Recently Purchased.

[Mara]

I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaated The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, but everyone else I know loved it. So maybe I'm the wrong one.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaated The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, but everyone else I know loved it. So maybe I'm the wrong one.

You're certainly the first I've heard say anything negative about it. Without spoiling anything, what were your criticisms?

[Mara]

You're certainly the first I've heard say anything negative about it. Without spoiling anything, what were your criticisms?

Hmmm. No. I'll criticize it when you're done. It's possible that I'm just not a fan of the genre.

[ledfloyd]

i hope you dig wonder boys kfan. it's a favorite of mine.

[Malickfan]

Nick Cave's second novel The Death of Bunny Monroe.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Nick Cave's second novel The Death of Bunny Monroe.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaalmost bought this tonight, but it was hardcover, and not only would I rather have a paperback, but I'd much rather pay paperback prices.

[Malickfan]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaalmost bought this tonight, but it was hardcover, and not only would I rather have a paperback, but I'd much rather pay paperback prices.

Yeah, I get 30% off.

And man...Cave is just fucking talented.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Got this for Christmas:




Then I got $55 in gift cards to B&N and just ordered these online:

[Mara]

The Princess Bride is very different than the book, but I like it. The framing device is really odd, but don't think you can skip the enormous prequel, because it seeds into the rest of the story. Unlike the film, which was quite sincere, the book is heavily ironic.

[Mara]

Oh, and I got Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters for Christmas from my seven-month-old niece, Cora. She's a spitfire.

It doesn't look as good as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but that sure doesn't mean I won't read it.

[Melville]

The Princess Bride is very different than the book, but I like it. The framing device is really odd

I thought the framing device was the best part of the book. It's funny and entertaining in itself, but what makes it so great is the contrast between the romantic novel that the book ostensibly is and the way Goldman's fictionalized self describes how he wants to cheat on his shrewish wife and how his son is so fat that he can roll faster than he can walk. The irony of it so perfectly sets up the rest of the book.

[Kurosawa Fan]

The Princess Bride is very different than the book, but I like it. The framing device is really odd, but don't think you can skip the enormous prequel, because it seeds into the rest of the story. Unlike the film, which was quite sincere, the book is heavily ironic.

There's a second book? And it's a prequel? Interesting. I wasn't aware. There isn't anything before The Princess Bride, is there?

[Mara]

There's a second book? And it's a prequel? Interesting. I wasn't aware. There isn't anything before The Princess Bride, is there?

No, no, I said it all wrong. (I'm tired.) I meant it's very different from the film.

And by "prequel" I meant prologue-- the very long introduction before we get into the Buttercup portion of the story.

[thefourthwall]

When I was in high school, The Princess Bride was one of my favorite movies, so I wanted to read the book but was put off by the fact that I couldn't find the original book by Morgenstern. It was only until I actually read it for a class as a senior that I realized that there wasn't really a Morgenstern.

A month ago I was relating this tale to dreamdead who was going on about the interesting issues of adaptation that Goldman had to deal with in revising Morgenstern's work. He wouldn't believe me until the internet confirmed it, but all my pointing and laughing may not have helped my case...

An interesting read for sure.

[Melville]

A month ago I was relating this tale to dreamdead who was going on about the interesting issues of adaptation that Goldman had to deal with in revising Morgenstern's work. He wouldn't believe me until the internet confirmed it, but all my pointing and laughing may not have helped my case...

:lol:

Awesome. When I first read it as a kid, I too didn't realize that Morgenstern's original book and the whole framing device were made up by Goldman.

[Mara]

I didn't realize it at first when I started reading it (I was maybe 14 or so) but I figured it out within a couple of chapters.

[dreamdead]

Hmm, my great ineptitude that I'd carried with me has been exposed to the masses. :|

It was one of my favorite books I read just before graduating high school. I would be curious how it holds up.

[Mara]

Hmm, my great ineptitude that I'd carried with me has been exposed to the masses. :|

It played as adorable.

[Mara]

I didn't realize it at first when I started reading it (I was maybe 14 or so) but I figured it out within a couple of chapters.

I didn't realize until I was looking at the Wikipedia article yesterday that Goldman's "real" life was also fictionalized. I'm glad, because I felt bad for his wife and son.

[Mara]

So, now I'm feeling the urge to reread the book, which I haven't in a decade or so. Naturally I wandered over to Amazon to read the one-star reviews, because I enjoy doing that with books I like.

Check this one out:

This version of The Princess Bride annoyed me in many ways. For instance, William Goldman deleted whole sections of the original story. As if he knew exactly what the reading public wanted to read. I for one, would much rather read an original classic than to read a butched story and spoon fed only selected portions. The title of this book should read "The Princess Bride as written by S. Morgenstern as destroyed by William Goldman. Shame on you Mr. Goldman for destroying what could have been an enjoyable reading experience with your pointless cuts and intrusive ramblings.

And here:

THIS IS AN EDITED VERSION WHICH I GUESS I WASN'T AWARE OF. I DON'T MIND THAT THIS EDITOR IS TRYING TO SAVE YOU FROM READING PARTS OF THE BOOK HE FOUND BORING BUT I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE READ THEM. READING THIS BOOK IS JUST LIKE WATCHING THE MOVIE. THIS MAN IS THE SAME MAN THAT WROTE THE SCREEN PLAY FOR THE MOVIE SO ALL THE THINGS HE FOUND INTERESTING ENOUGH TO PUT IN THE MVIE ARE ALSO LEFT IN THE BOOK. EVERYHING ELSE HAS BEEN REMOVED. HE'S ALSO A SPOILER. IF YOU'RE READING THIS BOOK AND DON'T ALREADY KNOW THE STORY YOU WILL NEED TO SKIP ALL THE INTERUPTED EDITOR NOTES THROUGH OUT THE BOOK. HE TELLS YOU A LOT OF WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN INSTEAD OF YOU READ IT FIRST THEN DESCUSS IT. I OVEER ALL THOUGH THE BOOK WAS GOOD BUT ONLY THE ORGINAL PARTS THAT MORGENSTERN WROTE HIMSELF. MY ADVICE IS TO GET ANOTHER COPY OF JUST THE ORGINAL, NO THIS ONE.

There seem to be a number of common misconceptions:

1. That there really was an "original" version that has been edited.

2. That Goldman was trying to "trick" the readers into believing that there was an original, therefore this book is a scam job. (Don't you think if he was doing that, he would have made his father come from a real country... not Florin?)

3. That the movie came first and the book came second, therefore pissing all over that film's sweet sentimentality with cynical bastardry.

Not surprisingly, most of the people who hated the book loved the film.

[megladon8]

Got this one and am really looking forward to cracking it open...

[Spun Lepton]

Got these for Xmas:

[Morris Schæffer]

Bought this one:



80 pages in, and the mystery surrounding the dissappearance is sinking its teeth into me.

EDIT: Heh, just saw that Kurosawa fan also purchased it. How did that turn out?

[Mara]

EDIT: Heh, just saw that Kurosawa fan also purchased it. How did that turn out?

I seriously disliked it, and KF had mixed feelings about it. Unusual, though, because pretty much the entire rest of the world loved it. Let us know what you think when you finish.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I seriously disliked it, and KF had mixed feelings about it. Unusual, though, because pretty much the entire rest of the world loved it. Let us know what you think when you finish.

I disliked it nearly as much as you, and it sours with each passing week. Left a very bad taste. I seem to only remember the objectionable parts.