hh_clubs | Restricted Section: Term XXVI

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Restricted Section: Term XXVI - Read, Reading, To Read

Activity: Read, Reading, To Read
Points: 10 points for your initial comment, 2 points for every substantial response, max 30 points
Deadline: August 30 @ 11:59PM UTC (Timezone Converter)

Details: Since this will be my only activity of Term XXVI, I wanted to both do something relatively simple AND take the opportunity to get to know you guy, so we're going to have a discussion post about our recent reading habits. For your initial comment, write at least 150 words talking about books you've recently read, are currently reading, and/or what you plan to read next. You can talk about any aspect of the books you wish, but some ideas would be why you selected the books, what you liked/didn't like about them, whether you'd recommend them to others, etc. For your responses, you'll need to write at least 50 words. Make sure you're saying something more than, "I read that book and liked/hated it!" Try to open a dialogue about what was good or bad, or even why you chose NOT to read it. Anything goes, as long as there's substance to it.

If you have any questions, direct them to the appropriate thread. As always, don't forget to sign each comment with your name/house or a sigtag.

Also, do remember that I wiped the roster clean, so if you have bonus items, make sure you register them HERE as soon as possible to earn your extra points. I won't be giving grace periods, so please double-check that you're good to go!

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

This is going to sound weird, but to me Four is reminding me of Edward Cullen. The whole "I don't want Tris to be in danger" thing. I mean she's in Dauntless for pity's sake. She's supposed to want to be in danger and do daring things. But Four just doesn't want to let her do anything that could be potentially harmful. Are they Dauntless or aren't they? Sheesh.

Shawn//Hufflepuff

Oh man. Aha, years ago I used to read 100+ books within a summer, let alone a year but now I get nowhere near that because I read so much online. However, I was telling Julia/

corcaigh earlier this morning that I am 4'11" and have a stack of books next to my bed that reaches my stomach/mid-waist, and I wasn't lying one bit. The stack itself is a mix of non-fiction and fiction. Some of the non-fiction books include -- Excel 2013 Simplified (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16287085-excel-2013-simplified) and Excel Formulas and Functions for Dummies (http://www.amazon.com/Excel-Formulas-Functions-Dummies-Computer/dp/1118460847/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377242472&sr=8-1&keywords=excel+formulas+and+functions+for+dummies). There's also Adobe Illustrator CS6 Digital Classroom (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15868887-adobe-illustrator-cs6-digital-classroom) and other related books [this one (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13594520-photoshop-cs6-and-lightroom-4) and this one (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13588553-flash-cs6)]. There's also The Complete Idiot's Guide to Google Chrome and Chrome OS (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9392842-the-complete-idiot-s-guide-to-google-chrome-and-chrome-os) Twitter Tips, Tricks and Tweets (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7675904-twitter-tips-tricks-and-tweets) and Teach Yourself Visually Pinterest (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15027177-teach-yourself-visually-pinterest). These are next to my bed because I like learning more about things I use on a daily basis, and sometimes I'll create little guidebooks for myself or friends and stuff. The last non-fiction book I have is this one (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2600598-1001-books-for-every-mood), mostly so I can find more books to read at some point in my future ;)

As for fiction -- I'm actually going away this week, hence the large amount. There was this one time I brought 25+ books with me and read them all in the single week I was away! Anyways! I have Clockwork Angel (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7171637-clockwork-angel?ac=1) [and Prince (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10025305-clockwork-prince?ac=1). I've had the mortal instruments on hold for a year or so now at my library [where I coincidentally work, hence the books] and found these two. I originally thought it was a different series but learned otherwise. I'm about halfway through the first one! I also have The Future of Us (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10959277-the-future-of-us?ac=1) being read, but that's slow.

I have the first two books in this (http://www.goodreads.com/series/69365-darklight) series, all in this (http://www.goodreads.com/series/44755-halo) series, and this (http://www.goodreads.com/series/40332-book-of-ember) series. I have this book (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14780701-the-kiss) and fricken finally, My Sister's Keeper..

I know, it's a lot of books. But I have all week to read them :D

Jamie / Gryffindor

Edited 2013-08-23 07:46 (UTC)

The Book Thief was an amazing!! book. I read it.... three or four years ago? It took me forever to get into, but I absolutely loved the point of view. It took me even longer to actually understand the book but it was worth the read -- I think the saddest part was when I found out her father died [if I remember correctly]. I cried so hard during that part, it completely surprised me. It was also one of my favorite parts, I won't lie.

Jamie / Gryff / 12pts

I love YA fiction myself -- I myself really want to start reading TMI myself, but all of the books are majorly on hold -- I was lucky enough to even pick up the prequel books, which I am not letting go of myself.

I read a few pages of The Casual Vacancy when at work at one point, and I literally could not keep my head up while reading it. I was constantly distracted and it just -- wasn't good. I kind of feel like Rowling is a one hit wonder in the writing world. She created this fabulous series as her first books, and now everything else she writes just won't live up to the HP books, causing a lot of people to be disappointed.

Jamie/Gryff/14pts

I started reading Dracula but stopped because I became super busy -- I would love to get into it again and I think the reasons you think you were spoiled are the reasons I want to read it. Specifically -- I never really listened to the people talking about it, so I wouldn't know things. I mean, sure, I'll know he's a vampire, but it'll make it so much more fun for me aha.

Also, I totally didn't remember it was in diary entries and first pov so this just makes me really excited even more now.

Jamie / Gryff / 16pts

When I first read The Hunger Games, I didn't expect to have the reaping come so fast -- and it definitely was jarring, but it was something unique and made me like it. And the death scenes -- while graphic, kept the story going. Which is something I enjoyed, creepy enough.

Also, catching fire is good but I found mockingjay kind of ruined it for me. It made me thoroughly depressed.

Jamie/Gryff/18pts

I've always wanted to read Sophie Kinsella books, but they always seemed girly to me. They seemed interesting, but not interesting enough, I guess. My point, aha, is what would you say is good about Kinsella and bad? Like, for example, Janet Evanovich, while her books are good, are very easy to guess, as they're repetitive. So,.... xD

JAmie/Gryff/20

I've been wanting to read ASOIAF for so long, but all of the books are on major hold and it's frustrating. So far, since I don't mind being completely spoiled, what do you like and dislike about the books? I watched the first season a long time ago but don't remember much. I know you said you didn't watch it, but how do you think it coincides with the book/show etc?

JAmie/gryff/22

When I first picked it up, I was surprised the point of view it was written in. I didn't think I'd like it, but I ended up loving it! The whole end of that book made me sad. Who do you think Liesel ended up marrying? I for some reason pictured her ending up with Max because they had both been through so much together, even though he was so much older than her.

Shawn//Hufflepuff

I've only read one of Kinsella's books so I'm not the best judge of her work. lol. You are right that her books are girly. Really girly actually. So if you don't like girly books, then Kinsella isn't for you. And I suppose they are predictable if you bother to think about the plot when you read (as oppose to only reading fully in the moment). I think it's more a matter of tastes than good and bad. If you enjoy some romantic comedies, you might enjoy her books. Because her books really are like romantic comedies. Simple, formulaic but with endearing characters that you can with in some ways.

Martine//Ravenclaw

I honestly loved the Clockwork Angel (the whole Infernal Devices series really). To me they were better than the Mortal Instruments. You'll have to let me know how you like them! I'm always eager for people to read the Infernal Devices :D

Shawn//Hufflepuff

It really varies in my library system. The one by my house and the one by my work have basically nothing. The one by where I babysit had a few. There are three libraries in the system that seem to have a decent number. I visited the first a couple of months back and visited the second a couple of weeks ago. I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of titles at the library. I'd love to support the comics I like by buying them, but that just so isn't financially feasible at the moment.

Yay for your sister's friend. I love it when librarians branch out from traditional materials. (Even though I adore traditional materials, don't get me wrong.)

Meredith // Hufflepuff // 4? I think?

I didn't really care for Hitchhiker's Guide, but Douglas Adams came to speak at my college years ago, and I loved listening to him. I loved his sense of humor and he had a lot of interesting things to say. I wish I remembered more of the details of what he'd said, versus just the general impression I have left now.

I'm also a recent reader of comic books. Although I've yet to read either of the two runs you mentioned, as I am more focused on X-Men at the moment. I read some graphic novels for a young adult literature class I took, but an entire class on it would be very interesting, I think.

Meredith // Hufflepuff // 5

I had to read Ender's Game for my children's literature class, and I loved it. The professor recommended that I follow it up with Ender's Shadow, but I hadn't gotten around to checking it out before I heard about Orson Scott Card's views and I couldn't bring myself to do it yet. I do love that first book, though.

I read the complete Sherlock Holmes back in 8th/9th grade, and I liked it. I don't remember much about it now, though, as that was a long time ago. I don't know if I'd like it as much now, as so many of the tales have been retold in various ways. So what would have seemed new before, wouldn't anymore. Good luck with it.

Meredith // Hufflepuff // 6

I still mean to read Doomsday Book. Because of ~~mafia~~ reasons. (Thanks for the reminder. I've added it to my Goodreads queue.) Even if I didn't like Kivrin from what I'd seen, the book sounds right up my alley. What with the speculative fiction kick I've been on recently.

Meredith // Hufflepuff

I feel slightly protective of Kivrin and I'm, like, HOW DARE YOU NOT LIKE HER. Only not really, because I get what's unlikeable about her.

Have you read Making History?

Heather / Hufflepuff

As someone who loves a lot of characters that fandom hates, I well understand that feeling. Very much so.

Nope. I've not generally been a Stephen Fry fan. I don't dislike him, but I don't love him and haven't sought out anything by him. I also tend to be more into mysteries/thrillers and fantasies than memoir/humor type books. I take it you'd recommend it?

Meredith // Hufflepuff

It's speculative fiction, and one of my favorite books. I think it would be worth reading if you're currently interested in that genre, though if you're not into Stephen Fry, you may not like it as much as I do.

Heather / Hufflepuff

It has an interesting premise. I've added it to my list of books to check out. My library has Doomsday Book, but it is checked out. Another local-ish library has it, but IDK that I can make it out there before it closes as it closes early. I might have to wait for it to be returned to the first one. The local library (where I'm going tomorrow) does have Making History. I might get it, although I have literally 101 books checked out at the moment. (In my defense, about a dozen of them I've finished reading and about 50 of them are for the kids in my class for our themes. :D ) So I have a lot of reading to do. :)

Meredith // Hufflepuff

I just recently discovered a new author who I really enjoy named Matthew Dicks. The first book of his that I read is called Something Missing. It's about a man with OCD who makes his living by stealing things from other people. He only steals things that will never actually be noticed, such as extra cans of food or bars of soap that sit around in pantries/linen closets for a long time. It's pretty brilliant, because upon thinking of it, things do go missing around the house from time to time, don't they? So I found it a plausible premise. And because Martin has OCD, he's so incredibly careful about the way he does things, and leaves no trace of himself in any of his clients' (as he calls them) houses. Along the way, Martin grows to care for his clients and finds himself in a whole entanglement of hijinks when he decides to start bettering their lives without their knowledge. This book is so clever, funny, and entertaining. I know from my description you may not like the main character because he's a thief, but seriously, he is the nicest thief you will ever met, and I genuinely loved reading about him. I stumbled upon this book at my local used bookstore and just thought it looked interesting, and it really made me want to read more by this author.

So I did. I went out and bought another book by Dicks called Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend. And again he is just so clever, because he's created this whole world of children's imaginary friends, who can communicate with one another but can't be seen by any humans other than the one who imagined them. The main character is Budo, the imaginary friend of Max, a young boy who's on the Autism spectrum. Budo is such a complex and fascinating character because he so desperately wants to live, even though he knows that he will disappear forever once Max stops believing in him. So he has to balance his love for Max with his need to survive, and things get really complicated when Max falls into a really dangerous situation and Budo has to try and rescue him despite the fact that nobody else can see him. It's truly a fascinating story, with fears and thrills.

I'm excited to have this activity to share those two books, actually, because I would definitely recommend them to anyone. I love creative, character-driven books more than anything, and both of these have amazing characters and some truly clever worlds and events.

Crystal of Puff

the second book you mentioned actually sounds incredibly interesting! i think it will be a good segue for me from the fantasy i'm reading now back into straight literature (which i keep trying to pick up but lose interest in quickly -- i miss reading books based in the "real world" tbh). i'll have to see if my library has it.

caitie / puff

I don't really pay attention to the strength of the writing so I can't comment of that but I have read the sequel to Matched. And I rather enjoyed it. I love how they kept on with the world-building. We get to learn why only a certain number of songs, movies, etc have been preserved and way more about how the world ended up being the way it is. Plus, Cassia (main character) definitely has more moments when she stood on her own and without thinking/worrying about the two boys.

Martine//Ravenclaw

Dickens, eh? I haven't read much of him. I tend to see more of his work done in plays or films adaptations. I can never decide if it's worth my time to invest in his writing. I love A Christmas Carol but that might just be because I enjoyed the story in film first. Oh, and I also read Oliver Twist but that was a good while ago. How was Great Expectations? I'm always weary of older classic novels because sometimes the style of writing is way more complicated than it needs to be to convey the story...even though I know that the style belongs to that particular time period.

Martine//Ravenclaw

I'm definitely hoping that the second book in the Selection series is more like the ending of the first book. The plot definitely picked up toward the end, and if the author keeps up with that, I think I'll be satisfied. I really do like the characters, and I feel like I'm invested enough in them that I want to know what happens, so I'd be really disappointed if I ended up having to stop just because the plot gets too sappy XD

And it's good to know you liked Divergent so much! Most of my friends who've read it share your opinion, so I have high hopes!

Shannon//Ravenclaw

I actually haven't read the hunger game yet. I have the first book in one of my to be read piles, but I keep getting distracted by other shinies XD Plus, I've basically already been spoiled for the entire plot, and while that won't necessarily stop me from reading it, it does make it less likely, when I have so many other things to read. And yes, the present tense *definitely* throws me off without even reading it. I can't even read fanfics in present tense, so I'm not sure I'd be able to get through an entire series!

Shannon//Ravenclaw

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Restricted Section: Term XXVI - Read, Reading, To Read

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