Public Commander Keen Forum

Do you read any books? What books have you been reading lately? I know a lot people here like to play games (including our favorite commander! ) and watch movies, but I'm sure there's some Keen fans that like to take their eyes off of the screen and read a good book.

Lately, I've been reading Frankenstein, the original book by Mary Shelley! (GASP! KEEN REFERENCE! ) So far, it's a very good story that holds up very well! Pretty spooky at times! It's interesting to see how it's like compared to all of the various Frankenstein interpretations, including the classic 1931 film.

I borrowed an ebook reader from my mom and have been reading books before bed to readjust my eyes from looking at a backlit screen and stuff. I feel like it's a good habit to have.

Last book I read was Dune. After being disappointed by the movie I was still intrigued by this story due to how much of a cult classic it is and how much influence it had on the sci fi genre. And it really is an interesting piece.

Before that I read A Clockwork Orange, loved the movie and wanted to experience the book due to the unique language quirks, and indeed it was horrorshow. And Neuromancer. I'm having a bit of a tough time figuring out what to read next that won't pale next to these legends. So I've been padding it out with some nonfiction as well.

Read 2 books of Orwell - "1984" and "Animal Farm".
Yes, didn't read those before.

The Martian was my most recent read, and god was it a good one. Everything was so well thought-out and explained, that it really felt like a possibility that someone could survive on Mars for that long.

My most recent read was Voice Lessons by Rob Paulsen. For those unfamiliar with Rob's work, he's one of the most prolific voice actors of all time, but he is best known for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Animaniacs, and Jimmy Neutron. This is Rob's autobiography, which was published in 2019. It's the story of a man who pursued his dreams to become an entertainer, highlighting the ups and downs he has faced over the years, and how a battle with throat cancer almost destroyed his livelihood. It was a pretty emotional read at times, since I lost my grandma to cancer, and the sections where he describes his experiences going through cancer treatment and the lingering symptoms he faced are line for line what I had to watch her go through. I highly recommend giving it a read. It gets pretty deep and personal at times, and it's the only time I've ever teared up from a book.

I got to meet Rob shortly after I finished it, and it got very emotional for me. He seemed touched that I brought my copy of his book to get signed, and I told him about those excerpts that got difficult to read, because my grandma had cancer and a lot of what Rob wrote in his book about his own struggles with it was line for line what I had to watch her go through, only she didn't make it. He gave me a hug as I was choking up telling him about all this, and he signed my book afterward, which included a very heartfelt message inside. He is a very nice, and very sincere person who really, truly loves all of his fans and wants the best for everyone around him. If you're reading this, thanks again for everything Rob!