You walk in worlds the others can't begin to imagine.

Drusilla ,'Conversations with Dead People'


Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.

There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."


sj - Aug 16, 2010 7:35:44 am PDT #11906 of 28343
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."

The Poisoner's Handbook - awesome history of forensic science via jazz age New York true crime stories. The author has described it as a chemistry textbook disguised as a pulp detective story, which is spot-on.

This book really is awesome. I read the first few chapters of it a while back and then wandered away from it, but I really must go back to it.


Fred Pete - Aug 16, 2010 7:53:07 am PDT #11907 of 28343
Ann, that's a ferret.

Congrats, Gris!


Gris - Aug 16, 2010 6:47:44 pm PDT #11908 of 28343
Hey. New board.

Thanks!

I have nothing literary to add to this thread. The Sword of Shannara still feels like the LOTR but it's moving away, slowly.


Polter-Cow - Aug 16, 2010 7:18:28 pm PDT #11909 of 28343
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

"Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury." NSFW, obviously, but hilarious.


DavidS - Aug 16, 2010 7:37:10 pm PDT #11910 of 28343
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

I liked the slapdown on the Vonnegut fan.


Polter-Cow - Aug 16, 2010 7:41:41 pm PDT #11911 of 28343
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

I caught that on the second viewing.


Kat - Aug 17, 2010 1:01:18 am PDT #11912 of 28343
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo

Okay, I just realized why I feel like you can skim the libel thing in Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. These books, for me, are clearly about Lisbeth. She's really the heart of the story. Mikael and his antics (and in the last book Ericka and her stalker ) are just ancillary to the real story in many ways. Plus, I half-heartedly suspect that Mikael is really a Mikael Sue for the author.


Jars - Aug 17, 2010 1:11:35 am PDT #11913 of 28343

I read the first book and thought it was... okay? A Swedish friend of mine thinks they changed the traslator for the second two and they're much easier to read. I think I'll pick them up before I go on holidays next week, as there seems to be consensus that they're a bit better?


sumi - Aug 17, 2010 4:24:42 am PDT #11914 of 28343
Art Crawl!!!

Hee. "Mikael Sue".


Volans - Aug 17, 2010 5:06:59 am PDT #11915 of 28343
move out and draw fire

I half-heartedly suspect that Mikael is really a Mikael Sue for the author.

Totally.

So I had a weird book experience yesterday.

When I was 9 or so, I read a book that kinda stuck with me. It was set on the moon, and the story was about two boys escaping from the stifling moon colony and discovering a cave dominated by a sentient plant. It took them prisoner by giving them everything they wanted.

I've never been able to remember the title or author, and whenever I've told someone about it, they've looked at me blankly.

Yesterday, skimming io9, I saw a headline that "[so-and-so] might direct The Lotus Caves for SyFy" and I sat up. Could it be? A quick google said yes, and I ended up ordering The Lotus Caves from Amazon.

While there, I also ordered a couple of the author's other books, as they got excellent reviews as well. So wow, one lifelong mystery solved!

Last night while IMing with a friend, I mentioned this. He said "I did that same thing once, except in my case I described the book to the librarian from the local elementary school, and she brought it to me the next day. It was The Tripod Trilogy."

...

Anyone see anything weird about this?