CalvinHobbes Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 The winner of the book club book is Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson!http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-ebook/dp/B000FBJCJE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375098251&sr=8-1&keywords=snow+crashGeneral rules:1) Respect others opinions. Just because one person likes/doesn't like the book doesn't mean everyone has the same ideas 2) If you are posting a spoiler, make sure you do a "spoiler alert!" If possible, include what chapter you're at, so people can read it if they are past that point. Example: SPOILER!..........continue writing down here so no one accidentally reads this part 3) .....I guess that's it! Enjoy! Quote Link to comment
kindling Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 I am super excited Snow Crash was the "winner"! It looks really interesting, and I'm picking up my copy this afternoon! House of Leaves is something I've owned for a very, very long time, and have never got around to reading. I don't do well with scary/creepy things, because my imagination is just TOO. GOOD. But it's definitely something I want to read at some point, but I don't know that I could do it within a 6-week timeframe...I think I'd have to switch on and off with something fluffy Quote kindling, Level 1 HumanStarting Zone"I want my body to physically reflect what I know myself to be." ~ misugrrl Link to comment
iatetheyeti Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 Going to have to raid the library to see if they have a copy. I've wanted to read Snow Crash for a while, and this definitely constitutes a good excuse! Quote "The old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring." Yeti on Flickr - Facebook - Instagram Link to comment
Incantor Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 I love this book, I've read it several times and am really looking forward to reading it again for the discussion. This is one of the more accessible of Stephenson's novels. The ride starts immediately, no long cerebral buildup, just 1-2-3-GO! I pulled my copy off the shelf and am dismayed to find the pages are yellowed and brittle! Just the excuse I needed to buy it for my Kindle, tee-hee. Quote Level 3 High Elf Enchanter in Half-Orc Illusion RAWR! STR 2.5 : DEX 2 : STA 2 : CON 2.5 : WIS 5 : CHA 3.5First Challenge Second Challenge Current Challenge Link to comment
kindling Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 ...The ride starts immediately, no long cerebral buildup, just 1-2-3-GO!... RIGHT? I'm not familiar with any of his works, so this is acting as a fantastic introduction. I'm through Chapter 3, and I don't think I've ever vascillated so much between "OMG THIS IS THE MOST GENIUS THING EVER" to "Well, this is absurd to the point of stupidity" and back again SO FAST and SO OFTEN. I'm delighted to say that so far, I'm mostly on the side of GENIUS Quote kindling, Level 1 HumanStarting Zone"I want my body to physically reflect what I know myself to be." ~ misugrrl Link to comment
Incantor Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Keep in mind that there is a huge element of satire at work here, it's not meant to be fully or even mostly serious. Also, this work has a unique voice. Really that is true of each of his novels - other than the Baroque Cycle which is intended to be a series, each novel has it's own unique voice. Although there are certainly "Stephensonisms" that you can detect in each novel. For instance, he's obsessed with bread and specifically with bread-making, and this is expressed in different ways in his various novels, including Snow Crash. Quote Level 3 High Elf Enchanter in Half-Orc Illusion RAWR! STR 2.5 : DEX 2 : STA 2 : CON 2.5 : WIS 5 : CHA 3.5First Challenge Second Challenge Current Challenge Link to comment
Meta Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 I read the first chapter last night before bed and discovered that SNOW CRASH is so much more absurd than CRYPTONOMICRON (the other book that I've read by Stephenson) that it's not even a contest to compare the two. I left the chapter scratching my head. However, I can see where he's going with it, so I'm not disappointed: just confused. One thing that wasn't present, in the first chapter at least, is the ridiculously involved explanations of things. I assumed that would be there, since that's what I take as Stephenson's voice a la Cryptonomicron. Looking forward to chapter 2 and beyond and hoping for some of that! Quote Level 1 Human Onion KnightStr 1, Dex 0, Sta 3, Con 2, Wis 3, Cha 1Threads: Introduction | Challenge | The BrigadeOther Sites: Fitocracy | MyFitnessPal Link to comment
Incantor Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 Cryptonomicon is written in its own "voice", no other Stephenson book reads like it. Snow Crash was one of his first novels, and the complicated description thing is present in some areas but it is not as developed as in his later novels. Diamond Age is the next closest as far as style goes, but that one is a good deal more formalized than Snow Crash which is written in a unique strange cynical slang. He likes to play with words. The complicated description thing definitely is a "Stephensonism" and is present once you get into the meat of the plot, but it never becomes as extreme as it is in Cryptonomicon. If you like that sort of thing, and I certainly do, you'd probably enjoy the Baroque Cycle, which is like an extremely complicated longwinded prequel to Cryptonomicon set in the 17th/18th century, primarily in England but truly all over the world. It features lots of little references to Cryptonomicon and many of the main characters are ancestors of the characters in that book. And he wrote the entire thing BY HAND with a freaking fountain pen. Quote Level 3 High Elf Enchanter in Half-Orc Illusion RAWR! STR 2.5 : DEX 2 : STA 2 : CON 2.5 : WIS 5 : CHA 3.5First Challenge Second Challenge Current Challenge Link to comment
Meta Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 And he wrote the entire thing BY HAND with a freaking fountain pen.Now that's dedication! I've had the Baroque Cycle on the list since I read Cryptonomicron, I just haven't made it back. Thanks for the information! Quote Level 1 Human Onion KnightStr 1, Dex 0, Sta 3, Con 2, Wis 3, Cha 1Threads: Introduction | Challenge | The BrigadeOther Sites: Fitocracy | MyFitnessPal Link to comment
bananandrea Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Just dropped it onto my Kindle! Excited for this. Quote Make today your someday~~~"It's a lifestyle - train like there's no finish line~~~"I hated every minute of training, but I said, don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life a champion." - Muhammad Ali, Boxer~~~"There is nothing we cannot live down, rise above, and overcome." - Ella Wheeler Wilcox Link to comment
Mindtricks Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 This looks really interesting, definitely going to give it a go on my holiday this summer! Quote rebel in training | eating clean | training mean | getting lean "The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem" Captain Jack Sparrow Link to comment
SeeingRed Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 I just finished the book last night and I loved it. The very beginning of the book confused me with all the weirdness at first though. Quote Lvl-2 Human AssassinSTR-5 DEX-3 STA-4 CON-4 WIS-2 CHA-2 The greatest pleasure in life is in doing what people say you cannot do. -Walter Bagehot The Challenge! Link to comment
ApfelStrudi Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 I just bought the test version aka the first few pages so I can have a read and see if I like it. But it looks very promising from all your reviews and those on amazon, so I'm hopeful. I really need a new awesome book to read, too. I keep re-reading those I have or downloading the free ones on amazon and those usually make me so angry (because of all the mistakes in there!) that I have to stop reading before I can finish them. Quote Just trying to get back on my feet. apfelstrudi learns to outrun shamblers | Instagram challenge Link to comment
laurabzz Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 I'm 100 pages into the book and I agree that the beginning is quite confusing at first. I enjoy reading it though Quote Level 3 Adventurer.Current challenge: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/54178-laurabzz-sugar-free-adventure-time/Instagram: http://instagram.com/squeelaura Link to comment
Incantor Posted August 16, 2013 Report Share Posted August 16, 2013 I finished my re-read of this and again really enjoyed it. I hear they are working on adapting this to a movie, and of all Stephenson's books, I think this will make the best movie as it is relatively straightforward. Although I suspect they will leave out or gloss over the bits on Mesopotamian history and focus more on the Metaverse, swordfighting, skateboarding, franchising, etc. Quote Level 3 High Elf Enchanter in Half-Orc Illusion RAWR! STR 2.5 : DEX 2 : STA 2 : CON 2.5 : WIS 5 : CHA 3.5First Challenge Second Challenge Current Challenge Link to comment
laurabzz Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 I finished my re-read of this and again really enjoyed it. I hear they are working on adapting this to a movie, and of all Stephenson's books, I think this will make the best movie as it is relatively straightforward. Although I suspect they will leave out or gloss over the bits on Mesopotamian history and focus more on the Metaverse, swordfighting, skateboarding, franchising, etc. Actually all the time while I'm reading the book, I keep thinking how it would be possible to adapt it to the movie. Will be interesting to see how that goes for them Quote Level 3 Adventurer.Current challenge: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/54178-laurabzz-sugar-free-adventure-time/Instagram: http://instagram.com/squeelaura Link to comment
Mad Hatter Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 Just got the book Quote Link to comment
Meta Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 ... Although I suspect they will leave out or gloss over the bits on Mesopotamian history ...But those are the most interesting parts! Quote Level 1 Human Onion KnightStr 1, Dex 0, Sta 3, Con 2, Wis 3, Cha 1Threads: Introduction | Challenge | The BrigadeOther Sites: Fitocracy | MyFitnessPal Link to comment
laurabzz Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 Finished the book some time ago but forgot to post my thoughts I must admit, I only started really enjoying the book from the page 300. It was okay before but I just couldn't get into it. Then it got rather interesting. I've never read anything similar genre-wise so I can't compare it to anything, however I really enjoying reading 'something different' from my usual types of books. Also, I loved the epithets in the book. I can't remember any right now, but the author really knows how to write. Whole book has many amazing quotes. This had me laughing: “He turns off the techno-shit in his goggles. All it does is confuse him; he stands there reading statistics about his own death even as it's happening to him. Very post-modern.†Quote Level 3 Adventurer.Current challenge: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/54178-laurabzz-sugar-free-adventure-time/Instagram: http://instagram.com/squeelaura Link to comment
DELETED Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 i cheated a little and listened to the book rather than read - makes the work day go so much faster. (except when your boss repeatedly rings you during an exciting part... that's rather annoying.) i enjoyed it. like laurabzz, i haven't read anything else in the genre, so i can't compare much. but i might pick up another book by the author. i have a crush on Raven... i'm not sure what that says about me... i'm not sure i WANT TO KNOW what that says about me... i'm not sure if this would be considered a spoiler... i was a tad disappointed by the end... so much just sort of left hanging in my opinion. i am emotionally invested in these people - i need to know exactly what happens to them! Quote this person really wants to delete their account but can't because it's not allowed. Link to comment
Meta Posted August 28, 2013 Report Share Posted August 28, 2013 Finished the book this morning. All in all, I enjoyed it but I felt that the author's choice to "eliminate the boring bits" flubbed the ending a little bit. There is no denouement, so like upirygirl I felt that a lot of stuff was unresolved. Spoiler below ... I wish there were more viewpoints for Uncle Enzo - that was a really interesting chapter! Quote Level 1 Human Onion KnightStr 1, Dex 0, Sta 3, Con 2, Wis 3, Cha 1Threads: Introduction | Challenge | The BrigadeOther Sites: Fitocracy | MyFitnessPal Link to comment
katkiv Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Seeing that Snow Crash was selected is one of the major things that drew me to Nerd Fitness. No lie.I am a huge huge Neal Stephenson fan. Each of his works is fantastic in its own way, and each is quite different as well. For someone new to him Snow Crash is a good place to start. It has been a long time since I have first read SC, but I have come to appreciate it more and more with each reread. Stephenson is a very deliberate author, and you pick up more of that as you read his works. Is it weird and quirky? Yes. Is it intelligent? Very. It is a book best enjoyed if you can suspend some disbelief and enjoy the ride.For those that enjoyed SC and are looking for more by Neal Stephenson I would next recommend Reamde, Cryptonomicon, and Anathem (easily my favorite book of his/ever). The Baroque Cycle is epic but is slow to start. When I say slow I mean like 800 pages slow, but the meat of it is so worth it. Diamond Age is perhaps the strangest of his books, so if Snow Crash threw you for a loop I would proceed with caution Quote "If A is success in life, then A = x + y + z. Work is x, play is y and z is keeping your mouth shut." -Albert Einstein "So once you know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." -The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Link to comment
Incantor Posted September 3, 2013 Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 Anathem (easily my favorite book of his/ever). Woot! You are officially my favorite fellow Stephenson fan. I have been trying for YEARS to get people I know to read Anathem, no one has the patience to get past the first few chapters and they just completely miss the point. Sigh. Re: the ending of Snow Crash - this is one of those things that people tend to dislike about Stephenson but in some ways it is part of his style. There is rarely a neat wrap-up, just an understanding that the tale has ended and life goes on for the characters. I personally find most "wrap up every loose thread" type endings to be somewhat boring so this works for me. Remember the end of the Lord of the Rings movies, where it had an ending nested inside an ending nested inside another ending, and everyone in the theatre kept trying to leave and then having to sit back down? His endings are generally the polar opposite of that. Anathem is actually one of the only ones with a conventionally satisfying ending, but you have to really be willing to invest a lot of intellectual and emotional energy into it in order to get to the payoff. It has an extremely slow, cerebral lead-in that eventually peaks in a really jaw dropping way. Literally jaw-dropping. There is a certain part in the book when I got full body goosebumps, gasped out loud, and then read like a maniac for the rest of the way, even though my eyes hurt from the strain and I got a terrible headache. I just had to know! Since then I've re-read it multiple times and still get that same feeling in the same spot and just can't put it down. Even though now I already know! Ah, it's pure genius. I don't really agree that Diamond Age is the strangest of his books - I reserve that honor for The Big U which is very,very weird. I only recommend it to true fans (completionists) or people who love live action role playing. Quote Level 3 High Elf Enchanter in Half-Orc Illusion RAWR! STR 2.5 : DEX 2 : STA 2 : CON 2.5 : WIS 5 : CHA 3.5First Challenge Second Challenge Current Challenge Link to comment
Mad Hatter Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 Finally got around to finishing the book! And... ...I loved it, the writing was clever and funny and the story was cool. I actually didn't find it absurd at all, but maybe my mind works on a different level haha. But even though I liked both the writing and the story, I still found it oddly difficult to get into. It felt like he broke up the action bits and the thinking bits so it didn't have the sucked-in-effect. Which is why it took so long to finish it, normally I read books in as few sittings as possible. When it comes to the ending though, I'm with Incantor, I like the lack of waffling. I will definitely look into some more of his books, thanks for the recommendations! Quote Link to comment
Sulinar Posted September 9, 2013 Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 I recently listened to Snow Crash on Audible, and it was... OK. I actually really enjoyed the first bit that people seemed to find confusing, and found that it got a bit dull and even a bit silly later on, and the ending was very unmemorable. But I can forgive this particular writer a great deal, as he wrote the fabulous REAMDE. If you enjoyed Snow Crash, that one will be a huge treat. A completely believable world that's almost this one but not quite, and that you want really desperately to be part of. I had that on Audible too, and apart from a woeful Scottish accent at one point it's extremely well read, and something like 35 hours long so well worth a go. The kind of book that makes you witter on at people who really don't care about how wonderful it was (rather like this in fact). Actually describing it has made me remember that I enjoyed it so much that I think I'm going to listen to it again! Quote Half-Elf Bard, Level 6 Ranger. (Or possibly a Druid?) We're not aiming for perfection, just progress. Battle log: Sulinar's challenging 2017 Link to comment
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