can't say there is stylistically or technically a very good book in here, as it doesn't seem to present more ideas than its rants at an increasingly dumbed-down, mechanized society. I guess someone had to write it, but in some ways, it had already been written in far more ambitious novels.
Anyway, I loved the passage of Beatty's discourse at the end of part two, and his symbolism of sorts, of the old man who, while well aware of what goes wrong in the world, still lets it be to maintain the status quo, and has no further ambition than to live out his years.

[Thief]

I didn't read it



Reminds me of high school.

[mue 26]

Poor show Thief, poor show. I didn't read it (or listen to it) either of course, but still, our book club will never take off at this rate!

[Axm]

I've only just become aware of this topic. I love to read and would be interested in participating. Alas, with school, and my small personal list of books I want to read, I may or may not find the time.

I read Fahrenheit 451 about 3 years ago for the first time, but as it was the first and only time I read it, my memory is a bit murky. I saw a theater adaptation of the book a few months back, which was entertaining and reminded me of the themes of the book. It's an important novel and a good read, and pretty indicative, albeit extreme, example of how society has responded to the importance of reading. Which reminds me, I tried reading "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Bradbury this past summer but couldn't get the literary ball moving quick enough before putting it aside for something else.

Any suggestions on what to read next, Book Club? "Ender's Game", which I've never read, will probably be the next book I read after I finish up what I'm working on now. I think a lot of you guys fit the demographic of people that I've come to associate with enjoying and recommending me this book, and it's been a long overdue one with me. Anyone interested? Other suggestions include something by Murakami, Danielewski, Garcia Marquez, or Stephen King, even.

Also, not picking on Mittenz, but I got inspired to modify his original post about his opinion on reading:

I just hate books. They're boring. I used to read em, but I found that they tested my patience too often to enjoy. Why read a whole page on describing the conditions of a table and the state of the wallpaper in a room when I can just plainly see them in a comic? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that books are shit, but a lotta authors tend to go overboard when writing novels, and I get to the end of a scene thinking "six pages... coulda just been done in one" I mean, it ain't like they build suspense or set the atmosphere or owt, it's just utterly unnecessary.

I just hate video games. They're boring. I used to play em, but I found that they tested my patience too often to enjoy. Why spend hours on end on collecting money and gathering food and completing quests when it's much more important and practical to focus on doing these things in the real world? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that video games are shit, but a lotta designers tend to go overboard when making games, and I get to the end of a scene thinking "six boring ass QTEs... it was cool in Shenmue but it's getting to be too much" I mean, it ain't like they build suspense or set the atmosphere or owt, it's just utterly unnecessary.

[Rakim]

I'd like an excuse to read Picture of Dorian Gray. Since the first round was an amazing success I nominate that for round two.

[Vyse Hazuky]

YOU ALL SUCK (except Rakim)