traceria

This discussion is a little too technical for me to really dig into while at work, but I'd like to throw out a thought about Dresden. He doesn't always adversely affect technology, but he often goes out of his way to screw it up. Similarly, he quite regularly uses guns, and there are all sorts of supernatural creatures (some of which use magic themselves and others of which you'd think would be just as likely to screw up technology because of their supernaturalness) that use tech without a hitch, like the White Court vampires, for instance. Thomas always seems to have a recent model car, for example, and his presence isn't screwing up the car's computer at all. As to talk of gunpowder, it works just fine around everyone in Dresden. And there's one other series that comes to mind that may be on topic: There's a young adult series called the Frontier Magic Series by Patricia C. Wrede. In that series most people have some degree of magical ability, but there are some who don't have any. There is also a group of people who shun the use of magic (either for ideological reasons or because they themselves aren't able to use it). That particular group ends up developing strategies and ways of doing things that magically capable people can do with magic, only their way doesn't need magic. In this series, it's less that magically capable people shun technology and more that the people who want to develop and use technology (it's kind of set in pioneer times, so I use that term loosely) don't want magic to have anything to do with it. But magic user and non-magic people alike ALL carry and use firearms.

Yeah, Tien's..., that's been my second- and first-hand experience as well. Everyone is reading one book at the same time, and you discuss. The wine would make it tempting. And the snacks. There will be snacks, there will.* *Shameless Andrew Bird lyric quoting

I tried going to a book club through a church we attended (for a short period of time) and the books chosen were at least fictional but were the Christian book version of a romance/drama. *sigh * Every time I've heard people mention book clubs in real life (an old coworker of mine used to be in one) and I ask what they're reading, it's never ANYTHING like I'd want to read. If you do check out a local meeting sometime, I give you major credit in the bravery and daring department! If you were able to convert them all into Sanderfans, that would be totally awesome, too. Also, if you can possibly find a site that will show you all of episode 10 of season 1 of Corner Gas, there's a funny book club thing that runs throughout.

Shivertongue, despite the 15 upvotes you already had (when I read it) for that glorious post, I gave you another anyway! XD I also was crying from laughter! Edit to add: I'd also vote anime (heck yeah to Studio G!) before TV series. Or, honestly, if it were to be given the proper attention and length of screen time, I would totally go see multiple installments as theatrical films (and buy all the various length cuts as they released just as I did with LotR).

That's a great story! Sadly, we've had the opposite kind of experience. Both my husband and I read more than most of our close friends, so we're constantly foisting copies of books or just recommendations off on people. Most likely the only person we know who has also read Brandon without us suggesting him is a guy my husband went to college with, who lives in another time zone and is often not quick to speak up about such things. We'd probably have to ask him. I'd put money on it that he'd be like, "Oh, yeah, I've read all his books." Now I want to find out...

Liking the red head love over here! My husband is a ginger, too, and all my celebrity girl crushes (I can say that as a woman and yet still be heterosexual) are all red heads, too, so I get you guys. Anyway, do people not listen to ALBUMS anymore? I'm an album person. I'm sitting here wracking my brain to chose only one song, and I just can't do it! Also, there are way too many good artists/bands out there to just pick one. I'm just going to break the rules of this thread, too (just like the top five fantasy series thread in which I listed 11). Top Artists/Bands in no particular order with suggested first/second album listen: Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs or Noble Beast The Decemberists - The Crane Wife or The Hazards of Love Radiohead - OK Computer (as mentioned by Grey Pilgrim) The Beatles - My fav. is probably Revolver, but sometimes that changes from day to day Mumford & Sons - They only have two. Go listen to both now. Muse - The Resistance (though it's so hard to chose just one) The Strokes - Room on Fire (also a tough one) Sujfan Stevens - Seven Swans or Illinois I've also been on a Hepcat kick lately.

Probably to own and live on a tropical island. I'd ask without giving it terribly much thought, so the island would probably be completely overrun by beasts, bugs, arachnids, and other unpleasant things, not to mention the fact that getting there would probably mean I'd gotten stranded. No supplies, no sunscreen, nada. XD And man, do I burn easily!

Shoo! Thanks Erai for mentioning Lord of the Rings! I was getting worried! (Still need to read Children of Hurin, but at least I've read the Silmarillion multiple times!) I'm going to leave any Sanderson books out of my list because they're kind of givens. This is REALLY tough. I'm hereby extending my list to number ten. 1) Lord of the Rings 2) Chronicles of Narnia 3) Dresden Files 4) Kingkiller Chronicles 5) Raven's Shadow 6) Harry Potter (I have such a soft spot for this series) 7) The Dark Lord of Derkholm & sequel, Year of the Griffin 8) The Dalemark Quartet 9) Chrestomanci 10) The Prydain Chronicles Lots of YA fantasy on that list, but I guarantee you it's the good kind. Honorable Mention: The Belgariad/Mallorean

Also, the lack of ability to comment on the review is probably because there is a very active forum community over there already. If anyone wanted to comment on the review, it would end up in the appropriate section of the forums.

What I'm wondering is what would a Brandon Sanderson pony have as his cutie mark? Would it be the Shardpen then?

Ponyo was so...weird. I think you had to be really young to enjoy that, like, young enough you haven't started school. The strange thing is that Totoro is for the same age audience, yet watching it as an adult is really quite enjoyable! Go figure! I think the only Miyazaki films I haven't seen are the from his early years (like Lupin) or ones where he was only the producer. The first film I ever saw was Spirited Away, and I was hooked. My husband doesn't dislike that one, but it's definitely too weird for him on most days. For me, I love it. But my all time favorite is Castle in the Sky! That being said, when Howl's Moving Castle came out, I went with friends to see it a couple times while it was in the theaters. The first viewing, though, after the credits started to roll, I asked, "Can they start it over the beginning?" I so badly wanted to watch it again right then and there! I have that film to thank for my Diana Wynne Jones fanaticism, too. If it weren't for HMC, I would never have read anything by her, and now I'll devour anything I can get my hands on.

I'm a fan of Russia big time! Sometimes I'll play England if we're playing a map with more water. Video/computer games for me are still a relatively new hobby. I do well with adventure games, but if it's a platform game or some other thing that involves a lot of jumping or shooting, I'm so terrible I can't play or I'd never make progress of any variety. That said, my husband figured out I could play RP games with combat if it was turn based. So now I've been playing my way through Xenosaga on a used PS2. I'm really close to finishing the second of the three games. On PC, I've found some fun adventure/puzzle/indie games like Broken Age, Machinarium, Botanicula, Antichamber and have played one of the old Zork games all the way through in recent months. I really want to replay part 1 of Broken Age again before the second part comes out. Also, I REALLY wish another Portal was in the works. That's one of the few games that involves shooting and jumping that I could manage.

While I also prefer a show more like the original Stargate (and Atlantis), I was really pleased with the rebooted BSG. (I've actually never seen the original, though a friend has loaned me the DVDs to watch sometime.) Anyhow, we watched BSG not terribly long after Lost ended, and we were really, really looking for a show that was interesting and that someone with similar taste could guarantee us had a satisfying ending. We borrowed or bought the DVDs and eventually made it to the end and were not disappointed. I know not everyone loved the ending, but I guess I'm one of those people who loves an end that's just a beginning.

EMTrevor, really enjoyed your use of bolding in that review of the review of....eh...you know what I mean. For those who've mentioned reading OSC's reviews in the past, I agree that at the heart of it this was a very positive review from him. A VERY positive review. I'll often check to see what he has to say about movies that come out and all, too, because he's very blunt and often has a perspective I appreciate in regard to the art of film or writing. I think it's like EMTrevor alluded to: By mentioning WoT and ASoIaF, a person reading the review who doesn't know any better might accidentally associate SA with those two long series and the even longer waits between books. It would be a shame to lose readership because of an accidental yet inappropriate association. More than anything, I've come to realize how much greater of a Brandon Sanderson fan I've become than of Mr. Card's writing (still a fan, though), and perhaps that's what is at the root of my defensive thoughts while reading a few points in the review. *shrug *

Just picking up on this page, but I see some good ones have been mentioned! Here's my list of favorites in no particular order: Last Exile Full Metal Alchemist (original series and Brotherhood) Cowboy Bebop Samurai Champloo Naruto Various Gundams (though it's been awhile since I've been one, so I might feel differently about them now) Rurouni Kenshin (Yes!!!) Outlaw Star Neon Genesis Evangelion (the new movie is amazing...we still don't have any of the others and I'm not entirely sure they've been released in the US anyway) Kino's Journey Ghost in the Shell Trigun Almost anything Miyazaki was involved with

Terisen, I think I actually missed the Mistborn review. After reading Elantris, I just naturally segued to it without needing Card's push. Huh! Now I want to go find it... lyht, I hear you. Please, Domi, Stormfather or whatever diety we need to petition, let nothing happen! Besides which, it would be a real tragedy with all writing considerations aside.

I hate phones, too. I hate them so much that after reading an article about telephone phobia I pretty much decided that if I didn't have an actual fear, I at least had the milder version (apprehension). I will make calls if I absolutely have to, but I'll exhaust every other form of communication first and will likely even then put off calling someone back. Sometimes it will be weeks. Anyway, the sole reason I have a smart phone (iPhone 4s) is because I can use it for everything else besides phone calls. I love email, and I use it for listening to audiobooks every day during my commute. The maps feature (now that it works again) has gotten me out of a few trouble driving spots thanks to impromptu accidents requiring detours. I also have some puzzle games on there I really like that help me chill for a few minutes during lunch or while I'm waiting for dinner to finish cooking in the evening. Neither my husband nor I have any kind of tablet, so our iPhones are the fill in for any app we might want to use. It's also really handy if you want to look up something real quick (like cooking times for a George Forman grill) while the regular computer is off and also upstairs and not very convenient. I keep my iPod separate because I have way too much music. So much music that only a fraction of what is on my computer at home can actually fit on it, so I often have to switch out things as my mood changes.

I thought it funny how he mentioned that, too. I've posted over on the forums there about SA and Brandon's other books, and after being on this site, where my knowledge often feels only average compared to other posters, I instead seemed to be one of the few posters there that knew a lot about Brandon's works in general. Perhaps that is just bleeding through to Card's own late coming to this knowledge! It was generally a really good review. Agreed! OSC is actually the reason I ever picked up Elantris, the first Sanderson book I ever read. He did a review of it not terribly long after it came out. (Edit to clarify.)

Some authors to start with: Patrick Rothfuss Anthony Ryan Jim Butcher Neil Gaiman For YA: Diana Wynne Jones is a total favorite of mine. Patricia C. Wrede is also great. (edit to correct spelling)

I can't say I've ever had music ruined from reading a book at the same time or vice versa, but years ago I read this Harry Potter fanfic (yeah, I'll admit to it) that would include snippets of song lyrics from some Radiohead songs on The Bends album. (The fanfic author would start off a chapter with those because they fit with the mood.) To this day, I associate Radiohead's The Bends with Harry Potter, even though the story was set in the time of Lily, James and the Marauder's time at Hogwarts and not at all in the time period of the series itself. I tend to either read with music on (at work), the television on (at home) or with total quiet. But then, I do a LOT of things with music on, mostly at work. I'm the sort of person that can have it on in the background and it actually helps me to focus. If anything, I associate music more with seasons. There are definitely albums I've got that are "Summer" listening and others that are for colder times. I think that has more to do with when they came out or when I bought them. Nothing to do with reading a book, but still a weird association!

Aang's bowstaff/glider doesn't have a chance against Syl. Sorry, Aang!

Here's the link to the review. I don't always keep up with OSC's reviews these days, and often times I'll only read the ones that include something that interests me in the topic. Such was the case today when I wandered onto Mr. Card's site. Can you tell I'm a Sanderfan because I was getting a little defensive when reading things like, "And to Brandon Sanderson, I must offer a personal note: Write down or record all your plans for the whole series -- key events you foresee, the probably fate of the important characters, and solutions to the main mysteries about the past and the present which the characters -- and the readers -- are eagerly hoping to resolve."? Those of us on this forum and who try to keep up to date on Brandon's writing and so forth, we know he's got this under control. I don't for the slightest moment feel my faith is unfounded here. I know things can happen we can't control, but of all the writer's to make this request to, Brandon Sanderson seems like the last one who would need it. Anyhow, any other thoughts on the review?

Upvote for the obvious reason and also because your one family member remembers his name (from repeated mentioning, I can imagine)!

When you dream about symbol-heads. Yeah, that happened.

It got too personal for me when I saw how he treated his younger son. If I didn't love Faramir so much, I probably could look at this a bit more objectively.