Favorite Books

Nick
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by Nick »

prosecutorgodot wrote:
Nick wrote:
prosecutorgodot wrote:Battle Royale by Koushun Takami is by far my favorite book!
I liked this book a good amount (I didn't love it though, but it did make a lasting emotional impact on me). That being said, I think this is one of those uncommon cases where the movie was superior to the book.

Have you seen the movie? How do you feel about this?
Oh man, I definitely don't like the movie as much as the book. Movie is okay/good. To me, the back stories are what make BR for me, and of course they don't work too well in a movie format.
Acting is good, but I think the script and directing weren't really there.
I'd say that the multiple viewpoints was my favorite part of the book too. I really liked how that was done, and getting inside all of the character's heads made the story that much more emotionally compelling when they met their fate. I think the book would've worked great as a mini series too, where an episode was spent on exploring a couple of the characters so you could better relate to them, which you didn't really get the chance to do in the movie. I guess the main reason I liked the movie better than the book was because I wasn't such a big fan of Takami's prose. It's hard to put my finger on it, but the prose itself felt a bit...pulpy. I guess that's the best word for it. Great concept though, and the book was certainly a page turner despite its 600 page length.
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Pulpy eh? I kind of thought of that as just good description. But thanks for your perspective, means a lot.
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BleuPanda
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by BleuPanda »

I've always been a fan of the Battle Royale premise in its many forms. The original easily remains among my top, but some of the writing choices still bother me. It's fun to essentially get in everyone's head, but it came up in some strange directions, such as a character who is forgotten until one of the last chapters; it creates this awkward feeling where, when a new character gets the spotlight, there's a higher than likely chance they're dead by the end of the scene. It's nice to have a cast of 43 central characters get this much detail, but it also creates this weird internal formula.

I also like the movie, but for different reasons. It obviously has to scale back on the amount of information, but it does a great job capturing the tension; my main issue is how they deal with Kiriyama, whose transition from a sociopathic member of the class to an outside psychopath transforms the story from 'a high school class is forced to kill each other' to 'a high school class is forced to kill each other while some unrelated asshole kills half of them himself.' It takes away from the impact of the premise, which is that all these characters are ultimately victims and that the tragedy is they're dying at the hands of people they have known throughout their life. As badass as they make him look in the film, he ends up just another mindless horror villain.
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by prosecutorgodot »

BleuPanda wrote: I also like the movie, but for different reasons. It obviously has to scale back on the amount of information, but it does a great job capturing the tension; my main issue is how they deal with Kiriyama, whose transition from a sociopathic member of the class to an outside psychopath transforms the story from 'a high school class is forced to kill each other' to 'a high school class is forced to kill each other while some unrelated asshole kills half of them himself.' It takes away from the impact of the premise, which is that all these characters are ultimately victims and that the tragedy is they're dying at the hands of people they have known throughout their life. As badass as they make him look in the film, he ends up just another mindless horror villain.
Hmm I think I'm a bit more pessimistic than you, and that's why Kazuo Kiriyama appeals to me. I believe that some people are unreformable, that some people are just born evil. No that's not the right way to put it: I believe that people don't make their own choices, humans are the result of history, genes, and their environment. Which is why to me, Kazuo's character makes perfect sense. He's not a mindless horror character, but the result of tragic coincidences at or before his birth. Everyone else, though not affected by birth, was similarly affected by the people and surroundings they grew up with.
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Listyguy
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by Listyguy »

Bumping this thread, because with all the polls we've had on AM, I don't think we've ever had one for books/novels??? How is this possible?

I'm very open to running one, who would be interested?
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Petri
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by Petri »

Listyguy wrote:Bumping this thread, because with all the polls we've had on AM, I don't think we've ever had one for books/novels??? How is this possible?

I'm very open to running one, who would be interested?
I would participate for sure. I think we should concentrate only on fiction (and also exclude comics/graphic novels). What about trilogies (The Lord of the Rings, The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster)? Would they be a one book or three separate books? And what about stuff like Harry Potter (not in my list but just asking)?
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Listyguy
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by Listyguy »

Petri wrote:
Listyguy wrote:Bumping this thread, because with all the polls we've had on AM, I don't think we've ever had one for books/novels??? How is this possible?

I'm very open to running one, who would be interested?
I would participate for sure. I think we should concentrate only on fiction (and also exclude comics/graphic novels). What about trilogies (The Lord of the Rings, The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster)? Would they be a one book or three separate books? And what about stuff like Harry Potter (not in my list but just asking)?
I agree with you on excluding comics, graphic novel, nonfiction, etc.
On the trilogies/series question, I personally think they should be voted separately, as they are separate books, but I'd be open for some discussion on this. I am going to start a new thread for these.
Janet B Baumbach
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by Janet B Baumbach »

My top five:
The Sun Also Rises (really like it)
Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter (Nice for those who love gaming and mantigames like me)
Adventures of Hucklebery Finn (10/10 for it)
Midnight's Children
War and Peace (my all-time fav)
Pauler
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by Pauler »

I'm never a big reader so 2019 is the year I am trying to change that. Joining a book club and having a deadline actually motivate my lazy butt to commit wholeheartedly too:

2019 Reading Tally:
1. Eddie Huang - Fresh Off The Boat
2. Eddie Huang - Double Cup Love
3. Thi Bui - The Best We Could Do
4. Viet Thanh Nguyen - The Refugees

Currently on: Andrew Lam - Birds of Paradise Lost.
Cold Butterfly
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by Cold Butterfly »

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Last edited by Cold Butterfly on Thu Mar 19, 2020 7:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ShavonPaule
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Re: Favorite Books

Post by ShavonPaule »

I can say a single book that is my damn favourite but I love to read motivational books and books with deep analysis. Recently, I am read The Black Swan.
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