The Viewing Globe - Seriously? I'm Still Alive?

[MetalSymphony]

The weather lately sure has been quite weird, it's suppose to be getting warmer this weekend.

Today felt like spring pretty much.

Well, out here in the west it like a Winter Killstorm.
Many of accidents, heavy snow and best of all.....i slipped in front of the post office and wrenched my ankle and messed up my hips.

So yeah. Great time all around.

And so is realizing that, though being a massive dick to people is loads of fun and enforces your belief that your the Apex predator of the world and everyone is below you....later said delusion breaks rather violently and your left hurt and wishing you hadn't acted like that.

Well, we all get (a) wake up call eventually.

Anyway, back to second job hunting as i leave you with this...
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[RagnorokKing]

You know what's awesome.
Your car breaking down and you having no way to fix it.
I get paid in a few days but it looks like its needs a new starter.
Combine that with the cost of getting it towed to the mechanic and the fact that I can't seem to get my pay-stub online so I can file for taxes, and i want to murder someone.
I'm looking at you DK.

 

[angelicnoir]

Ooh hey, what book did you finish? I finished my first last week and now I'm making my way through the first Dean Koontz Frankenstein novel, surprisingly good so far.

I finished Lev Grossman's "Codex."

I watch the vlogbrothers YouTube channel quite often and John Green recommended Grossman's "The Magicians." But when I picked it up at the library, I also saw "Codex" which he wrote before "The Magicians" and it seemed more up my alley: Guy tries to find a missing antique codex that changes theories of medieval history while also playing an addictive Myst type of RPG.

It wasn't a bad first book of 2013. I'm looking to tackle John Green's bestseller "The Fault in our Stars" and William Joyce's "Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies" (part of the Guardians of Childhood series, which inspired the Rise of the Guardians movie), namely because I borrowed them from another library that I don't work at and therefore cannot hold for an infinite amount of time without fines or consequences.

It must be a fairly popular resolution this year. Several people on FB have posted about a reading challenge of some form or another. I wouldn't resolve to do it though because I know I would fail miserably. I can read voraciously for a few months and then I can go a month or two without reading anything. My interests fluctuate wildly.

I've done it twice before, this will be my third straight year. I usually max out around 26 books a year. I want to double that this year, but this is also my last year of college, sooo that might not be feasible.

The first book I finished was The Silver Chair, one of the Narnia books. I always like starting the year out with a children's classic.

Man, I never really thought of it as a resolution for some reason. I'm a member of GoodReads and they just have this app that asks if you want to take part in the yearly reading challenge and I'm usually "Yeah, sure," but hey, resolution! I actually kept a few if I look at it that way.

I go through the same reading dry spells. I read like...one book from August to October last year, then I read seven books between October and the end of the year.

I've been part of Goodreads for a couple of years as well and, I think, this is my third go at the yearly reading challenge? *ponders*

I started with 25 my first year, then went to 50, then this year is 60. It's really not a restrictive challenge and I do get some negative feedback when I say I count picture books and graphic novels and re-reads, but I believe the whole point of a reading challenge is you're taking the time to read something that's not meant to be a quickly digested, like articles.

I do want to make it a point to read more non-fiction books. My little cousin gave me the book "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin, which sounds like a pretty interesting read. I also have Nicholas Basbanes "A Gentle Madness" to finish. I started it last year, and got a quarter into it. I hope to finish that this year. It's about bibliophiles and book collectors, it's kinda hard to resist.

As far as resolutions go, I find reading challenges to be one of the most rewarding. I hope to make it a regular YouTube vlog to keep myself on track this year.

 

[Mr G]

Indeed I did
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I do these on commission. For ones that size, I charge $15 shipped

Nice! I'll keep that in mind. :thumbs:

The weather lately sure has been quite weird, it's suppose to be getting warmer this weekend.

Today felt like spring pretty much.

It's unseasonably warm in my part of the world as well. I'm glad for it. Too bad it won't last. :disappoin

Man, I never really thought of it as a resolution for some reason. I'm a member of GoodReads and they just have this app that asks if you want to take part in the yearly reading challenge and I'm usually "Yeah, sure," but hey, resolution! I actually kept a few if I look at it that way.

I go through the same reading dry spells. I read like...one book from August to October last year, then I read seven books between October and the end of the year.

Sounds like a resolution to me! I'm not going to resolve to do anything (a sure recipe for failure in past experience), but I'm going to try reading more this year. I'm really bad about sticking to the fantasy genre so I'm going to attempt to at least read some other stuff that I normally neglect. There's a Teddy Roosevelt biography I've been wanting to read for a while so now may be a good time to pick that up.

You know what's awesome.
Your car breaking down and you having no way to fix it.
I get paid in a few days but it looks like its needs a new starter.
Combine that with the cost of getting it towed to the mechanic and the fact that I can't seem to get my pay-stub online so I can file for taxes, and i want to murder someone.
I'm looking at you DK.

I'm used to vehicle troubles. I've had the same small pickup truck for nearly a decade now and it is beginning to have problems more frequently. You get pretty damn good at auto repair when you have to do it as much as I do. :laugh: At the end of 2012, it seemed like it was just one problem after another. I had to change the universal joint, replace old battery clamps that had slowly fallen apart due to battery corrosion and time, get a new battery, and plug a tire...all in December. Fortunately, a string of problems like that is rare.

I have to fix a lot of stuff myself because quite frankly I'm too poor to be able to afford to pay someone else to work on it. Anyway, maybe your luck will improve soon!

 

[Dark Kabuto]

You know what's awesome.
Your car breaking down and you having no way to fix it.
I get paid in a few days but it looks like its needs a new starter.
Combine that with the cost of getting it towed to the mechanic and the fact that I can't seem to get my pay-stub online so I can file for taxes, and i want to murder someone.
I'm looking at you DK.

:confused2

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

I finished Lev Grossman's "Codex."

I watch the vlogbrothers YouTube channel quite often and John Green recommended Grossman's "The Magicians." But when I picked it up at the library, I also saw "Codex" which he wrote before "The Magicians" and it seemed more up my alley: Guy tries to find a missing antique codex that changes theories of medieval history while also playing an addictive Myst type of RPG.

It wasn't a bad first book of 2013. I'm looking to tackle John Green's bestseller "The Fault in our Stars" and William Joyce's "Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies" (part of the Guardians of Childhood series, which inspired the Rise of the Guardians movie), namely because I borrowed them from another library that I don't work at and therefore cannot hold for an infinite amount of time without fines or consequences.

Oh, hey, you watch vlogbrothers too? Nifty. I actually picked up a couple of books based on a list of recommended reads that John gave a couple of videos ago. I've been meaning to get around to The Fault in Our Stars - have actually had it since it was first released (even have a green J-scribble!) I've already got my next couple of books to read planned out, but I think TFIOS will definitely be next on the list for me, it's getting damn near impossible to avoid spoilers.

I've been part of Goodreads for a couple of years as well and, I think, this is my third go at the yearly reading challenge? *ponders*

I started with 25 my first year, then went to 50, then this year is 60. It's really not a restrictive challenge and I do get some negative feedback when I say I count picture books and graphic novels and re-reads, but I believe the whole point of a reading challenge is you're taking the time to read something that's not meant to be a quickly digested, like articles.

I do want to make it a point to read more non-fiction books. My little cousin gave me the book "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin, which sounds like a pretty interesting read. I also have Nicholas Basbanes "A Gentle Madness" to finish. I started it last year, and got a quarter into it. I hope to finish that this year. It's about bibliophiles and book collectors, it's kinda hard to resist.

I don't see any problem with throwing something like that on a reading list. I've seen a ton of people using shorter things to help them reach their goals. I think keeping the page number in mind is also a good idea. Like, last year I read about the same number of books as I did in 2011, but I had about two thousand more pages read. I also had like...five comic volumes/graphic novels on my list last year, sooo I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

Ooh that sounds like a book right up my alley. As I look at my overflowing shelves, I've remembered that I've wanted to read a book about...books, and the people who collect them. Also, if you're looking for more non-fiction stuff, The City of Falling Angels is a pretty awesome book. It's about a fire that takes out a historic building in Venice and the investigations and and history surrounding the place.

Sounds like a resolution to me! I'm not going to resolve to do anything (a sure recipe for failure in past experience), but I'm going to try reading more this year. I'm really bad about sticking to the fantasy genre so I'm going to attempt to at least read some other stuff that I normally neglect. There's a Teddy Roosevelt biography I've been wanting to read for a while so now may be a good time to pick that up.

Haha, I guess a resolution might work better if you don't think of it as one then.

What sort of books do you read for fantasy? I'm going to try a few of what I guess might be considered epics this year - those big, beefy books that are probably three times as long as most others.

 

[angelicnoir]

Oh, hey, you watch vlogbrothers too? Nifty. I actually picked up a couple of books based on a list of recommended reads that John gave a couple of videos ago. I've been meaning to get around to The Fault in Our Stars - have actually had it since it was first released (even have a green J-scribble!) I've already got my next couple of books to read planned out, but I think TFIOS will definitely be next on the list for me, it's getting damn near impossible to avoid spoilers.

lol, yay, Nerdfighters within the HJUniverse

"Abundance of Katherines" was the last book I finished for 2012 and I was kinda just "okay" with it, so I'm not too giddy with reading TFIOS. I am looking forward to it though, since it did get far more acclaim than "Abundance." I'm probably going to tackle "Toothiana" first, as a palette cleanser. :sweat:

Ooh that sounds like a book right up my alley. As I look at my overflowing shelves, I've remembered that I've wanted to read a book about...books, and the people who collect them. Also, if you're looking for more non-fiction stuff, The City of Falling Angels is a pretty awesome book. It's about a fire that takes out a historic building in Venice and the investigations and and history surrounding the place.

*nods* Nicholas Basbanes is getting to be THE guy to read if you want to delve into the world of bibliophiles. He's ridiculously detailed, which is probably way it's taking me a while to finish "A Gentle Madness"

Also, "Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World" by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone is another REALLY good non-fiction book about a couple's journey into rare book collecting. I found myself really relating to all their stories about weird used book store owners and feeling intimidated at your first antique book store

And consider "City of Falling Angels" on my To-Read list; it sounds amazingly interesting. :anime:

 

[scikaiju]

Man, I never really thought of it as a resolution for some reason. I'm a member of GoodReads and they just have this app that asks if you want to take part in the yearly reading challenge and I'm usually "Yeah, sure," but hey, resolution! I actually kept a few if I look at it that way.

I've been part of Goodreads for a couple of years as well and, I think, this is my third go at the yearly reading challenge? *ponders*

You guys are part of goodreads too? Just out of curiosity how many other members do we got on here? Although I've been getting my reading ideas from the Sword and Laser video show and podcast. But unlike you two I'm only going for 25 books for the reading challenge this year, didn't really think about doing it last year when I joined.

 

[Mr G]

Haha, I guess a resolution might work better if you don't think of it as one then.

What sort of books do you read for fantasy? I'm going to try a few of what I guess might be considered epics this year - those big, beefy books that are probably three times as long as most others.

There are several fantastic fantasy authors you should try out. I have found that some of the great fantasy epics can be...well, a little too stagnant, too Tolkienesque.

You should give some of the grittier, less cookie-cutter fantasies a shot. Try Glen Cook's Black Company series of novels, Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, or Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series. There are lots more but those stand out the most in my mind.

Cook's writing style is very Spartan in nature. The world his novels are set in is a very dark, miserable place. It is heavily military oriented so if you're not into that kind of thing then I'd stay away if I were you.

Abercrombie is a master of characters. The protagonists/antagonists of his novels are never your stereotypical fantasy heroes. His First Law Trilogy is beyond excellent - most likely my favorite fantasy epic.

Scott Lynch is a little different from the previous two. While his world is like a pseudo-Venetian fantasy realm rather than the typical medieval fantasy setting, he can spin a tale like few others. The first book in the Gentlemen Bastards sequence, The Lies of Locke Lamora, is like watching the Ocean's 11 movie: Con artists, intricate plans, backstabbing, etc.

I guarantee you'd find something to love in any of those. :thumbs:

 

[MetalSymphony]

I admit i really need to read more, but i still get a few books in a year.

Working on a collection of H.P. Lovecraft's at the moment, with Divina Commedia up after that. Mighty go for a re-read of The Republic soon as well.