Like 300? Please read this.

[Relique du Madde]

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.

I actually think that 300's mass market hype was good for Gates of Fire since my local Barnes and Nobel has been ordering copies of the book recently and thosee copies manage to vanish from the shelves before I make my weekly visit.

 

[replicant2]

I actually think that 300's mass market hype was good for Gates of Fire since my local Barnes and Nobel has been ordering copies of the book recently and thosee copies manage to vanish from the shelves before I make my weekly visit.

Good news!

I'm starting to feel like I'm pimping this book, but in all honesty I have no connection to Steven Pressfield nor his publisher.

 

[Pbartender]

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.

I've been an avid reader of historical fictions, and especially those that try to portray epic historical events or pseudo mythological events, for nearly 20 years, and I've never heard of the book until you mentioned it here.

Aside from the fact that not all readers will have a bookstore or library with a book of such a specific genre available (especially before a successful movie liek 300 highlights it), I think you over-estimate how easy it is to sift through titles and authors to find a book that you don't necessarily realize you're looking for.

 

[replicant2]

I've been an avid reader of historical fictions, and especially those that try to portray epic historical events or pseudo mythological events, for nearly 20 years, and I've never heard of the book until you mentioned it here.

Aside from the fact that not all readers will have a bookstore or library with a book of such a specific genre available (especially before a successful movie liek 300 highlights it), I think you over-estimate how easy it is to sift through titles and authors to find a book that you don't necessarily realize you're looking for.

I agree, and that's why I don't bother browsing for new material in bookstores. All the bookstores in my immediate area are the large chains (Barnes and Noble, Borders) who, if you're lucky, might carry one title from a particular author, and often at random (e.g,. the middle book of a trilogy). I have much more success googling for keywords of various types of fiction/names of authors I enjoy, reading reviews, scouring messageboards, then buying or borrowing from my local library.

 

[babomb]

Since there are Lesbians who are not lesbians, Samaritans who are not samaritans, and Welsh who do not welsh, why can't there be Laconians who are not laconic? And don't get me started on all those Frankfurters who are not frankfurters.

And not all Thespians are thespians.

 

[Banshee16]

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.

Thanks for pointing that out....I was thinking along those lines myself

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

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.

Canadian surveys have shown that more Canadians equate sitting down with a good book as their favourite way to relax than just about any other passtime. I remember hearing that one a few months ago.

While it is true that literacy among children is lower than it was for previous generations, and it is somewhat attributed to video games, I suspect that the tendency has been exaggerated in the media, in order to get more attention.

Anecdotally speaking, everyone I know reads...and rather regularly. I probably go through 10-20 books a year. On average, a new one every 2-3 weeks. I read the newspaper every day, as well as magazines, gaming books, etc. I'd read more if I had more time. My wife, parents, siblings, in-laws, coworkers.....we all trade info about good books etc. Maybe I'm living in some twilight zone of people who read among a society of people who don't touch books...but I doubt it

Banshee

 

[RaceBannon42]

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?

Well both are fiction. Both depict the battle of Thermopylea.

I havent read the 300 graphic novel, but as I understand it the movie is pretty faithful to it. with the exception of an expanded role for Queen Gorgo in the movie.

The movie focuses almost exclusively on the Spartans with just a token apperance by a force of Arkadians thown in. It also focuses on King Leonides, rather than on those around Xeones. Its much more fantastical as well. Gates of fire while fiction is much more realistic.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

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.

Because people haven't read Gates of Fire, they don't read any more?

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.

Book prices aren't increasing every year. We don't have a federally mandated cost of living increase for the publishing industry. Some years it goes up -- sometimes quite a bit -- but for the most part, it plateaus for years and years.

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.

Librarians and booksellers would beg to differ. The interest in Harry Potter has brought huge numbers of readers into book stores and reinvigorated children's literature, where a lot of the most interesting fiction being written today can now be found. Yes, there's a lot of other crap trying to be the next HP or Series of Unfortunate Events, but there's more activity in that section of the bookstore than there has been in decades.

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.

Then go look up the figures. I'm posting at work and don't have time to create a term paper to disprove the assertion that because people haven't read Gates of Fire, reading is dead.

On the other hand, your note that videogames outsell books is a bit distressing to me.

Do you need a $300 buy-in before you can spend money on any book? Do books, as a rule, cost $55 each? The numbers show that more books are being sold than videogames.

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.

The British publish an adult version of Harry Potter for folks to read on the tube if they're embarassed about being seen reading a kid's book. In America, we don't seem to have that problem and read it without shame.

 

[replicant2]

Because people haven't read Gates of Fire, they don't read any more?

That's quite the leap in logic. I said it's fairly telling that few people seem to have read Gates of Fire, the only novel of historic fiction based on the battle of Thermopylae in the last nine years, compared with the hordes that have turned out to see 300. Sure, the mass-marketing 300 recieved is a big factor, but I still think it's a telling, though admittedly anecdotal, example.

Book prices aren't increasing every year. We don't have a federally mandated cost of living increase for the publishing industry. Some years it goes up -- sometimes quite a bit -- but for the most part, it plateaus for years and years.

This doesn't change the fact that a dollar figure out of context has little meaning. Does this figure include expensive college textbooks, for example?

Librarians and booksellers would beg to differ. The interest in Harry Potter has brought huge numbers of readers into book stores and reinvigorated children's literature, where a lot of the most interesting fiction being written today can now be found. Yes, there's a lot of other crap trying to be the next HP or Series of Unfortunate Events, but there's more activity in that section of the bookstore than there has been in decades.

No argument here. As I said, I'm thrilled by the proposition that the Harry Potter books are cultivating new young readers, particuarly if they turn out to be fans of the fantasy genre.

Then go look up the figures. I'm posting at work and don't have time to create a term paper to disprove the assertion that because people haven't read Gates of Fire, reading is dead.

Here's one fairly telling study:

http://www.nea.gov/news/news04/ReadingAtRisk.html

(AP) The reading of books is on the decline in America, despite Harry Potter and the best efforts of Oprah Winfrey.

A report released Thursday by the National Endowment for the Arts says the number of non-reading adults increased by more than 17 million between 1992 and 2002.

The British publish an adult version of Harry Potter for folks to read on the tube if they're embarassed about being seen reading a kid's book. In America, we don't seem to have that problem and read it without shame.

Please grow some thick skin. I simply said I'm not a fan of Harry Potter. I play in a regular D&D campaign and post on D&D messageboards, so I'm hardly "embarrassed" by my participation in what many in the general public would consider a child's pasttime. In fact, Harry Potter is by all accounts far more socially acceptable than our favorite game.