Reiyeka

Wow, great post. I was also intrigued by the species you mentioned from Sanderson’s works and really wish I knew some better examples that could compare. What came to mind was a book named Death and the Penguin written by Andrey Kurkov. It is an interesting example of how we as humans like to give animals/other species human traits and emotions. In the story, the main character has a pet penguin who seems to reflect his own emotions. The owner feels sad, so the penguin waddles around mopily and the owner starts to see the penguin as more than just a penguin. I also thought of the Cthaeh from Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Although, the Cthaeh could be more akin to the Shards of the Cosmere, more of a force in the universe than a creature.

Yes, yes, yes! Totally agree. Before Sanderson, the only other author I really took interest outside of just reading the work would be the YA author Scott Westerfeld. Even though I was a little older, I had a lot of respect how he communicates with younger readers and supports young writers. Sanderson also seems to have a good rapport with his fans and is very open with his insight on the craft of writing. Mad respect, would love to meet him someday. On music and musicians, yes, it is hard to separate sometimes. I usually just refuse to believe it when I love the music, but in the back of your mind you are like..."ahhh, but he's a jerk...nooo!" Sometimes I don't even like knowing what the musicians look like, because, well, I never want to have to admit that I picked up an album because I thought the vocalist was cute. Haha. Hadn't heard the song, so I gave it a listen and yeah the word "space" does get repeated in the chorus so I can see how that would reinforce the connection. It also has a bit of a rebellious rock sound that fits with the story. Very interesting!

Ooh, I just started binging on anime in the last week or two so this was a good thread to find. Trying to catch up with some new ones that I’ve missed. Saw a lot of great mentions to some old goodies and some that I have on my list to watch (Knights of Sidonia, Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online). All-time faves: Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Code Geass, Gundam Wing, Evangelion, Samurai Champloo, Death Note, Hellsing, Rurouni Kenshin OVAs (bawlfest). Heat Guy J Recent-ish faves: Gundam 00, Stein’s Gate, Full Metal Alchemist, NANA (bawlfest), Honey & Clover, Vampire Knight, Eden of the East In progress fave: Hamatora #1 Guilty Pleasure: Prince of Tennis

I almost always read the acknowledgments. Gotta read the book cover to cover, as people like to say. I do skim them if it's just a big list of names, but I enjoy reading all the special notes and thanks that are usually there. I especially like reading about who the book is dedicated to and any notes about family members. It's good to start off remembering that a human filled all the pages you are about to read and that it took many humans to make it so those pages could get into your hands.

Ah yes, I'd say with music, songs are usually short and easy to revist or run into again. I don't know how often other people revisit books, but I don't really unless I'm confronted with it being popular or adapted for a TV show or movie. Like you said criticisms came along with that for Twillight (will be PMing, hehe). Apart from discussing it with other people, like on here, I might think of something I've read from time to time but the memory stays preserved if there's no outside influence.

When I read that the jutebox in my brain put on Airbag from OK Computer and Lily and James came to mind more easily over Harry and the crew. Works with The Bends, too. I would say I'd associate Radiohead more strongly with the Marauders era, but its hard to control that works. I listen to music while I work, too. I usually choose the tempo based on how much "in the zone" I want to be. I'll also put music or tv on when I'm doing chores or fixing dinner, I might go slower but it feels like it goes by faster. Hmm, seasonal mixes. Is it more depressing songs in the winter and happier in the summer? Haha. That probably has an effect on me as well but I'd never thought of it until now. I guess yours is more a memory of the season you acquired the music rather than the type. Oh no, what changed your mind on Twillight? I haven't read the books and I've only seen the first two movies so I don't know a whole lot about the series. Had it been so long that you just changed your tastes? I think I change my mind more when it comes to music over time than books.

I was catching up with Penny Dreadful last night and wanted to put out Eva Green for Jasnah. I know she’s pretty pale, especially in the Victorian setting, but she has this severe and intense look to her that I thought was a dead ringer for Jasnah. On an adaptation, done right it has the potential to be fantastic. There is also a lot of potential for disappointment. I’m going to be optimistic that it could be done right. Though, I will agree that at the place entertainment is right now, an anime probably has the highest chance for success.

I really enjoyed the book cheating discussion and wanted to dig deeper into everyone’s reading habits! So here goes… Have you ever put on music while you are reading? Are you able to read with background noise at all or do you need silence to concentrate? (I did find an old thread about this) But the real meat of my question is this: Has music ever ruined a book for you? Or alternatively, has a book ever tainted a piece of music? Has reading + music ever yielded a positive outcome? A long time ago, I had to read The Governor-General’s Lady as summer reading for a Caribbean History class. It’s set on the island I grew up and is about a woman in the midst of a slave revolt. I read the book while listening to the Stone Temple Pilots album, Shangri-La Dee Da, on repeat on my walkman. It ruined the album for me. At the time I really liked it, but when I tried to listen to it afterwards all I could think about was slavery. I swore never to do that again. (Tried to listen to it while writing this up, mind still making very weird connections…) But then a few months ago I read the Mistborn trilogy. I blitzed through them over about 3 weeks, in really long sessions at home. I don’t have trouble reading with loud noises and ruckus going on so I’ll let my boyfriend play music while I’m reading since it doesn’t bother me. He’ll play a mix of different things so nothing ever sticks. During my Mistborn read, however, he had these two indie albums on loop (Bombay Bicycle Club’s So Long, See You Tomorrow and Land of Talk’s Some Are Lakes). When I finished the books, every time I heard the music all I could think of was Vin and Elend (especially with the first album since there are male and female vocals). I started listening to it on my own because I wanted to think of the books. I don’t know if Mistborn ruined the music, but it is a positive connection. If anything I like the music more because of it.

Absolutely understand the points against Shallan, I can see it from that perspective. Well defended. Didn’t really read it that way, but I get it. I do remember thinking by the end of WoR, that I wished Shallan had failed more at the beginning to make her triumphs toward the end more powerful. By the end I expected everything to go right and didn’t fear for her failure. But considering all that, I don’t think she’s too perfect maybe just a little too lucky. I still like her character and I am excited to see where the story takes her next. It’s not over. Maybe it all comes crashing down, maybe all the lies catch up with her. Our minds could be changed all over again.

I’ve liked Shallan’s character since she was introduced. She seemed spunky and naive in an interesting way. I didn’t really think of her as annoying, but I kind of liked that she could be perceived that way. To me, it’s really adorable how clever she thinks she is. I won’t go into depth on what I think others don’t like about her, but in general it seems like she comes off as annoying and smart-alecky? I can see that, but when I read the books I didn’t come away with any feelings of Shallan-hate. I started to fall in love with Shallan when reading more and more of the scenes with her drawing. I looked forward to her chapters in WoK, a lot of times over Kaladin or Dalinar, because of the drawings, Memories, and the whole scholarly setting. It was fascinating and I could relate to that itch to draw. Sanderson did a wonderful job capturing the spirit of an artist. With WoR, I enjoyed seeing her step up and stand on her own without her mentor. She was at times clueless or scared, but you could start to see some of her behaviors as defense mechanisms. I suppose in WoR I started to love her character as much as I loved her abilities. So we aren't voting to change her gender...dangit...hehe. Actually, on that, I think I also like her because I want to be her.

Welcome, Fragment! And haha, yes I'm not the only one who is unsure of whether to say Brandon or Sanderson, I'm sure someone will chime in. I keep saying Sanderson because that sounds like you can't go wrong with it, but I'm just dying on the inside to say Brandon. I know it doesn't really matter, but one worries about these things. I personally like the Stormlight Archive over Mistborn, but I did read Mistborn second. So I can only say when you are done being a heretic, you've got fun times ahead!

Hmm…interesting connection with Ym and the glasses, I didn’t catch that. At this point I would lean towards Quiver’s explanation of the glasses being foreshadowing. I read it as Renarin coming to power healed his eyesight and possibly whatever his “blood weakness” is supposed to be, similar to what happened with Lopen. The glasses thing could be a bit of symbolism for a Truthwatcher. Those with poor eyesight fit the potential Truthwatcher profile which makes the gift of clearer vision even more meaningful. Also, I’d wondered how common wearing spectacles is in Roshar. It seemed pretty significant and noticeable to others that Renarin wore them, but I couldn’t remember another character introduced with them. Although, I could have missed them or it could just be a choice in the writing to make the connection between Renarin and Ym stand out.

I've only seen the reboot of BSG. Two friends showed up at my house and forced me to watch the 3 hour pilot, geeking over spaceships and eating my food. I kept up with the show after that, although I took a while to watch the final season after it aired. Had to get emotionally ready for those final cylons, ya know, lol. All in all, I really enjoyed it and I think at some point I'll rewatch it.

Welcome, Wyndle! Diggin' the name.

:'3 Love this Cthulhu origin story.

Yes, yes, followin' you on all those, bwhaha!!! Uh roe… Thanks for the welcome! You know, I’m not sure if maybe its Feather’s reputation that throws a lot of love in Renarin’s direction or if it’s just something about sweet, bespectacled Renarin that makes him swoon-worthy. I thought it was weird that I was drawn to him in WoK since there wasn’t that much to go on, but it seems I’m not the only one. I was surprised, I thought Adolin would be getting most of the Kholin attention from everyone. But I could just be seeing all of this with some Renarin bias…haha.

Wow, many, many thanks!!! The Adonalsium tumblr is really great, I appreciate all the reblogs and I love connecting with new content through it. I didn't realize the connection to your other tumblrs...I think I will be stalking you pretty intensely now. (Sigh, I have a soft spot for Renarin, glad you enjoyed my first proper go at him!)

I've considered maybe rereading a few novels that I read a long time ago, to see how time might change how I see it, but I've never actually done it. I can see myself rereading Cosmere books after I get through the first read of all of them. I never thought I would want to do that for any other author, either. Hahaha. Mmmhmmm...! Ah yeah, that's a good way of putting it, a good sign you know early on you're gonna love a book. Yeah, sometimes its hard to know what story you're in the mood for or need in your life at that moment. Better not to force it.

Yes, definitely The Lopen! Every scene I read with him in it left me with the toothiest grin on my face. Could always go for more Bridge Four, especially Sigzil and, of course, Rock. I also really enjoyed Zahel, but from what I've picked up around here, me liking Zahel is yet another reason I should read Warbreaker. OreSeur was a favorite as a side character in Mistborn. Ham was also great, seemed like the kinda guy you could bear hug, haha.

Hmm...yes, I would say I swear by Wacom tablets. I'm sure other tablets work just as well, but I haven't tried them, so I can't really compare them. I don't really like being a brand fanatic, but I use a Wacom graphics tablet at work and at home and its never let me down, so I don't mess with a good thing. My first tablet was a Wacom Graphire, I think? I got it over, god, 10 years ago. I was 15 and it lasted me past college. It only stopped working a few years ago because the USB wire wore down and wouldn’t hold a charge anymore. I upgraded to an Intuos 4, and I have an Intuos 5 at work. They are fantastic, and for the amount of time I spend using them, definitely worth it. Again, I’m sure its now become like a brand loyalty/nostalgia thing for me, using it kind of reminds me of when I was younger, discovering digital art for the first time.

Oh yes, haha, the frothy milk and ice are great ways to cover up getting it wrong. Of course I also think, that maybe I am doing it right and just don't like it. But I'll never admit to that... The magic wand is just a handheld battery powered frothing wand I bought for about $6. A similar one is here. It works pretty well on hot milk, I sometimes scramble my eggs with it, too.