Radikalskippy's Random Banter #85 of lost ideas and where to find them...

[Scorpina]

I would have thought it'd be better to keep the reasons I don't like Harry Potter out of the Harry Potter thread, really, considering that there are obviously going to be more people there than anywhere else who do like it...

[Madmal]

Is reading a 600 page book in 8 hours healthy...With about 30 minutes to have dinner and get more pepsi and that's the only break...I should have read it faster...Like...6 hours tops...Goddamn non reading mood >.<

no, no healthy..

and 8 hours is fine...you get to flavour the book

*hugs*

[Dispozition]

OH NOES!!! IT'S A ROGUE MOD!!!!!!!!!!!

But yeah...I suppose you're right. I'm safe...I didn't voice my opinion...Just a concern for my health...

Whoops...new page...My bad!!

[EmeraldRose]

Were we being, like, this obvious?

I thought my small hints were being quite subtle.

* devises daring plan to move to Europe to be closer to her Khan.

Ok, I have to admit, I figured it out when Khan said his new girlfriend lived in Brazil. It was all he'd told me, but it wasn't that hard.

It was only later that I started seeing your hints Smee.

EDIT: also...about the book, Andre was going to go out last night at 11pm CST to see how the lines were, but we decided just to wait and look today. If we can't get a copy right away, we'll just have to wait a little longer...

[Death, your friend the Reaper]

has any body played kingdom of loathing?

Yeah, played for a while, ascended, then got side tracked, was doing hardcore oxygen one.

*Remembers to his youth*

[Vonriel]

*shrug* 'twas only a request.

We were at the mall at 11:00 last night. Not a good thing, really, because the Auntie Anne's (a pretzel shop, with some delicious foodstuffs) across the hall was still open. Result? A Dr. Pepper at about midnight.

[zombie chick]

was good to wait outside for the book at midnight, even though i have been il all week. still its a good excuse to finally rest and read the book, only half way through but im getting there with it
i have posted that nayone who reveals any clips to me will suffer a fate wirse then death, and that me and my friends have decided to reveal what chapter we are on before discussing said book. i htink these wll let me finish hte book in peace
now if i can get out of the blackmail imposed by my receptionist today who read the last few pages whilei was working i will be even happier lol

[Penguinizer]

Meh, I had the chance to buy the book a day or so early!!!

It was on sale early by accident in a store. Had a brain fart and skipped on buying it :(

Anyways. I'm having a good day.

[FdL]

I would have thought it'd be better to keep the reasons I don't like Harry Potter out of the Harry Potter thread, really, considering that there are obviously going to be more people there than anywhere else who do like it...

Yeah, I think that would be worse.
I think it's important to be able to express one's opinion. Always with respect for others and all, but you have a right to not like HP.

I don't like Harry Potter, and for one I think this mega-phenomenon that's happening all over this crazy planet is more a result of marketing and media promotion than a result of the quality of said books or a sudden global interest in (children's) literature.

Besides that, I keep reading accounts of people who brag about having read it in X hours...Someone said 5 hours, whatever...Is that the point of all this? Swallowing the book in the least possible time and then gloating at your friends? Consuming seems to be the word here.

Binging on an object of entertainment, consuming it in one gulp... Is HP the fast-food of literature? Does it have any nutritional value or it's just saturated with the fat of hype and discardable literature? How long does its taste linger in your mouth and how long does it stay in your hips/butt?

And if it's not, does it actually resist another analisys? Is there any other way to enjoy HP if not hysterically blazing through its pages?

[Sisqui]

And if it's not, does it actually resist another analisys? Is there any other way to enjoy HP if not hysterically blazing through its pages?

I think it depends on why you are reading it. Are you reading it because you like the stories or because you are the kind of person who wants to be doing the latest newest fashionable thing, whatever that thing might be?

[FdL]

Sure, good point. But I mean, was it not written to be read like that? Like those fat but shallow best-sellers one buys at the airport to read at the beach, just to pass the time.

[Midnight Son]

And if it's not, does it actually resist another analisys? Is there any other way to enjoy HP if not hysterically blazing through its pages?

Well, you could enjoy it around a campfire. I imagine that'd get a bit expensive, though, and you'd definitely have the 5 hours to get through the book beat by a long shot.

I tried to read Harry Potter just before the first movie came out. I picked up the first one, started reading till I got tired, put it down, and never picked it up again. Kudos to her for making millions off of the franchise. It's just not for me. I did actually enjoy the last movie. The previous four were any where from, "It was okay" to "Meh", but I keep watching because I have cousins who love HP.

[Ego Slayer]

Is reading a 600 page book in 8 hours healthy...With about 30 minutes to have dinner and get more pepsi and that's the only break...I should have read it faster...Like...6 hours tops...Goddamn non reading mood >.<

Ah... why do people do this? A friend of mine read the 6th the day it came out, and I know he'll do the same for this one. >_< Don't you want the book to last a little longer than that?

[ZombieRockStar]

@^: Total agreement there. People brag about reading fast...it's like it's some skill that determines how good a reader you are. I like reading books that take a long while because you have to re-read sentences. Isn't it more entertaining that way? Like a puzzle or something...

Binging on an object of entertainment, consuming it in one gulp... Is HP the fast-food of literature? Does it have any nutritional value or it's just saturated with the fat of hype and discardable literature? How long does its taste linger in your mouth and how long does it stay in your hips/butt?

I think you have something here. That's probably the way I'd describe Harry Potter, along with a number of other popular books that really seem to have no value other than to be consumed.

But even when I put my critical-thinking mind to the side and try to read them as a consumer...I'm not entertained. I try and read it on the character-centered level it was written on, but I can't read the story because I hate the characters. Really...Harry reminds me of Wesley Crusher. I don't want to be reading stories about Wesley Crusher.

[Sisqui]

Sure, good point. But I mean, was it not written to be read like that? Like those fat but shallow best-sellers one buys at the airport to read at the beach, just to pass the time.

To be honest, I don't know. I've never read one.
But if that is what you buy to read, well, hey, that's still reading. Like a coworker of mine says, "There's no such thing as bad pizza. Even if they get your order wrong, hey, it's still pizza!"

EDIT: *braces for inevitable "Ooooh, pizza!" replies*

But even when I put my critical-thinking mind to the side and try to read them as a consumer...I'm not entertained. I try and read it on the character-centered level it was written on, but I can't read the story because I hate the characters. Really...Harry reminds me of Wesley Crusher. I don't want to be reading stories about Wesley Crusher.

Well, thanks for THAT mental image

[ZombieRockStar]

Well, thanks for THAT mental image

I specialize in disturbing images. Seriously, I have an ad in the yellow pages.

[Sisqui]

I specialize in disturbing images. Seriously, I have an ad in the yellow pages.

You took the same feat as Belkar, huh? Well, I can respect that!

I think you have something here. That's probably the way I'd describe Harry Potter, along with a number of other popular books that really seem to have no value other than to be consumed.

Well, all books are just consumed, really. Some are retained and some are forgotten, but that will vary from individual to individual. Also, don't be too hard on those McBooks. Sometimes people just want to relax and unwind without getting into the deeper issues of life. You know, like watching Monty Python or something.

[ZombieRockStar]

Belkar may be good by amateur standards, but he's still only a hobbyist. I'm pro.

Which means I get payed. You owe me $88.99 for that particular image.

[EmeraldRose]

Oooh! Pizza!

I think if the books are getting people to read, it doesn't matter how long or short a time it takes to read them. They are reading. It's all that really matters. Many of these people may not have read anything seriously before. Now they are reading an entire series of books....

[Logic]

@^: Total agreement there. People brag about reading fast...it's like it's some skill that determines how good a reader you are. I like reading books that take a long while because you have to re-read sentences. Isn't it more entertaining that way? Like a puzzle or something...

I honestly would rather understand it the first time through. Though, I do like books that make me learn new vocabulary.

I can't read the story because I hate the characters. Really...Harry reminds me of Wesley Crusher. I don't want to be reading stories about Wesley Crusher.

Shut up, Wesley!

On that note, Harry does not remind me of Wesley.

[Sisqui]

Belkar may be good by amateur standards, but he's still only a hobbyist. I'm pro.

Which means I get payed. You owe me $88.99 for that particular image.

*checks pockets*

*does mental image equivalent of dine-n-dash*

[FdL]

@^: Total agreement there. People brag about reading fast...it's like it's some skill that determines how good a reader you are. I like reading books that take a long while because you have to re-read sentences. Isn't it more entertaining that way? Like a puzzle or something...

But you can only read that way if the book has something that makes you think, reflect, or if it haves something you need to let grow inside of you, be it intellectually or emotionally.

I think you have something here. That's probably the way I'd describe Harry Potter, along with a number of other popular books that really seem to have no value other than to be consumed.

But even when I put my critical-thinking mind to the side and try to read them as a consumer...I'm not entertained. I try and read it on the character-centered level it was written on, but I can't read the story because I hate the characters. Really...Harry reminds me of Wesley Crusher. I don't want to be reading stories about Wesley Crusher.

Well, I agree with you in this respect. To me the characters and situations are all too cliched. But rather than looking at it's value or lack thereof as a literary work, I find it more interesting to look at all this hype which surrounds it.
That's pretty unheard of, I mean, for a book. Though nowadays people get hysterical about the release of videogames, cellphones, films, when buying tickets for rock concerts... :S :S

What's in today's society that makes us so desperate for products of entertainment? Or just products of mass consumption.

PS: LOL on the Wesley Crusher comparison :)


Edit:

To be honest, I don't know. I've never read one.
But if that is what you buy to read, well, hey, that's still reading. Like a coworker of mine says, "There's no such thing as bad pizza. Even if they get your order wrong, hey, it's still pizza!"

Well, some people sure don't care what they eat :) But leaving tautologies aside, I've had really good pizzas and horrible ones. And even then, I know what a pizza is and what it does to my body. All that applies to literature too.

[ZombieRockStar]

@^: He (and every other character) just annoys me in the same way as Wesley does. He's so...Mary Sue.

Hype has always existed for everything. I do get kinda uppity when people say that art for entertainment is a recent thing. We have entire traditions of burlesque that's even become almost legitimate, Punch and Judy, scores of bad 18th century operas, 19th century broadsheet serial novels...the list of crappy art produced for mass consumption is endless. It's just more prevalent now because the market is larger.

I honestly would rather understand it the first time through. Though, I do like books that make me learn new vocabulary.

That isn't exactly what I was referring to...not reading level, but more of a passage written in a way that you have to stop and think about what you just read.

Reading is supposed to be an active pastime. You don't absorb books like you do movies...not just sit and stare at the page but really explore the story you're getting into...what it means to you and such. Which you can't do if you're reading a page a minute.

Or, put simply, "literary" books entertain me far more than Harry Potter ever could. This isn't snobbery (I hope)...I'm just not sure I understand why people like a book filled with stock characters, predictable plots, and very obvious subtext about racism and other stuff.

[Ego Slayer]

Now I feel like rereading those other books I read in a day.
(And you know which one of those is of your doing, Zombie...heheh.)

If a book doesn't make me think it's not worth much to me beyond killing time.

[Sisqui]

Now I feel like rereading those other books I read in a day.
(And you know which one of those is of your doing, Zombie...heheh.)

If a book doesn't make me think it's not worth much to me beyond killing time.

That is kind of my point. Sometimes you just want to kill time. The "weightier tomes" require the time and silence it takes to appreciate them. I mean, if you're in a noisy airport or you are being frequently interrupted and cannot maintain a steady train of thought, then a McBook might be exactly the thing for you. Provided reading is your preferred way to relax.

[Castaras]

Has anyone seen this Lol Code? Freaking awesome.

HAI
CAN HAS STDIO?
I HAS A VAR
IM IN YR LOOP
	UP VAR!!1
	VISIBLE VAR
	IZ VAR BIGGER THAN 10? KTHXBYE
IM OUTTA YR LOOP
KTHXBYE

[ZombieRockStar]

Now I feel like rereading those other books I read in a day.
(And you know which one of those is of your doing, Zombie...heheh.)

If a book doesn't make me think it's not worth much to me beyond killing time.

Really, sweetie? Which book would that be?

If it's the one I think you're thinking of, don't. You won't get anything out of it. To go further with the fast food analogy...that particular book is like calling a Big Mac healthy because it has all four food groups in it.

[FdL]

Hype has always existed for everything. I do get kinda uppity when people say that art for entertainment is a recent thing. We have entire traditions of burlesque that's even become almost legitimate, Punch and Judy, scores of bad 19th century operas, 19th century broadsheet serial novels...the list of crappy art produced for mass consumption is endless. It's just more prevalent now because the market is larger.

True, and it's reached levels of worldwide massive hysteria now.

Reading is supposed to be an active pastime. You don't absorb books like you do movies...not just sit and stare at the page but really explore the story you're getting into...what it means to you and such. Which you can't do if you're reading a page a minute.

Wait there, because as there's plenty of "Harry Potter movies", there are also films that require an active, critical attitude, a different stance on part of the viewer. One which sadly not many people seem to want to take, and that the movie industry monster as we know it (ie, commercial movies from the US) ignores or antagonizes.

Or, put simply, "literary" books entertain me far more than Harry Potter ever could. This isn't snobbery (I hope)...I'm just not sure I understand why people like a book filled with stock characters, predictable plots, and very obvious subtext about racism and other stuff.

Exactly, I couldn't agree more. This is why:

I think if the books are getting people to read, it doesn't matter how long or short a time it takes to read them. They are reading. It's all that really matters. Many of these people may not have read anything seriously before. Now they are reading an entire series of books....

Of course, leaving illiteracy behind is no small feat. But with so many true gems of literature in the history of humanity, with the existance of books that can inspire you, move you, change your life, do you think it's good to settle for the fact that with Harry Potter kids are at least reading?
As the head of a school, would you make kids read Harry Potter rather than a literary work with more profoundity and value? (which, btw, doesn't mean it's boring)

ZRS, they like it because it's easy. And people are lazy, intellectually. The brain gets used to what it knows, one settles for what he can handle and so it becomes "fat and lazy". An intellectual challenge, mental excercise, confronting novel ideas that intrigue you and spur you and create new realities that contrast with yours...That's what a book should be. And tell you what, especially for children.

[Jibar]

I'm just not sure I understand why people like a book filled with stock characters, predictable plots, and very obvious subtext about racism and other stuff.

Because it was something magical.

[Ego Slayer]

Really, sweetie? Which book would that be?

If it's the one I think you're thinking of, don't. You won't get anything out of it. To go further with the fast food analogy...that particular book is like calling a Big Mac healthy because it has all four food groups in it.

1984. I'm sure I could go without reading it again... I really think I should reread Cat's Cradle, though. I know I missed a lot in that.