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Books: 2nd Edition

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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby ValiantArcher » Feb 21, 2017 8:51 pm

Jo, ah, perhaps Amazing Grace IS where I know Hannah More from then. ;))
Please let me know what you think if you read any of the books from my list. And I hope you enjoy your new purchases! :D

Thanks for mentioning the series, stwin! :) As it turns out, I have heard of it before as some other friends have read it. However, the thing about it that comes to mind most rapidly is a comment my friend made the other day about the different viewpoints in the series and how she would skip the boring ones and find out what was happening with the more interesting ones (she did go back and read the ones she skipped). ;))

I finished Middlemarch. It turns out my idea of a good/happy ending was not the same as the author's. :P I thought there would be more deaths and less changes of mind than there were. I guess it didn't help that I never liked Ladislaw so I didn't like him marrying Dorothea in the end. :P For a while there, I really thought Rosamund would die or run off with Ladislaw; in the first case, I thought Dorothea would marry Lydgate. It's just that they would've worked really well together, with his visions and her desire to help and do projects. And she pretty much just threw that away when she married Ladislaw??? I was definitely with Sir James on this one. :P And Rosamund and Lydgate had a semi-repaired marriage but it was never really good? :P :( At least Fred and Mary had a happy marriage. I didn't like what was done with Mr. Bulstrode, but the scene where Mrs. Bulstrode comes down and sits with him, determined to be with him in this instance of "for worse" was quite touching. Overall, Eliot had a good grasp of human nature, but I wouldn't say I really enjoyed the book.

I'm almost done with Thirteen Detectives - just one more story to go. I've stuck The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien in my bag to start as well. :)

Does anyone have any thoughts about what to do with books that are falling apart and/or missing pages? I can't really donate them, and I feel a bit bad about just trashing them. I'm sure there are art projects or crafts that could be done with them. ;))
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby shastastwin » Feb 22, 2017 6:56 am

I don't remember being bored with any of the POV characters, but I think there's always the chance in a series with multiple POV that a reader will be more interested in some than others. For me, I'm usually most interested in whomever we just left. ;))

For books that are falling apart, there's always the use of super glue/tape to keep them together. I've had a couple books saved that way. If they're already in pieces, there are all kinds of arti projects you can do with them, but I'm not experienced in any so I'm no help. :-\
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby ValiantArcher » Feb 25, 2017 2:26 pm

;)) stwin, I think that was what she was struggling with. Don't get me wrong, she really enjoyed the series, but she was just more interested in some characters (at least first read-through) than others.
I've taped the one book back together (several times), so I guess it's just a question of whether I think it will hold up well enough to be donated. ;)) I did some searches for art projects using books, but most are for hardcovers and the problem books are softcovers. :P I did see one suggestion of using book pages for watercolors, but I'm not sure how that would work on some of the thin pages I have...

I finished Thirteen Detectives; it was pretty good. I'd read half the stories before, though, and I'm not sure if the other half really stood out to me as great or ones I really want to reread.

I also made it through all the introductory notes (something like 40 pages!) for The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun and have just started the poetry part. A lot of the explanation of the form and the emphases and rhythm was lost on me, but it is pretty and would sound great read aloud. ;))

I also went to a big booksale last night. I didn't get a lot, but I was pretty happy with what I got - namely, a hardcover ex libris copy of Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. I'd been putting off reading it because I figured it would take longer than the two-week library loan period to read with my schedule, and I didn't want to beat up a friend's copy. But since this copy is already beat up, no worries. ;))
I also bought a couple cookbooks, and a copy of Moonblood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I picked up Moonblood because I thought I might actually read it if I have a copy around (and the price was right ;) ). I looked at the back when I got home and went, "Wait, what?" for a few minutes before I started remembering enough about the previous book in the series to make any sense out of it. XD We'll see how reading it goes. ;))
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby coracle » Feb 25, 2017 11:52 pm

I have just borrowed a whole lot of Shannara books (Terry Brooks) from a friend. I read three a few years ago, but would like to hear opinions about the others, and also the 3 written 20 years later.
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby fantasia » Feb 26, 2017 12:13 pm

I've read what I consider to be the first seven.
'The Sword of Shannara' is a total ripoff of LotR, though if you're desperate for fantasy, it's still a fun read. :P ;))
'The Elfstones of Shannara' is my favorite stand-alone book. I guess they have a TV series based loosely on this book. I haven't seen it but my husband has and I think he liked it ok.
'The Wishsong of Shannara' I really only read because it ties Elfstones in with the next four books. It's my least favorite just because the wishsong is far too overpowered and yet the main character doesn't really do anything with it.
The next four books, grouped together as 'The Heritage of Shannara' (comprised of The Scions of Shannara, The Druid of Shannara, The Elf Queen of Shannara and The Talismans of Shannara) is probably my favorite. It's one big story though each of the four books highlights each main character/quest.

^^Those are the ones I've read and reread, and actually own, and while I know I've read other books in the Shannara series, I really have no memory of them.

But I must also add that my favorite of Terry Brooks books is the Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold series. ;)) That one was original and VERY enjoyable imho. In fact, I might have to dust them off and reread them.
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby coracle » Feb 27, 2017 2:14 am

Thank you.

Okay, the pile starts at Elfstones, then Wishsong.
Then Scions, Druid and Elf Queen.
There is a prequel, First King of Shannara, and then three later ones written 20 years later - have you seen those?
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby SnowAngel » Mar 06, 2017 11:05 am

Since my last post I finished the first six Ranger's Apprentice books and Stranger at Stonewycke. Then I read Still Life by Dani Pettrey in less than 2 days. :D It was great, although I should have sat down to write my review for it sooner after finishing it. But life has a way of happening and I did get my review written. After Still Life I read Shadows Over Stonewycke and Treasure of Stonewycke. That was most of my February reading.

A couple days ago I finished reading Treasure of Stonewycke by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella, so it was actually a March read. I thoroughly enjoyed rereading The Stonewycke Legacy, not sure how this is possible, but I had forgotten how awesome the series is. Michael Phillips and Judith Pella are a great team.

I received a complimentary copy of Recruits by Thomas Locke, which I have read almost half of. I also started Death by Living by N.D. Wilson this week, only one chapter in so far. I have a mini stack of library books to read next, a mere two books, Shaken by Tim Tebow and Because You're Mine by Colleen Coble. I thought I would have finished Recruits over the weekend, but I only read about 100 pages.

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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby fantasia » Mar 06, 2017 12:27 pm

coracle wrote:There is a prequel, First King of Shannara, and then three later ones written 20 years later - have you seen those?

I BELIEVE I have read First King of Shannara, but it obviously didn't make an impression on me if I did. I am also aware of many other sequels but those I have not read.
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby ValiantArcher » Mar 06, 2017 8:42 pm

How did you like the first six RA books, SA? :) I hope you enjoy Death by Living.

I'm still working my way through The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrun, though I'm now in Gudrun's Lay, and am probably close to 3/4 of the way through the book overall. There have been two quite interesting things I've noticed about the book. One is a number of roots for LotR/The Silmarillion; nothing huge, but things like (light spoilers) cursed rings and shattered swords to be reforged. I kind of already knew they were there, but it's still been fun to see them. ;)) The second thing is how Tolkien inserts some Christian overarching themes into the writing, specifically with regards to Odin and his chosen being someone who has to die once and thus never be defeated in death again. And the idea of Odin directly intervening in deaths and battles and such to bring his plan about.

I haven't decided what I'll read next after finishing Sigurd & Gudrun. I've been interspersing it with old, light children's books that I own but haven't read (Bobbsey Twins & Happy Hollisters, anyone? ;))) while at home, though it is a funny mix. ;)) My goal is to get enough books finished off my to-read shelf to actually be able to move Women's Letters and then Words of Radiance on to it. :P ;)) I've almost got enough room for the former.
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby shastastwin » Mar 10, 2017 7:10 am

I picked up The Ruins of Gorlan on audio from the library this week after all the hubbub in here about it. I've had the series on my book radar for a while, but never got around to it before. Once I've finished listening to The End, I'll start this one up.
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby ValiantArcher » Mar 12, 2017 4:54 pm

Hope you enjoy The Ruins of Gorlan, stwin! If I remember correctly, the first book or two are a bit weak plot-wise, but then it gets better. But it's been probably 9-5 years since I started reading/last read one of the books, so I am far from an informed opinion. ;))

I finished The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrun. I really enjoyed it, once I got past the unexpected incest (like really??? though that was something else that reminded me of Sil, since that caught me off-guard the same way there :P ;))) element and remembered where the story was coming from. The wording and phrasing was lovely, even without reading it out loud. :)

I'm currently reading The Blind Side by Michael Lewis and Susannah of the Mounties by Muriel Denison; I picked them up at library booksales (several years ago and last year, respectively, I think), both on a bit of a whim. The first has been more about football than I expected (...to be fair, I actually had no idea what to expect) but has been interesting. I've only read the first chapter or two of Susannah of the Mounties, but so far it looks to be a (hopefully fun) story about a young girl charming her uncle and his fellow Mounties. Of course, this impression is helped by the fact my copy is a Shirley Temple movie edition. ;))

I have also moved Women's Letters onto my to-read shelf, and there is the start of a space for Words of Radiance. :D
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby ValiantArcher » Mar 26, 2017 5:26 pm

I finished Susannah of the Mounties, and my impression was correct. There were a few product-of-the-time bits, but not too bad for the most part, and several frustrations born of the protagonist being a nine/ten-year-old. But overall it was pretty fun; it's definitely a Mel story. ;))

I also finished The Blind Side; I picked up a bit about football, though I was far more interested in the human side of things. ;)) It was a bit rough in places (as is life), but overall was quite interesting.

Additionally, I read Moonblood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I wasn't too enthused about the first two books in the series, but I spent most of the time reading this book wanting to throw it against the wall. :P It had some good moments, but I had way more frustrations, mostly a mix of characters, semi-forced Christian themes/parallels, and the Christ-type/figure. So, Una is foolish/wrong for trusting Leonard/Leo, but Rose spends pretty much the entire book being told to trust him? Beana and Eanrin feel like very similar characters. It's completely obvious that Eanrin and Imadeldra like each other but NO ONE FIGURES IT OUT??? There's some big secret but...it's like, Eanrin probably feels like he's supposed to keep liking the lady-love he's famous for liking, but she doesn't like him and he doesn't actually like her, so...??? Leonard just randomly becomes alive again because of the unicorn horn? And Felix slays a dragon, with no explanation really for why he's healed? AND THE STUPID CRISS-CROSSED LOVE-POLYGONS THAT HAVE SIMULTANEOUSLY ALREADY BEEN SOLVED BUT STILL DRAG ON???

I am currently reading A Man Called Intrepid by William Stevenson and The White Feather by P.G. Wodehouse. Jo has talked about the former before; I'm just south of 70 pages in and it's been full of interesting information. :) The latter is a school-story; I'm wondering if it's an earlier story, because it definitely has flavours of typical Wooster & Jeeves or Monty Bodkin nonsense, but not to that level yet. Alternatively, it just might be he toned it down for the shorter story. ;))

I just moved Words of Radiance onto my to-read shelf, and I misjudged the space because I've got room for another book or two. ;)) I also went to the uni library yesterday and checked out My Lady Ludlow by Elizabeth Gaskell, Chesterton's Daylight and Nightmare, and two translations of Antigone. We'll see if I can keep up momentum and knock a couple more books off my to-read shelf before the next library booksale gets here (end of April?). ;))
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby Meltintalle » Mar 30, 2017 9:01 am

Soooo... anyone read the new short story in the newest edition of King of Attolia yet? ;;) ;;) I lucked out and the library ebook had all the extra goodies as well as the new cover. :D (Unlike the first two, which only had new covers.)

It's called The Wine Shop and is VERY short. It's Gen working around the problem of being king and anonymity again, as seen by Teleus and Relius.

Valia wrote:But overall [Susannah of the Mounties] was pretty fun; it's definitely a Mel story. ;))
Oooooh, sounds intriguing! (I'm assuming this is a reflection of the more pleasant side of my reading tastes and no mountains were exploded on poor characters? :p )

In addition to working my way through a reread of the Attolia books, I picked up a book called Engineers, Far From Ordinary: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis by Damon Manders. It's a fascinating overview of engineering practices and flood control and river depth and the history of that particular area.
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby SnowAngel » Mar 30, 2017 9:39 pm

I really enjoyed the first 6 books of the Ranger's Apprentice. I look forward to reading the rest of the series one of these days.

Since you mentioned Susannah of the Mounties, Valia, I checked for the books at the library and they had one Susannah of the Yukon. It's sitting on my dresser now, should make a quick, fun read this weekend. I am the last one at my house to get to read it, I let my younger sisters read it first.

Oh, a book on the Engineers that sounds very interesting, Mel.

I haven't made much progress reading Death By Living, I have been planning to read it on the weekends...but that hasn't been working out lately. However I am planning to pick back up again this week. *fingers crossed* Hopefully I can find 30 uninterrupted minutes to read when I open it up again. That book is like a magnet for my brother to want to play a video game or watch a movie.

I just finished reading Murder On The Moor by Julianna Deering. It's the fifth book in the Drew Farthering Mystery series. It was really good, not the strongest entry in the series, but it has a solid plot and of course it is Drew and Madeline. And Nick. :) I am so happy there will be a sixth book. Although I am hoping there might be more than six, at least a girl can dream.

I am trying to finish The Returning (Seers #3) by Rachelle Dekker. I really enjoyed reading The Choosing a couple months ago, and so naturally I was excited the library finally got the second and third books in the trilogy. So wrong, I made it through The Calling and was still mildly interested the last book. But as soon as I started The Returning my interest tanked. I am only 40 or so pages in, but I am seriously think about skimming the rest of the book.

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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby mm1991 » Apr 01, 2017 1:08 pm

Well, now I'm reading As Old As Time in the Twisted Tales series. It's a Disney book even though it's a more mature/darker version of Beauty and the Beast (not too dark though - it's still Disney). The big twist - which is not a spoiler since they put it right on the cover of the book (!) - is that the enchantress is actually Belle's mother.

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite of all the Disney animated films so I though I would speed through it. It's taking me longer than I though. It's good but not great. I'm going to have to speed-read a little through it. It might be because I just know the basic story so-well, it's not edge-of-my-seat must find out what happens type of thing.
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Re: Books: 2nd Edition

Postby fantasia » Apr 01, 2017 1:27 pm

I'm rather partial to 'Beauty' by Robin McKinley. I'm thinking a reread might be in order as I've been wanting to read something but nothing has piqued my interest.
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