What are you reading? — Page 24

The novelization of Alien Covenant fixes damn near every problem I have with the film and gives me hope that most of these fixes were in deleted scenes.

STAR TREK: THE WOUNDED SKY – DIANE DUANE

PROS

• The theistic/philosophical themes are rather interesting.
• Ms. Duane’s original alien species continue to be wonderfully alien.

CONS

• The story gets hokey towards the end.
• Ms. Duane’s insistence on collectively referring to all the sapient species that inhabit the ST Universe as “humanities” is ever irksome.
• It makes the TNG episode “Where No One Has Gone Before” – which is loosely based on this novel – look like pablum in comparison.

8/10

ODD THOMAS – DEAN KOONTZ

PROS

• It’s just as fun and witty as the underrated film adaptation.

CONS

• Minus the inclusion of minor characters/scenes which were omitted in the film adaptation, the book’s story is identical to the film’s. There weren’t enough differences to provide a differing experience.

8/10

BURNT OFFERINGS – ROBERT MARASCO

To anyone who’s seen the film with Karen Black but never read the novel, do it. It’s worth the read.

9/10

GATHERING BLUE – LOIS LOWRY

8/10

STAR TREK: VULCAN’S GLORY – D. C. FONTANA

8/10

moviefreakedmind said:

Warbler said:

I still in the middle of reading the Bible. I am simultaneously reading it in the KJV and NIV84. I have read Genesis, Job, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, and 2 Samuel. I an currently reading Psalms. I am at Psalms 106 in the KJV and Psalms 101 in the NIV84.

What kind of order is that? Not that the Bible is chronological, but Joshua through 2 Kings is. NIV is one of the worst translations in my opinion by the way.

I am following a pamphlet. It has the reader going to Psalms after 2 Samuel and then back to 1 Kings. I think it does this because traditionally Psalms is thought to have been written by King David(written by God using King David) and David dies at the beginning of 1 Kings. So, I guess the thinking is that if David wrote the Psalms, he probably finished before the beginning of the events of 1 Kings. The Pamphlet does the same sort of thing with Proverbs. It has the reader going to Proverbs, after the first 4 chapters of 1 kings. But I will agree, the pamphlet does jump around bit.

Why do you think NIV84 is one of the worst translations. As to why I am using it in this reading, that is because the NIV84 is the version my church happens to use as our pew Bible. When I was a kid, our church used to use the KJV. But sometime in the late 80s, we switched to the NIV84.

I want to make clear that I am not using the updated 2011 NIV. When I say NIV84, I mean I am using the version that came out in 1984.

I guess I will now update where I am in reading through the Bible:

I have read Genesis, Job, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, and 2 Samuel, Psalms, 1 kings 1-4, Proverbs, 1 Kings 5-end, 2 Kings 1-14:20, Joel, 2 Kings 14:21-25, Jonah(KJV). I am about to start reading Jonah in the NIV84.

moviefreakedmind said:

I’m guessing that I was referring to the 2011 revision of the NIV when I typed that.

no worries. Yeah, the 2011 NIV has received a lot of criticism. Many think it has been politically corrected.

That order makes a little more sense now. Aren’t at least 70 or so of the Psalms specifically attributed to David? I know two are Solomon’s.

possibly. Just to be clear I am not saying the pamphlet I am using is necessarily the best or most correct order of reading the Bible. I’ve just this pamphlet for a while and just wanted to read the Bible in the order it suggested. Maybe at some point I will read the Bible again using a different order.

suspiciouscoffee said:

Someday I’ll try to read through the entire Bible. Someday…

I have decades ago but I honestly couldn’t tell you which version. Great entirely fictional anthology series.

Half-assedly reading Harry Potter (All-in-one), METRO 2033, THE WITCHER: The Last Wish, and a random H.P. Lovecraft. Was reading Thinner but I lost the bookmark.

RayRogers said:

suspiciouscoffee said:

Someday I’ll try to read through the entire Bible. Someday…

I have decades ago but I honestly couldn’t tell you which version. Great entirely fictional anthology series.

I see you’re continuing to integrate into the community in a wholly benign, non-confrontational manner. Keep up the effort; you’ll make many friends yet.

suspiciouscoffee said:

RayRogers said:

suspiciouscoffee said:

Someday I’ll try to read through the entire Bible. Someday…

I have decades ago but I honestly couldn’t tell you which version. Great entirely fictional anthology series.

I wouldn’t go that far. Except it does belong in the Religion section.

moviefreakedmind said:

Warbler said:

moviefreakedmind said:

I’m guessing that I was referring to the 2011 revision of the NIV when I typed that.

no worries. Yeah, the 2011 NIV has received a lot of criticism. Many think it has been politically corrected.

Ancient mythology is some of the least politically correct writings in human history. I don’t see why people even try; they should just take it as it is.

Needs to be a more direct translation, IMO. Certain versions leave out more stuff than others.

Leisurely working my way through . . .

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn might be my favorite high fantasy series of all time, and it’s delightful and very moving to go back to that world and check in on those characters decades later. I’m deliberately taking my time with this one and savoring it.

I assure you, I was not Bible bashing.

moviefreakedmind said:

The King James is the only one that takes an artful and poetic approach to translating it, which is all I care about when reading it. Scholars probably want it more direct, but if they’re true scholars they’d be studying the original versions in the original languages.

I think many scholars do just that.

chyron8472 said:

Can we please cut down on the Bible-bashing? I understand many of you don’t believe, but seriously.

I’ve been listening to plenty of unabridged audiobooks lately. I’m currently re-listening to the books in the Ender’s Game universe)–and am currently on book 2 of the Shadow series, Shadow of the Hegemon.

Before that, I was listening to Expeditionary Force, books 1 and 2.

I’ve read enders game and speaker for the dead and I loved them. I started to read xenocide a long time ago but, while the story was fascinating, reading it gave me a headache so I gave up on it. Perhaps I should try it again now that I’m an adult. I’ve re-read the first two as an adult and adored them, especially speaker, but I was daunted because of my previous encounter with xenocide. But I was like a freshmen in high school so I should give it another go.

From what little outline I’ve read I won’t be reading the shadow series because I’m not insterested in having ender retconned into being a pawn.

Possessed said:

chyron8472 said:

Can we please cut down on the Bible-bashing? I understand many of you don’t believe, but seriously.

I’ve been listening to plenty of unabridged audiobooks lately. I’m currently re-listening to the books in the Ender’s Game universe)–and am currently on book 2 of the Shadow series, Shadow of the Hegemon.

Before that, I was listening to Expeditionary Force, books 1 and 2.

I’ve read enders game and speaker for the dead and I loved them. I started to read xenocide a long time ago but, while the story was fascinating, reading it gave me a headache so I gave up on it. Perhaps I should try it again now that I’m an adult. I’ve re-read the first two as an adult and adored them, especially speaker, but I was daunted because of my previous encounter with xenocide. But I was like a freshmen in high school so I should give it another go.

From what little outline I’ve read I won’t be reading the shadow series because I’m not insterested in having ender retconned into being a pawn.

This! I think it was a huge mistake to make Bean smarter. I can read the series as an inferior alternate timeline of books, but Ender will always be the best of the best in my mind.