July 24, 2009 at 6:42 am
Paul White (7/23/2009)
jcrawf02 (7/23/2009)
I was looking for a rotary dial phone a while ago as a nostalgia item, and couldn't find any. They have lots that *look* like rotary, but have push buttons instead.
Hmm, thanks Paul. Wonder how much shipping would be from NZ
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
July 24, 2009 at 6:50 am
jcrawf02 (7/24/2009)
Hmm, thanks Paul. Wonder how much shipping would be from NZ
:laugh: Possibly enough so it would be cheaper for you to collect it :laugh:
I am told that other auction sites are available, though I have no idea what they might be called, or where you would look to find out 😉
Paul White
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July 24, 2009 at 9:28 am
Luke L (7/23/2009)
and eventually found my way onto old King (not the newer crap he's been pushing out)
I hear ya on that one. I loved Christine and his short stories in The Night Shift where pretty neat, weird, but neat. But then, after his popularity picked up, his editors stopped doing their job because they either didn't care (ah... his books will sell... why bother...) or were scared (oh my god... the public loves him... I better not change anything!) and the quality of his books went down the drain. The Tommyknockers needed an editor to axe it down to the size of a novella, not a 600+ page book.
While some of his stuff is good, I wouldn't recommend it for a youngster. An older teenager, sure. And, you have to pick the stuff that is scary, not the stuff written to just gross people out. King admits that while he tries to write stuff that is scary, if he doesn't hit that, he goes for gross.
Oh, and personally, I woudn't recommend his gunslinger series. I coudln't make heads or tales out of the story, never knew if someone was coming or going or where I was in the storyline. Some people might like that, but it wasn't for me.
-- Kit
July 24, 2009 at 9:32 am
I think I'd agree on Mr King. I loved him in high school/college, but wouldn't give that to my son until that age. I also think about the time he got into movies, and the gunslinger (I didn't like that either), the focus and quality changed. Or maybe I matured, hard to tell.
In any case, I read the Buick novel, tried one more, but didn't like them. Bag of Bones is, I think, my favorite, though the Stand, It, Misery are up there. If you get the chance, "On Writing" is a fantastic book about the craft.
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July 24, 2009 at 9:44 am
I loved King's earlier stuff and I loved the Gunslinger series (actually it's called The Dark Tower) until the ending. The way he ended it really sucked. My favorite King book was The Talisman co-written by Peter Straub. The Stand and IT were probably the next 2 I liked. The Eyes of the Dragon was the kids/teen book he wrote, it was pretty good.
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July 24, 2009 at 9:48 am
Jack Corbett (7/24/2009)
I loved King's earlier stuff and I loved the Gunslinger series (actually it's called The Dark Tower) until the ending. The way he ended it really sucked. My favorite King book was The Talisman co-written by Peter Straub. The Stand and IT were probably the next 2 I liked. The Eyes of the Dragon was the kids/teen book he wrote, it was pretty good.
I remember the Eyes of the Dragon, it was as surprisingly good story. Fantasy without too much Abracadabara (almost more like a medieval crime story). A little dark for the young'uns though, probably better for 15+.
On a side note, isn't there a certain character in Eyes of the Dragon who is also in the Dark Tower series? Won't mention his name (and I haven't read the Dark Tower series) but that sounded intriguing.
Gaby
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July 24, 2009 at 9:56 am
On King: I loved the last four books of the Dark Tower, even the "optional" last chapter. I also thoroughly enjoyed Duma Key, although it's more about the creative process and friendship than about horror. "Buick 8" didn't grab me though.
For younger readers, Ebay a copy of "The Mad Scientists Club".
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July 24, 2009 at 10:17 am
The Mad Scientist Club, fantastic! I had those books and forgot. Will be checking to see if the local library has them for my kids! Another good kids series is The Great Brain by John D. Fiztegerald, I loved them and my 2 oldest kids love them (10 and 8).
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July 24, 2009 at 10:26 am
Just consulted my 13 year old son, an avid reader (actually all three of my children are avid readers, they go through books quicker than I get to change underwear :w00t:), so he came up with the following list of fantasy books he thinks are good to read and not too difficult for an 11 year old:
Eoin Colfer: Artemis Fowl and Half Moon Investigations
Paul Stewart: Edge Chronicles (start with The Curse of the Gloamglizer)
Anthony Horowitz: Storm Breaker and Ravens Gate
Val Tyler: The Time Wreccas
Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Apprentice
What amazes me a bit is that the name of Jules Verne hasn't surfaced yet. Isn't he too popular in the Anglo Saxon World coz he was a Frog :-)? His books may be a bit dated, but I tore through those when I was somewhere between 12 and 14. Didn't particularly like "Around the World in 80 Days", and Jacky Chan as a parody of a Chinese as Passepartout didn't convince me otherwise. But books like "From the Earth to the Moon", "Voyage to the Centre of the Earth" (I think it was called), and especially "Twentythousand Leagues Under the Sea" (where the first nuclear sub in the US Navy got its name from) and "The Mysterious Island", those were fabulous. Kept me reading many a night underneath the blanket with a torch so mom wouldn't notice.
July 24, 2009 at 10:29 am
Jack Corbett (7/24/2009)
The Mad Scientist Club, fantastic! I had those books and forgot. Will be checking to see if the local library has them for my kids! Another good kids series is The Great Brain by John D. Fiztegerald, I loved them and my 2 oldest kids love them (10 and 8).
Yeah, I loved the Mad Scientists club too. I already bought the collected works for my kid (who didn't like them the little cur). Did you know those stories were written specifically for Boy Scouts? Great stuff.
----------------------------------------------------The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood... Theodore RooseveltThe Scary DBAAuthor of: SQL Server 2017 Query Performance Tuning, 5th Edition and SQL Server Execution Plans, 3rd EditionProduct Evangelist for Red Gate Software
July 24, 2009 at 10:29 am
Jan Van der Eecken (7/24/2009)
actually all three of my children are avid readers, they go through books quicker than I get to change underwear :w00t:
Think I speak for the group here when I say . . . yick . . . thanks for the imagery
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July 24, 2009 at 10:30 am
Jack, one of my best friends from high school came to visit and we got to talking books. He mentioned the Mad Scientists Club was one of his favorites, and then mentioned that he couldn't find a copy of The Mad Scientists Club in print for his son, and Ebay prices were high. To his amazement, I turned around and reached to the shelf behind me for my 40-year old copy.
I hope he returns it someday, because now I want to read it again.
Another more recent favorite: "Sideways Stories From Wayside School." My favorite is about a young man who goes down into the school's forbidden basement. He is apprehended by Men In Black, who offer him a choice: Follow the rules like he's supposed to and go back up with the rest of the kids and be safe, or be free.
Jules Verne! Jan, did you ever read "Robur the Conqueror" ??
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July 24, 2009 at 10:37 am
Ha! Lynn, you're hilarious!
Dating yourself, but hilarious . . . we need an emoticon with a cigar . . .
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
July 24, 2009 at 10:38 am
I wonder what it says about me that I actually enjoy reading all of these books that are supposedly targeted at teens? :hehe:
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July 24, 2009 at 10:39 am
Jack Corbett (7/24/2009)
Another good kids series is The Great Brain by John D. Fiztegerald, I loved them and my 2 oldest kids love them (10 and 8).
My brothers and I still call each other TC, JC and MC because of these books. No common middle name for us, but close enough to the characters' nicknames based on first/last. 😉
So JC, good recommendation. Signed, JC
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"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
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