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Athena

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This week's topic is: Forgettable Books

 

Author's Note:
--Whether you loved or hated them at the time, these are books that you just don't really remember...

 

I'm not sure what to say about this one, as because they are forgettable books, it's not very likely that I'll remember to think of them, if that makes sense. They're probably books that received a 'meh' rating. If it's about how much do you remember from books, then I have to say that in general I don't tend to remember a lot about books that I read a while ago. That's not the fault of the books though generally but has more to do with my own brain and memory.

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Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  I read it in my late teens.  I forgot it very quickly.  It's one of those books that I've been meaning to re-read for years, if only to see why (to me) it's so forgettable!

 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  All I can remember of this one is a big party, and people in a car wanting to get to a hotel just so they can drink Mint Juleps.  I do recall that this book bored the bejeebus out of me.  Again, this is one I should re-read to see if my viewpoint has changed over the years.

 

Those are the two that spring immediately to mind.

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This week's topic is: January 24th: Books You Disliked but Love to Discuss

 

Author's Note:
-- Some books we disliked or they were just okay, but they still have a lot of discussion points to sink your teeth into.

 

I can't really think of any right now to be honest. Most of the books I like to talk about, are books that I really liked! Maybe I'll think of something later.

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A Song Of Ice and Fire

I've only read the first two, A Game Of Thrones and A Clash Of Kings but I think they're awful!

I quite enjoy discussing them though because I just didn't get them yet almost everybody I know raves about them (and the even worse TV show!)

Hopefully I'll eventually find someone that agrees with me;)

Edited by Trevor
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The 4th book, A Feast for Crows, was published in 2005. The 5th book, A Dance with Dragons was published in 2011. We're still waiting for the 6th book, The Winds of Winter, and it's 2018.  I like the series. I like fantasy when it's well written and this series is unlike most of the fantasy crap I've read.   On the other hand, what the hell is up with releasing the first book in 1996 and 12 years later we're still waiting for the last two books?   Does George Martin think he's William Shakespeare or James Joyce?  The books are good but it's a fantasy series, not an astrophysics dissertation on the solution to Dark Energy and Dark Matter.  When an author begins a series like this isn't there an implied contract with the readers that the series will be completed before its fans start dying off?  I liked The Wheel of Time series but Robert Jordan died somewhere around book 10. They had to bring in Brandon Sanderson to complete it. 

 

I've learned one fundamental thing from George R.R. Martin: Never start a series of books before the last volume in the series is published.

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It's not that I don't read fantasy. I making my way through Raymond E Feist's Riftwar Cycle, I've now got The Prince Of Blood on my 'next' shelf. This is book one of the third cycle, Krondor's Son and I've loved the first two cycles, The Riftwar Saga and The Empire trilogy. I'm also a big fan of Ian Irvine who writes massive tomes but I just cannot get my head around Martin's way of writing. It seems as if the books end up in publication without any real planning and the whole joke about who he kills off next is totally lost on me.

As for his refusal to carry on writing, or at least publishing, the next book I'm lost. It's almost like he is fumbling around hoping someone will finish it for him.

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3 hours ago, Trevor said:

It's not that I don't read fantasy. I making my way through Raymond E Feist's Riftwar Cycle, I've now got The Prince Of Blood on my 'next' shelf. This is book one of the third cycle, Krondor's Son and I've loved the first two cycles, The Riftwar Saga and The Empire trilogy. I'm also a big fan of Ian Irvine who writes massive tomes but I just cannot get my head around Martin's way of writing. It seems as if the books end up in publication without any real planning and the whole joke about who he kills off next is totally lost on me.

As for his refusal to carry on writing, or at least publishing, the next book I'm lost. It's almost like he is fumbling around hoping someone will finish it for him.

 

 

I can see how people wouldn't like Martin's stuff. He's crass, cruel, and he has some problems writing female characters. But when,

 

Spoiler

he killed off Ned Stark in the first book,

 

I was hooked. I did not see that coming and I wanted to know what crazy things this author would do next. I need to put Feist on my TBR list that is already longer than Lindsay Lohan's rap sheet.

Edited by Athena
Added spoiler tags, spoiler for first book in series.
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On 22/01/2018 at 8:25 AM, Athena said:

I can't really think of any right now to be honest. Most of the books I like to talk about, are books that I really liked! Maybe I'll think of something later.

 

I'm the other way round: generally, the books I've enjoyed discussing the most in reading groups etc are ones I've disliked, and the more I've disliked them, the more fun they are to discuss.  Thus I've just finished I Am Pilgrim (Terry Hayes), and my review is twice as long as usual!

Having said that, I do enjoy discussing books |I've enjoyed, but with somebody who hasn't enjoyed them!  It's always good to get a different viewpoint.

 

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I know it's a bit early (it's only Saturday), but I wanted to post next week's topic: Hidden Gems in Your Favorite Genre

 

Author's Note:

-- What are some of your favorite books in your favorite genre that don't get a lot of hype?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Topics for the past week and coming week:

 

February 7th: Favorite M/M Couples

 

Author's Note:
--Who are your favorite dudes loving other dudes? (Note: this isn't specifically cis gay couples, but also applies to couples that include bi men, trans men, pan men, ace men, etc.)

February 14th: Favorite F/F Couples

 

Author's Note:
-- Who are your favorite ladies loving other ladies? (Note: this isn't specifically cis lesbian couples, but also applies to couples that include bi women, trans women, pan women, ace women, etc.)

 

 

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WIN_20180212_15_10_40_Pro.thumb.jpg.a055165eed7d48d84271018588505e49.jpgOld Yeller,

Kids and YA

What a great book. But parents today wouldn't consider letting their kids read a book without a fairy tale ending.

(Really is a great book.)

Edited by Litwitlou
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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been kind of slacking on posting the topics.

 

February 21st: Favorite Romance Novels

Author's Note:
-- Romance as a genre is very under-appreciated in lots of circles. So recommend your favorite romance books. These are books where romance is the main genre, not a secondary one.

February 28th: Favorite Urban Fantasy Books *Book Babble Crossover Topic*

Author's Note:

-- Urban Fantasy tends to feature a heavy romance element, so I figured it fit in this month.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This week's topic:

 

March 14: Children's Books to Read as an Adult

Author's Note:
--This one was suggested by another group member! What children's books do you think deserve revisiting as we get older?

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Top 5 children's books to re-read as an adult:

 

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

4. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

5. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

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Thanks for your replies :)!

 

This week's topic is: Favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy in Other Media

Author's Note:
-- This month's babbles crossover topic involves our favorite SFF outside of books (like movies, tv shows, games, anime, etc.)

 

For video games, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Final Fantasy X (and other FF's), Ratchet & Clank series, Pokémon series. TV shows and movies, some of the ones that come to mind are StarGate SG-1, Stargate Alantis, Star Wars, Star Trek (various movies and TV shows), various Marvel movies, various films based on books (ie. The Martian), Robots, Back to the Future, wow.. there are so many. I don't know that I could narrow it down without taking a lot of time to think about it.

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For years I played Lord of the Rings Online. What a great time I had completely immersed among the people and places of Middle-earth. No MMORPG  ever interested me before, and none has since, but when I saw the gorgeous world Turbine, and later Warner Brothers/Turbine, created from the LotR books, I was hooked. Eventually I just didn't have the time to play I needed to be very good, or of much use to my Kin, but the game was everything I wanted it to be. It's still running but it's contract with the Tolkien estate expires next year and it's future is uncertain. I wonder if my account is still active.... gotta go

Edited by Litwitlou
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This week's topic is: Favorite Teachers/Mentors

 

Author's Note:
-- Typically, we read about our protagonist being taught by someone wiser than they, whether is it is a teacher as we know them or more of a supernatural/magical mentor. Talk about some of your favorites!
 

When I first read this, I started thinking of people in real life.. then I realised it meant teacher/mentor book characters :P. I can't think of much right now, but maybe something will come to be later in the week (it's not Wednesday yet after all).

 

 

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