|
Post by Kestrel on Dec 1, 2022 18:57:23 GMT
I can't speak for Germany, but there is definitely a significant portion of Americans who will get very angry at anything they perceive as a "foreign accent." And an even larger portion of Americans who will interpret even mild accents as "unintelligible," so... that could play a part.
So that could be it. Or it could be a SAG-AFTRA thing. Or licensing.
Regardless, it super suuuuuuucks.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Dec 1, 2022 19:07:49 GMT
I can't speak for Germany, but there is definitely a significant portion of Americans who will get very angry at anything they perceive as a "foreign accent." And an even larger portion of Americans who will interpret even mild accents as "unintelligible," so... that could play a part. So that could be it. Or it could be a SAG-AFTRA thing. Or licensing. Regardless, it super suuuuuuucks. It is probably licensing. It most of the time is. Nobody in Germany would complain about English language in an English language audio book. Nah, scrap that, someone complained on Steam the other day about Metal Music in Metal-Hellsinger (a Metal music rhythm game).
Americans. Sigh. It would really pay for some of them to widen their horizon a teeny-tiny bit. They are not the navel of the world, even if they think so. It would be easy for me to make jokes and throw prejudices about, but sadly enough, I have American relatives. Who fit this type to a "T".
As a teenager, I once came home from my scout meeting wearing my uniform, and my American uncle blurted out "I thought you were all abolished and wiped out?" (He thought my scout uniform was a Hitler Youth uniform, as worn during Nazi times). I could go on. Sigh.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2022 19:15:59 GMT
I can't speak for Germany, but there is definitely a significant portion of Americans who will get very angry at anything they perceive as a "foreign accent." And an even larger portion of Americans who will interpret even mild accents as "unintelligible," so... that could play a part. So that could be it. Or it could be a SAG-AFTRA thing. Or licensing. Regardless, it super suuuuuuucks. It is probably licensing. It most of the time is. Nobody in Germany would complain about English language in an English language audio book. Nah, scrap that, someone complained on Steam the other day about Metal Music in Metal-Hellsinger (a Metal music rhythm game).
Americans. Sigh. It would really pay for some of them to widen their horizon a teeny-tiny bit. They are not the navel of the world, even if they think so. It would be easy for me to make jokes and throw prejudices about, but sadly enough, I have American relatives. Who fit this type to a "T".
As a teenager, I once came home from my scout meeting wearing my uniform, and my American uncle blurted out "I thought you were all abolished and wiped out?" (He thought my scout uniform was a Hitler Youth uniform, as worn during Nazi times). I could go on. Sigh.
Ironically, most of the Americans you’ve mentioned are probably right-wing, quite a few of them far-right even. This is not to disrespect the country as a whole, as I too have American relatives.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Dec 1, 2022 21:22:31 GMT
It is probably licensing. It most of the time is. Nobody in Germany would complain about English language in an English language audio book. Nah, scrap that, someone complained on Steam the other day about Metal Music in Metal-Hellsinger (a Metal music rhythm game).
Americans. Sigh. It would really pay for some of them to widen their horizon a teeny-tiny bit. They are not the navel of the world, even if they think so. It would be easy for me to make jokes and throw prejudices about, but sadly enough, I have American relatives. Who fit this type to a "T".
As a teenager, I once came home from my scout meeting wearing my uniform, and my American uncle blurted out "I thought you were all abolished and wiped out?" (He thought my scout uniform was a Hitler Youth uniform, as worn during Nazi times). I could go on. Sigh.
Ironically, most of the Americans you’ve mentioned are probably right-wing, quite a few of them far-right even. This is not to disrespect the country as a whole, as I too have American relatives. I remember when I went back home to Germany (during my study in NZ) for my sister's wedding, I met my American relatives at Frankfurt airport so we could hire a car and drive together to the ancestral village.
Seriously. 3. Hours. Of. BAD. Obama. Jokes.
No disrespect, I like my uncle and he can be a great guy, but he can also be..... a caricature and does not even notice.
Can you imagine the family scandal when during my youth (my brother was in his extreme PUNK phase) when my American uncle visited and my brother was turning up in full punk gear, wearing a T-shirt of a punk burning the American flag? To say that heads did roll would be an understatement. I think the neighbours got out the popcorn to watch the show.
Good times.
|
|
|
Post by fitzoliverj on Dec 4, 2022 9:59:01 GMT
Currently reading "Mr Campion's Mosaic" by Mike Ripley (and let me just reiterate, what a shame that BF can't get the rights to the later Campion novels to revive Peter Davison's tv role). Anyway, some mild interest for DW fans. It's set exactly fifty years ago, in 1962, during the fiftieth anniversary celebrations for the BBC (Campion spots a graffito reading 'the BBC has *always* been fifty years old'). Anyway, the plot revolves around the invention of the two-hour classic crime television format, whcih in this novel is being developed for the BBC by - get this - a *female* producer! I.E. somebody who has managed to predate Verity Lambert by a year
Oh, and there's a short story by Steven Moffat on the Telegraph website. Presumably in today's edition, it's excerpted from an anthology of SF stories inspired by CERN. It's about a man who discovers people are being erased from history, memories of them turning into dreams, so they're effectively fiction. It looks rather like some of the ideas that have been used in Faction Paradox stories. (And the idea that the smallest elementary particles exist as mathematics only, I've definitely seen that in DW novels in the past)
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Dec 10, 2022 0:33:46 GMT
Got a new book for my kindle (my backlog by now is enormous)- Remarkably Bright Creatures. It sounded interesting. A bit like a mix of Shape of Water (the movie) and the talking animal stories I have always loved (as a kid I adored Bunnicula). This book features a grumpy snarky octopus. No idea when I get around to reading this, however. Need to feel like it. Right now I have to finish up my German thriller, first.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Dec 17, 2022 6:03:01 GMT
Started reading Becoming Superman, JMS' autobiography. I'm... I'm not sure what I expected from it, but even just after the first few pages it was... not this. That blurb on the cover? Not an exaggeration. ("My journey from poverty to Hollywood: with stops along the way at murder, madness, mayhem, movie stars, cults, slums, sociopaths and war crimes.")Like it opens with actual Nazis. Got a new book for my kindle (my backlog by now is enormous)- Remarkably Bright Creatures. It sounded interesting. A bit like a mix of Shape of Water (the movie) and the talking animal stories I have always loved (as a kid I adored Bunnicula). This book features a grumpy snarky octopus. No idea when I get around to reading this, however. Need to feel like it. Right now I have to finish up my German thriller, first. The really great (read: frightening) thing about Kindle is how easy it makes quantifying your backlog. Well, at least if you're like me and go a bit crazy sorting everything into folders/categories. Mine consists of exactly 218 books. Goddamn. ...Fortunately I think my pile of unread physical books is much smaller.... only a dozen or two.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Dec 17, 2022 10:12:12 GMT
Started reading Becoming Superman, JMS' autobiography. I'm... I'm not sure what I expected from it, but even just after the first few pages it was... not this. That blurb on the cover? Not an exaggeration. ("My journey from poverty to Hollywood: with stops along the way at murder, madness, mayhem, movie stars, cults, slums, sociopaths and war crimes.")Like it opens with actual Nazis. Got a new book for my kindle (my backlog by now is enormous)- Remarkably Bright Creatures. It sounded interesting. A bit like a mix of Shape of Water (the movie) and the talking animal stories I have always loved (as a kid I adored Bunnicula). This book features a grumpy snarky octopus. No idea when I get around to reading this, however. Need to feel like it. Right now I have to finish up my German thriller, first. The really great (read: frightening) thing about Kindle is how easy it makes quantifying your backlog. Well, at least if you're like me and go a bit crazy sorting everything into folders/categories. Mine consists of exactly 218 books. Goddamn. ...Fortunately I think my pile of unread physical books is much smaller.... only a dozen or two. Yeah. Frightening indeed. I think I am now by 62 books in my backlog..... sadly I still buy new ones. And no, I do organize them the same as my desktops and my desks in general. The ADHD way. Chaotic piles everywhere and only I know the key to the chaos.
|
|
|
Post by newt5996 on Dec 21, 2022 16:41:21 GMT
Because it’s nearly Christmas I’ve been reading some stuff mainly A Christmas Carol which is a novella I think everyone should read at least once if only to see the few things adaptations leave out and get wrapped up in the season. I’ve also been listening to Hogfather which is one of my favorite Discworld books, it’s up there with Carpe Jugulum for me and I hadn’t heard any of the new audiobooks so that’s how I’m doing this one.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Jan 29, 2023 14:44:29 GMT
I started on "The cabinet of Doctor Leng". I have waited a year for this book- I absolutely LOVE the series. It is a series of supernatural thrillers. This time, we have even some parallel dungeon dimensions and time travel! I just cannot wait to find out how Constance deals her revenge. Constance Greene might be one of my all-time favorite BADA$$ literary characters. Only armed with her trusty knife, she will not hesitate to go up against a group of heavily armed terrorists, so her quest for revenge will be glorious.
Nobody messes with Constance.
I have been itching so much for this, that I have started reading the book on my Kindle. I have also ordered a SIGNED copy from the US (yes, I am THAT much of a fan)- it has been dispatched, but since we have a postal worker strike in Germany at the moment, most mail is delayed for at least a week. I just could not wait. It already starts out very promising.
And thriller starting out with a sentence like
"Doctor Leng will see you now"
instantly has my attention. Crazy murderous scientist? Yes please.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Feb 15, 2023 4:44:02 GMT
Anyone have any thoughts on David Brin's Uplift hexalogy? I've only ever read Brin's The Postman before (I liked it) and am thinking might give 'em a shot soon. I started on "The cabinet of Doctor Leng". I have waited a year for this book- I absolutely LOVE the series. I can't remember whether or not I commented on this stuff already, but I don't think I did -- but if not, please forgive the redundancy. Since we last spoke on it, I've read a half dozen or so of the Preston and Child novels. I definitely enjoyed the first two Nora Kelly books, the second one especially, but found the third a bit disappointing (far too straightforward, no real mystery). The characters are definitely very fun. The other three are just... random Pendergast novels, in no particular order, just going with whatever was easiest. I find Pendergast a bit less compelling as a protagonist, but he's still fun in a Holmesian sort of way (I always did prefer Poirot...) -- still not entirely sold on how the stories will do a hard-swerve into the supernatural toward the end (it seems kinda formulaic). Will probably read a few more, when I've the need. Speaking of, I've also got a novel in my kindle backlog by a Douglas Preston who I think is the same person from the Pendergast series. It's called The Lost City of the Monkey God. Have you read it? I'll be honest, I mostly just picked that one up because it was well-reviews and I liked the title.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Feb 15, 2023 8:23:32 GMT
Anyone have any thoughts on David Brin's Uplift hexalogy? I've only ever read Brin's The Postman before (I liked it) and am thinking might give 'em a shot soon. I started on "The cabinet of Doctor Leng". I have waited a year for this book- I absolutely LOVE the series. I can't remember whether or not I commented on this stuff already, but I don't think I did -- but if not, please forgive the redundancy. Since we last spoke on it, I've read a half dozen or so of the Preston and Child novels. I definitely enjoyed the first two Nora Kelly books, the second one especially, but found the third a bit disappointing (far too straightforward, no real mystery). The characters are definitely very fun. The other three are just... random Pendergast novels, in no particular order, just going with whatever was easiest. I find Pendergast a bit less compelling as a protagonist, but he's still fun in a Holmesian sort of way (I always did prefer Poirot...) -- still not entirely sold on how the stories will do a hard-swerve into the supernatural toward the end (it seems kinda formulaic). Will probably read a few more, when I've the need. Speaking of, I've also got a novel in my kindle backlog by a Douglas Preston who I think is the same person from the Pendergast series. It's called The Lost City of the Monkey God. Have you read it? I'll be honest, I mostly just picked that one up because it was well-reviews and I liked the title. Well, yes, not all the books are as good, there are several that are not as good.
While most of the novels are stand-alone, several are trilogies (or, as the latest ones in the series, it is a quatrilogy) and to get the most out of them, you have to read them in sequence.
Maybe that was one of the issues? I love the characters, and since I have been following the series for more than 20 years now, and Pendergast was one of the first, I love him, too. However, yes, I agree, that some of the female characters like Nora Kelly and Constance are far more compelling. Constance especially is my favorite.
No, I have so far not read Lost City of the Monkey God. Since I am part of the newsletter, I know of it and Douglas Preston did a lot of research for it and shared lots of pictures of his travels for this novel in the newsletter. It is an entirely unconnected book, stand-alone and not part of the series. I have read a couple of his stand-alone books, and I have to say that they are just not as good as when he is partnered with his writing buddy. But since you have the book- let me know what you think, then I might pick it up if it is any good!
In general, these authors do a lot of research for their novels (even if it sometimes fails and some of what they write is absolute BS for a scientist like me). But at least the location work seems to be excellent- they were arrested once since they were in the NY Botanical Gardens and planned the writing of the terrorist attack for that book, and someone overheard them and called the police. So they had to explain that they were authors and that the terrorist attack they were planning was for their next novel.... I have to say, that very scene with the terrorists is one of the most lively and one of my favorites in the whole series! (not going to spoil it here, though)
However, all in all, these books are nothing deep. As I said, they are popcorn entertainment.
They can be formulaic and the some of the characters are cardboard.
|
|
shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,688
|
Post by shutupbanks on Feb 15, 2023 10:06:23 GMT
Anyone have any thoughts on David Brin's Uplift hexalogy? I've only ever read Brin's The Postman before (I liked it) and am thinking might give 'em a shot soon. I started on "The cabinet of Doctor Leng". I have waited a year for this book- I absolutely LOVE the series. I can't remember whether or not I commented on this stuff already, but I don't think I did -- but if not, please forgive the redundancy. Since we last spoke on it, I've read a half dozen or so of the Preston and Child novels. I definitely enjoyed the first two Nora Kelly books, the second one especially, but found the third a bit disappointing (far too straightforward, no real mystery). The characters are definitely very fun. The other three are just... random Pendergast novels, in no particular order, just going with whatever was easiest. I find Pendergast a bit less compelling as a protagonist, but he's still fun in a Holmesian sort of way (I always did prefer Poirot...) -- still not entirely sold on how the stories will do a hard-swerve into the supernatural toward the end (it seems kinda formulaic). Will probably read a few more, when I've the need. Speaking of, I've also got a novel in my kindle backlog by a Douglas Preston who I think is the same person from the Pendergast series. It's called The Lost City of the Monkey God. Have you read it? I'll be honest, I mostly just picked that one up because it was well-reviews and I liked the title. I love Startide Rising and I really enjoyed Sundiver and The Uplift War back in the day. The second set of books are also pretty good. I can also recommend The Practice Effect which is a frequently hilarious novel, Earth which is a wonderful climate fiction novel written back in 1990, and Heart Of The Comet which he wrote with Gregory Benford which is simply brilliant.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Feb 16, 2023 13:39:27 GMT
Well, yes, not all the books are as good, there are several that are not as good. ]While most of the novels are stand-alone, several are trilogies (or, as the latest ones in the series, it is a quatrilogy) and to get the most out of them, you have to read them in sequence. Maybe that was one of the issues? I love the characters, and since I have been following the series for more than 20 years now, and Pendergast was one of the first, I love him, too. However, yes, I agree, that some of the female characters like Nora Kelly and Constance are far more compelling. Constance especially is my favorite. Hm... maybe. There were definitely some dangling character threads that were clearly pulled in from prior books. The main thing that got me (w/ the Pendergast trio) was how the final acts were handled. It just sort of feels like a waste to not introduce the "big ideas" until it's too later to really explore them very much. One of the books, for example, features extradimensional travel and kaiju. Pendergast travels to an alien planet. That's kind of a big deal, right? But it's only a single chapter or so long and swiftly forgotten. I just found myself thinking, "I wish they'd introduced these things 10 chapters sooner." I do agree on the characters thing, and that's where I think the Nora Kelly books have a the edge. Nora and Connie are just... immediately compelling. And certainly more relatable than Pendergast (still not sure what his whole deal is). It's possible I might have liked the third Nora Kelly book more had I not read it immediately after the second. The first book was good, but I really liked the second one a lot -- it had a bunch of twists and turns and came together nicely in the end. But the third was just... much more straightforward. I kept waiting for that big twist to happen, and it just... didn't. Scorpion's Tail, though -- that one I loved. I love Startide Rising and I really enjoyed Sundiver and The Uplift War back in the day. The second set of books are also pretty good. I can also recommend The Practice Effect which is a frequently hilarious novel, Earth which is a wonderful climate fiction novel written back in 1990, and Heart Of The Comet which he wrote with Gregory Benford which is simply brilliant. Cool, thanks. I'll add all those to my list.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Feb 16, 2023 17:49:02 GMT
Well, yes, not all the books are as good, there are several that are not as good. ]While most of the novels are stand-alone, several are trilogies (or, as the latest ones in the series, it is a quatrilogy) and to get the most out of them, you have to read them in sequence. Maybe that was one of the issues? I love the characters, and since I have been following the series for more than 20 years now, and Pendergast was one of the first, I love him, too. However, yes, I agree, that some of the female characters like Nora Kelly and Constance are far more compelling. Constance especially is my favorite. Hm... maybe. There were definitely some dangling character threads that were clearly pulled in from prior books. The main thing that got me (w/ the Pendergast trio) was how the final acts were handled. It just sort of feels like a waste to not introduce the "big ideas" until it's too later to really explore them very much. One of the books, for example, features extradimensional travel and kaiju. Pendergast travels to an alien planet. That's kind of a big deal, right? But it's only a single chapter or so long and swiftly forgotten. I just found myself thinking, "I wish they'd introduced these things 10 chapters sooner." I do agree on the characters thing, and that's where I think the Nora Kelly books have a the edge. Nora and Connie are just... immediately compelling. And certainly more relatable than Pendergast (still not sure what his whole deal is). It's possible I might have liked the third Nora Kelly book more had I not read it immediately after the second. The first book was good, but I really liked the second one a lot -- it had a bunch of twists and turns and came together nicely in the end. But the third was just... much more straightforward. I kept waiting for that big twist to happen, and it just... didn't. Scorpion's Tail, though -- that one I loved. Well, the book with the extradimensional Kaiju.... it was basically about one of the Kaiju escaping and wreaking havoc in our world.... but yeah, I get what you mean.
I think one of the reasons is, that the writers are not really scientists and they might just chicken out from asking these big questions or even before they attempt any answers.
In one of the books I had to laugh.... I have been working with molecular biology and PCRs for decades now, and Pendergast is doing a PCR by himself. Just throws some stuff together and "poof" PCR result. The writers also were writing it up in some detail, so one of them did at least some research.
Sadly, they forgot a very important bit- you have to EXTRACT DNA FIRST before you do anything with it, PCR or otherwise. I laughed out VERY loud.
I think this is the best example of their research and writing- it is detailed and accurate in some areas, but in others there are blatant obvious cringeworthy holes.
Therefore I call this my guilty pleasure popcorn literature.
Well, if I might make some suggestions for some stand-alone novels that will bring Pendergast closer to your heart- Cabinet of Curiosities is a good start. Followed by "Still Live with Crows" (where he does his "mind-palace" thing BEFORE it became cool with the Sherlock TV series). I also recommend "White Fire"- it even has Corrie in it and they work together. The other books will very much tie in one another more or less and if you read them out of sequence, some things will get lost.
But as soon as you are "in the flow" the series will suck you in and the whole drama (for example with Constance) will keep you enganged.
And yes, I agree, some book are not as good. Others however have these unique twists to them which I adore and which have me coming back for more again and again.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Feb 17, 2023 12:12:14 GMT
...I am reminded of that meme clip from an old American cop show where a woman is typing away furiously on a keyboard to "hack" the bad guys, and then a guy comes up beside her and starts typing on the same keyboard -- at the same time -- so that they can finish the hack twice as fast.
There's a point where Critical Research Failure becomes pure parody and I am always there for it. Well, usually.
Anyway, thanks for the tips, I'll try to keep them in mind. The Cabinet of Curiosities has already popped up a few times for me, so that'll almost certainly be my next stop -- well, that or the Monkey thing. Gotta love our ape betters. (Speaking of which, yeah, I'll also be diving into Uplift soon -- which, just judging from the covers and titles, features a fair number of uplifted Terrestrial species.)
...Oh, and also, I haven't (re-)read it yet, but I am very happy to have just picked up a Kindle copy of one of my all-time favorite novels: A Canticle for Leibowitz. I am very much looking forward to going through that one again.
|
|
|
Post by tuigirl on Feb 17, 2023 19:07:39 GMT
...I am reminded of that meme clip from an old American cop show where a woman is typing away furiously on a keyboard to "hack" the bad guys, and then a guy comes up beside her and starts typing on the same keyboard -- at the same time -- so that they can finish the hack twice as fast. There's a point where Critical Research Failure becomes pure parody and I am always there for it. Well, usually. Anyway, thanks for the tips, I'll try to keep them in mind. The Cabinet of Curiosities has already popped up a few times for me, so that'll almost certainly be my next stop -- well, that or the Monkey thing. Gotta love our ape betters. (Speaking of which, yeah, I'll also be diving into Uplift soon -- which, just judging from the covers and titles, features a fair number of uplifted Terrestrial species.) ...Oh, and also, I haven't (re-)read it yet, but I am very happy to have just picked up a Kindle copy of one of my all-time favorite novels: A Canticle for Leibowitz. I am very much looking forward to going through that one again. I actually have not read this book, but reading the blurb I know have learned another source where Warhammer 40k got all their ideas from.... one day, I will read this source material. One day.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Feb 19, 2023 1:29:00 GMT
I am very happy to have just picked up a Kindle copy of one of my all-time favorite novels: A Canticle for Leibowitz. I am very much looking forward to going through that one again. I actually have not read this book, but reading the blurb I know have learned another source where Warhammer 40k got all their ideas from... one day, I will read this source material. One day. Not just Warhammer. If you remember your Babylon 5 titles well enough, I think you'll get a fun spark of enlightenment from the the following six words: it's 'The Deconstruction of Falling Stars.'{Some minor spoilers for that, Canticle, and also that first Bernhard Hennen novel we were gushing about a while back: } 'Deconstruction' is only a loose adaptation, so I don't think knowing that going in will spoil the experience of the novel in any way. At least, it didn't for me. The real joy of both stories is, to me, the same as in Hennen's 'The Elven' -- taking that really long view of history and embracing it in order to push the characters and themes as far as they can possibly go.
EDIT: is it possible to write under spoiler text? Let's find out! EDIT2: Nope! New post it is, then.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Feb 19, 2023 1:37:31 GMT
one day, I will read this source material. One day. I don't know if you meant for me to read this in William Hartnell's voice, but I think it's vitally important for you to know that I did. ...I may or may not have made a habit out of turning to my golden retriever each time I leave her alone for a few minutes (or seconds) and saying, " One day, I shall come back. Yes, one day.... channeling Hartnell. ...WHO it turns out I've been misquoting all this time. Such a lovely speech. Shame he absolutely was mistaken in those beliefs.
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Apr 11, 2023 1:57:10 GMT
Took a break from plodding through my backlog to read Bea Wolf. I've found opportunities to discuss many of my principal SIs here, but not all of them, and one that I've not had the opportunity to bring up until now is my fascination with earliest literature. From the Fengshen Yanyi to Beowolf, I love it all. And as you (maybe) may have already guessed, Bea Wolf is an adaptation of Beowolf... just one more version (of many) to add to my collection -- but also the most unique. It's essentially a (somewhat long) picture book adaptation that transposes the millennia-old epic to contemporary American suburbia, covering the rise (and fall) of the monster Grendel. What makes it especially interesting as an adaptation (and perhaps also not-quite-ideal for younger readers) is how it adheres to the form of the Old English poetry -- alliterative verse, kennings, etc. -- while warping the meaning to appeal more (and be more relatable) to modern, younger audiences. (It's also got a really fun sense of humor, especially with regard to how Grendel "terrorizes" the "kingdom"). It's very cool, and the art is pretty fantastic, too. I definitely recommend Beowolf fans check this one out.
|
|