SlowMovingTarget t1_j1b88jo wrote on December 23, 2022 at 12:42 AM

Reply to Have books gotten more expensive? by syncomatic_columbia

Physical books are more expensive, and more cheaply made, yes.

There are fewer presses than there once were. The high-quality presses are now competing with cheapo presses in China and in some cases India. (You can walk into a shop with ripped off eBook in India and walk out with a printed and bound book 15 minutes later.)

And all of those pressures are balanced against digital books.

SlowMovingTarget t1_iyb66ot wrote on November 30, 2022 at 2:22 AM

Reply to Soma from Brave New World by skippyforeplay

"Those who don't read books are doomed to repeat the moral failures warned of therein." -- Santa Anna Clause, I think.

SlowMovingTarget t1_ixpk8rv wrote on November 25, 2022 at 7:54 AM

Reply to The Hobbit was a big disappointment for me by filisterr

The Hobbit is for children. It is not necessary to read it to enjoy The Lord of the Rings. LOTR is far different than the straight line to the dragon.

Having read LOTR first, and The Hobbit much later, I tend to agree with you. The characters are not likeable, even Bilbo is whiny and annoying. Gandalf is barely in it...

There's far more going on in LOTR, with far better characters, with far higher stakes. The world changes drastically, in the end. In The Hobbit things changed barely at all.