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Post by StarlightDragons on May 30, 2015 1:31:46 GMT
oh, speaking of miyazaki's movies-that-are-actually-books, wasn't kiki's delivery service a book, too? and the author didn't like how he portrayed it?
we're still discussing frankenstein in class and it's hilarious how 99% of the people have zero patience for poor victor, and most of the students are "why are you so dense and irresponsible" and say as much at least twice every class XD but we're also talking about the themes of the book and such, like what does beauty and ugliness mean, is the creation really that ugly, would you have done this this or that, etc. there's a lot of back and forth for the latter, since half of our class is oddly very moral / idealistic, and the other half... more "realistic", I guess.
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Post by Mikauzoran on May 30, 2015 20:14:07 GMT
You know, I've always enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle, but I never got around to reading the books. I might have to look into those.
As for me, I finished A Tale of Two Cities, and I was extremely disappointed. Charles Dickens was supposed to be one of the greats, but there wasn't anything to really set him apart in this book. I didn't really feel an attachment to the characters (except Madame Defarge. I really liked her, even though she was the antagonist. Miss Pross was pretty cool at times too), and the first half of the book it was a little difficult to grasp who everyone was, how they were connected, and what they were doing. It was kind of hard to follow at times, but that might of been because it didn't really hold my attention well enough for me to care to figure it out.
I also didn't like how Dickens went off on these boring tangents that didn't really seem to add to the story. So yeah. I was not impressed with Charles Dickens. Next up I'm going to give To Kill a Mockingbird a try. We read an excerpt in grade school, and I remember that I didn't like it, but that I have a feeling that it'll hold my interest better now that I'm twenty-five than when I was eight. ^.^; I think it'll be interesting to look at it from a legal standpoint.
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Post by ichthyophobia on May 30, 2015 21:22:44 GMT
Oooh, To Kill a Mockingbird is excellent. But sad. I hope you like crying.
Picked up one of the Discworld books today. I think out of all of them I've managed to read, Going Postal is probably my favorite- everything comes back around on itself so nicely in that one, and Moist is very clever. He almost reminds me of Kaito or Lupin.
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Post by Mikauzoran on Jun 3, 2015 1:29:51 GMT
I finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird today, and I really liked it. Rather than sad, I found it very vexing. I really wanted to smack some of the characters, but I think it turned out well in the end...except for the obvious unjust death that I'm still upset about. This book really irritated me. In a good way, though.
I thought it would have more to do about the legal aspects, but I was pleasantly surprised about the episodic style of storytelling. I really did like this book.
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Post by Nikudou Natsumi on Jun 3, 2015 3:19:41 GMT
So after finishing rereading Percy Jackson and the Olympians (except for the first two books, since I didn't really feel an urge to reread them like I did with the last three), I'm about to start rereading the Kane Chronicles. Not as good as pjo, but still good. Those chapter titles though XD
I'm also planning on reading the Thief and the Beanstalk by the same person who wrote the Books of Umber. He actually wrote a lot of continuations of fairy tales before he even started the Books of Umber. I think you can guess what this one is from XD Ooh, ooh, what was the sentence thing on that summary thing about the book? Ah, here it is: "Long ago, a boy climbed a beanstalk and came down a thief. Now a young thief will climb to that strange land in the clouds... and what will he be when he comes down?" Darn, now I really want to skip reading the Red Pyramid (first book of Kane Chronicles) and just go straight to the Thief and the Beanstalk . . . *sighs* I must persevere. I'll get the book soon enough.
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Post by Nikudou Natsumi on Jun 4, 2015 21:29:26 GMT
So I just went to the library and got a bunch of books (as well as volumes 10 and 11 of the 3 in 1 Inuyasha tankoubons). I got The Thief and the Beanstalk (of course), The Riddle of the Gnome (based off the world of Rumpelstiltskin), The Mad Apprentice, and Relic, book one of the Books of Eva. Now the wait will seem even longer to read The Thief and the Beanstalk, since I actually have the book . . .
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rainbowcupcake
Full Member
JA is so absurdly gorgeous it's not even funny anymore. It's ruining my life
Posts: 142
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Post by rainbowcupcake on Jun 4, 2015 23:53:18 GMT
I just finished the fourth book in Peter V. Bretts 'Demon Cyle' series and well ... I just want to read the next goddamn book, you can't just end a book basically saying "someting terrible will happen" and then just ... cut it off... I guess it's still better than the purely evil cliffhanger that ended the third book, but still..goddammit Peter! Here's to hoping that he'll finish the next one soon (just the title of it makes me really, really, REALLY want to read it). I really enjoyed it though, but maybe I'm biased because I simply adore the entire series *shrugs* There were some dry patches of politics and stuff (unless you enjoy that kind of thing, then it's probably not dry), but they weren't too terrible. The fighting got a bit gory sometimes, and I have a very vivid imagination, so I kinda rushed through those sentences, before the pictures would get stuck in my head. And there are so many characters to keep track of, I honestly don't know how Brett does it. Then again, judging from his Facebook posts, he's got trouble with that too They actually printed a family tree of Jardir's family (or well, at least the named characters) in the book - about time, think people have waited for one for a long time. Considering how many characters there are though, I think he does a great job at giving them all some background story and personality, can't imagine that being easy. Other than that, great as expected. Okay, so that was the more general stuff and since I don't want to spoiler anyone who doesn't want to be spoilered, I'll put the rest under a tag. {Spoiler: Click to view/hide}He killed Rojer. I'm mad. It's just..no no no no no! I think I'll need some time to get over that one. I actually cried and just stared at the page for a while in shock and disbelief. It was a bit vague at first whether or not he was in fact dead, so after the first shock wore off, I read on hoping that he'd made it after all ... but then the confirmation of his death came, and just..I can't. I just can't. Why, Peter? Why? Why Rojer? Goddammit. I wonder what his wives will do now .. technically, he was what linked them to the Greenlanders, so now that he's gone...what of them? Leesha'll probably try to help them, but Krasian pride and customs can make things difficult.I'm not mad about Jayan though. He was awful. Is it awful to say that I'm glad he's gone?I was a bit sad about Thamos, but I think it had more to do with the fact that Leesha loved him and I would loved to see her happy with him. She's grown so much as a character over the course of the these books and she really deserved something good. Alas ... it wasn't meant to be, apparently.Would have loved to see a bit of more of Arlen and Jardir, but if the title of the next book is any indication, we'll probably get plenty of them in it, so that's something to look forward to. I'm still not a big fan of Renna, never was .. I'm not even sure what it is about her that I dislike. I guess I don't really dislike her, but I don't really like her either. Yeah, okay, my jumbled thoughts on the matter. Think I'm done..for now
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Post by Mikauzoran on Jun 5, 2015 11:27:06 GMT
Those fairytale-based stories sound really interesting. I might have to check into them someday.
Yesterday I finished Robinson Crusoe. It was extremely interesting and yet very boring at the same time. What I mean is, I found it really cool how he learned to survive on the island and how he went about taming animals, growing crops, making bread, making tools, and all that, but it wasn't a thrilling adventure story. I was at no time on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. There were parts of it that were pretty cool, though, and the characters were interesting. I really liked Friday and Paul the parrot.
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Post by Nikudou Natsumi on Jun 6, 2015 0:59:01 GMT
The whole overarching "series" (although they're more of stand-alone books that take place in the same world) is called Further Tales. The different books are The Thief and the Beanstalk (Jack and the Beanstalk), The Brave Apprentice (The Brave Little Tailor), The Eye of the Warlock (Hansel and Gretel), The Mirror's Tale (Snow White), and The Riddle of the Gnome (Rumpelstiltskin). But yeah, rather than retellings, they're more like what happens many years later. At least, that's what I infer about them. So I just went, what, two or three and a half hours south to bring my international brother to college registration, then another hour south to do a college visit myself, then another hour back north to pick up my international brother, then the two or three and a half hours back home. So I basically spent all eight or so hours reading the Red Pyramid. And I'm surprised about two things. First, I had already read the first four chapters beforehand, and after all that time reading, I still have a third of the book left. Forget how long it took to read a book in the Kane Chronicles The second thing is that I didn't really get any headache, like, at all. Despite being in the car that long, despite doing it with air conditioning in the latter part of the day (which normally gives me a headache anyway), I only had tiny little inklings of a headache. So I'm very confused as to why. Anyway, I'm hoping to finish off the Red Pyramid today, and maybe even start the first chapter of the Thief and the Beanstalk? Judging on the amount of time it took to read the first two thirds, though, I doubt either thing is going to happen.
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Post by Nikudou Natsumi on Jun 6, 2015 1:17:37 GMT
Oh, yes! And besides the Red Pyramid being more for people younger than teens, I found it slightly harder to read than normal since I challenged myself to experience more of the story as it's supposed to be. See, I missed last time I read KC that one of the narrators, Sadie, has a British accent (since she lived in London for so long). The whole series is supposed to be a tape recording with the narrators switching between Carter and Sadie every two chapters or so. So whenever Sadie narrated, I tried to read her dialogue and the narration in a British accent (which I probably failed at, since I can't seem to get my accents straight anyway). Carter, however, does not have a British accent (despite traveling all over the world, it's probably more American, since I believe that's what his father was), and nobody else is specified as having any accents (except for that one evil Des-somethings guy who spoke in a French accent), so in my head I had to keep switching between a British accent and my own accent. Sometimes I would forget the British accent, sometimes I would accidentally give other people the British accent (any dialogue that wasn't Sadie's I kept as how I'd normally read it, even though she's technically the one saying it on the voice recording), sometimes I would get so confused that I wouldn't know what accent I was giving to what people, and sometimes I would be on a roll remembering the British accent, and then it would switch to Carter and I would have trouble switching back. It takes much more effort than I originally thought it would
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Post by Nikudou Natsumi on Jun 9, 2015 4:08:15 GMT
*rubs hands together* Now to start the Thief and the Beanstalk!
Here's the summary, for anyone interested:
Everyone knows the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Everyone also knows that Jack's adventure made him a very rich man. But what they don't know is what happened a long time after Jack . . .
That’s where Nick comes in. Orphaned and desperate, Nick joins a rugged band of thieves in hopes of a warm meal and a little protection. In exchange Nick must help them break into the lavish white castle rumored to belong to an old man named Jack. Legend says it’s full of riches from Jack’s quest up a magical beanstalk decades ago.
When Nick’s dangerous mission leads him straight to Jack, he sees a chance to climb the famed beanstalk himself. But what Nick doesn’t know is that things are different from when Jack made his climb. There are new foes at the top now. Ones with cruel weapons and foul plans – plans that could destroy the world as Nick knows it. Will Nick come down the beanstalk a hero? Will he come down at all?
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Windbritsle
Full Member
Part of the Dark as the Raven's Wing Anime/Manga FanFiction Group! In that group, I'm Robin!
Posts: 195
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Post by Windbritsle on Jun 10, 2015 23:45:39 GMT
I'm actually reading Another Note right now... Sorry, re-reading it XD I dunno why, but I personally think BB is pretty cool, although I don't think murder is good... I'm a typical "Clueless good dud"!
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Post by Nikudou Natsumi on Jun 11, 2015 1:22:10 GMT
Finished the Thief and the Beanstalk! I liked it. He had his own spin on the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale, and changed the circumstances for Nick's going up there. I also think he did really well with the characterization, especially with Nick. That figurine played a major part in his characterization and the plot, too . . . Still prefer the Books of Umber, though XD Now I'll need to read the Riddle of the Gnome . . .
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Post by Mikauzoran on Jun 12, 2015 3:38:02 GMT
What are you talking about, Windy? Is that a series or...how is it by? I've never heard of it before, so I'm not sure what you're talking about. What genre is it?
As for me, I've spent my week reading The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas. It was actually pretty good! Very long, but good. It really was interesting and kept my interest about eighty-five percent of the time. I really loved the characters! d'Artagnan and the three musketeers (Athos, Porthos, and Aramis) were just so enjoyable! They were so funny and lovable.
I really, really liked the antagonist Milady too. She was just sooo unrepentantly bad. I really liked how devious she was, and though pretty and intelligent, she was flawed, so it made her a lot more human and easier to sympathize with. I don't know. I was really sad at the end. I liked her.
The one thing that really irked me about the book was its treatment of women in general. There was too much "she was but a woman" "and then she remembered that she was a woman" "I am but a woman". What do you mean "but a woman"? Lady, you ARE a woman! A woman is a powerful thing, so OWN it! Anyway, whenever the book reminded me that it was written many moons ago before gender equality it annoyed the tar out of me, but the rest of the book was awesome. I'm sure it made a better movie, though. Most action novels do.
Today I also read Animal Farm. I had read bits and pieces in high school for classes like we all do, but this time I read it in its entirety and of my own free will. I actually really liked it! It made me angry, but I really liked the characters like Boxer, Clover, Benjamin, and Snowball. I think it was well-done and thought-provoking.
And then I talked to my brother Japas about it because he'd just read it a couple months ago for class, and he said it was badly written and ham-handed. So I was sad because I had liked it. I think he only disliked it so much because they made him read it and then analyzed the hell out of it. I've hated many books that they forced me to read that I later came to love when I read them of my own free will.
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Post by Nikudou Natsumi on Jun 12, 2015 3:48:08 GMT
I sense connections between Thief and the Beanstalk and Riddle of the Gnome . . . In Thief and the Beanstalk, there was a bandit called Toothless John, and in Riddle of the Gnome, the main character just encountered group of bandits, one of which is called Toothless. Both Toothless and Toothless John are ugly, tall, and have only a couple black teeth left. Also, one of the other bandits had a black beard and acted like the leader, which sounds a lot like Finch in Thief and the Beanstalk . . . Riddle must be before Thief, though, since there are only three in this group instead of twelve and, well, Finch is still there. SQUINT! Okay, this is DEFINITELY the same group of bandits, with both Toothless and Squint here . . . Ahhh, and it IS Toothless John, too. Okay, I'm satisfied now.
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