Great books in the wrong hands

[KungFuMaster]

Something a little left field, "Starship Troopers" in the hand of the douche who made the movie. It was like he read the first chapter and built the movie from that.

Fuck me, Robert A. Heinlein FTW!

I totally agree, and on personal note, my LT when I was active duty in the Army was an extra in that piece of cow dung.

Curiosity leads me to ask what other Heinlein have you read?

Hmm, on the shelf atm I have: Rocket Ship Galileo, Red Planet, Starship Troopers, The Number of the Beast, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Citizen of the Galaxy.

Stranger In A Strange Land is probably the best book he ever wrote, and quite possibly one of the best books ever written, period...especially if you have the unabridged edition. A couple of those titles are technically considered "Young Adult" reading, but still, nice collection. If I may, I also recommend I Will Fear No Evil, Friday, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistresss, The Puppet Masters (which "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was based off of, and referenced in "The Faculty"), Methuselah's Children, Time Enough For Love and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (both of which deal with Lazarus Long and should be read in that order) . A couple of those are also considered "Young Adult", like Methuselah's Children, but still great fucking reads. Who else do you like for sci-fi?

 

[Chiasm]

I think the best example is Nietzsche's work and Hitler. I'm too sleepy now to explain exactly. Just watch Ricky Gervais' show about politics and there'll be a reference.

Definitely, Nietzsche's sister was a complete travesty to his name. The worst part is Nietzsche never even knew what happened to his works.

 

[Alex_P]

It is like all the Islamic radicals used a Sharpie to cross out the things they don't like and rewrite whole verses the way they want them. Pretty much ALL of their beliefs and actions are either not actually from the Koran, are twisted to mean something they aren't supposed to, or are completely ass backwards opposite of what the Koran says. I serious wonder if any of these Islamic terrorist groups actually read the Koran sometimes...

Yeah. That's how fringe Christian groups work, too (I'm not just talking cults -- I'm talking about groups with political clout and legitimacy). And most of them claim it's all based on a "literal" reading of the Bible. Their whole evasive, dogmatic belief system is based on Rapture fanfiction, pretty much.

-- Alex

 

[Gitsnik]

Stranger In A Strange Land is probably the best book he ever wrote, and quite possibly one of the best books ever written, period...especially if you have the unabridged edition. A couple of those titles are technically considered "Young Adult" reading, but still, nice collection. If I may, I also recommend I Will Fear No Evil, Friday, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistresss, The Puppet Masters (which "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was based off of, and referenced in "The Faculty"), Methuselah's Children, Time Enough For Love and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (both of which deal with Lazarus Long and should be read in that order) . A couple of those are also considered "Young Adult", like Methuselah's Children, but still great fucking reads. Who else do you like for sci-fi?

Noted, most of mine are his early works - gifts from an insightful uncle. Not so much Sci-Fi as just anything that is a good read. My collection ranges from H.P. Lovecraft (currently re-reading old faithful, The Call of Cthulhu) to Heinlein to Orwell to Tolkein to C.S. Lewis to Douglas Adams and through to more swords and sorcery stuff like wizards of the coast materials and the wheel of time.

Some truly great adaptations of books to movies (to go against thread topic) include The Silence of the Lambs. Except the strange noise Lecter makes with his mouth after mentioning the Fava beans and the Census Taker that movie is, as far as I'm concerned, as close to a perfect replication as anyone has got. Not even the famous LoTR movies did that (damnit I wanted to see Tom B!)

 

[KungFuMaster]

Stranger In A Strange Land is probably the best book he ever wrote, and quite possibly one of the best books ever written, period...especially if you have the unabridged edition. A couple of those titles are technically considered "Young Adult" reading, but still, nice collection. If I may, I also recommend I Will Fear No Evil, Friday, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistresss, The Puppet Masters (which "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" was based off of, and referenced in "The Faculty"), Methuselah's Children, Time Enough For Love and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (both of which deal with Lazarus Long and should be read in that order) . A couple of those are also considered "Young Adult", like Methuselah's Children, but still great fucking reads. Who else do you like for sci-fi?

Noted, most of mine are his early works - gifts from an insightful uncle. Not so much Sci-Fi as just anything that is a good read. My collection ranges from H.P. Lovecraft (currently re-reading old faithful, The Call of Cthulhu) to Heinlein to Orwell to Tolkein to C.S. Lewis to Douglas Adams and through to more swords and sorcery stuff like wizards of the coast materials and the wheel of time.

Some truly great adaptations of books to movies (to go against thread topic) include The Silence of the Lambs. Except the strange noise Lecter makes with his mouth after mentioning the Fava beans and the Census Taker that movie is, as far as I'm concerned, as close to a perfect replication as anyone has got. Not even the famous LoTR movies did that (damnit I wanted to see Tom B!)

1. So did I.

2. Sweet Jebus, man, I could actually talk books with you!

1+2=Friended!

 

[Lord George]

My friend somehow used Animal Farm to try and show eating meat and animals was wrong. I eat pepperoni pizza while laughing at her. ahh good times

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Ayn Rand. The books are about an unworkable ideal, much like the Communist Manifesto. Which is also in there.

 

[Foreign Shadow]

Something a little left field, "Starship Troopers" in the hand of the douche who made the movie. It was like he read the first chapter and built the movie from that.

The obvious geeky sort of answer would be the Necronomicon of course.

You're talking about the true necromonicon, by HP lovecraft right?

The Necronomicon was written by Abdul Al-Hazred. I believe there's a copy on Dick Cheney's nightstand.

 

[BurnoutPriest]

"Wheel of Time" in anyone's hands.

Wait, I read the Wheel of Time =/ What's the problem with the series?

Ayn Rand. The books are about an unworkable ideal, much like the Communist Manifesto. Which is also in there.

Are you talking about the societies she portrays or the solutions she gives to the societies?

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Both. Since the societies portrayed are taken from the nightmares of Marx, we must conclude that those societies are fundamentally unworkable. But her proscribed pure-free-market is utter insanity on a macroeconomic level. I sat down with an economics proffessor (a very right-wing one at that) and we both calculated it to be utterly unworkable.

 

[Rock Avich]

One of my classmates went on an Anti-War tangent in a class while we were having a "class discussion" (which is HI-LAR-I-OUS every time) and she used Catch-22 as an example of anti-war books that people should pick up.

...

I was NOT a happy teenager by the end of that rant...

 

[Vorpals]

Being Christian and seeing the worst of my religion, I say the Bible.

Also, Twi-

Oh wait, my last thread got locked because I said it, so nevermind.

On the bright side of things, at least they're reading something.

 

[The Random One]

Something a little left field, "Starship Troopers" in the hand of the douche who made the movie. It was like he read the first chapter and built the movie from that.

The obvious geeky sort of answer would be the Necronomicon of course.

You're talking about the true necromonicon, by HP lovecraft right?

No such thing. Lovecraft never actually wrote the thing, just mentioned it repeatedly.

One of my classmates went on an Anti-War tangent in a class while we were having a "class discussion" (which is HI-LAR-I-OUS every time) and she used Catch-22 as an example of anti-war books that people should pick up.

...

I was NOT a happy teenager by the end of that rant...

Catch-22 is the perfect anti-war book.


Oh, and I'll add Lolita, just because it eclypses everything else Nabokov ever wrote.

 

[sneak_copter]

The Karma Sutra.

I'll let you come up with your own conclusions.