Ape's 2014 Challenge (5)

Currently reading: Crazy
Currently playing (Vita): Ys: Memories of Celceta
Currently playing (PC): Fate



Current library checkouts:
Book: The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip (Due: Sept. 6)
Music: Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth (Due: Sept. 6)


Thread #1 (Books 1-4)
Thread #2 (Books 5-11)
Thread #3 (Books 12-18)
Thread #4 (Books 19-24)



Books: 35
Pages: 10,529

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
5. A Catch in Time by Dalia Roddy

February:
6. Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
7. Death's Dominion by Simon Clark
8. Rabid by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy
9. The Good Son by Russel D. McLean
10. Missing Microbes by Martin J. Blaser

March:
11. Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
12. Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain
13. The Hammer of God by Arthur C. Clarke
14. Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez
15. Cold Plague by Daniel Kalla

April:
16. The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Corson
17. The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
18. Harvest by Jim Crace

May:
19. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
20. The Third Eye by David Knowles
21. The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan
22. Saucer by Stephen Coonts

June
23. Saucer: The Conquest by Stephen Coonts
24. Saucer: Savage Planet by Stephen Coonts
25. The Gift of Stones by Jim Crace
26. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

July:
27. Strong in the Rain by Lucy Brimingham
28. Epileptic by David B
29. Zodiac by Neal Stephenson
30. How To Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson
31. How to Build a Robot Army by Daniel H. Wilson
32. Stitches by David Small

August:
33. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
34. Sand and Fire by Tom Young
35. The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip



Birth Year Challenge: 1 book per month that was published in 1988, the year I was born.

January: On Parole by Akira Yoshimura
February: Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
March: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
April: The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
May: The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan
June: The Gift of Stones by Jim Crace
July: Zodiac by Neal Stephenson
August: The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip

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

Games: 28

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

February:
4. Ni no Kuni
5. DmC: Devil May Cry
6. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
7. Bioshock Infinite

March:
8. Beyond Good and Evil
9. Metro: Last Light
10. Puppeteer
11. South Park: The Stick of Truth

April:
12. Prototype 2
13. Infamous: Second Son
14. Soul Sacrifice
15. LittleBigPlanet Vita

May:
16. Dead Space 3
17. Rayman Legends
18. Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon

June:
19. Split/Second
20. Persona 4 Golden
21. Modnation Racers: Road Trip
22. Watch Dogs

July:
23. Spy Hunter
24. Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando
25. Trials Fusion

August:
26. LEGO The Hobbit
27. Rainbow Moon
28. The Last of Us

Hey everyone, welcome to my 5th thread! The year is half over and, sadly, I'm not close to the halfway point in the challenge. It looks like I'll be missing the mark yet again this year, but there is still time, right! Right. *ahem*

I do have a review coming up soon, and I read 130 pages of a graphic novel today, so who knows what the rest of the year will bring. I hope you stick with me and find out! :)

Hi

574-583-9953
Hello? Stephen?

Hi, Rachel! :)

Nora: Nope, way off! :P

25. The Gift of Stones by Jim Crace



Pages: 170
Rating: 4/5

Fiction: Literary/Historical Fiction
Library checkout

The Gift of Stones is about a small village of master stone workers in an indeterminable time during the stone age. It's told from the perspective of a man who, as a boy, lost an arm after being shot by an arrow, and so is rendered useless and incapable of working in the village he calls his home. He offers an outsider's perspective on the life and hardships of the time, and eventually discover a craft of his own when he begins adventuring away from the village during his limitless free time.

I'm a sucker for tragedy and flawed characters, so this one pretty much drew me in immediately. It's dark, it's difficult, but it brings to life the struggles to survive in a brutal, simplistic simulacrum of society. I found the setting to be quite brilliant, as well. So many similar novels focus on farmers of the time, so seeing a village that thrived on skill and trade was a nice change of pace, and it also serves a very important purpose throughout the story.

There are only a couple minor things keeping me from giving the book a 5-star rating, but I'm tempted to break my rule and give a slightly imperfect book a perfect rating anyway. I guess I loved it despite its flaws.

There's still time to make your goal, Stephen. :) And yay for graphic novels. I'm all for those.

Thanks, Sara. Since I'm using the BIG library system again, I can request all those graphic novels I've been wanting to read that my library doesn't have (or has in the YA section.) Like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, for example, which is what I'm reading now. :)

Coolness! I haven't read that one, but I like the idea of reading a HUGE book that's basically a picture book/graphic novel. And I won't ask if you're going to watch the movie? ;)

Definitely not! But, yeah, it's 500 pages, and I'll probably finish it by the end of the weekend. :P

Right on. I'm reading a book less than 200 pages, and I'll bet you'll beat me. ;)

I don't know, what if Foggidawn kidnaps me, and prevents me from finishing?

That's very likely. But I doubt she'd prevent you from reading it, so don't worry. ;)

But what other reason does she have to kidnap me other than to strap me to a chair and force me to watch romance movies? You ladies have been talking about it for years, and now it's going to finally happen! Eep.

Maybe dress you up in lady clothes, too? Make you her personal slave? I could think of much darker things, but I'll keep it weird like that. And personally, I'd make you watch horror movies, but since it's a democracy, I'll go with chick flicks.

Chick Flicks and horror movies have similar effects on me, really. :P

I do have quite a collection of chick flicks . . .

*Gulp*

How could you equate horror movies with chick flicks?? I Spit on Your Grave = Dirty Dancing? Ack, how could you? :P Bring the chick flicks movies, foggidawn!

I loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret so much! I hope you do too. The movie isn't bad but it does loose some of the magic, naturally.

Sara: They both make me shudder and cry a little.

Leah: I loved the first 100 pages, absolutely! :)

Yes, I cry during horror movies, too. :P

Oh, yes! Cabret is amazing! I hope you love it.

I'm sitting at about the same number you are, Stephen, and I'm still optimistic I'll hit 75 before the end of the year. Although even if I don't, I read War and Peace this year so I feel like I win the challenge anyway. :P

Happy New Thread!

Oh, Hugo Cabret is wonderful! The movie was well done too, I enjoyed it. From what I remember, it was fairly close to the book. But of course, the book trumps the movie.

What's next for your birth year challenge?

Happy New Thread, Stephen! I will get around to reading something by Crace one of these days..... reviews like yours for The Gift of Stones is a good reminder for me. ;-)

Sara: For the murderer when he gets caught, right? :P

Amber: Loving it so far!

Micky: War and Peace definitely counts for 3 books, maybe 4...or 5.

Thanks, Melissa!

Hi Laura! The plan for now is to read Zodiac by Neal Stephenson for next month's book.

Lori: I've read my first book by him earlier this year and so far I have enjoyed both of them. I'll definitely be reading more of his books in the future. :)

Hellooooooooo! What you think of Watchdogs so far? Concept looks really interesting to me, but I could see a studio not using it well in the gameplay . . . .

I loved Cabret too. :) And don't worry about not making the 75 - there's NO way I'm making it this year. But there's always hope for next year.

Hugo! I loved that book. And the movie too, although books trump movies.

Katie: Well, it's made by Ubisoft, so naturally it's #@%$ing goddamn annoying as %#@$... *ahem* I game is decent, but it has some major flaws. Let's just say...Grand Theft Auto it is not. Really, REALLY not. I'd give it an average rating, though, and the mechanics are pretty cool.

Rachel: That's always my mentality when it comes to challenges. "Ah, well, I can just do it next year!" :P

Kim: I loved the book, too! I finished it earlier, although I probably won't get around to writing a review until tomorrow night/Sunday.

Hey everyone, I just got back from the mini-meetup with Misti. I told myself I wasn't going to buy anything, and I'm happy to report that I did indeed stick to that plan and didn't buy a single thing. Okay, technically I did buy 6 books, but I have 6 different reasons why each individual one doesn't count. ;)

My haul is as follows, and no, I don't know why they are all so morbid. I just posted on Foggi's thread that I would have been paranoid if I had seen that she bought a romantic comedy DVD, perhaps she would have felt the same if she saw what I bought.

Anyway, here's the haul.

The Pirate Hunter by Richard Zacks
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
Tyrannosaurus Sue by Steve Fiffer
The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg
The Monster's Corner edited by Christopher Golden
The Body Snatcher edited by Michael Kelahan

I'll edit this post with pictures after I enter them into my library just to show you how alarming it is. :P

>33 Ape: Ooooh... I really enjoyed The Professor and the Madman (but then, I collect dictionaries soooo); hope you enjoy it! I would like to know what your 6 different reasons are for them not counting?

Ummmm, well, you see...okay, TECHNICALLY I haven't actually come up with the reasons yet...

>35 Ape: Hahahahahahaha *ahem*
Oh, I see. I understand completely. Truly.

>33 Ape: Yeah, that is a lot of skeletons! Some of those look quite interesting, though, which is more than you can say about my movie purchase, I'm sure!

:P

I'm still working on entering them all (it takes awhile on dial-up) but I was wrong, out of six books, four of them have skeletons/skulls if you count the Tyranosaur one. Of the remaining 2, one has a horde of zombies and the other has murder in the title.

I don't know how this happened. :P

You didn't buy just anything, you bought books!

Justification complete.

Nora: Haha, well, the intent was to not buy any books too, but like I said, they all don't count, so I'm good. :P

Okay, here is what I took up to the checkout counter.

37, Foggi: Actually, I would be interested in the Bujold books. I read Falling Free earlier this year as part of my Birth Year challenge and liked it quite a bit. :)

Your explanation of how you didn't buy a darn thing (yet did!) was hysterical. Great job on the denial--I approve. Books were involved ya know. I have The Professor and the Madman somewhere in the house...the rest, not yet. I await your reviews. And I will have to find somewhere to hide them so I don't scare anyone, LOL. I really like the cover on The Body Snatcher and other Classic Ghost Stories.

Thanks, Kim! I have to admit, I bought The Body Snatcher soley because I adored the cover. And it looks even better in person! The background is a glossy and the skeletons are rough and textured, so it looks really cool actually. :P

I loved Professor and the Madman! But you spent too .uch money to see me in teo weeks, haven't you?

Rachel: Possibly...also, you're drunk. :P

Haha. Typing on my Nook. I make mistakes.

But that spelling is funny.

Yeah, I try to type on my Vita sometimes...I'm atrociously bad with touchscreen keypad.

Add me to the list of fans of The Professor and the Madman. Although, I generally like Simon Winchester's nonfiction.

I'm glad so many people seem to have enjoyed it. I'm certainly looking forward to reading it...eventually! :)

And now, my review for The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

26. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick



Pages: 530
Rating: 5/5

Fiction - Graphic Novel
Library checkout

In 1931, in a train station in Paris, an orphan boy named Hugo Cabret lives behind the clocks. Before his uncle disappeared, he was taught how to maintain the clocks in the station, and now that he is gone Hugo winds and services the clocks and steals just enough food to survive. Though things sound grim for Hugo, he has a secret hidden inside his little room, a wondrous piece of machinery that is unlike anything he has ever seen before.

I loved this book! The art is beautiful, and so richly detailed that I sometimes forgot what was happening because I spent so much time gazing at them. In fact, in the beginning after I hit the first page of text I went back to the beginning and flipped through it a 2nd time at a faster pace so I could keep track of what had actually happened.

The story itself is fantastic as well. The author does such a great job of inspiring a sense of wonder. Although the machines and technology are accurate to the time period, the book feels magical, which is how I imagine people must have felt at the time when experiencing such things for the first time.

I knew about all the hype going into this book, and I must say it lived up to my expectations.

Yay for meet-ups, yay for books that don't count, yay for Simon Winchester and yay for Hugo Cabret!!

That's a lot of yaying!

>43 Ape: Now I want it bad! SO glad you liked Hugo. One of my very favorites.

Now I want it bad!

I never thought I'd hear a lady say that to me. :P

: ) That smile is lecherous in case you can't tell.

*Faints*

June Summary:

Books: 4
Pages: 1,376

Fiction: 4
Nonfiction: 0

Owned: 0
Library checkout: 4

I'm glad you guys had fun at the meetup, despite it being the one weekend I was across the country, :'(.

Sorry you couldn't be there, Kriti! :(

Yay for new books! And for mini-meetups! And for 5 star books! :) I might try The Invention of Hugo Cabret someday.

And yes, Stephen, I totally bawl when the murderer gets caught. Doofus. ;P

Yeah, I couldn't be there either. *angry face*

Sara: When are YOU coming to Ohio to meet up with me, hm? :P

Rachel: Given your history of dramatic facial expression, I have a feeling that angry face is quite unnerving!

As soon as I win the lotto. I'm part of the working poor, remember? I make just enough to pay my bills, but not enough to travel, I'm afraid. :( I suppose I could hitch hike, but I don't know how wise that would be of the drivers. ;)

Yeah, seriously, if there were more hitch hiking murderer ladies out there I'd so be dead already. :P

You pick up hitch hikers? Tsk tsk, Stephen. Not a good idea.

Okay, I suppose I actually don't, and technically and too afraid of human beings to ever stop for one in the first place. We used to always stop and pick up turtles off the road when I was a kid though! And none of them ever killed us.

Give them time. They're slow, but they certainly want to kill you, I'm sure of it. :P It's funny you should mention turtles in the road, though. I used to live in Colorado as a kid, and we had big-ass tarantulas always crossing the roads. Now those, I'm sure, would kill you in a second, if you believe in movies like Eight Legged Freaks or Arachnophobia. ;)

Great, now all I can imagine is a group of young men stoned out of their mind and screaming hysterically at phantom tarantulas. Thanks for that. :P

Way back in the day I hitchhiked back and forth across the country twice. I wouldn't try it now, though; things have changed too much. However, I would pick up any hitchhiking turtles we came across. (No tarantulas, whatever size the ass, thank you very much).

I used to pick up stray tarantulas on the road.

On another note, I have postponed my trip till August....so maybe someone can save up some money by then?

Joe: I think the paranoia about murderous hitch hikers/hitch hikees is a bit dated, a product of the 80's. I don't think you really have to worry about that now...you're likely to be run over before you ever have a chance to catch a ride. :P

Rachel: Possibly! I don't exactly have money to save up with, but maybe we can figure something out.

A book haul. a meet up. You have a more interesting social life than I do at the moment. ;-)

Wonderful review of the Selznick book! I must get around to reading that one of these days.

Happy 4th!

Thanks, Lori! Though there is something cosmically wrong with the idea of me having a more interesting social life than another human being.

Happy Fourth!!

Thanks, Kim! Happy Fifth to you! :p

Happy Fifth to you, Stephykins! What's on your schedule for today?

Hi Laura! My hair has been long and insufferably hot for awhile, so I got that cut today. It's probably my LEAST favorite thing to do ever, as it triggers all my worst anxieties all in one. Sitting at the center of a room full of people and having them stare at me while being forced to talk with a chatter barber is nightmarish for a social phobe such as myself. I suppose that's why I put it off for so long. :P

Anyway, it's over now, I'm home, and I'm spending the rest of the day reading and playing video games.

Yay for it being over.

Cheers!

I am such a fool! I have been so afraid of the zombie apocalypse all this time that I didn't even realize it had already started!



They're going to eat us!!

LMAO! I've seen those zombies in real life. Scary, scary stuff. ;)

Btw, I'd be happy to sneak into your room while you're sleeping and cut your hair off anytime. That's what friends are for, right? To totally creep each other out! ;)

That sounds very creepy, but also preferable. :P

27. Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster by Lucy Brimingham (and David McNeil)



Pages: 218
Rating: 4/5

Nonfiction: Current Events/Natural Disaster
Owned

On March 11, 2011 Japan was devastated by a triple disaster - a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook much of the country to its core, which caused an enormous tsunami to sweep in from the pacific ocean and engulf much of the eastern coast, and when things seemed to be at their worst, it was discovered that the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear power plant had melted down, spewing a toxic cloud of radiation into the surrounding region. Strong in the Rain chronicles the trials faced by the survivors, both immediately after the disaster and in the years to come.

The book is a bit all over the place at first, and I was afraid I was in for a slog. It tries to cover multiple viewpoints of the disaster, but it feels unfocused, jumping back and forth in time and dancing about various subjects relating to disaster preparedness. This changes during the post-disaster half, however, as the topics discussed are much more cohesive and the authors feel much more knowledgeable about them.

Though I'm tempted to give the book an average rating due to the rough start, the information regarding the hazards of nuclear meltdown is as important as it is alarming. You have to feel for the Japanese and what they are going through, but it also serves as a warning to the rest of us. Weather patterns appear to be getting worse and worse, yet we continue to build more nuclear plants all over the planet. It's really too bad so many people died or suffered so terribly and yet we couldn't take something positive from it. Nevertheless, at the very least let us all hope Japan can continue to recover and, as the title suggests, stay strong in the rain.

YAY! You finished the review! Good job!

Thanks, Rachel! :)

#84: And I'd gladly do it for free! :)

#85: Poor Japan. Aren't they getting ready to get hit by a storm today or tomorrow or something? Good job in finishing the book, despite the rough start.

>81 Ape: - I really hate it when 'those' zombies walk into me on the sidewalk.... like I am supposed to be watching out for them or something. Good news is when the real zombies do come, we can all run away, knowing that the pseudo zombies are willing to sacrifice themselves. Nice, eh? ;-)

Sara: I'm a cheap bastard, so this keeps sounding better and better!

I just saw something about a big storm on the news right now, but I was too busy trying to get my stupid old antiquated internet to connect to pay attention. Anyway, they definitely have a history of tragedy, the amount of mass-death through natural disasters (or not-so-natural disasters at the hands of us Americans in the 40's. *Sigh*) is awful. They also have one of the highest rates of suicide (per capita) on the planet.

As a gamer, I'm particularly enmeshed with Japanese culture, particularly because I choose to play on a Japanese-based console over the American one. A lot of their games tend to be ridiculously sad as well. Recently I've played Persona and Ni no Kuni, both of which tried mightily to rip my heart out. :(

Lori: It's possible they'll blend in with the zombies and live amongst them!

This LTER book looks like just your cup of tea, Stephen:


http://www.librarything.com/er/list#15146280

Ha! Go for it, Stephen. There won't be any judgmental librarians to eyeball you when you get it.

>81 Ape: >82 Ape: So true! So funny! So sad...

>91 norabelle414: Oh my! ; P

Yeah, um, no erotica for me, thanks. o.o

Which ones do you want then? If you're me, you requested them all. :D

I'm looking at the list now. So far, only Dr. Mutter's Marvels interests me.

It does sound good. I'll wait for the movie, though. :P

:P

I ended up not requesting anything. I've already got 2 unread ER books, and none of the fiction interests me this time around. There are a couple nonfiction books with potential, but the idea of winning a nonfiction book only to receive some massive 600 pager terrifies me a little. It's happened a couple times with fiction (even a 1,000 pager) but that is manageable, at least.

I know what you mean. Too bad they don't list page numbers, too. But then, the page would probably be impossible to load. Maybe next time you'll find something better. :)

Nah, they could add the page number in text in the summary section, but I'm sure LT wants to make it as convenient as possible to entice more publishers to post books, so I can see why they don't require anything more than a summary.

You can often find the books on Amazon, where they do list the page count. Dr. Mutter's Marvels is 384 pages.

I've been to that museum in Philadelphia and it is pretty awesome.

Thanks for that, Nora! I have actually done that in the past, but I guess I forgot.

28. Epileptic by David B.



Pages: 363
Rating: 4/5

Graphic Memoir
Library checkout

Epileptic is a graphic memoir, in which David B describes the childhood he spent with an older brother suffering from epilepsy. His parents try to cure his brother with all the traditional methods available, which are pretty limited in the 1970's, and begin experimenting with more unconventional, alternative options. David is introduced to many different forms of spirituality, mysticism, and occultism, but none of them seem to work, and so instead of curing him David and his parents have to come to terms with the illness and learn to live with the symptoms.

What is loved most about Epileptic was the eccentric nature of the drawings. David B doesn't draw in a literal way, but characterizes what is happening in peculiar and wonderfully zany way. Though the story is a memoir, people are sometimes represented as animals, events are dramatized with disproportionate drawings, and his brother's illness manifests on the pages as a monster snaking around the page. Though his story is important, it was the stylized representation on the pages that really shines, and is the main reason I would recommend this.

Epileptic does look good. I'll have to see if we have a copy here. Thanks! :)

Nice review there! I would like to check this one out further...thanks!

Thanks, Sara and Kim. And if you think I'm padding my numbers with graphic novels, I'll have you know that...I...ummmmm, REFUSE....to admit to it... :P

Hi Stephen. I've been out of touch and not as present as other years. I'm stopping by to say hello.

Hi there, Linda! *Hugs* Nice of you to stop by.

I'm heading to Ohio the beginning of August. I haven't been there in a year. I'm preparing for hot, sticky days and flat terrain. And, three grandchildren that are very special. I hope all is well with you.

Flat terrain, huh? Guess you won't be coming to my part of Ohio. :P

Actually, having been to Foggidawn's area of Ohio twice now, I can officially say I understand why everyone thinks Ohio is flat. I grew up in the Hocking Hills, but once you get out of those there isn't a whole lot to see.

>106 Ape: What? I never accused you of padding. Get over yourself and enjoy!

I saw that look in your eye! You were either judging me or picturing me naked, take your pick. :P

I think Indiana and Ohio are a lot alike in that respect: in the North they're both very flat, but the Southern bits of both states are lovely and hilly.

>111 Berly: >112 Ape: You, Padder, you!!! (You left me no choice. ;P )

Ha! What Berly said. :D

Amber: I've only been in Indiana once, but I believe I went through the flat part. :)

Kim/Sara: No no no, ladies, no pads here, this is ALLLLL me....oh...errrrr...you mean padding my book numbers. *Ahem* Right...

Of course I meant books! Remember? You were naked before and I didn't look. But now that you are dressed again, I see what you mean about the padding. Hmmmm. Let me just say that I encourage you to be comfortable with who you are. (On the other hand, women use push-up bras, so I guess men are entitled to a little help too.)

>72 Ape: LOL! I'm slow to get back after a week away, but if I hitchhike again, I'll look forward to getting mashed rather than serial killed.

Kim: Yeah, padding might make you more appealing in public but once you get naked it really only leads to disappointment, doesn't it?

Joe: Looking forward is the best way to get run over when walking alongside the road. :P

>119 Ape: LOL. Exactly!

#116: Same here: I've only been to Indiana once, too, and all I remember is how flat it was. And humid. XP But then, I was there during the summer.

>119 Ape: :-)

>121 saraslibrary: Me too. :)

Hey Stephen! Look at me! I'm online! You have so little faith in me! (Of course, I haven't actually started playing the game yet...haha. Maybe tonight.)

Games will ruin your life! Just look at my book total for the year! :P

So I just watched the newest episode of Mythbusters, and they burnt books!

*Weeps*

I regularly want to. I assume they were busting Fahrenheit 451?

Nope! :P

They were testing whether an exploding water heater could put out a house fire. So they built a small house, complete with a book shelf full of books. It was horrifying!

OH thanks! Burning books. Now I am going to have nightmares...

Me too. House fires and exploding water heaters are scary, but not nearly as scary as lovely wonderful books being destroyed. :(

I'm on the fence about that one. I love fire, but books...no, not cool.

Depends. You can get the entire US tax code in a big set of books...

Sara: Haha, yeah, I know. I feel the same way about walnuts in brownies. :P

Jim: The tax code would be .000003524 percent more appealing in book form. Such is the power of books!

29. Zodiac by Neal Stephenson



Pages: 310
Rating: 3/5

Fiction - "Eco-thriller"
Library checkout

~1988 Birth Year Challenge book for July~

Sangamon Taylor is, essentially, a professional asshole. An extreme environmentalist with a passion for wreaking havoc on big corporations that pollute the environment, he is now officially employed to do just that for a non-profit organization in Boston. Sangaman spends his day hunting down toxic waste disposers in the Boston Harbor, and when he finds high concentrations of illegal chemicals in the harbor he finds the source, plugs the pipe first hand, and exposes the crimes of these major corporations to the media - all with little more than an inflatable raft, some scuba gear, and a little bit of ingenuity.

I really loved the book initially, Neal Stephenson commentary on environmentalism is wonderful if not hopelessly pessimistic, and the settings and characters are fantastically drawn. I think where it goes wrong is with the half-assed mystery plot that develops awkwardly throughout the book. Stephenson seems to have wanted to create a thrilling mystery in which Sangamon has to discover who is dumping a particularly scary toxic chemical into the harbor, but it just wasn't successful for me. It stalled out regularly and just didn't unfold in a very smooth manner, and all the suspects were so similar that I didn't really find myself caring who it was specifically anyway. Normally you expect the criminal to be the bad guy and for everyone else to be innocent, but when every suspect is a known toxic waste disposer it kind of deflates your interest in which one did it specifically.

I don't necessarily think it's a bad book, but unfortunately I think it got away from the author in the process of writing it. As a result, it fits firmly in the 'just okay' category.

Nice review. I have recently started collecting copies of various Stephenson books for my future reading, without having read any of his works. So far I only have copies of Reamde and Cryptonomicon. I will steer clear of Zodiac until I decide whether or not I like Stephenson's stories.

Thanks, Lori! For me it was more of a plot and pacing issue. His writing, particularly in the beginning before the mystery set in, was actually quite good. :)

Waving Hi! Nice review.

Hi Kim! Thanks. :)

>135 lkernagh: IMHO Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash are a must. I've read Snow at least 5 times, and Crypto probably 3 times. I didn't particularly care for Reamde, but that may just be me. Zodiac, I read probably close to when it came out, can't remember my thoughts there, I think I still have a copy. Perhaps I should chuck it back on Mt. TBR for another try.

The Diamond Age is another good one of his.

Yeah, I haven't written him off entirely. I've heard a lot of good things about his other books, and he'll still be on the radar. :)

30. How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion by Daniel H. Wilson



Pages: 176
Rating: 3/5

Nonfiction - Robots/Humor/Survival Guide
Library checkout

Robots are going to be amazing! They will drive for you, clean your house, cook you nice meals, and even tell you how awesome you are every day. Daniel Wilson, however, can foresee the danger of having hyper-intelligent all-powerful robot slaves - that they will organize...and rebel!

This is your guide for surviving that particular robot calamity. It teaches you how robots assess and react to their environment, and how you can use that to your advantage. And as a guide, it actually does a decent job of that. Hang on, I'm serious here. Daniel Wilson is actually has a Master's in Robotics, and is quite knowledgeable about the topic. The book, despite being listed as Humor, is informative about real-world robots and robotic technology, so there actually is an element of nonfiction here.

Unfortunately, in some ways that is also the book's downfall. Though the information is interesting, I was expecting something a bit more light and humorous, and the humor was a bit lacking. A book such as this is a platform for comedy, but there were 3 or 4 lines that made me chuckle throughout the book, and the rest was rather bland.

With that said, I'll still be reading How To Build a Robot Army next, so it wasn't completely terrible.

Hi, Stephen! Nothing intelligent to add to what's going on here (indeed, I even misspelled 'intelligent' in the first attempt), but wanted to wave and say Hello...

Hi Amber! No worries, I rarely have anything intelligent to add to what's going on here, so I certainly wouldn't expect my guests to. :P

>142 Ape: Can't I just watch I, Robot and learn these skills? ;)

Ha! I, Robot is actually mentioned in the book, but those are only 1 type of robot (humanoid) not, for example, the rather amazing/horrifying concept of modular robots. Micro-robots that can link together to form any shape they want, like a key to open the locked door you are hiding behind, or a dragon! :P

Although you reminded me that the book actually spoils the end of 4 different movies at the end of the book. It describes a robot uprising and how it was dealth with...including I, Robot. *Grumble*

>139 mahsdad: and >140 jnwelch: - Thanks for the recommendations! I will keep an eye out for copies of Snow Crash and The Diamond Age.

>142 Ape: - That book cover! OMG that is classic. I am going to be curious to see if you put any of your robotic knowledge to use.... the title How to Build a Robot Army has a bit of an ominous feel to it. ;-)

>146 Ape: - You haven't seen the movie I, Robot? I would be a little ticked off about the spoilers, too. It's a great movie.

The book cover actually looks really cool in person. The white parts (the robot and the planes) are super reflective silver, so it actually does look very robotic. :P

I have seen I, Robot actually. In fact, I'm kind of a big fan of Will Smith's acting, but I have seen The Matrix...which is probably even more shocking...and now I know how it ends. *Grumbles*

>146 Ape: Ah, so I bit like the nanites episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (she said, knowing that likelihood Stephen has seen said episode is very low).

>148 Ape: I've seen the Matrix and can't remember how it ends. I just remember that they got increasingly weird and not as good.

I've only seen a bits and pieces of 1 Star Trek episode ever, and all I can say is that it involved a pet cat.

>150 Ape:: Is it weird that I know exactly what episodes you are likely referring to and could probably narrow it down specifically if you had any more details from the cat scene...? *wears nerd badge proudly*

>146 Ape:: Ugh, I just saw that the robot book had spoilers for movies... okay, maybe I'll keep it off the list. That's annoying!

151: One dude was talking about how cool cats are and the other was disagreeing.

152: Fortunately, they are all contained on 1 page. It's a page that is headed "Last-ditch methods for oblitering all robots" and lists how robots were dealt with in The Matrix, Terminator, Star Wars, and I, Robot.

It's also on the VERY LAST PAGE, before the "debriefing" summary.

I finished How to Build a Robot army yesterday, but I am right now about to head to the library, where I'm going to pick up a new video game to play (and drop off these robot books), so I'll probably be busy playing that when I get home. I also have lawn work to do, and don't know if I'll get to it tonight...so...perhaps there will be a review tomorrow! :P

Have you read Wilson's Robopocalypse? I liked it quite a bit. I have the next one on my pile to be read.

>151 dk_phoenix: I'm thinking it's probably the episode where Data gets Spot. What do you think, Faith?

>154 Ape: Yay for library visits! The downside to working in a library is that you lose some of the thrill around weekly trips to the library. It's just a trip to work. Of course, the bright side is when something you've placed on hold comes in, you can pick it up that day, whatever day it is. :)

Waves hello! (In a silvery, jerky, robotic fashion, of course.)

Dee: I haven't read it, but I also have it on my list. I hear good things about it, and the author is obviously very knowledgeable about robotics (as I've discovered through these other 2 books) so I'm more interested than ever now...even though these books were just okay.

Micky: Yeah, that would be the only downside of getting hired there...not that I have to worry about that, it seems... You can always be weird and use your days off to visit OTHER libraries, though! :P

*Waves back to BerlyBot-7000*

31. How to Build Robot Army: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Alien Invaders, Ninjas, and Zombies by Daniel H. Wilson



Pages: 176
Rating: 3/5

Nonfiction - Robots/Humor
Library checkout

Robots are doing wonderful things in the world right now. They can replace limbs of amputees, perform surgery, and even vacuum your floor...kind of. This is all fine and good, but at some point we have to start addressing the serious problems. Like aliens, zombies, and pirates!

How to Build a Robot Army is a guide that teaches you how to do just that, and just like How to Survive a Robot Uprising it falls a little short of my expectations. The issue with both books is that Daniel Wilson is that they want to be humorous, but the author is actually very knowledgeable about the subject and offers lots of technical information about modern robotics. I actually appreciate this greatly, and would be happy to read a serious nonfiction book on the subject, but in this case it drags down an otherwise lighthearted read. The result is something that is too dry to stand up to other books in the humor section and too casual to be taken seriously as a robotics nonfiction.

The best section was towards the end, the Robots Vs. The Universe section, in which the author actually imagines how different kinds of robots could combat different types of invaders. The feeling evoked by this section is what I was expecting the whole time, but unfortunately it's contained to only a couple dozen pages.

All this robot talk is making me think of "Lost in Space", one of my favorite TV shows as a kid. So in the monotone voice of the robot, N-I-C-E R-E-V-I-E-W S-T-E-P-H-E-N R-O-B-I-N-S-O-N!!

>158 Ape: Yeah, I'm not going to do that. :P

Kim: Thanks! Also, I've never seen the show, so I have no idea if you have my last name wrong or if that's just a reference to the show. :P

Micky: *Sigh* That's what she said?

>162 Ape: The kid's name was Will Robinson. Good guess!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG0ochx16Dg

Alas, I am still on dial-up, my dear. So I can't watch that.

Although I can watch videos at my mom's house, and I must say I was quite embarrassed the other day when I nearly died of asphyxiation whilst laughing hysterically at a video game guide I was watching. I'm currently playing a game that is a puzzle/platformer, that involves getting a motorcyclist through a series of obstacles in order to finish the levels. You see these types of games free on smartphones from time to time (I have 2 of them on my phone)

Anyway, the game was really fun, however, after beating the game you unlock a category of "extreme" challenges, and these are so freaking hard it's unbelievable. I can't even get past the first obstacle! Argh! So if you want to have any idea what my emotional state has been over the last couple of days, just listen to this guy.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aqizn27V1Ng
Note: Does the link work? I notice it has an M in it at the beginning and that may be because I was on the mobile version of the site. Presumably you would just have to remove that if it DOESN'T work, like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqizn27V1Ng

Perhaps you have to experience it yourself to understand just how motherf@#%ing infuriating it is, but I must say, I respect the guy for not losing his cool nearly as much as I do when I try to play that level.

>162 Ape: Yes, it was what I said. Do you need your hearing checked? ;)

Well, if you think it'll help me read your posts better... :p

32. Stitches by David Small



Pages: 322
Rating: 4/5

Nonfiction: Graphic Memoir
Library checkout

David Small grew up in a home where emotions were buried and problems were swept under the rug. You just didn't discuss things in his family, even if that thing is vitally important to your well-being. Such is the premise of this novel, in which he describes a neck surgery he had when he was young and how not all the details involved with it were told to him by his own parents.

Stitches is another great Graphic Memoir and if you like the genre you'll probably like this one too. The art is simplistic but colored in beautifully, and there isn't a lot of text on the pages so it goes by very quickly. The story is nice, particularly in the beginning, although I do think it could have used a bit more definition towards the end. It ends somewhat abruptly, which doesn't kill the book necessarily, but it definitely would have been better if we had learned about David's adult life and how he came to terms with his past.

Nevertheless, it's another nice entry in the Graphic Memoir category.

>166 Ape: I don't think you have a problem with that. Unless I put attractive men in them. :P

Um, yes, right. *Nods*

And now, a monthly summary!

July Summary:

Books: 6
Pages: 1,565

Fiction: 1
Nonfiction: 5

Owned: 1
Library checkout: 5

SIX books this month?? What an over-achiever.

No kidding. I only managed three. :P

Yes, but it was all due to cheating. 2 graphic novels, and two 176-pagers with tons of pictures and very little text per page. :P

And because I feel like it, I'm going to start doing a monthly video game summary.

July Summary

Games: 3

Owned: 0
Library checkout: 2
Borrowed: 1

Playstation Vita: 1
Playstation 3: 1
Playstation 4: 1

33. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness



Pages: 207
Rating: 5/5

Fiction
Library checkout

Conor O'Malley is a 13-year-old boy with a lot of weight on his shoulders. His mom is terribly ill and always very tired, so he basically takes care of himself. It's tough though, he is haunted by a terrible nightmare every night, and daylight brings little more than a sense of impending doom. Things are so bad that when one night a yew tree comes to life and threatens him with a dark and menacing voice, he isn't afraid in the slightest. It's just a dream after all, and he's been dealing with scarier things anyway. But when he wakes up and finds his floor strewn with yew tree leaves, he begins to question what is real and what isn't, which is just another thing he has to worry about.

A Monster Calls doesn't hide the fact that it's going to be heartbreaking in the end. It makes it pretty clear from the beginning that it will rip your heart out and gleefully stomp on it before your eyes. Being the glutton for punishment that I am, I dove in with reckless abandon, and certainly wasn't disappointed. I loved it. Oh, don't get me wrong, I think the author is an evil nefarious monster himself, but it's a beautifully written story teeming with emotion, and I can appreciate that.

Let's hope my next read is happier, though.

I thought I had read this one, but no. That probably means it is somewhere in my TBR Tower and I really should try to find it. Nice review.

The reviews for A Monster Calls have been nudging me towards it but they all mention, as yours does, about the emotional impact of the story. I must remember to read it when I have a box of Kleenex at hand and no plans to be out and about.

Kim: It's a good one, and definitely worth searching for.

Lori: That would be my advice, yes. :)

Yeah, that one has been on my radar, but I have not yet gotten up the courage for the emotional beating it's sure to administer.

If we ever get a chance to meetup again you can save it until then, and I'll totally give you a hug. It, of course, will do NOTHING to make you feel better, because the book really is that depressing. :P

A side note, although the book is listed as horror on the cover and does have creepy art, there is nothing horror-y about it at all, so that's one thing you don't have to worry about at least.

>174 Ape: That one is already on my list, but I may have to move it up a bit...

Hurray! I think. I feel partially responsible for making multiple LTers miserable. :P

You are directly responsible and should feel awful....................ly good about it!

>174 Ape: Hi Stephen. I heard you read a YA book; is that the one? I'm with most people on this; nice review, and I'm almost tempted - except for the part about breaking my heart. I like my 'happily ever after' endings. See, this is why I read mainly Fantasy.

Kim: Maybe you are right. Maybe I should forget about the feeling of others and take advantage of this. Hmmmm...aha! I got it!

*Makes a big giant sign encouraging all the ladies reading my thread to read sad books, then sets up a "Free Hugs" booth underneath it.*

Bwahahaha. :P

Humouress: Understandable! I'm twisted though, happy books can really get me down sometimes, and sad books have been known to lift me up a bit. It's not that sad books make me happy, they are certainly emotionally draining, but they also put my own little problems in perspective.

>184 Ape: I see you haven't lost your dastardly tendencies. :P

NEVER!

So, my sister needed to do some birthday shopping for her boyfriend and needed me to driver her around. At one point she wanted to stop in to Dollar Tree, and OF COURSE I couldn't leave without an armful of books. *Sigh*

Here is what I came home with today, for about $3.20

The Pack by Jason Starr
The Legions of Fire by David Drake
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

Ooooo. New books! :)

>187 Ape: - There is reward in chauffeuring your sister around while she shops! ;-)

On Stranger Tides! You should read that one.

Rachel: Yep, that pretty much sums up my feelings as well. :P

Lori: Haha, yes. I'd probably be more motivated to do ~anything~ if books were involved.

Nora: Well, I bought it, so I certainly plan to...eventually. My TBR pile is currently sitting at...172 books. And the most of my own books I've ever read in a single year was 30 books. This is not good.

Edit: I just realized On Stranger Tides was published in November of 1987. Had it been published a 2 months later it would fit my birth year challenge! :(

New books = woohoo!!

>190 norabelle414: hahahahaha 172 books. That's adorable. I want to squish your tiny book piles' little cheeks.

Amber: Agreed!

Nora: Haha, hey, you have to admit, it's a lot of books for an unemployed man with no income. :P

A Monster Calls looks seriously good. I'll have to look for that one. Btw, thumbed ya! :)

Nice Dollar Tree haul! The Pack's one I'd buy, too.

>191 Ape: Oh; I thought On Stranger Tides was the book of the film. I hadn't realised there were books that came so long before the films, because I hadn't heard of Pirates of the Caribbean before the films came out.

Sara: Yeah, you should totally check your library for A Monster Calls. It's a good one! :)

Humouress: I've never seen the Pirates of the Caribbean, so I didn't make the connection until I got home. The book was published in the 80's, and apparently the Pirates of the Caribbean film with the same name is based on the book...but I don't know if the whole series is based on the book or just that particular movie.

Only the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean movie is based on a book. Though I love the first three PotC movies (especially the first!), I haven't seen the 4th because I heard it was neither as good as the previous movies nor faithful to the book it was based on.

Ah, interesting! In all likelihood, I probably still won't watch any of them. :P

>199 Ape: You're missing out. The first one is a seriously, seriously effing good movie. I still watch it on the regular.

>193 norabelle414: Hehe, I love this comment.

My owned-but-unread pile seems to be at 901, and I'm not even sure I've catalogued all my new additions from the past couple of months. I may have a problem.

If I'm not mistaken, there are LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean games. I'll play those instead. :P

Zoe: Haha, it's an awesome problem to have though, in my opinion. :)

#197: Hey, what do ya know? We actually have A Monster Calls! I just put it on hold, but I can't promise I'll read all of it. (fingers crossed it'll arrive sometime this year ;)

Sara: Yay! Inflicting misery and pain on others is so much fun! I'm totally starting to understand Hitler now. I hope you enjoy the book. *Evil grin*

:D Yes, inflicting misery and pain on others is awesome. You should definitely hone your new talent. But wait. Wasn't Hitler the one who liked burning books, among other less-desirable things? :P

Wait, are you saying the other things he did were less-desirable or that the other things he burned were less-desirable? Hahaha, because, ummmm, well, that really changes the dynamics of that sentence. :P

>197 Ape: >199 Ape: >200 norabelle414: >202 Ape: Watch (at least) the (first) film. It's so much fun; I think you'll like it.

Oh man! *snort/laugh/mock serious adult face* Bad, bad Stephen. I'm so not touching on that topic. And I probably should rewrite that sentence, but you know what I meant. Anywho, quickly! Change the subject! Donkeys kill more people than plane crashes. It's totally true, I swear.

Ancient Egyptians shaved off their eyebrows to mourn the deaths of their cats. (I might actually do this....)

Ok, I need to get off this site and get back to work.

Stumble my way in here to see it's random fact time! As seen on my FB wall today: more people die from cows than sharks each year. Cannot vouch for accuracy, but seems legit to me (as cows are waaaaay easier to come across without that whole ocean thing).

Humouress: Right, I'll get right on that... (Did that sound convincing?)

Sara/Katie: Considering how few people are ever actually killed by sharks, I'm not surprised that either of those are true. Do people ever die of shark attacks? I know it's major news if someone gets nibbled, but I rarely here of people actually being killed by them. Then again, shark attacks aren't really an issue in Ohio. :P

Not sure, as shark attacks aren't a hot topic in Minnesota either. Though, rumor is, a lot of popular (read: Discovery Channel) shark information is lies. BTW, I think you'd really like that website, I F***ing Love Science, if you haven't been there yet.

I'm trying to load the site but it isn't working too well. Yes, I'm STILL on dial-up. :(

>213 Ape: It's not just you.

>213 Ape: >214 norabelle414: They haven't got a handle on the technology side yet?

ETA or just too far ahead of the rest of us?

214: Good! Or, errr, I mean, that's too bad. Or something. :)

Humouress: Like a genius that can't tie their shoes, I'm going to go with the former.

I finished a book! Yesterday. I'll try to write a review later today.

I'm going to take a break from reading today, because tomorrow I'm going to the library to pick up my 1988 book of the month (The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip) and I want to start that immediately. :)

And by "I'll write a review later today" I mean...ummm...today. I mean it this time. ;)

34. Sand and Fire by Tom Young



Pages: 371
Rating: 3/5

Military Fiction
Owned (Early Reviewers copy)

Gunnery Sergeant A. E. Blount is finally retiring from the military, after a long career in the marines he has realized it is finally time to return home to his family and take care of things on the home front. On his last day he witnesses a horrendous chemical attack outside of his military base in Sicily, a nerve gas bomb explodes and kills several innocent civilians and off-duty military personnel. At first he goes against his lifelong instincts and tries to ignore it, letting the person who will take his place worry about, but when there is another chemical attack in Gibraltar he is drawn back in, and against his wife's wishes he rejoins the marines to take down whoever is committing this horrible crimes.

Modern military fiction isn't generally my thing, but I enjoyed Sand and Fire well enough. It was noticeably slow-going in the beginning, but it does pick up a bit after particular events involving Blount himself. Unfortunately, even after the book started getting interesting, I still found it a bit of a slog when reading chapters not involving him. I know the other characters (Gold and Parson) are the main characters in the series, but in this book they take a back seat to the action and their chapters were pretty tedious for me, personally.

Speaking of the series as a whole, I've read the first book in this series, but not the following 3. I didn't find it necessary to read the others, the story stands on its own and isn't a direct continuation of the previous ones, but it does refer to past events a LOT, including the ending of the earlier books, so if you do have any plan to read the previous books be sure to do that first.

Sand and Fire was alright, although I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a fan of the genre.

Nice review.

But there's a photo of a person on the cover. Wasn't it you who said (sometime last year?) that you'd have to be dragged to it kicking and screaming before you'd read a book with a photo of a person on it? Admittedly, you can't see their face.

This was an Early Reviewer book, so I had no choice!

I know what you are thinking, "but didn't you request the book?" Well, I'm convinced that at least half the books I win are ones I didn't request. :P

#210-212: Now I'm curious whether the cows kill the people by trampling them or eating them. The sick veganist in me would like to think it's the latter. ;P

Yay for Stephen! He read a book! (throws glue and glitter on him)

I think I've mentioned the vegan death metal band Catttle Decapitation in the past, who were originally made up entirely of vegetarians and continue to write songs in favor of animal rights and liberation...and in regard to cattle killing and eating people, you may appreciate the album art for "Karma Bloody Karma"



There is another one involving a cow...errrr, shall we say..."digesting" a human it had eaten sometime in the past...but I think I'll avoid posting that one on my thread. :P

>221 saraslibrary: My guess would be a fair number of cow assisted vehicular deaths as well.

Now all I can picture is cows running down people in the street behind the wheel of large trucks. With spikes.

That should be a video game.

#222: LOL! You might have, but I don't remember. I'm listening to them right now at work. (Bless you, YouTube.) I think I might need to find some written lyrics to the songs, though. Enunciate, they do not. ;) Not so bad so far. Thanks, Stephen! :)

#223-224: Stephen, that's where my brain went, too. But if you're speeding in a little Geo or something, I could totally see them damaging some human bodies.

Sara: I only have Karma Bloody Karma and I'm actually not a huge fan of their music. Too noisy for me. :P But I appreciate the message!

In some rather unfortunate news, over the weekend my sister took my PS3 to her boyfriend's house to have it updated and to download some games, since I am incapable of doing so on my slow internet connection. His house was broken into, however, and one of the things stolen was my console. :(

I still have my PS4, but unfortunately despite having owned it for several months I still don't actually own a game for it. I'm currently playing my sister's copy of The Last of Us on it, and after that I can still replay LEGO The Hobbit a 2nd time so I can get 100 percent, but after that...well, let's just say my reading numbers will probably improve.

That sucks! Does he have insurance?

Oh, no! That's awful! I'm so sorry. I don't suppose he had insurance to cover it?

I promise I'm not a stalker, but I just happened to notice that it's your Thingaversary today! Happy 6th, Stephen!

Ooh, Happy Thingaversary! And I'm sorry about the PS3 :(

Happy Thingaversary! Sorry you lost your console; any chance you can play some of your PS3 games on the PS4?

Happy Thingaversary, Stephen.

Jeesh, sorry to hear about the console.

Happy Thingaversary!

Boo to the theft. And double boo to no backwards compatibility. I hope the cops or insurance are able to recover/replace it! If not, maybe you could find a used one cheap or sell your PS3 games to fund new PS4 games?

Thanks everyone. I didn't even realize it was my Thingaversary! I just bought 3 books, so I guess I have to buy 3 more, huh? :P

Insurance should cover the console, although the police officer who responded to the theft said they are valued at $150. Which isn't exactly true, as it'll cost $250-$300 to buy a new one.

The console is replaceable though, what really irks me is the hundreds of hours I had in saved games. It's like placing a value on a piece of art by adding up the totals of the raw materials. Sure, the console was a few hundred dollars, but what about the 100+ hours I had in the Elder Scrolls games? What about my Minecraft creations, and the games I'll have to replay multiple times over again if I want the Platinum trophy? That's the worst part, as there is no way to ever get that stuff back.

Unfortunately, the Playstation 4 is not backwards compatible, as Katie mentioned, so I cannot play my Playstation 3 games on it.

The Fairfield County library system (that's the BIG one with the online request option) has Playstation 4 games in their catalogue, so I'll try to request and play those, but there will be huge gaps in between times I'll be able to play. It's better than nothing though.

229, Nora: You're not a stalker? Awwww. *Pouts*

Wait, PS trophies don't automatically save to your account? I mean, I would assume it wouldn't be up to date w/the lack of internet, but shouldn't you at least have what you had during your last internet connection? I can click into it with that widgety thing in the top post, so hopefully that means you don't have to start from scratch?

You could maybe get free games through PSN. I'm not sure how their system works for that, but with Xbox there are lots of free demos and some free games for diff accounts -- but there's usually a loophole with the trial memberships. Just maybe not leave the console there next time?

Katie: My trophies have saved, yes, althogh I was halfway through Ratchet and Clank 3 and never got to sync them before it was stolen, so I did lose a few. With the Playstation, the trophies save to your console, and then you have to go to your trophy list on your console and "sync" them with the server for them to save online. But what I'm talking about is my actual save game files. Sony does allow you to upload your save files to their servers, but you have to pay for that. (It's free to have PSN account with all the online features but you have to pay for file storage.) So, for example, the 100+ hours I had in Skyrim are gone. If I get a new PS3 I can Sync my trophy list with the server and I will have all the trophies I earned, but the 100+ hours of gameplay are gone and I'll have to start the game over from scratch. The same is true with Minecraft, which sucks, because I was so proud of the town I was building in it, and I was doing it in Survival mode! *Sigh*

The PS4 doesn't have a lot of free games right now, and the ones that do exist are online games. The PS3 had a larger selection of games but, of course, those don't do me a lot of good without the console.

As for leaving the console at his house, my sister would take it with her on Friday's and bring it back Saturday night, and we did this a few times a year at the most. It just so happened that the 1 day it was there was the 1 day they got broken into.

I was just looking at the games the BIG library has to offer. Looks like my only choice right now is Call of Duty. Ugh! I don't think I'm that desperate. I think I'll put myself on the waiting list for Wolfenstein instead. Maybe I'll get to play it next month sometime.

That seriously sucks about your console being stolen, Stephen! :/ Want me to break some legs? Or just wish you a Happy Thingaversary? (The latter might save me some jail time. ;)

You can break some legs as a Thingaversary present! :D

Yay! You made me the happiest person ever! (runs out and breaks some legs, hopefully the ones belonging to the guys who stole your console)

Oh, and here:



I figured you wouldn't want to eat a real human broken leg. ;) Happy Thingy!!

That cookie's head seems oddly skeletal to me...

35. The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip



Pages: 138
Rating: 4/5

Fantasy
Library checkout

~~~Birth Year Challenge book for August~~~

Peri has a troubled relationship with the sea. Though she lives on a small island that relies on it, her father was mysteriously swept away by it, the only remnants of his existence his fishing boat that washed ashore without him. Her mother now stands transfixed by the water, always staring out at the water with empty eyes no matter what time of day it is. In a fit of frustration she haphazardly hexes the sea, cursing its existence and demanding it's magic to unravel.

And the next day, everything would change for her and the fishing community she is a part of.

This is a book I probably would have never read had I not been reading books published in the year I was born this year, but I'm very glad I did. It's a wonderful story, despite the fact that it is so filled with traditional fantasy tropes and the plot is one that doesn't usually appeal to me. I found Peri's loneliness relatable, and though I've read numerous books where the sea feels like a character of its own, in The Changeling Sea it really has a life of its own.

There is something about a simple, well-written fairy tale that is unlike anything else in the realm of literature, and Patricia McKillip is obviously skilled at it. This is the 2nd book I've read by her and I've loved them both, and will definitely continue reading through her work in the future.

Sorry to hear about the theft of your console and that I missed your thingaversary, Stephen. I hate the whole not backwards compatible thing. I am starting to think about the whole live on a island thing and eschewing technology.... oh, wait. I already live on an island. Hum. I don't think I am quite ready to 'live off the grid' and give up technology. I would miss all the shenanigans that go on on your thread... and Sara's thread.... Damn technology!

>35 Ape: - Oh, that looks good!

Hi Lori! Thanks!

The backwards compatibility thing is kind of weird. Sony (and Microsoft) say they can't make their consoles backwards compatible because it's like converting from VHS tapes to DVDs. Cynical gamers say they just don't want new consoles so people have to buy older consoles if their current ones breakdown (case and point, what I'm going through now.)

Personally, I can't fault the game companies if the latter is true. The video game industry is in a weird place right now, where there are more gamers than ever before and certain games are breaking records for making obscene amounts of money, whereas many other companies are on shaky ground and dropping like flies.

I blame the price of games, personally. Everyone buys their games used at Gamestop or Amazon because NOBODY wants to pay $60 for a single game. Seriously. It's stupidly expensive, and I question Sony and Microsoft's intelligence if they really can't figure out why they aren't selling many new games. *Rolls eyes*

Sorry, I'm rambling. Anyway, I'm kind of a big fan of tehcnology, myself! :)

Ramble away! I was bemoaning issues I was having with my iPod Touch and downloading audiobooks to it through my local library system's agreement with an online service called "Hoopla". The take away of my days of frustration trying to listen to an audiobook I had downloaded was that Hoopla has decided that the only iPod Touch they support - as a device - is the current iPod Touch 5th generation. My 4th generation iPod, purchased only 2 years ago, is already considered 'obsolete in our lovely technology world'. *le sigh* ;-0

Haha, a 4th generation iPod? Yeah, that is SO 2 years ago! :P

You do have to spend a ton of money to keep up with that stuff though, don't you? The good thing about video game consoles is they tend to last a good 6-10 years before a new generation is released.

Although this current generation of video game consoles may be a short lived one, since we now have 4k televisions and the current generation won't be able to display visuals of that quality. People will be clammering for 4k-quality video games once we all have the prices of those TVs start to drop, I'm sure. :o

I've always thought the loss of backwards compatibility is silly. We had a PS1 and one of the biggest reasons we got a PS2 was because we could still play our games on it. I nabbed a 360 because there were a couple exclusive titles I was interested in AND a bunch of original Xbox titles I wanted to try. I think it helps build loyalty, and definitely is easier for new buyers to step in if they can find relatively cheaper/older games to offset the enormous cost of the console.

But then again, that loss and cost (along with uninteresting console titles) are why most of my newly-gotten games have been on PC through Steam sales. . . .

#241: (bites off head) There. No more creepy skeleton head for Stephen. :)

#242: Wow! Kudos on reading a YA chick book! ;) I'd actually read that one, too, so I'm glad you liked it.

#243: We could all just move to your little island. :) That way you wouldn't miss out on anything. Wouldn't that be super creepy fun?

#244: I like technology, too. I'm just too poor to keep up with it.

Katie: It seems like a silly comparison, but it reminds me of those restaurants you see on Kitchen Nightmares (with Gordon Ramsey). The harder they try to stay in business, the more they screw themselves.

Steam seems pretty awesome, but regarding loyalty, Sony has me by the balls with that damn trophy system. :P

Sara: Micky yells at me for applying genders to books, y'know. But you're right, it was totally girly. And awesome. ;)

In other news, I've been dealing with a pretty severe tootache over the last few days. Yeah, like I really need more crap in my life. I'm not convinced it's infected yet, but it doesn't seem to be going away, so I'm going to have to convince myself soon. Perhaps tomorrow. *Grumbles*

In other other news, it's time for a new thread, so let me get on that now.