Abhorsen Trilogy

These books by themselves made me obsessed with fantasy. Garth Nix is the best.

It’s like the authors’ only experience with the South was from movies and tv shows.

I live in WV. This being a thing makes me rage.

Out of nostalgia, I read one of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna books last night: In the Hand of the Goddess. I really liked her books in middle school, so I wanted to see if they held up.

I really don’t want to say this, but… it didn’t. It had hints of interesting things, but it read more like a series of events than an actual story. Something would happen, then it would skip ahead six months and something else would happen, and so on. There wasn’t any real character development; characters felt and did things apparently just because. And worst of all, there were dropped plot threads all over the place. I felt like someone had taken a more complex and interesting story and trimmed out half of it to just show the highlights—but you can’t do that, you have to show the in-between bits too.

Also, as much as I hate to admit it, Alanna is kind of a Sue…

It’s kinda disappointing overall. :( I really hope it was just this book/series.

NEAL STEPHENSON IS COMING TO BERKELEY, YOU GUYS

Siege of Jerusalem!

Disemboweling! Antisemitism! Hilarious Historical and Geographical inaccuracies! A dude with a beehive in his nose!

I love Medieval literature. It’s so wrong.

It’s fucking awesome, isn’t it?

It is! There’s just something kind of glorious about it. I seriously wish I could make my living studying the stuff.

^^ eating is so overrated.

I’m taking Medieval Lit now and I love it. Only I must be learning different stuff than you, ‘cause I’ve got no beehive nose man.

I only got to read Siege of Jerusalem for a grad class, so maybe that’s why. But yeah, that’s were beehive nose guy turns up. You also get some actual baby eating. (Really.)

In my spare time I’m reading Divine Comedy and it’s beautiful and I don’t know how I existed without this because it’s just fantastic

It’s pretty amazing. Did you need to read it in verse or prose?

It’s pretty amazing. Did you need to read it in verse or prose?

I’m reading the Ciardi translation, which is really really beautiful but it’s not entirely accurate. I’m still trying to find an affordable version of the Singleton Translation to read when I’m done with this one.

I’m almost done with Paradiso and I don’t want it to ennnd.

This just in, JK Rowling regrets putting Ron and Hermione together, says it should have been Harry/Hermione.

Rowling says that she should have put Hermione and Harry together in the Harry Potter series instead of Hermione and Ron.

“I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment,” she says. “That’s how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” she continued, “I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I’m absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people’s hearts by saying this? I hope not.”

And the fans go wild…!

Did she say that Hermione and Harry should have been together or just not Ron? I’ve been looking through things, and I never really saw anything that was specifically “Harry/Hermione”

I agree with Snow White Queen. I never really saw her with either character.

Agreed, the movies were much more inclined towards H/Hr than the books, they were more… sisterly and brotherly in the books, there was never any real romantic spark between them. Doesn’t stop the fanfic writers, though. Pretty much 9 of the 10 best fanfics I’ve ever come across (in terms of writing, characterisation, plot sensibility, and so on) have all been H/Hr, but given everything in the books I’m more willing to believe Harry wouldn’t get involved with anyone, but instead develops crippling alcohol and commitment problems, as the wizarding mental health therapy/counselling system seems to be non-existent.

edit: Also, JKR never said that Harry/Hermione would be a thing either, she doesn’t comment on that.

Thanks, Taku. All the goddamn links keep saying OHHH IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HARRY/HERMIONE but she said no such damn thing. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Rereading Wuthering Heights for a class I’m subbing in. Lockwood is a pompous asshat.

I dunno, I was rooting for Edgar Linton.

Not Victorian, really. It’s Gothic literature. Only realized recently that Heathcliff isn’t just a deconstruction of the tall,dark and broody thing, but specifically of the Byronic Hero. Misunderstood? Maybe. Heroic? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO.

I’m doing character polls with my class. At the moment Lockwood is getting neutral, with a few positive/negative outliers, and Heathcliff is neutral, with a few negative outliers.

Heathcliff is neutral

How. I swear I shrieked with joy when Linton punched him.

Oh, well then. You should keep up the polling business to see how things change. :)

And if any girls in your class end up thinking Heathcliff is smexy (or guys, I’ll be an equal-opportunity insulter), tell them they fail the class forever. Because they do.

I’m trying to get through The Three Musketeers for the second time, and I’ve just about reached the point where I gave up the first time.

Here’s my problem – why am I supposed to like any of the main characters? I mean, they (and let’s be honest, all the Musketeers) tend to spend a lot of time drinking, starting fights, and fleecing married women for their money. Hell, d’Artagnan starts the book actively looking to start a fight for no good reason. And now he’s planning on starting an affair with his landlord’s wife – his landlord who he still owes rent to.

Am I supposed to like them because they don’t like the Cardinal? What’s he done that’s so wrong? Gee, he’s maybe trying to expose the queen’s affair with a foreign duke? And I’m supposed to be against that why?

Also, I’m not entirely sure about d’Artagnan’s reasons for being so mad at Rochefort (who has yet to be named, btw). Firstly because I didn’t actually see Rochefort take d’Artagnan’s letter, and secondly because d’Artagnan was the one who started the fight in the first place.

The only thing that’s keeping me sane at the moment is planning on rewriting the whole story from Rochefort’s POV.

Hah. The Three Musketeers is one of my favorite books, but I’ve only read it once and that was years ago. Maybe I’ll give it another read after I finish The Count of Monte Cristo.

I’ve heard very good things about The Count of Monte Cristo. As for Three Musketeers, I tried but gave up.

So I finished Three Musketeers. And having done that, I ask – why am I supposed to like the heroes? They are, for the most part, horrible, detestable people. I’d be okay with it if their behavior was ever presented as wrong, but it never is. And having read up on the Duke of Buckingham, I have to wonder why I’m supposed to be sad or upset about him being assassinated. Because apparently his own countrymen hated him, and it was only though the influence of the king that Buckingham wasn’t sacked. And based on that, I’m not surprised that said king was later executed.

While most of the characters in Three Musketeers were morally gray (at best), what bothers me is that it probably wasn’t done on purpose. That, and the fact that the heroes never seem to get any comeuppance for their less-than-heroic behavior. Just for example, d’Artagnan beats his manservant when said manservant wants to leave d’Artagnan’s service because he hasn’t been paid. D’Artagnan’s even goes “I’m doing this for your own good”, and the manservant buys it. That’s just… no. Not cool.

As for Eye of the World (and the rest of the Wheel of Time series), I think most of the similarities come from the fact that both Jordan and Lucas were making heavy use of the Hero’s Journey monomyth. That’s actually kind of the point of the series – myths and legends from our world are historical fact to the characters in the series, and vice versa. And I think a lot of the reason the plot slows down in later books is because Jordan started juggling multiple plot lines at the same time – probably like what the last two SoIaF books would have been if GRRM didn’t separate them by geography. At least, that’s what I think it is – I’ve only read through the maybe the first four books.

The last book I finished was Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, which, despite the goofy title, was quite good. It’s a YA novel about these two teenage boys who want to set the world record for longest kiss….and it’s narrated by a greek chorus of gay men who have died from AIDS.

cue ugly blubbering

Saw that. After my knee-jerk reaction of “the Eagles are not a taxi service”, I went on to “they have better shit to do.” The War of the Ring wasn’t just confined to the areas around Mordor and Isengard, you know.

The War of the Ring wasn’t just confined to the areas around Mordor and Isengard, you know.

A common misconception, but when you think about it, you had the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, and both weren’t what one would call a nice safe place. But the filler is amusing.

I finished the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb a couple of days ago. I really enjoyed the books, by and large, they absolutely managed to capture my attention and I couldn’t put them down until I finished… but I can’t help but think they’re a great example of how a skilled writer can make even the most cliched characters and setting work. If you just described the plot to me (a royal bastard, unloved by everybody, has ~~magical powers~~ that everyone else fears and doesn’t understand! Also he’s an ASSASSIN and awesome fighter and is the only one who can figure out the super cool magic that they need to save the world and his life is so incredibly TRAGIC), I think I would’ve thought I would’ve hated it. But it actually works, because there are serious consequences to everyone’s actions, Fitz earns his abilities and the various other cool stuff he ends up doing, and the ending is bittersweet at best. And the writing is quite good.

Definitely going to pick up the other books and give them a try as well.

Hell yeah. Pretty much the pinnacle of Attic tragedy. Some would say Sophocles was better, but Aeschylus/Aiskhulos is way above him.

Check out Euripides next, he’s got a slightly more “modern” approach to metaphor and characterisation.

I’m finally getting back into reading on a regular basis… for the first time since like high school… anyway it’s pretty great, I went to the library three times in the past week and a half.

I read a bunch of things, but the two most important ones are 1632, which is about a modern-day West Virginia mining town that gets warped into the middle of Germany during the Thirty Years’ War, and it’s really good, and I’ve been hearing about it for ages and always thought it sounded interesting… and I also started reading the Honor Harrington books, which I have also been hearing about for ages, and kind of knew I would love, and they are the best ever I must have more.

They hit like every single sci-fi trope I love. Big sweeping settings, political drama, female starship captains, epic space battles, nerdy technobabble about engines and ships and weapons, crazy planets all over the place… it’s so great. I’m getting that Mass Effect urge all over again. Plus Honor is really really cool.

Recently picked up Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep and it’s entertaining but sexist as hell

Estoy leyendo a Harry Potter y La Piedra Filosofal para repasar el español.

It took me forever to get through the first chapter with the aid of Google Translate. It’s strange to struggle with basic comprehension and grammar but I guess I’m reading more attentively than I have in years.

Ah, so that’s what I potentially have to look forward to. Thanks for the heads-up.

Rating for books we’ve read so far in English

Jane Eyre: 6/10, it was one of those books I thought the story was really interesting, but didn’t like the style. Gothic novels, Victorian novels aren’t really my thing.

A Lesson Before Dying: 6/10, I didn’t really like it or find it that interesting, it was okay.

To Kill A Mockingbird: 8/10 I found this one really intersting, I loved Atticus and seeing Scout’s development really made me think about what it means to me to grow up and all sorts of good things like that.

Of Mice and Men: 10/10 This book was amazing! I read it all in one sitting, and I was completely enraptured by it. The foreshadowing and just the way the book is written was so well-crafted that it kept my attention fully.

Macbeth: 10/10 We’re only a little ways into this one, but I loved Romeo and Juliet last year (I love the extra challenge of the way Shakespeare uses language) and I love this too. We get to listen to a recorded version in class (so you really get the whole “performance” aspect of it).

‘Love Dishonor Marry Die Cherish Perish’ by David Rakoff is a great, humane book! I had never read a novel-in-verse but this one is definitely worthwhile.

Return to Hush Hush. Somehow it’s actually worse than I remember.

Thanks. Yeah. It’s…bad.

On the bright side, Nora is just as bad of a stalker in the later books, so I don’t end up feeling so…uncomfortable…

I must have it!

Woah. Is this like a textbook? The paperback version is $50 Canadian.

She’s actually the person who got me into sporking. Have you seen her spork of the Da Vinci Code? It’s hilarious.

...wow.
When even the freaking DEVIL is calling you out on being an asshole, you're one hell of an asshole.

You know, I remember seeing a phrase somewhere that the devil never actually lies, because he doesn't have to.

And the Fallen series has what might be the worst antclimax ever.

Including Breaking Dawn.

I’ve heard that that’s a really interesting book.

Finally finished with my romp through Paranormal Romance. Cassandra Clare still doesn’t seem to realize that throwing new characters into the final book only works if they serve a function.

Same. It’s turned out to be a pretty terrible year as far as deaths go.

That’s what I was thinking, Apep. At least he died still able to remember his family and friends and, well, his life. He still had his dignity.

The Thrawn Trilogy, on the other hand, is excellent. (I haven’t actually read Path of Destruction, though, so I have no comment on it. :))

Is it actually written well? One major beef I have with Path of Destruction was the writing in general. The dialogue was boring, the book mentioned the end game plan multiple times and it went off without a hitch making for one of the most boring climaxes I’ve ever read and it’s pretty hard to get invested in a character with a name as silly as Bane.

EDIT: The Lies of Locke Lamora, however, is something I’m really getting into. Still in the middle of it but it’s turning out good.

As a general thing, I don’t think I’d recommend any extended universe novels to someone who’s not really into Star Wars. . . with a big exception to all of Zahn’s books. They’re all good.

Investment doesn’t have much to do with it. It just had some really big flaws that I hated. For example, when your main character has a plan and they mention that plan out loud, there’s no tension if everything goes according to the plan. I felt disappointed by the end of the book because there really weren’t any surprises or any reason to believe he’d fail by the middle of the book. Not to mention I couldn’t stop cracking up trying to imagine people trying to hold serious conversations with people named Bane and Githany.