I was 11. 7th grade in I.S. 34, Tottenville, Staten Island. It was my english class’s turn to head to the book fair. Most of it was utter crap. The same juvenile, pander to the pre-teen angst ridden middle schooler bull$#!t books. You’re either too old for the “Tales of a Second Grade Nothing” type books, or too young for the really awful crap they were going to shove down your throats in high school. (”The Good Earth”? Eff Wang Lung and O-Lan. The only book i hated more was “Nectar in a Sieve”)
I was wandering around, wondering what i was going to waste my much loved/saved up lump of lunch money. A few of my friends were walking up to the counter with “Jurassic Park” so i caved to the ever present book lovers peer pressure and bought the book.
By the way, i love that book. And the movie still kicks ass. That jumpy glass of water? Classic.
As i walked up to the counter, my eye was captured by the cover of a book. It was kinda futuristic, some type of weird craft on the cover, and on top, in big bold letters, the title. “Ender’s Game”.
i thought it was an interesting looking cover, and it sounded ominous enough, so i went ahead and spent a week’s cookie rationing on the novel by Orson Scott Card.
i can honestly say that THAT was the book that started my epic reading craze. by the time i had reached 18, i’d read more books then most people would in their lifetimes. i still spend between 50-100 bucks a week at various bookstores, going through novels in about 2-3 days. also, i like to switch around, get as much story as possible.
“enders game” is about super brilliant kids. the future of humanity is dependent on these little geniuses growing up and becoming the commanders of the next inter-orbit fleet. sound geeky? well duh. have you met me? have u ever seen my blogs on battlestar galactica?
however, when you read the book, it’s MUCH more about the relationships that develop in the book, then about science fiction. i honestly wouldn’t want to tell you more, because you really need to experience the book. i would never take away from someone reading that. it’s THAT good a story.
i’ve bought that book 3 times now. my original copy wore out at least 10 years ago. i’ve lent it to so many friends that i had to buy another one when my 2nd copy didnt make it’s way back to my bookshelf. i’ve read almost everything else that card has published, and it’s all been worth it. but i still come back to that book. my cousin and i actually make references to it when speaking to each other. matter of fact, the title of this blog is just such a reference. (jeremy would understand).
i still read the book on average of 3 times a year.
which is why im so FREAKING psyched that it’s being made into a graphic novel.
http://www.zooped.com/2008/04/20/enders-game-comics-coming-from-marvel/
i can only hope that it does justice to the book. i’d actually be kind of disappointed if this eventually led to a movie. theres no way in hell that a movie can do justice to the intracacies of that story.
anyway, as u can tell, i’m a total fanboy. but do yourself a favor. go read the book.
