Horatio Hornblower Series

I know that most folks here (myself included) probably prefer books to the television, but it's hard to fold laundry and cook dinner and such while reading, so sometimes we have to compromise.

That all being said, I am watching the Horatio Hornblower series from the first on. I've only gotten through the first...four, I think. The Wrong War was the last one I've seen. I am in love with Ioan Gruffudd in the series, although he hasn't aged quite as cutely as I would have hoped.

I am hoping that watching the show will help me get in the mindset for the RP.

Michele

I agree that books are usually never as good as the movies/tv shows, but if they are done well, I do find them enjoyable.

Provost wrote:I agree that books are usually never as good as the movies/tv shows, but if they are done well, I do find them enjoyable.

I couldn't disagree more. IMO books are normally far more satisfying.

I tried reading the series that "Master and Commander" was based on, and found the movie MUCH more enjoyable. The books were nigh incomprehensible to me. And I have a sailing background!! I think they were just SOOOO technical, that it just wasnt an enjoyable read.

Funny, that is what so many people like about them, that they are that technical.

I did find them that way as well, but it made me dive in deeper to try and understand that world of sail.

I suppose that's why we have so many authors writing so many different genres. If we all liked the same stuff, then what a boring place it would be! For me, movies and books are for relaxation and enjoyment. I do like some measure of mental exercise, but not so much that it seems more like I'm trying to learn a foreign language or cram for a mid-term. My father, on the other hand, loved the books, most likely because of the technical aspect. I wanted to simply enjoy a rollicking sea tale.

I loved the Master and Commander movie so much that I immediately started reading the books. By the time the DVD came out, I bought the upgraded DVD with the extras and realized that the books had ruined the movie for me.

We (my Premier and I) have enjoyed the PBS Hornblower series as we watched it the first time live on PBS. Then, I received the complete set for Christmas (from guess who). From time to time (on a cold and windy night) we pull one of the episodes out and enjoy it again. We've also used them as the "evenings entertainment" for house guests (works well with a "tot or two"). And watching them has sent a few of these folks to the bookstore (or my bookcase) to start reading Forester's series.

I have the series in paperback (well broken in as I've loaned them out to several "old geezers" in town). But I also have a set of them from Easton Press (fancy stuff). And last year, I came by a set of Hornblowers on audiobook and listening to them was almost a new experience.

But the best use of the DVD videos and the audiobooks was to entertain my next door neighbor (Ian) a merchant seaman who was disabled in a shipboard accident many years ago and is now just short of being quadraplegic. I sat with him and watched the first DVD video and he really enjoyed it, so we watched the rest, in order, together. Then we got him an IPOD and put the audiobooks on it and, believe me, it was worth the price of admission. C.S. Forester has another fan (this one 82 years old).