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Tee C. Royal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 11:38 am: | 
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ROFL...I guess I should stop with the BAB (My acronym for a Big Azz Book) messages, but why'd I get the BAB of all BABs in the mail the other day? Now, I am NOT telling what it is, so don't ask, but dang... once a book crosses over 350-400 pages, I begin to question if it's a good book or if the author is rambling on and on and on. Makes me tired just looking at it.
Soooooooo, my question is. Has anyone read a BAB that was actually good and worth every page it was written on?
My husband read The Emperor of Ocean Park and he said he enjoyed it...but that the author seemed to go on and on about some points.
Let me hear from ya!
-Tee |
akaivyleaf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 11:46 am: |
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At the risk of being called something not nice on this board, I won't really name the book but I've read one BAB, when I was a teenager that has stuck with me all of this time. I truly enjoy it and watch the movie when it comes on, actually own the DVDs (yes big enough to have 2 dvds) and I used to read the book when I had a slump in reading materials.
There is another BAB- that I enjoyed that I will name and its Roots. I think everybody should have it in their collection, and yes Its actually put away in my attic and I can put my hand on my copy. I read it after seeing the saga and enjoyed the book much more, along with the books that followed some years later.
I used to read big books exclusively, but those days have passed. I'd go and browse the shelves of librarys and book stores and pick the biggest ones. I'd rather read a number of smaller books to vary my reading tastes than one big book. |
Chris Hayden
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 11:47 am: |
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TEE C.
Emperor of Ocean Park was too long for me by about 2-300 pages.
Good BAB--hmmm. INVISIBLE MAN? NATIVE SON? ULYSEES? |
Crystal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 12:45 pm: |
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I read The Crimson Petal And The White by Michel Farber not too long ago - 848 pages! I enjoyed it although he could have lost a 100 or so pages of description/explanation and gotten away with it.
I'm still kinda like you Akaivyleaf - I check the library shelves for big books. And, I've not bought a book because it's too small - books are to expensive for me to buy one and read it in one day. That bothers me. That's one of the things I like about this site. If some of the folks here like something I feel like I can take a chance on it. It's worked so far.
Crystal |
Cynique
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 05:33 pm: |
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akaivyleaf, I'd be willing to bet that the BAB you declined to name was "GWTW". Not to worry. For many of us, that classic was a guilty pleasure.
Along with everybody else, I tackled "The Emperor of Ocean Park" and I made up my mind that I was not going to be daunted by its length. I wasn't. But, I did have a problem with the credibility of some of its characters. Most of the biographies of black folks that I read are very long, but I stick with them because they are always so interesting. |
ABM
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 05:50 pm: |
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The Holy Bible is a BAB, with like a bazillion characters, themes and plot twists. But I guess I'd better stick it out, huh? Wouldn't want to piss off the AUTHOR. ;) |
Thumper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 06:02 pm: |
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Hello All,
Tee: I feel the same way about books being so big because theres an excellent chance that the author is rambling. And my thick book phobia is still alive and well.
Akaivyleaf: If the book is GWTW that's alright. I've already admitted that I love the book.
Speaking of BABs, Tee you know you started something now *smile*, I just had to put down Such Sweet Thunder. It's too damn big for me right now. I have a few other books to tackle before I can settle down with that almost 600 page book. I have to admit, that if Such Sweet Thunder was published in the 1960s it would rank up there with Native Son and Invisible Man as one of our literary landmarks. |
Tee C. Royal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 06:18 pm: |
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Hey all, thanks for jumping in! So glad to get the scoop on which BABs to avoid. ROFL.
akaivyleaf...I too must add ROOTS to the list, I did read that one, but that was back in the day. ABM, I like your post...VERY GOOD POINT, and yep, VERY GOOD BOOK. :-) Ummm, sorry Chris luv, but I ain't reading The Emperor of Ocean Park, perhaps the audiobook one day when I'm driving cross country. Ahahha. <smirk> And Invisible Man wasn't a BAB was it? I don't remember though, it's been a while.
ROFL Cynique, you know I'm laughing at you guessing akaivyleaf's BAB...I was just gonna ask in private...cuz you know I'm dying to know. And girl, you're reading BAB biographies? Heck nawww!!
Thumper, it seems I did start something with the whole BAB thing. I see it everywhere and one guy even did a critical assessment on it and badmouthed me of sorts for making up the term. Oh well. :-(
And whew...I hear ya about Such Sweet Thunder. I haven't seen the actual book, but the ARC was a hella-BAB, to which I passed. I love ARCs and collect them, even BUY my share of them (another topic)...but that was a big one. I heard it was pretty good though.
I think the one BAB that I want to read is What You Owe Me by Bebe Campbell Moore. I've heard nothing but good things about it.
-Tee |
yasmin
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 06:41 pm: |
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The last BAB I read was What You Owe Me by Bebe Moore Campbell and I enjoyed it IMMENSELY...so much so that I read it in like 2-3 days and stayed up all night to finish it.
Other BABS that I want to read but haven't yet:
Emperor of Ocean Park
The List by Patti Flinn
Twilight by Billy Dee Williams/Elizabeth Atkins Bowman
and one other that escapes me right now.
I think I'm going to take Emperor of Ocean Park with me to LA later this month. |
Susan
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 07:13 pm: |
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Tee, I think 350 to 400 pages is a good sized book. If a book is 500+ pages, then it'll make me pause. I'd rather have a book on the longer end rather than on the shorter end. I read one book, which I won't name, in which the characters and plotline were severly undeveloped. The author threw in a few sex scenes into about 150 pages and called it a book.
The only book that comes to mind that I plan to read soon, as you termed a BAB, is Rails Under My Back.
Susan |
akaivyleaf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 08:54 pm: |
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Yeah the book is GWTW.... I'm glad to see I'm not alone! I think it was the first BAB I decided to tackle and some how, some kind of way fell in love with it. Now my guilty secret is out! Can't believe yall called me out!
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Thumper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 10:11 pm: |
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Hello akaivyleaf,
Shoot, you should have seen how some folks reacted when I admitted my love for GWTW. Carey acted the fool! I can't help it, I love it. I've read it three times. I got two copies of the 60th anniversary edition (one, I've read, the other for collecting purposes). I got the movie on every form available. I'm crazy about it.
I think we should form a small club and call it, AA who love GWTW. And if that don't make it a small group, we can make it smaller, AA who love GWTW and who's NOT Republicans. *big smile* |
Chris Hayden
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2003 - 11:04 am: |
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Two BAB I did not enjoy or finish were DAHLGREN by Samuel R. Delaney and DIVINE DAYS by Leon Forrest. |
Sandra
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2003 - 09:39 pm: |
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yasmin: Don't tell me The List is a BAB--and I was so looking forward to reading it ;)
ABM: that's pretty funny--yeah stick wif the Bible
Yes I was a lemming and read Emperor of Ocean Park. It's the last BAB that I read. It was an okay read and I was determined to finish it just to prove a point--to whom, I dunno.
I read What You Owe Me but it was so good it didn't seem so BABish. |
kc_trudiva
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 08:52 am: |
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Yasmin: I'm with you on "What You Owe Me" and loved it immensely too. It was a BAPT (new acronym) Big Azz Page Turner. LOL
Tee: I'm like your husband and enjoyed "Emporer..." but had to keep a dictionary handy cause it had a tendency to be verbose. And I was thinking 'couldn't he have just said... and made the same point' *one eyebrow up* |
Tee C. Royal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 10, 2003 - 07:56 am: |
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ROFL...you go girl. I have it on audio and one month when I have nothing else to do, I'll check it out. ROFL. I'm sure it's more hours than I'll be able to sit still to complete. Maybe a road trip across country though?
Speaking of BABs, he also read The Good House by Tananarive Due and highly recommends it, so check that one otu too. I haven't and probably won't pick it up anytime soon though I've heard nothing but positive things about it.
-Tee |
akaivyleaf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 01:21 pm: |
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The Good House is the next book I plan to tackle. Trying to get a copy to take on my trip next week. I'm sure I can manage to find a little reading time somewhere and I don't care what the man says. HEHEHEHEHEHE I gotta remember to pack my flashlight too. |
idrissa
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 25, 2003 - 03:54 pm: |
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Tee:
Yes; Bebe's What You Owe Me was a BAB; but it was so good that I didn't mind....and I too stayed up all night to finish....passed it to my mom (who is 75 and loves to read AA novels) and she said the same thing....a BAB but a good read! LOL
The Emperor of Ocean Park....I've had it for months but after skimming it once or twice...still not motivated to read it. Oh well; maybe when I run out of books to read and am waiting on the mail man to bring more....LOL |
Tee C. Royal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 26, 2003 - 03:00 pm: |
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Hi Idrissa...and thanks for the recommendation on What You Owe Me. I'm determined to read it now! I'm still passing on Emperor for now.
One BAB I am looking forward to is Dark Corner by Brandon Massey. I didn't realize it was so long when I was dying to get a copy, but I'm itching to read it. I hope to jump in next week with it. I need to take a small break from horror/fantasy. The Awakening (follow-up to Minion) still has me creeped out and scared to go to sleep.
-Tee |
akaivyleaf
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 01:34 pm: |
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This is my week to tackle Dark Corner by Brandon Massey, which is a BAB, but I love his writing so I'm looking forward to it. |
Tee C. Royal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 12:02 pm: |
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This is up on my list too...let me know how you feel about it. Those who I know who have read it enjoyed it.
-Tee |
Belinda
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 12:27 pm: |
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I couldn't get into Emperor...it didn't catch me. Probably won't for a while. I am dying to read Dark Corner also. I've heard nothing but good things. What You Owe Me has been staring me in the face for some months, now. I haven't had time to get around to it. Definitely on my slate for 2004. |
bkwteam
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 02:34 pm: |
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I'm currently reading The Good House by Tananarive Due which is an almost 500 page BAB! But, I love her writing so I'm not complaining... |
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