Scarlette

Agreed! Someone - a complete stranger - came up to me the other day and asked "who made you angry?". I'm not angry. I just don't smile 24/7.

I have been known to spend my last bit of cash on a book... In fact I did that just last week...

Nearly all the books I own are fiction, but I never lend my time to reading anything mindless. Life's too short. Lately I have been perusing several non-fiction books for academic reasons and this is a new experience for me, since it means having to read something because I have to, not purely because I want to. So, I'd say that 90% of what I read is for pleasure and 10% is what I'm required to read whether I'm particularly interested or not.

I would still want it published, yes. It would still count as an important historical document, in my opinion.

I haven't read the Lives of the Mayfair Witches series, but I have encountered some characters in the cross-over books - there are three of these in the Vampire Chronicles; Merrick, Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle (correct me if I'm wrong, of course). So, the only opinion I have to offer is of the characters. Merrick the character I found intriguing, but the narrator of her story let me down, which resulted in me not liking the book so much. The Mayfair family - the more prosperous side, Merrick was from the wrong side of the track, so to speak, if I remember correctly - features quite strongly in both Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle. I have mixed feeling towards them, though. A few of the characters were likeable, but others annoyed me to no end. I doubt very much that the Mayfair Witches could, in any way, compete with the Vampire Chronicles. The little I do know about it, isn't nearly as appealing. But I'm thinking that perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to give them a try. Just out of curiosity.

That cat pic is fabulous, Vinay. My own desktop speaks of my somewhat obsessive nature...

Could I perhaps be so bold and offer my own opinion as well? I thought the film was rather boring and took forever to get to a point. Also, I didn't really get anything from it - it was just.. blank... and dull... I don't recommend seeing it.

Right.. so much for New Year's Reading resolutions. Having procrastinated severely with regards to donating my unwanted books to the library, I set out today for the second hand bookstore with the intention of swapping said books for art and Greek reference books - only - as I need them for college and new ones are expensive. I found two very helpful books, then saw something else and then something interesting and so the evil grew... I walked out with: - The Little Friend, Donna Tartt - The Godfather and The Last Don (compilation), Mario Puzo - Nocturnes, John Connolly - The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (I needed this one for college, anyway...) - Homer's The Odyssey (same as above) - Murder on the Leviathan, Boris Akunin (apparently the detective character in this novel is comparable to both Holmes and Poirot... we shall see...) The shame!

I saw Up In The Air, yesterday. My companion and I had more fun laughing at each other than at the film, though, so I suppose the film itself is a bit of a failure.

I think Mein Kampf is a very important piece of historical literature. It may be a cruel piece of work, certainly not something to read for fun, but essential reading if you long to understand the events of that era. I'd like to have a look at it myself sometime, although the copy I saw looked quite daunting. Back on topic, though. This morning my mind digressed somewhat and I didn't post everything I wanted to say. I understand and see what harm purely racist literature can have, but I think we must be careful about wanting to ban it entirely. Racism is very much a part of human history - and as a bit of a history nut, I certainly don't want to see literature and historical texts on the subject wiped out simply because they're upsetting. As someone who picks up a pen once in a while, I also appreciate that, harmful as it can be, racism in literature can add to a storyline, demonstrate the views of a character, and demonstrate the historical period a story takes place. In short, it can be a useful tool if you set out to write a realistic piece of work. I want to mention what I said before again, briefly: readers need to be intelligent about what they're reading and they need to understand it in context.

I'm in two minds about this. On the one hand I want to say "quit complaining, it's just fiction", but on the other hand I'm inclined to agree with you. I very much want to think that there are more intelligent than less so readers out there who can keep an open mind about prejudiced issues raised in books and see it for what it is - an idea from a different era. The idea of having an informative essay as a foreword sounds interesting to me, and something that could be applied to any novel containing such issues. The only thing is: That would work very well with a classic novel, but I doubt it would with more modern literature.

I'm about 180 pages into The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett. Another fine example of the genius that is Pratchett.

So true. We'll get on well, and if we don't, see the above statement ^. But, in all seriousness, welcome to the forum.

I feel too ashamed to say what I spend in a month. And since it's much more than I can really afford to, I try not to think about it, as well...

Well... I'm 23 and I get cranky when someone tries to interfere with my Hannah Montana time...

My favourite literary characters tend to be vampires, so I think we'd get along fine just as long as I allow them to suck on my neck every so often.

Agreed! I can't seem to find a picture of my favourite book covers, but they are the 2009 Bloomsbury editions of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke and Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe - both done in strikingly dramatic black and white.

I can't wait for the review, peacefield! I still haven't read it, myself, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I'm eating cheese and green onion flavoured popcorn... Although, thinking about it now... I'm pretty sure I thought they were sour cream flavoured when I bought them yesterday... Even with my glasses I still can't read well, it seems...

Book prices over here tend to be insane in general. New releases in particular are more than just a little expensive. On topic, though, I didn't really notice any increase in book prices until I was re-arranging my bookshelf the other day and noticed that one of the Terry Pratchetts I bought a few years ago still carried its price tag - the difference between what I paid back then and what I would pay now was a bit unsettling...

This is what gets to me, too. The things within my own mind that can be triggered by watching something that's scary on a psychological level. Blood and gore make me feel nauseous and disgusted, which is why I never watch anything of the sort. But ghosts, possession, demonic dolls - anything that gets me thinking freaks me out enormously.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one freaked out by those. I haven't even seen any of the films - seeing the video case cover as a little girl was enough...

I've never read anything by Tad Williams, but he seems to be a brilliantly humorous guy. I haven't encountered a funny or interesting book dedication, yet, but I do love reading them. I think it's wonderful to dedicate a work of art, such as a book, an album, etc, to someone special.

Birthday cake! And it's creamily yummy, too.

What Lies Beneath had me too afraid to look into the water while taking a bath for weeks...