Bookworm

[trista]

I was tagged by damuddymeg.

1. One book that changed your life?

Magic's Pawn, the first book of Mercedes Lackey's series, The Last Herald-Mage. It was my introduction to fantasy. It opened doors to new worlds that I'd never imagined existed, and it helped me explore my beliefs about people and relationships and diversity in many areas. I might be a very

Comments

[platypus]

What is this? An hour-old trista post without any replies? Has the world fallen off its axis?

Magic's Pawn was revelatory for me as well. (It also has the most bizarrely, randomly wrong back cover summary ever. It's like somebody got a list of keywords from the book and made shit up.)

I will freely admit I never got anywhere with this morning's song meme, but I blame the fact that I am isolated from my iTunes right now. I'll do the book thing later on -- I think Ken's probably going to be out to dinner with his family tonight, so Black Cat and I will have some net surfing time.

[trista]

What is this? An hour-old [info]trista post without any replies? Has the world fallen off its axis?

I know! It's not about harems or shoes or boredom, so I don't think many people read it. ;)

You know, I don't remember anymore what the back cover says about Magic's Pawn. I'll have to look that up because now I'm dying to know.

When I was poking around Amazon for links I read a couple of reviews, and I am amazed by the OMG The Character is GAY!! stuff I saw. The one on this page written by Keith Price especially. He complained because Vanyel is homosectual. [This is where I make sounds which imply baffledness and also the desire to kick this Keith Price person in the shin] Good lord.

I shall go read the rest of my comments and catch up on my FriendBots page now and look for your songs and books. Yay!

[platypus]

I didn't do the book thing last night, 'cause I suck

[trista]

Yeah. So not what I would have written for that back. The first paragraph makes it sound as though the entire universe knew from the moment of his birth that he was The Ultimate Hero o' Magic and Glory but that he's a tree-hugging musician who could be a fantabulous warrior but chooses peace instead. His parents, who want only Vanyel's happiness, send him to his loving aunt for the care and training he needs and wants. I won't even bother with the second paragraph.

It should say that Vanyel's dad thinks he might be gay so he sends Vanyel away in hopes that either Savil will straighten him out (seriously, no pun intended there) or that Vanyel will stay out of sight and therefore out of mind so that Dad can get on with turning Vanyel's younger brother into the proper manly man that Vanyel will not ever be.

[fragbert]

"Characters who are so real to me that I feel as if I should be able to invite them to dinner (or get a restraining order, depending on who we're talking about)"

I just started the series at danicia's suggestion, and I am about to finish Game Of Thrones. I'm at the part where Ned is being given the choice to support Joffrey and take the black, or die.

I have to say, I adore Cersei Lannister. She gets my blood boiling in an oh-so-good way.

[trista]

Cersei is so eeevil. I hate her mostly, but there are times when I really sympathize with her. That's what makes her such a great character, and the same is true of all the characters in the series. The characters I love all have moments when I don't like them very much or have qualities that I don't like, and the characters that I loathe all have qualities that make them understandable or even likeable for brief moments. Martin is brilliant.

Did you have trouble getting started with A Game of Thrones? I did. I struggled to get through the prologue, and I have no idea now why. I put the book down three or four times without making it to the first chapter, only to pick it up and try again in a few weeks or months. Now when I re-read it I have no problem with it, and I'm not sure why I did originally. A lot of people have said they experienced the same thing, though.

[fragbert]

"Did you have trouble getting started with A Game of Thrones?"

Yes! I commented early on to danicia, "JESUS he throws a lot of people at you all at once!" I actually put it down, read another book, and came back to it.

Now I can't put it down.

[trista]

Exactly! I did the same thing. Now I can't stop. If I had my way, I'd start over again at the beginning of the first one and keep reading about that world for the rest of forever.

[rebecoming]

This was interesting!

I definitely agree with you on #7.

[trista]

That book and others like it drive me nuts. I'm sure most of them actually have helpful ideas somewhere in the depths of the pages, but so many of them seem to be grasping desperately at whatever issue is trendiest at the moment and telling people all about how to fix it. And bonus points if they can create new buzzwords in the process! Ugh.

Here's a thought: Listen to what your partner is saying to you. Ask your partner if you understand the message correctly. Then tell your partner whatever it is you want him or her to know, and check to be sure he or she understands your message. How difficult is that?

[rebecoming]

More difficult than reading a little book, I guess. =P

I started typing a few things, but I guess I'll skip the whole gender topic.

It's much more fun to talk about...
-popcorn
-socks
or
-tiny, flocked bears

[trista]

Popcorn! You know how I lurve the popcorn, especially when it's covered in Trans Fat Butter Glop o' Joy. Except, and this is difficult for me to admit, I think I may be burned out on the movie butter. I'm having glorious daydreams right now about popcorn with real butter and a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and maybe a touch of garlic powder. Yum. Or! I tried the most fantabulous stuff a few weeks ago. It's Dale and Thomas Popcorn Chocolate Chunk N' Caramel. I'm usually not all that into sweet popcorn, but this stuff was absolute heaven.

I am a big fan of socks. I love them almost as much as I love shoes, in fact. My sock collection is pretty sad these days, though. I need new, interesting socks. Tell me about your favorites? Mine are a denim-blue color with a kitty on the outside of each ankle.

Tell me more about tiny, flocked bears? Are these specific bears, or bears in general? I must know more!