Anyway, just picked up a $.25 yard-sale special while out doing some errands: In Other Worlds by A.A. Attananasio. The cover and blurb were positively Philip Jose Farmer in gonzo concept, so I picked it up. We'll see how it reads.
Loved his book The Dragon and the Unicorn, so let us know how that one turns out.
Louisa May Alcott Porn Alert:
There's some great smut at the end of Chapter 38: On the Shelf.
Meg is addressing her husband on the lack of "domestic joy" since the twins were born:
Never mind what John said, or what a very narrow escape [Meg's] little bonnet had from utter ruin; all that we have any business to know is that John did not appear to object..."
The March sisters get down!
More LMA Porn!
From the end of Chapter 41: Learning to Forget
Laurence gets his greasy mitts on Amy:
"Will you, Amy?" very tenderly.
"Yes, Laurie," very low.
Then they both stopped rowing [is that what the kids were calling it in the 1860s?] and unconsciously added a pretty little tableau of human love and happiness to the dissolving views reflected in the lake.
Humping in the middle of a lake, damn those March girls are easy!
So, I finally finished Little Women.
Despite what my attempts to throw paladins and pornography into the story might lead you to believe, I liked it very much. Alcott writes well and I laughed and cried many times throughout the story.
However, I won't be reading Little Men or Jo's Boys or anything else by her.
The death of
"One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without dissolving into tears of laughter."
19th-century chick-lit sentimentality makes me cry!
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Not true when you get into GA, SC, and those places in the southSoutherners are congenitally afraid of consonants... but vowels are always on a 2-for-1 sale.
Thus, "cabinet" becomes something more like "caneh."
"I remember you" becomes "Ah rememmer yooooouuuuuuooooouuuu!"
Yay tangents!
I have had the misfortune for my native accent to be Inland Northern American English. While it's since gotten buried in Western New England/North Country, it still shows up when I'm wicked tired.
We add consonants. And vowels.
For example, the Rah-cha-cha/Buffalo/Syracuse area is the only place in the world where "car" has two syllables. "Block" and "black" sound exactly the same. And, where I'm from, you can hear on the news how the police "cut" someone who was later "treed" and put in "gel."
Finished:
Cabinet of Curiosities by Lincoln and Child. Pendergast is starting to feel a little long in the tooth and he's only in his third book. I was planning to re-read them all, but I'm losing interest quickly.
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I can't recommend this highly enough. Fantastic story with engaging characters, all written in flavorful, crunchy, beautiful prose.
I'm about halfway through Wise Man's Fear and so far am not finding it nearly as enjoyable, though.
Also visiting Discworld again with Mort.
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I can't recommend this highly enough. Fantastic story with engaging characters, all written in flavorful, crunchy, beautiful prose.I'm about halfway through Wise Man's Fear and so far am not finding it nearly as enjoyable, though.
Hang in there! The first half is pretty much NotW II, but eventually Kvothe goes on a walkabout and things get better.
Also, and maybe I should spoiler this
There are some good fantasy novels out there that make for great plot generators for your RPG:
* the Ranger's Apprentice series is very good (and great for kids too - while the stories focus on the kids, the adults are presented as caring and competent
* The Eye of Ogin was a very nicely done book where the main character actually transforms over the course of the book. Great plots and NPCs to steal for your own campaigns.
* The Lords of Dus is a little pricey for the hard-cover, but it is a book that you will read, re-read, and read again to your kids and grandkids. It is that good.
In service,
Just started Bullfinch's Medieval Mythology, which I scored for $6 at the local bookstore. I'm not sure if I'm going to get used to his prose, though. Smaller distances in time and thus style have kept me from books I was much more disposed towards.
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Just finished:
The Scar by China Mieville (fiction)
H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction
Currently reading:
Lockdown High by Annette Fuentes (nonfiction)
The Story of English by Robert McCrum, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil (nonfiction)
The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler (nonfiction)
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman (fiction)
Just started Bullfinch's Medieval Mythology, which I scored for $6 at the local bookstore. I'm not sure if I'm going to get used to his prose, though. Smaller distances in time and thus style have kept me from books I was much more disposed towards.
Bulfinch is wicked dry. He mostly collected the tales so that 19th-century readers would be able to understand high-falutin' references in poetry; encyclopedic, but dry.
You can pick up the King Arthur and Robin Hood from a bunch of different other places, but I found him worth reading for the Charlemagne stories. You don't find many of those stories laying about.
Blasted through The Gods of Mars by ERB. The great white apes (who I recently learned were the inspiration for girallons--didn't notice it myself) get a lot more face-time and this time they've brought some crazy friends!
Again, the monsters are horrific, the fights are fast and furious, the sociopolitics of the world-building preposterous and the plot has more ridiculously unlikely coincidences than Charles Dickens could shake a stick at. Great fun, in other words.
Started reading Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld which I picked up due to discussion over in the Steampunk thread. So far, it's fun.
Just started Bullfinch's Medieval Mythology, which I scored for $6 at the local bookstore. I'm not sure if I'm going to get used to his prose, though. Smaller distances in time and thus style have kept me from books I was much more disposed towards.Bulfinch is wicked dry. He mostly collected the tales so that 19th-century readers would be able to understand high-falutin' references in poetry; encyclopedic, but dry.
Yeah, and he's a bowdlerize too. For a gamer I have very little background in medieval myth, though. I never went through much of an Arthurian phase or any of that. So if I get some grounding out of it, great. If I'm bored, it was only $6.
The War of the Roses by Trevor Royle.
Stephen King's Nightmare and Dreamscapes for the third time.
Stephen Lawhead's Byzantium for the second time.
Also Pathfinder's excellent Descent into Midnight from the Second Darkness Adventure Path.
Just finished:
...H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction
Currently reading:
....The Story of English by Robert McCrum, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil (nonfiction)
I picked a copy of that Lovecraft up at B&N. Not a bad price neither. The Story of English is a fascinating read. I still want to go visit that island in the Chesepeake where they still speak a close dialect of 17th century English. EDIT: Tangier Island is the name. Bless you, Wikipedia.
I am reading a new book, The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham. With my huge pile of unread books, it takes a lot to grab me right off. This book did that. It is shaping up to be like a standard 'world-menace, heroes fight' thing, but the devil is in the details. Abraham paints a gorgeous canvas, like his world having thirteen 'races of mankind' which are more like separate D&D races than actual humans (there is talk of races, 'modification', and baseline humans are called the Firstblood, so I am not sure where he is going with that)
I am reading a new book, The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham. With my huge pile of unread books, it takes a lot to grab me right off. This book did that. It is shaping up to be like a standard 'world-menace, heroes fight' thing, but the devil is in the details. Abraham paints a gorgeous canvas, like his world having thirteen 'races of mankind' which are more like separate D&D races than actual humans (there is talk of races, 'modification', and baseline humans are called the Firstblood, so I am not sure where he is going with that)
I haven't seen this, but I was a big fan of his Long Price Quartet. I dislike the fact that this is shaping up as a Quintet, but that's fantasy writers for you.
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Yeah, and he's a bowdlerize too. For a gamer I have very little background in medieval myth, though. I never went through much of an Arthurian phase or any of that. So if I get some grounding out of it, great. If I'm bored, it was only $6.Just started Bullfinch's Medieval Mythology, which I scored for $6 at the local bookstore. I'm not sure if I'm going to get used to his prose, though. Smaller distances in time and thus style have kept me from books I was much more disposed towards.Bulfinch is wicked dry. He mostly collected the tales so that 19th-century readers would be able to understand high-falutin' references in poetry; encyclopedic, but dry.
There's two books that I can think of off the top of my head which might be of interest after you finish Bulfinch:
Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson (the Patron Saint of Troll Town) has some Charlemagnian paladin flair;
and the Harold Shea stories (they've been collected under a bunch of different titles) by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp in which the eponymous hero travels through different planes, including one plane based on the legends of Charlemagne and another based on the tales Cu Cuhlainn.
Anyway, they're both tons of fun, I think they both got the Gary Gygax seal of approval in the 1st ADD DMG and checking them out after Bulfinch might help to reinforce your study of medievalisms.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I'm about halfway through To Kill a Mockingbird and enjoying it, but a thought occurred to me.
A controversy in education is whether to use books in schools that contain the "N-word" (for those outside the U.S., it's a negative term for African Americans) and the book typically held up as an example of it is Huckleberry Finn. I've never read Huck so I can't comment directly on that book, but I can tell you that the book I'm reading uses the "N-word" with regularity. The puzzling thought is that I've never heard it mentioned as a book that should be banned from schools because of its use.
Have others seen Mockingbird criticized in this way? If not, I wonder why that is.
Thoughts?
I think Mockingbird doesn't draw as much attention because the word is used to highlight racial injustice and prejudice.
The 200+ times the "N" word is used in Huck Finn are used as flavor for the time and place.
In both books, the use is probably historically accurate, even if Twain writes Jim with some heavy stereotypes.
/2 cents
Stephen Lawhead's Byzantium for the second time.
I re-read Byzantium about once a year. Love the journey.
Have others seen Mockingbird criticized in this way? If not, I wonder why that is.
Twain's anti-racism, which could be pretty damned radical, is much more subtle than Harper Lee's. He also has some serious failings, but then so does Lee. By her own admission she wasn't writing a novel about social justice, but merely a father-daughter love story. It shows in how flat a character Atticus is.
Twain's anti-racism, which could be pretty damned radical, is much more subtle than Harper Lee's. He also has some serious failings, but then so does Lee. By her own admission she wasn't writing a novel about social justice, but merely a father-daughter love story. It shows in how flat a character Atticus is.
Have others seen Mockingbird criticized in this way? If not, I wonder why that is.
I never read TKaM, but I would have to think that age suitability has something to do with it.
Huckleberry Finn wasn't taught in class until high school where I went, but really the book was written for a much younger audience. If it wasn't for all the loaded race questions in the book, it would probably be taught in, say, fifth grade.
Although, if you took out all the "race matters" content, there'd probably be no call to teach the book at all!
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I never read TKaM, but I would have to think that age suitability has something to do with it.Huckleberry Finn wasn't taught in class until high school where I went, but really the book was written for a much younger audience. If it wasn't for all the loaded race questions in the book, it would probably be taught in, say, fifth grade.
Although, if you took out all the "race matters" content, there'd probably be no call to teach the book at all!
I've read and studied both. You've got it reversed. Huck Finn was written for adults. Tom Sawyer was more or less a kids' book and Twain decided early in writing Huck that he wasn't going to do that again. Instead he wrote a deeply political novel about race that happens to follow a great character arc, even if it comes apart a bit at the end, and take down all the slave power romanticism that was first becoming popular at the time of writing. Issues of race are central to the book.
By contrast, To Kill a Mockingbird has its sainted protagonist delivering a speech to his daughter about how the lynch mob coming to do in the wrongly-accused black man are all good men she should not think less of. And no, it's not ironic. Nor is it about how the system has twisted even a paragon of moral virtue. Organizing a lynch mob is the kind of moral failing that isn't all that serious in Atticus Finch's world, kind of like jaywalking.
I've read and studied both. You've got it reversed. Huck Finn was written for adults. Tom Sawyer was more or less a kids' book and Twain decided early in writing Huck that he wasn't going to do that again. Instead he wrote a deeply political novel about race that happens to follow a great character arc, even if it comes apart a bit at the end, and take down all the slave power romanticism that was first becoming popular at the time of writing. Issues of race are central to the book.
Hmmm. I'm not trying to suggest that all of the race stuff wasn't central or that the politics weren't serious. I just don't see how that means it wasn't a kid's book.
It isn't just a kid's book, of course, but I read it long before high school, somewhere around 2nd or 3rd grade. I'm not going to say that I came away from it with a subtle and nuanced understanding of slavery and racism, but I did come away with a general impression that both of those things were bad.
So, anyway, yeah. I didn't read TKaM, like I said, so it's probably just idle speculation.
Hmmm. I'm not trying to suggest that all of the race stuff wasn't central or that the politics weren't serious. I just don't see how that means it wasn't a kid's book.It isn't just a kid's book, of course, but I read it long before high school, somewhere around 2nd or 3rd grade.
My condolences. It's not the kind of book one should be using to teach basic literacy, and that's what early elementary school is for.
But it wasn't intended or written with children as the target audience, which is how I interpreted your description.
I'm currently reading "John Dies at the End". Good read so far.
I remember back in February, when Samnell, Doodlebug Anklebiter, and I discussed the contrast between To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn, in regards to racism, in this same thread. And now, it's happening again. Well, I've already said enough about that subject, as I'm usually reluctant to discuss controversial matters, but I will say this:
Doodlebug Anklebiter, you read Huckleberry Finn in the 2nd or 3rd grade? Good lord. I had enough difficulty reading it in the SIXTH grade, or even as an ADULT for that matter, and not because of racism issues. It was the DIALECTS that made it difficult for me. I have no idea what Twain was SAYING in many passages of that book.
For instance, when Huck's father tore up Huck's picture, and said "I'll give you something better -- I'll give you a cowhide," I had to puzzle for a while what that meant.
Did he mean "You don't need these trinkets these stuck-up people give you. I can give you something REAL, like the hide of a cow?"
Or did he mean "I'll beat you up?"
Maybe I would have understood it better had I grown up in Missouri. I don't know.
For instance, when Huck's father tore up Huck's picture, and said "I'll give you something better -- I'll give you a cowhide," I had to puzzle for a while what that meant.
Did he mean "You don't need these trinkets these stuck-up people give you. I can give you something REAL, like the hide of a cow?"
Or did he mean "I'll beat you up?"
Maybe I would have understood it better had I grown up in Missouri. I don't know.
You would've understood that particular passage better if you had been disciplined with a whip when growing up, regardless of where.
My condolences. It's not the kind of book one should be using to teach basic literacy, and that's what early elementary school is for.But it wasn't intended or written with children as the target audience, which is how I interpreted your description.
I learned my basic literacy off Detective Mole, not Mark Twain!
But I'll accept all the condolences I can get.
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I can't recommend this highly enough. Fantastic story with engaging characters, all written in flavorful, crunchy, beautiful prose.I'm about halfway through Wise Man's Fear and so far am not finding it nearly as enjoyable, though.
Hang in there! The first half is pretty much NotW II, but eventually Kvothe goes on a walkabout and things get better.
Also, and maybe I should spoiler this
** spoiler omitted **
I'm a good bit farther now, and you are correct. It's drawing me in quite a bit more now that :
I'm currently reading "John Dies at the End". Good read so far.
That was a fun book.
Alternating between re-reading Lindsey Davis's A Dying Light in Corduba as part of my "reading the whole Falco series in one go" project, and The Worldwound Gambit.
Just finished The Orc King by R.A. Salvatore
Currently reading Paul is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion by Alan Goldsher
Just obtained a Kindle, and loaded ~200 books on it without incurring any additional expense. Prior to this, I had no idea that most of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Alexandre Dumas, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, etc. is available on Kindle for free.
Rereading Conan for the nth time. It's funny how you see different details differently as you get older.
===Aelryinth
Finished Wise Man's Fear. I enjoyed it, not quite as much as NOTW, but I did enjoy it. I think there's fewer compelling moments here, but Rothfuss is a spectacular writer, and even if not as much is "happening" it still is very engaging.
The story of Jax and the Moon and the follow-up story about the moon in the Fae.
Watching the relationship between Kvothe and the Maer develop and then sour.
Still working on Mort and I've added Seth Godin's Poke the Box.
I finished Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, which has a trailer(!) here.
The book was pretty good and might be of interest to amateur Darwinists and BattleTech fans. It even has a thylacine!
I kept up with the recommendations on the Steampunk thread and moved on to Christopher Priest's The Prestige. I'm about halfway through and so far I like it, but I have a feeling the next section is going to have "the big reveal."
And, finally, but please don't tell Citizen Gersen,
I kept up with the recommendations on the Steampunk thread and moved on to Christopher Priest's The Prestige. I'm about halfway through and so far I like it, but I have a feeling the next section is going to have "the big reveal."** spoiler omitted **
I've only just seen the movie, but I was entertained to find my home town in it. I live a half mile from Tesla's original laboratory in Colorado Springs. Let me know if COS makes an appearance in the book as well.
Just finished "The Lies of Locke Lamora" and just started "Red Seas Under Red Skies," both by Scott Lynch. It's kind of a fantasy Venice version of Leverage....lots of thief capers.
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Just finished "The Lies of Locke Lamora" and just started "Red Seas Under Red Skies," both by Scott Lynch. It's kind of a fantasy Venice version of Leverage....lots of thief capers.
Lies is one of the best fantasy books ever. I've always thought of it as a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and Ocean's Eleven. Red Seas is good, too. I've given up holding my breath on when the third book will actually see print.
I've only just seen the movie, but I was entertained to find my home town in it. I live a half mile from Tesla's original laboratory in Colorado Springs. Let me know if COS makes an appearance in the book as well.
Yup, got there last night. Colorado Springs in the house!
Currently:
The Girl who kicked the hornets nest
and
A Clash of Kings
Yup, got there last night. Colorado Springs in the house!
Woot! I read a bit of Tesla's autobiography at one point, but never finished it. I got burned out on "I was an exceptionally exceptional child." I do wish we had more of his toys in modern life, though :)
Finished Mort. Fun...
Yup, got there last night. Colorado Springs in the house!
I've only just seen the movie, but I was entertained to find my home town in it. I live a half mile from Tesla's original laboratory in Colorado Springs. Let me know if COS makes an appearance in the book as well.
It about time for another trip down there from Boulder, hit Garden of the Gods on the way.
Ohh and Tocath which Pratchett books have you read besides Mort?
Finished The Prestige today.
Well, as soon as I finished it I thought to myself "Great, now I have to read it again," but as it turns out, there's a Christopher Nolan movie, so I'll skip the re-read.
Two 19th-century stage magicians square off in a snarkfest of epic proportions. For the first 3/4ths or so, I was enjoying the book but wondering why it got recommended in the recent Steampunk thread. It took a while, but at the end the steampunkery emerged.
It's all epistolary (like Dracula), so it's difficult to get any kind of real sense about who the characters are. That and the fact that there are so many secrets being protected, well, you get the idea. It also does that Good Soldier/Great Gatsby trick of going around the story in circles and parcelling out bits of info so that you only figure it out by approximation.
All in all, good fun.
Just re-started Game of Thrones today.
I read it waaaaaaaaaaaaay back and stopped two chapters into Clash of Kings when it was released. The Books were so good I wanted to hold off until more of them were out to minimize the wait time between books.
I figure now is a good time to go back to Westeros, between the upcoming book and HBO series hooplah.
Just re-started Game of Thrones today.
I read it waaaaaaaaaaaaay back and stopped two chapters into Clash of Kings when it was released. The Books were so good I wanted to hold off until more of them were out to minimize the wait time between books.
I figure now is a good time to go back to Westeros, between the upcoming book and HBO series hooplah.
I actually could squeeze re-reading the series into my schedule (my reading time has been scant of late) so I ponied up for the unabridged audiobook. It's a good way to re-acquaint myself with GRRM's genius, and find all the changes HBO made to the story. Plus it beats radio for commuting ...
I actually could squeeze re-reading the series into my schedule (my reading time has been scant of late) so I ponied up for the unabridged audiobook. It's a good way to re-acquaint myself with GRRM's genius, and find all the changes HBO made to the story. Plus it beats radio for commuting ...Just re-started Game of Thrones today.
I read it waaaaaaaaaaaaay back and stopped two chapters into Clash of Kings when it was released. The Books were so good I wanted to hold off until more of them were out to minimize the wait time between books.
I figure now is a good time to go back to Westeros, between the upcoming book and HBO series hooplah.
*CHOMP*