Comments for Thinking about books

Comment on Indomitable Daughters-in-Law or Bulgurui Myeoneuri (2011) — the status of widows by David Marshall

David Marshall — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:31:36 +0000

I suppose it’s one of these gender things but I could not watch this. It seems, in Korea, people who fall in love must be tortured by the application of cultural rules. Although the widow in this instance did overcome prejudice, the eldest sister-in-law was denied a happy ending because that would have meant abandoning her “home”. It was inconceivable that the man could come and live with her. In my opinion there’s something seriously wrong with a society when a couple who love each other are denied happiness because a man cannot live in his wife’s home.

Comment on Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 2) by Patrick Rothfuss by David Marshall

David Marshall — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:25:43 +0000

“Sometimes not editing works in a way that conveys the message in a better way.”

I couldn’t agree more. Writing is a little like performing on stage. An actor must rehearse intensively so each performance can look effortless and spontaneous. A writer must have the confidence to recognise when the words on a page have been rehearsed enough. Anything more and the performance grows stale.

Comment on Indomitable Daughters-in-Law or Bulgurui Myeoneuri (2011) — the status of widows by kumar

kumar — Thu, 31 May 2012 16:00:11 +0000

Par excellent acting by all cast, especially the hero and heroine, unbelievably fantastic.An overwhelmingly moving story. The true love portrayed by the two fabulous actors is moving beyond words. How I wish this story is true. The hero and heroine make a perfect couple. It’s absolutely inspiring. The portray of intimate relationship is also very tastefully crafted. I’ve never enjoyed a drama so much or been touched so deeply. True love is a rare commodity these days. Often it is replaced by passion mistaken for true love.
I think the whole cast and story is just superb!!! Congratulations on your success!

Comment on Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 2) by Patrick Rothfuss by timberbookshelves

timberbookshelves — Thu, 31 May 2012 14:50:02 +0000

Self editing – I have read that “you can polish till there is no shoe left” and “words, like wine, have to be allowed to breathe”. Looking at those lines, I was prompted to remember the lines “even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed”. Sometimes not editing works in a way that conveys the message in a better way. Thank you for the welcome.

Comment on Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 2) by Patrick Rothfuss by David Marshall

David Marshall — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:26:39 +0000

Welcome to this blog. It’s always good to have fresh blood joining in. I think the problem with Patrick Rothfuss and this series is not uncommon. He’s obsessive. According to his blog, he’s been writing this series for more than ten years. It began while he was at university and, such is his drive to achieve perfection, that he cannot bear to let go. Every author must be fiercely proud of the prose he writes and work intensively until there’s enough satisfaction in the text to let others see it. Mr Rothfuss writes, rewrites and then adds a little clarification, is unhappy this addition is not quite write and so rewrites the whole section. When he comes back to it, he still has the sense it could be better and so writes some more.

The problem is he has people around him who indulge this obsessive behaviour. Instead of telling him he must let it go, those who advise him act like midwives surrounding a woman whose water has broken. They advise patience. They say it will be easier to give birth in a further two or three months. All she has to do is work some more on her breathing exercises and get into better physical shape. Needless to say, the results of this advice are unhappiness over the entire experience for all concerned. So I fear the final volume will be worse. The gestation period has been going on for too long. This final baby should have been born years ago.

Comment on Wise Man’s Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 2) by Patrick Rothfuss by timberbookshelves

timberbookshelves — Thu, 31 May 2012 10:55:41 +0000

The first book was a delight to me. The second shows something like pressure from the money people? Still enjoyable, but something is fading. Hopefully it is a pause in what I hope will continue on to be a delightful group of stories. It is always difficult to write new life into a story thread which starts at the end and hints at the middle. Thank you for the post. I see some other posts here well worth a look but I am short on time atm so will follow and be back.

Comment on A Dance With Dragons by George R R Martin by John the Aussie

John the Aussie — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:57:12 +0000

In any series I tend to get my wires crossed with another novel if i don’t read in sequence, one after the other, wihout a novel in between. So your advice to read them in one is definitely sound. Thanks mate.

Comment on A Dance With Dragons by George R R Martin by David Marshall

David Marshall — Tue, 29 May 2012 03:20:25 +0000

I think the wheel started to come off in A Feast for Crows and this merely amplifies the problem. Because he's trying to cram so many strands into each book, it gets difficult to maintain interest. You get a chapter here and a chapter there, but there's no real sense of continuity. It's just stuff happening in different places (and at different rates of time). If you do read the books in sequence over a week or so, you will actually stand a better chance of finding the whole work exciting. You can avoid all these false cliffhangers and just get on with the story.

Comment on A Dance With Dragons by George R R Martin by John the Aussie

John the Aussie — Tue, 29 May 2012 02:21:47 +0000

I am excited to read this series as I collect the books one by one to have a continuous marathon of reading. It is a little sad to see that the 5th book has many fans and reviewers dissapointed.

Comment on Lost in Austen (2008) by George Harmon

George Harmon — Mon, 28 May 2012 04:50:03 +0000

I’m glad to hear it–the idea is cool enough I’d like to see somebody take another stab at it.