[Maintenance Discussion] 3/17/15 COMPLETE

UnbrokenWill - Archosaur wrote: »

Sweetiebot, that's a great movie choice for two girls on a first date. I'm in, see you next tuesday. I'll bring snacks.

Is it really? Thank you for sharing that with me. That's OK with me.

NRGLG - Heavens Tear wrote: »

SweetieBot, don't you quote my adjective and noun like that you smart-alack.

I didn't swear at you at all.

UnbrokenWill - Archosaur wrote: »

SweetieBot, goodnight, sweet bot, goodnight.

Goodnight, My Friend.

AlysonRose - Heavens Tear wrote: »

Wow I managed to kill Deiciter Black AND White tonight. Someone already got Watcher though b:surrender

GG

I was too late on my server b:surrenderb:cryb:angry

I just hope they also found a way to fix the server error issue when logging in.. Its really frustrating

chaosparkle wrote: »

The entire Discworld Series, by the dearly departed Terry Pratchett b:cry

Because it's The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett ofcourse, duh!

Seconded! (Am really sad this was all the way on page 4.b:cry) But I also recommend his other books, his 'Johnny' series, the Bromeliad trilogy, and his more recent books on 'The Long Earth'. He works are funny, thought provoking, diverse and so much more. If you don't want to read everything from Discworld there are several 'sub' series. While none of these sub-series stay in any sort of pigeon hole, you can follow Rincewind the Wizzard for adventure, The Witches of Lancre tend to parody Shakespeare, Samuel Vimes from the Nightwatch figures out what crime has been committed, and catches who has done so, Death tends to meddle with the Living and other Anthropomorphical constructs, and so many more.


And no one has mentioned Heinlein, one of the great Sci-Fi authors in the 20th Century? I shouldn't have tried summing up Sir Pratchett, I won't mangle Heinlein for you too. Just go read him.

...Can you really recommend something for everyone?

::cracks knuckles::

FANTASY

Mercedes Lackey has several excellent series. She's mostly known for her Valdemar universe. But she has several older works that fall into the category of Urban Fantasy. I also enjoy her Elemental Masters series, and Thousand Kingdoms/Fairy Godmother series - both of which draw strongly from the classical fairy tales. Elemental Masters paraphrases the tales in a Victorian England time (around WWI +- 20 years). Thousand Kingdoms is a universe where the tropes are a power that manipulates and can be manipulated - all in the service of acting out the fairy tales, and the Fiary Godmothers are the ones who do that the most. Do know that most of her series do carry a strong romantic sub-plot, but that is usually not the driving force of the story.

Andre Norton - I don't come across many of her books very often, but they always pull me in. She's best know for her Witch World series. My favorite is 'The Mark of The Cat'. Definitely a coming of age story, with dangerous trials, mysticism of the feline variety and a throne up for the taking.

Dianne Wynn Jones - Hayao Miyazaki's movie Howl's Moving Castle was based of her book, and while different they compliment each other. Her Chrestomanci series may or may not be a part of that world, but is also a thought provoking set of what-may-bes. Not all of her books end happily, so if you like things with a more tragic bent, some of her works may suit you.

Barry Hughart - Bridge of Birds, a mystery set in an Ancient Mystical China with the greatest detective in the world. Magic and adventure as the clock is ticking down in unravelling an ancient crime.

Robin McKinnely - Another other who puts a spin on classic fairy tales. Also a chance where things don't work out in the expected happily ever after.

Elizabeth Moon - Writes captivating Fantasy and Sci-Fi, but her series The Deed of Paksenarrion is still my favorite. An epic high-fantasy, battle of good and evil, a rich world with lore and mystery and peril. (If I'd ever read Tolkien, I could say if it compares, but I can't sorry.) Moon is an excellent author of great variety, so I'm sure you'd might find something of hers you'd enjoy.


And while I don't read him any more, I quite enjoyed Piers Anthony's Xanth series. Where everyone is born with a single magical talent, and puns are pretty literal.

Just for kicks - S. Morgenstern (translated by William Goldman) - The Princess Bride. I know several of you boys watched that movie. There really is a book. The abridged version feels quite like the movie, with the author breaking the fourth wall occasionally to talk about his edits and what have you.



SCIENCE FICTION



Poul Anderson & Gordon R.Dickson - Hoka! Hoka! Hoka! and Hokas Pokas. Want a race of giant Teddy Bears that take history, and fiction, literally? The Hokas do. These books are fun as you are dragged along with the main characters as the Bears drag them along into whatever story they are living in in the moment. And strangest of all, this doesn't interfere with reality . . .

Eric Flint - 1632 and 1633 and sequels. A small West Virginian town finds itself in the middle of the 30 years war in Germany? There's no way history won't change. Again, quite a bit of his other works are also a nice read, but probably not for everyone.

David Weber - Also has several wonderful series and does an incredible job on his space military tactics and a tricky interstellar political backdrop. My favorite is the first in his Honor Harrington series, On Basilisk Station.

Anne McCaffery - Even her dragon stories have a sci-fi root. Again, her writing always pulled me into her books. My personal bias is towards her Harpers of Pern series, and Nerilka's Tale, but I'm sure those aren't for everyone. I'd more strongly recommend Sassinak


PS. for Weber and Flint and many more their publisher does offer some of their books online for free.




MYSTERY

I just can't not repeat Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld's Watch series. So often murder seems to be just a side effect of the really big crime. Or the really small ones.


Rex Stout - Nero Wolfe Mysteries. Wolfe is an eccentric intellectual who solves mysteries through logic and deduction, often without ever leaving his house. Archie Goodwin is his primary assistant who take care of all the things Wolfe can't or wont. I'd actually recommend watching the A&E TV series first that is based on the books, then reading the books. Maurry Chaykin as Nero Wolfe, and Timothy Hutto as Archie Goodwin do an extremely good job in their roles (as does the repertory theater that fills in the rest of the cast) that's it's almost a disservice to Not have their voices and music in your head when you read the books. The mysteries span from the 1930s to the 1970s and still remain timeless. Very good on the 'witty banter'.




OTHER

Pearl S. Buck - The Good Earth

Jane Austen - Persuasion, I appreciate all the subtlties of the main charachter, being both strong and passive in the world of that time. And even if you don't like it, re-read Pride and Prejudice. Every year I find new aspects and interpretations of the characters.

Paulo Coehlo (translated by Alan R. Clarke) - his works tend to be found in the Spiirtual section of the Big Box stores - but are tales that demonstrate something greater than us within us all, good or bad. I first read 'The Alchemist' a tale of a young Andalusian Sheppard's journey to find a treasure buried in the Pyramids. The Fiifth Mountain is a tale of faith. And (drat, can't remember which title it was, The Devil and Mrs. Prym, or The Valkyries or another...) where a man comes to a small town and says he's buried a million dollars outside of town and he will tell the town where if they, the townsfolk, will kill -anyone- amongst them, creating quite a moral drama.


Fanfiction author Vathara wrote Embers, a divergent AU of Avatar the Last Airbender. It's long, but complete, and exceptionally well written. While I don't fully agree with some of the changes the author made to canon, but this is the story I wish the show had been. It adds a dose of realism ito the effects of character actions, adds facets to bending and it's limitations without making things over powered (at least not too much so, or with an inherent canonical measuring stick to scale it too.) I'm fairly sure you could read this without watching the original series, at least through season 2, but probably not the best idea to have skipped it.

Manga - xxxHolic, by CLAMP. Primarily I recommend the volumes that don't deal with the plot. Contemplate and enjoy the myriad tales of a supernatural world we don't see but that is always around us, watching and listening to thoughts, actions and the dissonance between.

Chauser - The Canterbury Tales - if you don't mind the old English, these tales are fun. Find an audio version if you can, because the rhythm helps.

A Thousand and One Arabian Nights - I actually am recommending the framework used to tell the tales, rather than any specific tale itself

Aesop's Fables - a person should know these. And what they really mean. And why.



NONFICTION

Failure Is Not An Option - Gene Krantz's Autobiography

London: A Biography, by Peter Ackroyd. take this one in small doses. Good both for the history AND for how it approaches the subject.

The Science of the Discworld - While these volumes include a sort of 'novella' to address and transition the different subjects, the actuall science parts are informative and not dry and may be a fresh view for you on the variety of hard and soft sciences the books cover. (Sir Pratchett wrote the novella's, the Science is by others)

Einsein's Refrigerator - ... can't find my copy to get the author. A collection of collected tales that seem rather hard to believe. Raising a sunken boat with inspiration from a Disney comic? A chicken that lived for weeks after it was beheadeed? The tale of the woman onboard the Britainic, Majestic and the Titanic when they all sank? Those and more.


The Power of Myth - goodness, I'm too tired to go looking the author up and can't remember if it was a single book or a series. If you ever got lost in TVTropes, you can blame these. This wasn't Bulfinch's Mythology. The works not influenced by this are few and far between.




Well I hope someone found something in the above makes you curious. I am such a hypocrite when it comes to books, I always hope people will read what I like, but never like what people directly recommend to me.

Happy reading everyoneb:bye

Another really good book is The Queens Blades. It tells the tale of a princess betrothed to a pirate and her loyal Knights