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Never really understood why these modern best-seller writers are so popular. It's not as if the text is even easy or enjoyable to read! At least with guys like

Never really understood why these modern best-seller writers are so popular. It's not as if the text is even easy or enjoyable to read! At least with guys like Tom Clancy you got a load of military hardware stuff to get off on.

IncreasePosts 2y ago
Believe it or not but a vast majority of readers have no interest drowning in materiel specs while reading a book. Ridiculous, I know. I had the same reaction when someone recommended I read the abridged Moby Dick(without knowing I've read the unabridged thrice), because who wants to hear about all those random whale facts?
- graemep 2y ago
  Random whale counterfactuals too - remember the insistence that whales are fish?
  - zabzonk 2y ago
    yeah, they get called fish (something that swims, like modern military torpedo), but the whalers knew they were not
  - SaberTail 2y ago
    I don't remember it that way. I took it more more as being about the definition of "fish", and demonstrating that whalers don't think about things the same way that non-whalers do. It's not ignorance; he acknowledges repeatedly throughout that whales breathe air, and nurse their young, and other mammalian traits.
  - cowfriend 2y ago
    not a counterfactual. "fish" was a legal definition which allowed hunting.
  - Perenti 2y ago
    From a phylogenetic perspective, whales are fish. So are we.
- zabzonk 2y ago
  > Believe it or not but a vast majority of readers have no interest drowning in materiel specs while reading a book But surely Tom Clancy fans DO like reading this stuff? There isn't much else! > because who wants to hear about all those random whale facts? well, me at least - some of the best bits of the book (one of my favourites)
polemic 2y ago
Never really understood why people like Tom Clancy, it's not as if it's enjoyable to read about a bunch of mililtary hardware. At least with Dan Brown you've got a load of interesting mysteries and locations to get off on. (more seriously: I think both authors understand their markets and are savvy about delivering what they want, critics be damned)
ranger207 2y ago
re: clancy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo8FhChnyq0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo8FhChnyq0

IncreasePosts 2y ago

Believe it or not but a vast majority of readers have no interest drowning in materiel specs while reading a book. Ridiculous, I know. I had the same reaction when someone recommended I read the abridged Moby Dick(without knowing I've read the unabridged thrice), because who wants to hear about all those random whale facts?

graemep 2y ago
Random whale counterfactuals too - remember the insistence that whales are fish?
- zabzonk 2y ago
  yeah, they get called fish (something that swims, like modern military torpedo), but the whalers knew they were not
- SaberTail 2y ago
  I don't remember it that way. I took it more more as being about the definition of "fish", and demonstrating that whalers don't think about things the same way that non-whalers do. It's not ignorance; he acknowledges repeatedly throughout that whales breathe air, and nurse their young, and other mammalian traits.
- cowfriend 2y ago
  not a counterfactual. "fish" was a legal definition which allowed hunting.
- Perenti 2y ago
  From a phylogenetic perspective, whales are fish. So are we.
zabzonk 2y ago
> Believe it or not but a vast majority of readers have no interest drowning in materiel specs while reading a book But surely Tom Clancy fans DO like reading this stuff? There isn't much else! > because who wants to hear about all those random whale facts? well, me at least - some of the best bits of the book (one of my favourites)

polemic 2y ago

Never really understood why people like Tom Clancy, it's not as if it's enjoyable to read about a bunch of mililtary hardware. At least with Dan Brown you've got a load of interesting mysteries and locations to get off on. (more seriously: I think both authors understand their markets and are savvy about delivering what they want, critics be damned)

ranger207 2y ago

re: clancy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo8FhChnyq0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo8FhChnyq0