CuriousGeorgette

Yes I did in fact refer to 'one notable exception' in the next post. And as you can see from my review that I am clear that I don't like books based on games. They tend not to be well written, and you get this feeling of reading an account of the game which does not make for a good read, and usually the point at which I groan, roll my eyeballs and put the book down, if I even picked up in the first place which is unlikely. I have recently tried to read other books based on a game, which I only discovered after I bought them and they also just confirmed my belief that books based on games tend to be bad rather than good - those were also an unmourned delete. As for fantasy per se owing much to D & D regardless of the author - well that presumes an awful lot doesn't it? It presumes a great deal of knowledge by all fantasy authors of the game and its worlds, when many may in fact be blissfully ignorant. It presumes that authors do not have the imagination to create a magical universe without reference to the game which is also a rather large presumption. It's like saying that all fantasy authors are either trying to outdo LOTR or trying to escape its influence as one reviewer of fantasy fiction said, which is patently equally nonsense. Just because there is something like D & D and LOTR does not mean that authors can't write without reference to them. There are some universal elements to most fantasy in the same way there are some universal elements to crime or romance books. Books with common elements are grouped together in genres. This does not mean when there are similar elements in other works that they 'owe' something to the other work unless it is a blatant lift - I saw a review of a book about an alternate history set in prehistorical earth and the humans were called 'Tanu' - that was lifted straight from Julian May's Pleiocene Exiles Series. And I'm currently reading a book that has a 'mirror lake' in it and that is directly referencing at least two other books that I can think of, namely Thomas Covenant Series and more closely one of David Edding's books right down to the white buildings of the city. Give credit where credit is due. Authors don't work in a vacuum, but they are capable of creating their own imaginary worlds. And it is immediately evident when they don't.

Nope. Never been a fan of any one in my life. There are authors I like, but 'fanatically' like above all else, read and like everything they've ever written, no. And I prefer not to know anything about them. Particularly about their personal lives. I find it hard, if not impossible to read their work if there is something off-putting about them.

It is counter-productive to only ever hear one side of anything. Not liking something is as valid an opinion as liking something. Saying you don't like something can be a positive affirmation to others who also don't like something.

No it's not. It is however presumptive of you to assume I'm narrow minded. I have tried (emphasis on tried) to read several books purporting to be 'fantasy' based on some or the other game. They have all (with one notable exception) turned out to be rubbish. As far as this series is concerned, I have picked up one or the other books in the series several times and it just doesn't appeal to me. I reserve the right to not want to read every thing, and I further reserve the right to be able to choose what I like and what I don't like, regardless of how my criteria for choosing may seem to some one else. Furthermore I have the right to say if I don't like a book, or won't read it provided I do so politely, which I did. I am quite certain that you have books you don't like as well.

Right there is why I won't read it. To be more specific the books have never appealed to me, and generally speaking I just don't like books based on games, for games, as a backdrop to games, anything from, about, or to do with games.

no worries ... I was still guessing. but you got it so go ahead and find a quote

Of those 4 the first 2 are probably your best bet

The Bene Gesserit can kill you in a thousand ways before you take the next breath. You won't see them move, they won't break a sweat or blink an eye and they will be calmly sipping a cup of tea on the other side of the room before you hit the floor. Definitely awesome.

tom sawyer or huckleberry finn

Hmmm thinking .... not generally regarded as a children's author ... but prolific ... and male .... thinking .... not Charles Fenimoore Cooper, not E.B. White, possibly Mark Twain.

Thanks

Post Human Chronicles 1 - Primordial Labyrinth Post Human Chronicles 2 - Second Universe John A. Ayala I've had this books for a few months and finally got around to trying to read them. Yes TRYING. The blurb got me ...........but oh my word impenetrable doesn't even begin to describe this writing. it's filled with bits like this poem. May life flourish! May the ineffable fractal dimensions of its petals, symphonies of light refracting in the eternity of the void, wound with their storm of colors, the somber creative entrails of becoming! At just below 6 000 words this isn't even really a short story and its a load of old cobblers, despite being more than half way through (I read more than I thought just trying to make some kind of sense of it) I'm not going to bother to finish it. These two are a delete! Moved on to something much better: Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne 1 - The Emperor's Blades by Brian Stavely. Really enjoyable fantasy so far but which I have just discovered to my horror is the first in a trilogy with the next one only due in Jan 2015. WHhhhhy? I hate reading a good series before it is finished. Oh well the small consolation is that it seems that the books are fairly stand alone-ish if the author's comments are to believed I hope *holding thumbs*

The 'Man From Hollywood' segment, directed by Quentin Tarrantin, was taken from Dahl's short story "Man from the South".

I am always reading, but I agree that there are times when I read less than at other times. I keep looking at all these different reading challenges and thinking Wow that looks interesting, but I have to confess that I entirely lack the self-discipline. Not that I lack self-discipline entirely but when it comes to reading I am so much more driven by what I feel like reading rather than what I should read that I know I won't stick to it, least of all if it is a self-imposed reading list. One of the major reasons I have all my books on my reader at once is that when I'm done with a book, I like to 'browse' my books for what I feel like reading. And if nothing grabs my eye then I go a-hunting for something new. Ok sometimes I just go a-hunting anyway. I can't resist new books, or old books which are like old friends you suddenly bump into again and you remember why you loved them so much. So Paul, and all the others so bravely doing a challenge - congratulations. I'd love to join you, but I know I'd fail the moment the next book on the list didn't look appealing

I don't mind who goes

The poem is from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which is so much deeper than the films made it to be. So that might be a good place to start as you probably have seen one or the other of the films - yes? If not, there really isn't really one book that stands out above the others as a good place to start. As said below: The adult short stories definitely fall into the 'macabre' category. They all have a dark twist in the tale. The children's books are definitely not just for children. The language is delightful and there are sub-texts that go over children's heads. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a combination of a Dickensian 'Oliver Twist' finds his ultimate dream type story, with lots of moralising on many issues from greed, to television (quoted above), spoiling children overly much etc. It is these points which are more aimed at adults reading the book than the children themselves. Matilda is about an neglected child who is nonetheless very intelligent and her relationship with a special teacher in an awful school. The book is filled with lots of magical realism moments and is also a social comment on parenting and education. James and the Giant Peach - a fantastical escape from the evil aunts, a flight across the Atlantic to finally land in New York and a hero's welcome. Every unhappy child's dream of running away is realised in this story. Again there is some social comment on child abuse and the need for love and good friends. Fantastic Mr Fox - Mr Fox is a chicken thief. He is clever, smart and resourceful and is never caught. Well almost never. The farmers did manage to shoot off his tail on one occasion. Clever Mr Fox does get his own back on the farmers after they try to starve his family out. The tale is a comment on fox hunting and the systematic destruction of species deemed 'a nuisance' to farmers. Danny, Champion of the World - describes a loving relationship between a boy and his father, respectable petrol station owner by day and notorious poacher by night. Funny, wonderful book that is a comment land-ownership and privilege in the UK. The BFG - the power of dreams! Perhaps the most 'children's book' of the lot although any one can learn the lesson of holding onto your dreams from the story. George's Marvelous Medicine - George's Granny is sick so what is he to do? Make a Marvelous Medicine to cure her of course. Another one that is more of a children's book than the others but any adult who can remember making potions or "cooking" with leaves and mud will enjoy it.

Pleasure ... can I persuade you to start

I'm in ...

attack

Sorry no - I haven't read any of his books

Cinderella:

Jack and the Beanstalk:

These are honestly some of my favourite retelling of some classic fairy tales in inimical Roald Dahl fashion: Three Little Pigs: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves:

yes LOL because I have no clue. I don't recognise the quote or the style at all.

New books definitely have a smell of their own which is quite distinctly different from the musty smell of old books. I like both. And there are few greater pleasures in life than wandering around a good book store new or used.