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Vanwa

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  1. Vanwa

    Hey Giu

     

    Just swinging by to follow up on my remarks about American Gods. The chapter I have just read is overtly graphic and beyond the border of obscene. I advise you find a new home for your copy and trust me when I say don't read it. Or what I could do is mark down page numbers that are unsuitable for Giulias if the graphic parts don't have too much relevance to the rest of the story?

     

    xxxxxxx

  2. Vanwa

    Have replied to email. Urgently awaiting your reply!

     

    xxxxx

  3. Vanwa

    Ah blimey, I'm in the middle of replying and email alert pops up. Stop switching media on me! With you in a jiffy!

     

    xxxxxxxxxx

  4. Vanwa
    No problem, glad to help. Hope she finds something
  5. Vanwa

    And effort it is. You know when you just wake up in the mornings thinking "Meh"? It's kinda like that for me at the moment. I'm less emotional and more apathetic recently. For the time being that might not be such a bad thing. It is comforting to feel only numbness when one cares for a person who is utterly happy regardless of one's own condition of heart.

     

    Finding happiness in the happiness of those you love is a harder state of mind to access than we are lead to believe, but never the less one that I must aspire to.

     

    The time of year doesn't help. Winter is a time for cozying up, no?

     

    Write something of prettiness and magic my friend, make me smile!

    (Double-post, message box too small)

  6. Vanwa

    Sorry to hear about your wobbles. Glad you're mending though. As for your dissertation, ain't nothing to complain about in a high merit, but if it makes you feel any better I find you very distinctive! Damn those professionals who think they know better than us.

     

    I am doing better myself, although recovering from various illnesses which besieged me over New Year. I seem to be quite a sickly little thing, when all I want is to feel healthy once in a while.

     

    Due to the illnesses reading and writing have once again been put on hold, along with any inspiration for either. This would go someway to explaining my BCF absence over the last couple of weeks. Alas my participation in anything sociable has been rather lacking - and people are beginning to tell me so. So I'm making a concious effort from now.

  7. Vanwa
    Bearers of the Black Staff - the latest Shannara by Terry Brooks. This will be the first of a duology, and is due out sometime in August. He just can't write 'em fast enough. Also Shades of Grey - Fforde, but I have to finish the others first.
  8. Vanwa
    Damnit, now I'm intrigued. I've read up to book 9. I have 10 sitting on the TBR, but don't want to get back into the series without having the financial stability to pay for 11 in order to get to The Gathering Storm. Thanks to you Muggle Not, I'm going to have to sacrifice something else on my list to bump the rest of these closer to the top
  9. Vanwa
    Hi Bethany. Sorry for coming to this thread so late Your friend won't find much in the way of similar to JRRT, he is of course one of a kind. His style and development as a writer is/was (not sure how to tense this ) rather unique. If your friend has an express interest in Tolkien, she could try The Silmarillion by JRRT, or the Unfinished Tales, or The Children of Hurin. Aside from Tolkien, I second Raven's suggestion of Shannara. Terry Brooks' series are as close to the style and development of Tolkien one can find. Other good fantasy reads are Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and JV Jones Book of Words series. For something more controversial, she could try Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. Although I would have to emphasise these aren't light reads, but rather graphic with some extremely violent and adult imagery. Jordan has already been suggested, and although quite good, there are others I would recommend first, on the basis that Jordan had a tendency to drag things out a little, which can detract from the reading experience.
  10. Vanwa

    Hi Giulia

    Just popped by to express my guilt at being somewhat neglectful of late. Self-flagellation in progress. I hope that you're doing ok, OH too. Hope the writing is progressing well. Any word back on your proposal yet - is it too soon to know? Much love as always. x

  11. Vanwa
    1. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (a timeless classic for children and adults alike, and the prelude the LotR) 2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (for a mere glimpse into how one man can create with words an entire universe in less than half a century) 3. Perfume - Patrick Suskind (for an insight into the mind of a murderer and a general feeling of eeriness upon completion) 4. 1984 - George Orwell (for an eye-opener of when politics and government control go too far) 5. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (for a complex and controversial view on organised religion)
  12. Vanwa
    Alas it is not something I can part with. However, if it were possible, know that I would give you 50% of my speediness
  13. Vanwa
    It's the same with a lot of older literature, though the reason why has always remained a mystery. Austen frequently refers to "-shire" instead of actual full county names. I think the same sort of omittence occurs in Jane Eyre once or twice as well.
  14. Vanwa
    I am kinda. I sent him an email once and got a reply from Shawn (his Web Druid don'tcha know). Do I get put in the promo forum yet? On a more serious level though, he really is a fantastic writer, for seasoned fantasy readers, and new ones (hint hint @ Katrina)...
  15. Vanwa
    Pssst. Terry Brooks.
  16. Vanwa
    Ah well, about that. I've still got to obtain the Nursery Crime series yet
  17. Vanwa
    May I say, "pants", at least I tried. If you enjoyed Shannara by all means keep going. There are about another 17 now
  18. Vanwa
    Might not tick all the required boxes, but does tick the most important one in my opinion. Unfortunately, these are two series, and I know you are loathe to start one, but I'll suggest away anyway. Terry Brooks' Shannara series, which is written along the same guidelines Tolkien wrote by; adult entertainment, escapism, magic, and sex-free. They are adult novels, set in a fantasy world, and it isn't a requirement to read all of them, just three, which work as a trilogy (The Sword of Shannara Trilogy). Although if one enjoys these three one may be convinced to continue reading. On the plus side, if this is the case, it will provide you with a couple of years worth of reading material. The fantasy world though is so well written that you can lose yourself in it (and just because I don't want to spoil a single thing for anyone that might read a much later part of the series) although . They are full of war, and destruction, and wonderously written magical events, but absolutely no explicit material whatsoever. I think, in my recollection, there is one kiss (which is loving and not sexual) in the entire series. Alternatively, Brooks has written the Landover series, which is 6 books so far, and relatively short in comparison to Shannara. Slightly more adolescent in approach, with all the magic of our world combined with another magical world, and again nothing in anyway explicit. Fantasy authors I can no-no for you should you ever find them on the bookshelf (for the reason of explicitness) are Terry Goodkind and JV Jones.
  19. Vanwa
    I'm up to book 9. I have by no means given up, I just need a bit of a financial time-out.
  20. Vanwa
    Now that's sweet
  21. Vanwa
    Well Tolkien liked an ale and a pipe, but he wasn't exactly off his trolley... I agree that you can't apply a sterotype like that. It's similar to asking for names of actresses who don't have an eating disorder. I imagine if you research famous actresses who are considered to have eating disorders, you will uncover more than you thought there were. If you were to look into any profession, whether fame was involved or not, you would find there are a large group who have some problem or another in common. It's just human nature. Perhaps it's simply that if you're famous, your entire world becomes a public possession, and your would-be secrets are wider known.
  22. Vanwa
    Knightley does manage to fairly successfully portray the playful petulance and sarcasm which makes up a small part of Lizzie's character, but then Knightley pouts with the best of 'em. None of the tv adaptations or films quite live up to Austen's novels for me, although I've seen every one I can find. Whenever I see one, I think, "Austen would have phrased that speech in this way..." and, "but Austen imagined it that way..."
  23. Vanwa

    Ah but you see, I am of the view (and it has taken me quite some time to see things this way) that all of my bad experiences have made me what I am today. Perhaps the reason I know such woes is so that you have a friend who not only knows your woes but understands and empathises?

     

    It's not always easy, but I try to see the positive side in everything - a little trick taught to me by my mother. Somehow when I look at things that way they don't seem quite so bad.

  24. Vanwa

    Alive is good, unwell is bad. I am thrilled that the writing is going well on all accounts, inclusive of your brainchild and your proposal. I am sorry that the film was so painful for you, I have movies like this myself that I just cannot watch. Much love as always.

  25. Vanwa
    Tolkien wrote TH and after publication, the publishers wanted a sequel so Tolkien began writing LotR which took him many years to complete for various reasons. You are correct in saying that it is all one book, although it in fact comprises 6 volumes. Tolkien did wish it had been published as one book as this was the way he had written it. The publishers felt that it was simply too long to publish as such following the paper-shortages after the war, and divided the 6 sections into three books. Silmarillion is the correct sp. Go you If you're not aware, TS is an account of the histories of Middle-earth, and was partly written even prior to TH, although Tolkien's notes were in such disarray that it was unpublishable prior to his death. After his death, his son Christopher compiled the notes into somewhat of a biblical form. The first two parts of TS are pretty much the story of creation, and following that are the accounts of events which lead up to TH and LotR. Some of these events go back to the story of and it also briefly describes A lot of these events are expanded upon in other works published by CT, such as The History of Middle-earth. It is a known fact that most of Tolkien's works were published post-humously. Much of the information we have on the chronology of Tolkien's writing comes from The Letters of JRR Tolkien. As for the readability of TS, if you can be persuaded to give it another go, it explains much about certain events in LotR. I would only say that you should attempt it with the same frame of mind one might read the Bible; viewing each chapter as an individual story rather than reading the entire book as if it were a whole novel. ------------------------------------------------------------- Aside from Tolkien, I have just finished rereading Goodkind's Sword of Truth series yet again, and found it just as moving and compelling as every other read of it before. Mum very nicely took me Christmas shopping a couple of weeks ago, so come Christmas day I will be reading Angie Sage's latest Septimus Heap novel; Syren, and also Terry Brooks' latest Landover novel; A Princess of Landover. @ Rawr: Dark Tower is incredible from the first line of the first book, to the last line of the last book The series is due a reread shortly, and I'm starting a collection of the graphic novels pertaining to the series. I have also recently obtained Everything's Eventual, which contains a short about the DT. @ BookJumper: Thanks to you I am officially a Fforde fan, with the entire Next series currently sitting less than 5ft away. Unfortunately for various reasons my reading has been somewhat chaotic lately, so rather than getting my teeth into the rest of Something Rotten and then First Among Sequels I have set them gently aside and been rereading my old favourites!
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