Books you've gotten as gifts

For Christmas I got a collector's edition of Peter Pan in Scarlet . . . because I remind my "little sister" of Peter Pan. I'm still scatching my head about that.

alleycat said:

For Christmas I got a collector's edition of Peter Pan in Scarlet . . . because I remind my "little sister" of Peter Pan. I'm still scatching my head about that.

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Captain Hook I might have understood, but Peter Pan?

Haggis said:

Captain Hook I might have understood, but Peter Pan?

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I asked. She said it was something about my attitude. I decided not to ask anymore.

A few weeks ago my wife asked me if I was enjoying the book I was reading. I said that it (Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near) is the most important book I have ever held in my hands. She gave me his other three books for Christmas, and I would encourage everyone to look into what this guy is thinking.

I got Eragon from my dad. Ha, I know what most of you think about that book.

I didn't get any novels this year. The only books I received were three nonfiction accounts of the life of Patty Cannon. She is one of my newest research interests, and a pet project for many years.

Come to think of it, the only books I gave this year were nonfiction titles, too.

Hmm....

Didn't get any sci fi or fantasy, but did get a first edition hardcover of Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. Nice looking book, and the first Clancy novel I've read. (not done yet)

Say what you want about Clancy's technical writing skills or lack thereof (some sentences in there are incomprehensible), the guy knows how to write for his audience. Stuff is happening on every page with lots of military and espionage toys and dealings. I can see why he sells as many books as he does.

Reading this book has been an interesting exercise so far, one that reinforces Uncle Jim's contention that story trumps everything.

Can NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET: HORROR STORIES BY RICHARD MATHESON count?

ChunkyC said:

Say what you want about Clancy's technical writing skills or lack thereof (some sentences in there are incomprehensible), the guy knows how to write for his audience. Stuff is happening on every page with lots of military and espionage toys and dealings. I can see why he sells as many books as he does.

Reading this book has been an interesting exercise so far, one that reinforces Uncle Jim's contention that story trumps everything.

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I had never read a Clancy, but I often check out books from the library on CD so I can listen in the car. (can't even remember the name of the book now). the tech writing pieces of it were almost as bad as the traffic I was driving in if that is any indication. It's not my thing, but he does write to his audience and yes, I suppose the story trumps all, but even with a good story I skipped whole sections of the book.

I didn't get any books for Christmas this year. :shrugs:

I didn't technically get a book, but I finished one I borrowed from Chaos a few months or more back.

Does that count?

I didn't get a book, but I gave my books as Christmas presents (yes I'm a bit on the cheap side).

Does that count? (After all it is the thought that counts...)

Books

I usually get close to a couple of dozen books each Christmas. This year I received none. First time this has ever happened, and while I got some great gifts, I'm a bit bummed by receiving no books.

Do any of the neckties have writing on them?

Stew21 said:

the tech writing pieces of it were almost as bad as the traffic I was driving in if that is any indication.

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Oh yeah ... some of it is like reading an owner's manual. If you want to know how to field-strip an M-16, he's your guy. I think this is one of the reasons people say he could use an editor (besides mundane stuff like grammar, head-hopping, etc.). But then again, I bet there are tons of Clancy fans who love the technical stuff.

What's catching my interest is the wheel-within-a-wheel chess games his political characters play with the regular guys as the pawns. You can see the pieces being moved into place. Anticipation of the moves and what they will mean for those 'on the ground' keeps me turning the pages.

I'm trying to think of a sci-fi author who does that sort of thing, and Ben Bova's Moonwar comes to mind.

Anyway, sorry to tangentize the thread. Carry on.

All I got was a tour book for Paris. I guess the trip itself is a good present.

I got Todd Mccaffrey's Dragon's Fire and am really looking forward to reading it. I think he's picked up well where she left off in her Pern novels.

I've a bud who, for a time, was the official historian for an elite military branch.

One of the things a group of them would do while knocking back a beer or three was to pick out all the tech stuff Clancy got wrong.

:snicker:

Gillhoughly said:

I've a bud who, for a time, was the official historian for an elite military branch.

One of the things a group of them would do while knocking back a beer or three was to pick out all the tech stuff Clancy got wrong.

:snicker:

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It's the tech stuff he gets right that's amazing, and there's a lot of it.

ChunkyC said:

Didn't get any sci fi or fantasy, but did get a first edition hardcover of Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. Nice looking book, and the first Clancy novel I've read. (not done yet)

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Once you're done, if you feel up to it, try Red Storm Rising. Story trumps everything, for sure, in that one.

Back to our regularly scheduled thread...I got a gift card for my birthday for a book store, but I haven't used it yet. I was thinking of going in January, when everyone is back at work and the crowds are much thinner.

Karen

What about buying yourself a book and hoarding it till Christmas? Thud! by Terry Pratchett. I just had to have a good book to read over Christmas while I ate all that chocolate.

Provrb1810meggy said:

I got Eragon from my dad. Ha, I know what most of you think about that book.

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I got the sequel to that book, and having read the synopsis of Eragon within the volume, I am beginning to see why people think the way they do about that book.

I hope the writing in Eldest is better than what I read of the author's synopsis of Eragon. I don't want stilted prose to get in the way of my enjoying the story.

I got Crichton's NEXT. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Meine Schwester hat mir "Grimm's Maerchen" auf Deutsch von 1900 gegeben.

Sehr toll, und fantastische, ja?

I spent the evening talking to my FIL about how uninteresting and fluffy I found the one Mercedes Lackey book that I read. When I woke the next morning, I found that they had bought three of her books for me. Oops. I feel like such an ass, but I really didn't do anything wrong. *sigh*