EHyde

When I started using E. Hyde as an online name, it was my real name, because all the made-up usernames I'd come up with in the past had always felt wrong/"not me" just a short while after I'd come up with them. But of course it also doubles as a literary reference to a false identity. I changed my last name when I got married but I still use E. Hyde (with occasional variations in punctuation) online.

Yeah, not at all how I pictured them either, just kind of cool to see a high end fashion house come up with something that randomly happens to look mistcloak-like.

More high fashion mistcloaks! (these are going to be huge pictures, sorry) (Givenchy fall 2012 couture)

Yeah I realized this; see my post directly above yours ;-)

Basically you sign in with your library card info and download a book, and it will expire/delete itself after the checkout period is over. They do this with audiobooks too. Though depending on what sort of device you use you can keep the books longer by not syncing. I'm assuming that the limited copies are for copyright reasons; the libraries I've seen that do this usually have a selection of "always available" books that are mostly older out of copyright stuff. Mostly, they just seem to have a really tiny selection. In Oregon (and maybe other states too), most of the public libraries have combined their digital collections, which makes a lot of sense as it really doesn't matter where you are. What would be really nice though is if it didn't have to be connected to physical public libraries at all; seems like an entirely web-based digital library would be a nice thing to have.

Though I realized of course that "not made up" != "nothing magical about it" seeing as plenty of real-world metals are used in allomancy.

Another advantage that paper books have I've found, is that public libraries are still mostly paper books. For someone who reads a lot, I don't actually buy new books very much; I get a lot of books from the library. Though some libraries are starting to build ebook collections, most are still pretty small. And you really don't see people selling used ebooks either. Libraries, it's just a matter of people catching up with the technology, but I don't see reselling ebooks ever really being a thing.

Just over halfway through ... I'd forgotten how annoying "Selene" was.

I just started reading ebooks in the last month and I have to say I like them a lot, but they'll never completely replace paper for me. I, too, like to read in the bath and yeah, electronics don't work so well for that. But I really like the feature that the Kindle has (don't know of other e-readers do, though I'd assume so) where you can highlight stuff and then view everything you've highlighted in one place online. I've found that quite useful.

Ah, you're right, it is.

I like Shai as Black Widow better than Vin, myself. She's better at reading and manipulating people (and also spoilery reasons). Speaking of spoilers though, the original post has a bit of a Towers of Midnight spoiler you might want to warn for.

I picked "other." I'd choose Forging!

Okay yeah, I suppose it's pretty reasonable for them to think their lives were in danger. And now I think of it, the Seanchan probably were actually trying to kill any Warders.

Ralkalest is the only one of those materials whose special property seems inherently magical, though. I've forgotten much of what I learned in chemistry, but a rock that burns, that's not too impossible, right? And using heat to harden something, that's fairly mundane too. But "can't be forged" is a property that is specifically connected to the magic system. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's Splinters, but it does suggest to me that it's magical in nature whereas the others aren't necessarily.

I really enjoyed it. I'm not quite sure if I'd go as far as to say new favorite magic system, because some of the others are really awesome to read about, but Forgery is definitely the magic system of Brandon's I'd pick to use myself. Aside from the story itself, which I thought was very nicely plotted, I also really liked the discussion on art and craftsmanship that was worked in there--the idea that good craftsmanship in itself is a sort of artistic merit. I just personally really appreciated that. I'm annoyed that it was short only in that I'd like to read more of this part of the world, these characters. The plotting itself was about perfect, it didn't feel like it was cut short at all, nor did it seem any longer than it needed to be. The forging-of-people aspect has given me a renewed interest in finishing Dollhouse ...

That sounds quite good, McCullough. Here's a nice autumn treat--Baked Sweet Acorn Squash Take an acorn squash and cut it in half and scrape out the seeds, so you have two "bowls" made of the squash. Stab into the flesh of the squash with a knife or fork several times, making sure not to puncture the outer skin. (Optional) take about 1/2 tsp of masala chai spices or pumpkin pie spices and rub into the inside of the squash. Put a couple tablespoons of brown sugar into each squash-bowl and about a tablespoon of butter. Depending on what (if any) spices you used, you could also add a bit of maple syrup. Put the squash-bowls into a baking dish and put about half an inch of water in the bottom. Bake at 400F for an hour. When they're done, the squash-bowls will be soft and there will be a pool of sugary liquid in them. Use a spoon to sort of mix it all together, and enjoy! (note: I read something online suggesting to cover with aluminum foil (leaving a couple of vents) for the first half hour of cooking, but I haven't tried that myself yet.)

I'm not at this book in my reread yet, but I had a question about it. Was Egwene the only one who was fighting back during the Seanchan attack on the Tower? It seems like fighting back with the Power would go against the Third Oath, since the Seanchan were trying to capture, not kill, Aes Sedai. Though I suppose many of the other Aes Sedai wouldn't know what the Seanchan were trying to do.

I would like to announce that google image search still has some issues. I did a search for a'dam (a thing from WoT; I just was curious how others pictured it) and google gave me pictures of ... a dam.

I think, at first glance, 17thShard can seem a bit like everyone here a) knows what they're talking about and only talks about serious stuff all the time. Totally not the case, but I feel like that's the surface impression, and is maybe a bit intimidating? But I don't think we should change anything. As far as a blog/tumblr presence for 17S, maybe post/link the main page news posts, featured theories column, etc. on a blog (as opposed to just publishing them here) so people can get introduced to the site that way? er ... sunglass guy was meant to be a "b"

Hey, Tamzin! Don't feel alone, I'm a woman too. I think it's often assumed online that everyone's a guy unless otherwise specified, but that's really not the case anymore (I'm not sure how true it ever was). Elsewhere, I was reading a discussion that proposed that different types of fan activity are seen as gendered--discussing character motiviations, writing fanfic, and yes, swooning over characters is seen as "fangirling" while keeping track of trivia, analyzing the worldbuilding, etc, are seen as more "fanboy" activities. I don't know that I agree with all the specifics there but I guess there does seem to be a stereotype of what female fans do vs what male fans do (which for the most part is completely wrong). I think this site as a whole is more geared towards the sort of discussion that falls into the male stereotype, so maybe that gave the impression that there were mostly guys here, but really that isn't the case!

I posted my initial thoughts here (not quite organized enough to be called a review), if anyone cares to read them. (I'll avoid discussing the book in too much detail here until the actual release date)

Posted this on tumblr too, but--I really don't have a preference, other than something that isn't just in reference to Mistborn.

I just bought a copy at the Memphis B&N; there were two more copies on the shelf. I have read just a couple chapters and I'm really enjoying it so far.

I'm really enjoying my reread so far. I like reading about the characters when they're still so young and clueless and frightened--that's something I think Jordan did really well, his main characters aren't all-powerful simply because they're main characters (as seems to happen in some fantasy novels), they start out pretty normal.

Actually, I've come across a few chapters where it really isn't! I was surprised ;-) (though, I'm only keeping track of actual descriptions, not every single time cloaks are mentioned) There is a pretty in-depth article on clothing in WoT already, at the 13th Depository blog, and I'm not trying to reproduce or replace that, but rather to create a resource of all the actual descriptions from the text. So I probably won't include any drawings, as that would be my personal interpretation.