OT: Book reviews

I keep looking for a good site for book reviews but can't find any.
For music, there is www.allmusic.com. For movies, there is
www.imdb.com. The best so far I have for books is www.amazon.com, but
90% books get 4/5 stars so it is not really useful.

What triggered me for this is reading Odd Thomas by Koontz.
Here is my recommendation. Stay well away from it and if you have to
touch it, use a stick, and burn the stick thereafter.
I have the impression Koontz wrote the first two and the last two
chapters, and let his dog teenage daughter write the rest.
It should be banned, really.

--
Tihomir *I don't smoke anymore*
IRC chat: #nosmokers at irc.starlink.org
irc://irc.starlink.org/nosmokers

"The law is not an end in itself, nor does it provide ends. It is pre-eminently a means to serve what we think is right." - William J. Brennan, Jr.(1906-), U.S. Supreme Court justice

Tihomir wrote:

> I keep looking for a good site for book reviews but can't find any.
> For music, there is www.allmusic.com. For movies, there is
> www.imdb.com. The best so far I have for books is www.amazon.com, but
> 90% books get 4/5 stars so it is not really useful.
>
> What triggered me for this is reading Odd Thomas by Koontz.
> Here is my recommendation. Stay well away from it and if you have to
> touch it, use a stick, and burn the stick thereafter.
> I have the impression Koontz wrote the first two and the last two
> chapters, and let his dog teenage daughter write the rest.
> It should be banned, really.
>

No book can be as bad as Samuel Delaney's Dahlgren. I read that some
years back because all these sci-fi nuts I know kept going on and on
about how GREAT it was. The whole thing read like someone's bad trip
not the traveling kind) put down on paper. I've read better written by
10 year olds. It jumped from one scene to the next out of order
throughout the whole book, everything was disconnected, the characters
were stupid, and it was filled with gratuitous sex. I seriously think
the only reason it has ever reached any level of popularity is because
the first people who read it were HIGH, and then no one else understood
it but they didn't want to be seen as uncool or dumb so they just said
they liked it too.

Cindy
Smobriety comes to: 0Y 8M 1W 5D 18H 35Mns $-Saved to date: $998.36

Once upon a time, Cindy Murray said:

>No book can be as bad as Samuel Delaney's Dahlgren. I read that some
>years back because all these sci-fi nuts I know kept going on and on
>about how GREAT it was. The whole thing read like someone's bad trip
>not the traveling kind) put down on paper. I've read better written by
>10 year olds. It jumped from one scene to the next out of order
>throughout the whole book, everything was disconnected, the characters
>were stupid, and it was filled with gratuitous sex. I seriously think
>the only reason it has ever reached any level of popularity is because
>the first people who read it were HIGH, and then no one else understood
>it but they didn't want to be seen as uncool or dumb so they just said
>they liked it too.

Sure enough it got 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon. Sigh.

--
Tihomir *I don't smoke anymore*
IRC chat: #nosmokers at irc.starlink.org
irc://irc.starlink.org/nosmokers

.... Bonds almost instantly!

Brother Thomas was good.

Odd was disappointing. There was one more and I think I liked that one too.

CatKoontzFan



"Tihomir" <tgrebena@inet.hr.dummy> wrote in message
news:fctdat$blp$2@sunce.iskon.hr...
>
> I keep looking for a good site for book reviews but can't find any.
> For music, there is www.allmusic.com. For movies, there is
> www.imdb.com. The best so far I have for books is www.amazon.com, but
> 90% books get 4/5 stars so it is not really useful.
>
> What triggered me for this is reading Odd Thomas by Koontz.
> Here is my recommendation. Stay well away from it and if you have to
> touch it, use a stick, and burn the stick thereafter.
> I have the impression Koontz wrote the first two and the last two
> chapters, and let his dog teenage daughter write the rest.
> It should be banned, really.
>
> --
> Tihomir *I don't smoke anymore*
> IRC chat: #nosmokers at irc.starlink.org
> irc://irc.starlink.org/nosmokers
>
> "The law is not an end in itself, nor does it provide ends. It is
> pre-eminently a means to serve what we think is right." - William J.
> Brennan, Jr.(1906-), U.S. Supreme Court justice

"CuckooCat" wrote
> Brother Thomas was good.
>
> Odd was disappointing. There was one more and I think I liked that one
> too.
>
> CatKoontzFan


I've generally liked his stuff. I read a lot of fiction-- thrillers and
detective stuff, mysteries and pop fiction. "Chewing gum for the mind", as
someone described it.

Koontz is one of those authors whose output is so great that I often have a
hard time trying to remember if I've read a particular book of his or not;
the titles run together in my mind. None of the three in this series really
floated my boat-- as it were. Not his worst, but none of em's very high on
my list.

I think my favorite of his, though, is still WATCHERS-- which has been made
into a movie 2 or 3 times, with greater and lesser degrees of effectiveness.
This is the one about the lab animals who escape confinement. One of them is
a super-intelligent golden retriever; the other is... not. ***READ THIS***,
if you want to experience a really clever plot and wholly entertaining
characters and action.

That was an early book of his. I've read most of his others, and have never
quite found that same excitement again at the unfolding of a really great
story. It was kind of the same for me with Stephen King and THE STAND.
*He's* written a lot of crap since then, with an occasional diamond among
the turds.

Picky, picky, picky... but, it's a few hours of my life that I risk pissing
away on something unsatisfying, eh?

On Sep 20, 4:00 pm, " Jef." <jefo...@BITEMEcomcast.net> wrote:
> "CuckooCat" wrote
>
> > Brother Thomas was good.
>
> > Odd was disappointing. There was one more and I think I liked that one
> > too.
>
> > CatKoontzFan
>
> I've generally liked his stuff. I read a lot of fiction-- thrillers and
> detective stuff, mysteries and pop fiction. "Chewing gum for the mind", as
> someone described it.
>
> Koontz is one of those authors whose output is so great that I often have a
> hard time trying to remember if I've read a particular book of his or not;
> the titles run together in my mind. None of the three in this series really
> floated my boat-- as it were. Not his worst, but none of em's very high on
> my list.
>
> I think my favorite of his, though, is still WATCHERS-- which has been made
> into a movie 2 or 3 times, with greater and lesser degrees of effectiveness.
> This is the one about the lab animals who escape confinement. One of them is
> a super-intelligent golden retriever; the other is... not. ***READ THIS***,
> if you want to experience a really clever plot and wholly entertaining
> characters and action.
>
> That was an early book of his. I've read most of his others, and have never
> quite found that same excitement again at the unfolding of a really great
> story. It was kind of the same for me with Stephen King and THE STAND.
> *He's* written a lot of crap since then, with an occasional diamond among
> the turds.
>
> Picky, picky, picky... but, it's a few hours of my life that I risk pissing
> away on something unsatisfying, eh?

Oh, hell. I love Dean Koontz, and Harlan Coben, and Michael Connelly
and Lee Child, and Andrew Vaachs, and Stephen White and Stephen Hunter
and a hundred others as well. Some of their stuff isn't great, but
they keep me entertained, which is all I want them to do. I don't know
a site where reviews can give you an insight, except Amazon.
Hugs,
Pam

On Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:00:23 -0400, " Jef."
<jefo715@BITEMEcomcast.net> wrote:

>"CuckooCat" wrote
>> Brother Thomas was good.
>>
>> Odd was disappointing. There was one more and I think I liked that one
>> too.
>>
>> CatKoontzFan
>
>
>I've generally liked his stuff. I read a lot of fiction-- thrillers and
>detective stuff, mysteries and pop fiction. "Chewing gum for the mind", as
>someone described it.
>
>Koontz is one of those authors whose output is so great that I often have a
>hard time trying to remember if I've read a particular book of his or not;
>the titles run together in my mind. None of the three in this series really
>floated my boat-- as it were. Not his worst, but none of em's very high on
>my list.
>
>I think my favorite of his, though, is still WATCHERS-- which has been made
>into a movie 2 or 3 times, with greater and lesser degrees of effectiveness.
>This is the one about the lab animals who escape confinement. One of them is
>a super-intelligent golden retriever; the other is... not. ***READ THIS***,
>if you want to experience a really clever plot and wholly entertaining
>characters and action.
>
>That was an early book of his. I've read most of his others, and have never
>quite found that same excitement again at the unfolding of a really great
>story. It was kind of the same for me with Stephen King and THE STAND.
>*He's* written a lot of crap since then, with an occasional diamond among
>the turds.

I agree with you on Stephen King. I really liked 'The Stand', read a
few more of his books and then found them to be getting tedious. I'm
not looking for the diamonds anymore.

>
>Picky, picky, picky... but, it's a few hours of my life that I risk pissing
>away on something unsatisfying, eh?

As my GMF says to me when I start fretting about something I'm reading
- "It's no a school assignment".
Sue

>

Tihomir wrote:
> I keep looking for a good site for book reviews but can't find any.
> For music, there is www.allmusic.com. For movies, there is
> www.imdb.com. The best so far I have for books is www.amazon.com, but
> 90% books get 4/5 stars so it is not really useful.
>
> What triggered me for this is reading Odd Thomas by Koontz.
> Here is my recommendation. Stay well away from it and if you have to
> touch it, use a stick, and burn the stick thereafter.
> I have the impression Koontz wrote the first two and the last two
> chapters, and let his dog teenage daughter write the rest.
> It should be banned, really.
>
I liked the first couple of Koontz books I read but after the third one
I kept thinking... "wait, didn't I read this one before"?

ConcordPhil
I have not smoked in 2M 1W 5D 6h 39m. That's 74 days! I have not used
any nicotine at all since 9/03/2007.

On Sep 20, 4:08 am, Tihomir <tgreb...@inet.hr.dummy> wrote:
> I keep looking for a good site for book reviews but can't find any.
> For music, there iswww.allmusic.com. For movies, there iswww.imdb.com. The best so far I have for books iswww.amazon.com, but
> 90% books get 4/5 stars so it is not really useful.
>
> What triggered me for this is reading Odd Thomas by Koontz.
> Here is my recommendation. Stay well away from it and if you have to
> touch it, use a stick, and burn the stick thereafter.
> I have the impression Koontz wrote the first two and the last two
> chapters, and let his dog teenage daughter write the rest.
> It should be banned, really.
>
> --
> Tihomir *I don't smoke anymore*
> IRC chat: #nosmokers at irc.starlink.org
> irc://irc.starlink.org/nosmokers
>
> "The law is not an end in itself, nor does it provide ends. It is pre-eminently a means to serve what we think is right." - William J. Brennan, Jr.(1906-), U.S. Supreme Court justice

Unfortunately at my house, all the books are rated by age
appropriateness.
I'm reading some of them to the fourth kid.

I didn't get past the second chapter of Odd Thomas. Kept re-reading the
same paragraphs over and over because I found it hard to pay attention. I
donated it to Goodwill.

AnneD - sometimes a Koontz fan, sometimes not

"Tihomir" <tgrebena@inet.hr.dummy> wrote in message
news:fctdat$blp$2@sunce.iskon.hr...
>
> I keep looking for a good site for book reviews but can't find any.
> For music, there is www.allmusic.com. For movies, there is
> www.imdb.com. The best so far I have for books is www.amazon.com, but
> 90% books get 4/5 stars so it is not really useful.
>
> What triggered me for this is reading Odd Thomas by Koontz.
> Here is my recommendation. Stay well away from it and if you have to
> touch it, use a stick, and burn the stick thereafter.
> I have the impression Koontz wrote the first two and the last two
> chapters, and let his dog teenage daughter write the rest.
> It should be banned, really.
>
> --
> Tihomir *I don't smoke anymore*
> IRC chat: #nosmokers at irc.starlink.org
> irc://irc.starlink.org/nosmokers
>
> "The law is not an end in itself, nor does it provide ends. It is
> pre-eminently a means to serve what we think is right." - William J.
> Brennan, Jr.(1906-), U.S. Supreme Court justice

"The Stand" is one of my all time faves, and "IT" was equally horrifying and
mesmerizing.

I read a great book this year, one so good that I am going to buy a couple
more copies to pass around. "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson is his
first-person account of hiking the Appalaciain Trail. Hilarious, with a dry
humor and entertaining as can be! I need to try another one of his books to
see if they are as good.

With hope and heart,
Kathleen


" Jef." <jefo715@BITEMEcomcast.net> wrote in message
news:t7KdnUij6aJiTW_bnZ2dneKdnZydnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> "CuckooCat" wrote
>> Brother Thomas was good.
>>
>> Odd was disappointing. There was one more and I think I liked that one
>> too.
>>
>> CatKoontzFan
>
>
> I've generally liked his stuff. I read a lot of fiction-- thrillers and
> detective stuff, mysteries and pop fiction. "Chewing gum for the mind", as
> someone described it.
>
> Koontz is one of those authors whose output is so great that I often have
> a hard time trying to remember if I've read a particular book of his or
> not; the titles run together in my mind. None of the three in this series
> really floated my boat-- as it were. Not his worst, but none of em's very
> high on my list.
>
> I think my favorite of his, though, is still WATCHERS-- which has been
> made into a movie 2 or 3 times, with greater and lesser degrees of
> effectiveness. This is the one about the lab animals who escape
> confinement. One of them is a super-intelligent golden retriever; the
> other is... not. ***READ THIS***, if you want to experience a really
> clever plot and wholly entertaining characters and action.
>
> That was an early book of his. I've read most of his others, and have
> never quite found that same excitement again at the unfolding of a really
> great story. It was kind of the same for me with Stephen King and THE
> STAND. *He's* written a lot of crap since then, with an occasional diamond
> among the turds.
>
> Picky, picky, picky... but, it's a few hours of my life that I risk
> pissing away on something unsatisfying, eh?
>

I agree on the Stephen King too. I loved all his old stuff but in the
past, say, seven years ... Bah. I liked The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon,
and I think that's the only one of his I enjoyed in that time period.

Ashley

Once upon a time, Jef. said:

>I've generally liked his stuff. I read a lot of fiction-- thrillers and
>detective stuff, mysteries and pop fiction. "Chewing gum for the mind", as
>someone described it.
>
>Koontz is one of those authors whose output is so great that I often have a
>hard time trying to remember if I've read a particular book of his or not;
>the titles run together in my mind. None of the three in this series really
>floated my boat-- as it were. Not his worst, but none of em's very high on
>my list.

Don't get me wrong Jef, I do like Koontz, have read a few of his books
before, and maybe that is why I was disappointed with Odd Thomas.

I read everything I lay my hands on. For many years, my system is to
get in the library and browse the books and then pick up something I
don't know anything about. For me this works great, there is so much
to discover that way, instead of just following recommendations.
I do enjoy hand picking a history of France or the Middle east or the
Templars. And I do realize that by reading so much fast food I will
miss so much truly great books.
It's like listening to music. You can't listen to Handel *all* the
time. There has to be variety. There are times for Ry Cooder or
Kraftwerk or Eloy.
Or watching movies. I can watch 10 Leslie Nielsen movie in a row but
then I really want to watch something like The Piano or The Shawshank
Redemption or 2001 or 2010 (two completely different movies but each
great in it's own way). And round it all off with Dr. Strangelove!

I took a new batch of books yesterday. The first is by Robert Harris,
which I never read before. It is no top class art, but the narration
is very enjoyable and the theme is intriguing to say the least. I was
interested in Pompeii ever since I saw the Pink Floyd "concert" with
no audience from the early 70's. Now I get to enjoy a work of fiction
based on the actual events! Life is Good :-)

--
Tihomir *I don't smoke anymore*
IRC chat: #nosmokers at irc.starlink.org
irc://irc.starlink.org/nosmokers

.... DAVE, I REALLY THINK I'M ENTITLED TO AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION

I loved that book! I have read all of Bill Bryson's books and can heartily
recommend them as beign excellent!
Becky
"Kathleen" <lovebirds1201@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:5lh3s1F88kb8U1@mid.individual.net...
> "The Stand" is one of my all time faves, and "IT" was equally horrifying
> and mesmerizing.
>
> I read a great book this year, one so good that I am going to buy a couple
> more copies to pass around. "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson is his
> first-person account of hiking the Appalaciain Trail. Hilarious, with a
> dry humor and entertaining as can be! I need to try another one of his
> books to see if they are as good.
>
> With hope and heart,
> Kathleen
>
>
> " Jef." <jefo715@BITEMEcomcast.net> wrote in message
> news:t7KdnUij6aJiTW_bnZ2dneKdnZydnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>> "CuckooCat" wrote
>>> Brother Thomas was good.
>>>
>>> Odd was disappointing. There was one more and I think I liked that one
>>> too.
>>>
>>> CatKoontzFan
>>
>>
>> I've generally liked his stuff. I read a lot of fiction-- thrillers and
>> detective stuff, mysteries and pop fiction. "Chewing gum for the mind",
>> as someone described it.
>>
>> Koontz is one of those authors whose output is so great that I often have
>> a hard time trying to remember if I've read a particular book of his or
>> not; the titles run together in my mind. None of the three in this series
>> really floated my boat-- as it were. Not his worst, but none of em's very
>> high on my list.
>>
>> I think my favorite of his, though, is still WATCHERS-- which has been
>> made into a movie 2 or 3 times, with greater and lesser degrees of
>> effectiveness. This is the one about the lab animals who escape
>> confinement. One of them is a super-intelligent golden retriever; the
>> other is... not. ***READ THIS***, if you want to experience a really
>> clever plot and wholly entertaining characters and action.
>>
>> That was an early book of his. I've read most of his others, and have
>> never quite found that same excitement again at the unfolding of a really
>> great story. It was kind of the same for me with Stephen King and THE
>> STAND. *He's* written a lot of crap since then, with an occasional
>> diamond among the turds.
>>
>> Picky, picky, picky... but, it's a few hours of my life that I risk
>> pissing away on something unsatisfying, eh?
>>
>

On Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:08:46 +0200, Tihomir <tgrebena@inet.hr.dummy>
wrote:

>
>I keep looking for a good site for book reviews ....

>What triggered me for this is reading Odd Thomas by Koontz.
>Here is my recommendation. Stay well away from it and if you have to
>touch it, use a stick, and burn the stick thereafter.
>I have the impression Koontz wrote the first two and the last two
>chapters, and let his dog teenage daughter write the rest.
>It should be banned, really.
>
I like Dean Koontz in the main, and have almost all of his books. But
I agree. The Odd Thomas series is extremely poor, and aimed almost at
the illiterate market.

I tend to look on Amazon.com for book reviews, but I don't always
agree with them.

Kathy in NZ

On Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:00:23 -0400, " Jef."
<jefo715@BITEMEcomcast.net> wrote:


>It was kind of the same for me with Stephen King and THE STAND.
>*He's* written a lot of crap since then, with an occasional diamond among
>the turds.
>
How interesting to hear you (and others) comment The Stand is your
favourite Stephen King book. It's one of the few I've never read.

I went off Stephen King after reading a few duds, one in particular I
reckoned he's written in an evening to pay the impending power bill.
It was so bad.

However, I think his best one is It, and Pet Cemetary spooked me.

Kathy in NZ

"Kathleen"wrote
> "The Stand" is one of my all time faves, and "IT" was equally horrifying
> and mesmerizing.
>
> I read a great book this year, one so good that I am going to buy a couple
> more copies to pass around. "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson is his
> first-person account of hiking the Appalaciain Trail. Hilarious, with a
> dry humor and entertaining as can be! I need to try another one of his
> books to see if they are as good.
>
> With hope and heart,
> Kathleen
>

Same here...... Read "The Stand" and immediately put it in my top 10 of all
time and then read another 20 King books hoping for more of the same....
never found it and gave up. I did like "The Shining".

Just read "A Walk in the Woods" and enjoyed it.

If you liked that, you might try "Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from
the Unfinished Civil War" by Tony Horwitz about Civil War re-enactors. It
was
kind of like "A Walk....". I never thought I would like it but it was really
fun.

More Favorites

Best western of all time: "Lonesome Dove" - Larry McMurtry) (only western
ever to win a Pulitzer)

Best Sci-Fi - tie between "Dune" by Heinlein and "Foundation and Empire" by
Asimov

Best history (by far!... reads like a novel) "Comanches - The Destruction of
a People" by Fehrenbach

Best Fantasy - Belgariad Series by David Eddings. I could not put these
down!

Also I buy almost all my books used from Amazon.com There is a standard $3
or $4 shipping and lots of book are available for 1 cent to a few
dollars. Even some new ones. When you find one you like, click on the "used"
area.
--
Les Stewart 7y+
Beaumont, TX 30ºN 94ºW

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 07:42:47 -0500, "Les Stewart"
<noway@nnnoooohow.com> wrote:


>
>More Favorites
>
>Best western of all time: "Lonesome Dove" - Larry McMurtry) (only western
>ever to win a Pulitzer)

I'm putting this on my list of books to read. It's about time.

>
>Best Sci-Fi - tie between "Dune" by Heinlein

Frank Herbert might disagree with you there. )


> and "Foundation and Empire" by
>Asimov
>
>Best history (by far!... reads like a novel) "Comanches - The Destruction of
>a People" by Fehrenbach
>
>Best Fantasy - Belgariad Series by David Eddings. I could not put these
>down!
>
>Also I buy almost all my books used from Amazon.com There is a standard $3
>or $4 shipping and lots of book are available for 1 cent to a few
>dollars. Even some new ones. When you find one you like, click on the "used"
>area.

Barnes and Noble is heaven to me. An hour in there and I feel as
though I've been on a week's vacation (usually costs me as much, too).
Sue

Once upon a time, Sue said:

>>Best Sci-Fi - tie between "Dune" by Heinlein
>
>Frank Herbert might disagree with you there. )

Eagle Eye Sue! What a great catch!

Very nice list Les! Thanks!

--
Tihomir *I don't smoke anymore*
IRC chat: #nosmokers at irc.starlink.org
irc://irc.starlink.org/nosmokers

Always remember to Pillage BEFORE you Burn.

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:43:21 +0200, Tihomir <tgrebena@inet.hr.dummy>
wrote:

>Once upon a time, Sue said:
>
>>>Best Sci-Fi - tie between "Dune" by Heinlein
>>
>>Frank Herbert might disagree with you there. )
>
>Eagle Eye Sue! What a great catch!

I've never read 'Dune' (something else to add to my list), but I've
read some small amount of Heinlein. Loved 'Stranger in a Strange
Land'.
>
>Very nice list Les! Thanks!

> More Favorites
>
> Best western of all time: "Lonesome Dove" - Larry McMurtry) (only western
> ever to win a Pulitzer)

Yeah, I thought so too!

> Best Sci-Fi - tie between "Dune" by Heinlein and "Foundation and Empire"
> by
> Asimov

Ooooh, Dune was awesome - I've read those several times

> Best history (by far!... reads like a novel) "Comanches - The Destruction
> of
> a People" by Fehrenbach

Note to self: put on list

> Best Fantasy - Belgariad Series by David Eddings. I could not put these
> down!

I adore Lord of the Rings so much, I don't imagine it will ever not be #1 on
my list.
The Harry Potter books have been read a dozen times as well.

With hope and heart,
Kathleen


> Also I buy almost all my books used from Amazon.com There is a standard $3
> or $4 shipping and lots of book are available for 1 cent to a few
> dollars. Even some new ones. When you find one you like, click on the
> "used"
> area.
> --
> Les Stewart 7y+
> Beaumont, TX 30ºN 94ºW
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

"Sue" wrote
>>Best Sci-Fi - tie between "Dune" by Heinlein
>
> Frank Herbert might disagree with you there. )

Ooooops!
--
Les Stewart 7y+
Beaumont, TX 30ºN 94ºW

"Kathleen" wrote >
>> Best Fantasy - Belgariad Series by David Eddings. I could not put these
>> down!
>
> I adore Lord of the Rings so much, I don't imagine it will ever not be #1
> on my list.

LOTR is # 1 on my list too. I guess I have read it so many times...... I
wasn't even thinking of it as fantasy..... it is REAL to me! <grin>.

But do give the David Eddings series a try. There are two main series that
are tied together. The Belgariad is first.... 5 books that are short and
easy to read. Start with the "Pawn of Prophecy" All 5 books together are
about the same length as one of the LOTR books. Same with the sequel series,
The Mallorean. There are also some prequels and sequels but they are not
important compared to the two main series.

He also wrote another 6 book set of "Sparhawk" books that were fun.
--
Les Stewart 7y+
Beaumont, TX 30ºN 94ºW

I just spent a while Googling myself-- and I'm afraid if I keep it up, I'll
go blind...

I thought surely I'd mentioned this here before, but I can't find any Google
record of myself making prior reference to it-- so I'll bring it up now, as
we're talking about books...

One of the best reads I've ever had-- the sort of thing that you LITERALLY
don't want to end; I realized I had a few dozen pages left and I'd force
myself to slow down and savor every sentence-- was a novel called "REPLAY",
written by Ken Grimwood. It's sort of science fiction/fantasy without elves
or dragons or robots or wizards.

It's out of print, but you can probably snag a copy on EBAY or Amazon or
somewhere. Back when it was available on bookstore shelves, I bought at
least a dozen copies, as I was always loaning mine out and never seeing it
again. I also thought it was so damn good that friends I knew who really
enjoyed reading ought to have a copy, and so I bought several copies and
gave 'em as gifts.

Why someone hasn't turned this into a movie is beyond me. One could argue
that it *HAS* been done, but in an altered, very watered down, comedic way,
as GROUNDHOG DAY. (Lightweight, amusing, but hardly in the same league as
this story...)

That gives you a slight clue as to the plot. It's the tale of a very
ordinary, 43 year old guy who, while having a telephone conversation, has
terrible chest pains, pitches forward, collapses and dies.

And then he wakes up... in a different place, but in a strangely familiar
room. As he looks around, it dawns on him that it's his old college dorm
room... He's somehow traveled back 25 years in time. He's 18 again-- but he
has all the memories and accumulated knowledge of his 43 years of life. And
he's stuck as an 18 year old kid again...

What to do...? How to cope....? How does he manage to not only endure, but
to thrive?

I won't give away his method, but he manages quite well, indeed, for another
25 years-- until he dies.

And then he wakes up again...

The cycle repeats and repeats, and he gets new chances to try alternate
lives, different lifestyles and to make changes-- replaying his life-- that
take him in different directions.

It occurs to him that maybe he's not the only person in the world to
experience this. He's not.
It occurs to him that maybe science or the government can help him, somehow.
Bad idea; very bad idea...

Having revealed this much to you, I have only really scratched the surface.
This is a terrific story and an engrossing read. Find a copy and hunker down
with it. You will thank me later...

" Jef." wrote
>
> I thought surely I'd mentioned this here before, but I can't find any
> Google record of myself making prior reference to it-- so I'll bring it up
> now, as we're talking about books...
>
> One of the best reads I've ever had-- the sort of thing that you LITERALLY
> don't want to end; I realized I had a few dozen pages left and I'd force
> myself to slow down and savor every sentence-- was a novel called
> "REPLAY", written by Ken Grimwood.

OK! I like your web page, your posts, your art, your sense of humor, some of
your opinions.... and your wife looks good too!

I found it on Amazon..... a good condition used copy for $2.95 plus
shipping.

It is on the way!!!!

Thanks!
--
Les Stewart 7y+
Beaumont, TX 30ºN 94ºW

"Les Stewart" wrote
> OK! I like your web page, your posts, your art, your sense of humor, some
> of your opinions.... and your wife looks good too!


Surely reason enough to do everything I say, yeah? Love me, love my Sun God,
I always say...

> I found it on Amazon..... a good condition used copy for $2.95 plus
> shipping.
>
> It is on the way!!!!

Cool! Knew it must be out there, still. Please do let me know what you
think, Les.
I think it'd be a terrific movie. Doesn't even matter who they'd cast, the
story is that good...

Once upon a time, Jef. said:

>One of the best reads I've ever had-- the sort of thing that you LITERALLY
>don't want to end; I realized I had a few dozen pages left and I'd force
>myself to slow down and savor every sentence-- was a novel called "REPLAY",
>written by Ken Grimwood. It's sort of science fiction/fantasy without elves
>or dragons or robots or wizards.
(snip)
>Having revealed this much to you, I have only really scratched the surface.
>This is a terrific story and an engrossing read. Find a copy and hunker down
>with it. You will thank me later...

Thanks for the recommendation Jef.

Audrey Niffenegger's "The Time Traveler's Wife" plays with a similar
theme. It's only marginal SF but I found it a very satisfying read:

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Travelers.../dp/015602943X

--
Tihomir *I don't smoke anymore*
IRC chat: #nosmokers at irc.starlink.org
irc://irc.starlink.org/nosmokers

"Once you accept the Universe as being something expanding into an
infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy."
---Albert Einstein