The Town of Odyssey

*offers to lend it to Catspaw*
I know it's around here somewhere...

EB's Antagonizer wrote:Ever read "The Gospel According to the Peanuts"?

We have that book! I didn't read it though, it looked really boring.

Depends on whether or not you like reading Peanuts comic strips.

Well...I think the strip is somewhat "quaint". Not really interested in reading "The Gospel of Peanuts" though.

Frank wrote:Well...I think the strip is somewhat "quaint". Not really interested in reading "The Gospel of Peanuts" though.

*starts chanting*

"Frank is a heretic! Down with Frank!"

Like I said, I didn't use to really like them, so I can understand why other people might feel the way that I used to. However, there's some good stuff in them! I appreciated them more when I read a bunch at a time, instead of just one a day in the newspaper. You get a better grasp on the bigger picture, and see some repeating themes that, for me, just got funniermeach time.

Peanuts also seems timeless. Some of the comics are decades old, yet still amusing and relateable. Something like Dilbert is great, and I love reading it, but in 20 years, I doubt that the old Dilbert comics will still manage to have the same appeal and fan base that Peanuts has.

I'm a kinda, sorta Peanuts fan myself. I've read quite a few strips although probably nowhere near the amount produced by Charles Schulz. Snoopy's cute. I don't actually read any comics too often... although I do own a Family Circus book which has a few in there that I really like.
I guess I used to read Calvin and Hobbes when I was little because my sister had several books.
Comic-reading is just one of those things that I might enjoy doing but don't take the time to do unless it comes to me.

I'm reading a book that I got for Christmas, but never found the right time to read yet. It's a Christian fiction book - The Last Storyteller by Diane Noble. It's pretty good so far - I'm about a third of the way through. I'm enjoying the storyline and the medieval flashback sequences in story form.

I guess I'm kind of used to some of this stuff, since I've read so many books, especially of the Christian ficiton variety, but the issues seem to be pushed a bit too much. I'm certainly not against having moral issues brought into a book, but sometimes it seems like a bit too much. Sometimes it feels like sharing all the details about the evils of stem cell research take priority over the storyline. I agree with the author's opinion on the issue, and I know that fiction can be a good way to communicate facts, but the integration is seeming a bit forced to me right now.

The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan. The WoT series is quite good, except for the dualistic worldview. I wonder if anyone else reads the series, though. It doesn't seem very wellknown.

You can add me to the lsit of people who haven't heard of the book/series that you're reading, Elf.

I finished The Last Storyteller - it was pretty good overall. I mean, to a certain extent is was fairly predictable, but there were a few moments where I wasn't totally sure if my original guesses had been correct. I guess there's only so many plots out there, without getting really weird, so there has to be some element of predictability. I was satisfied with the ending, if not thrilled or amazed, so I'm glad that I finally read the book!

Right now I'm reading one on the Persian gulf war.

I just finished Brave New World and now I'm reading "The Scorpion" about a boy who is the clone of a nasty drug load in Mexico and what happens to him.

Iron Saints and Iron Men by Harold Lamb.

The Human Body: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!
-by Dr. Jay L. Wile and Marilyn M. Shannon

Chandler wrote:I'm a kinda, sorta Peanuts fan myself.

Some collect Star Wars, others Winnie the Pooh. But I collect Snoopy and Charlie! It makes shopping for me very easy for my friends.

Books I'm reading:

Foundations of American Education
A Ship Possessed (Gansky)
Exodus (2nd book of the Bible... )
Savage Inequalities
Child Development
When Perfect Is Not Good Enough
Pride and Prejudice

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...some of those are texts for summer classes. I didn't list all of them, just the ones that I'm finding interesting.

LovedbyGod wrote:I just finished a book called: The Giver

Someone needs to read it so we can talk about it. It's a creepy/social kind of book. Makes you think about how society is now.

I read that a few years ago and it was wicked creepy i thought. the end of the book is really sad. As for books i'm reading now. I graduate in like 2 weeks and am not reading anything right now due to the fact that i've read pleanty already this year and am taking a break at least untill I start working at the book store then I'll read whenever it's not busy. And I'll have my choice of like any book I want.

LovedbyGod wrote:I just finished a book called: The Giver

Someone needs to read it so we can talk about it. It's a creepy/social kind of book. Makes you think about how society is now.

"The Giver" is a ....ahem......strange book.

Sunday wrote:

Chandler wrote:I'm a kinda, sorta Peanuts fan myself.

Some collect Star Wars, others Winnie the Pooh. But I collect Snoopy and Charlie! It makes shopping for me very easy for my friends.

Now I know what to get you for your birthday!

Uh... I'm not reading anything right now unless the Bible, a math book, and the Town of Odyssey count for anything.

YAY! Let's talk about The Giver!

Ok, why did you think the ending was sad? In an interview with the author she said she wanted readers to draw their own conclusions about the ending but that she thought it was a positive ending. *shrugs* I hate it when authors do that. And did you know, so far I haven't read one of those messed up future civilation books with a good ending. The main character usually dies.

Elf of Rivendell wrote:The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan. The WoT series is quite good, except for the dualistic worldview. I wonder if anyone else reads the series, though. It doesn't seem very wellknown.

I must confess I'm a big WoT fan. Have you read the whole series through already? I read them about ten years ago and have kept up with each new book as it's released. Before the next one comes out, I'm planning on rereading the whole thing though--after all these years I'm starting to forget who a few of the hundreds of characters are.

I definitely know what you mean by its dualistic worldview--but I don't think it's any more than in a lot of fantasy, like, say, Narnia (edit: or LOTR!). What particularly about it do you find troubling? To me, it's a little unrealistic--there's the good guys, and there's the Darkfriends. Despite this, I think the characters (both good and evil) have a great deal of depth. The world's cultures are particularly well done.

Evil Chick wrote:I am currently reading . . . "Authentic Beauty" by Leslie Ludy

That sounds interesting. What do you think of it?

I just finished Jesus in the Margins by Rick McKinley (incidentally the pastor of my new church) and highly recommend it. I don't think I can say anything about it without diminishing it.

I'm also reading Deep Secret, another masterpiece by Diana Wynne Jones, whose books I adore.

And a version of the Robin Hood tales I've never read before.

Has any one read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? It's kinda fun. A little too much swearing and sex. A great read if you can ignore all of that stuff. I wonder how the movie will turn out.