OT: Sens Lounge LXXXIV | New names, old faces!

[BonkTastic]

WOW! The first book I ever bought was Dragonlance as well!!! I'm pretty sure it was the Legend of Huma by Richard Knaak.

Nice!

I'm fairly sure mine was Kindered Spirits.

 

[Caeldan]

I don't recall what the first book I ever bought myself was.
I mostly just went to the library and checked stuff out. I think by the time I was 10 I had run out of stuff that interested me in the kid's sections and was looking through the adult fiction.
Weiss&Hickman were some mainstays for me though, remember trying some Pratchett but the humour generally went over my head until about 15 or 16.

I actually read To Kill a Mockingbird long before I ever had to for school. I always hated reading books for reports, but loved reading them on their own.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

My mother's favorite author is Stephen King, so I was lucky enough to already have access to his complete library as a kid.

In fact, I didn't buy a lot of books until I moved out of the house specifically because we always had shelves upon shelves of good books in the house, since my mother was such a voracious reader. She would read a novel in like 2 days, tops. We would always go to garage sales every weekend so she could buy more books.

That is awesome!

I'm the only big reader in my family, so besides encyclopedias I didn't have much to read and so it didn't come naturally to me until later.

I'm an unabashed King fan myself. I'll read high-brow material, but Stephen just knows how to entertain. His son Joe is just as good. I highly suggest reading NOS4A2. Also, to any other King fans, "11/22/63" is amazing, and so are "Revival" and "Mr. Mercedes" to a somewhat lesser degree. The guy just keeps pumping out classics.

 

[Caeldan]

That is awesome!

I'm the only big reader in my family, so besides encyclopedias I didn't have much to read and so it didn't come naturally to me until later.

I'm an unabashed King fan myself. I'll read high-brow material, but Stephen just knows how to entertain. His son Joe is just as good. I highly suggest reading NOS4A2. Also, to any other King fans, "11/22/63" is amazing, and so are "Revival" and "Mr. Mercedes" to a somewhat lesser degree. The guy just keeps pumping out classics.

I liked King's short story collections.
I've only ever read a couple of his full length novels.

Dude seriously needs an editor that can stand up to him though.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

I liked King's short story collections.
I've only ever read a couple of his full length novels.

Dude seriously needs an editor that can stand up to him though.

I only agree when it comes to books like "It" where he is clearly going for something more epic in terms of scope. The books I mentioned are just a few examples of his "regular-sized" novels that are a breeze to read through. You can't judge him based on only a small sample size.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I only agree when it comes to books like "It" where he is clearly going for something more epic in terms of scope. The books I mentioned are just a few examples of his "regular-sized" novels that are a breeze to read through. You can't judge him based on only a small sample size.

Omg..."It" was definitely a case of writers' diarrhea. A good 400 pages too long.

But....if you want to read a super amazing looooooong book by King, The Stand (extended version) is a must read. Definitely my favorite King book. It has a great flow, and only slows a bit during a small section of "town meetings" (which can be skipped over entirely). That book is pure gold....but don't read it when people around you are coming down with the flu.

Love King's older books. Started reading them around age 10 or so. Bachman Books, Four Seasons, Pet Semetary, Cujo....great era of reading.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Omg..."It" was definitely a case of writers' diarrhea. A good 400 pages too long.

But....if you want to read a super amazing looooooong book by King, The Stand (extended version) is a must read. Definitely my favorite King book. It has a great flow, and only slows a bit during a small section of "town meetings" (which can be skipped over entirely). That book is pure gold....but don't read it when people around you are coming down with the flu.

Love King's older books. Started reading them around age 10 or so. Bachman Books, Four Seasons, Pet Semetary, Cujo....great era of reading.

The Stand is also one of my favorite King books. I'm already a fan of apocalyptic stories, so it wasn't too hard to win me over. The ending is a bit of a letdown, but still totally worth giving it a read.

And trust me about the newer novels I mentioned above, they are incredibly well-written, entertaining reads as well, perhaps more so than some of his classics. "11/22/63" in particular is probably in my top-5 Stephen King books.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

The Stand is also one of my favorite King books. I'm already a fan of apocalyptic stories, so it wasn't too hard to win me over. The ending is a bit of a letdown, but still totally worth giving it a read.

And trust me about the newer novels I mentioned above, they are incredibly well-written, entertaining reads as well, perhaps more so than some of his classics. "11/22/63" in particular is probably in my top-5 Stephen King books.

Newest King book I read was Cell. It was ok, but having people compare it to The Stand (mainly because of the whole virus/end of the world thing) sort of made it a letdown. Another recent one...forget the name but it was about the girl who idolized a baseball player and was lost in the woods in Maine...that was a nice read.

I haven't done much reading in the past decade or so...Max Brooks World War Z stands out as a beauty (especially considering all the garbage out there in the zombie genre). Same with The Road.

I did start Needful Things a few months back but lost interest. I like King as an easy read, but at the same time, it's too easy to get into his mindset. After about 50-75 pages or so, it's pretty easy to know exactly where the book is going and what will happen. I'll probably get back to it one day.

 

[PatrickEaves]

I have 114 fiction books on my bookshelf (another 100 or so non-fiction), and another 200+ ebooks that I spent money on.

>_>

And the first book I ever bought was this one: The Message (Animorphs #4) by Katherine Applegate

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Newest King book I read was Cell. It was ok, but having people compare it to The Stand (mainly because of the whole virus/end of the world thing) sort of made it a letdown. Another recent one...forget the name but it was about the girl who idolized a baseball player and was lost in the woods in Maine...that was a nice read.

I haven't done much reading in the past decade or so...Max Brooks World War Z stands out as a beauty (especially considering all the garbage out there in the zombie genre). Same with The Road.

I did start Needful Things a few months back but lost interest. I like King as an easy read, but at the same time, it's too easy to get into his mindset. After about 50-75 pages or so, it's pretty easy to know exactly where the book is going and what will happen. I'll probably get back to it one day.

Hmm, you are mentioning a lot of the more mediocre books of King's repertoire. Cell was very so-so, and is leagues below the books I brought up earlier, imo. If anyone compares it to The Stand, I wonder if they really read the books.

World War Z and The Road are both splendid, I concur.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

That is awesome!

I'm the only big reader in my family, so besides encyclopedias I didn't have much to read and so it didn't come naturally to me until later.

I'm an unabashed King fan myself. I'll read high-brow material, but Stephen just knows how to entertain. His son Joe is just as good. I highly suggest reading NOS4A2. Also, to any other King fans, "11/22/63" is amazing, and so are "Revival" and "Mr. Mercedes" to a somewhat lesser degree. The guy just keeps pumping out classics.

Couldn't agree more. Despite being a total brick, a real page-turner. I plowed through about half of it on a plane to Indiana.

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Couldn't agree more. Despite being a total brick, a real page-turner. I plowed through about half of it on a plane to Indiana.

They're making a mini-series out of it too. Hopefully it turns out better than other King novel-to-tv translations.

I guess it is quite a large book, but it was such a fun read that I forgot it was almost 900 pages long!

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

They're making a mini-series out of it too. Hopefully it turns out better than other King novel-to-tv translations.

I guess it is quite a large book, but it was such a fun read that I forgot it was almost 900 pages long!

I have high hopes for this one, honestly. It's a style that I think lends itself to a mini-series a lot better than others he's done. Much more accessible to the layman. Until that one point near the end, of course...

 

[maclean]

WOW! The first book I ever bought was Dragonlance as well!!! I'm pretty sure it was the Legend of Huma by Richard Knaak.

I think the first book I bought was Forgotten Realms - Curse of the Azure Bonds. My older brother already had most of the Dragonlance books so I had to carve out my own niche..

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Got a special goodie to add to my karma puns if a GDT gets posted.

 

[saskriders]

 

[Do Make Say Think]

10 days to go though

 

[saskriders]

Still just unbelievable, even as a supporter from before I could even vote


I think Calgary is pretty much going to determine the election. I don't see much swing happening elsewhere.

 

[MakeOttawaGreatAgain]

Still just unbelievable, even as a supporter from before I could even vote


I think Calgary is pretty much going to determine the election. I don't see much swing happening elsewhere.

Is that for the provincial elections or the upcoming federal ones?

Holy moley if NDP wins

Ok, it's provincial :p

 

[PatrickEaves]

I wouldn't put much stock into polls for Alberta elections.

Before the last election, every single poll thought Wildrose was going to win, and then the PC's got a record number of seats.

People in Alberta answer the opposition during the polls as a protest telling the PCs they aren't happy with their entitlement, but when the real election comes along, they realize all the other parties are even worse (or not compatible to their political views) and just vote for the PCs anyways because they are the least worst option.

 

[saskriders]

Alberta has more progressives than you think

The biggest difference between this election and others is the right is split, and the left is uniting around one party.

The polls were wrong last time because the Wildrose scared of soft support, and encouraged left wingers to vote PC to stop them.

The two big questions in my mind are:
-How many PC supporters will vote Wildrose to stop the NDP
-How many former PC/Liberal voters who are supporting the NDP will get cold feet.

I wouldn't call polls the be all and end all, but they aren't meaningless by any means

 

[PatrickEaves]

Alberta has more progressives than you think

The biggest difference between this election and others is the right is split, and the left is uniting around one party.

The polls were wrong last time because the Wildrose scared of soft support, and encouraged left wingers to vote PC to stop them.

The two big questions in my mind are:
-How many PC supporters will vote Wildrose to stop the NDP
-How many former PC/Liberal voters who are supporting the NDP will get cold feet.

I wouldn't call polls the be all and end all, but they aren't meaningless by any means

Progressive whatever. It's not like PCs doesn't stand for Progressive Conservative or anything. Seriously though, you're talking about the "left", which I don't disagree with, but I think you overstate it.

Regardless of their political beliefs about taxation and spending, there is a deep seated trepidation among the older generation in Alberta about "the left", because rightly or wrongly they still blame the National Energy Program for the economic collapse of the west in the 1980s (Side Note: These are the same people that are saying they will never vote for the Liberal party as long as their leader is a guy named Trudeau). So you have an entire generation (the generation that actually votes - see: our pathetic youth voter turnout) that refuses to vote for a "leftist party" because they equate them with being anti "the Western economy".

I'm not saying that it's impossible for the NDP to win this election, but I really doubt anything happens. The Wildrose winning? Sure, people are more pissed at the PC government now (after that idiot Redford ), than before the last election, but if people are going to protest vote, I doubt they go "left" instead of going more "right". Even if their political beliefs are probably more in line with the NDP's views than the Wildrose's views, that subconscious dislike of Trudeau's Liberals have tainted the political discourse in this province more than any other.

(Alberta Politics is dumb. But hey, taking poli sci courses in Alberta means we had to study it.)

 

[Harbinger]

I normally hate Alberta politics, but I did enjoy watching Danielle Smith's meltdown

 

[Silvercup Returns]

So, I'm now a coach for a professional moba team.

Come at me.

Gonna put those boys in their place

 

[Baby Ryan]

Just finished setting up the site for the MS Run/Walk tomorrow, can't wait to see how many people show up.