Book meme

[rhythmia]

Drank too much tea when I met with my statistics study group tonight. Borders does tea service! Yum, but I wasn't expecting the caffeine to affect me so much. ^^;;

Stolen from all over the internet, I'm sure, but most recently from the lovely nicocoer.

Don't take too long to think about it. List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you -- list the first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes. Don't take too long to think about it. Tag 15 friends (& while it is easy to tag more, part of the challenge is to think about which 15 friends would have the weirdest or most interesting book list), including me. If you don't want to play, no sweat. Feel free to go about your business. Here are mine, in no particular order (and these are just the 15 for today, at this moment):


1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I love the story, the battle of wits, and Elizabeth Bennett is a character I really enjoy, though her family drives me batty. I have three versions, one of which in Chinese I bought while I was studying abroad. The five-hour A&E movie version owns my soul, haha.

2. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey. The link is to the audiobook, but that is the cover that I discovered it under. In the seventh grade, we had Sustained Silent Reading, and I didn't bring a book one day, and had to pick one. This opened up the world of science fiction and fantasy to me, because before I only read mysteries and children's books. Menolly's triumphs and tribulations, her hard work and growing up attitude, and of course dragons and harpers! :D

3. The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. LeGuin. I got my copy from a little used bookstore a year or two ago, and I've read and re-read it so many times it's ridiculous, and even more falling apart than when I bought it. It's a bunch of her short stories, and she excels in the medium. Sci-fi and fantasy, but they're really...people and politics stories, ways of getting at things sideways. Her stuff always makes me think, and she likes to make people uncomfortable. :D

4. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Her writing is beautiful and so approachable. I gave it a try at the library because I'd heard her name tossed around, and the premise seemed interesting. Post-apocalyptic, story of a young woman traveling north in California to try to survive, and becoming a sort of preacher because she realizes/learns these very human truths. I'm not religious and hardly spiritual, but what she writes really appealed to me. Also, yay sci-fi with non-white characters! \o/ She wrote a couple of books that go after this one as well.

5. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede, the first book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Cimorene is my hero. She's smart and spunky and takes a very common sensical approach to idiot knights and so forth. Also I'm in love with the chapter titles such as "In Which Cimorene Discovers the Value of a Classical Education and Has Some Unwelcome Visitors." XDDD

6. Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex by Olivia Judson. erjika had this on her bookshelf and graciously lent it to me. It is hilarious and highly educational. Nature is weird and gloriously so. :D Some of her language sometimes bothers me, because she's writing in that advice column style, but it's still a good read.

7. The Ballad of Mulan by Song Nan Zhang. Before Disney came around and did some...interesting...things to it, this was one of my favorite childhood books. My maternal grandmother taught me part of the tune of the folksong. Did you know that Mulan had a little brother? And she was never discovered while she served, surviving the war long enough to become a trusted general? Mulan is awesome. :D And the illustrations of this book are gorgeous.

8. So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane. Can you kind of see a theme in my book choices? :D I live in the YA Fantasy section, really, because coming-of-age stories are my kink, if you will. Character growth, hardship and change, with only the slightest sprinkling of romance. Adventure and new worlds! The first of series, Nita and Kit are the partners of my heart, haha. Also the Tom and Carl household is hilarious, though they don't show up more than a couple times each volume. She wrote this *before I was born*. So who she chooses to be characters really struck a chord with me, when most of fantasy tends towards boys, and if girls, they are entirely too...blond and blue-eyed for me anymore. Yay to the misfits!

9. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley. My big weakness is retelling of legends and fairy tales. I reread this one about once a year. I don't really like her newer stuff, but this one, this one is beautiful. A Beauty and the Beast retelling, the style is just this side of...soft, you get the feel of being in fairy tale while also being part of Beauty's daily life.

10. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. Also borrowed from erjika, this book makes my stickler heart dance with glee. ^_^ Not that I don't break a lot of the rules from time to time, but even so. :P Yes, I am this geeky. :D

11. First Test: Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce. I've read everything she's published, because her characters really speak to me. My favorite's gotta be Kel though, because she's a girl who's one of the first who wants to take the opportunity a previous woman opened the door to, to be a knight. She doesn't have any special powers, she just has her common sense, ability to work hard, a keen sense of justice, and her fear of heights. Mmm, coming of age, but with swordfighting, haha.

12. The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce. First of a trilogy. Her writing style is gorgeous, I love the feeling of a legend/tale in the making. I totally couldn't predict where it was going, and all three together...it kind of blew me away. I cannot recommend this trilogy enough. Aeriel's cool. I like her attitude. And her gargoyles are awesome, though that's in the second book. :D

13. Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. The novels of Discworld are, hands down, my favorite series ever. A flat world of magic and trolls and tourists and suspicious meat pies, that manages to spoof and gently (or not so gently) mock anything and everything in our world. Monstrous Regiment is about Polly, who disguises herself as a boy to enlist in the army and search for her brother. Adventures ensue. The ending is AWESOME. I kind of shrieked in a whole lot of glee. :D I dunno if that's spoilers, but oh well. :P

14. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. Not for the faint of stomach, but a really fascinating read about the uses, through history and today, for human cadavers and body parts and what people do with them, decomposition, etc. etc. I liked it a lot, so I guess that tells you something about me. ^_~

15. The Sandman - Volume 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman. The Sandman comics series is mindset-changing. The storytelling, the art, the way this so different from the superheroes comics. I have this volume of short stories, so if you're not ready to dive into the world of Sandman, this is par to the universe without having to worry about continuity. There's ten collected volumes with a bunch of related side stories, about Dream of the Endless, an anthropomorphic personification of life's essentials. He's kind of Byron-esquely emo. His older sister Death rocks my socks and I've been her for Halloween twice because she's that awesome.

Haha if you made it to the end of that congratulations! I wanna see what other people's lists are, I could use some more nonfiction, or good reading in other genres. Geez, it's late now, I took so long to write that out. ^^;;

Comments

[flange5.livejournal.com]

*flailsflailsflailsflails*


SDKJFLKAJFKAJFKLJFKLAJKLFJAKFJKALJDFKAJJFAKJ&hearts!

You are my book twin&hearts OK, maybe not quite twin, but! The Harper Hall series (I started on that cover, too, bless my childhood library), Tamora Pierce, Robin McKinley, Pride and Prejudice, Terry Pratchett, Sandman, Stiffed! (did you see she has a new book out, called Bonk? It's about sex, and I meant to buy it the other day and forgot, because I bought a couple of other books I also don't have time to read right now ^^" I'll have to go get it though ^^

edit I know I said I would get to work, but I just had to add how much I agree with Kel--I love that there's nothing special about her except maybe her stubbornness. I also love that while she has interest in love, she's pretty much the only major character (outside of the Circle books) whose series doesn't end with her finding the right boy. As much as I love George, that whole Liam/George/Jonathan thing really annoyed me, mostly because John was a putz (I've never wholly forgiven his character and he doesn't deserve Thayet), and Liam . . . needed to get over some crap, though I like him better than Jon.

Good lord, I'm overly invested in those characters ^^" But they were totally foundational to my youth I actually like Aly a lot, as well. She strikes me as a very Nino-like character in a lot of ways ^^

Sandman&hearts I need to reread that series&hearts and also American Gods, which I kind of adore in all its wonderfully macabre lushness&hearts

I love Stiff and once gave it to my mother for Mother's Day. I meant it in a good way, but . . . I don't know if she ever read it. I bet my dad did, though.

Robin McKinley also makes me so damn happy--I loved the Blue Sword when I was in Junior High, and it's one of 3 books I always keep at least two copies on hand of, so that I can give it to someone who hasn't red it (The other two--no three-- are by Connie Willis). I love all of her fairy-tale based stuff, though I had to come back to Deerskin after years because the first time I read it I stopped halfway, totally wigged out. But it was worth the return. I also liked Sunshine a lot, but can see that it might not appeal as much as earlier works. I still love Beauty so much&hearts

\o/



I will have to respond to the meme, though parts will seem awfully familiar.

*glees*

OK, this is my motivation to get to work today so I can maybe post the list tonight or tomorrow. \o/

*flails back at you*

[rhythmia.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha you are too cute.

Heee, book twins! We were meant to be. :P I'll also have to respond to your Arashi+food flail~

Hope you actually made it to work. :P You and your edits. :P I'll respond to this properly, I have to get to an ob/gyn appointment, but I wanted to let you know, I actually really, really, really enjoyed Sunshine. The dynamics are so complicated and I loved that it didn't take the easy way out and go Sunshine/vampire. It's Dragonhaven that I didn't much like. Okay, dashing off, will respond to the rest of the flail when I get off work tonight and eagerly awaiting your list! ^____^

Re: *flails back at you*

[flange5.livejournal.com]

Ha! I have made it to Panera, where I ate lunch and immediately went to LJ :P But I'm actually now ready to start working.

At one point I had Sunshine in hardcover and paperback--I think the HC was a gift though ^^ I liked Sunshine a lot&hearts I don't think I've run into Dragonhaven. I'll probably end up buying it anyway, because she's an author I always want to see more of and not terribly prolific . . .

I saw this meme on my Facebook, but didn't jump in because I've been kind of not hanging about my Facebook for the last several moths and don't want to face the backlog :P But if I do it here, I can just c & p it there and run away \o/

Hope work isn't too stressful and perhaps a book meme will be waiting for you when you get home ^^

A more detailed reply to your comment~

[rhythmia.livejournal.com]

I know I said I would get to work, but I just had to add how much I agree with Kel--I love that there's nothing special about her except maybe her stubbornness. I also love that while she has interest in love, she's pretty much the only major character (outside of the Circle books) whose series doesn't end with her finding the right boy.

YES. YES YES SO MUCH YES. I mean, I'm thinking of the time span over which Pierce has been writing her Tortall novels, so by the time she got to Kel, the social climate's shifted a little. Kel's book came out...*goes to check* when I started high school. I was so excited in college when Lady Knight came out, like you wouldn't believe, haha. And it was great that Kel tried things out, but it's not like a driving force and it's not like she has to have a partner. I did think that the Daine/Numair felt kind of tacked on, even though I eagerly followed it anyway in the last book of Daine's series. :P

I...actually have only re-read the Alanna series once, I think. For some reason she didn't appeal as much to me, maybe I should re-read and pin it down. I was introduced to Tortall through Daine. Yay for animals that talk and aren't goofy mascots. For the most part. :P Though I adored the skeleton bird.

So what think you of the Circle books? Also, have you read the one that came out...what, last year or before that, with the step back in time with the Hounds? Beka Cooper and Pierce doing a turn at procedurals/mysteries. :P Still Tortall, and I really like Beka and her doggedness. *dodges bricks*


Bonk? Oooh, I'll have to look for that, thank you for telling me! ^__^

Hmm, I think I read Deerskin for the first time last year, but the details are escaping me. That just means I'll have to re-read, oh the hardship. ^_~ Spindle's End rocked my socks. The way she chose to tell the story, the plot twists, I couldn't predict anything and the ended owned me so hard. Mmmmm. ^___^

Work is blah, but reading your post and your comments make me happy.

Re: A more detailed reply to your comment~

[flange5.livejournal.com]

And it was great that Kel tried things out, but it's not like a driving force and it's not like she has to have a partner.

YES \o/ I was so ready to be irritated by the 'now she's found her boy and we can wrap a little bow on her story and call it over' pattern that when this series didn't go that way and actually got into the difficulties of managing a refugee camp and how class plays into that, I about fell off my chair. I also kind of liked how Neal's story went and I loved . . . Yuki, was it? The *cough* Yamani girl he ends up with. And the way they wrote her friendships throughout the series was really awesome ^^

As for the Alanna series, I reread the first book and parts of the second and fourth books occasionally, but I tend to prefer the other Tortall series which I will read in their entirety at least once a year.

Hmm . . . the circle books didn't grab me as much as the Tortall books, but I still like them. The thing that really irritated me about the second series of Circle books is that each was essentially the same plot--find another magic user who needs guidance, solve serial murders, done. It seemed a little implausible to me, I guess. What's interesting about the last two in that series is that she's playing with time--we know terrible things have happened in the meantime, but we only get fleeting references to it, with the implicit promise of books later. I do like how this world has also gotten more politically and socially complicated, but I'm not sure where it's heading.

And the Beka Cooper books . . . for the most part I'm enjoying it, though I remember being really irritated with the first chapter and the kind of juvenile playing about with fonts. (and the unnecessarily huge font to make the book seem bigger and to charge more for it :P) I also see no reason why she has to be George's ancestor, which seems a bit pat. But hey, I'm a sucker for these things and, like I said in my post, pretty much put life on hold when they come out.

I haven't read Bonk yet, but may pick it up in a likely insane shopping spree at Borders tomorrow (sadly, very few independent bookstores in our are). Borders sent me a 25% off entire purchase coupon, and the Boy and I are considering some serious badness.

I need to reread Spindle's End, because I'm having trouble remembering it ^^" But Deerskin was pretty awesome, at least to me ^^

Book!flails pretty much make my day and give me the strength to contemplate more GRE class prep, which I hope to finish this evening :P

*waves*

Re: A more detailed reply to your comment~

[rhythmia.livejournal.com]

I hope you made it through your GRE prep all right. :D

I went to the library today, and they didn't have anything by Connie Willis. D: Awesomely, my public library system is tied to the state university system, so I still have access to my beloved Link+. So I'll probably have Bellwether in my hot little hands in a couple weeks. :D

Also, I caught that link buried in your post, with the lexicographer! She is adorable! It's exactly the kind of geeky/awkward/dorkily funny presentation that I would think up, and I totally downloaded that sucker as soon as I finished watching it. And of course when she mentioned fishing I thought of our burned Maou. XD

Kel's series seems more...mature, to me, compared to the others. I agree, I liked that Pierce really developed Kel's relationships with a wide variety of people, that it touched on class and cultural issues and I really liked her Yamani friends.

Re: the Circle books. There, you've articulated something that was bothering me about the second series, where they're interesting but there was something missing or too predictable but I couldn't quite put my finger on it (ahaha pattern detection fail). I did like that there were...unspoken things, I think that's what I liked about The Will of the Empress, that there were references to time passing and adventures happening that are beyond our sight. So we have to play detective a little, and see how the characters have grown. Have you read that one? I squeed so hard about Daja. :D


...darn it. You're making me want to go find the Kel books, and I told myself I would finish reading what I got today before borrowing more, or things would be due before I could finish. ^^;;;

Re: A more detailed reply to your comment~

[flange5.livejournal.com]

Isn't that talk awesome? &hearts I have never wanted to be a lexicographer, but it's clear she's having a lot of fun ^^

I can't wait to hear what you think of Bellwether ^^ It's really adorable.

I remember reading the Author's Note for Lady Knight where Pierce basically says that it was influenced by 9/11 and the aftermath, and I've notice that pretty much all the books after it are grittier, as well, and more sophisticated in terms of how she treats politics. It's interesting. I prefer it this way, though. I think it would be hard to go to the new books if she had softened the edges again.

Daja! Yes! Though I kind of hope the lets something work for her. It would annoy me a bit if she were (practically) the only female character who doesn't get a solid partner eventually. Apparently, Pierce took some flak for being too stereotypical in her choice of character to out, but defended her decision on her blog. I like that that was the discussion and not the one I was expecting to see ^^" Though I suspect parents with those axes to grind would have yanked the books form their kids' hands as soon as they realized they were in a fantasy world where there are magical birth control pills/amulets ^^"

GRE is done, which means I am now free from campus obligations until August \o/ I have so much work to do but am tempted to take a day off . . . bad flange, bad!

^^

[kegom.livejournal.com]

Four of the books/authors you've recced belong to my most favourite books and authors too! *________* I didn't put the same books in my own list (which I've done and will post... shortly. Whatever that might mean ^^"), but that's more because - well, there are so many OTHER books that also had an influence on me. ^^"


But, yes! Dragonsong (and Dragonsinger, which I liked even better, because I loved the idea of the harper's guild), belong to my favourite Pern-novels. ^-^ Actually, as I grew older, I started to like those books even better than the dragonrider-focused books, because they depicted the life of ordinary people and not heroes. But since I read Dragonflight 33 times before my fifteenth birthday, I'm pretty sure that it tops the list of "books that they with you". ^^"

And I absolutely agree with you and Flange about Kel being awesome BECAUSE she's normal. &hearts Also, I absolutely love her no-nonsense approach to life with all those boys around her (and especially life with both Owen and Neal in it, who always did their best to get themselves into trouble by talking - one of my favourite scenes in the series is when Owen notices her boobs and asks her when she turned into a girl XD).

Actually, I think we definitely both love awesome women, because I absolutely LOVED "Monstrous Regiment" too! It's such an amazingly witty book and like a lot of PTerry's fiction it just feels real to me. I always imagine that country to be like one of those European states/areas that have been in wars for so long and that really has the kind of problem that the book's about. (Btw, have you read "Thud"? Even though it's different, it somehow hit me in a rather similar way to MR.)


And continuing with strong women, you have a novel by Ursula LeGuin on your list! *__________* I adore her as a writer and an awesome woman and I'm pretty sure that her "Left Hand Of Darkness" (my absolute favourite by her) did more to shape my view on sexuality than any other book ever did.



I don't really know most of the other books, except by hear-saying, but most of them sound really, really awesome too, so I might check them out some time. ^-^

Yummy books

[rhythmia.livejournal.com]

I will eagerly await your list, though take your time! I hope you made it through the last academic period all right? I remember you posting about having a ridiculous load of assignments and work and papers and projects.

Yes, Dragonsong and Dragonsinger as a pair. The Harper Hall books I enjoyed so much more than the EPIC EPICNESS of the others, though I devoured all of it anyway. :P And I liked it pretty much for the same reasons you did. I'm going to guess that Lessa is your girl? XD I kind of shipped F'Nor and Brekke hardcore, haha.

Re: Kel-- SO MUCH YES. AHahaha the Kel+Owen dynamics are hilarious. So I've figured out, my favorite characters are usually the ones who are normal and a touch dreamy like me (like Menolly) or normal and no-nonsense and practical (and thus kickass, like Kel). :P

Re: strong women. I think a lot of it is that SF/F is so full of tropes of the guy being a hero and the girl being the princess in the tower, and I've been there, done that. The ones that really stick with me are the ones with fascinating, flawed, cute, multi-layered girls and women. I posted a comment during Racefail to the effect of, I love sci-fi and fantasy, but the books that I've ended up reading in my ongoing quest for reading material have probably seriously skewed my expectations. The vast majority of what I've read have kind of skewed my outlook towards defaulting characters to something vaguely blond/European/American unless explicitly stated otherwise, and in the beginning other than Dragonsong everything seemed to be all white guys. It palled after a while and so I started looking for stuff with girls in it who were more than 'the hot chick' or 'the helpless princess.' Did I mention that Cimorene is awesome? ^^

I'm sorry, I blathered on there, and I'm not entirely sure where I was going. But there's a lot of intersections going on, but ultimately awesome women who are independent and also interconnected are the kind of characters that I'm drawn to. :D

Anyhow! I have not read Thud! or the other recent Pratchett offerings, though I did go through all of the Tiffany Aching books. :D Little blue men!

Hmmm, I have not read Left Hand of Darkness, despite hearing a lot about it and passing it on the bookshelf at the library. Clearly this needs to be remedied. Also I read Changing Planes (another set of short stories) in March/April and it is highly recommended. They're interconnected by premise, of being able to travel to other worlds when you're miserable and bored out of your mind waiting in airports. :D Very thinky.

Mmm, I love discussions like this. ♥

Re: Yummy books

[kegom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm rather buried in academic work at the moment. :/ And because clearly I don't have enough to do, I spent the last three days as part of the organisation/staff team of a conference for all professors whose focus is the education of mentally handicapped people (...I totally lack all English academic terms for this and I'm too tired to try to find them out ^^") in all of Germany (and the German-speaking part of Switzerland). The first day I worked 12 hours, yesterday I worked 16 hours and today I worked another 6 hours and I spent about 4/5 of that time on my feet.
I have to confess, at the moment I'm wondering whether my feet will ever stop hurting. ^^"
But it was fun anyway. ^-^ And I got to know all the big names that I usually read books by, so that was great.


Anyway, on to the books! ^-^


I'm going to guess that Lessa is your girl?

Actually, not really. ^^" Lessa was always too bitchy for my taste. As a person, I always liked Brekke much better. But I really liked Lessa's strength (even if her pig-headedness got a bit too much, sometimes) and I enjoyed the relationship she had with F'lar. (I like the kind of "Benedict/Beatrice" relationship where the two partners enjoy verbally sparring with each other.)
Plus, and this might sound really, weird, but I always loved Mnementh. ^^" He alway struck me as the most sensible character in the whole book. XD

I liked Brekke and F'nor, too, but I hated what happened to Brekke's queen. :(
It put me off the book pretty much for good, because I couldn't stand the thought that Brekke had lost a part of herself forever.


So I've figured out, my favorite characters are usually the ones who are normal and a touch dreamy like me (like Menolly) or normal and no-nonsense and practical (and thus kickass, like Kel). :P

Exactly like me! ^-^ Well, I tend towards the "normal and no-nonsense" people more than the dreamers, even though I'm a huge dreamer myself. But I just like someone like Kel, who gets the job done, instead of making a big fuss about it.



The vast majority of what I've read have kind of skewed my outlook towards defaulting characters to something vaguely blond/European/American unless explicitly stated otherwise, and in the beginning other than Dragonsong everything seemed to be all white guys.


I know what you mean. Fantasy and Science Fiction especially has a huge northern European slant in general - and a nearly equally big slant towards men. I didn't notice that as much when I was a teenager; partly because I am northern European, and partly, I think, because I was lucky enough to discover Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword And Sorceress very early on in my life, and not only were those all about interesting and kick-ass heroines, but even though a majority of the stories' heroines still belonged to the northern European stereotype, a lot of the stories that I found most interesting were about non-European heroines (like the two stories about an African amazone that I really enjoyed).

Thinking about it, I consider myself also lucky in the way that I was introduced to the Dragonriders books by my father (who had the habit of telling me summaries of the books he was reading at the time as bedtime stories...^^"), so I kind of grew up with strong heroines through my father's stories. There were still a lot of heroes, but it wasn't until I was much older and buying my fantasy/science-fiction books myself that I noticed just how male-dominated the fantasy field truly is.


Tiffany Aching! I love Tiffany Aching. ^-^ And I love it just as much that Terry Pratchett got complimented by his local girl-scout squad (of which he's an honorary member, apparently, for helping them out once) for writing "a real girl". XD And the Wee Free Men are really, really hilarious. (And I like the way they reproduce...)

Re: Yummy books

[rhythmia.livejournal.com]

Wow, so they had you running all over the place, I take it? :/ That conference sounds so cool though, you're going into the special education field? Because I'm studying to be a speech therapist, and I want to work with special needs youth myself (originally wanted to be a teacher and then actually tried it for a year in college and decided working with that many kids at once was a no-go XD)

Maybe go sit with your feet soaking in hot water for a while? That helps my mom, who has poor circulation in her feet. :/

Books now!

I like the kind of "Benedict/Beatrice" relationship where the two partners enjoy verbally sparring with each other.

YES. SO MUCH YES. I am alllll about the verbal sparring and sarcasm and witty conversation. That's probably why I'm so fond of the Nino+Jun interaction in fic. :P And why a lot of my book choices are what they are. :P It's not verbal abuse, it's healthy exercise of one's mental faculties!

And no, I don't think it's weird that you like Mnementh when she put so much trouble towards making it clear that the dragons were sentient and have personalities. I'm really fond of Menolly's brown fire lizard trio. :D

Oooh, Sword and Sorceress! I've read I think two or three volumes of those anthologies, that was how I was introduced to writers like Mercedes Lackey and Elizabeth Moon. Entertaining stuff. I also liked the Chicks in Chainmail (http://www.amazon.com/Chicks-Chainmail-Esther-Friesner/dp/0671876821) anthologies edited by Esther Friesner. :D

I learned that 'classic' SF/F was very male-dominated early on when I would browse my library shelves, but the styles and content tended not to attract me very much, so I stuck with more of the stories involving women when I could. It limited me more, perhaps, but I didn't feel it at all. That's really awesome of your dad. So a whole family of SF/F geeks? :D?

[flange5.livejournal.com]

*jumps in just for a minute to join the book flail*

I can't wait to see your lis&hearts

The Harper Hall was awesome! I was really kind of frustrated withthe Masterharper of Pern, because I loved Robinton so much and McCaffrey's writing was so uneven in that one, so I ignore it and stick to the Harper Hall trilogy.

Owen! One of my favorite characters in that series&hearts

Boy has been trying to get me to read Thud! and Night Watch, and I was just so swamped when they came out and I should by I really want to reread all of the Watch books so I can really get the impact of Night Watch first ^^"

/book squee

[kegom.livejournal.com]

I'll post it tomorrow, I think. ^-^ Unless I post my reflections about the conference I worked at (as a staff member) for the last three days first.


Yeah, The Masterharper of Pern" wasn't her best book, really. :( But I didn't really like many of the later books all that much. They were OK, but I like most of the earlier books better. ^-^


Owen is SO awesome. XD Actually, even though I know that TP writes about girls as protagonists and I enjoy that a lot, I kind of wish there was a novel - or at least fanfiction - about Owen's time as Lord Wyldon's squire. They're so different, the two of them, that I just can't help but think that there must be a lot of comedic potential lying in the two of them working together. XD


I loved both Thud! and Night Watch. ^-^ Especially Thud with its commentary on people fighting over something that doesn't really have any relevance anymore, is very interesting, I think.

[rhythmia.livejournal.com]

I kind of wish there was a novel - or at least fanfiction - about Owen's time as Lord Wyldon's squire.

*___* *raises hand* I would totally be down for reading that, if someone were to write it. It feels incredibly like a manzai duo waiting to happen. Owen is obviously the one who gets slapped upside the head and Lord Wyldon is the straight man who's the slapper. XDDDDD

Also, watching you and flange go crazy here with the comments and book flail is making me really happy, haha. ^___^<3

I need to reserve those books! There's hardly ever any Pratchett on the shelves of my library. Good that they're so popular, boo that I can never have one to hand when I'm in the mood for 'em.

[flange5.livejournal.com]

There's hardly ever any Pratchett on the shelves of my library. Good that they're so popular, boo that I can never have one to hand when I'm in the mood for 'em.

*smacks forehead*

Do you know that we donated something like 15 Pratchetts before we moved? Auugh. I could have sent them to you :P We had 3 of most of them for forever--the Roc covers, the newer simpler US covers, and the British covers. They all made the first two cuts, but that last 500-800 book culling before we moved was vicious :( I'm already regretting much of it.

Because I am clearly a horrible comment-stalker--Elizabeth Moon! I loved Sheep=farmer's Daughter! I have mixed feelings about the other two and was not really all that jazzed about the prequels, but Sheepfarmer's Daughter&hearts The Boy was surprised it didn't make my list, but it just slipped my mind ^^" Though I probably had enough girls+swords in my list ^^"

And Mercedes Lackey! She has written so much that I actually only followed her Free Bards and the Victorian Elemental Masters series (I remember enjoying the Black Swan, too), but the Boy follows the Vaaldemar (sp?) world. He's more of a Jennifer Roberson fan, though ^^

I kind of want to read everything on my shelves right now. It's obvious that I have lots of work to do, right? ^^"

[flange5.livejournal.com]

But I didn't really like many of the later books all that much. They were OK, but I like most of the earlier books better. ^-^

Me too! After Dragonsdawn, I kept reading, but . . . it never really grabbed me the same way again . . .

And I would totally read about Owen's time with Wyldon! Sadly, it looks like her Boy-centered Tortall books are going to be Numair-centered--from the time he was a boy in Orzone's court. At least, that's what was suggested a year or so ago on her website . . . she has a book release timeline for the next 10 years or so *___*

I really need to read both of those. Maybe I should just go through all the Watch books. And I never read the Tiffany Aching books. Apparently, this was a huge oversight?

Not to shamelessly comment-stalk or anything, but your conference sounds amazing and also very exhausting >_< I have just made it through my hyper-scheduled busy time, and now am moving into the holy-crap-now-there's-all-the-stuff-I-should-have-been-doing period of the summer T__T And in 4 weeks, I'll be doing it all on the road, since we're driving from southern TX to Illinois (conference and family), to New Jersey (friends and research), to Massachusetts (baby shower), and back to Texas (home!), after which I'll have about a week and a half to prep for my fall classes. I should be working right now T__T

And yet, your schedule boggles me much more. I hope you're getting sleep! (Zan calls me the sleep police, btw^^")

*waves*

[tsuristyle.livejournal.com]

The Darkangel! I remember reading the first book and being fascinated by the strange and wonderful world Aeriel lived in. And then having to wait several years for the other two books to come back into print.

Dealing with Dragons and the Redwall books played a big role in my childhood-- instead of pretending to be a princess, I ran around climbing trees and hitting things with swords a lot :D

I've been meaning to read Monstrous Regiment... I love the Discworld books, especially all of the ones about the Watchmen. If I had to choose, I think Jingo would be the one on my book list, because it's got the perfect balance of humor and drama, and it's the first really well-written book in the series. The climax gave me goosebumps :)

Hi there! ^__^

[rhythmia.livejournal.com]

Redwall! Man, Brian Jacques wrote a zillion of those books, didn't he? :P I must have read the first ten or fifteen of them in elementary and middle school.

Re: Monstrous Regiment - do it! Doooo eeeet. I just went to the library today and borrowed it again. :D For me, it's a toss-up between the witches books and the Night Watch books, because Granny Weatherwax is so badass, but I love the motley crew of the watch dearly. And I- I don't think I've read Jingo yet. Well then. *rubs hands together*

Also welcome! I must admit I'm kinda curious how you found me, since I don't know all that many people online. :P But given what kind of books you like, I think there'll be things to talk about. :D *waves*

Re: Hi there! ^__^

[tsuristyle.livejournal.com]

I think he's still writing them? I haven't read one since high school, but to this day I remember picking Mossflower up at the library in elementary school and not putting it down the entire day. I don't think it's quite what my mom wanted me to be reading at that age, but given that my other choices were things like Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley Twins... :P

Re: Re: Monstrous Regiment: I will! :D I'll admit, I haven't read most of the witches books yet, either-- I just couldn't relate to Granny Weatherwax as well as I could to the Watch, and I kind of fell in love with the city of Ankh-Morpork and wanted to read more books set in it.

Read Jingo! You won't regret it! :DDD Although, make sure you've read all the Watch books that come before it, first.

Heh, guess I ought to have said hi first... Hi! :D You'd commented on my post way back devoted to Juntoshi squishiness, which I just updated again recently, and I thought I'd swing by. Also, your icon intrigued me :) *waves back*

[fishuuttawatuh.livejournal.com]

word on #1 and #8 (1 would certainly be on my list as well). I'll have to do this meme soon now that I'm in the states.

[rhythmia.livejournal.com]

Yaaaay. Also welcome back, you were in Costa Rica, right? Eager to hear about your adventures (or trials and tribulations, whichever :P) And someone else who's read Diane Duane! \o/