This forum has been archived. Please visit the new forum at https://community.narniaweb.com/

Books: 2nd Edition

The community lounge for non-Narnian discussions.

Moderators: stargazer, johobbit

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Valiant_Lucy » Sep 05, 2010 7:15 pm

Adeona, I love that book, A Northern Light! And I agree, the cover is beautiful (even tho, as I already said, I don't usually like covers with people's faces on them). And yea, those situations you mentioned definetlly annoyed me when I first read it a year or so ago. In light of other things I've read they maybe weren't terribly shocking, but I totally wasn't expecting them in what I thought was a YA type book. I'd highly reccomend it except for those bits. :)
"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." Marilyn Monroe
User avatar
Valiant_Lucy
Moderator Emeritus
The IMAR&NB mod
 
Posts: 9142
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Location: Canada
Gender: Female

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby DiGoRyKiRkE » Sep 05, 2010 7:27 pm

Well here are a few of my favourite covers:

The Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke:

Image

Not only beautiful covers, but truly enchanting books! (I feel I sing their praises a lot :P )

Lord of Snow and Shadows by Sarah Ash:

Image

It's a really good book, but the cover is what originally drew me to it. I love snow!

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson:

Image

I cannot sing the praises of this book enough! I'm usually not a fan of prequel work (particularly when it's done by somebody other than the author) but this book is beyond fantastic. The cover is crisp, fresh, and simple, and I love the contrast between Anne's green dress, and the faded yellow of the cover.

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis:

Image

I've seen a lot of covers for this book, but this one always strikes me as something beautiful! (Suitable for my favourite book ever)

At any rate. . . those are a few of mine.
Member of Ye Olde NarniaWeb
WC: Old Forum: 1024 New Forum: 240
User avatar
DiGoRyKiRkE
Moderator
The Logical Ornithological Mod
 
Posts: 23238
Joined: Mar 29, 2005
Location: Ohio: The Buckeye State
Gender: Male

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Adeona » Sep 05, 2010 11:37 pm

I've always thought this one a great work of art:
Image
Haven't read the book yet, but it's at the library waiting for me right now! :D

Valiant_Lucy wrote:I agree, the cover is beautiful (even tho, as I already said, I don't usually like covers with people's faces on them).

If that's so, Valiant_Lucy, how come 3 of 5 covers you posted feature a face? /:) ;) ;;)

The cover for Lord of Snow and Shadows is beautiful, DiGoRyKiRkE. :)
RL Sibs: Aviator, Lizzle, Narniancricket, DancingPrincesses, Andriel
User avatar
Adeona
NarniaWeb Guru
Thursday's Wayfaring Child
 
Posts: 1692
Joined: Jun 26, 2009
Location: Hidden in Silence
Gender: Female

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Alyosha » Sep 05, 2010 11:54 pm

Yes! I was going to post that one. I think it might be my all-time favourite. I really like Alexandria of Africa's cover too, and that cover of TWHF. Some of my favourites are:

Image Image

Image

Image

Image Image

Image
(the book was cheesy and nothing special, but there was some gorgeous artwork inside :D)

Plus anything by Brett Helquist (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Listening for Lions) or Pauline Baynes (CoN, various Tolkien stuff, The Princess and the Goblin.)

equustel (long ago on page 1) wrote:I'm currently reading Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson and I've been raving about it to anyone who will listen. I originally picked it up just because I heard Wilson is writing the screenplay for The Great Divorce film, and I was curious what his writing chops were like.

I love that book. I'm not usually into stream-of-consciousness but it is coherent, in a haphazard kind of way :P My copy has sticky notes in just about every chapter to mark quotes I wanted to remember. Especially in the chapter on Hell, and The Problem of Kittens or whatever that one was called :P Can't wait to see what he does with The Great Divorce.
Image
signature by Starsy
User avatar
Alyosha
Moderator Emeritus
 
Posts: 4776
Joined: Mar 10, 2005
Location: Canada

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Liberty Hoffman » Sep 06, 2010 7:35 am

here's some of my favs:
Gordon Korman's Island, Dive, and Everest Trilogys!

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
NW sister - wild rose ~ NW big sis - ramagut
Born in the water
Take quick to the trees
I want all that You are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EADBC57vKfQ
User avatar
Liberty Hoffman
NarniaWeb Master
Libby the Epic; sub in the WC
 
Posts: 11761
Joined: Aug 22, 2008
Location: Where the gully's deep in green and golden glades
Gender: Female

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby sandyentersNarnia » Sep 07, 2010 2:17 am

Silver the Wanderer:

I forget. I read them before I watched the movies, though. I also rented them from the library, so maybe there was a wait on one of them. But I really don't think it took me that long to read them. Maybe that's just because I'm an abnormally fast reader. I try so hard to slow down and "savor" a book, but it doesn't work. :p


Wow, I envy you. Reading fast is so tricky to me because I never leave a page when I don't decipher it much.


I browsed the net and suddenly something caught my attention.
I just saw the first book I read when I was beginning to love books, here it is:

Image

Mismatch by Lensey Namioka, this book is cute. I love the story, especially the ending, very touching. :)

Ooh! I also finished reading Camp Creepy Time

Image

This was really creepy. Good thing it only existed in the book. hihi. ;))
Image

"Two sides of the same coin"
User avatar
sandyentersNarnia
NarniaWeb Guru
 
Posts: 1252
Joined: May 23, 2010
Location: In Aslan's heart.

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Warrior 4 Jesus » Sep 07, 2010 5:14 am

There are better designed book covers out there but these are some of my favourites from my own collection:

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - Volume 7 of 7 of an epic sci-fi/fantasy adventure by Hayao Miyazaki
Image
Beautiful watercolour illustration of the protagonist and some of her followers.

The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher by Rob Stennett
Image
Bizzare imagery that stands out and asks the reader to try it. Strangely relevant to the content.

The Stand by Stephen King
Image
A rather simple but well-done design. Nothing confusing here. The themes are spelt out in the foreboding imagery.

Field of Blood by Eric Wilson
Image
Beautiful colour contrast suggests an exploration of an ancient exotic culture and the clash of supernatural dangers.

Skin by Ted Dekker
Image
Simple but effective. The design suggests a deadly thriller and temporality.

Showdown by Ted Dekker
Image
The Walking Dude in the background suggests a sinister wanderer and just looks stylish. There's also a riddle on the cover that is hugely relevant to the story but it didn't show up in the photo.

Adam by Ted Dekker (foreign edition - not sure what language)
Image
This is very different from the US release of Adam. The creepy eye is the focal point. As such, it's rather chilling. The cracked white skin suggests that the woman isn't altogether human. Brrr.

Here's the US edition for comparison. Still chilling but it's more about evil silence and non-identity than anything else.
Image
Currently watching:
Doctor Who - Season 11
User avatar
Warrior 4 Jesus
NarniaWeb Master
 
Posts: 10045
Joined: Mar 06, 2005
Location: Australia
Gender: Male

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Rising_Star » Sep 07, 2010 6:45 am

I recently bought Field of Blood from my church's bookstore but I've only read the first chapter before I took a trip to the library and got to reading those books. Is it good, W4J?

Also, I started reading Conspiracy of Kings but I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. :ymblushing: Again, library books distracted me . . .

P.S."Brooklyn!"
User avatar
Rising_Star
Moderator Emeritus
NarniaWeb's Resident Hunter
 
Posts: 13903
Joined: Apr 02, 2006
Location: Impala
Gender: Female

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Warrior 4 Jesus » Sep 07, 2010 7:47 am

Rising_Star,

Yes, Field of Blood is great. It has a more literary style than the majority of thrillers and because of that it requires a little more thought and time but the novel is well-written. Despite the subject matter, the story isn't derivative. The Romanian setting for much of the story is unusual but interesting and well-researched. The characters are intriguing and realistically written. I'm not sure what you're used to reading but it's a little darker than your average fiction (written by a Christian).
Field of Blood borrows heavily from the Bible (particularly Jude and the Gospels) but his writings never feel preachy. Eric Wilson also borrows from Stephen King's novel - Salem's Lot. There's a great story here but remeber there are two more books in the series. Books two and three has been released in the US but so far I've only read the first two.

Book 2 - Haunt of Jackals
Image

Book 3 - Valley of Bones (unreleased in Australia)
Image

Hope this helps.
Currently watching:
Doctor Who - Season 11
User avatar
Warrior 4 Jesus
NarniaWeb Master
 
Posts: 10045
Joined: Mar 06, 2005
Location: Australia
Gender: Male

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Shantih » Sep 07, 2010 8:08 am

Some of my favourite covers, I've gone only for ones in my own collection -

Image

My Antonia - Willa Cather

Image

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee - Dee Brown

Image

Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy

Image

The Neverending Story - Michael Ende

Looking at these, I think I tend towards simple, well chosen covers, although with The Neverending Story I just enjoy that illustration.
There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.
User avatar
Shantih
Moderator Emeritus
 
Posts: 4894
Joined: Oct 24, 2005
Location: England

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Warrior 4 Jesus » Sep 07, 2010 8:15 am

Alyosha, some great covers there! I especially love the first cover design of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - the contrasting black and white is incredible. I also find the disorientated design for The Man Who Was Thursday to be fantastic - very appropriate given the wacky chaos within.

Shantih, you also have some great taste (but I already knew that!) I've always had a soft spot for the admittedly odd but nicely illustrated cover of The Neverending Story. The Indian chief on the horse is wonderfully balanced with the title text.

There are some awful covers for books. Here's one of the better ones for C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength (it's from the early 50's). Seems to me the artist has at least read the book and interpreted the final chapters in a rather dramatic manner. But it works. It's a bit difficult to make out all the details though.
Image
Currently watching:
Doctor Who - Season 11
User avatar
Warrior 4 Jesus
NarniaWeb Master
 
Posts: 10045
Joined: Mar 06, 2005
Location: Australia
Gender: Male

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Lady Haleth » Sep 07, 2010 8:18 am

I don't have the book with me right now, but I think The Children of Hurin has one of the best covers ever.
The glory of God is man fully alive--St. Iraneus
Salvation is a fire in the midnight of the soul-Switchfoot
User avatar
Lady Haleth
NarniaWeb Junkie
 
Posts: 812
Joined: May 25, 2010
Location: On a flying horse
Gender: Female

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Rising_Star » Sep 07, 2010 9:27 am

Thanks, W4J! That does help. I knew there were two other books, but as of right now my church's bookstore only has the first one and the third one. :( Looks like I'm going to have to order the second from Amazon or something.

I've read some dark stuff and I did notice through the first couple chapters that it was pretty dark, but reading the synopsis told me that so it wasn't really a surprise. I'm looking forward to finishing it and the rest of the trilogy. Thanks! :D

And I do think the covers are pretty awesome . . .

I really have tooooooo many books that I love the covers of, so I'm not sure if I should post them all here. ;))

EDIT: On second thought I've got a few for ya:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

P.S."Brooklyn!"
User avatar
Rising_Star
Moderator Emeritus
NarniaWeb's Resident Hunter
 
Posts: 13903
Joined: Apr 02, 2006
Location: Impala
Gender: Female

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby sweeetlilgurlie » Sep 07, 2010 3:20 pm

Sequel to "Voyage to Venus"? I didn't know it was ever called that! I've only heard it called Perelandra.

As for covers, I can't think of any specific ones that I've loved. Not straight off the bat, anyhow. I'll think of it and get back to you. I just know that it's important to me that it's pretty. :P
"Let the music cast its spell,
give the atmosphere a chance.
Simply follow where I lead;
let me teach you how to dance."
User avatar
sweeetlilgurlie
Moderator Emeritus
The Sparkle Princess
 
Posts: 5424
Joined: Oct 26, 2005
Location: Narnia
Gender: Female

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Warrior 4 Jesus » Sep 07, 2010 6:45 pm

Sweeetlilgurlie, yes, I think Voyage to Venus was the the United Kingdom's publishing title for Perelandra. I'm not sure why it was changed but all the older copies I've seen in Australia (from the 60's and 70's) have the Voyage to Venus title. I think it makes the book sound like pulp sci-fi, rather than the complex philosophical book it really is.
Currently watching:
Doctor Who - Season 11
User avatar
Warrior 4 Jesus
NarniaWeb Master
 
Posts: 10045
Joined: Mar 06, 2005
Location: Australia
Gender: Male

Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby ValiantArcher » Sep 07, 2010 8:42 pm

Adeona, I'd thought that
SHOW SPOILER Ages of Attolian characters
there was more of a 4-5 year age gap between Gen and Irene. Maybe 18 and 23? 19 and 23 or 24? Somewhere around that.


Booky, about Lord Sunday:
I was a tiny bit surprised, but not that upset about Arthur's mom dying. To be honest, I kept forgetting about her. :ymblushing: I was more surprised/saddened by Elephant dying; he was much more in the forefront during the book than Arthur's mom was. But, yeah, it was a bit surprising (though, I think I missed it the first time and had to go back and check)---I was really glad Arthur restrained from remaking her, though, under the circumstances. :)
Another thing I thought interesting was the mention of how the Will used the Trustees' own corrupted characters to enact the Will; using their own natures to work out the Architect's plan.
Right. And though Arthur wasn't happy about his powers, he did use them to do what he had to and didn't just run off screaming in the other direction (which seems to be the other pit that heroes fall into :P).
Mmhmm, that was a very nice part about The Red Pyramid. :)

Val, I don't think I've ever heard of "Fitcher's Bird" before. What are the differences between it and "Bluebeard"? :)

I'm glad you liked Leepike Ridge, Kate. :D I think you'll enjoy the 100 Cupboards series as well---I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it.

Silver the Wanderer, though The Hunger Games is rather violent, I didn't find it graphic. I really can't remember any long descriptions of gruesome things. ;))

Booky wrote:My favorite was the story of how Svein the hero picked his wife. He asks three sisters what he should bring them from the horde of the trow-king. The oldest wants gold and silver jewellery, the second wanted cooking implements, the youngest wanted a flower for to look at and remember him by. Upon his return, this is his comment to the sister: "You, the eldest, are clearly a vain sort of trollop, while you, the youngest, are appallingly fey. I'll pick you, the middle one, for your common sense request." ;))
That's hilarious! :)) Of course, alternatively, I suppose he could've picked the middle sister because the request for cooking implements implied that she could use them and he was very hungry went he got back from raiding. ;)

sweeet, an intriguing cover can make me pick up a book, but since I often just see the spines, an intriguing title/spine will often influence me more to pick up a book. ;) Usually, too, I'll read the synopsis/back cover/inside flap of the dust jacket before I make a decision about whether to check it out or not. So, a pretty cover is nice, but it's not usually going to make or break a book for me. :)

Lady Haleth, I hope you get to read Beauty sometime soon. :) It's my favourite McKinley.

*enjoys all the lovely book covers* I don't think I have any to share with you all right now---I know I've seen some lovely ones, but I can't remember any of them right now. :P

Aly, I'll definitely agree with you on the two JS&MN covers (though I have a fond spot for the red & white cover), and the second TMWWT (I read that copy of it---I know have this absurd one with a strange bird/man on it :-S).

I checked a couple of books by Shaun Tan the other day, as someone had recommended one of his books to me. I couldn't find the recommended one (which was disappointing, but not surprising: I always view the childrens' picture book section as a whirlpool of chaos), but I found the other two the library had. They were rather strange, but kind of quirky and fun. :)
I also checked out Fool's Run, partially because Mel's recent read had piqued my interest. I was less confused than usual (I think I'm finally getting used to McKillip's writing :D!) and was mostly able to skim over/get the drift of the more confusing parts. ;)) There was a bit of language and one slightly risque scene, but I mostly enjoyed the book. :)
I absolutely loved the one line about Fisher letting go of the past and stepping forward, hoping that Michelle would meet him where his future began. :D I also liked the sense of irony and fate that McKillip used in having him search so hard for the one thing and then when he'd pretty much stopped searching, it had snuck up behind him and walloped him on accident. ;))
I was quite curious how the story would resolve itself, but I was happy with it. But having Terra die in the end, simply from pure exhaustion and weariness, with her last words being to ask for forgiveness was a good ending---she knew the massacre was wrong, but we finally got to see why it had happened.
And I knew there was a lot more I was going to say originally, but I forgot it. :P

I've also been reading The Forests of Serre. I was ready for some confusion, but I wasn't prepared for how hilarious it was going to be! Obviously it's not all humour, but some of the bits are just incredibly humourous. ;)) It's also feels a lot more like a traditional fairy tale. Not completely, but it has a number of the components of it.
Such as the talking and advice-giving animals, the witch who lives in the house of bones that moves about on legs (albeit her own legs and not a chicken's, but Yaga Baba anyone?), the enchanted prince, etc.
Also, some of the lines are absolutely gorgeous. :D

I also (finally!) got Mockingjay from the library today. :D I, eh, also read it all this afternoon. ymwhisle
Wow. There was a lot going on. ;)) Tons of people died---I actually had to read most of the parts a couple of times to figure out that someone had died/who had actually died. I kind of rushed through the climax with the parachutes and didn't realise that they were exploding and that Prim was dead until I turned the page and started going, "Wait a sec...what's going on?" :ymblushing: It took me a couple minutes to realise Finnick was dead (Waaah! :(( ) and I still can't find any mention of Castor disappearing or dying other than Katniss not including him when she does a count. :-\
I was really glad that in the end, Katniss was with Peeta and not Gale. Gale was always just too full of anger and hatred for me to ever really like him. :P That, and he really just annoyed me with continually attempting to cross the friendship line with Katniss (I liked him best in the beginning of MJ during the time Katniss says they're back to just being friends, just like old times). Oh! And his constant...eh, ruthlessness? Sure, his plans of traps and bombs were clever and efficient, but they were incredibly cruel. They were talking about human lives and he was just treating them like animals. He was definitely lacking in anything resembling mercy. I didn't call the parachute bomb (killing a group and then bombing the rescuers a few minutes later) being used in the end, but I knew the plans were trouble and was kind of disappointed by them blowing up the mountain. *coughs* At any rate, I've never been a fan of him, and I wasn't that upset about him just kind of drifting off into Sector 2 and having some sort of semi-glamourous life there.
Besides, wouldn't you rather be with the guy who would fight to the last minute, doing anything and everything, to keep you alive than the guy who was just going to shoot you when he thought you'd run out of time? :P
*coughs* I even missed that Katniss shot the 'wrong' president. I was wondering why Snow was laughing if he was dead and how he could be leaning forward, if he'd fallen over backwards. I read it a couple of times and moved on, figuring that Katniss was being hauled off for being suicidal. :P
So, Coin really was rebelling, but she was orchestrating the rebellion so that she'd end up in charge? And what exactly did killing Prim do besides turning Katniss into a wreck? :-\
What all did you think of Katniss voting for a new Hunger Games? That one threw me for a loop---I'm still not sure why she voted yes. :-s
There's far more I'd like to say, but I need to get off now. :P ;))

Edit: Please forgive any incomplete or incoherent sentences, misplaced or missing words, or any confusing thoughts or phrases, as I am rather tired and didn't do a read-through to check everything. :ymblushing:
Some days you battle yourself and other monsters.
Some days you just make soup.
User avatar
ValiantArcher
Moderator
BC Head and G&B Mod
 
Posts: 13195
Joined: May 16, 2007
Location: The Front Line

PreviousNext

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests

cron