A collecting forum. CollectingBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CollectingBanter forum » Collecting newsgroups » Books
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #21  
Old June 28th 06, 05:39 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.


Bill Bohanon wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...


People always make a mistake when they drag
in a novelist's politics, or what they think is his
politics. Anyone who is in the used book business
can likely tell you that 1984 remains one of the most
requested novels by a Twentieth Century author who
has been gone a couple of generations -- and for
'the most part is read by people who could care
less about Orwell's politics.

In a sense, people make the same mistake
with "1984" that they make with Heinlein's
"Puppetmasters." In the case of the
latter, people often take a simplistic
approach holding that Heinlein was merely
commenting on communism. The reality
is that he was likely commenting -- if we want
to take his terrifying story as anything beyond
sheer entertainment -- on a pernicious tendency
in human nature, a tendency which became
overt not only in communism, but also
in Nazism, and, I suspect, Heinlein would
agree, in the terrorist groups of today. When
people start making suicide attacks on
innocent people, then something just as
pernicious as Heinlein's Puppetmasters
(a novel which should be required reading for
anyonce seeking a better understanding
of Al Quaida) .has gotten hold of their nervous
systems... But getting back to 1984,
technology being what it is today, any sort
of totalitarian government could institute a
surveillance system far more through than
what Orwell depicted. That is very basic
knowledge to likely all "1984" readers,
which is one good reason why the novel
remains scary stuff..


Hi Bill. Regarding this 1984 book you mention above, I recently bought a
copy at a book sale for a dollar. The title is spelled out though, it says
Nineteen Eighty Four.


It would be interesting to see how Orwell
felt about the matter. What I can tell you
is that the Signet (New American Library)
paperback, which was first published in
July, 1950, not only has the title on the
outside front of the paperback written
in numbers, but the title page also has
"1984" written the same way. On the
other hand, the spine of the book has
"Nineteen Eighty-Four" written as a word.
Perhaps, then, we are to conclude that it
is 6 of 1, and one-half dozen of the other,
regarding important differences in the
way you write the title. (I usually write
the title in numbers because, hey, if
you can save maybe 16 keystrokes
and still get your idea accross, why not?)

Inside it says "first american edition" inside and has
a blue dust cover. I didn't know it was famous or anything,


You have spent the past sixty
years touring deep in the Coal Sack
Nebula, I take it

I bought it
because I thought it was a typo of some sort, because the book was published
in 1948 which is 1984 sort of backwards. Are you saying that this book might
be worth more than the dollar I paid for it?


No, but instead of asking me you should
be checking in Addall.com.

That would be ironical, because
although I collect things that are mistakes (like books with typos) I bought
this by mistake but it isn't a mistake.


Hmm...sometimes I have a hard time
telling if a post is a clueless attempt
at humor or just written by someone
who happens to be clueless...

[Memo from the upstairs office.]





[Memo from the upstairs office.]
============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk
==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660
4760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870
0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800
739 557



Ads
  #22  
Old June 28th 06, 06:06 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.

On 27 Jun 2006 21:14:11 -0700, wrote:


Barbara Bailey wrote:
On 27 Jun 2006 15:43:02 -0700,
wrote:


Dave wrote:
On 26 Jun 2006 17:16:52 -0700,
wrote:

Tsk, I should have remembered 1984 at least from Lit class, but it was
always scheduled in the morning ....

That strikes me as a bit bizarre,
because almost any person of
normal reading ability EXPERIENCES
"1984" and could not forget the story
if he wanted to.


That's a pretty broad generalization.
I consider myself to be a person with 'normal reading ability' and I
didn't "experience 1984". I slogged through it, hating every minute.
Maybe it would have been more powerful had I read it at a different
stage in my life (I think I was in freshman high school English, so I
was, oh, about 13. Might have been sophmore year, that would make me
14.)
I slogged through Animal Farm and Fahrenheit 451 the same year. Hated
them, as well. I don't think I was ready for overt socio-political
commentary in my fiction yet.


Interesting. I have never understood
"1984" to be socio-political commentary,
though. For me, it is more like science
fiction with a terrifying warning. After
all, I think few people would deny that
there is a tendency in human nature
toward the creation of a "big brother
(or "big sister," for that matter) state.
The technology of today is already
far advanced over what the ruling elite
of Orwell's novel employed to acheive
their means. It's very scary, and it
certainly could still happen. That is
characteristic of a type of science
fiction when successful.

"Fahrenheit 451" is one of my
favorites. Would you deny that
there is also a tendency in human
nature toward thought control
through means such as book
burning? Neither of us was
around when the Nazi's were
burning books in the 1930's,
but I have certainly seen horrifying
photos of it. And we have had all
sorts of attempted censorship in
the U. S., from Dr. Wertham's anti-
comic book crusade of the early
1950's, to people demanding that
Huckleberry Finn be removed from
the library (to cite only a couple
of drops in the attempted-censorship
bucket). So why is "Fahrenheit
451" with its fireman who burn books
instead of putting out fires such a
stretch for you?

[Memo from the upstairs office]


I didn't say it was a stretch. I said that I didn't EXPERIENCE! it,
the way that you assume I must have. All I remember of 1984 is the
concepts of doublespeak and Big Brother; none of the plot has stuck
with me.

Fahrenheit 451 was much the same, I remember a couple of the
overarching concepts (as you say, that firemen burned books, and
something about a colony of memorizers.) Plot? Nope. Don't remember it
from the book.

The books that -did- make an impression on me from that time were the
ones I wanted to read, (Don Quixote) the ones I enjoyed, (The Count of
Monte Christo) and the ones that drew me into the story (Dante's
Inferno) or fascinated me with the information, (Ploesti, The Great
Escape) if they were non-fiction (and I read a lot of non-fiction for
a 13-year old.)

They were both books that I hated having to read, therefore, anything
I had to remember for the test was stored in short-term memory, and
most of it faded away almost as fast as the geometry theorems I
learned the next year.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from
http://www.teranews.com

  #23  
Old June 28th 06, 07:38 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 23:34:39 GMT, Bud Webster
wrote:

On Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:06:11 GMT, Dave wrote:


... Warren Zevon's "All Night Long"...

.
Quite a talent lost. "Dolan, the Headless Thompson Gunner" and the
rest.


Minor quibble: "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner." Easy error to
make.


Bud,

Yeah, it was done without looking at the disk(or thinking about it too
carefully).

Maybe I didn't EXPERIENCE the music.....
  #24  
Old June 28th 06, 08:22 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.

On 27 Jun 2006 15:43:02 -0700, wrote:


Dave wrote:
On 26 Jun 2006 17:16:52 -0700,
wrote:

Tsk, I should have remembered 1984 at least from Lit class, but it was

always scheduled in the morning ....


That strikes me as a bit bizarre,
because almost any person of
normal reading ability EXPERIENCES
"1984" and could not forget the story
if he wanted to. We are not talking
about multiple story lines and dozens
of characters to keep track of, after
all. You have never experienced
the novel, or you would be thoroughly
ashamed to post such a comment
(though you are to be preferred to
the literary poseurs -- too many of
which hang out in misc.writing --
trying to impress others by
pretending to have read and
understood books that their posted
comments reveal them to be
little-acquainted with).

[Memo from the upstairs office]


Lawrence Person
Lame Excuse Books
Stock available online at
www.tomfolio.com (searched by
www.bookfinder.com), or at:
http://home.austin.rr.com/lperson/lame.html


Thanks again,

Dave


STFU Palmjob.

Your prattling and bleating are only surpassed by your constant self
promotion. How many regular posters to this group (besides the
obvious ONE) have been run out of other Usenet groups?
How many posters here have a Gold Star (with Oak Leaf Clusters) on the
KOOK Walk of Fame?
As the self-annointed " Usenet's Most Widely Read Author" a collection
of your excrecia, if conglomerated as a fecal bolide, would be large
enough to alter the Earth's axis and exterminate all life.

I have heard them called "The Library", "Reading Room", "Meditation
Chamber", but I have never heard a toilet called "Upstairs Office"
before.

Dave


  #25  
Old June 28th 06, 08:28 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 00:06:54 -0500, Barbara Bailey
wrote:

........Much snippage of a waste of electrons....

I didn't say it was a stretch. I said that I didn't EXPERIENCE! it,
the way that you assume I must have. All I remember of 1984 is the
concepts of doublespeak and Big Brother; none of the plot has stuck
with me.

Fahrenheit 451 was much the same, I remember a couple of the
overarching concepts (as you say, that firemen burned books, and
something about a colony of memorizers.) Plot? Nope. Don't remember it
from the book.

The books that -did- make an impression on me from that time were the
ones I wanted to read, (Don Quixote) the ones I enjoyed, (The Count of
Monte Christo) and the ones that drew me into the story (Dante's
Inferno) or fascinated me with the information, (Ploesti, The Great
Escape) if they were non-fiction (and I read a lot of non-fiction for
a 13-year old.)

They were both books that I hated having to read, therefore, anything
I had to remember for the test was stored in short-term memory, and
most of it faded away almost as fast as the geometry theorems I
learned the next yea

r.
Just Killfile the goof and save yourself some time. Oh, and please
don't quote him, it only encourages him and causes those who have
already dumped him to read his posts.

Dave
  #26  
Old June 28th 06, 05:03 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 06:38:26 GMT, Dave wrote:

Yeah, it was done without looking at the disk(or thinking about it too
carefully).

Maybe I didn't EXPERIENCE the music.....


Just make sure you don't clean the disk with bleach.
  #27  
Old June 29th 06, 06:20 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.


Dave wrote:
On 27 Jun 2006 15:43:02 -0700, wrote:


Dave wrote:


Funny. I haven't gotten one of
these for quite a while: "Paltry
Usenet nobody crawls out of the
cyber- woodwork and tries to get
his 15 seconds of net-fame assailing
famous writer he envies. News
at eleven." Call me back when
you get your first 100,000 Google
GEMS, wimp Dave -- or, when
you cite a few notable stand-
alone postings you can proudly
mention...

ashamed to post such a comment


Lawrence Person
Lame Excuse Books
Stock available online at
www.tomfolio.com (searched by
www.bookfinder.com), or at:
http://home.austin.rr.com/lperson/lame.html

Thanks again,

Dave


[...]

STFU Palmjob.

Your prattling and bleating are only surpassed by your constant self
promotion. How many regular posters to this group (besides the
obvious ONE) have been run out of other Usenet groups?
How many posters here have a Gold Star (with Oak Leaf Clusters) on the
KOOK Walk of Fame?
As the self-annointed " Usenet's Most Widely Read Author" a collection
of your excrecia, if conglomerated as a fecal bolide, would be large
enough to alter the Earth's axis and exterminate all life.

I have heard them called "The Library", "Reading Room", "Meditation
Chamber", but I have never heard a toilet called "Upstairs Office"
before.


You need to get a handle on that bitter
envy of yours, "Dave." Its plainly eating
your brain, much like a starving rat
gnawing a hunk of swiss cheese. Were
that not the case with you, you would be
well aware that that I have written the
lion's share of the best-known and most-
widely read stand-alone (original, and
all by one poster) articles in the history
of net-newsgroups. You, by contrast,
are a nobody who has written nothing,
and now you are pestering your betters
for a few crumbs of attention. Sad.
I would be amazed if you could
claim more than a measly dozen or
two Google GEMS. [For the newbies,
A GEM is a "Google mention"]

[Memo from the upstairs office.]

Dave


  #28  
Old June 29th 06, 06:57 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dueling authors.... well, ideas anyway.


Barbara Bailey wrote:
On 27 Jun 2006 21:14:11 -0700, wrote:


Barbara Bailey wrote:
On 27 Jun 2006 15:43:02 -0700,
wrote:


Dave wrote:
On 26 Jun 2006 17:16:52 -0700,
wrote:

Tsk, I should have remembered 1984 at least from Lit class, but it was
always scheduled in the morning ...


[...]
..
I didn't say it was a stretch. I said that I didn't EXPERIENCE! it,
the way that you assume I must have. All I remember of 1984 is the
concepts of doublespeak and Big Brother; none of the plot has stuck
with me.


"Doublespeak"? "Big Brother"? Oh,
aren't those some words and phrases
that originated in "Dave"'s Usenet opus?


Fahrenheit 451 was much the same, I remember a couple of the
overarching concepts (as you say, that firemen burned books, and
something about a colony of memorizers.) Plot? Nope. Don't remember it
from the book.

The books that -did- make an impression on me from that time were the
ones I wanted to read, (Don Quixote) the ones I enjoyed, (The Count of
Monte Christo) and the ones that drew me into the story


Did you read the original (that is, a full
translation of the original)? A number
of "Count of Monte Christo" editions
used in the schools are, shamefully,
dumbed down versions with half
Dumas' story chopped out. I refuse
to read any edition but the great
old two-volume Rittenhouse Classic.
Gem of an accurate translation,
wonderful set of books...Of course,
there are many other accurate
translations around, such as the
Oxford paperback.

(Dante's
Inferno) or fascinated me with the information, (Ploesti, The Great
Escape) if they were non-fiction (and I read a lot of non-fiction for
a 13-year old.)

They were both books that I hated having to read, therefore, anything
I had to remember for the test was stored in short-term memory, and
most of it faded away almost as fast as the geometry theorems I
learned the next year.


Well, it is true that being forced to read
a book can ruin the experience. Anyway,
thanks for sharing.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from
http://www.teranews.com

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
The Paucity of pre-20th Century American Authors Francis A. Miniter Books 8 December 9th 04 12:28 AM
rec.collecting.books FAQ Hardy-Boys.net Books 0 May 9th 04 08:39 PM
Categorization of Authors Francis A. Miniter Books 6 May 5th 04 06:11 PM
[FAQ] rec.collecting.books FAQ Mike Berro Books 0 December 26th 03 09:18 PM
The Canon as set by Authors Cards Francis A. Miniter Books 1 August 25th 03 03:16 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:44 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CollectingBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.