What 📔book are you reading right now?

I just finished reading Lord of the Flies, it's one of the best books I've ever read. Now reading Of Men and Mice (or Of Mice and Men. I keep getting the order confused....)

Deimos said:

I [quite seriously] await your opinion. Not everyone can take Bradbury's style.
(I of course have no trouble with it at all, 😇 as evidenced by my bookshelves...):


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Finally finished this. Good stuff. I took the theme and (tone and/or mood) of the book quite well. Many of the many metaphors went rather over my head but I just went with the flow as best i could. I felt the book could actually could have used a bit more fleshing out and the resolution (including the defeat of Mr. Dark) was perhaps a bit anticlimactic. I also get the feeling I would have enjoyed this book more if I were younger and less jaded. Anyway, I will endeavor to delve deeper into Bradbury's bibliography.

But next on the list is Dune, which i've never read before. This edition is almost 800 pages. I wonder what changes the book underwent between the first edition (listed at about 400 pages) and this one.

Radaghast said:

Finally finished this. Good stuff. I took the theme and (tone and/or mood) of the book quite well. Many of the many metaphors went rather over my head but I just went with the flow as best i could. I felt the book could actually could have used a bit more fleshing out and the resolution (including the defeat of Mr. Dark) was perhaps a bit anticlimactic. I also get the feeling I would have enjoyed this book more if I were younger and less jaded. Anyway, I will endeavor to delve deeper into Bradbury's bibliography.

But next on the list is Dune, which i've never read before. This edition is almost 800 pages. I wonder what changes the book underwent between the first edition (listed at about 400 pages) and this one.
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Glad you liked SWTWC ....yes, it probably would have struck you a bit differently if you had read it when you were younger.
Try Fahrenheit 451.. (or did you say you had read that one already?) or The Martian Chronicles. Of those two F451 is my favorite.
I continue to reread all my Bradbury, some stories more than others, but F451 rereads are a constant... at least every 3 years.

Interesting about Dune. I had only read the original version (and the next two books) when I was in the Navy c. late 1970s.
I did like the first book best. I did not know there was an expanded version. I guess I'll have to read that now.

Deimos said:

Glad you liked SWTWC ....yes, it probably would have struck you a bit differently if you had read it when you were younger.
Try Fahrenheit 451.. (or did you say you had read that one already?) or The Martian Chronicles. Of those two F451 is my favorite.
I continue to reread all my Bradbury, some stories more than others, but F451 rereads are a constant... at least every 3 years.

Interesting about Dune. I had only read the original version (and the next two books) when I was in the Navy c. late 1970s.
I did like the first book best. I did not know there was an expanded version. I guess I'll have to read that now.

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No, Something Wicked was my first Bradbury book. 451 will probably be the next one I read of his.

Just finished Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Smith of Wootton Major.

Radaghast said:

But next on the list is Dune, which i've never read before. This edition is almost 800 pages. I wonder what changes the book underwent between the first edition (listed at about 400 pages) and this one.

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Different font?

Ugluk said:

Different font?

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HAHA... not just font size but also increased spacing between lines and mega-wide margins.
It's the format equivalent of "padding" an essay or article with verbal fluff (verbosity).
IMO the fluff formatting is as difficult to read as some of the really small font and narrow spacing found in a lot of older books (c. 19th C and early 20th C.)
btw Formatting in publishing is (was?) called typesetting.

Padded ("fluff") formatting xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More typical (and to me, very readable) formattingxxxOlder formatting (need my magnifying glass)

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

I don't think font size and/or leading would account for almost 400 extra pages (exact page count of the story proper is 794, incidentally). But the book seems pretty standard on either score; the leading may be a bit more than normal. Anyway, here's a sample page:

Radaghast said:

I don't think font size and/or leading would account for almost 400 extra pages (exact page count of the story proper is 794, incidentally). But the book seems pretty standard on either score; the leading may be a bit more than normal.

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Looks like a bit of typeset padding, but nowhere near as bad as some I've seen .
Do you know if the newer version is actually a revised edition? That is, is it being presented as having additional text?

Deimos said:

Looks like a bit of typeset padding, but nowhere near as bad as some I've seen .
Do you know if the newer version is actually a revised edition? That is, is it being presented as having additional text?

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Good question. I have not been able to find any info and the Wikipedia article is not helpful.

Radaghast said:

Good question. I have not been able to find any info and the Wikipedia article is not helpful.

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Well then, Holmes, the game is afoot!

Deimos said:

Well then, Holmes, the game is afoot!

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I wonder if it's just that he had to pare down his first manuscript to get it published, and once the book was popular he was able to include more into subsequent editions.

Radaghast said:

I wonder if it's just that he had to pare down his first manuscript to get it published, and once the book was popular he was able to include more into subsequent editions.

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Very possible.
I'm guessing there are Frank Herbert/Dune forums out there similar to forums like ours (Tolkien/LOTR.)
If there are that would be the place to find out if the new edition is expanded story or just enlarged from typeset padding (or maybe some of both).
I think I'll put on my deerstalker hat and go sleuthing.... 😉

Radaghast said:

Finally finished this. Good stuff. I took the theme and (tone and/or mood) of the book quite well. Many of the many metaphors went rather over my head but I just went with the flow as best i could. I felt the book could actually could have used a bit more fleshing out and the resolution (including the defeat of Mr. Dark) was perhaps a bit anticlimactic. I also get the feeling I would have enjoyed this book more if I were younger and less jaded. Anyway, I will endeavor to delve deeper into Bradbury's bibliography.

But next on the list is Dune, which i've never read before. This edition is almost 800 pages. I wonder what changes the book underwent between the first edition (listed at about 400 pages) and this one.
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I have the same copy as you do, and I've noticed that the pages are smaller then those of a regular book, especially horizontally. @Elwing the White currently has my copy, so I can't measure it, but the smaller pages might be why it's a lot longer. I do remember that the Dune book that I originally read (I borrowed it from my grandma's library while on vacation), with this cover

had much bigger pages than the one with the orange dunes cover (which I bought after becoming a dune geek).

Idril Celebrindal said:

I have the same copy as you do, and I've noticed that the pages are smaller then those of a regular book, especially horizontally. @Elwing the White currently has my copy, so I can't measure it, but the smaller pages might be why it's a lot longer. I do remember that the Dune book that I originally read (I borrowed it from my grandma's library while on vacation), with this cover
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had much bigger pages than the one with the orange dunes cover (which I bought after becoming a dune geek).

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Mine seems normal-sized to me 😕

Deimos said:

Very possible.
I'm guessing there are Frank Herbert/Dune forums out there similar to forums like ours (Tolkien/LOTR.)
If there are that would be the place to find out if the new edition is expanded story or just enlarged from typeset padding (or maybe some of both).
I think I'll put on my deerstalker hat and go sleuthing.... 😉

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[ Replying to my own post 😆...]

Comments on Reddit: Longer Dune Story?

Radaghast said:

I don't think font size and/or leading would account for almost 400 extra pages (exact page count of the story proper is 794, incidentally). But the book seems pretty standard on either score; the leading may be a bit more than normal. Anyway, here's a sample page:
View attachment 39991

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I can't find my copy at the moment but it does look like there are fewer words per line and lines per page there....

I'm halfway through The Cossacks by Tolstoy

I finished The Cossacks and am now re-reading Holes because I don't have anything else to read. I want to read The Pilgrim's Progress, but I can't find our copy.

I just finished Wind and Truth, by Brandon Sanderson. It took me quite a bit longer then I'd hoped, I wanted to devote more time to reading this year, but this book is 1300-ish pages, so I think I can cut myself some slack. The other Stormlight books (each 1000 pages at least in their own right) certainly took me longer then a month and a half to complete, so I see this as a win.

I really liked this book--there's a loud few who are disappointed in it, but my general impression is to disagree with them. My current rating is a 4.5/5, really great, but not perfect. If we're being honest here, I've read thousands of pages of novels building up to this, I already love and care about the world and characters. I would've loved this book even if it was just all of my beloved characters sitting around in a void talking to each other--which is a testament to how well things have been set up this far. I just think I ought to admit that bias because it's very real and very strong.

One of the main criticisms of this book is that Brandon's prose is lacking, which I find a poorly communicated explanation of the real issue--Brandon's prose in this book is wonderful. It's written in his typical direct and to-the-point style, which I think is tasteful and well done. Don't get me wrong, I love more complicated, flowery prose (I am on TTF, after all), but for the type of books he writes, simple but impactful words are perfect. There is incredible skill in the way he paints vivid pictures and emotions without tangling himself up in extra adjectives. Indeed, there is not much wrong with his prose as a whole, instead what I think bothered most people was the dialogue. While Brandon's dialogue is fine most of the time, in this book there were a few bad scenes where it lacked subtlety, and felt cheesy. One scene in particular that comes to mind felt like Brandon was having the character say what he should say in his situation, instead of something more in-character. Other scenes felt masterfully done, though. I just think it's the dialogue's wide range in quality throughout the novel that is throwing people off.

I have a few small issues here and there, but other then that, my thoughts are overwhelmingly positive. I think, while fumbled in some aspects, the main themes of the story come to a nice point.

WaT walks a strange line between being a finale for the first arc of it's book series (which is planned to have two arcs, the second taking place a little after the events of WaT), as well as setting up and establishing the environment and conflict of the next arc. This is done really well, and as a big fan of the Cosmere, I find this a very satisfying 'half finale.' The ending made sense in a way that, while I did not fully expect the outcome, linked into the other books in the world really well.

I have found that diving deeper into literary analysis has caused me to see occasional holes in the writing of things I enjoy, including Brandon's books, with WaT I am overwhelmed by the fact that I could never figure out how to balance an ending like this, to a series so ambitious. As a very beginner when it comes to creative writing, Brandon has my full respect.

Now, onto the pile of books I had started months ago before this new release distracted me 😅.