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It's hard to explain Larry Send a noteboard - 17/04/2010 09:42:16 PM
...how anybody can 1) read so many books in such a short period and 2) have a good idea of what it said, wanted to say and did to you emotionally.


I taught myself how to read, so I don't know if I can explain it well, but it's a combination of "hearing" the words being read and yet not as well. More like pictures being recognized and processed at very high speeds, yet with very good levels of comprehension.

I see Larry here doing many books in a row, including his personal challenges that he had posted on this board. Adam Roberts is doing a review of one book almost daily. I see others having a "144 book challenge this year", whereas I was hoping to finish "The Picture of Dorian Grey" before the year is out. (Or before the baby is born, which is basically the same, as I doubt I'll have any MORE time to read after that little moment.)


Depends on average reading speed - I read with very good comprehension at a few hundred pages/hour, but I don't usually read for more than 30 minutes or so at a time before I take some sort of break.

And I take it most of these people actually have jobs next to all this stuff. Or at least need time to sleep. Or post on this website.


Well, the only "jobs" I have at the moment are to read a bunch of stories, choose some for anthology consideration, something else related to that which isn't of interest to most, and writing reviews, so I guess I have a bit more time than usual right now for reading/re-reading

I mean, I've got a bit of a reputation of always reading, but I'm glad to finish a book in a month. I've tried speed reading, mostly for my work, but that really doesn't pay off as much as I'd hoped. Especially the way that content is retained by me. Plus I find that literature at high speeds tend to bypass the emotional part of my brain that just needs time between "registering", "processing" and "feeling".


And yet some, like myself, can do this. People process things differently, I guess.

Part of why I'm asking, is that one of the major gripes of both Larry and Roberts (besides the prose apparently) is the AMOUNT of story that's been tried to push in there. To those with a critique of WOT, it's just too much information, with too many characters and overly detailed descriptions. To me, it's a large puzzle, with more and more strings and clues and hints. It has a huge scope that needs time to think about, that can be discussed, taken apart and put back together again. I can understand that if you don't take the time, you can never appreciate something like that.


I'd say it's more a case where the information provided does not fit well within the narrative structure of the novel(s) to date. I'm currently about 1/5 into The Great Hunt (will finish tonight, probably) and the ways the characters keep repeating what in scene would be obvious to other characters becomes grating after a while; repeating established information multiple times, although it may eventually build some sort of resonance with several types of readers, is a very maladroit way of introducing information and allowing the reader to process it. Gene Wolfe goes perhaps too far in the opposite direction at times for others, but I find that style to be more befitting of the times in which certain "mysteries" are meant to be held. There are few relative "mysteries" within the text of these novels; foreshadowing has been done quite baldly, sometimes to the detriment of the stories to come.

In other words, the narrative tension has been deflated at some odd junctures, leaving readers more to speculate about "prophetic" comments than about possible future character development.

It's like taking the TGV from Paris to Nice, getting out at the station near the Mediterranian and then complaining that the French countryside really wasn't the rustic, romantic place everybody took it for.


I believe I'm quite a bit more aware of what's transpiring in this series than this quip would make you think I am

Still: good luck Larry and I look forward to your reviews. Just as I'm enjoying Robert's review. (But not as much as Jennifer Leigh's chapter-by-chapter reread )


Next one will probably be posted here sometime tomorrow. Dune Messiah one will be later tonight.
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie

Je suis méchant.
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Re-reading WoT Ten Years Later Larry - 16/04/2010 06:07:40 AM 2971 Views
The Eye of the World (1997-2000, 2010 reads) Larry - 16/04/2010 06:08:54 AM 1464 Views
Ah, jumping on Roberts' bandwagon... Etzel - 16/04/2010 09:17:08 AM 1186 Views
Larry - 16/04/2010 03:32:41 PM 1116 Views
Re: The Eye of the World (1997-2000, 2010 reads) HyogaRott - 16/04/2010 06:29:53 PM 1174 Views
I think you misrepresent me Larry - 16/04/2010 11:15:34 PM 1069 Views
Re: I think you misrepresent me HyogaRott - 17/04/2010 02:56:53 PM 1088 Views
Re: I think you misrepresent me Larry - 17/04/2010 09:45:25 PM 1044 Views
Re: I think you misrepresent me HyogaRott - 17/04/2010 10:59:20 PM 1189 Views
MA in History? Is there a more useless degree? Dark Knight - 16/04/2010 09:56:36 PM 1080 Views
PhD or MA in Classics RugbyPlayingAshaman - 16/04/2010 10:15:51 PM 1006 Views
Yes, whatever degree you have/are studying for Larry - 16/04/2010 11:12:55 PM 1068 Views
MBA. Sorry Dark Knight - 17/04/2010 04:38:03 AM 1060 Views
There's lots of jokes about MBAs, unfortunately Larry - 17/04/2010 09:46:28 PM 1053 Views
Interestingly, I disliked EotW because of its 'youth appeal' Yondaime - 17/04/2010 12:33:55 AM 1140 Views
Funny how takes can change, huh? Larry - 17/04/2010 12:55:05 AM 1159 Views
Funny, I started my own first-ever reread not long ago. Liam - 17/04/2010 02:16:35 AM 1098 Views
Must be something in the water, no? Larry - 17/04/2010 02:28:23 AM 1137 Views
Gah! Larry - 18/04/2010 12:30:17 PM 1026 Views
I thought you meant it! fionwe1987 - 18/04/2010 05:29:55 PM 1136 Views
Pfft! Larry - 18/04/2010 08:11:36 PM 1025 Views
I'm glad I didn't start with EotW RugbyPlayingAshaman - 19/04/2010 04:16:03 PM 998 Views
Seems Tor is now tweeting about this commentary Larry - 19/04/2010 06:31:39 PM 1214 Views
Re: Re-reading WoT Ten Years Later Evil_Monkey - 16/04/2010 06:26:51 PM 1128 Views
It'll be interesting to see if I hit a "wall" Larry - 16/04/2010 11:13:55 PM 1037 Views
Aww... Fanatic-Templar - 16/04/2010 07:58:27 PM 1144 Views
That's next month or June Larry - 16/04/2010 11:12:02 PM 1001 Views
Be sure to send me a noteboard then . Fanatic-Templar - 17/04/2010 03:45:46 AM 1015 Views
Oh, I'd post it at this site as well, perhaps Larry - 17/04/2010 03:51:19 AM 962 Views
Yeah, but I only lurk in the OF when I'm interested in getting new books... Fanatic-Templar - 17/04/2010 04:00:14 AM 980 Views
Ah Larry - 17/04/2010 09:47:37 PM 990 Views
Malazan 9 is out? Fanatic-Templar - 17/04/2010 09:58:23 PM 842 Views
Been out for several months Larry - 17/04/2010 10:24:15 PM 956 Views
Can anybody please explain to me Artsapat - 17/04/2010 08:45:18 PM 1197 Views
It's hard to explain Larry - 17/04/2010 09:42:16 PM 1215 Views
was thinking the same thing *NM* AgentOrange - 18/04/2010 03:59:36 PM 654 Views
Re: Can anybody please explain to me RugbyPlayingAshaman - 19/04/2010 04:17:39 PM 870 Views
The more posts from this larry guy I read, the more I think......... Insomdeon - 18/04/2010 08:56:34 AM 1165 Views
Interesting metatextual analysis there Larry - 18/04/2010 09:47:43 AM 1187 Views
Nice, but in the future... AgentOrange - 18/04/2010 04:04:07 PM 1051 Views
I know... Larry - 18/04/2010 08:11:18 PM 1013 Views
If you don't like WoT....Don't read it perringoldeneyes - 19/04/2010 12:36:06 AM 977 Views
Aren't you being a bit presumptuous there? Larry - 19/04/2010 12:53:00 AM 1401 Views
... Fanatic-Templar - 19/04/2010 12:59:33 AM 1159 Views
Re: ... perringoldeneyes - 21/04/2010 03:41:08 AM 1133 Views
Re: The more posts from this larry guy I read, the more I think......... Cal Trask - 18/04/2010 10:26:12 AM 1173 Views
I am disappoint Yondaime - 19/04/2010 01:17:20 AM 1157 Views
Larry - 19/04/2010 01:24:29 AM 1022 Views
Who the hell are you? What the hell are you doing here? callandor1000 - 19/04/2010 06:48:56 PM 1162 Views
Oh crap, a troll! Kronin al'Sulc - 02/05/2010 08:53:36 PM 986 Views
The Great Hunt (1997-2000, 2010 reads) Larry - 19/04/2010 09:22:40 AM 1155 Views
I guess I'm just weird. Yondaime - 19/04/2010 06:44:59 PM 1238 Views
If anything, I suspect my reaction is the minority one Larry - 19/04/2010 09:20:25 PM 1146 Views
It's interesting you thought this about The Great Hunt. Tom - 19/04/2010 07:06:57 PM 968 Views
Yeah, I almost gave up this series after The Eye of the World too. *NM* Fanatic-Templar - 19/04/2010 08:38:25 PM 588 Views
My actual introduction to the series was A Crown of Swords Larry - 19/04/2010 09:26:19 PM 1108 Views
By the way... Fanatic-Templar - 19/04/2010 09:44:59 PM 897 Views
Ah, that. Larry - 19/04/2010 09:53:02 PM 961 Views
My experience has been different: Narg - 19/04/2010 09:04:27 PM 1089 Views
That may indeed be the case Larry - 19/04/2010 09:27:36 PM 1272 Views
The Dragon Reborn (1997-2000 reads; 2010 re-read) Larry - 22/04/2010 08:49:23 AM 1252 Views
The Shadow Rising (1997-2000 initial reads; 2010 re-read) Larry - 25/04/2010 06:41:08 AM 1095 Views
The Fires of Heaven (1997-2000 initial reads; 2010 re-read) Larry - 28/04/2010 08:47:14 AM 1050 Views
Lord of Chaos (1997-2000 initial reads; 2010 re-read) Larry - 30/04/2010 01:33:37 PM 1273 Views
A Crown of Swords (1997-2000 initial reads; 2010 re-read) Larry - 02/05/2010 03:30:39 PM 1178 Views
The Path of Daggers (1998-2000 reads; 2010 re-read) Larry - 04/05/2010 03:20:12 PM 942 Views
Winter's Heart (2000 initial read; 2010 re-read) Larry - 07/05/2010 01:35:13 PM 945 Views
Re: Winter's Heart (2000 initial read; 2010 re-read) Cal Trask - 08/05/2010 09:43:31 AM 1056 Views
But I must Larry - 08/05/2010 09:59:42 AM 883 Views
Re: But I must Cal Trask - 08/05/2010 02:57:03 PM 950 Views
I just think of bath porn Larry - 08/05/2010 03:12:29 PM 1148 Views
Crossroads of Twilight (2006 initial read; 2010 re-read) Larry - 10/05/2010 02:00:06 PM 1047 Views
Knife of Dreams (2009 initial read; 2010 re-read) Larry - 13/05/2010 03:27:53 PM 1201 Views
New Spring (1997 read (novella); 2010 read (novel)) Larry - 14/05/2010 07:39:40 AM 1131 Views
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