The Books: To Read or Not To Read

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May 2012

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______ Holidays ______
May 28 - Memorial Day

[thyri Carver]

Kaitlin... I did have someone toss quotes at me before in RP. 

I could not wrap my head around their reasoning for breaking RP and going straight to the quotes IN RP.  DIdnt jump in my IMs with the quote, just tossed it right out there.

So I waved my hand at them and mocked them for reciting something from some foolish philosopher. 

[lizzy Starfall]

One thing I learned very early in my excursions into Gor and that was that for nearly every quote that one can throw out there, another contradicting one can follow it. And I agree, quotes do not belong in IC RP, but in IM instead, if one really has to!

[Loredana Varonia]

i would not say "the books" are essential to rolepleay, imo there are too many contradictions in. but the first two books and then at least the one about the region you want to roleplay in should be read.

the more i read in the past, the more confused i got.

that is why i always say: You want to know what Gor is? Then read the books. you want to enjoy SL Gor? then do not read them at all!

some of them are written in a good style, others are simply horrible. but this may be different for the individuals. i found the priest kings nearly illegible and stopped after having read approx half of the book. for me it was so boring!

and the more voluminous a book is, it needs a good style, otherwise people will not read it.

[Caranda Schreiner]

I actually think the first two books are a poor choice to read because Tarl doesn't act Gorean in them and does all sorts of exceptional un-Gorean things because he is a clueless Earthling.

[thyri Carver]

I think also part of the reading of the books should be because you WANT to read the books to become better at your RP.

When your reasoning for reading the books is to be able to find "the one quote" you might as well just be reading notecards.  Honestly.  When your Gor becomes nothing more than quote flinging, its no longer Gor.  Its a bunch of disjointed quotes that situationally can be contradicted by other quotes elsewhere.

I look back on how I started to read the books.  I found a RP genre I liked.  I looked at onlineism laden websites about the genre.  I wrote in a notebook the parts of these websites that I felt would enhance my RP or I could call upon the knowlege at a later point to be able to use in my RP.  Then I learned that there were books about this genre, and I sought them out.  And it was a lot harder 15 years ago to find the books to RP the genre.  I scoured the used bookstores in order to find the books.  I'd read one, and then scour again.  I finally went to Ebay for Magicians and spent over 100 dollars on it.  I think that my seeking out the books led me to reading the books on a collective level.  Not searching the books for "the one quote"

I think that's the difference between reading the books because you want to improve or enhance your RP, and then reading the books because you're "required" to.  You always get more out of any reading if you read for your personal enjoyment or benefit rather than doing some required reading assignment.

[Siobhan Lisle]

I think also part of the reading of the books should be because you WANT to read the books to become better at your RP.

And it was a lot harder 15 years ago to find the books to RP the genre.  I scoured the used bookstores in order to find the books.  I'd read one, and then scour again.  I finally went to Ebay for Magicians and spent over 100 dollars on it.  I think that my seeking out the books led me to reading the books on a collective level.  Not searching the books for "the one quote"

 You always get more out of any reading if you read for your personal enjoyment or benefit rather than doing some required reading assignment.

I loved the stories! I read and read and read. Did I love his writing technique? No. Was I willing to overlook it because I was so engrossed in the fantasy? Of course.

15 years ago, I too began collecting my first books(I got one of my copies of Magicians for $54.52 though!). There were no notecards. I was almost prideful when I was able to get myself a first edition. I would read those with care and I never bent the pages. For many of us though, the books were more than a guide for a roleplay genre. Our books weren't wrapped around our roleplay, our roleplay was wrapped around our books.

Now on to my bragging rights (and only the old folks will get it...lol):

I have a copy of Magicians in hardcover. Never been opened, not even a little bit. Pristine condition. My uncle used to own a small little bookstore in a sleepy little farmland village and when it went out of business, I got my pick of what was left.  I nearly peed myself when I found it! lol

*Now returns to her meek and humble self*

[Loredana Varonia]

did you buy originals? i got 10 books for 15 euro (among them even the first edition of the marauders) and all the rest except the last two volumes, as pdf.

i used to write nc on onlinisms, too, i used to give people more information on gor, on btb ecc and for doing so, i needed the books to proof with quotes.

well, in the end nobody cared!

in the meantime there is another point that has become more and more important for me, a side effect which for me is much more important: the terrestrian philosophy on which the idea of Gor seems to be based! i read about philolaos and his idea of "counter-earth" on the other side of the "central fire" ( he really uses these words), and pythagors whom i knew from mathematics only upto then.

and the linguistic connections between words in the books and earthern old languages, the similarity of thassa and thalassa ecc ecc ecc. read under this point of view, the books can really be very interesting.

but that is actually my way of considering them. and ... DE  GUSTIBUS NON EST DISPUTANDUM"

[luce]

I actually think the first two books are a poor choice to read because Tarl doesn't act Gorean in them and does all sorts of exceptional un-Gorean things because he is a clueless Earthling.

It so interesting how people's thinking process works as these were my favourite books as he was new and in this strange world as we all were back..back… back in the beginning! gee even I am starting to pull out quotes..who would have thought

[Marcus]

You dont have to read all of them but you should read the ones that pertain to the role you want to play on gor. Wanna be a Tuchuk? Read Nomads. Wanna be a torvie? Mauraders is for you. and so on and so forth.

I have all of the books on my Ipad and I think ive read 20 of them so far, one after the other. I do plan on finishing them but I needed a break. But yea, anyway, if you dont want to read all the books, you should at least read the ones that pertain to the role you have selected for yourself.

[Loredana Varonia]

let me add: of course, tarl did not behave as a gorean in the first two books. but how could he? he had come from earth, like everybody on sl-gor. and just this is another reason for my advice to read at least the first two books.

and for the rest, i agree to what marcus said

[Taog Ra]

One of my favorite gifts of all time:

Assassin of Gor by John Norman, Volume V in the Chronicles of Counter-Earth, Bantam Books

It's got a little black band on the top right corner that says Origical 95 cents.  It sits often within hand's reach of where my computer is, it's old and worn much like the guy who reaches over to pick it up and thumb through it now and then.

Techila mitawa.

[Kaitlin Eiren]

I actually think the first two books are a poor choice to read because Tarl doesn't act Gorean in them and does all sorts of exceptional un-Gorean things because he is a clueless Earthling.

I couldn't agree more.  This is actually why I have always advocated reading the first 13 or at a minimum 7 in other platforms!  I believe many of the misunderstandings related to gorean RP come from reading just the first book.  Tarl is not gorean at that point at all.

I do know even getting one read in SL Gor is a huge task so now I just suggest the first to get the basic lay of the land for the genre then skip to one of the later books that matches your interest/role.

[bunni Maven]

Years ago, a good friend of mine introduced me to the world of Gor. I'd never heard of it before she told me about it and had never seen any of the books. Instantly intrigued, I bought the first three books and sat down and read them. I knew when I started the first book, that Gor was a lifestyle that I wanted to roleplay. And so my journey into SL Gor began.

My immediate fondness of the societal structure, their ways of life, how detailed JN was in his imaginary world and how I recognized our own history in his writings did not take me by surprise. What did take me by surprise is my love-hate relationship with his writing style.

I find his method of writing sloppy, unprofessional and that of a less skilled writer. His train of thought bounces around so harshly that it takes him a whole chapter to tell one complete thought. That is, of course, because he mixes it with several other thoughts, all handed to the reader in tiny pieces. It's much like speaking to someone with an inability to focus. I have someone in my RL that talks like this. She starts on one thought then jumps to another and yet another before I finally reel her back in on her initial thought. An hour later, she'll finally make her point.

I'm so thrilled to read more about his imaginary world of his but the writing is so difficult to read through. Dare I use the word "painful" even?

Thinking about this today as I'm up to the double digits in the books now, I started to wonder about them. Does anyone actually enjoy reading these books or do we all read them simply to be better roleplayers? Does the fascination of the world of Gor make the writing more bearable for others? How important do you feel the books are to roleplaying in SL Gor?

I couldn't agree with your view there more.  I found the books rather painful to read.  The concept is great but some of the books I actually sat down and was like, na...I'm good thanks.  I do think it is key for an valid or at least partial understanding that people suffer through at least a few.... For myself, after reading 6...I sort of gave up. 

[Loredana Varonia]

@bunni: that is why i think it is enough to read the first two and then the one talking about the role or sim you want to roleplay in...

reading the books means suffering
and suffering (at least for slaves, i.e. 90% of the sl-gor population) is simply essential!)

and when one does not need any suffering any more ... he/she most probably leaves sl-gor! sometimes roleplay requires much more masochism that I could offer!

[Carter Ebbage]

For me... I always tell people.. if you only read one of the books... read Nomads.

The characters are more believable...

the men... well rounded in humour, personality and guile.. not just a battling hero of gor
the women... varied and as usual always end up enslaved
the context is not the usual city.. it opens up the variety of Gor
the theme of GOR is more appreciable as a concept in this book I found

the rest can be absorbed from other sources to save you the mental anguish of reading the dreadful prose from JN.

Get your head around the concepts and feeling of the behaviours of the people of GOR through Nomads, the details and onlinisms are secondary to me..... if you cant find that inner Gorean man/woman inside yourself, then it doesnt matter what you read or how many of them you read.