posted
I have few doubts this has been discussed before, but I can hardly search the forums for "orson scott card + book+ read"...
You see my point.
So if this discussion is old, perhaps humor me. So I beg the question- what does OSC read? Of course, we don't count his own books. But I'm curious. Are they books by Russian authors with single syllable names that are still un-pronounce-able, which make the reader sound appallingly intelligent? Are they stuffy sounding books on research and sci-fi theory? Or maybe a couple of books I myself have read, with a splash of fiction?
Posts: 9 | Registered: May 2005
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Judging by the reviews he appears to enjoy a good mystery as well as insightful non-fiction works. If you look at his review column you'll pick up a few titles that he's definitely read.
Posts: 349 | Registered: May 2003
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Most of my reading is in history and biography and I don't even bother to review it because some of it's so esoteric that nobody else is going to want to hear about it.
I love good YA novels. I read them for my own pleasure. It's a genre that rejects pretense and adheres closely to story. I think much of the best writing and storytelling in America is aimed at children - the toughest critics in the world, since they're absolutely ruthless and unimpressable except by real stuff.
But mysteries are my other pleasure-reading vice.
And I read science and politics and world affairs books in order to keep up.
Much of my best reading, though, is in magazines. I always read Commentary, American Enterprise, The New Yorker, Atlantic, Wilson Quarterly, Discover, and Scientific American, and Poetry. Lately I've taken to reading Reader's Digest again, mostly for the jokes <grin> but also for the occasional article. And I skim Entertainment Weekly. I used to read Writers Digest faithfully, but I guess I've graduated. (This is quite aside from special-interest publications like Games Magazine, World of Games and Puzzles, Men's Health, PC, PC World, and Laptop.)
I'm also doing more reading to prepare for classes I'm teaching. It was fun to read a couple of issues of F&SF and Asimov's for the purpose of discussing them with my class in sci-fi and fantasy literature.
I also read stories submitted to oscIGMS. And that IS a pleasure. To discover wonderful stories that no one else has seen yet (outside the author's circle of acquaintance, of course) is way cool. My favorites I buy and pass along to you. <grin>
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote: I think much of the best writing and storytelling in America is aimed at children - the toughest critics in the world, since they're absolutely ruthless and unimpressable except by real stuff.
Can I quote this the next time somebody asks me "why on earth would somebody as smart as you want to be a children's librarian?"
By the way, I was reading about 1491 the other day in one of the journals I read for work and it seemed like the kind of book you would be interested in, so I was going to recommend it to you...
and then I check my e-mail the next day and there's your review of 1491.
So, obviously, you can both predict the future and read minds. Posts: 1512 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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I wonder, Mr. Card, if you've ever touched on Philip Pullman's 'Dark Materials', including 'The Golden Compass', since you find an interest in YA novels. Though not by my favorite author, it is quite possibly one of my favorite series.
Posts: 9 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Interesting. From one view point, I certainly see Card's point. But from the objective point of a person who does not practice religion and has a fairly neutral opinion of it, I suppose I can forgive all of the hypocrisy of a few good books.
But I might note that the party opposing organized religion, while obviously championed over the others, was not totally without fault. The children in the book are the only heroes without enduring fault, it would seem.
Posts: 9 | Registered: May 2005
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Personally, I thought the Sally Lockhart trilogy was much better than HDM. The latter is just weak.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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