Like 300? Please read this.

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Okay, so I know reading novels isn't really in vogue anymore

Really? It's certainly popular here, where you're posting this, and the new Harry Potter book has already broken sales records, just in preorders.

$10 billion worth of books were sold last year, down all of 0.02 percent from the year before, although many customers have switched from bookstores to online booksellers. In contrast, the U.S. videogame industry made $12.5 billion last year, more than the movie industry, but hardly a number that dwarfs book sales, especially since those videogame numbers were helped by the latest round of the console wars.

 

[Wolf72]

I read it years ago, and by the end, when the Spartans knew the last battle was coming and they were trading their weapons and shields to each other as a means of honoring their comrades, I was ready to sign up to fight Persians myself!

oh boy, don't let him go see the latest rocky movie!

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

The "monsters" are simply the sort of embellished descriptions of the enemy you would expect from a storyteller who wants to glorify the role of his heroes...

I thought the movie, at least did a good job of making the Persian mysterous. I got the Spartians, but the Persians seemed to be wave after wave of strangeness. It made them at least seem unknowable.

 

[replicant2]

Really? It's certainly popular here, where you're posting this, and the new Harry Potter book has already broken sales records, just in preorders.

$10 billion worth of books were sold last year, down all of 0.02 percent from the year before, although many customers have switched from bookstores to online booksellers. In contrast, the U.S. videogame industry made $12.5 billion last year, more than the movie industry, but hardly a number that dwarfs book sales, especially since those videogame numbers were helped by the latest round of the console wars.

Well, my statement is from purely anecdotal evidence, but given the amount of people on these boards who have seen 300 versus those who have read Gates of Fire, a highly regarded historic novel, I'll stand behind it.

Plus, I don't think total book sales in dollars is a telling figure, since book prices of course are increasing every year, as is the U.S. population. And the Harry Potter phenomenon does not equate with the popularity of novels as a whole, just a single author and, in particular, a soon-to-end set of characters and storyline.

I'd be more impressed with a figure that shows average spending on books per capita is up, or better yet, statistics which show that the average time a U.S. adult or teen spends on reading is increasing, as compared to past decades. On the other hand, your note that videogames outsell books is a bit distressing to me.

Still, while I'm not a big fan of Harry Potter, I am glad the younger crowd is picking up and reading these books. I hope it translates into more adult readers, too.

 

[Gog]

Well, my statement is from purely anecdotal evidence, but given the amount of people on these boards who have seen 300 versus those who have read Gates of Fire, a highly regarded historic novel, I'll stand behind it.

Or it might have something to do with the vastly different number of books released a year in comparison to movies.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Yeah-how many people have seen a massively marketed movie vs. how many people have read a particular book has nothing at all to do with whether or not people read novels.

I'll consider picking up Gates of Fire, it looks very good from all I've heard.

 

[Particle_Man]

Gates of Fire is a wonderful novel, and well worth reading.

 

[RaceBannon42]

I finished this up last night, and it was indeed a wonderfull novel. Very immersive, with buttloads of Spartan Bad Assery. My only complaint was the lack of page time for Leon Donkey-Dick.

Full review in my blog

 

[replicant2]

I finished this up last night, and it was indeed a wonderfull novel. Very immersive, with buttloads of Spartan Bad Assery. My only complaint was the lack of page time for Leon Donkey-Dick.

Full review in my blog

Nice review! I"m glad you liked the book. I still mean to see 300, but any thoughts on how it compares to the film?

 

[replicant2]

Yeah-how many people have seen a massively marketed movie vs. how many people have read a particular book has nothing at all to do with whether or not people read novels.

I'll consider picking up Gates of Fire, it looks very good from all I've heard.

As to your first point, you're probably right, although how many other historic fiction novels about Thermopylae were released in 1998 besides Gates of Fire? None, I'd wager. And it's been out for nine years now, giving folks with even a passing interest in history and/or swords and sandals epics plenty of time to find and read it. But I will concede that Gates of Fire lacked the mass-marketing hype of 300.

As to your second point, I recommend it highly.