Hi, new here but not new to EG. I'm curious to find out how everyone was introduced to EG. I'll begin with my little story.
First off I'm a fan of 3 major franchises. Star Wars, Robotech and Ender's Game.
When I was in HS I was 'forced' to read certain books for class. I pretty much never cared for any of the required reading books. I thought that I hated reading in general until I one day read a Star Wars book and found that I really enjoyed it. So...I read every star wars book I could get my hands on. In college (early 20's) I had a close friend that suggested I read Ender's Game and handed me a copy. Here I was again, someone telling me what I should read. I read the cover of the book and immediately judged that it wouldn't be any good.
The book sat in the trunk of my car for MONTHS. One day as I was waiting for my buddies at the raquetteball court I realized that I was about 30 minutes early and didn't have my latest star wars book to help pass the time. I remembered the EG book in the trunk and figured...well...let's read a few pages until they get here. Well, I immediately knew upon reading the first page that I was going to read the entire book. I became excited about it and couldn't put it down.
I had never read something so easy to read and yet also so deep at the same time. It immediately became my favorite book of all time (not that I had experimented much with other authors/genres). It was also the first book that I EVER read a 2nd time. Scott Card opened my eyes to the fact that there are other great books out there and I should give them a chance. I quite literally judged the book by the cover in regards to EG and boy was I wrong to do so.
Ofcourse, now I've read the book many times and am about to re-read the entire series yet again. (something I do every year or 2)
EG is still my favorite book/series of all-time and I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend that loaned me the book. Now I'm more of an EG fan than he is. I make it a point to share EG with as many EGVirgins as possible and have bought numerous copies to give away.
My friend made a casual recommendation and loaned me the book...little did he know (nor I at the time) what a tremendous gift he had bestowed upon me.
Sorry if it got a little long-winded. Please SHARE your story.
--theinvid
Posted by Sean Monahan (Member # 9334) on :
In my teens, I liked sci-fi, but I hadn't read much of it. I'd read a few books by Philip Jose Farmer, and not much else. When I was looking for a new book, I'd go to the (pitifully small) sci-fi section at Waldenbooks and look around for something that looked interesting.
Once, there were several stacks of this new paperback called Ender's Game. I read the back cover. It didn't sound that interesting. A kid that goes to a battle school? Ok. It didn't sound like there was very much "science" in this fiction. I picked something else and left.
The next time I came back, there were those stacks of Ender's Game again. The cover picture was neat. I picked it up and read the back again. It still didn't sound interesting. I picked something else and left.
I did this a bunch of times for a long time. It never sounded interesting to me, but it was always there staring me in the face when I went. Eventually, I bought it just to put it out of its misery, so it would stop bugging me. And I discovered great literature within sci-fi. It completely blew away all other sci-fi I had yet read.
I also was judging books by their covers. It's almost remarkable that I discovered it at all. I'd never heard of OSC or EG, never had anyone recommend it to me, never read a review about it. Even the book's own advertisement of itself didn't sell me. I just picked it up almost randomly.
After that, I bought every OSC book I could get my hands on.
Posted by adenam (Member # 11902) on :
My story is not so interesting. In elementary school I participated in reading olympics and luckily for me Ender's Game was on the list one year. I remember hearing it was good so I got it from the school library and sat down to read it after school. I got up from the chair several hours later after turning the last page and was blown away so much so that I walked around in a daze for the next day and still do whenever I really think about how great a book it is.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
It was part of my ninth grade curriculum. (along with Shoeless Joe and Lord of the Flies) I read Speaker immediately afterwards during thanksgiving break. I remember sitting in my parent's basement listening to Tom Petty's Wildflowers cd. I struggled with the opening chapters of Xenocide at that point. It was not until I was a freshman in college that I revisited it after reading Pastwatch. Then of course I went right into Children of the Mind.
The only book in the series I did not enjoy was the final Shadow book. I know many people enjoyed the war and tactics, but my eyes sort of glazed over most of it. I much more enjoy the narratives and ideas of the Ender books.
Posted by Scooter (Member # 6915) on :
Three or four years ago while I was frequenting a BYU sports message board (which includes many topics beyond sports, as this experience attests to) someone talked about OSC and this book being a good place to start.
Unfortunately, my wife found "First Meetings" at the library so I read that first and it gave much of EG away--not to mention the short story version at the end. But, I loved the writing, then read EG, then read the rest of that series and have pretty much read everything else since then.
Posted by Lostinspace (Member # 11633) on :
In our middle school library someone happened to have pulled OSC book and misshelved it next to Ray Bradbury. It caught my attention and I checked it out when I was in the 7th grade. By the time I was in the 8th grade I had checked it out 3 time and was the only person who had. It hit the discard list and the librarian gave the book to me instead of doing what ever middle school libraries do with their discard books.
Posted by Sean Monahan (Member # 9334) on :
quote:Originally posted by Scooter: Unfortunately, my wife found "First Meetings" at the library so I read that first and it gave much of EG away
This reminds me of an unfortunate experience I had with a different book.
In 1980, The Empire Strikes Back was in theaters. I was 12, and was excited to see it. I was in a bookstore one day, before my parents took me to the movie, and I saw the novelization on the shelf. I picked it up and flipped it open to a random page. There was one line on the page that was written in italics, so my eye was drawn to that line. The line said:
No, I am your father. Posted by adenam (Member # 11902) on :
quote:Unfortunately, my wife found "First Meetings" at the library so I read that first and it gave much of EG away
For some reason, it was impossible for me to find a copy of Speaker for the Dead after I read Ender's Game. I saw Xenocide at a used book sale and bought it with the intention to not give in to temptation and read it first. I failed and that basically ruined all the Ender sequals for me but I learned my lesson.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
A coworker of my mother's gave her the book to give to me and I was hooked.
theinvid -
Is your favorite Star Wars book I, Jedi by chance?
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
My friends in 7th grade were reading it.
We spent a lot of time writing "Cover your butt" on the desks.
The rest is history.
Posted by AmandaT (Member # 11921) on :
Hmmmm....OK, I'm also "new" to hatrack.com, but not "new" to EG...
I was also "forced" to read EG in high school. Ever since reading it for the first time, I considered it...and still consider it, my favorite book ever. I recently read EG again, and also just finished my first time through the Shadow series (loved EVERY single one of them), and now am working my way back through Speaker/Xenocide/Children (also my first time completely through that series). I just finished Ender in Exile...so I guess you could say for the past few months I've been living my entire life in Ender's universe! (and loving every second of it! Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
In 1990, when I was a freshman in college, a friend of mine loaned me a copy of Ender's Game. I wasn't particularly impressed, but he told me that he'd only loaned me that one to prep me for Speaker. I was skeptical, but our tastes were similar enough that I was willing to give Card one more try. Speaker for the Dead blew me away, and was probably my favorite book for a while. It's still up there.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I read Prentice Alvin first, then Seventh Son and Red Prophet. From there, I found my way to Ender's Game. Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
In eighth grade, we used to have 15 minutes of quiet reading three days a week at the start of class. Our teacher had a fairly well stocked bookshelf, and one day when I had nothing else to read I ended up picking Speaker For the Dead up to read. After that, I went to the library and got Ender's game and later Xenocide. Speaker is still my favorite book of the four, but I still reread all of them from time to time.
Posted by umberhulk (Member # 11788) on :
My friend was sleeping over during Junior High. It was late, and I was getting bored so he explained the whole plot to me. I started with Homecoming and Alvin Maker first, then read Ender's Game only a year ago.
I prefer Ender's Shadow.
Posted by Sean Monahan (Member # 9334) on :
I wish I had gone to a school where EG was required reading. My high school english teacher was firmly in the "science fiction is not real literature" camp.
Posted by Achilles (Member # 7741) on :
How was I introduced to Ender's Game?
I subscribed to Analog in the 70's.
Posted by Traceria (Member # 11820) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: I read Prentice Alvin first, then Seventh Son and Red Prophet. From there, I found my way to Ender's Game.
That's sort of how it happened for me. I was browsing available audiobooks on the state's library site and hit Prentice Alvin first. Then, one day it clicked that OSC also wrote Ender's Games, which a friend had recommended about a year prior. I'd tucked the recommendation away in my head for some unknown later date, but once I realized how good Prentice Alvin was, made a point to listen to EG next.
Looks like I must be the the only (one of?) person so far to comment on this thread who didn't read it earlier in life. It's only been about a year since my first EG experience. (Edit: I'm 28.)
Since then, though, I've been pushing it on my brother to read. His Christmas gift this year was comprised of the both box sets (meanding the Shadow books, too).
Posted by theinvid (Member # 11912) on :
To answer Lyrhawn's question of:
"Is your favorite Star Wars book I, Jedi by chance?"
Answer: Actually, I have not read 'I, Jedi'. I read the cover...didn't sound that great...didn't buy it. LOL Maybe I haven't learned my lesson.
Posted by Stephen Sunday (Member # 10466) on :
I was about twelve or so, maybe, and I saw the book. I had a huge appetite for books that seemed long enough to keep me occupied for most of a summer afternoon, so this is the direction that I went. I actually stole a copy from the library, because I didn't have enough money to buy it. Like, premeditatively. Returned the book, having read it, and then a week later, put it in my backpack without checking it out. This was far enough back that they didn't have those little electronic tags.
I paid for this later, many times over, in all the times I've given copies as gifts to people I care about. But yeah.
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
quote:Originally posted by theinvid: To answer Lyrhawn's question of:
"Is your favorite Star Wars book I, Jedi by chance?"
Answer: Actually, I have not read 'I, Jedi'. I read the cover...didn't sound that great...didn't buy it. LOL Maybe I haven't learned my lesson.
In that case, where does your username come from?
Also, you might want to give I, Jedi a go if you've read and liked any of the Star Wars EU books. I think there's a strong case to be made for I, Jedi being one of the best books from the expanded universe.
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
I have known OSC as a writer for many years in many different venues. Then, my favorite Card books were Saint's Speak (now out of print) and a Woman of Destiny (now printed as Saints) My wife was in neighborhood book club. They bought and read a book from different periods or styles each month. One month they had decided on SF. Someone suggested that they try Wyrms. I read her copy, without looking at the author. It was a paperback and she kept it in a cover-carrier. I had decided that the author must have been Greek, and took a peek to verify. Boy was I suprised. I had no idea the OSC wrote SF. I read the Alvin Maker books next. I didn't read Enders Game, until one of my kids brought it home from Jr. High. I didn't read the Shadow or Speaker books until I started hanging arround here. My favorites are the Women of the Old Testement series. I consider Stone Tablets to be one of them, although it was written much earler than the others.
Posted by theinvid (Member # 11912) on :
To answer Ricree101: "Where does your username come from?" ----------------
(theinvid) The Invid are an alien species that attacks Earth in the 3rd Generation of ROBOTECH...an 85 episode cartoon from the mid 80s.
Is there some sort of reference to 'theinvid' in the I, Jedi book?
I believe I'll be picking up this book after I re-read the entire EG series...of which I just started.
Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
Invid -- *Anything* by Michael Stackpole is worth your time to read.
I especially recommend "Talion: Revenant" (standalone) and his "Dark Glory War" series.
Posted by theinvid (Member # 11912) on :
Magson-- I read the reviews for the aforementioned book/books by Stackpole... Sounds interesting, though I must admit I've NEVER read a 'fantasy' genre book before.
It's always been sci-fi for me.
Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
Well, if you want an introduction to fantasy that you can trust ... OSC wrote my favorite fantasy book, Enchantment. (I sell that one the way some people around here sell Ender's Game.)
I first read Ender's Game as an adult, BTW - sometime after I got married. I liked it, but it wasn't a life-changing religious experience the way it seems to be for many OSC fans. (Maybe because I wasn't an extraordinarily gifted but lonely teenage boy?) Then I read several other of his works and he became my favorite author. Later I went on to read the rest of the Ender and Shadow series (I'm working on Ender in Exile now). And the series as a whole has just kept me riveted; I'm always giddy when a new Ender or Bean book comes out. So Ender's Game by itself was not really that monumental to me, but the whole series is wonderful. They're almost real.
Posted by theinvid (Member # 11912) on :
JennaDean: I suppose that if I were to read a fantasy book...why not start with Card. Makes perfect sense. I haven't run out of sci-fi to read and am not sure that I'm ready to stray to fantasy yet. I think I'll try Enchantment out on my wife first who is already a fan of fantasy.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
The first three books of the Alvin Maker series (Seventh Son, Red Prophet, and Prentice Alvin) are incredibly good fantasy by Card. Hart's Hope is also spectacular.
Posted by Sakura (Member # 11930) on :
I was browsing through our High School Library and was running out of time to pick a book. I just grabbed Ender's Shadow because I thought the title sounded cool. I liked it and then read Ender's Game, which is now my favorite book.
Posted by adenam (Member # 11902) on :
Welcome to hatrack Sakura!!!! Posted by Pennie-Lain (Member # 11932) on :
My sister suggested EG to me when I was....I don't know, maybe 8. I (being 15 now) was on iTunes burning Christmas iTunes money and thought I would get a book to "read" since I was out of them at the time. I say in the Sci-fi/fantasy section EG and decided to get it, (I previewed the reader first of course) I loved it and got the others after begging my mother for around $100 in iTunes cards. I still don't have Xenocide, and I just read COTM so I really need 25 bucks. ^____^
Posted by Sakura (Member # 11930) on :
Thanks Adenam. Posted by theinvid (Member # 11912) on :
Pennie, You read COTM without first having read xenocide?
Posted by adenam (Member # 11902) on :
sorry for the nonsequiter but I just realized that the smileys wave insync and it is SO COOL!!!
Posted by Traceria (Member # 11820) on :
quote:Originally posted by Pennie-Lain: My sister suggested EG to me when I was....I don't know, maybe 8. I (being 15 now) was on iTunes burning Christmas iTunes money and thought I would get a book to "read" since I was out of them at the time. I say in the Sci-fi/fantasy section EG and decided to get it, (I previewed the reader first of course) I loved it and got the others after begging my mother for around $100 in iTunes cards. I still don't have Xenocide, and I just read COTM so I really need 25 bucks. ^____^
Search around for some other ways to get your hands on audiobooks, whether it means buying them cheaper or just borrowing them from your local library. I guarantee you you'll end up saving loads of money if you find some other way. Best of luck!
Posted by Reed (Member # 11955) on :
I suppose I was about fourteen - close to twenty years ago - and I'd never read a book for pleasure. Well, not 'never' if Schoolasitc press counts, but never a full novel.
I was in the highschool library one day and a friend of mine was reading Crewel Lye by Piers Anthony. I remember saying "What are you doing reading a book?!". He proceeded to tell me a bit of the story and I was surprised to find how interesting it sounded. So when he finished, I read it. After that I started to go back and read all of Xanth up to that point, along with whatever other fantasy the school library contained. In the course of searching (and too often failing) to find a really good story, an English teacher paused me one day after class and said, "I see you've been reading a lot of fantasy lately. Ask the librarian about a book called Ender's Game. It is science fiction, but I think you'll really like it."
She was right. Not only did it immediately become my favorite book (and still is), it was the first book of fantasy to teach me something of great value... what love really is. The knowledge that understanding of another requires that you love them, and vice versa, has been a shaping factor in my life. I will always be thankful that a man like Mr. Card was there to teach me such a wonderful lesson.
I too have purchased more copies than I can count, giving them away whenever appropriate. And I also read the book again every few years; and still I learn - or relearn - from Andrew Wiggin.
I suppose this is bit off-topic for the thread, but thinking of what Ender has meant to me reminds me of it, and it is something I want to share... I think the only other fantasy story that has had a greater impact on me (in a personal/spritual way) than Ender would be Terry Goodkind's Faith of the Fallen. I won't pretend for a second that Goodkind can hold a pen to Card when it comes to the technicality of writing, however, Faith of the Fallen in particular holds the most important bit of insight I have ever found in a book.
So anyway, Orson Scott Card has been enriching my life for nearly 20 years, Ender having been just the begining. I just finished Keeper of Dreams this evening (I'd read all but the last segment months ago...) and I believe I have something new to investigate that perhaps it is now time for me to do. I believe this may turn out to be one more thing I'll have to thank Orson for. =)
Posted by Reed (Member # 11955) on :
quote:Originally posted by JennaDean: ...
I first read Ender's Game as an adult, BTW - sometime after I got married. I liked it, but it wasn't a life-changing religious experience the way it seems to be for many OSC fans. (Maybe because I wasn't an extraordinarily gifted but lonely teenage boy?) ...
hahahaha, yeah it probably meant more if you were a gifted but ISOLATED teenage boy! (remember, Ender wasn't without company or companions - his isolation was emotional and not of his own making... that's the part which is often identifiable, I think).
Posted by shw104 (Member # 11954) on :
My 3rd grade teacher read the book to our class... would read 20 mins a day..
It was my first introduction to sci-fi and haven't stopped reading since... she was a great teacher.
Posted by Damian313 (Member # 11916) on :
For me, I think I was introduced when I was 12 years old, only a couple years after the book came out originally, so in many ways I have grown up with Ender.
My Mother gave me the first copy in an ongoing attempt to get me to read a book, ANY BOOK to the end. Well, I never had much interest in most things I had picked up until that point, then she gave me Ender's Game. I found that I wasnt a very fast reader, but then again, I would keep re-reading until I had a clear PICTURE of what was going on in the book(as if I were watching a movie). Plus I didnt want to read through so fast that I would miss anything, except the meanls I tried to skip in order to continue reading! lol
My mother found it both amusing as well as annoying the fact that all this time she had tried to get me into a reading habit and now she was having to ask me to actually PUT DOWN THE BOOK and come to dinner! lol I must have read EG at least half a dozen times, and enjoy it even more in some ways in its unabridged audiobook format. I also have found the book so enjoyable and enriching that I have given away no less than a dozen copies as gifts and purchased about the same number of copies for myself due to others "borrowing" the book from me. Im not sure if I have ever actually got a single copy back that I ever lent out!
[ February 09, 2009, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: Damian313 ]
Posted by Tammy (Member # 4119) on :
When I asked the owner at Fireside Books in Forest City, NC for an entertaining book, he suggested Ender's Game.
He did good.
Posted by Steve_G (Member # 10101) on :
I grew up with an afinity for scifi, but couldn't find any good scifi in my school library. the last sci-fi book I read in Middle School was so horrible that I put it down and started reading technothrillers that I had just discovered. I read pretty much everything by Larry Bond and Tom Clancy. I didn't revisit sci-fi until my 20's when a friend turned me onto the Red Green Blue Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. After that I realized it wasn't that there wassn't good sci-fi, just that I hadn't discovered the good authors. One day I noticed an anthology of scifi in my library which I started thumbing through. I started reading a little of the Ender's Game Short Story which I knew from the preface was also a novel. I loved it immediately so I stopped reading the short story and went and checked out the novel. I'm so glad I did that.
Posted by Lourinha (Member # 12079) on :
i was ill in bed for about a week. on the second day my mom gave me her old copy of Enders Game. i finished it by 11 o clock that night and never looked back. the Enderverse is my all time favourite series
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
I was reading it in my friend's dorm room at college the other day, and she goes, "Eww Ender's Game? I read that in school, I hated it!" Well, I THOUGHT she was a good friend... (Kidding!!)
Posted by ToraMay (Member # 12080) on :
My hubby had the original three books... I love reading... It didnt take long before I cracked open his books and fell completelyin love.
Posted by theinvid (Member # 11912) on :
Tora,
Have you read beyond those 3 books yet?
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Back in high school days I read OSC's early books: A Planet Called Treason, Hot Sleep, Capitol.
Didn't read any SF while I was in college. By the time I started reading Card again, thanks to a friend, he'd written Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead.
Posted by Imamess (Member # 11549) on :
I found Ender's Shadow at my middle school library first--loved it. Spent my allowance on Ender's Game--loved it. And I've read them each at least once a year since then
I've also read through the rest of the Ender/Bean series and the Alvin Maker series too.
Posted by antzfan17 (Member # 12221) on :
I was in high school when The Abyss came out. I don't remember who suggested the book, but I finished reading it within about a week of the movie release. I loved it!! My sister has always been a fan of OSC and had read Ender's Game. For a while I wasn't much of a reader and I never picked it up, but I always remembered that she really liked it. Once I finally picked up EG, I was hooked!! I continued the series, as well as the Shadow books. Moved on to the Tales of Alvin Maker. Another sister recommended Hart's Hope and Folk of the Fringe. Haven't read Folk yet, but enjoyed Hart's Hope. Have read his short stories online, and really enjoyed Magic Street (liked that he included the Waterbaby story in that one).
Pretty much pick up anything I can by Card even if I dont' get a chance to read it right away. Sometimes my life is too hectic to read anything too complex and I don't want to lose any of what OSC writes, so some of his books get pushed aside in favor of "easier" reads. But I will get to all of them eventually. I just want to be able to devote enough of my attention to the book.
I work in a bookstore and try whenever I can to push OSC books. I usually start with Ender and Alvin. Have one coworker completely hooked after only a couple of books. Have managed to sell a couple EGs to customers to get them started, too.
Now I just wish we could get the older books in stock easier. Perhaps a republication of some of those that are out of print, too????
Posted by oscfan (Member # 12170) on :
My awesome ninth-grade English teacher made us read it and from the cover I was less than excited about it, but after the first few pages I got really into it. By the time Lock and Demosthenes came into the picture, I was full-on obsessed with this book and read it so many times that the spine grew wobbly. Maybe it's because I'm still a kid that I liked it so much. Then my awesome teacher introduced me to Speaker for the Dead, which I didn't like as much, and I ordered the Shadow series and Ender in Exile online because it had just come out that year. I liked those much better. The Enderverse was all I talked about until the end of ninth grade and my friends were totally freaked out because they thought I was becoming a nerd and I usually don't talk about sci-fi. OSC changed all that, though, and now I read his books and IGMS all the time! I got over the scary, obsessive phase but I'm still a big, big fan.
I have to say, though, is it crazy that I developed a little crush on Peter and Dink's characters?
Posted by Mr. Y (Member # 11590) on :
I stumbled upon this forum through the Alvin Maker books and obviously there was a lot of chatter about Ender's Game - or at least loads of references. At some point the number of times that I came across references to this book reached the point where it was stuck in my head, sort of. The very next time I was in a book store, I picked it up (the fact that it was on sale may have helped as well).
So, in all I guess that's not a very impressive story. But hey, you asked... Posted by sylvrdragon (Member # 3332) on :
My story is very similar to the OP. A friend of mine handed the book to me, but at the time, I was very deep into the Dragonlance series (I had a huge box full of them by the time I stopped buying them), so I let it sit at the back of a desk for the better part of a year. At that time, I didn't really talk to him very often, so I didn't get reminded of it too much. Of course, every time we DID talk, he made sure to ask if I'd read it yet.
Eventually, I ran out of Dragonlance books (for the time being) and picked it up out of sheer boredom. The rest of the story is much like what everyone else has said; I powered through the rest of the series, and then everything else by Card that I could find. I've loaned out a ton and never asked for them back. Unfortunately, among my loaned out copies I think was my signed one, which I promptly forgot who I gave it to and never saw it again. Hopefully I can catch OSC on tour again some day and get another (or maybe 2 this time, heh).
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
It was accidental in my case. Back in 10th grade, I was very bored one late morning in chemistry class. One of my neighbors in that class, who also rode the same bus as me and got on at the same stop, had been reading EG for her AP English class, and really been enjoying it. Since she was a year ahead of me, I thought a book for next year's AP class might be good (plus her own enjoyment of it), and asked to borrow it, and she let me.
Posted by FoolishTook (Member # 5358) on :
quote:I wish I had gone to a school where EG was required reading. My high school english teacher was firmly in the "science fiction is not real literature" camp.
Ugh....same here.
My first exposure to Ender's Game came from my sister. She was an avid reader of almost anything she could get her hands on.
She first introduced me to the Dragonlance Chronicles. These books I had gotten her for Christmas quite by accident. My 10-year-old brain knew she liked fantasy, so I saw dragons and bought those.
A year later, she told me to read the first chapter of the Dragonlance Chronicles, and if I hated it, I could stop. Well, I didn't stop. This was the first time in my life I actually started to enjoy reading.
A year after that, she did the same with Ender's Game. I wasn't interested because of the cover. It looked like a cold, inhuman science-fiction book. But after the first chapter, I was hooked. I've been an Orson Scott Card fan, and an avid reader, ever since.
Posted by Rome (Member # 12263) on :
Prior to graduating with my bachelor's in psychology, I was enrolled in a Child Development course sophomore year.
The professor had a very interesting take on college assignments. The main assignment for the course was to read a book with children characters and utilize concepts and theories from the child development course to analyze the characters and their interactions.
This professor alternates every other year between the first Harry Potter book and Ender's Game.
I was so excited to finally have a reason to read harry potter (I'm not a reader at all) and when i found out he was assigning us some "unheard of sci-fi book" I was quite upset.
But i had to read it for the course so I did. The rest is history! It is to date the only book I have ever read multiple times, and the only book I have ever read more than 1 of in the series.
I will always be thankful for that college paper assignment!
FYI, the audiobooks, primarily read by stephan rudnicki, are A-MAZING. OSC himself says in the epilogue and prologue that Ender's game was meant to be heard read aloud, not read. It's worth the price to buy the audio, even if you've read the book 100 times, you will appreciate it in a BRAND NEW way!
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Rome: I was so excited to finally have a reason to read harry potter (I'm not a reader at all)
I don't quite understand this. If you were wanting to read Harry Potter enough that you were excited at the prospect of doing so for a class, why didn't you just pick up a copy of it and read it on your own?
quote:OSC himself says in the epilogue and prologue that Ender's game was meant to be heard read aloud, not read.
Seriously? I could see him thinking that now, but when he was first writing it, he was doing so with the intention that it be heard rather than read? I'm skeptical.
Posted by Rome (Member # 12263) on :
I hate... HATE to read. I read very slowly and its hard for me to focus. By the bottom of a page, I usually forgot what I read because its hard for me to pay attention while reading.
So I always wanted to experience the story of the harry potter books, but knew I would never pick the book up myself because reading is not enjoyable to me (even though i LOVE good stories). Does that make sense? heh, sorry if i'm not clear i can't think of how to put what i mean into words.
Being forced to read it gave me the final reason to actually get through the process of *reading* the book lol.
And yes he does say that, to quote, as I relisten to the epilougue of ender's game...
"My backround is theatre, and when I write, I am not really writing prose. I am improvising a performance, an oral performance. My narration is meant to be read aloud. I'm never happier than when I am told that Ender's game is read aloud to someone (me and my husband/wife read ender's game aloud, or read alvin maker aloud), because my stuff *needs* to be read aloud. If ender's game becomes a movie, I hope it is wonderful. But to me, the *ideal* presentation of any book of mine is to have excellent actors perform it in an audio-only format." ... "I hope the movie does come out, I hope it makes a billion dollars and everyone loves it, but you already have the IDEAL version of Ender's game, in this audio format." ~OSC
If you haven't heard Ender's game in its audio format you are missing something from the story. Not just in my opinion, in OSC's opinion as well. It truly is wonderful.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Rome: I hate... HATE to read. I read very slowly and its hard for me to focus. By the bottom of a page, I usually forgot what I read because its hard for me to pay attention while reading.
Interesting. Do you have dyslexia by any chance? In any case, how cool that you're living in a time when books on CD are plentiful, so that you can easily satisfy your love of story.
quote:And yes he does say that, to quote, as I relisten to the epilougue of ender's game...
"My backround is theatre, and when I write, I am not really writing prose. I am improvising a performance, an oral performance. My narration is meant to be read aloud. I'm never happier than when I am told that Ender's game is read aloud to someone (me and my husband/wife read ender's game aloud, or read alvin maker aloud), because my stuff *needs* to be read aloud. If ender's game becomes a movie, I hope it is wonderful. But to me, the *ideal* presentation of any book of mine is to have excellent actors perform it in an audio-only format." ... "I hope the movie does come out, I hope it makes a billion dollars and everyone loves it, but you already have the IDEAL version of Ender's game, in this audio format." ~OSC
Also interesting. It makes sense when you consider his background in theater, I suppose, but it surprised me nonetheless.
quote:If you haven't heard Ender's game in its audio format you are missing something from the story. Not just in my opinion, in OSC's opinion as well. It truly is wonderful. [/QB]
Next time I'm at the library I'll have to see if they have it available on audiobook.
Posted by Rome (Member # 12263) on :
Firstly, Kudos on being one of the truly polite people I've "met" in an online forum. (No offense to anyone on this board, I just joined! Bad experiences on some boards is all ^_^)
Secondly, no I do not have dyslexia. Its a bizarre occurrence really, because when I must (I am finishing graduate school) I *can* read just fine. But the process of reading is tedious to me and in part having to do it somewhat ruins the story.
The audio format allows me to completely focus on the story unlike books, and in books where the reader is talented (for example EG) I get to basically create an entire cinematic in my head. I see facial expressions, I feel the emotions, I picture the setting of each room. I can do this because I am free to not focus my eyes on words, punctuation, grammar... I am free to listen and experience the story.
So yes, it is quite the blessing that I live in an age where I can experience story without having to physiologically read them.
It is surprising on some level, OSC's approach to his writing. I could totally understand your skepticism! I was happy to type the quote for you! I've listened to the book so many times I knew right where it was in the audio epilogue, haha.
Definitely check it out in Audio. Its done by "Audio Renaissance", its unabridged, and its primarily read by Stephan Rudnicki (sp?). If they have more than one copy there for some unknown reason, make sure you get that one!
Posted by Rome (Member # 12263) on :
Sorry I was getting off the topic with the audiobook stuff. I'm being longwinded because I just found this place and am very excited to meet other people who share a love for this book series Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Rome: Firstly, Kudos on being one of the truly polite people I've "met" in an online forum.
Thanks! Civility here at Hatrack has declined somewhat over the past few years, but there are still a good number of friendly people here.
quote:Secondly, no I do not have dyslexia. Its a bizarre occurrence really, because when I must (I am finishing graduate school) I *can* read just fine. But the process of reading is tedious to me and in part having to do it somewhat ruins the story.
Very interesting. I'm kind of the opposite; I'm almost a compulsive reader. I almost always carry a book with me, but if I happen not to have one I'll make do with whatever is at hand (cereal box, toilet paper instructions, or whathaveyou). I like audiobooks, but I sometimes find that my mind wanders if I don't have the text to center me, and have to skip back a few minutes to catch what I missed.
That said, there are exceptions. I'd much rather listen to David Sedaris as he reads his books than read them myself. There's something about his delivery that makes his stories so much more involving and hilarious when they're in his voice. Seeing him read them live is even better, which actually kind of surprised me, since he literally just stands there at a podium and reads, not even looking up at the audience all that often.
quote:I could totally understand your skepticism! I was happy to type the quote for you!
Much appreciated.
quote:Definitely check it out in Audio. Its done by "Audio Renaissance", its unabridged, and its primarily read by Stephan Rudnicki (sp?). If they have more than one copy there for some unknown reason, make sure you get that one!
Looks like my library system has it in stock at the branch I tend to frequent. I'm going to be returning books here in a week or two, and when I do I'll pick it up.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Rome: Sorry I was getting off the topic with the audiobook stuff.
Not at all! Getting off topic is something of a Hatrack tradition. With a thread like this, likely to catch the attention of new forum members, it's pretty much guaranteed to snap back onto topic eventually.
quote:I'm being longwinded because I just found this place and am very excited to meet other people who share a love for this book series
Understandable. You might be interested in checking out Philoticweb. It's a fan site with fairly extensive forums that is dedicated entirely to Ender's Game and the subsequent books set in that universe. It isn't a forum that I frequent, but it's a pretty friendly place, and last time I checked was a fairly vibrant community.
Posted by Rome (Member # 12263) on :
Thanks for the suggestion about Philotic web, I'll check it out after work
Grats on your library having it. If you start to wander (Even I wandered a bit during the peter and val sections about the nets and such..) perhaps reading along with the text would work for you. If you can stop yourself from reading ahead, which of course would ruin the audiobook format.
The reader who primarily reads for chapters from val's narrative point of view is less talented than Ender's narration. She gets much, MUCH better as the series goes on, and I couldn't think of Val without that voice actress anymore. Don't let the first few chapters with Val turn you off to it
When the story transitions back to Ender's reader, the best way I can describe it is like listening to a long-time friend. Marvelous.
Posted by theinvid (Member # 11912) on :
Welcome Rome, So... a bit of 'bad luck' turned out to be 'good luck'... it led you to Ender.
Have you since read the Harry Potter book? I confess, I have not.
Have you read 'all' of the Ender-verse books? If not, then you have a lot to look forward to...and there is nothing better than reading the books for the 1st time. (but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th etc ...reads...are good reads too Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :
How was I introduced to Ender's G ame? Everey year at the end of school my parents would take me to the bookstore as reward for my good grades and get me a few books. Naturally my parents wanted to encourage my reading, so when I came home with not so good grades they still got me a few books. Not sure which it was that year, but I picked it randomly from borders after 5th grade.
Posted by Rome (Member # 12263) on :
quote:Originally posted by theinvid: Welcome Rome, So... a bit of 'bad luck' turned out to be 'good luck'... it led you to Ender.
Have you since read the Harry Potter book? I confess, I have not.
Have you read 'all' of the Ender-verse books? If not, then you have a lot to look forward to...and there is nothing better than reading the books for the 1st time. (but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th etc ...reads...are good reads too
Yup, that bit of bad luck led me to the only books i've ever really enjoyed. No i have not read the harry potter books. i saw the first two movies and decided not to bother with the books. Probably dumb, I know, but the movies were terrible in my opinion.
And yes! I have "read" all of them. I only physically read EG. i then listened to EG and all the other books, including Ender in Exile. I just purchased the "Authorized Ender Companion" book that i randomly saw at B&N yesterday. I haven't really got a chance to dive into it at all.
Theinvid, whats your favorite book in the enderverse?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Okay theinvid, it's been a year...have you read I, Jedi yet?
And to answer your question from a year ago, yes, there's a pirate gang called The Invids in the novel.
Posted by EndertheJedi (Member # 7889) on :
I am not new but have not posted for a while. lots of reasons but suffice it to say my posting willl always be sporadic. anywho, my ender story was pkind of ironic. whe I was in 10th grade my foster brother was reading ot as aassigned fro 8th grade and he said it was better than he thought since he usually prefered fantasy but I am really into scifi so he loaned his copy to me for a night while i was borred, and as they asay the rest is history=, but the ironic part is that whenb I loved kit it made him like it less, i kept trying to get him to read speaker but he refused and finally sai d I had ruined OSc forhim. Lesson learned, dont harp on a subject if a freind is obviously not as interested as you .
Posted by NeverAnon (Member # 12279) on :
I remember the first time I clapped eye on EG. I was at my soon-to-be-brother-in-law's parents' house. His and my family were having a final "Are they really getting married?" dinner (courtship dating...what can I say?), and I saw his copy of EG sitting on the coffee table. The title took me in right away. I assumed "Ender" was a noun, so I thought it implied "An Ender's Game". I went home that night thinking of Enders. What do they End? It seemed a little too cliche for an "Ender" to be an assassin, but that was my first thought. Then I thought maybe it was some all-encompassing figure, such as "THE Ender." But if that's the case, what in the world is the "Ender's GAME"? I was taken in. (Is there a way to re-arrange that sentence so it doesn't end in a preposition? Maybe 'In I was taken,' or maybe 'I was taken in...wards.') The book's cover struck me as being odd. There was a lack of phaser-wielding heroes and scantily-clad maidens being chased by robots. There were no explosions! Not even a single TENTACLE!! Instead there was something simple about a single ship over a space station, something very dark about the whole picture that really jived with the word Ender. I had to read this book. On my next day off I went down to Barnes & Noble, snagged a copy of EG from the shelf, and took it to the cafe. I read it all in a few hours, then spent another half hour staring into space over cookie crumbs and some lukewarm dribblings of frappucino. EG is probably the only book that left me with actual tears in my eyes when it was finished. I'm not quite sure what it is about EG that causes epiphanies for so many people. I know I had one. I wouldn't say it was a "religious" experience, but it came pretty close. It was much like standing under the great Redwoods as a child and looking up through the most colossal trees I had ever seen. I felt like I had just learned something usable, and after having read much Juvy-fantasy like Brian Jacques and Lloyd Alexander it was certainly a new experience. I went on to read everything else by OSC B&N had on their shelves, starting with SftD. I have re-read EG a few times, and recommend it to all those who ask me for book recommendations.
Wow. Wall of Text. And, as a side note, I'm a new user here and this is my first post.
Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :
Welcome to Hatrack! You're wrong! (since Ender is obviously a pronoun) Great story about finding Ender's Game, I hope you like the forums here and it's always fun having new members.
PS. Wallbash is a pretty cool gremlin.
Posted by LockeDemosthenes (Member # 11762) on :
I actually began reading it when I took it off of my shop/computer teacher's desk. I began reading it based on his recommendation. Since then, I have read every Ender related book (except Shadows in Flight, if it's even out). Most of the other books he's written I've read (Wives of the Patriarchs, Magic Street, Empire) and I've held hour long discussions with my dad about philotes and the true matter of the soul, all based on EG and subsequent books.
Posted by LockeDemosthenes (Member # 11762) on :
quote: Very interesting. I'm kind of the opposite; I'm almost a compulsive reader. I almost always carry a book with me, but if I happen not to have one I'll make do with whatever is at hand (cereal box, toilet paper instructions, or whathaveyou). I like audiobooks, but I sometimes find that my mind wanders if I don't have the text to center me, and have to skip back a few minutes to catch what I missed.
I agree. I am just like this.
Posted by AWiggin@hundredworlds.org/voy (Member # 12294) on :
While I do not have as colorful of a story as some, I thought I'd drop a reply anyway.
I remember it distinctly. 8th grade, "spring term" more or less. (The year 2000 or so.) We were all assigned to groups of 4 to 6 and then given a short list of "acceptable" reading material that the group was to vote on. I suppose partly of random chance, we decided on EG and I was floored. (If it matters we passed, as I wrote the report and group speech we were required to give.) Within the 2 weeks allotted I had read the book twice and was on trip number three. For whatever reason, even though I know all the stories, I cannot put the books down once I've started them. And that's not a bad thing in any regards.
Since that fateful assignment I have read every book other then "First Meetings," and Shadows in Flight respectively. (However I cannot wait for it.)
*Sets his two cents on the table and leans back in his chair.*
Posted by August (Member # 12307) on :
In ninth grade, the admissions director at my school handed me her well-worn copy of EG. She told me that it the kind of book that was written for 12 year old boys but could be enjoyed by anybody (I was, at the time, a fourteen year old girl). I have since read it at least five times, and have devoured any OSC book I could get my hands on. I love the Enderverse to death; each book has hit me emotionally and is very precious to me.
Most importantly, EG opened me up to a world of thought and I've gained a reputation for badgering anybody I can about metaphysics.
Posted by Sala (Member # 8980) on :
I read it soon after it was first published because I knew that OSC had gone to BYU and I was attending BYU at the time. I wanted to read a book by an LDS member from the same university I attended. I had already read the short story for the same reason. I was a fan and devotee from that point forward.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Noemon: In one of his audiobook's afterword Orson Scott Card explains that since he started off in college writing plays, when he writes dialogue in his books he actually says them allowed. That is what he means when he says his books are meant to be read allowed because in large part they are written that way.
Posted by Sean Monahan (Member # 9334) on :
quote:Originally posted by Noemon: I almost always carry a book with me, but if I happen not to have one I'll make do with whatever is at hand (cereal box, toilet paper instructions, or whathaveyou).
Wait. Toilet paper comes with instructions?
Posted by Cookie Crisp (Member # 12312) on :
I clearly remember how I was introduced to Ender's Game:
When I was a young teenager I participated in Drum Corps, and part of the experience was sitting on a tour bus driving across various parts of the US and Canada. I read like print is going out of style, so I ran out of reading material about 1 week into the summer tour. A friend in the corps had purchased an anthology of science fiction short stories. I read the whole anthology in a day or two, but the only story that "stuck" with me was Ender's Game. Fortunately a footnote to the story indicated that a novel version was available.
Several years pass by, and the sieve that is my memory did not let go of Ender's Game. When searching for a book to take on a train ride I stumbled upon a copy of EG at the bookstore, so I bought it. (And bought the rest of the series at the other end of the train ride...).
It's one of my favourite books (although I honestly prefer Ender's Shadow).
Posted by tngcas (Member # 12316) on :
I'm probably one of the few people who was blessed to be introduced to most of OSC books via audio book. My local library had suddenly begun offering audiobooks that you could download and listen to on an mp3 player, Enders Game was the first book I downloaded.
I was spending the summer working on a horse training ranch and I spent countless hours listening to audio books while I cleaned stalls and rode horses on the National Grasslands. The audio books were a lifesaver, I was 15 miles from the nearest town living with folks who thought that books were a waste of time.
I fell in love with audio books and with OSC that summer, the books are so very well read. I have a severe hearing disability and never once did I miss any of the story.
I love how he talks about the stories and what led him to write them, it's inspiring that he takes the time to share with his readers. I find myself wanting to write down a few of the stories that come to mind, just to see if perhaps, through some twist of fate I might someday approach his skill.
Posted by Kethry (Member # 12320) on :
I read Speaker for the Dead first. I was in college and all that I could afford to buy then were second hand books. I bought a battered Speaker for the Dead for around USD.50 -- Of course that led me to Ender's Game and to the rest of the Ender series and Alvin Maker. That old Speaker book is still with me 15 years later, it's falling apart, held together with glue, tape and love.
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