The books you hated!

[MelissaBaby]

I'd never read the book and I found a copy at a yard sale for a buck and picked it up figuring why not finally check it out. I dropped out before I finished and the Sonny thing was a fair part of why, like WTF is this in the middle of this type of novel, it matters why?

Maybe Puzo had a fetish?

And all the Johnny Fontaine yada yada.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I don't know if I said it here, but Jaws sucks.

Now, maybe it was because I saw the movie several times before reading it, but all the more credit to Spielberg for getting a great movie out of this.

Brody was a schelp, his wife a cheating slut, Hooper a low life dog (who dies in the book as well as Quint) and the ending totally anti-climactic.

Again, the movie could have created expectations, but still blech.

Say what you will about Jaws the novel...The Deep was worse.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'd never read the book and I found a copy at a yard sale for a buck and picked it up figuring why not finally check it out. I dropped out before I finished and the Sonny thing was a fair part of why, like WTF is this in the middle of this type of novel, it matters why?

Maybe Puzo had a fetish?

This may be why. The Godfather was published in 1969. This was about the time when obscenity standards were loosening up quickly and it became fashionable to insert salacious, sexy scenes into mainstream fiction books. There's a lot of casual and somewhat unnecessary sex in popular books of that era. I got my first exposure to "smut" from mainstream trash books of that era. That's how the whole thing in Godfather reads to me. It was put there for extra sales, not to advance the story or character development.

When you re-read the sections about Sonny's big penis and Lucy's loose vagina it DOES seem a bit hilarious today, but to a young teen boy in the 70s it read a little differently.

 

[StillStunned]

Some movies that are better than the book.

The Godfather (already mentioned)
Jaws
Jurassic Park
Fight Club
Since of the Lambs
Psycho (and a lot of Hitchcock's other films)
Breakfast at Tiffany's

Also "High Fidelity" and "About A Boy". The movies just felt a lot tighter than Nick Hornby's books.

 

[lovecraft68]

This may be why. The Godfather was published in 1969. This was about the time when obscenity standards were loosening up quickly and it became fashionable to insert salacious, sexy scenes into mainstream fiction books. There's a lot of casual and somewhat unnecessary sex in popular books of that era. I got my first exposure to "smut" from mainstream trash books of that era. That's how the whole thing in Godfather reads to me. It was put there for extra sales, not to advance the story or character development.

When you re-read the sections about Sonny's big penis and Lucy's loose vagina it DOES seem a bit hilarious today, but to a young teen boy in the 70s it read a little differently.

This all makes sense.

Its part of reading something that may be a classic but years later dates itself with some of the content.

 

[kellyt1994]

Some movies that are better than the book.

The Godfather (already mentioned)
Jaws
Jurassic Park
Fight Club
Since of the Lambs
Psycho (and a lot of Hitchcock's other films)
Breakfast at Tiffany's

Forrest Gump the book was entirely forgettable. Forrest was a 6'5 asshole.

 

[lovecraft68]

Say what you will about Jaws the novel...The Deep was worse.

I won't argue that.

 

[lovecraft68]

And all the Johnny Fontaine yada yada.

I suppose I could go on a rant about the Italian male ego so of course Sonny had a big one, but I'll pass.

My wife who is Sicilian does it better. Told her mother when she was thirteen she would never date an Italian boy or later a guy. She said she could date girls who were less whiny and needy, let alone all the "ists" her uncles were.

I'm still trying to get her to date a girl.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Au contraire, Mr. McShane was born to play Al Swearengen.

(looks up Swearingen) Yes. him too. Though he'll probably never surpass his performance as Lovejoy. I went to a funeral a while back with a load of antiques dealers, and I swear all of the ones under 60 thought they were Lovejoy, leather jacket and all.

And since this is a sex site someone has to mention the abomination known as Gor. There are some incredibly hot passages but if you actually try to read the books and follow the . . . plot, (I'm being generous here), it's like what the fuck? This guy is a professor with a PhD?

I can assure you people with PhDs can write lots of porn without plot! (glances at story list)

A sadist of my acquaintance used to make subs try to read extracts of Gor aloud, without wincing or laughing or groaning. I understand 50 Shades fulfils much the same niche.

 

[Craighalbert]

Some movies that are better than the book.

The Godfather (already mentioned)
Jaws
Jurassic Park
Fight Club
Since of the Lambs
Psycho (and a lot of Hitchcock's other films)
Breakfast at Tiffany's

In general I find bad or mediocre books make better movies than great ones, since what makes great writing so powerful is usually its ability to get into somebody's head and show their thought process, which you can't really do as well in a movie without a lot of clunky exposition or narration, whereas airport type books usually have a pretty quick moving plot that a talented director can add style and panache to.

 

[MelissaBaby]

In general I find bad or mediocre books make better movies than great ones, since what makes great writing so powerful is usually its ability to get into somebody's head and show their thought process, which you can't really do as well in a movie without a lot of clunky exposition or narration, whereas airport type books usually have a pretty quick moving plot that a talented director can add style and panache to.

I think that is an excellent point.

 

[StillStunned]

In general I find bad or mediocre books make better movies than great ones, since what makes great writing so powerful is usually its ability to get into somebody's head and show their thought process, which you can't really do as well in a movie without a lot of clunky exposition or narration, whereas airport type books usually have a pretty quick moving plot that a talented director can add style and panache to.

Good point. There's hope for me yet!

 

[MillieDynamite]

I didn't mean to imply for a whole season. I was speaking of individual games, but it isn't unheard of in a single series in postseason play to get there. Carlos Beltrán hit .435 in the 2004 postseason with eight home runs. Proving my point about swinging for the fence, Nelson Cruz scored eight home runs in a 2011 postseason series. In the 2020 postseason, Seager also hit eight home runs, tying with Carlos Beltrán, Nelson Cruz, Barry Bonds, and Adolis García. Randy Arozarena holds the record for most home runs in a single postseason series, with a remarkable 10 in the 2020 postseason. In the current season, at the moment, Aaron Judge has the highest batting average since 2000, with an average of .395.

And yes, no one has maintained a 400 for an entire season in forever. But hope springs eternal, right?

No one's hit .400 since Ted Williams, so try .300 as being the analogy you're looking for. Baseballs best hitters fail 7.7 out of 10 tires.

 

[MillieDynamite]

And I like the blood on the knife! Sorry, not sorry, different strokes, different folks!

Yep, serial killer is still in there. The book reads like a cheap version of the movie and every change the movie made, to me, works better than what's in the book.

I'm a fan of happy endings, since I get enough horrible endings with real life. Roy gets Iris pregnant (she's a grandmother already, remember?) and then takes the Judge's bribe because he knows he can't play anymore because of the wound from the serial killer.

I guess it's supposed to show he's finally grown up, but fuck that. I wanted that pennant for Pop.

 

[Voboy]

No one's hit .400 since Ted Williams, so try .300 as being the analogy you're looking for. Baseballs best hitters fail 7.7 out of 10 tires.

 

[MillieDynamite]

@lovecraft68 And, adding to the baseball confusion, walks, fielding errors, a fielder's choice, batters struck by pitched balls (ouch), muffed catches on the third strike, catcher's interference, or through defensive obstruction do not count as hits but you still get to first base. But the goal was still achieved.

 

[lovecraft68]

@lovecraft68 And, adding to the baseball confusion, walks, fielding errors, a fielder's choice, batters struck by pitched balls (ouch), muffed catches on the third strike, catcher's interference, or through defensive obstruction do not count as hits but you still get to first base. But the goal was still achieved.

You get on base, but some examples aren't an official at bat.

My example is that a great hitter at .330 is succeeding 3.3 times and failing 7.7 (twice as much) out of every 10 official at bats.

You don't have to get snarky because I pointed out no one hits .400 anymore.

 

[lovecraft68]

View attachment 2544798

Thanks for a still form a Tarantino movie, now I have to go find a rape kit.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

My example is that a great hitter at .330 is succeeding 3.3 times and failing 7.7 (twice as much) out of every 10 official at bats.

3.3 + 7.7 = 11.

--Annie

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

3.3 + 7.7 = 11.

He had to do 7.77 because if he did 6.66 he’d summon a succubus.

 

[BlazonG]

The Great Gatsby.

Yup this one goes straight in the trash. Worst bit of mandatory reading in school that I remember.

 

[Voboy]

Yup this one goes straight in the trash. Worst bit of mandatory reading in school that I remember.

That wasn't his best, but his short stories are legit great. Gatsby got me to explore the rest of Fitzgerald, so it served a purpose for me.

 

[MillieDynamite]

My point, and correct me I'm wrong, which I'm not, like skinning a cat, there is more than one way to get on base. I've even seen a game won by accidently (I assume it was an accident) walking batter with bases loaded.

You get on base, but some examples aren't an official at bat.

My example is that a great hitter at .330 is succeeding 3.3 times and failing 7.7 (twice as much) out of every 10 official at bats.

You don't have to get snarky because I pointed out no one hits .400 anymore.

 

[TheLobster]

He had to do 7.77 because if he did 6.66 he’d summon a succubus.

Hey, many stories on Lit prove that’s not always a bad thing.

 

[Voboy]

My point, and correct me I'm wrong, which I'm not, like skinning a cat, there is more than one way to get on base. I've even seen a game won by accidently (I assume it was an accident) walking batter with bases loaded.

Go spend more than thirty minutes at any AA Little League game this afternoon. In that time, you'll see at least a dozen different ways to get on base, advance, and score a run.

Little League is what baseball should be: imaginative, improvisational, and risky. The baserunning is exciting, and the game never really drags. And when it does? There's a two-hour cutoff anyway.