Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

The book for this month is I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.

I cannot say I’ll be reading this one, but I do need to comment. What an oddly appropriate book for this month.

I am hesitant about reading this one too. Hopefully there will be a few brave souls to share their opinions with us.

Oh … now you've got me curious … now I have to read it ;)

I read this a long time ago. It's only 165 pages so I might reread it in a while.

I’ve got this one so I’m in too.

That's great, Gabi, BookNerd and Georgina!

This one was A LOT of fun! I loved it and I hope you all will too.

Patrick wrote: "This one was A LOT of fun! I loved it and I hope you all will too."

You read this one fairly quickly, Patrick. I cannot possibly imagine how you managed to have so much time on your hands... hah.

Now you have me curious, Patrick!

But I won't be reading this time around. There is a six week wait for the ebook and the libraries will be closed even longer.
But I have lots of other books to read at home.

Hoopla has an audio of this with other stories by the same author, if anyone has access to Hoopla and is interested.

Thanks for the info, Samantha.

No problem, Rosemarie. I did a little self-imposed homework for my job by finding books available on Hoopla about or that feature diseases or pandemics.

I'm halfway in and I like the scientific approach towards vampires.

Finished: The ending is great! This gave the story a whole new level!

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Gabi.

I just started. I have an elderly paperback from 1971 with Charleton Heston on the cover. I don't think it will survive another read.

I remember the story as a fairly simple and quick read.

Since I couldn't get a copy of the book, I did a bit of research. There are three film versions of the book. The one with Charlton Heston is called Omega Man.

Book Nerd wrote: "
I remember the story as a fairly simple and quick read."

It is a quick read, and it starts simple, but I found it getting a bit deeper towards the end.

Rosemarie wrote: "Since I couldn't get a copy of the book, I did a bit of research. There are three film versions of the book. The one with Charlton Heston is called Omega Man."
Cool. I didn't know there were three. The Omega Man is the only one I've heard of.

The movie version called The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price is supposed to be good too.

The Will Smith version is supposed to be terrible and not true to the book at all.

Oh yeah, I forgot the Will Smith movie.

The will smith movie was horrible imo.

Hoopla is a great way to get books. I use Hoopla and Overdrive app for ebooks.

I’ve finished, I really enjoyed this. It’s not what I was expecting from a vampire book, much more zombie apocalypse, but still brilliant.

We have BorrowBox in the UK which allows you to borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free, there’s often a bit of a wait for the more popular titles though but well worth a look.

I need to check out some of the films now as I haven’t seen any

Don't forget the Homer Simpson version.

Argl! Patrick! I've just seen your new photo. Is this a plague masque?

This was a fun reread.
It was pretty hard to believe that nobody ever figured out what was going on before him though.
Also, I understand not wanting to let go but I will never understand the obsession with funeral customs. Why is it so much better to bury a corpse in a hole than to throw it in a fire? Or vice versa?

Gabi, yes it is haha! I thought it was appropriate for the global pandemic 😂

Lol you should wear it around with all the other mask wearers in the stores.

don't think anyone would get it haha.

I had mixed feelings about the book. When Neville was seriously forming theories about the plague, I was interested, but most of the time he was just thinking about sex. I mean, it’s only been five months. This guy is fighting loneliness and vampires daily. And the thing that is always on his mind is sex?

Twice he mentioned not violating women, as if that were a difficult urge to suppress. When he half-coaxed, half-captured Ruth, she was stuttering and cowering in a way that seemed more like an adolescent male fantasy than a real woman.

Instead of being a psychological study in loneliness, this seemed like what an adolescent boy would imagine a lonely man doing. When something upset him, he guzzled liquor straight from the bottle. He had tempter tantrums. And of course, he lusted after the female vampires.

It’s been a while since I saw the movie, but I thought it was much more subtle on this point. Will Smith talks to a mannequin out of loneliness and need for human contact, not merely sexual desire.

I liked the Neville of the book better when he was trying to win the dog’s trust. That more than anything else showed how lonely and eager for companionship he was.

Susan wrote: "When something upset him, he guzzled liquor straight from the bottle. He had tempter tantrums. And of course, he lusted after the female vampires."
Well I think the alcoholism and tantrums are realistic.

The whole lust thing might just be the way biology would make people react if there were literally as far as they knew only a few people left on earth. Just a theory.
In the end we all revert to adolescent boys and girls.

Patrick wrote: "don't think anyone would get it haha."

I'd love to just walk around like this the way people are acting: https://plaguedoctormasks.com/wp-cont...

Book Nerd wrote: "Susan wrote: "When something upset him, he guzzled liquor straight from the bottle. He had tempter tantrums. And of course, he lusted after the female vampires."
Well I think the alcoholism and tan..."

In the end, we are just animals with society to tell us what we can and what we cannot do.

Susan wrote: "I had mixed feelings about the book. When Neville was seriously forming theories about the plague, I was interested, but most of the time he was just thinking about sex. I mean, it’s only been five..."

Yes, I got *very* tired of this very early on, too.

Hi all. Starting late in reading the book so waiting to read comments until after I get through the first few chapters.
I find books tend to be better than the film version and I did see the movie with Will Smith, years ago (2007), so I'm curious as to how different the book will be.

Hello Mikiko! I watched the video when it came out and I didn't like it. I did like the book though. I thought it had a touch of the Walking Dead in it which I liked.

Seems people are still finishing up this book. I'll leave it here before I move it to the archives.

Just finished and all in all, I did enjoy reading it.

Even though I had seen the Will Smith film years ago, I didn't quite remember it so the beginning piqued my curiosity. I liked the interesting choice of music; reading about Robert's scientific quest to find answers; depiction of his struggle with the basic human condition.

There were a few things that stuck with me:
1. The appearance of the dog, the desire for companionship with another living thing and then to have that taken from you.
'To Robert Neville that dog was the peak of a planet’s evolution.'

2. When Robert was in the library during his research.
'He stood there for a moment looking around the silent room, shaking his head slowly. All
these books, he thought, the residue of a planet’s intellect, the scrapings of futile minds, the leftovers, the potpourri of artifacts that had no power to save men from perishing.'

3.When Ruth enters his life. Is this how hermits feel?
'As the moments passed he could almost sense himself drifting farther and farther from her. In a way he almost regretted having found her at all. Through the years he had achieved a certain degree of peace. He had accepted solitude, found it not half bad. Now this—ending it all. ‘

4. Towards the end, after the arrival of the jeeps & witnessing the violence, I thought this was such an interesting moment.
' With a sense of inward shock he could not analyze in the rush of the moment, he realized that he felt more deeply toward the vampires than he did toward their executioners. ‘

Thanks for adding it to this year's read.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Mikiko.