#17658
2003-05-28 2:13 PM
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 19,546 Likes: 1
living in 1962 15000+ posts
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living in 1962 15000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 19,546 Likes: 1 |
quote:
Originally posted by King Krypton:
Two books have been getting much of my attention lately.
One is Speeding Bullet, the George Reeves bio by Jan Alan Henderson. If you want to know just how royally screwed up the investigation of his death was, that book's a real eye-opener.
The other is In Search of Dracula by Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu. It's about how the exploits of Vlad the Impaler and Elizabeth Bathory inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. And let me tell you something; after reading about the shit Vlad the Impaler pulled, I'm not the least bit surprised that Stoker wrote a story where Vlad got reincarnated as a vampire wreaking havoc on England. That guy was one sick bastard.
Another great Reeves book that I've mentioned before is Hollywood Kryptonite. The author's name escapes me, but it's an excellent book centering around his life and activities leading up to his death.
In Search of Dracula is an excellent book as well. Pick up Stoker's biography if you get a chance. Lots of cool stuff in there. His original intentions in writing Dracula were actually to have it performed as a play by his boss, Henry Irving (Stoker's main job was helping run a theater), whom Stoker wanted to play the part of Dracula. The role was intended as something that would combine the best of the villainous parts Irving specialized in. Irving walked in on a reading of Dracula, and declared it would never be performed in HIS theater. Poor Stoker.
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#17659
2003-05-28 10:06 PM
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,326
1000+ posts
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1000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,326 |
quote:
Originally posted by Grimm:
Another great Reeves book that I've mentioned before is Hollywood Kryptonite. The author's name escapes me, but it's an excellent book centering around his life and activities leading up to his death.
I have the paperback edition of that book. It is a good read, provided you take into account that it's a somewhat fictionalized presentation of the events. Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger took a lot of heat for playing fast and loose with the facts (the controversy of which is discussed in Speeding Bullet, for those of you who haven't read it).
quote:
In Search of Dracula is an excellent book as well. Pick up Stoker's biography if you get a chance. Lots of cool stuff in there.
The one by Barbara Belford? Read it in college. Great book, but a pain in the ass to come by. Amazon.com insists it's out of print and it's still a fairly new publication.
quote:
His original intentions in writing Dracula were actually to have it performed as a play by his boss, Henry Irving (Stoker's main job was helping run a theater), whom Stoker wanted to play the part of Dracula. The role was intended as something that would combine the best of the villainous parts Irving specialized in. Irving walked in on a reading of Dracula, and declared it would never be performed in HIS theater. Poor Stoker.
Yeah, I remember reading that in the Belford book. Dracula was played in the reading by Whitworth Jones, another celebrated actor of the day. It's also worth noting that Stoker's descriptions of Dracula's face are very heavily based on Irving's looks, especially since the recent Norton Antholgy edition of Dracula edited by David Skal prominently features a malevolent-looking Irving (in a still from Faust) on the cover.
The Skal-edited version of the book has some great articles and reviews in it by film and literature historians. It's amazing how stuff like that can utterly transform a text you're familiar with into something fresh and new.
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#17660
2003-05-29 4:10 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,217
1000+ posts
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1000+ posts
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,217 |
Beardguy57...I must brag that I own ALL of his books, even the ones that aren´t scifi.
Here´s one non-scifi I can recommend: Take Back Your Government.
His scifi work is wonderfull...there is no author who can create such amazing oneliners and dialog in general as he.
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#17661
2003-05-29 7:29 PM
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 19,633
I walk in eternity 15000+ posts
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I walk in eternity 15000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 19,633 |
Hi T5
Nice to meet another Heinlein reader!
I didn't know he wrote books other than Science fiction. But why not?? He was prolific..
Why not be versitile, too?
Be Well.
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#17662
2003-05-29 11:24 PM
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 19,546 Likes: 1
living in 1962 15000+ posts
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living in 1962 15000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 19,546 Likes: 1 |
quote:
Originally posted by King Krypton:
quote:
Originally posted by Grimm:
Another great Reeves book that I've mentioned before is Hollywood Kryptonite. The author's name escapes me, but it's an excellent book centering around his life and activities leading up to his death.
I have the paperback edition of that book. It is a good read, provided you take into account that it's a somewhat fictionalized presentation of the events. Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger took a lot of heat for playing fast and loose with the facts (the controversy of which is discussed in Speeding Bullet, for those of you who haven't read it).
quote:
In Search of Dracula is an excellent book as well. Pick up Stoker's biography if you get a chance. Lots of cool stuff in there.
The one by Barbara Belford? Read it in college. Great book, but a pain in the ass to come by. Amazon.com insists it's out of print and it's still a fairly new publication.
quote:
His original intentions in writing Dracula were actually to have it performed as a play by his boss, Henry Irving (Stoker's main job was helping run a theater), whom Stoker wanted to play the part of Dracula. The role was intended as something that would combine the best of the villainous parts Irving specialized in. Irving walked in on a reading of Dracula, and declared it would never be performed in HIS theater. Poor Stoker.
Yeah, I remember reading that in the Belford book. Dracula was played in the reading by Whitworth Jones, another celebrated actor of the day. It's also worth noting that Stoker's descriptions of Dracula's face are very heavily based on Irving's looks, especially since the recent Norton Antholgy edition of Dracula edited by David Skal prominently features a malevolent-looking Irving (in a still from Faust) on the cover.
The Skal-edited version of the book has some great articles and reviews in it by film and literature historians. It's amazing how stuff like that can utterly transform a text you're familiar with into something fresh and new.
I'll have to check out Speeding Bullets and Skal's edit on Dracula, then. I loved his biography of Tod Browning.
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#17663
2003-05-29 11:31 PM
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 24,593 Likes: 1
Timelord. Drunkard. 15000+ posts
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Timelord. Drunkard. 15000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 24,593 Likes: 1 |
quote:
Originally posted by Beardguy57:
Hi T5
Nice to meet another Heinlein reader!
I didn't know he wrote books other than Science fiction. But why not?? He was prolific..
Why not be versitile, too?
Be Well.
The Door Into Summer is cool as hell. As is Starship Troopers. Heinlein is great about describing his views in the books and making his science and politics easy to understand.
I must admit, though, that Stranger in a Strange Land and everything after it just doesn't have the same feel. ![[eh... i dunno... ]](graemlins/ehidunno.gif)
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#17664
2003-05-30 3:47 AM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,203
betrayal and collapse 5000+ posts
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betrayal and collapse 5000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,203 |
Um...Understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls, edited by Hershel Skanks (sp.) and a crapload of essay-style stuff for summer school.
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#17665
2003-05-30 10:32 AM
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,978
1500+ posts
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1500+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,978 |
quote:
Here's some I can recommend:
Weasel's Luck and Galen Beknighted, also Stormblade. But for god's sake, steer clear of those Forgotten Realms Harper series (urgh)!
I did read Weasel's luck and it was weird book because it wasn't like a normal Dragonlance novel. I remember it being quite funny although the only thing I can recall plotwise was the bit where Weasel's brother is making a clumsy attempt at serenading some girl on her balcony, while Weasel remains hidden in the dark and prompts him.
I gave up reading role playing game tie-ins when I gave up role playing and started having real adventures instead. Some of those TSR books were really good.
I've just started reading: On Beyond Uranium: Journey to the End of the Periodic Table.
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#17666
2003-05-30 6:33 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,217
1000+ posts
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1000+ posts
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,217 |
Heinlein first aimed his books towards the more juvenile line of scifi...but later on grew more serious...and kinky hehehe. I just received his cd audio version of the short story called THE MAN WHO TRAVELED IN ELEPHANTS. This web site seels a lot of his stories on audio (short stories that is). http://www.artc.org/reference/TheDeansList.html
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#17667
2003-06-05 3:45 AM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 31
25+ posts
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25+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 31 |
I'm reading hordes of books by Erle Stanley Garner. I'm on DOUBLE OR QUITS. I think his Perry Mason series was the best but he wrote a lot of stuff in every genre.
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#17668
2003-06-13 4:35 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 5,142
5000+ posts
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5000+ posts
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 5,142 |
Bagombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut
Bear in the Attic by Patrick McManus
The Pride of Havana by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria
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#17669
2003-06-13 7:06 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 734
500+ posts
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500+ posts
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 734 |
The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler
Jeet Kune Do: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way; edited by John Little
Teach Yourself Tai Chi by Robert Parry
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Art of Worldly Wisdom: A Collection of Aphorisms from the works of Baltasar Gracian
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#17670
2003-06-13 8:35 PM
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,704
Frustrated! . . . with kids! 2500+ posts
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Frustrated! . . . with kids! 2500+ posts
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,704 |
I just finished: Bookends by Jane Green, Burning the Map by Laura Caldwell and The Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot.
I'll be starting milkrun by Sarah Mlynowski next.
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#17671
2003-06-14 12:24 AM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 520
500+ posts
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500+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 520 |
I finally tracked down some out of print Doctor Who novels published by Virgin in the '90s. Just finished one of them, called Set Piece by Kate Orman.
Next up is Revolt Into Style, by British pop critic George Melly.
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#17672
2003-06-14 1:19 AM
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 150
100+ posts
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100+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 150 |
"Nothing Lasts Forever" by Roderick Thorp. It was eventually filmed as "Die Hard." Same basic plot, but the style is bordering on annoying the crap out of me.
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#17673
2003-06-14 7:07 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,609
10000+ posts
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10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,609 |
quote:
Originally posted by A Jar of Cardinals:
I finally tracked down some out of print Doctor Who novels published by Virgin in the '90s. Just finished one of them, called Set Piece by Kate Orman.
Next up is Revolt Into Style, by British pop critic George Melly.
Most of the Virgin novels were boring...didnt strike me as "Doctor Who".
The BBC novels are awesome however!
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#17674
2003-06-14 11:53 PM
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,326
1000+ posts
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1000+ posts
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,326 |
quote:
Originally posted by Grimm:
quote:
His original intentions in writing Dracula were actually to have it performed as a play by his boss, Henry Irving (Stoker's main job was helping run a theater), whom Stoker wanted to play the part of Dracula. The role was intended as something that would combine the best of the villainous parts Irving specialized in. Irving walked in on a reading of Dracula, and declared it would never be performed in HIS theater. Poor Stoker.
Yeah, I remember reading that in the Belford book. Dracula was played in the reading by Whitworth Jones, another celebrated actor of the day. It's also worth noting that Stoker's descriptions of Dracula's face are very heavily based on Irving's looks, especially since the recent Norton Antholgy edition of Dracula edited by David Skal prominently features a malevolent-looking Irving (in a still from Faust) on the cover.
The Skal-edited version of the book has some great articles and reviews in it by film and literature historians. It's amazing how stuff like that can utterly transform a text you're familiar with into something fresh and new.
I'll have to check out Speeding Bullets and Skal's edit on Dracula, then. I loved his biography of Tod Browning.
My favorite of Skal's books thus far is Screams Of Reason, the examination of the realtionship between sci-fi/fantasy films and real-world scientific developments. Wonderful stuff, that. :)
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#17675
2003-06-15 9:22 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 520
500+ posts
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500+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 520 |
quote:
Originally posted by THE Franta:
quote:
Originally posted by A Jar of Cardinals:
I finally tracked down some out of print Doctor Who novels published by Virgin in the '90s. Just finished one of them, called Set Piece by Kate Orman.
Most of the Virgin novels were boring...didnt strike me as "Doctor Who".
The BBC novels are awesome however!
I thought Set Piece was pretty good, if not incredibly exciting. I always liked Sylvester McCoy's Doctor, anyway, though a good chunk of his actual eps were terrible.
I do want to check out the BBC novels someday. And I see where Lawrence Miles has spun Faction Paradox out of the Who books and into an Image comics series. Should be interesting.
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#17676
2003-06-15 9:37 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 7,281
Tabarnak! 6000+ posts
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Tabarnak! 6000+ posts
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 7,281 |
"Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. Seriously, the one book everyone must read at least once in thier lives.
I just picked up a copy of "Book of the Damned" and have been forcing my way through it. It's like the whole essay collection at the back of "Story of B" without any of the dramatic prose to tie it all together.
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#17677
2003-06-15 11:25 PM
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,016
2000+ posts
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2000+ posts
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,016 |
Anyone awaiting June 21st?
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