wrathofkublakhan

Eeek. I've heard of that, but never seen it. While I've been known to enjoy some ice cream before the main course -- I'd never rush to the denouement without savoring each tasty plot turn along the way in a book. I've even seen trailers for movies that show the ending -- I'm horribly offended to the point where I feel like a snob, but hey, I know what I like and how I want it to be like. Take me on the journey, I'll arrive at my own speed, thank you very much. Gadzooks! I've been known to get excited and find my eyes jumping about -- wishing I could read faster!

That's a laugh-out-loud posting, fiona! Thank you for that, you've added at least a year to my life.

That's pretty interesting. I googled and finally found the wikipedia article on lulu.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu.com

That one sounds interesting -- was the series historical, fantasy, fun?

Finding a good series, especially one that has plenty to offer is like finding gold. Is it safe to say that a series is at least one more than a trilogy? If so, here's my list as I recall some of my favorite series! Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich (up to 12 now) Recluse Series by LE Modesitt Jr (around 14, I'd guess) Anita Blake by Laurell K. Hamilton (The Harlequin was 15th) Nine Princes of Amber by Roger Zelazny (originally a five pack, now it's nine) Chronicles of the Cheysuli by Jennifer Roberson (8) Sword-Dancer Saga by Jennifer Roberson (6) Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card (may be behind by one book now) Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (up to 20, I reckon) Camulod Series by Jack Whyte (7) Apprentice/Adept by Piers Anthony (7) Bio of a Space Tyrant by Piers Anthony (6) Xanth by Piers Anthony (only 16 of the 31) Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (about six of them) The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun (about 12 of them) James Bond series by Ian Fleming (14 books, plus a few by other authors) All the Sackett books by L'Amour (17), all the Poirot and Miss Marple books by Agatha Christie (44), Holmes by Doyle (20?), Sue Grafton up to M, half of the Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout (about 20), and so on. Tom Swift Jr and Sr, Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown and so on. Oh yeah, Chronicles of Narnia, Hitchhiker's Guide, Redwall -- geez this list is huge.

Wow, that's me all over! Modesitt is right next to McCaffrey next to McKillip, three authors from which I've read many that the eye just travels over to see what's next. I think, in general, I am a M kinda guy ... I drift to the A's (Piers Anthony, Asprin,) and sneak a glance at the C's (Orson Scott Card) and occasionally over to the W's and the S's, but mostly it's I'm an Mer.

Hello David, Welcome to the forum, glad you could come play in the sandbox.

One of the brand names is Crock Pot. I think it's a thick ceramic, a pot that has two settings: low and high, the intent is to cook things over a longer period of time so the flavors can really do it right. Like someone else said in this thread: it's great for stews and soups. However you can use coffee cans and make bread in a slow cooker! There are a lot of fairly elaborate recipes and it can get pretty fancy - but for me, I like the "ease of use" part, toss in a bunch of the things you like for a strew and cook it over night on low. It can double as a fondue pot, melt some cheese for dip perhaps. Just know you usually want something fairly hardy (like roots) if you want to cook veggies - carrots, corn, potatoes, hominy that sorta deal. Broccoli just turns into mush over 8 hours of slow boil. My current dinner that is now in my slow cooker -- I chopped up some garlic cloves, added some thin sliced pork, added a small can of green chiles, added half a can of hominy, some whole mushrooms, added chicken broth until the pot was about 3/4 full -- set it on low; I've been eating it for the past two days. Now that's pretty darn easy - they stress that you don't lift the lid or stir it. Just....walk....away....

Well done on the review! Now, I want to do a little work-out reading this book.

Yeah, sometimes I think he's writing for a movie to be made - it's happened with so many of his novels. I wonder if it's changed his writing style?

Yeah, it's happened. I bought Far From the Madding Crowd which is a very popular book on this forum. I opened the first pages and felt exhausted! It just seemed like work to me, I need to be in the right mood to read a classic.

I just finished The Harlequin, the latest of the Anita Blake series. Amazon link and review here : http://www.amazon.com/Harlequin-Anita-Blake-Vampire-Hunter/dp/0425217248 Typical of this author, it's very hard to put the book down - the pacing is fantastic and keeps me riveted. I want to know what happens next, I read the entire thing in two days. I was pleased with this book on several levels * There was a lot less sex and a lot more violence. Familiar characters I'd not seen for several books returned, namely Dolph and Edward plus their accessories. * A nice little section on faith and belief, which I'd felt was missing in the more recent books and I liked a lot in the early books (chasing the Demon away after Richard's mom gets kidnapped, for example). * Much of the problem of the un-oathed vamps from the church has been resolved (hasn't it?). * The larger plot line of Belle Morte and Marmee Noir continued along with the threat of the Council, I mean really -- this must be leading up to some big battle. Some things were confusing, Jean Claude did some "clicky" thing to Anita and Richard, I dunno if it was the fourth mark or not. Some things were limp -- Edward never got to be bad-ass psychopath, Anita never really had her will tested - this was one of the things that drew me to the books in the first place, Anita and her will power and damn stubbornness. In this reader's opinion I was pleased and I do believe that Ms. Hamilton is listening to her readers; the merman was sent packing, Edward and Dolph returned, Anita discusses Ronnie and hints that life continues with Zerbowski and his family. I liked that she tapped all the Swanmanes (if that's what they are called) much like she did with the Chicago crew; proving that she'll eventually be a uber-necromancer and tap a lot of power in the future, perhaps directed by Jean Claude. Everyone is pissed at Richard's confliction with being a beast, which I think is totally appropriate. Not everyone is going to be happy and take one for the team. We may all want Richard to step up, but he can't. I had to re-read the ending scene in the church -- I was saying "huh?" to what was going on, tho this happens to me a lot I think. In all, I can promise I'll read the next when it comes out. I think any series will go through a rough patch as the author milks the popularity and decides on which direction to go. I just really enjoy the Anita Blake series!

I remember reading The Sterile Cuckoo by John Nichols when I was about twelve years old. I was in El Salvador where my father was doing some work - it was one of those "self aware" moments so rare for kids. I was suddenly conscious of myself in this strange house (with a pet parrot!), blue skies and an interesting book to read, almost like a camera was aimed at me I could see myself.

Okay, thanks! A totally new word for theater for me, and that's always a good thing. I worked a show in May (just ran a sound system), here's a picture from that show - it's Gamelan and Balinese Dance - thought y'all might be jealous of my cool job, lol.

Pam Anderson looks interesting until you look under the cover.

I agree. Brando doesn't really dance much and his singing is kinda soft - but he has such a presence that he is wonderful as Sky. I think all the actors enjoyed hamming it up in the gangster characters they were playing.

Getting? The word I'd use is "building" a reputation!

Mebbe I'm a-thinking this thread is really about pre-1910 books. I know that the Holmes books were published very late 1880's, Dickens was publishing about 30 years before that. Was there some cultural shift? Could the use of Realism (George Bernard Shaw and Anton Chekhov) in the theater have had an impact on the writing of stories? In any case, a classic should be a classic for a good reason - hopefully it's the writing and not because it was written in unusual circumstances. I've loved some classics - The Jungle Books, Tarzan, The Secret Garden are all well done and good reading. Like someone else wrote in this thread, the language can be an early challenge but is soon overcome. I know it's true for me when I read Othello or Hamlet, perchance to scream - but eventually I glom on it.

What exactly is a panto?

Ha-ha-ha, all too true. And if you think THAT is funny, watch Paint Your Wagon sometime and see Clint Eastwood singing "I Talk To the Trees", you'll fall down laughing -- go ahead, make my day!

Well then .... You could go with the Best Picture movies that won Oscars: West Side Story Gigi My Fair Lady Chicago Oliver! An American in Paris or maybe something a little more new? Dreamgirls Little Shop of Horrors Chicago Cry Baby (with Johnny Depp!) South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut Hedwig and the Angry Inch perhaps simply Disney is your style - Mulan Beauty and the Beast The Lion King Little Mermaid It's a wonderful world of musicals to explore and embrace! Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it and the reaction will be passionate.

My guilty pleasure books are Dragonsinger and Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey. It's about a 12 to 14 year old girl. It's all emotional icky girl stuff -- I've read them a hundred times! On DVD, I've Mulan, Parent Trap, She's the Man, Ice Princess -- all go into the bottom drawer when the boys come over to play poker and scratch themselves.

Well Mad Gal, thanx for the tip!

Nice thread, deep thoughts -- thanks y'all. My two cents: I agree that the lines become more blurry and there is not really a distinct line for a large percentage of books. I saw somewhere that a romance novelist was writing a vampire series, for example. However - the flip side of this, in my opinion, is that the comfy "genre shelves" can be safe for the formula writers. I think that lots of writers follow a specific cookbook formula when writing that places them very much within their genre. Agatha Christie, Louis L'Amour, Ian Fleming and many others wrote prolifically with book after book following the same line, theme and style. Even in our more modern times, authors find a style that works for an audience and sticks with it. I feel this is true mostly because I read these kind of books! From Agatha Christie to Janet Evanovich to LE Modesitt Jr to Arthur Conan Doyle to Louis L'Amour to Rex Stout to Sue Grafton -- these guys have cranked out a ton of books that are essentially the same formula and can sit on their "genre shelf" for me to easily find them.

Ol' Man River is one of my favorites of All Time as is... Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, I gotta love one man 'til I die, So I can't help lovin' that man of mine. In my most liberal of hearts I am so pleased that Show Boat, 1929, dealt with racism as a plot line. Same is true with South Pacific (in '45?), also dealing with racism and then winning a Pulitzer Prize for just that. Hmmm, Cabaret comes to mind but really, that's another thread. Musicals have been such a big part of my life, I love hearing them and watching them. There was a time when musical theater produced cross-over hits, I can think of Louis Armstrong singing Hello Dolly and hearing it on the radio, My Favorite Things from Sound of Music was covered by Miles Davis. Even The Beatles covered Till There Was You from The Music Man. Back when I was a wee lad, I listened to Camelot, Oliver!, My Fair Lady, Bye Bye Birdie and Man of La Mancha so often that eventually I could sing the skips in the record (I know, I know - I'm old!). There are days when I claim some kind of sophistication and act the snob and only listen to A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and the other Sondheim's ... but really, give me a show stopper like Ol' Man River any day, it still gives this jaded heart the chills. Dere's an ol' man called de Mississippi Dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be! What does he care if de world's got troubles? What does he care if de land ain't free? Ol' man river, Dat ol' man river He mus'know sumpin' But don't say nuthin', He jes'keeps rollin' He keeps on rollin' along. He don' plant taters, He don't plant cotton, An' dem dat plants'em is soon forgotten, But ol'man river, He jes keeps rollin'along. You an'me, we sweat an' strain, Body all achin' an' racket wid pain, Tote dat barge! Lif' dat bale! Git a little drunk An' you land in jail. Ah gits weary An' sick of tryin' Ah'm tired of livin' An' skeered of dyin', But ol' man river, He jes'keeps rolling' along. Colored folks work on de Mississippi, Colored folks work while de white folks play, Pullin' dose boats from de dawn to sunset, Gittin' no rest till de judgement day. Don't look up An' don't look down, You don' dast make De white boss frown. Bend your knees An'bow your head, An' pull date rope Until you' dead. Let me go 'way from the Mississippi, Let me go 'way from de white man boss; Show me dat stream called de river Jordan, Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross. O' man river, Dat ol' man river, He mus'know sumpin' But don't say nuthin' He jes' keeps rollin' He keeps on rollin' along. Long ol' river forever keeps rollin' on... He don' plant tater, He don' plant cotton, An' dem dat plants 'em Is soon forgotten, but ol' man river, He jes' keeps rollin' along. Long ol' river keeps hearing dat song. You an' me, we sweat an' strain, Body all achin an' racked wid pain. Tote dat barge! Lif' dat bale! Git a little drunk An' you land in jail. Ah, gits weary An' sick of tryin' Ah'm tired of livin' An' skeered of dyin', But ol' man river, He jes'keeps rollin' along!