Ape's 2014 Challenge (1)

Hello, visitors! For those of you who have not been afflicted by my presence in the past, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Stephen and I read a lot.

Yep, that just about sums it up.

Okay, fine, you should also know that I'm introverted to the point of being mistaken as mute on occasion, that I have severe social phobia, and tend to be extremely uncomfortable in public places. Some people probably think I'm a pessimist, but that's only because they see the glass as half-empty. I read a bit of everything, so defining my taste would be difficult, but I would say that my favorite genres and topics would include apocalypse lit, historical fiction of the "ancient military" ilk, popular science in the field of biology such as microbiology and entomology, and pretty much anything that could be considered remotely depressing. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is one of my favorites, for example.

Outside of books, I'm an avid gamer...and...that's about it! I have no social life to speak of, and spend all my time alone reading and whatnot. Yep, not terribly exciting. Are you seriously still reading at this point?

Welcome to my thread!








Currently reading: A Catch in Time
Currently playing: Ni no Kuni





Books: 4
Pages: 1,317

January:
1. On Parole by Akira Yoshimura
2. Prize Fight by Morton Meyers
3. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
4. The Patron Saint of Plagues by Barth Anderson




Birth Year Challenge: 1 book per month that was published in 1988, the year I was born.
January: On Parole by Akira Yoshimura

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Games: 3

January:
1. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
2. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
3. Borderlands 2

You can find my previous year's stats on THIS THREAD, as well as the book title survey, which I may post here later. :)

Edit:

Last year's stats:

~~2013 Reading Stats~~
Books read: 53
Pages read: 17,643

Average book size: 333 pages

I averaged:
48 pages per day
338 pages per week
1,470 pages per month

On average, I finished a book every: 6.8 days

~~Fiction/Nonfiction~~
Fiction books read: 40
Nonfiction books read: 13

Fiction - average rating: 3.45
Nonfiction - average rating: 3.50

~~Gender~~
Books by male authors: 41
Books by female authors: 12

Male authors - average rating: 3.4
Female authors - average rating: 4.1

~~Owned vs. Public library~~
Owned books read: 30
Library checkouts: 23

(May add average ratings later tonight)

~~Genres~~

Total books read:
Science Fiction: 12
Horror: 9
Dystopia: 8
Fantasy: 5
Thriller: 4
Mystery: 4

Average ratings:
Dystopia: 4.00
Fantasy: 3.80
Science Fiction: 3.50
Horror: 3.22
Thriller: 3.00
Mystery: 2.75

~~Early Reviewers~~
Books read/won: 6
Average rating: 3.16





My increasingly dismal year-by-year comparison. *Sigh*

Books read:
2009: 81
2010: 87
2011: 81
2012: 75
2013: 53

Pages read:
2009: 24,492
2010: 25,958
2011: 19,935
2012: 19,168
2013: 17,643

Average book size:
2009: 302 pages
2010: 298 pages
2011: 246 pages
2012: 255 pages
2013: 333 pages

Average pages read per day:
2009: 67
2010: 71
2011: 54
2012: 52
2013: 48




Book Meme: Just answer the questions with titles of books you read in 2013!

Describe yourself: The Lost World

Describe how you feel: I'm not Scared (I'm not...I swear...well, okay, maybe a little... *gulp*)

Describe where you currently live: The Isle of Stone (with stone age technology)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Halloweenland

Your favorite form of transportation: The Winter Road...so long as I'm not the one driving.

Your best friend is: Among Others

You and your friends are: The Best of the Rejection Collection

What’s the weather like: Psychlone

You fear: Guns, Germs, and Steel

What is the best advice you have to give: Never Let Me Go

Thought for the day: Notes for a War Story

How I would like to die: Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth

My soul’s present condition: The White Devil :P

The "birth year" challenge

Okay, so those who have read my threads in the past know that I like to set weird challenges for myself. Previously I have used Random.org to generate random numbers, which I in turn used to pick semi-random books from my local library. 2 years ago I choose to read a fiction and nonfiction book about the same topic, although I had to abandon it due to lack of pairs to read.

This year I've decided that each month I am going to try to read a book that was published the year I was born: 1988. I have already browsed my library and found a few books that fit the challenge, so I think I can make it work. Why am I doing this? Well, I have no idea, but I am anyway, so there.

Welcome back! I like your challenge. :)

Hi, Stephen! I've just made my thread official, too!

Also, I love your idea for a 'birth year' challenge - v. cool.

Setting up the Canadian corner in your new thread. *gives party blower to Mo in advance of midnight* (If you're new to Stephen's thread, I apologize in advance for the early onset of insanity).

I dig your personal reading challenge for the year. You might want to check out this site that gives you the bestseller list on your birthday (fiction and non-fiction).

.

Happy New Year, and Happy New Thread !

Happy New Year. Setting up my corner, have far to much Christmas chocolate could be here a while. I like the challenge you set yourself.

Yay for a whole new year of Stephen!!!

I'm being obstinate and holding out until tomorrow to start my new thread. See you in 2014!

Stephen- glad you started your thead, mah man! Hope you are having a wonderful New Year's Eve.

Happy New Year, Stephen! Love your birth year idea - Micky your link was really interesting! Mine were (NF) The Complete Book of Running by James Fixx and (F) Bloodline by Sidney Sheldon. Can't say I'd ever read either of those!

Welcome Jim, Amber, Micky, Kath, Bryony, Leah, Tam, and Laura! *Hugs to all* I'm looking forward to another year of books and wonderful chats here on LT. I'll try to plague as few of them as possible with my awkward interjections. :P

Micky: Thanks for that! I've found a couple lists online, and LT actually keeps track too, although it's rather difficult to look through since there are no sort options or anything. If you go to Cat's Eye, for example (which I will definitely be reading, by the way) and click the "1988" link in the Common Knowledge section, it'll take you to a huge list of books that are listed in the same year.

The hard part is finding books that my small local library has. I've found about 6-7 so far, plus I own 2, so I'm almost there...although I'm not super excited about some of the options I've found so far. Anyway, we'll see how it goes! I'll continue consulting the lists and checking them with my library, and hope I can fill out the year with books I want to read. :)

You're welcome! Hopefully it gives you some more palatable reading options.

Love in the Time of Cholera came out in 1988? Why the heck wasn't that on the other lists? Awesome.

Edit: Aw, wait, it was originally published in 1985. Crap, many of these might not fit my criteria.

(streaks through Stephen's thread) HAPPY NEW YEAR!

#3: Interesting challenge. If you read any 80's horror for you Halloween challenge, those covers should be horribly fun. :P

#6: Thanks for the link, Micky! That was cool. :) (The book I recognized for my b-day was The Dead Zone by Stephen King, which I'll get to someday....)

Happy new thread!

Have a wonderful 2014, Stephen. Good luck with your challenge whilst you cut a swathe through the threads.

Hi Stephen!

Sara: Actually, I went to my library with a list of books from 1988, and yes, the covers are absolutely terrible!!! There will be a lot of horribly-covered books coming up this year.

Thanks Foggi and Paul. :)

Hello there, Diana!

I've added last year's stats, my year-by-year stats, and the book meme in message 2.

I'm here! Just going to start a new thread. And I PROMISE I'll stay back this time. :) Happy New Year!

The mysteries of Pittsburgh a quickie
The Silence of the Lambs eeeeeeeeeeeek
Wittgenstein's Mistress ooo ooo convoluted complicated and weird
On Stranger Tides excellent fantasy novel, yes you read that right
Alaska science, history, and some vestigial plot
The Satanic Verses I *knew* there was a causal link between your birth and the rising tide of evil in the world.

That's what I can think of.

Oh! Libra a DeLillo weirdness.

Rachel: I sincerely hope so! And I'll definitely keep an eye out for your thread. Will you be updating us on where you have been these past several months? :)

Richard: Ooooh, thanks for those. I'll check my library's website now to see if they have them.

The Mysteries of Pittsburg - NO
The Silence of the Lambs - YES
Wittgenstein's Mistress - NO
On Stranger Tides - NO
Alaska - YES
The Satanic Verses - NO, but I have enough Satan in music library anyway, thank you very much.
Libra - NO

So, I have a couple to add to the list. Thanks! :)

Matilda by Roald Dahl was published in 88. As was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Killing Joke by Alan More. I like love all of these.

Thanks, Bryony. My library has Matilda but, of course, it's in the children's section. *Shudders* The other two aren't available, I'm afraid.

See? This is the major issue, finding books that my small library actually has.

Oh Matilda is such a wonderful story, though!

Librarything ate my message so I hope I am not posting this twice:

Matilda is awesome though!

It's there, the same thing is happening to me, something is a little glitchy with the forums right now, I think. I hope my message on Amber's thread didn't just post a hundred times, because I kept hitting the post button over and over until I realized it was something wrong with the website.

Stephen, I had to stop by and wish you a Happy New Year before you have a gazillion posts. I had fun with your reading meme over on my thread. I like looking through the memories of last year's books.

Hi Donna! It is indeed a fun meme, although I must say I don't deserve the credit for the meme. A few years ago everyone was posting it, I don't know who was the first but I know I just copied it for my thread. The only difference is I liked it so much, I saved it so I could post it every year. :)

Starred you to keep an eye out here. I like how you did your reading stats, esp. the averages. Happy new year!

Hi Melissa! The dragon in profile picture is stunning. :)

It's a new year and a new thread so I'm going to haul out the old habit of nagging you to JUST PUT IN A DARN ILL ALREADY!!! *smooch*

I'm incapable of talking to people in public, you know thiS! :P

You have some significant hurdles in talking to people in public, I won't deny. But you managed to preorder your PS4, didn't you? I assume that required talking to someone in the store... *glares over glasses*

Hi, Stephen ~ Just stopping by to say Happy New Year and drop a star. I'm not great at following threads or commenting on them when I do, but I'm going to try to do better this year. We'll see. In the meantime...Cheers!

Oh, yes, Matilda is excellent! One of my favorite of Dahl's! Just have your sister go with you to the library and she can brave the children's section for you...?

Happy New Year, Stephen! I have the meme saved as "Stephen's Meme" so you have to be the one responsible for it.

Micky: That's different, the guy in Gamestop is quite possibly the most ridiculously talkative person ever. As in, you walk in and he literally tries to small talk you to death, which just sounds like a bad business plan when you rely on these people to give you money. Anyway, it took very little talking, really. Besides, librarians are all smart and intimidating. :P

Hi there, Mary! No worries, I gave up on trying to follow everyone in the group a couple years ago. (Okay, I never really tried to follow EVERYONE, but I know how you feel.)

Amber: Haha, I've managed to drag my sister into a library only once, and that was only with the promise of free movies, and she didn't venture into the areas with books.

Terri: Aha! So you are responsible for this misconception. I should've known. ;)

Hey, you!

For those of you who have not been afflicted by my presence in the past,

I am pretty sure I have not been affected by your presence - amused, bemused and enjoyed lively discussions - so does that make me a new visitor? ;-)

*makes mental note that I really need to read my copy of The Road at some point*

1988 - Ah, a wonderful year... just don't ask me what I remember from that year as I was a Uni student living in a run-down heritage house with a roommate who had the same first name as mine, which made for interesting if not awkward phone conversations with total strangers. Good luck with your 1988 reading challenge and I look forward to seeing what books you read to fit it!

... and before I forget, Happy New Year, Stephen!

>39 Ape: We may be smart and intimidating, but we also are pretty eager to help anyone who comes to us. It's practically pathological.

Awww, poor Stephen!

Hi Jude! I'm glad you found your way to my thread.

Lori: You visit my thread and you like it...yep, you are definitely afflicted with something. :P

Thanks! Happy New Year to you as well.

Micky: Nope, still scared, sorry. :P

Tam: Don't worry, I can always start using the Big Library system again. Were you here for that? I joined another library system that has online requests, but I never used it very much because of all the extra gas it required to get there. I can certainly use it a few times this year if it helps me complete the challenge.

I'm skipping down from post one to say hello. And I have to disagree with your assertion that "{you} have no social life to speak of" - after all, you are pretty social around here! So what if you don't happen to find company in your town? You have friends all over the world.

Also, the monsters love the Lego PS3 games, and I'm pretty fond of playing HP Years 1-4 with First Born.

Happy New Year, Stephen! Here's a list that may or may not help you with your birth year challenge: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/news/best-books-from-1980s-birth-year - there are only a couple of titles suggested per year.

Luxx: Haha, yeah, I have a pretty active social life online. Not sure if that counts though. :P

I'm loving the LEGO games as well. I've played the Lord of the Rings game, both Harry Potter games, and my sister owns LEGO Marvel on the PS4 and I'll be playing that as soon as she is done with it. :)

Mary: Every little bit helps. Thanks!

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Between being extremely addicted to Minecraft and replaying LEGO Harry Potter 5-7, I'm really not reading a whole lot right now. With that said, the book I'm reading now (On Parole) is pretty fantastic, and it fits my birth year challenge, so when I do finish it I think it's going to be a pretty good start to the year.

It seems that we're only three days into the new year and everyone is ahead on reading compared to me. :p I meant to get a lot done yesterday, but my eyes started stinging and my nose started running, so I went to bed instead. :p

Stop playing games and get back to reading!

>47 Ape: I hear you. I have scads of free time at the moment and I spend most of it watching lots of Netflix instead of reading. I'm such a bad bibliophile.

How about this 1988 book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combatting_Cult_Mind_Control

Rachel: I've only logged 170 pages so far this year, and that was with a 1-day head start, so yeah. You finished a book already, though! :)

I would probably play less games if my sister and her boyfriend (the only people I have any social interaction with) weren't both HUGE gamers. I love video games too, but without a regular source of free games I would definitley play them a whole lot less. I was thinking about cataloging the games I beat this year in a seperate list on my opening post...but I'm not sure.

Dee: Haha! As entertaining as that sounds, I don't think my library has that one.

Seriously, i don't see a problem with your Gaming...

The books you read are, usually, pretty excellent...so what if you want to spend your time Gaming...the Books will be there...some Games, maybe not....Oy!

Tell me about it, Jude! Though, considering I only have a few games on my "TBP" stack and over 150 books on my TBR stack...well, I probably should be reading a little bit more. :P

"Should" is just a word....do what works for you, silly man...

J

Does that apply to life in general, or just video games? :P

Life...life....Life is bigger than video games, but is scarier.....take your pick, make your choice....

I will still haunt you...

I don't know, I played the Dead Space games and those were pretty scary. Life is definitely more orgasmic though, and the cake tastes better.

Okay..i'll give you the cake......orgasms? don't know when i had my last one....Oy!

Cake and orgasms . . this thread gets more interesting all the time. . :P

Jude: Seriously!?!? I might be a virgin, and socially inept, and almost completely incapable of so much as talking to the opposite sex...but I would DIE in your shoes. You do realize they can be self-induced, right? :P

Tamara: Yeah, it's pretty much my idea of the perfect date. :P

So, I'm finally going to see The Hobbit today! My sister and I have been planning to see it, but we had to repeatedly cancel. The movie might be out of theaters soon (It's the 2nd oldest movie being played at the theater we are going to) and there is a pretty big winter storm about to hit, so today feels like our last chance!

That's so funny because I just saw it with MY sister this morning after multiple attempts as well. We even made it to the theater on Christmas day but the movie stated an hour later than we thought and we wouldn't have made it to pick up my niece from her dad.

It was worth all the hassle though!

Yes! I just got home, and as far as book-based movies, it wasn't as terrible as other adaptations I've seen.

No, really, I quite enjoyed it! Also, I WANT TO SEE 3RD MOVIE RIGHT THIS SECOND!!!!!

... *ahem*

>63 Ape: *pats head*

I'm planning to go see The Hobbit this week. Strangely enough, it will be the first time I've managed to see a Tolkien film in a theatre. O_O

Haha, yeah, I didn't see any of the Lord of the Rings movies in theaters, the first Hobbit was my first. Not that I go to the theaters much, so I guess that's not surprising.

I haven't seen the Hobbit movies, mostly because Tomm and I pretty much never get to the theater anymore (although we'll be taking Charlie to his first-ever theater experience this spring for the Lego movie). I did see all of the LotR movies in the theater, back when my best friend worked at a theater, so I got to see them all a day or two before they were released, at midnight showings with just the people who worked there and their friends (movie places have to screen all movies before showing them to the public, to make sure they're spliced together correctly). It was like having a private screening with just your good friends.

That sounds awesome! And I'm so glad you decided to wait to take Charlie to the movies until a time he could better appreciate. I distinctly remember the first time I ever went to the movies, to see The Lion King, and it was all very exciting! :)

Yeah, we waited both so that he'd remember the experience, and also because we've always been nervous about being Those People with the Screaming Child in a movie theater. There's a special ring in hell for those types.

Haha, we're having that very discussion on Tamara's thread. Good on you for being a responsible parent! There was actually a baby in the theater today when I saw The Hobbit. A baby! Who brings a baby to a theater? I mean, really...

I know, right!? Sheesh.

My son's first movie was Aladdin. He was three, we sat him down between us with a bucket of popcorn and he was enchanted from the first moment. One of my best memories.

I had to look up the release date of The Lion King. Apparently I was 6 when I saw my first movie. Either my mom was very responsible or I was an exceptionally bad child. :P

Jim: Oh, that's lovely!

Stephen: Uh, right. I was in college when that came out. Sheesh.

The first movie that I can remember seeing in the theater was The Rescuers. My mom took me and it was wonderful.

> 41
*makes mental note that I really need to read my copy of The Road at some point*

no... you don't. really, no. srsly. run away

Amber: Yeah, but you were in college when you were 12, right? :P

Kath: I know what you mean, Kath. The book is so good that it will ruin every other book she reads for at least a month. I think we both know it's worth it though.

Ha! Uh, sure, yep, that's right.

The Hobbit is like, totally awesome.

65: What?! Your first Tolkien movie in theaters?!

I believe my first movie in theaters was Hook so I was like 4 or 5? I've always been a theater junkie.

Agreed! I enjoyed The Hobbit a lot better than I enjoyed the Lord of the Rings in book form, and so far I'm enjoying the movies quite a bit more as well.

1. On Parole by Akria Yoshimura



Pages: 244
Rating: 4/5

Fiction: Japanese Literature
Owned

A good book is one that encourages you to do or be something beyond what you may previously have imagined. It motivates you to become a better person, imparting wisdom and insight through prose and pages that, when done correctly, can last a lifetime.

On the other hand, some books don't so much inspire as make the reader appreciate what they already have, humbling them by presenting them with a character that, for example, may have every basic human liberty stripped away from them. That is exactly what Akira Yoshimura's novel does.

Kikutani committed a horrible crime over 15 years ago, and was given an "indefinite sentence" to prison, which basically means they'll put them in there and maybe let him out eventually if they feel like it. The book begins with the miraculous revelation that Kikutani will be given parole, and will be allowed to live as normally as someone in his circumstance can. He will be ostracized by his hometown, and he will be paranoid that anyone he meets will discover his dark past, but he will be allowed to go and live outside of the cold, dark prison walls that have encapsulated his existence for the past decade-and-a-half.

The most mundane things that just about anyone would take for granted are a source of wonderment for Kikutani. When you are forbidden to get your prison clothes wet, even the simple act of being rained upon during your walk home is an symbol of freedom. When a book can make you appreciate something that would normally be bothersome, I would definitely consider it a successful one.

I won't deny that plot can feel like it's plodding along without direction at times. It is also true that the majority of the novel is about nothing in particular. The bulk of the "story" involves Kikutani doesn't the most ordinary things. But that is exactly why it is so great, because the most common, every-day activities can be so cherished by those among us who have been deprived of them. I'll take that over an exciting plot any day.

On Parole is my first book for the Birth Year challenge and it's a pretty good start for the year! :)

Sounds interesting! Does make you really appreciate mundane stuff.

Weirdly enough, The Lion King was the first movie I remember going to see in theatres too (and I would have been 7).

>78 RosyLibrarian: I know, I know, Marie. I've always meant to from Two Towers on but never actually managed it. This will be the year!

Tam: Definitely interesting, to me. Although I have been accused of liking books about nothing in the past, so others may find it boring. :P

Micky: Maybe you have a Tolkien curse and you'll NEVER see on in theater! *Shocked face*

Great review of On Parole, Stephen!

We'll have to wait and see, Stephen, but I think odds are pretty good this time around.

Thanks, Lori. :)

Micky: Well, I certainly hope you get to see it. It's fantastic! :)

Glad you had a good first read. I have isues with Tolkien I love the Hobbit. I found LOTR a bit meh.

Yeah, I liked The Lord of the Rings but wasn't blown away from it. Not that I don't appreciate what he did for the fantasy genre and all! Where would Fantasy be without him, right? :)

Happy New Year! I'm still super-behind on this new group.

The first movie that I saw in theatres was The Little Mermaid, when I was 5 (I think).

I have no idea what the first movie I saw in theaters was. I'm curious though now, I might have to ask around the family and find out.

I never could get into the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I tried reading them when I was sixteen and couldn't get past the first three chapters. Then I listened to them on audio last year and finally got through them, but even still, by that point I preferred the movies. Didn't like the Hobbit when I read it a few years back either but I'm willing to give that one another try this year.

Now I'm trying to remember the first movie I saw in theatres -- I think it might have been The Great Mouse Detective, but I also remember seeing 101 Dalmatians, which would have had to be a theatrical re-release, since I wasn't around when it originally came out.

I love The Great Mouse Detective! Sadly, I didn't have a chance of seeing that one in theatres as it came out the year I was born. :P

:-p

I have no idea what the first movie I ever went to was. I remember the first novel I ever read was Charlotte's Web. And the first movie my nephew saw - when he was 2 - was also Charlotte's Web. And he was very well behaved. Didn't make a peep all movie!

The first movie I saw in a theater .. the first one I remember seeing, The Sound Of Music.

Hmmm, I'll have to ask my parents what the first movie was that I saw. I remember in daycare they would take us to movie days where we would watch lots of cartoons.

I don't personaly remember my first trip to the cinema, my tells me it was a reshowing of the Jungle Book. When Kaa arived on screen and started hipnotissing Moglii I was sick. In retrospect it may be where my fear of snakes and being dizzy began. My Mum thinks I was 4.

The first I remember The Little Mermaid at cinema, The Sound of music on video.

So we were discussing how much we hate kids in the theaters and then everyone posts what a wonderful time they had at the movies when they were children. Great. :P

Ha! In my own defense, I think I was 6 or 7 at the time of my first theater experience...

>99 Ape: bwahahah! That's how we roll.

Skating through to say hellooooooooooooo!

Amber: As if Little Miss Amber was ever a misbehaved child. Pfft. :P

Tam: :P

Hi Katie!

------------

I have finished replaying LEGO Harry Potter 5-7, and now have 100 percent completion and the platinum trophy! Yep, and now I'm playing LEGO Marvel on the PS4, since my sister finished it a couple days ago and lent it to me. Hurray! It looks quite beatiful on the new system.

No, never! NEVER, I say!!

*ahem*

:P

Actually, I was an extremely well-behaved child, mostly because of the whole introverted issue. I hope all that repressed naughtiness doesn't have to come out eventually. ;)

I honestly was a freakishly good child, too. Not terribly shy (although not extroverted, either), I just, well, preferred to behave myself rather than get into trouble. Plus, it's difficult to find time to get into trouble when you spend every possible waking hour with your nose in a book, and I did that from the time I could read.

Me too! In fact, it was common for my aunts and uncles to say "It's not normal for a kids to be that good!" when I was a kid. I was just mild-mannered and very obedient. That lasted throughout high school as well.

Yep, same here. (Although I didn't get the comments about it - girls are just supposed to be mild and sweet and good. Sigh.) My dad used to tease me about the always-with-the-nose-in-the-book part.

Same here!

#74 - I was also in university when the Lion King came out. Reading through some of these other responses made me feel old :(
The first movie I remember seeing in the theatre was The Cat From Outer Space. Does anyone remember that one?
#80 - On Parole sounds good. Guess I'll have to add that one to the Blackhole.

Stephen! An electrician had to come out today. *wails* Normally, I think I would have felt better but because of the snow, no trashman. No trashman means you guessed it- lots of trash. Well its bagged up and in the garage. But still. Ughh.

Amber: I don't know, my sister was the same way and she also got comments about being too good.

Foggi: Yeah, right. I'm sure you were cursing at your teachers and setting buildings on fire when you were in elementary school, I can tell! :P

Dee: If the picture on your profile is any indication you have a much more youthful personality than I have. ;)

Tamara: Sounds awful! *Hugs*

Like Marie, my first movie in theaters was Hook but I was *ahem* 9. The second movie I saw in theaters was Toy Story (which was the first for all my other siblings, save the youngest who wasn't born yet). My parents just don't watch a lot of movies.

Neither do I, for that matter. I only movie I saw in theaters in 2013 was The Hobbit. And the last one I went to see before that was, er, the first part of The Hobbit.

I did, however, see all of the LOTR films in theaters, at least once each.

So I went to see Frozen (again) instead of going to see The Hobbit... I think perhaps subconsciously I want to maintain my track record of not seeing a Tolkien film in theatres. :P

Well, Frozen it's pretty good. In case you were wondering, Queen Elsa is 4 yrs old and lives with my sister. And she only sings that one "Let it Go" song all day long. When she's not sending ice monsters after people, of course.

The Hobbit was wonderful though, so you should go back. ;)

Mary: I'm not a movie person either. I generally find them terribly boring, rushed, and unsatisfying, and rarely ever watch them. I do enjoy the experience of going to a movie theater (and it's a good form of socialization for a recluse like me, since minimal talking is required), but even so I usually only go maybe 2-3 per year at the most.

Micky: Haha! You must be carrying the Theater-equivalent of the One Ring and you are compelled to turn in the opposite direction!

Leah: Haha, oh, children and their way of singing the same song over and over, every day, for multiple years. Have fun with that. :P

Morning, Stephen!

I haven't seen Frozen yet, but I'm sure we will as soon as it's out on dvd...
Right now at Scaife Manor, the Despicable Me movies are all we watch. Which is fine with me - they're really funny, and the soundtrack is excellent. Charlie keeps telling me that he wants to dress up as Agnes for Halloween this year. Ha!

Have a wonderful weekend, Stephen!

Hi Stephen! *waves* I picked The Hobbit for one of my RL book clubs to read for January, and it's so ding-dang boring that I'm still only a couple of chapters in. I read and LOVED LOTR when I first read it about 10 years ago, but for some reason, Hobbit seems to be all surface no soul. I'm determined to finish the sucker, though, and then I'll see the first Hobbit movie. I'm sure by the time all of that happens part 2 will be out of theaters, but no matter. I usually inadvertently miss movies in the theater just because by the time I have a free evening and someone to go with it's no longer playing. Oh well - saves me some $, which is always a good thing.

Don't remember my first movie, but I remember taking a field trip to our local mall when I was in the younger grade school years and we saw Return to Oz, which scared the bejesus out of me! Anyone else remember the movie? I found the movie for like $5 a couple of years ago, and even when I rewatched it it totally creeped me out. I think it was these guys that did it:


(If that slows down your thread, let me know, I'll take it down/shrink it.)

Amber: I've never seen those movies, but the commercials always look super adorable!

Thanks Diana! You have a nice one as well.

Laura: Funny, I was bored tears with Lord of the Rings initially but really liked The Hobbit. Perhaps it's a little slow when you are being introduced to the dwarves, but I remember really enjoying it once the adventure began.

Oh, and the picture is fine. :)

You should watch them when you get a chance - I think you'd probably really like them.

Hmmm, I'm not sure what movie was my first theater experience. . . . but the first one I can remember was Jurassic Park when I was 5, and mostly that's because my 3yo brother was with too and was awoken by the T-rex roaring *chuckle. This all means that of course I just had to see it when it did a theater return last year or the year before.

#119: Omg, Return to Oz was truly terrifying (in a good way :).

>115 leahbird: I might. Once I can stop myself from listening to the Frozen soundtrack on repeat and singing along with every song (I did that with Tangled too). I will be at the theatre again on Sunday for a mother-daughter date I do with a small group but we're seeing Saving Mr. Banks.

>116 Ape: It could be that. I think it was more that I wanted something comforting and happy while I ignored interview prep stress for a couple hours.

>116 Ape: In related news, we three were in the car together tonight and my sister and I were jamming to some oldies but goodies and Addy goes "You guys know a lot of songs. {Dejectedly} I only know 3." And then she literally hung her head in shame. It was sotouching and hilarious.

Stopping by to wish you a happy weekend, Stephen!

Amber: You are probably right, but I rarely watch movies outside of movie theaters, so I probably never will. :(

Katie: Ha! Yeah, I had to see Jurassic Park when it was 3D-ified as well. I don't think I ever saw it in theaters, but it was one of those movies I watched over and over again throughout my childhood.

Sara: Yeah, even the image is a little creepy, so I can imagine.

Micky: I wouldn't think that it would be in theaters for much longer, so you better hurry!

Leah: Haha! That's adorable. Hmmm, y'know, all the songs that I know are probably innappropriate for children. I really need to expand my music horizons, but I don't want to. :P

Hi Lori! Hope you have a happy one as well.

2. Prize Fight: The Race and the Rivalry to be the First in Science by Morton Meyers



Pages: 234
Rating: 3/5

Nonfiction: Science/History of Science
Owned (Early Reviewers)

It's not uncommon for scientists to be perceived as humble servants of a civilization, who often care little about money or popularity and whose sole purpose is to better the human race through scientific discovery. This is not exactly true, and Prize Fight recounts some of the petty squabbles that have happened in the past over scientific prizes, specifically the Nobel Prize.

It's not so surprising, really. I don't think anyone ever says "I want to be a scientist so I can be rich and famous," but to spend a decade or more working on something and then having someone else steal the credit must be incredibly disheartening. It's also important to keep in mind that a scientist's future is dependent on their past achievements. A Nobel Laureate will have a much easier time getting funding than someone who has no major achievements, so it is no wonder there is such an intense desire to win what other people would consider meaningless, perfunctory tokens.

The book itself isn't terrible, but I also didn't find myself terribly enthusiastic about returning to it when I wasn't reading. It starts off giving general examples of scientific rivalries, as well as some insight into why scientists are so passionate about them, and then focuses on two major rivalries over the Nobel - the discoverers of streptomycin (the cure for tuberculosis) and the two men who separately built the first MRI machines at the same time, in different places.

While the information was fascinating, I was pretty much over it about 2/3rd's of the way though. Yeah, I kind of got the point that scientists are human and can be egotistical, and that maybe the system of peer review and journal submissions is flawed, but I didn't need 230 pages to tell me that. The book felt a little one dimensional to me, and probably would have benefited by stepping outside of the Nobel Prize bubble. It's still an interesting read though, and the information will probably stick with me, but you probably won't see me recommending it to others.

#125 -- That's adorable!

>127 Ape:: Alright, Eeyore, fine. Sheesh.

Hi Stephen!

Oooh, I want to do your meme! I was going to post it right here (as I said in answer to your post in the intro thread, I delight in poking fellow introverts) but changed my mind and put it in my own thread.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/162761

Hey stumbled across your thread in that interconnected way that LT threads are. Given you a star. Hopefully, I can keep up.

From some of the ongoing conversations here...

Don't know if I could do the 1 book from my birth year per month, but I definitely will try to find a good book from 1966 to read this year.

As far as movies, my first vivid memory of going to the movies was Star Wars. I was 11 and I can really remember standing in a line that wrapped around the building. This was in the days of single theaters, no multiplex's

Happy Reading!

Interesting book, Stephen. It does make for a flawed system and hard to motivate companies and individuals to do the right thing i.e. look for cures for cancer etc without material/fiscal gain.

>127 Ape: We'll see. This coming week is going to be pretty full (and stressful) so I don't think I'm going to be able to squeeze it in. So my streak may remain unbroken. :P

Foggi: =)

Amber: Haha. It's true. Terrible, I know. *Sighs*

Hi Rachel!

Margaret: Ooh, awesome! I'll check it out as soon as I finish with this post.

Jeff: Ha! Star Wars is a pretty cool first movie though, for sure! Ummm, even though I've never actually seen any of them...

Tam: Definitely. Scientists by nature have to be greedy as well, since their ability to experiment relies on their ability to acrue financing.

Micky: I knew it! See, if you were more hobbit-like, you would be able to resist the temptation. But no, you have to be a weak-willed human. What a terrible fate. (Although, it makes you much more attractive, I must say.)

Does the book talk about big pharma at all?

Not so much, no. It's more about personal disputes among individual scientists over who deserves credit for a certain achievement. For example, when someone wins the Nobel Prize and then there is a public outcry that so-and-so didn't get it, since they were a major contributor to the research or made the discovery at the same time, etc.

:-)

Sadly, that academic competition and backstabbing (stealing another person's credit) is very common place in the scientific community. Part of the problem stems from the "publish or perish" mentality that a number of scientists have been engrained with and the length of time it takes get a hypothesis through bench testing and into something credible for a paper. It is only the really extreme examples of plagiarism/misrepresentation that make it into the mainstream press... most, if discovered, is dealt with behind closed doors.

Great review, Stephen.

Sadly, that academic competition and backstabbing (stealing another person's credit) is very common place in the scientific community

Yes. Exactly. That's one of the reasons I wanted to change careers. I just wish science could be more about discovery and teamwork, and less about publishing faster than your neighbor.

And it's not just in the sciences - that mentality is everywhere in academia, and the entire field needs to be wholly re-examined. Publish or perish is idiotic.

Hi Jude!

I agree, the publish or perish mentality is definitely completely stupid. I guess that's what happens when you combine something like science with business. I think it's true for most things that as soon as money is involved it pretty much ruins everything.

>136 Ape: I am so confused by much of that. But I think you implied I'm prettier than a hobbit. My feet are smaller and less hairy than theirs at any rate but I think Frodo is far prettier than me. :P

I strongly disagree!

I finished LEGO Marvel. The game itself is fun, although some of the side activities can be infuriating. Particularly the flying races, because the flying mechanic is poorly disigned. Bah! With that said, the hub is so fun to play around in! I mean sure, Hogwarts and Middle Earth were great and all, but I think LEGO Marvel is the most enjoyable of the ones I've played so far, in that regard.

*waving* at Stephen

Hi Stasia! :)

Hm. That's the one Lego game Tomm and Charlie don't have. But no one in this house is particularly a Marvel fan... We may have to get it anyway, if it's really that fun. Maybe the Easter Bunny can be persuaded...

I'm not a Marvel or super hero fan at all. I've never read any of the comics (except one collection of The Hulk) and I'm not at all a fan of the movies.

With that said, the super heroes are pretty well infused with our cultrure, so I got most of the jokes and knew most of the main characters anyway.

Also, the story is an original one with spoken dialogue, so there aren't any references you need to know to understand what is happening like the previous games. You could know nothing about any of the characters and understand the plot, since it is all presented within the game. :)

That's good to know. I'll discuss with Tomm.

I do kind of prefer the Lego games in which there are grunts in place of actual dialogue, though - so much funnier!

Yeah, although the Marvel game is a lot better than the Lord of the Rings game in that regard. Because the dialogue was taken from the movie, LotR wasn't all that funny, in my opinion. Since the dialogue is all original, there is a lot more room for wisecracking. :)

Yep, we were all disappointed in that part of the LotR game.

I actually really enjoyed that part of the LotR game. I just found Viggo's voice coming out of an adorable Lego character so amusing. I want to play Lego Marvel so badly (I'm a big fan of the movies). Maybe I'll brave the miles long hold list at the library for it...

ETA: Line isn't long at all. I'm 3rd in line for one of 40 copies. :D

I've never fully played a Lego game -- my xbox came with the Star Wars demo, which I enjoyed, but not quite enough to shell out full price at the time. On a side note, I just saw a trailer for the Lego Movie. . . . which includes generic Legos and character ones (Batman, for example). I'm really not sure how I feel about this one.

Stephen, all of this video game talk on your thread makes me itch for a system to play on! The last one I played with any regularity was Sega Genesis - seriously - so I know they've come a long way since then! Hope you're staying warm in OH!

Laura -- Do you know the game Raiden Trad? That was tied for my favorite Genesis game with Sonic, but no one seems to remember it. So I've been on a mission since I was like 12 to find someone who played it, lol.

Amber: Yeah, it was a little weird.

Micky: I think the issue was the sound quality. It might have been better had it been digitally enhanced somehow, but it sounded a little flat.

Also, it's awesome that you have a library that lends out video games! The "big" library system does that, but I've never requested one. I should warn you though! I should warn you though! Even though LEGO Marvel is about the same length as the other game (around 12-14 hours) the open world/sandbox area is both huge and terribly addicting. You may not want to return it when your time is up. :P

Also...40 copies!?!?

Katie: Yeah, I’ve seen the ads for it. It’s interesting, but I know I won’t be seeing it.

Laura: Ha! They are quite a bit different, but the good news is with the popularity of digital games there are lots of studios making “old school” side-scrollers and things like that. :)

Katie: I had a Genesis, but I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that one. My favorite game was Battle Toads! :P

I'm playing Borderlands 2 right now. It's really fun, but the combination of Minecraft and LEGO Marvel addictions are making it difficult to play. In fact, having just synced my trophies, I have Minecraft up on the screen right now and I'm going to go play it now bye.

:-)

Morning, Stephen! Happy Minecrafting!

Hi Jude!

Amber: I, in fact, played both Minecraft AND LEGO Marvel. Not Borderlands though. :p

Oh, wow. How does that work?

Also, I've never played Minecraft, but I'm curious about it...

Oh, haha, not at the same time, of course. :P

Minecraft is amazingly addicting. It's funny, my sister bought it a year or 2 ago and installed it on my computer. I started it up and was like "Yeah...okay...but...what's the point?" It was the singularly most pointless game I've ever seen in my life. I did not get it.

Then she showed me some of the stuff you can do in it, and showed me some of the worlds she was building, and it clicked. Now I'm an addict, for sure.

Hoo boy, I'd better stay clear of it, then...

No! You must play it! It's ammmaaaaazzing...

Actually, it would be very curious to see what Charlie would do with it. The game inspires a person's creativity, in the same way that things like LEGOs (real ones) would do. You are basically just presented with a bunch of blocks, and all you do is sit around building and creating things while you play.

On my computer I have a small town, complete with church and library, and on the PS3 I have this weird temple/zen garden type of things going on, and I'm building a mountainous path with bridges crossing over large chasms and the like.

It's super fun! :D

Oh dear lord, he would LOVE that. Hmmmm...

Yesterday, he wanted to play with his Legos, so I told him to get started and I'd join him as soon as I finished whatever it was I was doing (dishes, I think?). By the time I got there, he had built this amazing complex - and very cool-looking house-like area, complete with bedroom with a bed, and kitchen area, with a counter, table and chairs...
Maybe that's really not all that impressive, but I'm so bad with Legos (even though I love them, I'm just awful at building stuff) that it seemed genius to me! Ha!

That is pretty impressive! I was always terrible at actually building things with LEGOs. Mostly I would build a stick and use to hit something I wasn't supposed to.

I could probably take screenshots of some of the things I've built, just to give you an idea. :)

*SNORK!*

That would be cool, but don't overtax your interwebs connection.

Uploading images isn't too much of an issue, so long as I shrink them down a bit first.

But I can't open Minecraft until I disconnect, and I don't feel like doing that right now, so I'll have to upload them later.

Okay! Here are my Minecrafter creations. At least, this is 1 world. I have, ummmm, 3 survival worlds on the PC, 1 on the Playstation 3, and a few Creative worlds as well. Haha...Anywhere, this is what it looks like when you have a Minecraft addiction.

Note: The game has "texture packs" that alter the look of the game, and I had to change it a couple times because the pictures looked weird when I shrank them down. I'll not when I used a different texter pack.

Picture 1: My starter house! (Alternate texture pack)


Picture 2: My bedroom; where I store all my stuff and sleep at night.


Picture 3: A 2nd house, a well, and a field of wheat.


Picture 4: Entrance to the library - with fountain, shrubbery, and benches. The door is hard to see, but it's at the end of that narrow walkway between the fountain and the 'glass box' section of the library.


Picture 5: Inside library, 2nd floor


Picture 6: Inside library, 3rd floor, looking down at where the last screenshot was taken (alternate texture pack)


Picture 7: Church from a distance - taken from the same spot as the Library Entrance photo.


Picture 8: Church (inside)


All of this was built "from scratch." Basically you get dropped down in a world with no resources, and you have to collect materials to build tools, then use those to mine resources. I had to mine the stone to make the bricks, and cut the trees to make the planks/fences, and all that. It sounds tedious, but it's so addicting. Now I want to go spend an hour cutting down trees so I build more. Sheesh. :P

WOW! I love the library! And no, it doesn't sound tedious at all - I have a deep and abiding love for games like Civilization, and this seems similar in it's meticulous building stuff.

156: Katie, I'm sorry to say I haven't heard of that game. :( But there was a Bugs Bunny game you could play on the original Nintendo system that I used to play A LOT and no one I know has heard of that one, either.

Sheesh, now you guys are making me want to go to my parents house and play Sega and Nintendo!

Stephen, I didn't know what Minecraft was all about (other than very addicting), and you're making it really tempting....

>157 Ape: Yup, the library loans video games and they've just recently changed loan periods for DVDs and video games to three weeks instead of the one it used to be, which should give me plenty of time to play with the sandbox. And yeah, 40 copies - just for the Xbox 360 version. They also have similar numbers of copies for PS3, PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U. The magic of a well-funded library. :)

I've never played Minecraft but the library has started doing programs around it for kids and teens. They had a tournament back in November - which I'm pretty sure was survival mode.

wow stephen fantastic minecraft images! i f my catwerent lying on my hansd id say more!

Othello on hands
My hands are hiding below
The cat is on them

Minecraft! I need to get back to playing, I was super-addicted last spring. But then we moved and our routine got upended.

Amber: Ha! "Meticulous building" is actually an amazingly perfect description! Meticulous building, for hours and hours and hours and hours...

Laura: I had a Loony Toons game, but no Bug Bunny one that I remember. Minecraft is on the PC, so there isn't a console requirement, although it can be a little labor-intensive. It looks simplistic, but my computer has a pretty hard time running it, unfortunately. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions run perfectly though.

Micky: That's pretty awesome. I only wish my library had video games! Although they have a 1-week policy for movies, and if there was a 1-week policy on games too then I probably wouldn't bother. I believe the Big Library has a 1-week policy as well. Maybe that was why I never bothered, hmmm....

Rachel: Hahaha! Othello is quite adorable! :)

Kriti: Yeah, I go into lapses where I don't play for awhile. Did you get to play with someone else? I've watched videos on Youtube (which is to say my sister has supplied them to me with a flash drive, since I have slow internet) and the only Adventure Maps look like a lot of fun when played with a group of people.

3. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett



Pages: 353
Rating: 5/5

Fiction
Library Checkout

I have sat here for the last 15 minutes staring at this blank screen, trying to find a way to adequately summarize State of Wonder, and I just can't do it. I've gone about it from several angles, but I just can't bring myself to simplify the plot and cram it into a single paragraph.

It's about a woman accustomed to the sterile environments of laboratory working being thrust into the Amazonian Jungle. It's about the promise and perils of science, the double-edged sword of the pharmaceutical industry, and the unfortunate nature of the human body. It's about death, science, adventure, society, and humanity. It's about a woman who goes to the Jungle because a scientist there is working on a drug that will allow women to have children has late in life as they want to. But it's also about so much more than that.

The book is wonderful, and I loved everything about it. The characters, the language, the commentary. The book drew me in and held me captive throughout its duration. It made me care and it made me think, and in the end it made me happy, even if it was a rough ride along the way. I can't really ask for more than that out of a book.

Wow. Sold! Wishlisted.

It's a good one, Amber! :)

#178 -- Sounds really good. I have not read any Patchett yet, though I've heard good things about Bel Canto.

I love all of Ann Patchett's books! Glad you enjoyed State of Wonder.

Ann Patchett is my favorite! I haven't read that one yet but it's high on my list. If you want to read more of hers, I think you would like Run.

This has been a good week for WL expansion. I've had Bel Canto on my list for a while, but State of Wonder is going on there as well. Thx

State of Wonder sounds interesting, I'll keep that one in mind. :) *waves*

I listened to an audiobook of State of Wonder last year - enjoyed it a lot. Your summary is pretty good - It is more than that but hard to describe without spoilers.

Another fan of Bel Canto here. I've heard mixed reviews of State of Wonder which leaves me hesitant to pick it up.

Foggi: Yeah, Bel Canto also looks interesting.

Diane: I'm glad I enjoyed it as well!

Nora: I didn't know you liked her so much. I can see why though! I'll check my library for that one in a little while.

Jeff: Bwahahahaha! Errr, I mean, you're welcome.

Tam: *Waves*

Helenoel: That was another issue. I really didn't want to spoil even the tiniest detail for anyone who might read my review and want to read my book.

Micky: Really? I can't imagine not liking it! Maybe stretches a little thin in the middling part, but I think it's an important part of the book, from a literary standpoint.

So, earlier I sat down to read Spartan by Valerio Manfredi, and purely out of chance I opened to the right page and decided to check the publication date. Wouldn't you know it, it was originally published in 1988 in Italy! I didn't even know! So I'm saving that back for my birth year challenge, and started Patron Saint of Plagues instead.

Patron Saint of Plagues sounds good- excited about your thoughts!

It certainly has a unique setting! :)

I checked my library's website and they have a TON of Ann Patchett, including Run and Bel Canto. :)

I am so glad that you loved a book by Ann Patchett...check out The Patron Saint of Liars

:P

#177: I played with my SO – we set up a server and worked on a world together. I have a friend who's been asking to play with us too – I really should get on that someday. I've seen some of the Minecraft videos on youtube, they're pretty amazing! I especially loved the Starship Enterprise one.

Jude: Yep, my library had that one too (I think) so it's on the list as well. :)

Kriti: Oh! They are one lucky person to have a partner that is both a reader AND a gamer (or at least, a Minecrafter?), I must say. :) The videos that I watched were by CaptainSparklez, although I can't link to them because I can't load them myself. The 3 of them playing Revenge of the Fallen Gods is pretty hilarious. I haven't seen the Starship Enterprise one though.

#195: Hah, he's not a reader, except of Wikipedia. He reads non-fiction very occasionally, and once when the power was out, he started American Gods and then finished it when the power was back on. It's been my continuing mission to get him to read more. He does support me in my book habit though, and tends to regard himself as a future reader, not a non-reader.

I'm not familiar with CaptainSparklez, I've seen videos from EthosLab. Here's the Starship Enterprise link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXUkdrcey-w in case you're in a position to look at it.

Funny, I'm always trying to convince my sister to read, with limited success. She's obsessed with zombies and I've gotten her to read a couple zombie books. She really liked one of them but the 2nd one was a not-so-good and I haven't gotten her to read another one since. Crap!

I'll "Favorite" your post for future reference, in case I ever can watch the video.

Great idea trying to get your sister addicted to books, you book dealer, you. :P Maybe start leaving books in the bathroom or something? It might work.

Oh, btw, did you know...

No way! Way too much moisture in bathrooms for precious, wonderful book to be left there. Eep!

Who decided No Pants Day would be in winter? :P

I've heard of a No Pants Dance, but not No Pants Day...

Always wear protection when you do the No Pants Dance.

>178 Ape: ooooh, I like the look of thaaaat.

I stopped by to tell you that I finally got a book out that you recommended to me in 2010. Yup- I am that quick off the mark.
So I am reading The Demon in the Freezer finally, and it is really good so far. I was prompted when I saw Luxx was reading Ghost Map, I believe that was another you talked up.

>201 Ape: sage advice ;)

>198 saraslibrary: I'm sure he's got a trench coat with lots of pockets for books he can "sell". ;P

Re: no pants thing- I don't really mind seeing others with no pants but the thought of all those bodies and the germs grosses me out.

Hey there Stephano! I am a little slow making the rounds this year, but here I am! I have State of Wonder waiting for me and now that you gave it 5/5, I must move it to the top of the pile!

Megan: Ha! I remember recommending that to you now. I hope you like it, and aren't TOO grossed out by it.

Tamara: Well, yeah, No Pants and trench coats always go together!

Hi Kim! I hope you like it whenever you get around to it. :)

Morning, Stephen!

How happy you made me, oh Stephen

Well you came and you gave without taking

. . ;P (yes I'm a dork)

Happy Monday Stephen!

>205 Ape: too grossed out? Well, it is making me paranoid about a biological weapons attack from North Korea, but not too grossed out yet.
Ghost Map is still on my long term radar, btw. So get back to me in 2018 and we'll see if I have read it yet ;)

No Pants Day in January, is cruel and (un)usual punishment for people who live in Ohio...

Good night, Amber! :P

Tamara: I aim to please, ma'am!

Megan: I'll start pesting you in 2016, and 2018 will be my long-term goal. ;)

Jude: Yeah, tell me about it. *Shivers*

I have a heated mattress pad and no pants day works out really well in Ohio when I'm reading in bed.

I tend to get hot at night even in frigid midwinter temperatures, so I guess nighttime No Pants would be okay.

Shorts are okay, right? :P

Ooooh, heated mattress pad...that sounds wonderful!

#212: Yeah, I assume it's not the complete lack of lower body clothing, just no pants :)

#213: It is! I miss it so much when I go to other places.

Lower body clothing is pretty much the most important thing imagianble, for me. *Nods vigorously*

In other news, The Patron Saint of Plagues is either really good or not really good. It really varies from chapter to chapter. Also, Borderlands 2 is pretty hilarious.

Started playing Lego Marvel Superheroes yesterday. And may have spent most of today playing it. :D

Haha, hurray!

Oh, and don't worry, you mostly only have to play as Spiderman in the beginning, so you only have to put up with him for a little while. ;)

I can't ever heard "Spiderman" now without thinking of Coupling (the BBC series). Stephen, I highly recommend the show - you'd love it.
*Hoping your library system has it...*

>217 Ape: Oh, I just finished the X Mansion level so I haven't had to play as Spider-Man in a while. I think my favourite character to play so far is Black Widow. :)

I would spend another chunk of today playing it but I'm finally going to see the new Hobbit (no really, this time I really am) so that's going to take up my entire afternoon.

Amber: I'll check for it in a little bit! :)

Micky: I surprisingly played with Iron Man the most, but that's mostly because he has the most useful skills in the open world. He can fly and destroy silver and gold blocks, so I just used him and switched to Mister Fantastic/Wolverine/etc when their skills were needed.

I did love how Black Widow could run and shoot at the same time though. Most characters have to stand in place while they do that, so it was quite hand when going about the level destroying everything in sight. :P

I checked my library's website. Nope! The only results for "Coupling" were books about people having sex. (Like Bonk) Sorry!

I went to the library just yesterday though. I came home with a HUGE stack of paperbacks. I think it'll be a big boost to my numbers considering how fast those things tend to fly by. I also got next month's Birth Year challenge book - Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold. :)

Also, I haven't been on much because I'm in this weird sort of hibernation mode and taking lengthy 'naps' in the afternoon that last until night, from which I awake and decide I might as well just go to bed. Last night I selpt from 5pm-9:30pm, got up and brushed my teeth, let Shyanne out once more for the night, then slept from 10pm-5am. Yep.

Dang. I was afraid of as much. But *snork!* to the people having sex books - you know you're on some sort of perv list now...

Sounds like you've got the SADs - seasonal affective disorder. Or, as it used to be known - cabin fever. You could go outside without your pants; that should wake you up a bit.

Sadly, I'm not really going outside any less than I do when it's warm. Haha. *Realizes how completely pathetic that is*

I know you're just trying to get my pants off, ma'am! :P

Oh! I totally forgot to mention in the post above that I recieved the most recent issue of Game Informer recently and they previewed the next LEGO game. LEGO The Hobbit, of course! I'm pretty much totally ridiculously excited about it. It comes out later this year, probably around the holidays.

What?! NO, OF COURSE NOT! I'm a happily married lady, mister!
*SNORK!*

A Lego Hobbit game? I know a couple of Scaife men who will be happy to hear that...

I just said you were trying to get my pants off, I don't know WHY you are going in that direction. Sheesh. ;)

Yep, definitely looking for to a LEGO version of The Hobbit. I'm almost sure my sister will buy it, so I'll probably get to play it for free.

LEGO HOBBIT!!!! Um.. Yes.

LEGO HOBBIT! That sounds like fun.

Haha, yes, agreed!

>220 Ape: Finished Story Mode this afternoon. :) So now I have 2 1/2 weeks for all the freeplay and sandboxing I can handle. ;)

Have a great weekend, Stephykins. *hugs*

Wow, you did finish that pretty fast, Micky! I actually enjoyed the sandboxing more than the main story. Be sure you get those Multipliers so you can afford all the stuff you unlock! :P

4. The Patron Saint of Plagues by Barth Anderson



Pages: 486
Rating: 3/5

Fiction: Science Fiction/Disease outbreak
Owned

I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed with this book initially. There is a lot to take in, and the author jumps right into it, so I was scrambling a bit to wrap my head around everything that was going on. Mexico is a new super power, and Mexico City (now called Ascension) is the most populous city on the planet. They are a technological marvel, and all their citizens are connected through brain implantations (called wetware) that functions as a pseudo-mental wifi. There is a political power struggle between to religious faction; The Holy Renaissance who are very similar to Catholics, and a rogue religious group led by Sister Domenica, the Patron Saint of Plagues.

Oh, and then there is the disease outbreak, of course. An American named Stark is tasked with combating an extreme Dengue outbreak that is spreading and killing so quickly that it simply can NOT be a natural outbreak. Unfortunately for him, solving this mystery isn't easy when he's caught between 2 bickering factions in a country where he wouldn't be welcome in the first place.

The characters seemed a little inconsistent, and Stark has this way of speaking that is grating and totally obnoxious. Note to future novelists: Don't make your main character grating and obnoxious. The plot also seemed a bit too far-reaching, which kind of killed the mystery aspect of the novel for me. It just didn't quite hook me, and during the big reveal I was mostly just nodding and thinking "well, alright then..." Which pretty much sums up how I feel about the novel as a whole.

Huh. Sorry that wasn't a better read for you, Stephen. It sort of sounds like Starship Troopers with a plague mixed in, only not good. Ha!

Wow. That seems like it could be an awesome book. But wasn't.

It wasn't necessarily bad, it just wasn't spectacularly amazing. It was a big book, but it probably would have benefited from being made into a trilogy. As it is, it's kind of too caught in the middle of being a mystery/thriller and a more literary cyberpunk/politcal sci-fi novel.

>231 Ape: I won't read it (surprise!) but I think if I did I would just imagine Tony Stark as the main character and that would make it better. ;) What can I say? I'm a bit of an Iron Man fangirl.

I don't know, the obnoxious way that the Book Stark talks may mar your image of Iron Man Stark, so that sounds like a bad idea. Book Stark decides that he wants to eliminate words from the english language that don't serve a purpose (in his opinions) so he would say things like "I going to Mexico" and "I think you silly."

Those aren't actual quotes from the book, but EVERY LINE he speaks like that. Ugh. And this is coming from a guy that regularly butchers the English language on purpose with a similar mentality. Having read the book, I can totally understand why you might occassionally want to strangle me. So, so annoying.

Getting caught up here after a couple of weeks of the LT grid. Cool Minecraft pics! Did I see correctly - you gave Patchett's State of Wonder 5/5?! Back on the future reading list it goes. I removed it last year because of a bunch of lackluster reviews and I really should have known better... I absolutely loved Bel Canto. Silly me.

Sorry to see The Patron Saint of Plagues was just a so-so read, Stephen.

Happy Sunday!

>231 Ape: I was hoping it would be better. It sounded so good initially. Bummer!

Are you surviving the Deep Freeze???

Lori: Yeah, that's the 2nd time I've heard about these mysterious lackluster revews for State of Wonder, but I absolutely adored it. :)

Tamara: Yeah, the premises is promising, but it was just 'okay.'

Jude: I am! I went to the library the day before all this bad weather hit, which I'm very glad for because I sure don't want to go out in this stuff!!

Also, I'm currently totally addicted to Bigelow Vanilla Chai. Like, literally addicted, and I'm definitely going to go through withdrawal if I drink it all before the weather clears up. I tried it when I was very first 'getting into' tea and thought it was just okay, but obviously I wasn't brewing it properly (that is to say - in pure milk) :P

If you even see Twinings' Ultra Spiced Chai at the store, get it. It the best chai-in-a-bag tea I've had.

I'll keep an eye out for it, but all I ever see is that black tea variety pack, and then individual packages of all the things in the black tea variety pack (English/Irish breakfast, Earl/Lady Gray).

I've tried most of the chai teas available at Walmart though, I haven't found one I didn't like.

>236 Ape: *shudders in horror* That kind of thing has made me ditch books. Even if it had a legitimate narrative purpose (*looks pointedly at The Knife of Never Letting Go*).

I haven't tried The Knife of Never Letting Go, but I can usually make it through if there is a narrative purpose. But not always. One must be a fantastic author to get away with that.

While No Pants Subway Day is in January, actual No Pants Day is in May. My friend Andre used to celebrate by having a No Pants Party. All party-goers were encouraged to bring items of clothing to be donated to local shelters (and, of course, not wear pants).

Micky: Yeah, now I know how you feel when I intentionally butcher the English language. Ah, so annoying! Grr! :P

Rachel: Hmmm, I don't even know if good authors can get away with it. It's just obnoxious, regardless.

Dee: Ha! Oh dear. Remind me never to go to a party in May. Eep!

Huh, I've never heard of Ni No Kuni - is it good?

It's quite fantastic so far! I'm not generally a big fan of the anime style, but this is definitely an exception. It's a Japanese RPG that is vaguely similar to Pokémon (in that you have to collect small creatures to battle with) and all the trope-ridden clichés you expect from a game from Japan. Y'know, the world in grave danger and the unassuming child tasked to save it, and all that. It's actually been an incredibly emotional game though, so far.

Oh, and it's a Playstation exclusive, so that might be why you haven't heard of it?

New thread is up! :)