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Topic: Nintendo Life Book Club

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RR529

As I mentioned I might do, I decided to re-read Tom Clancy's EndWar (fiction) by David Michaels (it's been years, so it's like a brand new read).

It's not as gripping as Jurassic Park, and it throws you into the action a bit too soon (IMO), but I'm still enjoying my time with it (not quite halfway through). I'm fairly confident in saying that if you have any interest in military thrillers, this may be for you. It's following World War III through the perspective of six different people, the president, a submarine admiral, fighter pilot, spec ops operative, marine, and an intelligence officer, so there's a bit of every kind of military action. I'll have full thoughts once I've finished it.

@StahMan, how are you liking it? I got into the series this year (the remake of CE on 360) and have been interested in picking up a Halo novel, if given the chance.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

RR529

gizmoto wrote:

Meowpheel wrote:

Can you imagine a movie based on the book, written by another person?

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon The Movie.
Written by Guy McPerson, based on the book by David Michaels, based on the video game by Tom Clancy.

i wouldn't put anything past hollywood

@RR529 Tom Clancy's EndWar isn't that a DS game,
before (halo combat evolved) there was (halo fall of reach) actual title of the book i have not read it or any other halo books but read reviews about it.

Not sure if there was a DS version, but yes, there was a game of the same title released for the 360/PS3 (which I believe let you issue commands with a headset), which the book is based on (never played it myself).

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

Maxz

@Ryu_Niiyama Haha, I was given Bushido last week by a guy I met in Tokyo who used it for learning English (it's a got the original on one side and an English translation on the other [I think called a parallel text?]). Apparently it was quite an influential work, but I know next to nothing about it.

The last book I read with a such an explicit Japanese cultural basis was The Book of Tea, which I really, really liked (even if it occasionally felt a bit self-satisfied). That was more about sipping' of leafy brews than stabbing, slashing and samurai though, so I wonder how well they'll compare.

Anyway, would you recommend it? It sounds like you've just got the raw original version, which I imagine is pretty heavy going. As an influential cultural treatise, it can't exactly be light reading even for a native speaker.

Edited on by Maxz

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Ryu_Niiyama

@Maxz Hey I am only about 20 pages in (with my schedule this is a somewhat ambitious project) but I am enjoying it so far. Fun fact: The book was originally penned in English (Nitobe was fluent) so you may have the better version. As I am reading a book written in English by a native Japanese speaker that was then translated back to Japanese, lol. Anyway it is a nice romantic view of Bushido with emphasis on values that would be appealing to a Christian (which Nitobe was)/ Western audience. It can be a little droll if you are a non Christian (I'm an Atheist) but it is not too heavy handed so far. So I wouldn't exactly say it has an explicit Japanese cultural basis as in many ways it is the Japanese version of Shogun (a beautiful, "clean" rendition of Japanese warrior culture, yes i know this came first). For instance I've not seen any mention of kirisutegomen (Samurai were legally able to kill you if you offended them...and that could mean ANYTHING.) so far. Still, I am a practitioner of a few forms of budo and as such my training (as is most current budo) is influenced in part by some of the themes of this book so that is why I picked it for my current translation project.

tldr; I recommend it, but keep in mind this is a romantic/idealist book as much as it is an actual treatise on Bushido. In fact it was heavily panned in Japan when it was released there in Japanese. I much prefer Samurai: A Military History, Musashi (as it was written for the Japanese even if it is still a romanticized book but it shows more of the unappealing aspects of the warrior class), Hagakure or book of five rings. They all have their own agenda of course but I think they give a more frank and critical view of Samurai culture.

Edited on by Ryu_Niiyama

Taiko is good for the soul, Hoisa!
Japanese NNID:RyuNiiyamajp
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StahMan

RR529 wrote:

@StahMan, how are you liking it? I got into the series this year (the remake of CE on 360) and have been interested in picking up a Halo novel, if given the chance.

Its based around HALO 5 GAME, only read chap 1.

Keep it real peeps

Maxz

@Ryu_Niiyama Haha, hearing it get gently ribbed has given me a lot more incentive to read it. Thank you!

Oh and btw I met Yasutaka Nakata omgomgomgomg! Sorry, I needed someone to vomit my excitement all over, and you seemed like the perfect candidate.

Thank you for the advice.

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Ryu_Niiyama

@Maxz OMM ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I can't catch up on this kind of stuff at work. I have nowhere to scream like I'm twelve and not look crazy. I am so happy and excited for you!!! I think I would be marginally cooler around him than the ladies (I cried during the entire Perfume concert in NY) but I still think I can put him on the list of people I would be absolutely tongue tied around. Lucky you!!!

In an effort to not derail: Re-reading Ki in daily life. I'm trying to make a habit to read it every month.

Edited on by Ryu_Niiyama

Taiko is good for the soul, Hoisa!
Japanese NNID:RyuNiiyamajp
Team Cupcake! 11/15/14
Team Spree! 4/17/19
I'm a Dream Fighter. Perfume is Love, Perfume is Life.

3DS Friend Code: 3737-9849-8413 | Nintendo Network ID: RyuNiiyama

Maxz

@Ryu_Niiyama I really couldn't believe it. I saw him do a set a week earlier in a Friday, and was in some sort of pathetic wobbly state just being able to get to the front of the show. There was definitely a sort of 'ivory towers' element to that show though. He came on, the crowd lost it, and then he left retreat into the VIP section of the club.

The second show was on Halloween Monday in a much smaller club. The crowd was a lot smaller (and also less lively), and afterwards he was just wandering around the club. So yeah, Mondays are apparently the days to go for. I was also a bit tongue-tied, but got a photo, and accidentally spilled some of his friend's drink on his shoulder. I neglected to tell him that I thought Wave Runner was a bit safe and Cosmic Explorer left me unreasonably upset for a few days - which is probably just as well; my mind was fuller of all the stuff he'd made that I'd completely fallen in love with. It was something I could never have imagined though. The dream come true moment was just seeing him play a show the week before - I never even thought that would happen.

I think the funniest thing is that both his DJ sets were significantly less loud that the Perfume gig I saw in London, despite the music being badass club-music rather than bouncy electro-pop. I couldn't actually hear the Perfume gig, sadly, just feel my body being broken down at a cellular level by the bass drum.

Anyway, sorry book thread! We have music threads for this!

I can understand the challenge of going up against a full scale grown up book for adults - especially with it parallel text to lean on. It's only vaguely equivalent, but I remember the sense of satisfaction on 'beating' Detective Pikachu, it what must have been between 10 and 20 times the time of an average player. I'm sure I've come a little way since then, but the prospect of a proper book is still pretty daunting.

Anyway, I'll be back home by the end of the week, and I'll try and dig into Bushido then!

Edited on by Maxz

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Tasuki

So I picked up The Ultimate Nintendo Guide To The NES Library 1985 - 1995 by Pat Contri and I must say any Retro game collector, video game enthusiast and just Nintendo fan should have this book in their collection. It is done very well. It covers every single NES game licensed and unlicensed PAL and NA every put out for the NES during the NES lifespan which means no homebrew games. The pages are bright and color full which each game showing a picture of said cartridge. There's a section in the book showing off the various varieties of games such as the Licensed Tengen version of Pac-Man and the Unlicensed Tengen version as well as label varieties like Super Mario Bros 3.

You can order it thepunkeffect.com in both physical and digital editions.

I can't say how nice this book is.

RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.

My Backlog

Nintendo Network ID: Tasuki311

RR529

Just ordered a new paperback copy of Eragon, and I'm so excited!

I read through it at least 5 or 6 times when I was in high school (through the school's library), so I'm excited to get my own copy to see if it still holds up after all these years. Hopefully it's a new start to finally finishing the series (the 4th & final book released after I graduated).

@Tasuki, that sounds cool. I've always wanted to pick up a game collectors book. The closest thing I have is a "Gamers Edition" Guiness Book of World Records from 2010.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

Tyranexx

@RR529: I've been considering picking up that series at a later point in time. How does it hold up when one has read classic high fantasy like The Hobbit or Chronicles of Narnia?

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

RR529

@Tyranexx, I'm probably not the best judge of that, as Eragon was really my first foray into high fantasy (unless Redwall counts), so is the series that sort of defines the genre for me, and the only other classic HF book I've read was the Hobbit (which I read about just as long ago).

However, from more experienced readers, my literature teacher at the time just couldn't get into it after multiple tries, finding it incredibly dull. On the other side of the coin is a well written Amazon review (the first one up on the book's page, I believe) that said while it does stay a little too safe, and is a bit bloated, it's astounding the author was able to accomplish it at 17, and that he was eager to see how the series matures as Paolini gets older & more comfortable in his writing.

If I were you, I'd test the waters by maybe picking up an inexpensive used copy, and then invest more into the series if you like it.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

Tyranexx

@RR529: I might do that at some point, thanks for the input. I'm one of the few crazy people that at least remotely liked the movie.

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

RR529

Just finished up Tom Clancy's Endwar (Fiction) by David Michaels!

Pretty decent military thriller. It's not masterclass, but if you enjoy the genre (or the game it's based on) you'll probably find it to your tastes. As I mentioned before it covers the conflict through the eyes of several different people (a submarine captain, fighter pilot, special forces commander, infantryman, and even the president & a couple others), so you get a bit of every type of action. While the main conflict is resolved, there are a few loose ends, and as it turns out there is a sequel, so I'll look into it eventually. The last thing I have to say is sorry, Canada...

@Tyranexx, Agh! Why did you have to remind me that movie even existed! I don't even complain about book to film adaptations, but that one was terrible! (but hey, at least it wasn't as bad as Dragonball Evolution...)

Edited on by RR529

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

Tyranexx

@RR529: Having never read the book, I can't quite tell how bad it was. XD I actually have it on DVD, and while I've definitely seen better movies, it's not by any means horrible. (Unlike the movie you mentioned which shall not be named...)

I do share your sentiments on book vs. movie adaptations. Some are really well done like the Harry Potter movies (though the books are still better IMO), but others like the Percy Jackson movies are disappointing. The first film deviates so much from the book, and I could even bring myself to watch the second movie.

Currently playing: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)

"Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31

RR529

Saw a trailer on YouTube, and it appears in January Netflix is going to release an adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events as an original series.

I had totally forgotten that the series even existed until I saw the trailer, but now I remember I did read through all of the books as a kid, and although I don't expect that the series will be a perfect recreation of the books, it looks like it'll be a nice general refresher of the story (and probably better than that movie they made long ago, where they crammed the first three books into one).

So, it looks like my Netflix backlog just got a bit longer, lol.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

Ryu_Niiyama

@Maxz Hey could I add you to my 3ds friends? My code is in my profile.

Taiko is good for the soul, Hoisa!
Japanese NNID:RyuNiiyamajp
Team Cupcake! 11/15/14
Team Spree! 4/17/19
I'm a Dream Fighter. Perfume is Love, Perfume is Life.

3DS Friend Code: 3737-9849-8413 | Nintendo Network ID: RyuNiiyama

Maxz

@Ryu_Niiyama Added. : ) Mine is in the same place (now that I've actually put it there).

Edited on by Maxz

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RR529

My copy of Eragon arrived in the mail today! Despite it being paperback, I'm surprised at how good it looks (then again, I rarely get brand new books, so it's a bit of a treat for me)! It's going to be a bit tough, but I'm going to hold off on reading it for now. I'm currently reading something else, and I want to wait until I'm in a position to read the entire series back to back.

Anyhow, I'm currently reading Brain Lock: Free Yourself From Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior (Non-Fiction) by Jeffery M. Schwartz, M.D.

It's another one I was requested to read due to my germaphobic tendencies, and I'm finding it much more relatable than Let Them Eat Dirt. It's been interesting so far, and the anecdotes about Howard Hughes have been particularly fascinating.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

RR529

Finished up Brain Lock: Free Yourself From Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior (Non-Fiction) by Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. earlier tonight.

As I mentioned before, I found it to be much more relatable than Let Them Eat Dirt. My tendencies aren't anywhere near as bad as the cases brought up in the book, but they probably picked the cases with the most extreme symptoms to illustrate their point. Anyhow, I found it to be a pretty interesting read, and have started to try out some of the things it recommended.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

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