Books and Reading, v. 2012
Now including discussions of fanfiction!
Continued from v. 2011.
Date: September 14, 2012
Categories: Things We like
Friday, 29 March 2024
Life, the universe, pies, hot-pink bunnies, world domination, and everything
Now including discussions of fanfiction!
Continued from v. 2011.
Date: September 14, 2012
Categories: Things We like
In response to Cat’s Eye’s recommendation on the other thread, I would like to clarify that I have read book 7. Cerulean Pyros is the one who hasn’t finished the series yet.
I’ve heard a lot of great things about Dumbledore’s Army and the Year of Darkness, but I don’t generally read fics that are rated M, and I’m not sure if I want to make an exception.
I liked DA:YoD very much, despite the whole darker-and-more-brutal thing. Only the Battle of Hogwarts is terribly gory, but there’s an alternate version of those chapters for younger readers that leaves out the horrifying descriptions. While it’s true that the rest of the fic does merit an M rating, I would say it’s more owing to the theme (Dumbledore’s army, not Dumbledore’s Glee club ) than anything else. So perhaps you can risk it.
At this point I got so curious that I just had to at least start it. If I get too disturbed, I’ll quit and let you know. So far (I’ve read the first chapter), it’s just as amazing as I expected, although it took me a while to understand what had happened because I have no social skills.
*Cat’s Meow
I know you have read it; the recommendation was targeted at you, Cerulean Pyros, and anybody else who might be paying attention. I just wanted to make sure that everybody knows to finish reading the other books first!
Bibliophile: That sounds very reasonable. I agree with Bookgirl’s suggestions and encourage you to read it but still respect your own comfort levels.
SFTDP, but looking up lots of different versions of fairy tales (not counting modern ones and parodies, although those can be good, too) is fun. Sometimes you get ones that are really bizarre, like Beauty and the Horse (or poodle).
Yes!, My school library has the complete Secrets Of Nicholas Flamel series. Including the last book. Which I haven’t read. So happy
!
Nice to see Dumbledore’s Army and the Year of Darkness getting around!! I know I suggested that to the blog in general ages ago, after I got it from a friend here.
Not much reading lately, but I will be rereading all the Sandman books as I’m in an exco (mini-class) on it this summer I’ll be leading the discussion for The Kindly Ones because I hate myself or somethign
That sounds like a lot of fun, actually! I could discuss Neil Gaiman all day. (Though not the Sandman comics. I haven’t read those in ages and never finished the series.)
You should finish them!! And yes, I’m looking forward to it
Other things: I keep thinking about how I’m not going to be able to take all my books with me when I study abroad and what am I going to do
but then I remember my parents got me a Nook last xmas for just that reason
I really need to start putting my stuff on it!
Cerulean is feeling declamatory and ellipses-y today, and a post wherein various replies are made is in order…
Preceding thread:
126.1–Cat’s Meow: I want to hear your counter-argument, whenever you think I’ve reached a safe point! Anticipation…
126.2–Bibliophile: I’ll be read to post about book 6 soon, and then finish an unrelated book (Seraphina, by Hartman, which is inventive and richly atmospheric, but I’ve only barely gotten into it, so I may yet be disappointed)…and then! Book seven! Mingled squeeing and sadness, how is it over so soon? You notice things I don’t, too. About Moody: Yes, I see the influence of careful research, now. I agree about the ingenuity of Luna, at least. Because Umbridge is a villain, I want to see her downfall (or lack thereof) before measuring personal satisfaction and impersonal excellence… Yes, about Lockhart. When he lost his memory, I reckoned he could heal in one of two ways, either regaining his previous identity or gaining a new one. He’s becoming Lockhart as we knew him again, not Lockhart-but-different, because he, oh, couldn’t remember why he associates x with y and, therefore, why he traveled to z (which has a lot of x) and became infatuated with n… Does that make sense? More Neville is very good; I’ve gotten through enough of …Half-Blood Prince to have read the bit about Neville’s grandmother bemoaning which subjects he received passing O.W.L.s in, so I definitely see the over-strictness.
Discussion of Dumbledore’s Army and the Year of Darkness fanfiction: That may need to go on my continuously expanding list of beyond-canon explorations. When I’ve gotten through …the Deathly Hallows, I think I’ll need to make a call for (more) recommendations!
Okay, so we’ve begun reading Hamlet in AP English, and I am having a difficult time handling my feelings. My feelings being oh my god, this play is incredible, how am I supposed to live the rest of my life without constantly going up to people and shouting about how wonderful Hamlet is, augh augh augh augh stories about stories and stories that deliberately refuse to be what they’re expected to be and the line between fate and self-control and fatal flaws and identities and how am I supposed to handle this
So I guess this is my indirect plea for somebody to come and talk about Hamlet with me because it’s amazing. Which I guess I’m a little late to the party in realizing, given that most people’s reactions to Hamlet over the past four hundred years have been pretty similar, but shushhhh and come and have feelings with me.
I’ll talk with you about it, even though I haven’t read it in a year. I remember in our AP Lit class the teacher had us read it out loud, with different people attached to different parts. Both Hamlet and Gertrude were read by people who were also in the Drama department. The confrontation between them was something to hear
This is how I am feeling about The Tempest, and it’s not even my favorite Shakespeare play ever. One of my best friends (who was in Much Ado with me last spring) even had the nerve to say that she doesn’t like reading Shakespeare! I have not read Hamlet, or else I’m sure I would join you.
Please, everyone, read Shakespeare and talk to Cat’s Eye and I? *puppy dog eyes*
Oh, man, the Tempest is fantastic. I may be biased, because I saw an awesome live performance of it, and great actors can redeem mediocre scripting, but the dynamic between Prospero, Caliban and Ariel is so much fun.
I get a very definite sense that The Tempest is one of those plays that’s really meant to be a play. So many of the great scenes – the shipwreck, the illusions, the spectacles, the masque – are incredibly visual, and no matter how good my imagination is, a beautiful set and seemingly-magical effects will surprise me more than my own envisioning. Besides, as we’ve talked about a lot about in English, there’s a critical perspective that says Prospero=Shakespeare, and that the play’s themes of power dynamics and magic apply to the power of stage magic as well, and then everything is just wonderful.
Here’s an interesting question that we’ve been pondering in my class that I don’t have a good answer to yet: What does Ariel want to do – and after the play’s storyline, choose to do – with his freedom?
We GAPAs are always ready to talk about Shakespeare. If you want to shout about how wonderful Hamlet is, we’ll be happy to listen and respond.
Ugh, it’s amazing. Years of English have trained me to approach works of literature with “what thesis could I write for this”, but strangely enough, what I keep thinking is “how would I stage this, if I were the director.” (It would probably be set in either the American 1950s or Victorian England. The ghost would not necessarily exist. I want to do things.)
I love how it’s just so self-aware as not only A Play but A Tragedy and A Revenge Tragedy. It deliberately includes all the hallmarks of what A Revenge Tragedy is supposed to look like, what with the ghost, and the protagonist pretending to go mad in order to obscure his plans, and the male honor code, and everyone dying– but it deconstructs them so, so well, because Hamlet doesn’t live up to this impossible standard of male honor, he thinks instead of acting, he feels despair instead of just anger, he lies and he can’t keep the women in his life chaste, because if he did, it would destroy him. And the one time he is impulsive, takes action in anger, he kills Polonius and cuts the remaining threads that were keeping his life together.
And speaking of the women in his life, aughhhhh can we just take a moment to flail over Gertrude because she is perfect, moral ambiguity forever, and she deliberately allows herself to be objectified! She knows what’s going on, she knows her society defines her by the men in her life, and she lets it happen because doing anything else would be utterly ridiculous, because that’s the only way she can keep any control over her life, and the one time she takes her own action, makes her own choice, defies her narrative, drinks from the cup even though it’s forbidden, she dies.
Also giving a shoutout to Ophelia for not deserving any of this cake and also being defined by the men in her life, but so clearly not nearly as world-weary as Gertrude (yet); and then her brother leaves and her father dies and her expected narrative, and by extent her reason, spiral into chaos. And Horatio, oh my god, Horatio, can I just discuss how Horatio is a) the only person with over a hundred lines who doesn’t die, b) the only person with over a hundred lines who doesn’t have incestuous subtext, and c) the only person, at all, who Hamlet trusts, and Horatio is the objective best I want to be his best friend forever
And that’s only my feelings about how Hamlet is so much a story about stories– Hamlet’s expected narrative and expected tropes, and how in fulfilling them he shows how inherently “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable” they ultimately are; Gertrude’s expected narrative, and how when she breaks from it she’s destroyed; Ophelia’s expected narrative, and how when it loses its structure she loses the structure of her mind. I haven’t even said anything about identity, or trust issues, or Apollonian versus Dionysian ideals, or how in so many ways this feels like Shakespeare’s most personal play, the one that he put the most of himself into, but I have so many feelings about them too. Only I have to go to bed.
In short, I cannot handle this play.
Grammar alert: when you are talking about yourself as the object of a preposition or a verb, say “me,” not “I.” If you’re with somebody else, say “and me,” not “and I.” There’s been an outbreak of “and-I-tis” on the blog lately. Examples:
https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=12483#comment-464393
https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=11877#comment-464403
Oops.
I hear that so often these days, more than once I’ve caught myself on the verge of saying it.
I know some very smart people (editors, even) who do say it. All the more reason to resist its insidious appeal.
Oops. I knew that, too.
So today in my American Environmental history class I learned one of America’s first soil scientists, who was also a staunch southern secessionist, and slaveowner, who committed suicide when the South lost the Civil War. And of course during class all I could think about was relating this back to Behemoth and Leviathan and how it made so much sense that the South was Darwinist and then I started thinking about German and other central european immigration during the 1800s to the north and how it made sense that the north was clanker and I love it when stuff I’m learning in real life intersects wiht my fandoms. It makes me want to smile.
Rapture of the Nerds is awesome.
Wait, now it’s really confusing. Jury is out on its awesomeness.
so I’ve been carrying around my signed copy of Rapture of the Nerds for a week straight
and I haven’t started reading it yet
but my friend who went to the signing with me really liked it
so… I hope you like it? I am looking forward to it and I’d love to discuss it with you once I’m done reading it
I think I have to re-read it at some hour other than midnight, because now I’m not sure what happened. Speed-reading Stross and Doctorow is not good for comprehension
The same thing happened to me with HG2G. I tried to speed and nothing made sense anymore, specifically a bowl of petunias. Then I re-read it and realized it wasn’t supposed to make sense anyway. Of course, I’d been on a bus somewhere near the Croatian border for eight hours by then so nothing really made sense and I’d lost the chess game that hadn’t happened yet because it didn’t happen before, or at least only once. But anyway, I was home in time for dinner with my un-smuggle-able smuggled cider and found out why the petunias were petunias.
…That was one of the weirder days of my life.
I totally read that as “Revenge of the Nerds”, and I was like, “Wait, that movie was based on a book?”
Nooooo. Nononononono. No. No. No.
No.
OK, so now I’ve had time to reflect on Rapture of the Nerds…
I didn’t like it as much as I expected to. Stross and Doctorow should be a dream team, but — it’s almost like they’re so similar that the few differences are especially jarring. I had problems with the tone. The book seemed like it couldn’t decide whether to be goofy or serious from moment to moment, which I think might have been a side effect of the collaborative thing.
I have read the first hundred pages, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I don’t have the time right now to read any more, but if I did, I wouldn’t put continuing at a high priority. I know what things have happened, so I have a vague idea of the plot, but I probably couldn’t tell you why they happened, and I feel like why things happen is kind of an important part of stories.
Is this disjoint kind of writing Stross’ style? I’ve never read anything by him — from what I heard about the topics he writes about, I’ve wanted to, but if this is a hallmark of it I’m not sure I’d enjoy the form as much as the content. (At the talk, he did describe Accelerando as “a series of ideas flying in loose formation”, which may serve as a hint that this is typical…)
Also, I think I may still be burnt out on Cory Doctorow. I mean, not him as a person, but I was recently in a phase where all of his work sounded kind of the same (with respect to the way he treats his characters, and the plot arc of stories as a whole), and not necessarily in a way I liked. I thought this would be different, but I think the sameness is creeping in.
I might just be disappointed because the singularity isn’t portrayed as positively as I’d hoped it would be. As I’ve grown I haven’t kept updated with posthumanism, but I was really into the idea of being uploaded to a computer when I was in middle school.
I am totally getting the sameness, not just from the Doctorow end but from Stross as well. I’ve read Accelerando, and Rapture feels like Accelerando-lite. Which is disappointing, because Charles Stross is usually so great at coming up with original ideas.
I was actually happy that the Singularity wasn’t portrayed so positively, after burning out on transhumanism et al — it’s been portrayed with near millenarian optimistic fervor by many of its acolytes.
8- That’s a big pet peeve of mine. It drives me crazy.
I finally read How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale the other day (it’s the fifth book in The Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third) and out of the entire series, this one had the most (probably accidental) Muserly references. For instance, somewhere in the middle of the book, Toothless repeats “Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic.” over and over to himself. But that’s not the best part. In this story there are dragons called Exterminators. Everyone thinks they either aren’t real, or are extinct. They kill everything that is not an Exterminator. They have strange-looking weapons (their claws are very unusual) and are invulnerable to conventional weapons.
There are dragons that are very tough. They fly around and occasionally seem to vanish for several thousand years. They have two hearts. If one of their hearts is pierced, say, by a long pointed object, they can live with just one. This is difficult for them, though. These dragons are the Exterminators.
…whoa.
Have you read Alex and the Ironic Gentleman? It’s a pet peeve of mine, too, and it felt really nice that someone wrote a whole book that managed to work that in in such a hilarious way to such an extent well. That was not a well-written sentence, though, oops.
Any recommendations for books by Hemingway/Twain for someone who hasn’t read any of them?
Oooh, they both have such distinctive styles! I started with
Old Man and the Sea and
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and recommend them both.
I liked The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn much better than Tom Sawyer. Both have iconic scenes, i.e. whitewashing the fence and rafting down the river, but Huckleberry Finn has a lot more depth to it; Tom Sawyer is kind of just about Tom Sawyer and his adventures.
Well I don’t think I posted about it, but I finished A Dance with Dragons recently.
SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS
Things got kind of worse. I’m glad Dany’s finally moving forward. By moving backward! Yay!
AND NO JON NONONONONONONONO WHY WHY HE BETTER BE ALIVE BUT I’M BETTING HE’S NOT. By the end of the book I was reading solely for his and Arya’s chapters. SO YEAH I’M UPSET THAT HE’S CAKING DEAD.
But Arya’s still alive! WAY TO BE A TROOPER!!! Although I was a bit miffed that the whole “Arya is blind” subplot only existed for a single chapter and that she only got two chapters in the entire book. But she’s not really doing anything plot-significant; just chillin’ around and becoming an assassin. So I guess that’s fair.
SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.
I think he’ll bring Jon back. Melisandre is probably capable of resurrecting him, even if he is only mostly dead — Thoros worships the same god she does, and she’s a lot more formidable than Thoros, especially at the Wall. She has the motivation, too — her POV has implied that she thinks he’ll be useful later.
Also, if Jon stays dead, the Wall might go into full-blown civil war. Bowen Marsh has a crony at Eastwatch — I forget his name at the moment — but Hardin’s Tower is full of spearwives and commanded by Iron Emmet and Dolorous Edd, who are utterly loyal to Jon. The wildling host will most likely make for Winterfell anyway, to get back Mance Rayder. (I hope they make it in time to reinforce Stannis — Bolton’s letter was half lies.)
In a more meta vein, there are no other POV characters at the Wall, and I get the feeling events there are going to be pivotal.
SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.
I would actually rather have Jon dead than resurrected, because the two examples of resurrection we’ve seen so far have lost a lot of their humanity as a result–and that would probably mean that Jon would be dead to Ghost, at least. I hope that Jon either survives or dies an honest death. But Melisandre will probably resurrect him; I had forgotten about her interest in him after being genuinely shocked. And that will make me very sad.
SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.
Well, if she does, it’s bad for Jon; if she doesn’t, it’s bad for the entire world. The Watch will either descend into civil war or unite under the command of Bowen Marsh, a practical man but a man unsuited to fighting a war against an army of the dead. If the Wall falls, then Westeros is basically doomed, unless the dragons show up before the Others reach Sunspear.
I DON’T CARE ABOUT WESTEROS ALL I CARE ABOUT ARE THE STARKS
Seriously. I’m so narrow-minded…
SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS SPOILERS AHEAD A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.
Of the surviving Starks, one is already north of the Wall and as safe as you can be up there, one is hidden in the Vale, one is overseas in Braavos, and one… well, nobody’s really sure where he is, but ADWD implies that Osha took him to Skagos. But at least Sansa and Rickon are going to be taken back to the North soon, by Littlefinger and Davos respectively, so they’re in danger from the Others too.
Has anyone read the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (and/or the sequel)? I’d like to discuss it with someone!
(For those who haven’t read Persepolis, it’s an (autobiographical) story about a girl growing up in Tehran during the Iranian revolution- she comes from this family of leftist revolutionaries. It’s brilliant and funny and completely heartbreaking, and you should go get it from the library immediately.)
In other news, we’re reading Othello in English, and oh my god Iago is such a scumbag I want to punch him straight off of Cyprus oh my god.
SFTDP, but this post is excellent in Pirate. “She hails from this family o’leftist re’olutionaries.”
Have you seen the French animated film (from 2007, I believe) based on Persepolis? I saw it a very long time ago but I remember finding it incredibly moving.
I’ve only seen part of it, but I cried! Really need to find a subtitled version (the French version is free on YouTube, but there’s that slight problem where I don’t speak French and all).
Has anyone ever read In the Forest of Forgetting by Theodora Goss? It is fairy tale-like fantasy stories where the magic sneaks up on you and is indirect.
Or Angelica Gorodischer’s Kalpa Imperial? The complete history of an empire that never was.
I just read a YA fantasy novel called Graceling. It was very good! An interesting concept. Have now started the “second” book, which is actually a prequel (though follows different characters; it’s set in the same world with some overlapping characters but in a neighboring country (at least so far!)). I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a light, high-fantasy story.
I loved Graceling! I own the book now. I didn’t like the second one as much, but it wasn’t bad.
Yeah, I’m not as immediately into Fire. But still
And I borrowed Gracling from a friend, but may have to invest in my own copy…
More or less perfect description of my opinions on that book.
stop looking inside my brain
Oh! I love Graceling. I think I actually liked Fire better, and Bitterblue best of all. The thing I like best about those books is that they’re not typical. The characters have far more depth to them than you usually find in fantasy novels. I also think Katsa was slightly stereotypical, though still good, and Fire less so, and Bitterblue the least of all.
Wait. Bitterblue?
I have not heard of this.
I think I need to start the fourth volume of my “I need to read this” list.
Has anyone read Sophie’s World? It’s a novel about a Norwegian girl learning philosophy via correspondence course. I feel like there might be some people here who would like it.
I also recommend Harry Turtledove’s short story “We Haven’t Got There Yet.” It’s available online if you want to read it. It’s about William Shakespeare watching a production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and it’s glorious.
Oh, I’ve read Sophie’s World. I enjoyed it verily, even if I was a little young for it.
I’ve read it! It was because of you, actually; you mentioned it once on your blog, and it sounded interesting, so when I saw it at the library, I decided to check it out.
The only objection I have is that it got at least one fact wrong. It said that the Eastern Orthodox Church considered statues of Jesus, Mary, the saints, etc. to be idolatry and didn’t allow them. My brother is Orthodox, and he assures me this is false. In fact, icons are important to them and used in lots of rituals.
Hm, I read a book by that title a long time ago but it must have been a different book. It was one of those books that has some sort of religious, Sunday-school moral and is about eleven-year-olds. Published by those Christian publishing companies. It was pretty much for the nine-year-old age group.
So needless to say I was a bit surprised when I first read this. Nothing personal against Christian books, but it didn’t seem the sort of thing a lot of MBers would like, especially since it was aimed at nine-year-olds.
I do not read graphic novels. I do not like graphic novels. I really, REALLY dislike manga (not that I have a problem with people reading it, it’s just not my cup of tea). So please believe when I say that having had my friends pester me for weeks to read Death Note and having given in to them is a Big Deal. And that finally finding a copy of it today (the library had all but books 4, 7, and 11 checked out before), and actually liking it is practically Earth-shattering, even if it is about a murderer.
Ooh, I’ve read parts of the manga too (though I watched the anime first). Death Note is so riveting. A murderer, yes, but it begs an interesting philosophical question.
Indeed. Honestly, I think all that genius and academic pressure went to his head. I mostly secretly root for L, although it’s nerve-wracking having the two work side by side and going “OH MY GOSH WHAT IS GOING TO GIVE HIM AWAYYYYY”. I’ve only read three of them, but I plan to read more.
Not to mention the power of the death note. Think about it: without knowing the precedent, if you received a Death Note and didn’t believe in heaven or hell, what would you do? Of course it’s morally wrong to kill people, but what about (for example) dangerous mafia members that no-one dares arrest? Terrorists? And if you would kill, then when and where does the moral slippery slope end?
Well, I mean, there’s a fine line between a purse-snatcher and a terrorist. I mean, towards the end of book three (SPOILERS SPOILERS POSSIBLE SPOILERS DEATH NOTE NOT REALLY A SPOILER BUT I’M ON THE SAFE SIDE) he was just basically killing everyone, it seemed, like “Oh okay here’s this guy who shoplifted, DIE DIE DIE DIE
Can I not start a whole conversation about the death penalty? Because when it comes to things like that I honestly have no idea where we stand, plus it would be more welcome on the Hot Topics thread despite the fact that it’s probably already been discussed.
L is awesome. I like the intellectual puzzles that Light and L get into but I’m only at book 5. I’d like to find it at my library. I was watching the anime, but then I got busy with homework on Deathnote nights (is how I got into it — someone at my school showed it once a week) and stopped. I’d pick it up again for sure!
I’ve been reading the manga for about three years now–I would go to the bookstore every time I was in the mall and buy one. By the time I finished book seven, every time I went to the bookstore I couldn’t find book eight. And then the bookstore closed. And then I went to college and couldn’t find them in the close bookstore, either.
When I came home this summer, I read all the ones I had again, and actually found book eight at a different bookstore. They actually had one of every book! But by the time I went back, someone had been on a Death Note shopping spree and had bought ALL OF THEM.
I started watching the anime, but since I read the manga first, I wasn’t as into it. I would much rather find books eight through twelve somewhere, preferably somewhere where I don’t have to buy them… and the internet is not an option; I need them in book form! Or else my eyes hurt!
Even if the Internet isn’t an option for reading them, couldn’t it be an option for buying them (if it comes to that)?
It is much more fun to go searching for bookstores, but yes, you’re right. I would rather just find them at a library or something, though, because my parents kind of sort of monitor my debit card purchases.
Out of curiosity–if you don’t read graphic novels or manga, how did you know you disliked them?
I stopped reading them after discovering that I disliked them.
Sorry if I’m being an annoying person who tells people that their opinions are wrong, and I usually wouldn’t rant about this sort of thing, but I feel that graphic novels as an art form are disliked because the ones that most people have been exposed to aren’t the best, and people get the impression that all graphic novels are bad. I just want to point out that when you say you don’t like any graphic novels that’s like saying you don’t like any paintings. Maybe you haven’t liked any of the ones that you’ve read so far, but it isn’t fair to judge the whole art form form the quality of a few graphic novels.
Anyway, I’m glad that you’re finding some that you enjoy. It’s really a fascinating way of telling a story when it’s used well, in my opinion at least.
So I’ve read the first three books at this point, and – at the risk of alienating myself from the rest of the Death Note readers here – I really don’t like L. I mean, I sort of like his mind (I never pass up juicy character psychology, especially where murderers are concerned, and L clearly has all the biggest psychological facets of the stereotypical fictional serial killer – even if he is on the good side of the law), but I don’t like him. Does that make sense?
I mean, I really enjoy the games he plays with Light (and vice versa, of course), but (POSSIBLE SPOILER BUT PROBABLY NOT) part of me just isn’t able to wait for him to die. And I’m only on the third book!
Hey, L is my friend! You’ve met him on MB! Why don’t you like him?
It’s fine, I completely understand.
I feel so hurt….Why do you want me to die? *sobs hysterically*
Personally, I LOVE L. The mind games he plays are the best. And I love his habits; the desert eating makes me laugh. And the way he sits. And the way he holds a phone. (^o^)
SFTDP, but DESSERT! HE DOES NOT EAT DESERTS. My bad. :/
Not you L! the other L. *apologetic squids*
Erm… I don’t actually know the HTML for strike-through, so I’ll just leave that as is.
I agree about the mind games, I just happen to find his habits, mannerisms, (and, to be completely shallow, his appearance) disturbing/irritating beyond toleration.
Has anyone here read Dr. Zhivago? I’ve just started it and I’m having a difficult time keeping track of all the characters.
You’ll probably be okay if you stick with it long enough to get involved with the main characters. I remember that I liked the book better than the movie, but I read it so long ago I can’t remember at what point it caught fire.
Well, I’m starting to love this book now! The descriptive passages about the landscape are fantastic “There was plenty of room for the water to play. It flung itself down the rocks, filled every pool to overflowing, and spread. It roared and smoked and steamed in the forest. It streaked through the woods, bogging down in the snow that tried to hinder its movement, it ran hissing on level ground or hurtled down and scattered into a fine spray. The earth was saturated. Ancient pine trees perched on dizzy heights drank the moisture almost from the clouds, and it foamed and dried a rusty white at their roots like beer foam on a mustache…”
16.2- Muahaha.
16.3- I finished Fire two days ago. I did like it more as it went on, but I prefer Gracling to it. I identified more with Katsa than with Fire, since I don’t want to have children and would feel very uncomfortable with someone invading my mind, and since that was a big thing with both of them (though in opposite directions) I think I grew more attached to Katsa.
I am excited for Bitterblue, though the library didn’t have it when I checked out Fire. Maybe when I go back!
Which reminds me! I got a library card for the public library here. Yay! I am currently reading another YA novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone.. Not super far into it yet, but it’s got a more unique concept than other books I’ve read so far.
So, I got Deathly Hallows home today, only to realize that I somehow missed talking about Half-Blood Prince. Rectifying that…
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Was I spoiled for this one? Did I hear the hundreds of people shouting “SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE!” after this book came out? Hoo, yes. After reading, I fetched out my copy of the Muse issue in which the results of the “Did Snape Really Kill Dumbledore?” contest were run. I was disappointed in them, somehow, because the fascinating sense of trying to piece together what was being analyzed was gone.
The very first chapter gave me mood whiplash. Happy, because I got to see just what the Muggle Minister’s interactions with the wizarding world have been. Alarmed, because hostilities have opened and spilled over. Sad, too, because Amelia Bones is dead. I found her intriguing, and likeable, in Order of the Phoenix. I wanted more of her. Then, excited, because of the new Minister of Magic. (And, hey! Kingsley Shacklebolt is on the PM’s staff!) In the end, I am not fond of Scrimgeour, but I am glad of the change in leadership, plot-wise. (Incidentally, how is “Scrimgeour” pronounced?)
So, Snape. Um. I know Snape isn’t the villain he seems. I know this. How, though, did Rowling manage to construct that? I expect to be impressed…
Malfoy is now a sympathetic character–a little bit. I do not like him. I cannot ignore him physically bullying any person at all, but he caused a person to bleed on the train. (Oh–I know Harry used Sectumsempra, and I do not think it was an honorable method of self-defense, but there is a difference in foreknowledge of destructive capability.) The violence is detestable, but I am sad for Draco on two points. First, his only real friend is Moaning Myrtle (a worthy friend, but with a tendency to dishearten people. And she’s dead, which gets in the way of understanding anxiety to stay alive.) I think everyone else is either afraid of him or attracted to the power they associate him with. Second, he is in an outrageously tough situation. Being ordered to kill someone, at risk of the lives of his loved ones, and being expected to consider it an honor? Ouch, ouch, ouch.
There is nothing about Dumbledore’s trip to 4 Privet Drive that I do not adore. He is so unfailingly, maybe even aggressively, polite. I finally realized that he reminds me of the excellent Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld; their methods of thinking differ greatly, but they both possess default politeness and earnestness, and they are capable of using it cunningly. While I am on the subject of Dumbledore, I will use his sessions with Harry to segue into talking about Merope.
“The House of Gaunt” and parts of “The Secret Riddle” are, to me, more about Merope than anyone else. I find her story very painful. I do not find her father, or brother, or husband, or son, sympathetic–but Merope makes me sad. I do not approve of her use of love potion, but I see no person from whom she could have realized what love is actually like. Still, I see the love potion thing as…well, I see it as rape. It isn’t any different from slipping drugs into a person’s drink. Merope was a victim of much abuse, but she herself did something deeply wrong. The whole backstory is extremely disquieting.
Horcruxes: I’m glad I know what they are! Okay, wait. Isn’t Harry a Horcrux? Or his scar is? (Don’t give me an answer, please.) Pretty sure I got spoiled for something about that. Hmm, interesting.
I am not okay with Harry’s cheating. I get why he did it. I get why he didn’t think it was wrong. I am not sure that I wouldn’t have done the same thing. From the idealistic moral ground of a real person judging a fictional character, I don’t see it as the right thing to do. And I love that. A generally admirable character did something I disapprove of! Great! I am not at all bothered by his choice to drop out of school. It is what he needs to do right now. Eek, though, just realized that Harry and I are both sixteen.
By the way, I am at peace with the prophecy now. Between Harry’s contemplation of Neville, and Dumbledore’s chiding of his fatalistic attitude, Rowling smoothed over my issues. Still dislike the trope, but this use is working for me now.
I hear Ginny is polarizing. I like her. I think she and Harry work well together; they have very similar senses of humor and ideals. Yup, no problems.
Side note: I’ve noticed that Hogwarts’ houses have a pattern with how many Quidditch players are female. Gryffindor has the most. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff each have some. Slytherin has none. Relevant? I think so.
I could write an essay about the portrayal of love in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (Okay, put on a David Bowie song now: “Soul Love”.) We’ve got stone love, for Dumbledore, Aragog, Amelia Bones, Hannah Abbott’s mum, and many others. New love, and old, in a romantic way: Harry & Ginny. Ron & Hermione. Remus & Tonks. Bill & Fleur. Arthur & Molly. Short-lived romantic love, too, with Ginny & Dean and Ron & Lavender (well, it was romantic for Lavender). Creepy romantic love–Merope–>Tom. Romilda–>Harry (I might like Romilda, if she gains the maturity to see Luna’s and Neville’s worth, and realizes that it isn’t okay for her to use a love potion.) We have abundant friendship love, and some familial love. Respectful student and mentor love. Soul love–indeed, there is love for love itself. “All I have is my love of love–and love is not loving”. Thank you kindly, Mr. Bowie. I’m done now.
Can I just say it’s so nice and interesting to hear the perspectives of someone reading it for the first time? Even if you’ve been spoiled on some things.
Glad you seem to be enjoying them so far!
You can! May I say that it is so nice and interesting to talk about it? Also, I am very glad to interest and entertain other people!
Has anyone read any Murakami? I started Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World yesterday and I’m really enjoying it. I’m also realizing how much I love Juan Rulfo’s work too.
JKR’s new book is out! I think I may read it later. Once I finish the book I’m currently on, and if the libray doesn’t have Bitterblue back yet. And once I read the Sandman chapters for class.
…well I will read it sometime at least.
I’m actually sitting in a bookstore right now, and I just bought it. I’m keeping my expectations fairly low, but I’m happy enough to read it. I feel like a lot of people are going into it with huge expectations–it’s going to be the BEST BOOK EVER! or it’s going to be ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE–and that tends to influence things one way or another.
Anyway, it sounds interesting.
I really want to read it, but I’m saving money for Earthwatch. I’m trying to convince my dad to buy it (He loves Harry Potter, and unlike me, he’s actually part of the target audience for this book), but it’s not easy.
Just re-read The Merlin Conspiracy. Have been re-reading a lot of Diana Wynne Jones lately. If anyone is thinking of reading her stuff for the first time (and I’d recommend it!), I can give you ideas of where to start, or at least, what to read that is first in a series/a standalone/in a series where order doesn’t matter so that you can start them and not spoiler yourself.
If anyone is looking for a thoughtful but fun and adventurous historical fantasy that deals with politics and letters and cousins getting into adventures, I’d recommend Freedom and Necessity by Emma Bull and Steven Brust.
I read the Merlin Conspiracy a few years ago and enjoyed it, but apparently it’s the second book in a series. What’s its predecessor called?
Deep Secret! It is good, though I might like Merlin Conspiracy better. There are some fun and funny things in Deep Secret, though!
Funniest part of Merlin Conspiracy: Caffeine-deprived Nick on the phone with Romanov’s ex-wife.
I must read that, yet my school library is super-tiny.
Have you checked your public library?
Every time I see people discussing Diana Wynne Jones, I have a moment of peaceful squeeing. She was so marv.
*is. I’m in denial.
Finally got Bitterblue! About a quarter to a third of the way through. It’s picked up a lot as it’s gone. Again, I’m not connecting to the main character as much as I did with Graceling, but I think I like her as a person more than Fire so far. Also we see the return of characters from Gracling that I missed which is nice.
I also picked up another novel, which I forget the name of at the moment. Another YA. I’ve found those are really good for me right now–I can read them quickly and it’s easy to remember everything going on even when I have busy periods where I can’t read for a few days.
I’m also rereading Sandman for a class. We’re doing them about a volume at a time. We’re on the third now.
Yay! Bitterblue *squid arms*
Great book. I read it before Graceling, so I actually ended up like Bitterblue better. Probably because the setting was so new, and finding out about Graces kept me interested through the more boring parts. Not that there are too many of those!
I just realized I’ve been reading mostly late eighteenth-century literature. Started rereading Wilkie Collin’s Woman in White a couple weeks ago, then started David Copperfield for language class. We had a choice of what to read, and I realized I’d never read any Dickens. Clearly that needed to be corrected.
…Speaking, I have seven chapters of Dickens to read by this evening.
Until yesterday, I was staunchly of the opinion that I did not like Dickens, and that Dickens is too wordy. I had tried Dickens in middle school and we had to read Great Expectations in 9th grade, but I remembered that I didn’t like it.
Then I picked up Oliver Twist yesterday. *Initiate total 180 degree turn*
I really really really like Dickens now. How did I think this was bad?
You grew into him. You’ll find that happens with a lot of things, writers included.
True. I actually had a similar experience with LOTR – I tried reading it too early, so my reading comprehension wasn’t up to it. That was back in middle school as well. I have since read through the trilogy at least 3 times. I will admit that getting through the first half of The Fellowship is somewhat hard.
Based on conversations with almost-LotR-fans, it seems that Tom Bombadil has been a major turn-off for readers (everything is Tom Bombadil’s fault. I have deep objections to him).
Though some other people have told me the same thing, I personally like Tom Bombadil. I’m pretty sure that on my first read-through (also in middle school), I even found his part easier to get through than some of the other parts, although my memories are a little fuzzy. I guess he doesn’t really add much to the story, but I think the reason I like him is my love of scenes and characters that imply “there are more mysteries and wonders in this world than are going to be fully explored in this narrative.”
I hated Tom Bombadil on first reading, especially because his part of the story seemed to go on and on and on… Rereading many years later, I was surprised how short and inoffensive the section seemed to be on renewed acquaintance. Otherwise my view on the whole remained fairly close to my initial reactions. Don’t know what that means, if anything.
Hm. I think Tom Bombadil has always been my favorite Tolkien character, after Beorn.
Mine are Thorin, Eowyn, and Gandalf (because I have very cliched tastes when it comes to Tolkien characters, and also because I enjoy flipping back my hair and declaring, “No living man am I!”).
Hm, I had the same opinion about Great Expectations. Maybe I should read Oliver Twist.
Huh, I read the first sentence of David Copperfield, and instantly I knew I was going to enjoy the book. Maybe it would have been different if I was younger.
Oooh, I love that book. I actually stayed up for two days and two nights with a number of my friends continuously reading that book out loud a few weeks ago. It was definitely worth not being able to talk for the next two days.
Oh! By the by, I saw Polyhymnia’s newer(I think) book at the library! Going on a long car ride tomorrow, so I picked it up. Will report back!
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Okay, I am (finally) ready to write this post. This book has so many plot threads radiating from it–which I really enjoyed. Sweet Gloria, you people had to wait years for this!
Going into The Great Harry Potter Reading Venture, I thought I was fairly spoiled for this volume. I mean, by my arithmetic, a mere two of the deaths startled me. (I’ll get back to which ones.) I was dramatically mistaken about, um, nearly everything else.
Where to start? Oh, I do so want to gush about the wandlore presented. Before “The Dark Lord Ascending,” I did not fully appreciate the physical and emotional link between wand and user. Yay, wandlore-heavy plot! Just…in general, YAY WANDLORE!
So long, Dursleys. Hm. I don’t think Harry and Dudley will have any kind of friendship after this, but…Dudley might not be an awful adult? At any rate, his behavior in this book sort of prevents bitterness towards him. Three months of attempted kindness do not make up for sixteen years of cruelty, but they make it somehow pointless to maintain anger.
I especially admire the pacing in this volume. The changes in emotion and intensity are smooth and appropriate, and the rests are neither tedious nor overly brief. In that pattern, we leave the painful Dursleys behind for a large group of people who love Our Hero. I love the love in this series. The force of Harry’s friends’ love for him is so powerful…I…just…yeah.
Then, lest I should dwell on warm fuzziness, there is a car chase–sorry, broom chase–and then Hedwig dies. Nooo! Even knowing she would die, the scene was downright distressing. Then Hagrid had to go and scare me–I did not think he died, but I wasn’t sure, and that was upsetting. Then George becomes saintly, and then Mad-Eye dies (earlier than I had expected), and this is war. These deaths and injuries are not the first in the series, nor even in the book, but the Death Eaters really hit us where we live. These are our friends! These are my friends.
To countermand the preceding events, Rowling gave us some life-affirming events: Harry’s birthday (yay, legal magic-user!) and a wedding. Okay, neither was unmarred, but there is a good feeling that these characters are not going to let the war stop them from celebrating what they have got. Bless the Weasleys.
Am I correct that other people find the camping scenes tedious? I liked them. No, really! After the all the planning at the Burrow, the oh-wait-we-don’t-know-what-we’re-doing felt realistic. Our Heroes are trying to make Voldy mortal by bashing some jewelry and dishware, and, oh, a snake (hmm, Hedwig was killed, and Nagini is Voldy’s pet–measure for measure). I would feel rather silly every time I stopped to think about it. Add in the wearying effect of the locket, and the strain of not knowing what was going on elsewhere–yeep. It held my attention.
Oh, hi, Xenophilius! I completely adore how much he helped the trio, even when trying to turn them in. Side note: The sign of the Deathly Hallows was familiar to me, but I thought that it was a symbol the movie folk had invented to identify Horcruxes or something. Whoops!
I am not fully sure what I want to say about Dumbledore. I still think he’s marvelous. I am pleased to have learned more about him. I am glad he wasn’t always a paragon of upstanding behavior; that actually makes me admire him more. (Oh, is it canon that he and Doge, and then he and Grindelwald, were sweethearts, or did I read too much into that?)
Um, I still don’t like Snape. I forgive him for a number of things, and feel sad for him on many counts, but I still don’t like him.
Who do I like? Nay, who do I love? NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM. LUNA LOVEGOOD. GINEVRA WEASLEY. The people, in other words, whom I have heard referred to as the Silver Trio. I have NO END of adoration for them. While the Golden Trio was destroying Horcruxes, these three were saving Hogwarts students. I adore the balance. Neither Trio could have succeeded without the other.
In spite of the loss of life, I was quite satisfied with the Battle of Hogwarts. It made for all sorts of nice acts of love and support. Percy! Welcome back! (And oh, Neville defending the castle by throwing Mandrakes–always fight evil with plants, while wearing earmuffs! NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM, YOU ARE A TOTAL BABE, AND I HAVEN’T EVEN GOTTEN TO KILLING THE HORCRUX-SNAKE YET!)
And then Fred died. Oh. Um. Whimper. I knew one of the twins died, but I forgot until George got sainted. Of all the times for him to die, I am glad he died laughing and no longer angry with Percy.
So, Harry’s death–which I think does count as death, sort of–startled me. I was completely unspoiled for the way that was done! Thank you, fandom! (Oh! The only other death that startled me was Ted Tonks’. All other deaths were either spoiled for me, or happened to characters I had no particular interest in.)
Am I correct that the creature that was “beyond help” in King’s Cross was Voldemort? I cannot read it sensibly any other way, but Rowling was somewhat vague.
Epilogue: D’aww, everyone is all grown up. I did wander the internet and found some of the beyond-canon information Rowling released–the Black Family Tree, for instance. I am unreasonably delighted by Luna marrying the son of a bestiary-writer and (in my head) trotting the globe, maybe writing for some Wand-bearing world equivalent of National Geographic.
Okay, I am very glad I read Harry Potter. Thanks, all, for making it even more fun! Now–your suggestions, please! Are the movies worth watching? I will be reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but what else in this fandom is fun?
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Not going to answer every point there, because long post, but…
– I believe JKR said that future relationship between Harry and Dudley consisted of Christmas cards and occasional visits. So yeah, you’re pretty much right here.
– Well, the Doge part I’ve never heard confirmed, but with Grindelwald you pretty much aren’t reading too much in. I’m not sure if sweethearts would be the right word, but… I’m sort of surprised you weren’t spoiled on this, I’m pretty sure ‘Dumbledore’s gay’ was a huge controversy a while back.
– Re: the thing ‘beyond our help’, yeah, I think that was Voldemort. Don’t entirely remember, so don’t quote me. She did answer that question elsewhere, though.
As far as suggestions- Pottermore! Pretty art, thematic games, an official Sorting Hat quiz and lots more wandlore and other behind-the-scenes knowledge. It’s pretty awesome.
Wandlore is amazing, isn’t it? You will get more of that in Pottermore. It’s amazing, how much wand information they give you; you’ll love it. And I found out that all my predictions about wands were correct! And mine turned out to be unyielding with a unicorn core, just as I always thought it would be! And I found out that it was elm (and 10 1/4 inches, which surprised me)!
I think I remember reading that Lily, Albus, and James thought of Dudley and his family as those horrible relatives they had to visit each year, which amused me.
I liked the camping scenes, too.
Dumbledore was in love with Grindelwald, but I don’t have the faintest idea whether it was mutual. I’ve never heard anything about Doge and Dumbledore, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily false.
I was delighted about Luna, too. Apparently, she became a magizoologist herself, so your idea of her is actually quite plausible.
Incidentally, Fantastic Beasts is rather… unscientific. If you know a lot about zoology, you might be a bit disappointed. I was rather shocked at hearing billywigs described as insects, for example, when they don’t have six legs. But it seems the wizarding world has no discernible phylogenetics system. I hope Luna makes improvements.
(By the way, you should also read Quidditch Through the Ages; Rowling wrote that, too).
By the way, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is awesome. Read it.
I’m reading Methods of Rationality right now! It’s so great!
I’d also recommend Quidditch Through the Ages.
I think it would be fascinating to read Hogwarts, A History, if J. K. Rowling ever wants to write it.
I didn’t really like Methods of Rationality – it started off well and then Harry just kind of turned into a massive Mary Sue by the fifth chapter and the author kind of lost touch with the original premise.
It gets better. I think that in the first bunch of chapters it has a little trouble figuring out if it’s going to be a fanfiction or just a story in it’s own right, and it gets messy, but once you get into all the Ender’s Game stuff, it gets amazinger.
According to Eliezer Yudkowsky, chapter ten is where most people recommend that you stop reading if you still don’t like it. If you really hate it, though, I can understand not wanting to read that much of it. I loved the whole thing, myself,
Yudkowsky also thinks that the Mary Sue is not defined by her power but by her lack of an even stronger opponent. If you disagree strongly with that, I’m sure Harry would seem like a Sue. I’m just giving you his point of view so that you know what he was thinking, creating a character like that.
Oh, I read the entire thing. I actually liked the first few chapters the best because it wasn’t all let’s-give-Harry-all-these-incredibly-unrealistic-abilities. And I think that a Mary Sue is defined at least partly by the amount of authorial projection going on >_>
I didn’t like Ender’s Game, either, for the record, although for different reasons. It’s been a while since I’ve read it but if I remember correctly I thought it was pretty preachy and self-righteous and that annoyed me.
I also liked the first few chapters the best, though I enjoyed the rest. The first few chapters were really funny and responded well to some aspects of the Potter books; it was only later that it became Ender Wiggin as a wizard. (And I liked Ender’s Game! I just… don’t think it’s that great a fit?)
And I think Yudkowsky’s writing is at least as preachy and self-righteous as Card’s.
To Errata and Bibliophile:
Yeah, the post got quite long quite fast…
Ha! “Dad, did you see the photo your cousin sent with their Christmas card?”
“Yeah.”
“What is that?”
“Um…a ‘house-elf’, I think.”
“Is it wearing a tea towel?”
“Er…well, hey, his godson’s wearing orange radishes in his hatband. Just leave it.”
Oh, I knew about Dumbledore’s sexual orientation, but I wasn’t sure about his relationship with those specific characters. After all, it’s perfectly plausible to travel with or make grand schemes with a person one only regards in a platonic way.
I have been playing with Pottermore since shortly after finishing the book. It is very nicely done! For the curious, my wand is beech and unicorn, fourteen and a half inches, quite bendy. I am surprised that I was given such a long wand, but it is gorgeous. And, yes, I have looked through the wandlore with great contentedness. (GAPAs, am I giving too much information?)
Luna is pragmatic; I expect she would work out better classifications. After all, if she ever found a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, she would need to be able to compare it to other members of its taxonomic ranks. (Did I say that correctly? A catch-all for “other members of its genus/family/order/class/and so-forth”?)
Ah, yes, I will find Methods of Rationality!
I’m pretty sure we can give out our wand, House, and pet information, just not our usernames. My wand, by the way, is–oh, right, I already told you. Well, I’m in Hufflepuff with a natterjack (Spell-check doesn’t recognize that and suggests, along with ‘natter jack’ and ‘natter-jack,’ ‘carjacker.’) toad. I named him Kloner (with an umlaut over the “O”) Hansel Eckel, or Hansel for short; ‘kloner’ (with the umlaut) means ‘natter’ in German, and ‘Hansel’ is a German form of ‘Jack,’ and eckel means toad, although they aren’t called klonerhansel eckels in Germany or Austria, as far as I know. *checks* That’s right; according to the encyclopedia of life, their preferred German common name is ‘kreuzkröte.’ And my dictionary says that their English name is unrelated to the word ‘natter,’ interestingly. Er, that wasn’t supposed to be a whole long paragraph about toads and etymology, oops.
Have you been Sorted yet? Which House are you in/do you expect to be in? I knew I’d be either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw; it was just a matter of which. You’ll only get to read the new information about your House (and if it’s Gryffindor, none of it will actually be new), but the rest is on the Internet.
I’m pretty sure you ‘taxonomic ranks’ is correct. ‘Taxa’ or ‘clades’ would also work.
Huzzah, I can now unvanish and reply to you! Hi!
Thank you; I am also a Hufflepuff–as I expected to be, though I’m not entirely sure why I did. It seemed most comfortable. My pet is a ginger cat, whom I have dubbed (after serious consideration) Solomon Persimmon.
Actually, I found the toads and etymology paragraph quite interesting!
Actually–Before Methods of Rationality, I would suggest Dumbledore’s Army and the Year of Darkness.
It is hands down the BEST fanfiction I have ever read. I have not read much. I don’t really like it but this was just astounding.
It’s year 7 told by Neville, so you get to see how Hogwarts went for everyone left behind. When there’s intersections with what happens when the Golden Trio come back to Hogwarts, they keep all the original lines the same but show you things from a different perspective!
I’d reccomend reading it before Methods of Rationality because it’s set in the same universe as the main series, whereas Rationality skews it into a different one. Fantastic Beasts and Quidditch Through The Ages are also good though! Not to mention cannon.
Agreed, agreed, agreed. I LOVED Dumbledore’s Army and the Year of Darkness. It’s part of my head-canon. MoR was interesting, but it really takes things in a different direction, and your mileage may vary.
Yes, that’s a really good one, too. But I’m pretty sure HPMOR was the first fanfiction I ever read, and that didn’t cause me any problems.
(I’m reading DAYD, and it’s excellent. I haven’t been too disturbed to continue yet, although I’m not done with the Battle of Hogwarts scene). It’s not in my head!canon, though, because it actually contradicts a part of canon that hadn’t been released when the fic was written. (It gives an account of Professor McGonagall’s love life that differs from what JKR later put in Pottermore). Besides, it assumed that “God Rest Ye Merrye Hippogriffs” was an actual wizarding song and the gentlemen version just for Muggles, whereas I always assumed that the version we know is known throughout the wizarding world (just as “O Come All Ye Faithful” is), and Sirius was just writing a parody. But there are definitely parts of it that have changed how I think about the characters.
Also! I forgot to mention that it described Luna’s eyes as blue, when we know from the books that they’re silvery-gray. Granted, that is a minor detail.
Thank you for the information, Jadestone! That does sound compelling…
Man, that is a fantastic fanfiction. Really kind of disturbing. Makes me want to read book 7 again to see how well things line up.
I know right! It’s the first fanfac I ever read*. MoR is the other, though I haven’t read it in months since it slowed down right after I caught up and it got less interesting to me as it went.’
*Excluding My Immortal, which doesn’t count as anything literature related ever.
WHOOPS
well it’s not like there was any guess as to who this was anyway
I AM THE MOST SUBTLE
…Yeah, I knew from the moment I saw your name in the recent comments bar on the ball thread.
But really, was I ever going to be anything else this year?
You should read The Tales of Beedle the Bard, as well; she’s written and published that, and it’s quite good.
Oh, and check out the Harry Potter prequel! It’s an untitled short story about Sirius and James that Jo wrote a few years ago for a charity auction; I’m sure you can find it somewhere online.
Waitwait, what? How have I never heard of this prequel?! I must find it! *looks up* Good, it is online. *reads* It’s… pretty good! It isn’t, you know, earth-shattering… But it’s decent. Thank you for pointing it out!
Thanks, those have both been added to my list!
I’m considering adding In Search of Lost Time to my Christmas list so that I can read it next year. I think it’s unlikely, but: has anyone read it? GAPAs? It feels like I’m deciding whether to move to another country or something. For some reason my intuition tells me I would like it, but…I dunno. It’s just such a dang enormous work. That also raises the question–Kindle or paperback? If I knew of a hardcover set of a good translation that wasn’t extravagantly expensive, that would be ideal, but I think that’s impossible. A Kindle version would obviously be easier to carry around and read, but it does seem like it takes away from some of the gravitas. The paperback version would be more substantial, but I feel like it would get somewhat destroyed as I read it (I don’t always take great care with my books).
So. Thoughts? Should I read it? Kindle or paperback? Is there a good hardcover set?
Proust, right? I dunno if I’d tackle that without some ample free time.
I read the comics version of the first book.
Piggy:
I’ve been saving Proust for my retirement, but I’ve done a little preparation. I don’t think there are any bad translations. The original one, by Scott Moncrieff, has many fans, though people who know about such things say Moncrieff’s Edwardian English sounds more old-fashioned than Proust’s Edwardian-equivalent French does. The 1990s Penguin translation, by seven different translators (one for each book), also has its partisans. I’d probably read it just because it’s an interesting idea, or maybe I’d read the first volume (Swann’s Way) in both versions and see which I preferred.
As for Kindle vs. bound volumes, I’d give Kindle a try for the sake of portability. If you find yourself craving the feel of print on paper, you can always switch.
Well, Pratchett has officially won my heart. Mort was excellent.
However, my continuing quest to read all the Discworld books has shuddered to a halt by the fact that my local bookstore (we don’t have a Barnes and Noble, we were a Borders town) doesn’t have it. And the library only has one copy, which is checked out. And I’m heading back to Chicago soon, and my college library is very lacking in Discworld. The only copy of Sourcery is in an omnibus, which is also currently checked out. I’ll have to go downtown or somewhere to get it.
At least my college library has every single Sandman comic. Which is a little strange, but fine by me. I’ll read those instead.
My local bookstore doesn’t have Sourcery I mean.
Terry Pratchett has officially saved my backpack.
Ever since reading A Hat Full of Sky, I’ve followed the advice given to Tiffany to always bring string with her wherever she goes. This is the first time it’s come in useful. The zipper on my backpack broke, so I’m holding the pocket mostly shut by having cut regularly spaced gashes into the fabric next to the zipper and tying them together.
I finally read American Gods, and it was so wonderful. But does anyone have any theories about the identity of the forgettable god in the charcoal suit?
I just finished the Sandman comics–so good. Seriously.
I think I’m going to move on to Good Omens next, after I finish the sci-fi anthology I got for Christmas. Since my school library doesn’t have Wyrd Sisters. Y’know.
Ambystoma – Well, clearly he is Mr. A. H_ from The Night Circus.
Reading works by Edgar Allen Poe puts me in a decidedly whimsical mood.
HELLO EVERYONE READ THIS FABULOUS BOOK RIGHT NOW
The Name of the WInd by Patrick Rothfuss.
Oh my god I could not put it down. I read 500 pages in one day (it's like 749 total). I started the sequel the day before yesterday yesterday and I'm about halfway through the 1100 pages. It's just. SO WELL WRITTEN AND A GOOD PACE AND NEAT.
It's high fantasy, but doesn't move slowly–something like a cross between Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire, maybe. IT'S GREAT. Like 4 people reccomended it to both my friend and I, and then she found a copy for a quarter at a book sale, so took it as a sign. She read it at the start of the semester and loved it bucketloads so I finally got around to it and oh my god. Don't start it if you have something vitally important to do in the following 3 days, because you will not get that thing done. I was reading the sequel in a lounge today and a friend came by and kicked/pushed my chair to get my attention and I totally ignored it and kept reading and didn’t notice anything had happened until everyone around was like “HOW IS SHE NOT NOTICING THAT.”
BUT READ IT IT’S GREAT I CAN’T GUSH ENOUGH
(POSOC, if you’re reading this, I think you’d like it a lot)
I love Name of the Wind! It’s amazing.
I already read both Name of the Wind and its sequel! I remember talking about them on a long-past Random Thread, and you’re totally right.
The language is what I love most about them. The language and the setting. The idea is not original at all, but the execution of the world is absolutely fantastic. All the different currencies and mutating legends and social customs — and the author rarely does infodumps, so you get the feeling you’re only seeing a hundredth part of this huge and complex world.
Time elapsed: 15 minutes. How do you do that?
GAPAs can search comments. The gods were with me.
And as it turns out, that was the very thread where I asked a similar question about a long-lost comment of mine and you delivered the link momentarily.
the internet ate my comment BUT YES EXACTLY THAT
oh my squids the world-building
ALSO EVERYTHING ABOUT THE NON-INFO DUMPING IT’S FABULOUS AND I LOVE IT AND I JUST
REALLY LIKE HOW HE HANDLES THAT
It’s world-building but it’s like yo just emerge into this fully-created place, and there are no signs to tell you where or what things are, but everyone seems to just say the relevant things as you walk buy and you just pick everything up as you go
And when there are infodumps, they’re not awkward “As You Know, Bob” style encyclopedia excerpts, they’re pure poetry. Like almost everything in the book. I think Rothfuss has some flaws, but his style is not one of them. It would be purple prose if it wasn’t so masterfully executed.
I AGREEE!! I had no idea that you hadn’t read it! It is really excellent!
ahaha well I just read it over last weekend. I am tearing through them. On page 900 something of A Wise Man’s Fear now…
I read this book when it first came out, which was a while ago. It was so good, I was up till three reading it. Then my mother came in and told me to go to sleep. I really didn’t want to, but I did anyways, and then I had no choice but to put the book done. Because of reasons, I ended up not picking it up again till I returned it to the library. But I do remember it being amazing, and now there’s a sequel out, so….I think I’ll try to reread it.
This has no spoilers, I swear!
I read a book earlier this year called I Hunt Killers, which is told primarily from the perspective of the son of the world’s most notorious serial killer (the world of the book, that is – not the real world). The story goes that his father is behind bars, but suddenly murders start piling up in Jazz’s (that’s the main character) hometown. There are several parts of the book told from the killer’s perspective, but not in such a way that you can tell who en is.
I believe I’ve mentioned on multiple occasions here that I’ve been writing my own book about a serial killer off and on for the past three and a half years. In my book, every murder is related through the killer’s perspective, but not in such a way that you can tell who she is. So it was really nice to read another story that used that method (not that it’s a very uncommon one).
I absolutely loved I Hunt Killers, and I recently read an advance copy of its sequel Game. (It’s an advance copy because the book itself isn’t out until next month.) It was also great, but something about it really got me literally from the beginning. It opened, like my own book does, with a murder scene, told from the perspective of the killer of course. But there was something different from the murder scenes in the first book. I read it and re-read it, double checked, analyzed each word. What was so eerie was this: if you took any of the murder scenes in my own book and changed nothing but the setting and the killer’s particular methods and gender, you would get that exact murder scene. It was identical to my writing style, from the word choice down to the ratio of description of the scenery to the description of the victim. Now, I’m the kind of person who tends to see connections where there are none, so I brought this book to a friend of mine who is beta-reading my story. I read that passage to her, with no more prompting than to ask if it reminded her of anything. For various reasons, I got cut off halfway through the admittedly quite short passage, but that was enough. She looked up at me and said “That’s you.” I showed her the book and explained that it had been written in the past year, so there was no way I could have been copying the author’s style (not that she thought I was, but I was weirded out enough to want to cover all my bases), and her response was that in the future I go back in time, change my name, and write it. Doesn’t making a joke like that just go to show you?
By the way, Game was just as good as I Hunt Killers.
Great minds think alike!
Okay, Cat’s Eye is out of town and I’m turning to you wonderful people. I need someone with whom to talk about Hamlet.
Please.
Anyone.
Hamlet! I read it aloud with my family once. Reading Polonius’s parts was a lot of fun.
It’s been a while, but I loved reading Hamlet!
I recently read Paper Towns, so I thought I’d look into “Song of Myself.”
… ♥
I am currently rereading the Herald of Valdemar series, which I was deeply into when I was about 11 or 12 or 13. It’s really quite interesting to see what I remember and don’t remember. Also it seems like I partially read many of the series, like only reading book 2, for example, so I didn’t always understand what was going on, but now I am reading them in a clearer manner.
Does anyone want to talk about them?
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Reading theories for what’s going to happen in the next Game of Thrones episode fills me with glee. They have no idea what’s coming. The show builds up this whole “Robb’s gonna assault Casterly Rock” thing and it’s going to pull a dastardly bait-and-switch. Even the episode title implies that something bad’s going to happen to the Lannisters. “The Rains of Castermere” means totally different things to readers and watchers. It’s so exciting.
I read one post complaining about how the show has gotten a little stale–the plot has advanced this season, but there hasn’t been much shock value, in their opinion (They’re completely forgetting about Jamie’s hand, though; that was most certainly unexpected!). The Red Wedding is arguably the biggest shock since Ned’s beheading. You expect something to happen during the wedding, but not something as awful as everybody dying. Plus with Cat’s reassurances to herself that they’re all safe because the Freys fed them.
I just hope the show does it right. In the book it comes right the cake out of nowhere–Cat hears “The Rains of Castermere” being played and then there’s an arrow in Robb’s chest.
Aargh, why can’t this episode come on next week? Memorial Day? That’s no excuse!
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Alternate title for A Storm of Swords: “Two Weddings and Two Several Hundred Funerals”