Univerze
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Posts posted by Univerze
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Oh please please please advice me some juveline/young adult series that are for adults too... I've been browsing Goodreads and it seems a lot of the series I find fascinating are for YA too. Bummer. So please, whenever those seem readable for adults too, advice me.
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Wow, I could never do such a directed reading list, honestly I float from book to book, reading through structure doesn't work for me. Kudos to you for managing though, must be nice to see that map of Europe fill up.
Curious though, why did you choose to define authors by the land they were born in? And not the language/country the book was originally written/published in? I mean I looked up Michel Faber (being from the Netherlands myself) and seem he doesn't really classifies as Dutch literature since he moved out of the Netherlands at age 7. Guess you're doing it for yourself this challenge, so it doesn't matter either way.
But good luck! -
Well it seems all the gyms here are bidding up to one another, because there's a few chains of gyms and each offers lots of training a month (even unlimited fitness) for less than 20 euros a motnh.
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I really want to lose some weight too, 5 kilos or something, ideally 10, though that would put me at my minimum weight I'd like. I still like me some curves after all, and unfortunately when I lose weight it seems to be taken from my most precious curves (bum and boobs) instead of my most hated ones (stomach and thighs).. so I have been enquiring about this gym very near me.. I'd thought it would be very expensive (cause it's not a discount gym or anything) but turns out it's just either 16 or 26 euros a month, depending if you want to exercise 5 or 14 times a month. You can do fitness, but also group classes, like yoga, zumba, body pump, steps, spinning, and a class for training belly, bum and ehh.. legs. Here it's called BBB (billen, benen, buik). But anyway, it's only 10 minutes walking away, and 5 by bike, so the threshold of me actually GOING there is low. Me thinks I am going to go, besides, will be fun maybe, zumba in particular seems hilarious.
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Ok, I know this post has been aaaaaaaaaaaaaages, but I found it! Goodreads (the website) helped me.
The name of the author is Gerben Graddesz Hellinga, and the book's name is "Coriolis, de stormplaneet".. the book IS Dutch like we though, don't know if it's been translated.
Bloody brilliant.
Dutch synopsis;
De planeet Coriolis draait in twee uren rond haar as. Als gevolg daarvan raast een onophoudelijke storm met windkracht tien over het land. De planten- en dierenwereld hebben zich aan deze toestand aangepast, en de Passaatstorm staat centraal in het leven van de intelligente bewoners van de planeet. Die bewoners zijn osborks, katachtige roofdieren die comminiceren door middel van hun gedachten. Kazazi Gogdan Siliqi is een vrouwelijke osbork; ze is veroordeeld tot een reis rond de wereld als Volgster van de Pasaat. Onderweg ontmoet ze een mens, die een noodlanding op Coriolis heeft gemaakt...
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Finished the book, edited my review. Good book, did not disappoint.
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Haha no I can hardly ever get myself to move him when he looks at me like that. Only maybe to pick him up, cuddle and put him back.
About the toilet training for kitties though, if you get TWO litterboxes, put one in the room you want to confine the cat in during the day (and leave that door open when you're home so kitty can use it then too), and one where ever you'd normally put it, your cat can't get confused. We have one on the bathroom upstairs, that's his usual one, and one just outside for when it's warmer and we have the door open. Oh, and if the cat does pee somewhere because they don't quite know how to use the litterbox yet, see about putting some litter on the pee, and then putting the dirty litter back into the box.. sounds icky maybe, but when jamie peed in his cat carrier, I did just that and after that.. he was even quicker with finding it. It smells like him there then, so he knows that place is for his pee. Is a little bit the same as with training dogs.
We did confine him to the bathroom when he wasnt used to the dogs or the house yet, with toys, food and drink, scratching pole, no problem. IF you leave an untrained kitty alone in a house, they'll explore. With risk of putting their nails in everything and anything. We had a tiny bit of that with jamie with the carpet on the stairs and the rugs on the floor, but they're durable so they're not wrecked, and he doesn't do that anymore. Plus, the place where he kept scratching (at the top/landing of the stairs) we put this sort of scratching board, like a pole but eh, flat. So now he IS allowed to scratch there.
I guess it's just a matter of seeing how your cat acts, what his or her personality is like and working with what you get. Be consistent, most important.
Another edit; this summer (in our holidays) we're getting another cat, a female kitten this time.. we're getting it from the pound/sort of RSPCA too (we don't quite have that here, but is for dumped kitties).. usually by summer they're full of kittens. You can get one for 95 euros, it's dewormed, has had the flea treatments and is vaccinated, is chipped, checked and you can get it spayed or neutered when they're 6 months old, all for that little amount of money.. goody goody.
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^Well for one, it is important where you get the kitty. We've only had one cat so far.. but we got Jamie from a family, mom, dad, three kids. Mother cat was very housetrained.. she (according to the family) dragged her kittens to the litterbox wherever she needed to go, so they learned from that. Jamie needed no training. We have two dogs, previously not used to cats.. so at the beginning we kept him into his cat carrier whenever things got too tough. We took him out as much as we can, and then put him onto the litterbox too.. he always did what he wanted when we needed.
Cat scratch poles are important. And, one of those thingies you squirt water with onto a plant. Use it when kitty does something he/she is not allowed, they hate that, being squirted wet. Works like a charm. For us, even being our first cat, no problems. No furniture or curtains got ruined, Jamie's a well behaved cat. Just be consistent, and if you're out of home a lot, when kitty's not trained yet, see about securing one room for him/her. Maybe even the bathroom, not much they can wreck there.
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So, this book has been on my wishlist for a while, and I got it for Christmas. So now, I am finally reading it. I'm finding it so pleasant to read, and so.. not my usual thing, that I'm making a thread about it. See, usually.. I stick to fantasy, science-fiction and classics. You guys on this forum have dared me to expand my horizons so to speak, and therefore, I have. This, being one of the books I previously would have never read. See, I love horror. But horror books tend to be, well not the best books in the bunch. I am often disappointed. I have not yet finished reading this, am a little over half way.. but it's been a great read so far. First, let me post the summary;
From Goodreads;
Hell exists.In Tibet, while guiding trekkers to a holy mountain, Ike Crockett discovers a bottomless cave. When his lover disappears, Ike pursues her into the depths of the earth....In a leper colony bordering the Kalahari Desert, a nun and linguist named Ali von Schade unearths evidence of a proto-human species and a deity called Older-than-Old....In Bosnia, Major Elias Branch crash-lands his gunship near a mass grave and is swarmed by pale cannibals terrified of light....
So begins mankind's realization that the underworld is a vast geological labyrinth riddling the continents and seabeds, one inhabited by brutish creatures who resemble the devils and gargoyles of legend. With all of Hell's precious resources and territories to be won, a global race ensues. Nations, armies, religions, and industries rush to colonize and exploit the subterranean frontier.
A scientific expedition is launched westward to explore beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, both to catalog the riches there and to learn how life could develop in the sunless abyss. Is there a natural explanation, as the scientists hope? Or is there a true supernatural basis? Are the "demons" part of our evolutionary family tree? Is their enigmatic leader merely a freak genius, or could he be the legendary Satan?
Fathom by fathom, Ike guides the expedition and Ali deeper into the deadly stone wilderness. In the dark underground, as humanity falls away from them, the scientists and mercenaries find themselves prey not only to the savage creatures, but to their own treachery, mutiny, and greed. Meanwhile, on the surface, a band of aged scholars scours archaeological digs, museums,artifacts, and rare texts for clues to Satan's existence. Is he lurking in wait for the expedition, or is he roaming the earth? Or is he dead? One thing is certain: Miles inside the earth, evil is very much alive.
In the tradition of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, The Descent is an epic adventure through fantastic landscapes, among creatures for whom man is both god and meat. It is a horrifying mystery penetrating the realms of faith and reason, a raw and original questioning of the divine and the demonic. And finally, The Descent is the story of a man and woman who enter the maze of the underworld and find at its center the human heart.
This book has proven a surprise to me. I didn't have any expectations really.. like I mentioned, I had a wishlist.. a long one. Brother picked this book as one of the ones to give me. I am so far, happy he has. The beginning is a little, well not tough, but not very interesting. You get introduced to different storylines, that eventually might come together. Currently I am in the middle of the deep earth exploration, and mind you, I don't have anything with caves, deep beneath the Earth.. I am quite claustrophobic. But this doesn't center on it. It's fascinating.. the "hadals" as they call the lifeforms they find deep beneath the earth, are fascinating. Have you seen the film, "the Descent"? Even though it's got nothing to do with this book (of course humanoid lifeforms developing beneath the surface will have something in common no matter who comes up with it) the crawlers in that film remind me of these creatures. Especially the feeling they invoke. There's the fear of the dark, of being eaten, of torture, pain and death. This is no book for the very faint of heart, the torture and things the hadal do to their prey/slaves (the most treasures slaves they take often have to undergo the most painful procedures, flaying, scarring, then rubbing sacred ochre into the wounds, applying metal, sometimes gold, rings to the noses, or the vertebra of the spine to be able to control them better) are not for ones easily creaped out. But for me, I find myself fascinated with these creatures. But that's very personal.
The rest.. I have read some of Jules Verne's Journey to the center of the Earth. It was a book I read partly, then put away because something else came along. I'll finish it. But it reminded me of this, in a modern version. It's intriguing, fascinating, and the story draws me much more than the lead characters, while usually it's the other way around.
I recommend this to anyone with an open, not too squeamish mind. Those who like exploration, hardship, a little darkness, who aren't repelled by horror. Of course, I have not yet finished this book. It all depends on how they end it, but so far, if they continue this way, I'll go with a 7 or 8 out of 10 rating. 3,5/4 out of 5.
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So, I have finished it yesterday. Brilliant, loved it. 4/5 Rating.
This book remains captivating, providing you with a world that is so.. other, that it's just amazing. Who could have though that any world consisting of caves would be this good? There are some minor points.. those mainly have to do with plot lines, so I'll see if I can put them in spoilers.
There was the thing about the search for Satan.. found that quite confusing and incredible. Search for Satan, ok. But why would any of the hadals be Satan? They end up discussing Satan being not just one creature but an endless line of reincarnated beings.. which in this book, is being proved right. But WHY?? Why is this creature the infamous Satan? How can one being creeping on and under thsi Earth be what humans have called Satan or something similar since we can remember? There's more to it, hard to express. But this is not something I accept. That there;s a creature Satan's based on, fine. I believe there's once been some man on which Jesus is based, doesn't make him more than human though. But the storyline "in search for satan".. meh.
Also.. (giving away the ending!!!)
What's up with Ali and Ike just crawling out of the Earth and being happy? I like my story a bit more evolved, more than say, the plain ending.. that's just a matter of taste though, and it would have taken some of the impressiveness (is that a word??) from the story. So am willing to forego that.
Am putting this last thing out of spoiler tags because it might be nice to know before starting this book, that I THINK it's not really over when you've finished this book, for feeling you're done with this story, I think you'll be needing to read the rest of the books the author will write about this universe. The leading characters are done, but the story is not, if you know what I mean.
Still, all in all.. this has been a great read, a surprise for me, a good book amongst many horrible horror books these days. Read!
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Finished Ella Minnow Pea last night. Loved it, very original.
Now I've kind of broken my rule about not re-reading anything for awhile, and I have started The Stand....again.
I just can't help it. It's too good a read. I bought the Kindle version, however incredibly irritatingly, the formatting isn't up to scratch. There are no section breaks within the chapters, so it reads as though each chapter is one continuous section about the same characters. Very irritating. I will try to contact Amazon/the publishers about it 
Ahh I adore adore adore The Stand. One of my fav books. I have yet to read it in its original english so I imagine it's only better that way. I love the film too, but nothing can be as good as the book. I love post-apocalyptic stories, and virology ones especially (it's quite believable too, the bit about a human made virus one day excaping and wreaking havoc, exterminating our planet mostly).. and this is one of the best one's I've read.
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^awww, the cutest. What is it with cats and tv? jamie too, watches telly, yesterday there was this show on some documentary channel mom watches, called "cats of claw hill" and you should have seen him, he recognized the cats and birdies, even when they didn't make any sound. Dogs just don't do that, ours never showed any interest in telly.
More Jamie pic spam.
Buy a new roll of carpet, see what he does? He crawls in there, with his toy.
Him on his radiator cat bed. Snooze much?
Jamie vs. my unmade bed. No, I did not put him there, he crawled in there alll by himself. Can he BE more lazy?
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@jankensan.. I agree somewhat on the reviews. Those you posted about Gaiman was indeed one that doesn't has much use. However.. I don't like the typical reviews either, the ones you mentioned with themes, ideas and what readers might enjoy the book. I love the personal reviews more, where someone tells what emotions this book meant for them, what it felt like reading it. I mean, the summary etc of a book often tells you the contents and some themes, and besides, I don't read books by just themes, I read books because they speak to me/my imagination. And to judge if a book will do that, the personal, subjective and emotional reviews are the better for me.
Plus, I too love having all my books up there. And it helps me see what books I've got already, because the other day I almost bought a double. Also, since joining the site, I added a whole bunch of books to my "to read" list.. I find the "listopia" part of the site very useful, I love browsing through lists of books to see which I'd like to read. And honestly, the site is for me. I don't care who sees it. But I do love that I have some friends on there from this forum, who have given me (knowingly or not) good tips so far on which books to read, seems our tastes are similar and I know people here can be quite critical, like me. So when I see someone giving a four star rating to a book I'd like to read, that makes me want to read it more.
So for me, so far, the site's great.
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Well honestly I had in mind it would be a bit smaller. Though, only a bit, maybe 20% max. But when I went to the shop they recommended a bit larger, because they said it'd turn out nicer and I'd probably regret if I'd do it that small. They were right on that advice the first time, with y other tattoo, so I took their advice this time too. Plus, must say it looks bigger on the pic than it does on my wrist really. And it will be less hard black, less, how you say, lying on top of my skin, when it's healed.. then it looks much better. Clearer.
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It's dooooone!
I love it, and loved the tattooing again, loved being able to watch now hee hee. It barely registered as pain this time too, so I'd recommend it to everyone.
Am so happy. And to think, it's going to look even better when it's healed! Oh, on this pic the tattoo doesn't have vaseline on it yet cause it messes up the flash.
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Haha.. so it isn't you. That Raven I surely had a feeling it was a woman too.. don't know if it's correct though. Women tend to give out more kissy emoticons, and this Raven did.
But yeah baby, went to the tattoo shop, and well, usually there's a waiting list for ages (last time 3 months), they only have one tattoo artist, though he's brilliant. Marco Hengst, won a lot of awards, internationally, for mostly classic and japanese style tattoos cause that's his style. But anyway.. someone cancelled, which leaves me to be tattooed at 11.30 am tomorrow. Mom was sad she couldn't be there, but I'd rather get tattooed when I'm alone, though I'll never tell her. I LOVE getting tattooed. Okay, I have only one so far, but loved every second.
Ehh.. pics will follow, as soon as I cleared off the gunk it leaves, somewhere tomorrow afternoon.
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No reading yet, I did buy "Poison Studies".. by eh, Maria Snyder. You guys advised me to, so I hope it's good. It would not be the first book I bought on account of this forum, all have been good so far. The bookshop (and this is the biggest one in town!!) disappointed me once more. I know now why I buy all my books online. I had a list of about 15 books I wanted most.. they only had one. ONE! They did have Dan Simmon's Endymion, but only as an omnibus of that one and the next part, which means it's bloody heavy, and a paperback at that.. annoying. So just Poison Studies for me. Went to the used books store too, but the only books I wanted they only had translated. Pff. I want to read the original english!
Good thing for online shops.
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^ I hope your translation is correct, you don't want some Tolkienite sniggering at you in a pub because you have "troll" etched on your wrist!
I had pics of the word from two different locations on the web (and since it's also "Aragorn's secret name", for those of you who've read the books will know what I mean, but anyway that means it's more on the web than some other words), and I posted at one of the major Lord of the Rings forum in a topic where people that know and speak elvish (part of me thinks that sad) have words translated for tattoos. So I posted what I had and got it checked.
Edit, Raven you sure that's not you who is on that forum?
The person that helped me there also was called Raven and I see that you're reading Tolkien now.. Coincidence? -
Ahh that wrist tattoo is beautiful! I do love wrist tattoos.. actually.. I am going to the shop tomorrow to get an appointment for having mine done! The shop's always busy, so even though mine's little, I don't think they'll be able to do it rightaway. Am getting this (for sure now, and it's changed since my last idea);
It's the elvish word "estel", meaning "hope". I have loved elves for ages, and Lord of the Rings films since they came out, and the books I love too, recently read them.
Plus it represents my love of fantasy.
Can't wait! -
Read the first pages of The Descent, by Leff Long.. never heard of the writer or book before I put it on my wishlist for xmas and got it.. ohh daring.
So far it's nice, but am only about 30 pages in. -
Well I joined back in July, via facebook, and now I've updates and properly used it.
http://www.goodreads.com/univerze
Add me.
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Finished the last 20 odd pages of Memoirs of a Geisha today, loved it. LOVED it. Amazing. Won't be the last time I've read it I can tell you that.
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Ahh see, I always check. I see a book I'd might like, I check the language it's originally written in, if it's english, I'll read it as such. If it's other, I have to read translated (German I might be able to pull off, but would rather not).. and then I'll postpone or even think do I realllly want to read it.
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The Mentalist (meh) and Castle..yay! Me loves Nathan Fillion.
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I have a couple of his books, but so far only read part of one of them.. I hate that I have to read them translated.. haven't read anything in dutch for ages.
But my french sucks.
Weight Loss and Getting in Shape
in General Chat
Posted
^I haven't weighed in a while, mainly because I KNOW I've put on weight. I see it on my body, which is what I go by, not really on the amount of weight I lose. Or gain.
BUT I finally went to the gym today, and they were great there, I have an introductory fitness lesson (which will probably take 1,5 hours rightaway, instructions, goals, etc) next thursday. Made the appointment for tuesday, then went to the store, and ehm.. bought some stuff and realized that tuesday is the day my period will start again, and the day I always suffer the worst period pains, even with painkillers. So I rescheduled, no point in starting that day. Stupid. 
But am proud that after years of thinking about it, I finally just did it today. Now, I just have to buy sporting clothes, mainly some trousers and trainers, since all I have is tattered ten year old nikes.