Yup. Keerthi (relax Kirthi... I meant sensiblystoned) has tossed me the baton... kind of like those ghost - to - ghost - hookups in The Three Investigators, so I'm supposed to talk about the books I read and pass this on to 5 others. Well, I will talk about the books, but I'm not going to pass this on, because like in a lot of other things in life, the buck stops here.
Total Number of Books I Own:
Okay, so I did sort out all the junk in my room and arranged my books neatly, but seriously, count them??!!!
Last Few Books I Bought:
Jerle Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks. A few good fantasy concepts, but overall not a great read. Tries to combine Science Fiction with Fantasy and fails miserably. I heard the Kingdom of Shannara series is better. Perhaps I'll read it if I find it in a library.
Talons of a Silver Hawk by Raymond Feist. This is the first book of the Conclave of Shadows series. Not a bad book, but not all that exciting either... but places the story in a very interesting situation, so I'm sure the next book will be worth buying.
Tombs of A'tuan by Ursula Le Guin. Second book of the Earthsea Cycle. Excellent book, better than the first book, Wizard of Earthsea, which was interesting too. Am trying hard to find the third book!
Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. First book of the Discworld series. Too funny! Terry Pratchett is to fantasy what Douglas Adams is to Science Fiction! Don't read if you're not already a fantasy fiction fan or a geek, you'll totally miss the satire otherwise!
Last Book I Read:
Monsoon by Wilbur Smith. Too reminiscent of Birds of Prey. He really ought to have been more original this time. Good book for timepass, but it's too obvious that he wrote it just to make more money since the Courteney series was already such a hit, and people were bound to buy this one.
Last Book I Re-read:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire :) What can I say, I'm going to re-read Order of the Phoenix next, in preparation for Half-Blood Prince!!
Currently Reading:
Some food book my Mom asked me to read... health and nutrition and all that... she wants me to be more educated on these things. Actually I don't mind, I'm going to read it through... I hope..
My Mom's first cookbook! Yup, It's been 17 years since it came out, but since I'm learning cooking only now, I'm reading it properly for the first time! Am particularly mugging up the translations of various things between Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English. I don't want to be picking up the wrong dhal off the shelf because I forgot what the English name is...
Books that have made an impression upon me:
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Just love the characters of Francisco D'Anconia and Dagny Taggart. But relax... I'm not one of those serious Randian philosophizers.
The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. What a contrast from her fantasy novels! A Science Fiction book with no Science Fiction in it. In the same category as 1984 and Brave New World, only a zillion times better.
Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger. A timeless classic, a touching story about all the hypocrites in the world that we see but don't acknowledge, and often join.
Illusions by Richard Bach. A highly metaphorical story that teaches us about how one must discover one's own capabilities, and have faith in oneself.
Books I'm Waiting For:
Wheel of Time, Book 11: The Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan. Okay, so this brilliantly conceptualized series totally lost momentum after Book 4, but I'm still going to read it till the finish!!
A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4: A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin. This is one amazing series, totally different from traditional fantasy fiction! Read it to understand how! Not for kids, though... this is the first fantasy series I've read (apart from Wilbur Smith's River God and it's sequel, Warlock) that's really graphic on the sexual content...
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. After converting a brilliant fantasy work into a soap thanks to Order of The Phoenix, I'm hoping this book will recapture the magic.
Books I've been told to read:
Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus. Sigh. One of my friends (a girl, obviously) (her name is Prathusha) told me to read this because I don't understand women. Like I'm alone in that.
Some self help book on improving my conversation skills, forgot the name. Same girl. Says I have trouble making myself understood. Double sigh. Kirthi, you reading this? Laughing your head off yet?
Okay, I guess everything I've said above is a little too concise and I could't really tell all the things I wanted to and couldn't list all the books I wanted to, plus I couldn't make a list of must-read books in my opinion because all this would take too long... puff... pant... I'm out of breath.
Cheers,
SP.
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20 comments:
You ought to be out of your mind to read Wheel of time, Book 11. Well if its any good and if hes finishing the story with Book 11 let me know. I dont think I have the patience to read through the whole thing. Im going to wait for GRRM to finish his series, wait for the collectors edition and then buy it :)
Aha! So u have been given the opportunity to chronicle a miniscule part of the tomes that you have been devouring ever since you were born :)
Wohohahahha! Improve your communication skills huh? Maybe you should coz I for one haven't figured out what you are trying to say in ur last post! See lucidity isn't the key to effective communication.
SP :
3 investigators *sigh*. Try getting your hands on Wilbur Smith's " The 7th Scroll" its too good.
Wait a minute you never mentioned LOR :(.
A quick question .. Why do you read fantasy books ? What is it that you look for in a book ?
Vc the postman delivers a speedpost to SP :
"Tell him I don’t see R.A Salvatore, David Eddings and Robert Aspirin in his list and tell him he made a terrible mishtake trying terry brooks with JERLE SHANNARA!!!!!! Series. Please tell him to take up the kingdom series – Sword of shannara, Elfstones and wishsong --- ohhh those are the real stuff !! . also the magic kingdom series by terry brooks is recommended."
PS:(Its post script duh!!) She did not read the full post.
haven't read most of the books u mentioned. including ur mom's. abhi time nahin aaya u see ;)
@ Keerthi
Well, he plans to finish with just one more book after Knife of Dreams, though I wonder how he can do it with all the threads lying loose.
As for GRRM, thats a good idea... but I read him as ebooks so I didnt have to spen a sou so far anyway :)
@ Kirthi
Oh relax Kirthi... I know I'm not that great at communicating, but surely it's worse if you can't even understand the words, leave alone the ideas.
@ Vc
Of course I've read Seventh Scroll! How can I have read River God and Warlock and not have read a book in connection with them :)
If I get started on LOTR, I can't stop :) so better I didn't mention it... incidentally, the author who I really think I've missed out here is Janny Wurts. Really brilliant she is.
What do I look for in a fantasy book? A well conceptualized fantasy world, including places, races, magic, main characters, etc... plus the usual elements of good story-telling: character building, plot, writing style, etc. But the key ingredients are ORIGINALITY and IMAGINATION.
Hey Vc... here's my reply to whoever sent that message:
Salvatore is one of the most superb fantasy world creators I've seen. The games series of Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, etc were simply too good. Not to mention, Drizzt Do'Urden is my favourite fantasy character of all time. But however good Salvatore is at world and character building, he fails miserably when it comes to writing skills and story teling!
I have Eddings' Amber series with me in ebook but am yet to start it :) will talk about that after I've read a few! But I haven't got very favourable reviews about it so far.
I haven't heard much about Robert Aspirin... and yes, I have heard that the Terry Brooks books you are talking about are good, and I hope they are better than Jerle Shannara!
Vc, tell this friend of yours to get in touch with me... I know very few people who read all this stuff!!
Vc the postman parks his bicycle.
SP kaun hai babu? please sign here.. thank you..
""
Your friend !!! this SP guy WAT IS HE SAYING ?????????????? . Salavatore is superb in story telling.. oh my god has he read all the series that Salvatore has written ????. R.A.S ‘s insight into the characters are such a treat to the mind. His story is so well knit and Drizzt is ohh…. ( I am breaking down and crying here ! I can’t muster vocal strength to talk abt someone so high above mere mortals).
David Eddings amber series is probably far far poorer than his mallorean and belgariad series is so light it can carry you away. And terry brooks should have stopped writing after he wrote the first 7 shannara books and the magic kingdom series instead he tortured the world with demon and void series and jerle shannara series
Robert Aspirin --- read Myth series others not so good …...
( I hope someone pays me for this)
Heehee... Vc, your friend is a funny one...
Okay, lets see now... I agree to the fact that Salvatore's characters are built up very well. And of course Drizzt is so high above mortals than even my voice breaks while talking about him. Sniff. And who was that assassin in Icewind Dale trilogy? Forget his name... GOD, the anti-parallellism between him and Drizzt is brought out brilliantly.
But in both Icewind Dale and Dark Elf Trilogies, the manner of narration leaves a lot to be desired. Almost amateurish, and definitely seems made for kids only. The overall plot is splendid, but as you read it line by line, it feels wafer thin.
Vc, did you know that Salvatore wrote the scripts for the Star Wars movies? The last three I mean.
And, oh, in Baldur's Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn, Drizzt and his party (yep, all of them... Cattie, Wulfgar, Guenhwyvar and Dwarf) put in a guest appearance... sort of as a tribute.. they help you kill the evil vampire Bodhi. But I wanted to see the powers of Frostburn and Twinkle, so I killed them once to check out the items. Sob. My heart still bleeds...
Thanks for the tips on Terry Brooks and Robert Aspirin... and a tip from me... read Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts... too good!!
And for heavens sake mail me... this entire conversation shouldn't have happened on a blog!!!
Sp Salvatore wrote the SW script ? wow ... and I will give your mail id to her..But I liked being the postman.. moreover I get to keep all the stamps .
* sigh ...
Artemis Entreri .....thats the name of the assassin. It was funny reading two fantasy aficionados fight it out on blog :)
Yep, that's him :)
And just remembered the others... the Dwarf be Bruenor, and I forgot little Regis the Halfling!
Sp, Its me Vc .. you better sharpen your swords and string the bow... For I hear the bells toll and the drums rolling. Its time for WAR.
I close my eyes in resignation (you can see my picture below which is a pseudo picture (similar to a pseudonym)) at yours friends lack of appreciation at the skills of a master story teller. (sigh!!!! bigger sigh!!!!!!!!!!) …. I really don’t know what to tell a person who has set a single foot in an unexplored land and already claims to know the dimensions, inhabitants and their qualifications….. but onerous as this task is it has to be done or else the world will slip into unfathomable depths of rot and ruin (sigh!!!). Upon receipt of the treacherous contents of your mail (from your friend) I hastily called up my brother for moral support. We both have a list of people who need a good medicinal kick for their brain to function effectively(of course we borrowed this idea from Calvin who believes if he charges all those people one dollar for every kick he can become a millionaire quickly) and agreed that we may have to add your friend’s name to it. Though my brother(21 yrs) who has read books and played the game himself holds your friend in high regard for both reading and playing Salvatore (we had not found any of that species yet) ……. he merely shakes his head and tut tut’s at the effrontery of the young man in disparaging the sacred author (and highest selling fantasy guy). He may have read Icewind Dale and Dark Elf Trilogies without his specs(that might be why he reads line by line and in between to find salvatores greatness) but wat about Leagacy of the drow … wat about thousand orcs and thousand other books Salvatore has written and how can a man who builds characters like Artemis Entreri(the assassin who is so sinfully good) and the flawless drow not be a master story teller??????!!!!!!!. If he has brains enuf to paint for his readers the inner workings of the minds of gods and mortal men, weave mighty plots in all the hundreds of books that he has written and write it in language plain enuf for even your naïve friend to understand how can he not be a master story teller . Every story teller who is a master story teller applies the K.I.S.S theory. Keep It Simple and Stupid. Now your friend will tell me tolkien was kiddish in hobbit and Brain Jacques was menatally retarded to write the redwall series. He might also tell me David eddings is a frivolous fool without the clowns cap or paint coz he is so light hearted in his story sketches or that richmal crompton ought to have written boring adult books instead of the delightful william. Oh perhaps your friend prefers the bloodsucker of a thug of a Robert Jordan who keeps siphoning of money from his fans to give them a bilge of the 8th 9th and 10th books of wheel of time series without heartily murdering the forsaken with bale fire. Oh woe be me . I have to close my eyes (proof below)and ears against this sacrilege. I cannot mail your friend directly for fear of reducing him to a state of blubbering fear with my tirade. But I also fear I might be speech less … wafer thin????!!!! …. Indeed …
=====================
I'm sorry I had to paste it here..Her name is Madz.
Oh God.. this is too good... I am laughing too hard to hear myself think!!!
Vc... I said E-MAIL... which of those 5 letters was hard to understand?? Fine, so it continues as blogtalk..
Dear Mad(z),
I would definitely rate Salvatore higher than Jordan. And yes, I really hate it when the forsaken keep coming back to life.. sheesh why is balefire forbidden?? Ok, that was rhetorical, I know the answer already. And I've mentioned already that Wheel of Time lost all steam after the fourth book, but I'm continuing to read it because I still want to know how the story goes.
Sure I know that fantasy authors often simplify the language because, after all, the books are for young adults (being politically correct :) ). But THAT is exactly what I have a problem with. I'm not saying that Salvatore is a bad author for writing in that way, I'm saying that those books are bad because they overdo it. Think of it just as a book, rather than a Fantasy book, and you'll realize how far it falls short of international standards when it comes to basic writing flair. I am totally in love with the Fantasy content of the books, and consider the world created by Salvatore far better than that of Feist, Martin or Jordan. I don't know whether Salvatore is capable of writing better, but my opinion remains that Dark Elf Trilogy and Icewind Dale Trilogy were somewhat poorly written.
I haven't read Eddings or Jacques or Crompton, but I hope I'll have the opportunity.
Afraid?? In my own land of fantasy? you're joking... bring it on!! Vc, for heavens sake give her my email id... or is she the one who is craven?
A very nasty but pleasantly amused,
SP.
Yeah that's right blame the big nosed messenger. grr.
SP : Here's what she has to say..
CRAVEN??????!!!!!!! …. Well ravens and vultures will be circling overhead after this battle is over. For now ,swift retribution calls for adding his name to the list I mentioned earlier. Your friend has never probably sat beside a campfire to hear stories being told They are always told in the Salvatore fashion or in the fashion in which dragonlance trilogy begins—a fashion which calls for absorbing the listener in to the story with vivid imagery … and cuts and stunts with whirring scimitars are precisely wat gives those vivid images. your friend --- [ is his nickname courtingdisaster?(an asterix character who gets bashed) ]seems to be a new age....... wafer eater who doesn’t kno the pages of his books from his choclate wafers … no wonder he gets confused…. Huh!! Really it is beneath me to continue this but still parting shots are needed. Ask your friend to read Sydney Sheldon (this is to fantasy lovers as norah jones is to metal fans)or all those dime a dozen pathetic excuses of authors who churn out cheap thrillers every time they trip on something …. ugh ugh my boy I am really disgruntled.
What do I get if I give her mail id to you? Hee hee Vc at least u'll stop getting punched in the process. In WWF matches the referees end up in the ICU, so take that as a lesson and give SP the id, just ask them to keep u in the loop :) Oh and as a passing thought: Why on earth is everyone hellbent on targetting SP and me. Hello can't people have opinions? (what has democracy come to!)
Kirthi go do your homework and no more TV for you .
When i read this comment:
[ is his nickname courtingdisaster?(an asterix character who gets bashed) I was Laughing my head off.
I'm not sure why she wants to be in the dark... Oh kirthi shes a libran too .
Hey Vc... this is my last reply that will be on the blog... not another word from me unless 'tis by email!!
Dear Madhavi,
I have one thing left to say:
Sorry Aunty :p
Regards
Prashanth.
This is not fair SP .. I already invited my friends over and I even put it on my blog ...
Now they'll want their money back..OH God...( Vc hides)
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