Just finished Flowers for Algernon. Wow, I need to read something happy now.

 

Great story.

 

It really is. Definitely one of the best books I've read over the past year.

Meant to start my collection of WH Auden, instead I'm reading American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. Interesting so far.

Just finished Flowers for Algernon. Wow, I need to read something happy now.

Going to start a compilation of poetry by W.H. Auden I think.

Actually reading something non-sci-fi/fantasy for the first time in a little while. I'm going through The Social Animal by David Brooks. It uses the story of a fictional couple to teach some of the intricacies of human interaction and psychology. Pretty educational without being bland. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in that kind of stuff.

Just finished The Way of Kings by Sanderson. Holy hell, if you haven't read this book, pick it up and read it. Read it now. Sanderson's really establishing himself in my eyes as a heavyweight in the literary realm.

Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to start next. I think I need to consult some Top 10 lists.

Bakker's Judgine Eye reread is on hold. Just picked up "The Cold Commands" by Richard Morgan, loved the first one in this series and this is starting of ace too.

Morgan's an author I have tremendous respect for. I own most of his sci-fi novels, but have never read his foray into fantasy. I need to get on that...

Yeah, if you haven't read his other books, and enjoy gritty science fiction, you should definitely give them a shot.

I am 550 pages into Mistborn book 2, and while I don't think it's as a good as Book 1 it's still very good. Allomancy rocks!! 1 of my fave magic systems if not my fave

 

 

Just read the part where Vin and Zane kill 300 soldiers in 10 minutes, AMAZING!!! But I do miss Kelsier, thought he was great.

 

Book 2 gets very interesting at the end, and I'll be curious to hear what you think of Book 3 (which was my personal favorite). It moves a little slowly here and there, but it's all worth it for the finale.

 

If you liked that scene with Vin and Zane, then you're going to love some of the parts coming up too!

 

 

I am 100 pages into Mistborn 3 and I wouldnt normally comment on a book after 100 pages but I just have to say poor, poor Sazed

The mans lost his love, and his meaning to life, and hes 1 of my fave characters in the series

 

Yeah, unfortunately a lot of Sazed's story arc in Book 3 is him losing his faith and basically just feeling miserable. It's pretty sad. When I read book 3, I was surprised by how much screen time Spook got; he really becomes a main character in this book.

I am 550 pages into Mistborn book 2, and while I don't think it's as a good as Book 1 it's still very good. Allomancy rocks!! 1 of my fave magic systems if not my fave

 

 

Just read the part where Vin and Zane kill 300 soldiers in 10 minutes, AMAZING!!! But I do miss Kelsier, thought he was great.

 

Book 2 gets very interesting at the end, and I'll be curious to hear what you think of Book 3 (which was my personal favorite). It moves a little slowly here and there, but it's all worth it for the finale.

If you liked that scene with Vin and Zane, then you're going to love some of the parts coming up too!

Now, back to Cormac!

 

+1 IMO he is the best American author of our time...

All of his material that I've read so far supports that claim. I get the feeling I'm going to be shelling out a lot of money in the future on his works

Took a slight detour from my reading of The Road (which I've been really enjoying) to bury my head in the Mistborn Trilogy. Finished all three books this past month and cannot recommend them enough. Abso-freaking-lutely fantastic.

Now, back to Cormac!

The Player of Games, Iain M. Banks. Terrific book, highly recommended.

One of his best for sure. I'm glad that some other people on here read Banks, the guy's created an amazing sci-fi universe.

Have you read his latest release, Surface Detail? I would put it up as his second best book, behind PoG. Compelling story, some awesome scenes with Culture warships, and it actually's got some nice philosophy in it.

Right now I'm rereading WOT for the 5th time. I'm in the middle of TSR right now.

 

Over the last year I read Milton's PARADISE LOST, Bronte's WUTHERING HEIGHTS and Waugh's A HANDFUL OF DUST. Also LORD VALENTINE'S CASTLE by Robert Silverberg. Amongst graphic novels, I read PREACHER by Garth Ennis, LOST GIRLS by Alan Moore, and ZOT! by Scott McCloud. Some literary criticism from David Denby and James Wood, including THE WESTERN CANON and JESUS AND YAHWEH by Harold Bloom. Biggest of all these reading projects was my umpteenth reread of Gene Wolfe's SUN books, twelve volumes in all.

 

Although I intend to keep up with WOT until I catch up with everyone else (I've only read through KOD, though I have TGS and TOM waiting on my bookshelf), other books on my shortlist of novels-to-read include JOHNATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL by Susannah Clarke, I CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves, and THE CHILDERMASS by Wyndham Lewis.

That is a monster of a book to get through. It's thoroughly fascinating, but it's by no means light reading.

Good luck!

Just started The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Just finished the latest release from the Dresden Files: Ghost Story

Solid book, Butcher is really quite an accomplished writer. He builds compelling characters, although the dialogue can get a little cheese-laden.

Next up for me... I dunno, maybe Sanderson's Mistborn series, I've heard that's good.

It is indeed common to hear not only women jest among themselves about men, which might often be characterized as fond complaints.

Yet far more appalling, indeed hateful, is what is too often said by many men to each other about women in the most negative and objectifying sense.

That is the truth of our society, though I would give credit where it is due to men of higher consciousness than a chauvinist. And credit to some women and men who have raised their children to have respect for others and self respect.

 

Those who complain about WoT women to excess seem to be either so young as to have little experience of actual societal relations in all their contradictions and variayions, but there are some fewer here who may be chauvinist themselves and have trouble with the tables being turned.

 

Live and learn. Live and learn.

I'm young (17), but I am by no means a chauvinist. I find it appalling that anyone would stereotype anyone else based simply on gender, race, religion, or ethnicity. However, that applies to women as well as men, and if women act in a chauvinistic manner towards men (as is sometimes the case in WoT), I find it just as disgusting.

Just like racism can go both ways, so can sexism.

In the world we live in, I agree that it seems that women are more often the victim of sexism than man (even though the number of sexual harassment lawsuits filed by men has been growing in recent years). However, this is not the world we live in, and in the world of WoT, if I see an attitude that I believe is chauvinistic from either sex, I will not hesitate to criticize it or be annoyed by it.

Most of the "main" women (that are Light-sided) through most of the series seem to care about their men.

They do complain at times, but it is not "all the time".

 

I recall from somewhere that Robert Jordan put some degree of his wife in each female of this series. Do not have an exact quote.

I agree that they care to some degree or another, but sometimes it feels like they don't care for them as people, but more as favorite pets.

Case in point: Myrelle.

Also, in Winter's Heart, the three Asha'man that get bonded to Cadsuane's lackies are essentially treated as pets (at least as far as I've read, I haven't finished it and I can't remember much from my previous readthrough).

Still, those are pretty isolated events. There are women in the series that are just fine, too

I think women in Randland (especially those with political or social influence) behave like they are just because men are womewhat despised since the breaking.

 

Think ... every man is potentially a channeler. A man whose destiny is to be mad and destroy a x mile radius around him before death (the destruction happening simultaneously with his death ;) ...).

 

So ... with thousand years of suspicion about men, wouldn't you be despicable with men ? Think about how men behave with women in our days ... It's not really the same behavior (don't imagine a man sniffing of smoothing trousers lol) but basically it's the same thinking : women are inferior.

 

I think RJ did a nice job, perhpas it is too stretched or imaginative but it's a nice vision of a woman-dominated world.

 

Disagree ? Tenobia, Amathera, Alliandre and Morgase ... I don't recall if there are other queen in the westland but women rule over the main country there. The <b> rose </b> throne !!?? Seriously ... Not coutning the Saenchan Empress (always female ? I dunno but it's hinted with Tuon) ...

 

So don't whine about women in Wot ... they are totally in accord with their world.

 

(favorite character : Nynaeve lol).

I know it makes sense in their world, but that doesn't mean I can't get irritated by them or dislike the way they behave.

Yep, Aes Sedai (plus Elayne) are the ones that are annoying little pixies. However, the Aiel Wise Ones aren't entirely above blame, they can be pretty annoying too.

 

Luckily, there are some great female characters in the book (Min, the one smitty mentions, Aviendha, *cough*Nynaeve*cough*, etc.), which leads me to think that the current system of behavior for Aes Sedai has an expiration date.

it might just be myself, but it seems to me that all the women, not just Aes Sedai, consider themselves somehow better and/or more inteligent than everyone else.

Quite a few of them do and it annoys me to no end, but just stick with it and grit your teeth, because there are some good eggs out there. Unfortunately, you're going to find some scenes in the upcoming books to be absolutely intolerable (like I did), and I hope you can suffer through it to finish the series .

Yep, Aes Sedai (plus Elayne) are the ones that are annoying little pixies. However, the Aiel Wise Ones aren't entirely above blame, they can be pretty annoying too.

Luckily, there are some great female characters in the book (Min, the one smitty mentions, Aviendha, *cough*Nynaeve*cough*, etc.), which leads me to think that the current system of behavior for Aes Sedai has an expiration date.

While I can enjoy Meyer/Eddings-bashing, let's refrain from calling Brandon "stinking", okay? I don't think Jason would approve. And besides, there's a difference between criticizing one's work and one's person.

 

This rubbish again? I couldn't care less about the person. When I say RJ's "replacement stinks" that is a clear reference to his function as RJ's replacement. For the last time, it is a specific, direct, exclusive criticism of the writing, not the person.

 

And it is a fundamental part of the point I am trying to make: since even the worst RJ book is ten times better than the best BS book, take your time and ENJOY crossroads of twlight!

I completely and fully disagree.

i think it says something about how well the characters are written that people respond to them as if they were real.

It's also just the fact that we've known them for so long that we are invested in them. The series has been going on for decades.

"shaved and powdered"

"Her chin rose as she gave (insert name of any man) an icy stare" or something to that effect.

I can't count how many times that phrase has been used in relation to Elayne.

Has it also every been pointed out (I'm sure it has), that, well, RJ seems to have a real spanking fetish. Seriously. How old is Egwene, 20? And reading about Sylvania putting her over her knee and smacking her bare ass...okay, yeah, that's damn sexy. But seriously, is this the most appropriate punishment for a grown woman? Can't help but notice the male characters don't turn each other over their knees like that, nor to do they sit around naked with each other, and certainly there have been no male pillow friends mentioned.

RJ definitely had a thing for spanking and naked rituals for women. Wait, I mean "clad in the light" rituals. ;)

I swear, if someone listed all the words in the Wheel of Time in order of the amount of times they've been used, "breast", "bosom", and "bottom" would be in the top 10, along with "sniff" and "wool-headed".

Don't worry, the series IMO picks back up with Knife of Dreams. Then it's (relatively) smooth sailing to AMoL.