The Book Wyrms - a Magistream Book Club - OPEN

[Selinea]

Wow, this place is really dead.

Only because I'm freaking trying not to double post. Okay, third time's the charm. Next time, if there's a two or more week gap, I'm double posting, forget the rules.

I love books, let me in!
Username:ThrowingAces
Favourite books/authors/genres:I'm all over the place, I like Fyodor Dostyevsky (probably spelled that wrong)... mostly historical non-fiction or realistic-fiction
Recommend ONE book! Tell us why it's great! From the Corner of His Eye- Dean Koontz, because that is an amazing book; not really creepy like most of his other books, but it gives a different view of the world

Welcome new member!

I'm taking Intro to Russian Lit next quarter! We're reading The Brothers Karamazov and Anna Karenina. I read Crime and Punishment senior year and loved it, so I'm really excited to be taking this class. (Thank goodness for being forced to switch from macro to micro econ and mixing up my entire schedule) It's actually the largest and most popular class at my college, taking up to 600 people and it always fills up.

Have you read The Devil in the White City? It's like the book that comes to mind whenever someone says historical non-fiction. It has a great narrative rather than expository style to it.

Is it really that much better than his other books? I read The Good Guy by Dean Koontz for my high school book club, and it was really awful.

Okay, and now on to my own recent readings.

I dropped The Invisible Arab by Marwan Bishara even though I was only like, fifty pages away from finishing. It was interesting learning about the changes going on in the Arab world, but...I don't know, it read like a long wikipedia article. It was all over the place and it threw way too many names and random factoids at you all at once. (I guess it wouldn't have been "too many names and random factoids" if I had been following the world news like I should, but I think a book should be able to stand on its own better than that.)

And then to detox, I read a bunch of smutty romance novels. Not going to comment much on them except it actually got annoying how many sex scenes they are. I don't like reading preteen romance novels because they're too innocuous, but it's equally terrible when the two main characters act like cat in heat the entire book and can't prove to the reader that they're actually a good fit outside of the physical stuff.

Right now, I'm in the middle of The Codex of Alera book 1, written by Jim Butcher (famous for The Dresden Files). It's so...cliché. I thought if this is an author who can come up with something as cool as The Dresden Files, surely his epic fantasy novels can't be that bad, and it's indeed not that bad, but oh is it ordinary. I'm about half way through, and you have the typical headstrong, brave female lead, the farm/shepherd boy who develops extraordinary powers, the country is threatened from without and within, blah, blah, blah. And then you have the typical elemental powers. There hasn't been a single unique that has stood out about the book so far. Why are epic fantasies so damn formulaic? From Eragon to The Wheel of Time to The Sword of Shannara, and now The Codex Alera, you change the character names, a couple side characters, tweak the magic system slightly, and voila, another epic fantasy novel. And it wouldn't be such a problem if I liked the mold, but I don't like the mold. It's getting very...moldy, pardon the pun.

The reason i didn't pick up another Dresden Files novel instead was because I checked out Buried in the Sky, a nonfiction book about climbing K2 (one of the highest mountains in the world and more dangerous than Everest), and I figured I'd be depressed enough without the Dresden Files adding to that.

[ThrowingAces]

The Good Guy is by far one of my least favorite by Dean Koontz, a bad first book I believe... so it does him no justice, but yea Brothers is definitely the best book by Fyodor, you should love it.
Tell me about The Devil in the White City; I've never heard of it...

[Selinea]

The Good Guy is by far one of my least favorite by Dean Koontz, a bad first book I believe... so it does him no justice, but yea Brothers is definitely the best book by Fyodor, you should love it.
Tell me about The Devil in the White City; I've never heard of it...

Alright, I'll go check something else out by Dean Koontz then. I'll have one last library run before I get stuck with my stupid college library that has no good books worth reading. (Actually, that's false. There's this little nook of popular books, but I've read everything I wanted from there already. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay was absolutely stunning. Almost as pretty as The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova.)

The Devil in the White City is about the 1893 Chicago World Fair (which is kind of like the second world expo, with Chicago trying to out do what Paris did the year before), so there's a lot about the different architecture and various events. That's the "White City" part. And the "devil" refers to a serial killer who was killing people during that same time. It's a really interesting book about a little highlighted part of history.

[BBkat]

Sort of a promotion/signal boost thing.

A friend (online friend, but friend nonetheless) is getting her first novel published, hopefully sometime in September(so you'll be able to order it from Amazon or as an e-book if memory serves).
As a sort of teaser I guess she's put the first chapter up on her blog, which you can read here http://liliy.net/blog/2012/09/writing-s ... chapter-1/
If I remember rightly it's sort of horror/sci-fi(ish) genre(I say 'ish' because I don't know if things like, androids would count as sci-fi). I dunno if anyone's into that kind but, give it a look anyways(I did and I'm even more psyched for it to come out despite neither of these being things I would normally be interested in-plus she's been talking about it for the past, at least year and a half). You can even leave her comments there to let her know what you think.

[ThrowingAces]

I'm actually reading three books right now, one is a historical non-0fiction on the third crusade and it's great.. educational, bu great (I'm sort of a history buff....), one is a 'journal' first hand recollection of a deckhand ~1800 and his two years on ship.. it's a bit dry but good nonetheless, and the last is a first hand account on the fall of the Aztec's by Cortez's (the conqueror) first hand man.. If anyone wants the book names just lemme know, they aren't in convenient distance for me to get the names.. and I'm lazy

[sweetvampwriter]

Right now with me I'm reading a spin-off series call the Infernal Devices. It takes place in Victorian London, England. To me its quite confusing, just because they are explaining some of the names that are mention in one of the later books of the Mortal Instruments. If I hadn't read the Mortal Instruments first then the Infernal Devices then I would probably understand the books a little more. I really do think that she should have written the Infernal Devices first then the Mortal Instruments. But then again that's just me.
My suggestion is this read the Infernal Devices first then the Mortal Instruments. In the end you'll be less confused by everything.
I'm not quite sure if Cassandra Clare is making yet another series about the Shadowhunters or not. Thou the next book isn't coming out for another year. *Already saving my money to this book and a few others on my wishlist of books*
Might as well transfer all of my favorite books onto my Nookcolor. Then get samples of other books that are either other people suggested to me, or book that I might like.

@ThrowingAces what part of history interested you the most? For me it's the Civil War, that the United States had. But more so with the Guerrilla Warefare. Also the things that people aren't really to much interested in. Anything else in the history wither it's America's or globalize history count me out.

[Selinea]

Right now with me I'm reading a spin-off series call the Infernal Devices. It takes place in Victorian London, England. To me its quite confusing, just because they are explaining some of the names that are mention in one of the later books of the Mortal Instruments. If I hadn't read the Mortal Instruments first then the Infernal Devices then I would probably understand the books a little more. I really do think that she should have written the Infernal Devices first then the Mortal Instruments. But then again that's just me.
My suggestion is this read the Infernal Devices first then the Mortal Instruments. In the end you'll be less confused by everything.
I'm not quite sure if Cassandra Clare is making yet another series about the Shadowhunters or not. Thou the next book isn't coming out for another year. *Already saving my money to this book and a few others on my wishlist of books*
Might as well transfer all of my favorite books onto my Nookcolor. Then get samples of other books that are either other people suggested to me, or book that I might like.

@ThrowingAces what part of history interested you the most? For me it's the Civil War, that the United States had. But more so with the Guerrilla Warefare. Also the things that people aren't really to much interested in. Anything else in the history wither it's America's or globalize history count me out.

I suggest that people just don't read anything by Cassandra Clare period, but that's just me. I have a lot of friends who like those books, they're just way too predictable and the characters too whiny for me.

No offense, but I find that incredibly prejudiced. First of all, it's really arrogant to say "I like what other people aren't interested in" because you have no idea what other people are interested in. For every World War II buff, there's probably an equal number of people who love the French Revolution, Julius Caesar and the transformation of Rome, ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and more. Lots of people like important events. Are you saying you dislike every major piece of history you've ever heard of? Because that's a whole lot of history you dislike right there. Or what about this, name some of this history that you like that "people aren't really to much interested in", because I'm sure I can prove you wrong and find several people at my college who would be interested in it. Please don't look down upon the general populace and assume they're stupid and don't like obscure history.

And "count you out"? Do you know so much about major world events that everything about them already bores you? Do you like learning about World War II? I'm assuming by your last sentence that the answer is no, but do you even know all the intricacies of World War II history? It's not simply, "Hitler was evil, killed lots of Jews, and then everybody fought a war and kicked Hitler out. Oh yeah, and then there was the whole Japan and US thing that ended with nuclear bombs." Did you know China suffered one of the worst casualty rates in World War II and what the whole story of the eastern front was before the US joined in? Don't find that interesting? What about some of the awe inspiring or hilarious escapades of prisoners of war during World War II? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and being so close minded that you're not even willing to try to learn some of it just because World War II is popular or you think you know all you need to is frustrating.

And I'm not saying "all historical non-fiction books are great." Not by any means, a good historical non-fiction book like looking for a diamond in the rough, just like looking for any good fiction book that suits your tastes. It depends on the author, the narrative style, and the story the book is trying to tell. And I'm not saying "Read tons of history books!" My own ratio of non-fiction to fiction is like, 1:7, and some of those non-fiction books are psych or current event books, not even history, so I'm not a huge history buff by any means. And I'm not saying you have to love everything about history. What I've learned and read about The French Revolution so far bores me (which is surprising, how the heck can authors make guillotines boring?), and while I don't go constantly trying to find a book to prove myself wrong, I'm not writing off the entire event as something I'd never, ever be interested in. And that's just one event. I mean, it's great that you like Civil War history, but to make a blanket statement essentially saying you won't even try reading books about any other major event is just...ignorant.

There's guerrilla warfare in most wars. How did the US win The Revolutionary War? It certainly wasn't by organizing their army in neat rows, meeting the British in an open meadow, and then shooting. Why did the US lose Vietnam? And that's just famous US events. There's even more interesting stories like that throughout the world.

I'm actually reading three books right now, one is a historical non-0fiction on the third crusade and it's great.. educational, bu great (I'm sort of a history buff....), one is a 'journal' first hand recollection of a deckhand ~1800 and his two years on ship.. it's a bit dry but good nonetheless, and the last is a first hand account on the fall of the Aztec's by Cortez's (the conqueror) first hand man.. If anyone wants the book names just lemme know, they aren't in convenient distance for me to get the names.. and I'm lazy

The book on the third crusade sounds interesting. What's it called?

This might be morbid of me, but I think I much prefer Revenge of the Whale (yes, that's actually a non-fiction book) to something that's just about working on a ship in the 1800s. And man, I just realized I'm really bad with ancient Central/South American history. Maybe I'll go look for a book on the Aztecs or Mayans first...

[ThrowingAces]

Spoiler

Right now with me I'm reading a spin-off series call the Infernal Devices. It takes place in Victorian London, England. To me its quite confusing, just because they are explaining some of the names that are mention in one of the later books of the Mortal Instruments. If I hadn't read the Mortal Instruments first then the Infernal Devices then I would probably understand the books a little more. I really do think that she should have written the Infernal Devices first then the Mortal Instruments. But then again that's just me.
My suggestion is this read the Infernal Devices first then the Mortal Instruments. In the end you'll be less confused by everything.
I'm not quite sure if Cassandra Clare is making yet another series about the Shadowhunters or not. Thou the next book isn't coming out for another year. *Already saving my money to this book and a few others on my wishlist of books*
Might as well transfer all of my favorite books onto my Nookcolor. Then get samples of other books that are either other people suggested to me, or book that I might like.

@ThrowingAces what part of history interested you the most? For me it's the Civil War, that the United States had. But more so with the Guerrilla Warefare. Also the things that people aren't really to much interested in. Anything else in the history wither it's America's or globalize history count me out.

I suggest that people just don't read anything by Cassandra Clare period, but that's just me. I have a lot of friends who like those books, they're just way too predictable and the characters too whiny for me.

No offense, but I find that incredibly prejudiced. First of all, it's really arrogant to say "I like what other people aren't interested in" because you have no idea what other people are interested in. For every World War II buff, there's probably an equal number of people who love the French Revolution, Julius Caesar and the transformation of Rome, ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and more. Lots of people like important events. Are you saying you dislike every major piece of history you've ever heard of? Because that's a whole lot of history you dislike right there. Or what about this, name some of this history that you like that "people aren't really to much interested in", because I'm sure I can prove you wrong and find several people at my college who would be interested in it. Please don't look down upon the general populace and assume they're stupid and don't like obscure history.

And "count you out"? Do you know so much about major world events that everything about them already bores you? Do you like learning about World War II? I'm assuming by your last sentence that the answer is no, but do you even know all the intricacies of World War II history? It's not simply, "Hitler was evil, killed lots of Jews, and then everybody fought a war and kicked Hitler out. Oh yeah, and then there was the whole Japan and US thing that ended with nuclear bombs." Did you know China suffered one of the worst casualty rates in World War II and what the whole story of the eastern front was before the US joined in? Don't find that interesting? What about some of the awe inspiring or hilarious escapades of prisoners of war during World War II? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and being so close minded that you're not even willing to try to learn some of it just because World War II is popular or you think you know all you need to is frustrating.

And I'm not saying "all historical non-fiction books are great." Not by any means, a good historical non-fiction book like looking for a diamond in the rough, just like looking for any good fiction book that suits your tastes. It depends on the author, the narrative style, and the story the book is trying to tell. And I'm not saying "Read tons of history books!" My own ratio of non-fiction to fiction is like, 1:7, and some of those non-fiction books are psych or current event books, not even history, so I'm not a huge history buff by any means. And I'm not saying you have to love everything about history. What I've learned and read about The French Revolution so far bores me (which is surprising, how the heck can authors make guillotines boring?), and while I don't go constantly trying to find a book to prove myself wrong, I'm not writing off the entire event as something I'd never, ever be interested in. And that's just one event. I mean, it's great that you like Civil War history, but to make a blanket statement essentially saying you won't even try reading books about any other major event is just...ignorant.

There's guerrilla warfare in most wars. How did the US win The Revolutionary War? It certainly wasn't by organizing their army in neat rows, meeting the British in an open meadow, and then shooting. Why did the US lose Vietnam? And that's just famous US events. There's even more interesting stories like that throughout the world.

I'm actually reading three books right now, one is a historical non-0fiction on the third crusade and it's great.. educational, bu great (I'm sort of a history buff....), one is a 'journal' first hand recollection of a deckhand ~1800 and his two years on ship.. it's a bit dry but good nonetheless, and the last is a first hand account on the fall of the Aztec's by Cortez's (the conqueror) first hand man.. If anyone wants the book names just lemme know, they aren't in convenient distance for me to get the names.. and I'm lazy

The book on the third crusade sounds interesting. What's it called?

This might be morbid of me, but I think I much prefer Revenge of the Whale (yes, that's actually a non-fiction book) to something that's just about working on a ship in the 1800s. And man, I just realized I'm really bad with ancient Central/South American history. Maybe I'll go look for a book on the Aztecs or Mayans first...

The book is called Warriors of God by James Reston Jr.; it gives a few interesting viewpoints and some really good background, it was lent to me by my favorite teacher (history teacher) who knew what time period I prefer.
As for that, I like the neolithic era up until the renaissance, more often known as western civilization, the culmination of cultures into the first real civilizations and the crusades was an integral part of that process.

[Drei Korvik]

Hey guys! I haven't popped in in a while because I hadn't been reading much until recently.

I just finished rereading the Harry Potter series. I'd been left with an unfavorable impression last time and wanted to give the series another chance, figure out what I disliked. I think I've figured it out. After the fourth book, the mood changed dramatically - not nearly as lighthearted as the first (approx.) half of the series. That would be fine if it weren't for the fact that there were still just as many attempts at humor as in the previous books, clashing with the overall darker feel of the story. In addition to that, Harry is quite an ass all of a sudden in the fifth book. Granted, his anger and frustration is understandable, given the situation, but I felt that it was poorly integrated. The sixth book was slightly better, but still not nearly as enjoyable a read as the first four. Somewhat less humor, appropriate with the darkening of the story. The seventh I only really enjoyed the second half of. Quite a bit of the first half feels like filler, almost as if it were a way to brainstorm what the trio of heroes ought to do next (with the occasional spurt of action as they actually do something instead of just hiding, discussing, and arguing). As soon as the action picks up, it gets quite good. I still dislike the epilogue, as I did the first time around, and find it unnecessary.

Overall, I did enjoy the series and I can see why some people adore it so much. It's very interesting to read through and see the foreshadowing and the meaningfulness of almost every name. I enjoyed the humor where it was appropriate, one of my favorite aspects of the series, in fact. For the most part, everything was well thought out and interconnected, which is very good to see in a series of such length. Loose ends were well tied up, excepting ones that didn't need to be (by which I mean the epilogue >.>).
The things I didn't like probably seem minor to people who like to read for fun. The attempted mood change in the middle of the series was poorly done, as previously mentioned; though, granted, it was necessary. The seventh book was needlessly long. Most of the recovery of the last horcruxes felt very deus-ex-machina in comparison to the painstaking discovery and destruction of the earlier ones. I know many things in the story happened because of luck or being in the right place in the right time, but in the last book it's somewhat overdone. My attitude on the writing style varies with the book - books 1-4 read like kids' books (that's a good thing), books 5 and 6 vary (annoying), and book 7 seems to get more mature.

I'd like to read more; with school, I have tons of free time that is most easily filled by reading. Lots of time in class and between classes, and without a laptop or anything, reading is the best way to pass the time. The only problem is that the nearest bookstore is a good half-hour drive from where I live, and it doesn't even have a sci-fi/fantasy section (which makes it nearly worthless to me; I do not want to wade through hundreds of "teen" and romance novels to find a single interesting book that I will most likely finish in a single school day). For now I'll make do with the few books in the house I haven't read, but after that. . .

Edit: Oh! Almost forgot! I'd be glad to breed more of these if anyone wants one! Though they do seem to be thriving quite well on their own.

[ThrowingAces]

I think I'd quite enjoy one Drei, if you don't mind if