What does "aSoIaF" stand for? Haha, for a split second there, I thought it was ASoUE, for A Series of Unfortunate Events. Does anyone remember those? They were my favorite books in middle school. I still read them from time to time. Lemony Snicket's narration cracks me up. :lol:
Quote:
Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do. But like most impolite things, it is excusable under certain circumstances. Stealing is not excusable if, for instance, you are in a museum and you decide that a certain painting would look better in your house, and you simply grab the painting and take it there. But if you were very, very hungry, and you had no way of obtaining money, it would be excusable to grab the painting, take it to your house, and eat it.
Just picked up some naval adventure novels! Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (ive seen the film, its a guy film but gooood!), also got Under Enemy Colours by Sean Thomas Russell.
Anybody recommend any other Naval stories i can read?
Im gonna start reading Bernard Cornwells Sharpe novels too as soon as i can buy the first few. Getting quite interested in reading Naval adventure/battle scenes as im trying to write a novel that includes a 6 month voyage, so the more i can read the better mine will sound i suppose!
Lost: It stands for A Song of Ice and Fire, the series by George R. R. Martin that HBO's Game of Thrones is based on. I started reading it not too long after the first season ended and it's phenomenal.
I never read the A Series of Unfortunate Events books myself. I'm not sure why, I just didn't.
I'm reading the third ASoIaF book right now. I wish I had more time to devote to it! But my goal has just been to make absolutely sure to get through at least one chapter per day. I usually end up managing more than that, but telling myself I HAVE to read makes it so much easier to just sit down and get through it instead of putting it off until weekends and whatnot. Do you guys have any special way of getting through books when you feel stressed or like you don't have time for them?
Lavina- I do not know any naval books, unfortunately, but I can recommend ASoIaF! I know you said you're already planning on reading them, but I can't help but talk them up. I bought the next four books in the series before I was even halfway done with the first. :lol:
Game of Thrones is on my too read list as well. I'll get to it at some point, it seems that everyone who takes the time to read it loves the series. :lol:
George RR Martin even has a Livejournal account that he keeps updated! Check him out. I've never followed him, but a lot of people have said that he's fun to read and occasionally talk to.
Last night I decided to start reading A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. It's a pretty grim and interesting dystopian novel that I've wanted to read for a while now. The first couple chapters have definitely got me wanting to read more.
Lost - Yeah, I loved his narration humor. :lol: I've still got most of the books around here somewhere. I should reread them soon!
Lavinia - I haven't read any naval stories, at least none that I can remember. Do you have a Goodreads account? I saw at least one naval story in the giveaway section. I think it was a true story, too.
Iltu - I read right before bed, that helps me get it in. I take the book into the bathroom with me and read it while I'm brushing my teeth and stuff, then finish off the chapter in bed. It doesn't make for as much progress as when you just sit down for an hour or two and read, but it definitely gets it in. So just think about things you do every day and try to identify any times where you could be reading in addition to what you're doing. If you take any form of public transportation, that'd be good.
Sounds interesting, Knerd. Let us know what you think of it when you're finished! :)
Haha, i found the perfect book on the kindle store tonight!
Naomi Novik - Temeraire
Its got Naval battles and stuff, being set around the Napoleonic wars. But they capture a ship with a dragon-egg, so the captain ends up having to become an aviator and ride the dragon through the wars to support the English. It seems really good! Mixing up real war times with fantasy, and i love dragons...and this one speaks! :D
So yeah, im already 25% through according to Kindle, so the two i borrowed from the library are just gonna have to wait :P
I didn't even know Magic: The Gathering had books! But then, I don't really know anything about it at all. Just that there's a certain table (or two tables, sometimes) in the cafeteria at my local community college where a group is perpetually playing Magic cards. The individuals come and go, but the group always seems to be there. Haha. A couple of them are my friends and they're always trying to get me to learn how to play the game. I'm like "Dude, I taught myself Elvish in 7th grade. I have enough Nerd Points for a lifetime." haha. Plus, it just seems super addicting and I'd rather not get sucked into it. I get sucked into things easily. :ninja:
Knerd- I've seen a few blog posts from him, which were really fun to read, but I didn't know he had a LiveJournal! I'll have to check that out.
Cherry- That's a good plan, I'll definitely be reading when I brush my teeth tonight! :lol: I don't take public transportation, since I live on a relatively large campus. Between campus its self and business owners knowing that college people mean a fruitful business, most things I need are no more than a 20 minute walk. I have, however, taken to reading through my 50 minute math class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and my 80 minute astronomy class on Tuesday and Thursday. :oops: Probably shouldn't be doing that, but that amount of reading time is just so tempting!
Lavina- I've had the book for a while and have yet to read it! Let us know how it is when you're done. :yes:
Well, if the pathways are relatively empty and you're a good multi-tasker, you might be able to read a bit while you walk to places. That's assuming it's a safe area that's populated (but not so much so that you risk running into people if you're reading). Being distracted while out on your own can be dangerous if it's not a good area.
Oo, you know Elvish? Is it safe to assume that it's Tolkein's Quenya or Sindarin? :lol:
Yes, Sindarin! :) Though I forget most of it now. I used to scour The Silmarillion and Tolkien's other lesser-known books for Sindarin passages to break down and teach myself the grammar structure. Too bad that same obsessive zeal for language-learning hasn't stayed with me. I could really use it now in Italian class! ^^
Cherry- Most of the places I go are in okay areas (by day, at least), but they're crowded and full of stairs as well. :lol: But I've been thinking that it might be fun to get an audiobook to listen to while I walk. Or put the BBC radio production of LotR on my iPod so I could listen to that!
Austen- That's so cool! I wish I'd had the discipline to teach myself Sindarin at some point.
So many times!
My father was an LOTR geek in high school, so the books were passed down to me when I was still an elementary student. I remember reading through them before there was even talk of a movie. It's one of the few book series that will always stick with me - I practically have the whole thing memorized since I listen to the audiobooks every few years. :lol:
I've never taken the time to learn the languages, though, you've got me beaten there! All I really know is that "mellon" is friend.
Iltu - It took me a while to get through the third book as well. I'm not sure why exactly because the interest was there, but it took me ages to finish it. I essentially broke it down like you mentioned and tried to do at least a chapter a night before bed, and I'd read rather than get on the internet when my insomnia struck.
Lost - Magic is addicting. I used to play with my dad and his friends, and then a group in high school. I forget how now since it's been so long and I don't have the cards anymore... but definitely addicting.
Lost & Knerd - I taught myself Quenya rather than Sindarin when I was younger. Haha. Did a lot of Tolkien-based roleplaying when I first started getting into that around 10. And Knerd, my dad got me into those books as well! Now I attempt to re-read them once a year.
Lavina- I've had the book for a while and have yet to read it! Let us know how it is when you're done. :yes:
I'll be sure too yes. Im half way through right now and they're still in training, but i suppose every series beginner is a bit slow to start so you can get to know the ways and characters in depth!
Im still enjoying it. I absolutely love the dragon, and the rider is so kind-hearted to him, so im definitely gripped and looking forward to their first battles together :D
edit - and speaking of LOTR, i got the hobbit on kindle so i think i'll either be reading that next, or game of thrones :D
I can't wait until the Hobbit movie comes out! :drool:
Seriously. It's gonna be fantabulous. Some people are worried about it straying too much from the book, but I trust Peter Jackson. I mean, hasn't he earned our trust by now? The LotR movies were pretty much everything I ever dreamed of. The only thing I wish had been included was the "Scouring of the Shire" chapter. Ah well.
I missed Tom Bombadil and Goldberry quite a bit as well, but really... Considering what he did manage to include in the films in a really comprehensive and stunning way I'll have to agree that he's earned the trust of the fandom by now. :)
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Oh! And I finished The Hunger Games trilogy this afternoon! While I had a major issue with the style of writing, the story kept me interested and before I knew it I was rather attached to some of the characters... so events in Mockingjay hit me a little harder than I'd anticipated. There are some obvious holes to the story and I find it hard to believe that humanity would ever end up doing some of the things in that series, it wasn't bad by any means.
Last edited by Kamikaze Kendra; 01-24-2012 at 11:18 PM..
Kendra- Did my chapter last night and and it was not to read right before bed. I'll put why in a spoiler bar, but I'm sure you can guess which one it was. :lol: (Spoilers for ASoIaF book three to follow!)
SPOILERX
It was the chapter about the Red Wedding. OH MY GOD. Three of my favorite characters in one chapter!? Plus some minor characters I really liked!? I was so upset I couldn't sleep. I was really tempted to just not read the books anymore, since so many of my favorites have already died. But I can't quit on the remaining characters I love.
And on the subject of the Hunger Games, I had a lot of the same issues you did. I didn't mind the writing style, but the other issues you raised bugged me as well.
Lavina- I love slow paced character development, so that sounds like my kind of book!
Austen- Ahmahgah, I've been in a perpetual state of excitement for The Hobbit for years now. :drool:
I definitely trust him! He did the LotR movies so fantastically. He has a good sense of the balance between what's okay to leave out and what's okay to add. Of course I'm disappointed at what got left out, but none if it ruined the movies for me. (I did read the book after I saw the movies, though. In my defense, I think I was only seven when the first movie came out!)
Oh yeah, that chapter just... It took all the restraint I had not to throw the book across the room at that point. But you know the saying about George R.R. Martin...
SPOILERX
Every time someone asks him about when a new book is coming out he kills a Stark...
As for The Hunger Games, I'm just personally not a fan of books written in first person, present tense. There's something about it that just drives me a little crazy.
Kendra- Same here. I was swearing, trying not to cry, ranting to my roommate and sending angry texts to my mom and best friend. I have heard that saying, and it makes me very frightened for what's to come! Because I imagine he's asked that rather a lot.
Yes, I've heard that complaint a lot from people. It's not a tense I'm particularly fond of either, but I guess I got lucky and for some reason it didn't particularly bug me in this instance.
