I finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins a couple of days ago. It was a very good read, but some bits bothered me, such as

Spoiler

the way they spoke casually about nudity and how Katniss and Peeta HAD to sleep together for warmth. Nice. Just give it necessity, and it works.

Wow, I haven't been on here in so long. 7 pages ago! Ah, grad school.

Conga-rats on getting a contract for your novel, FencerforJesus! How exciting!

Glenstorm the Great, your avvy and sig are Full of Win. I love your sig as well, Bookwyrm.

Those books sound interesting, Val! I'll have to check them out (I know, I always say that ). That Sisters Red one sounds like a Little Red Riding Hood/Snow White and Rose Red retelling. Let me know if it's good; fairytale retellings are among my favorite things to read.

Great quote from Anthony Trollope, wisewoman. *saves*

I confess I came mostly because I had some links to share before Halloween ended. Also I felt guilty for staying away so long, and I have a giant project I'm procrastinating on. Anyway, here are some Halloween-related links!

Supernatural collective nouns This is just awesome. A tackle of basilisks! Definitely click to enlarge.

How to crochet a Gollum hat LOVE. I've also seen a Yoda one that was similar but longer-eared and green, of course.

Abebooks: Otherworldly Books

Guide to Literary Accessories Perfect for if you've ever wondered what the heck a fichu was, or how to assemble a costume for dressing up like Shakespeare or whatever.

Terry Pratchett forges himself a SWORD out of a METEORITE since he is a KNIGHT Not specifically Halloween related but way too awesome not to share.

Fully-functional upside-down buildings Literally my first thought: MRS. PIGGLE-WIGGLE.

The Alethiometer/Golden Compass (click to enlarge) Basically all the little pictures it has and what they mean. I wish I had this when I was reading His Dark Materials.

Abebooks: Biblio Zombies: Books to Bring Back from the Dead

Speaking of book zombies: Should JK Rowling write another Harry Potter book?

10 Literary Halloween Costumes Awesome. The Miss Havisham would go great with this cake (which is also full of win).

I've been learning a lot about the history of books since that is the name of one of my classes. In reading about Incunabula, I came across this from the Nuremburg Chronicle that I just had to share with you guys:
where C.S. Lewis got the idea for DUFFLEPUDS !!!! (Picture is a woodcut from the Nuremburg Chronicles, a late medieval book, and is of Strange Peoples from Other Countries [really mutants that probably didn't exist]). The dufflepud is the top one in the left column. Lewis was a Medievalist, so he totally would have seen this. Probably. (Also: is the top picture in the right-hand column of a faun with his hooves turned into horses'?) PM me if you want a bigger picture, or google the Nuremburg Chronicles. Link edited for family-friendliness.

Warrior 4 Jesus: yeah I like it a lot!
cool! PM me what your username is if you join the forum!

I am re-reading "The 39 Clues" again! this series is so awesome!

For the number of times I've heard the Regina Doman books mentioned around here, they're proving strangely scarce in the local libraries…

Has anyone here read the Ranger's Apprentice series?

I've managed to get through more than half of "Eye of the World." Its entertaining enough, however the story is mainly abotu bad guys just chasing the good guys, and its getting tedious.

Has anyone here read the Ranger's Apprentice series?

I'm looking forward to getting the newest one from the library in a few weeks. (And I'm seriously considering importing the AU version for my collection. The cover is much more appealing--and book 10 is more so. (The other question is, "How interested am I in having a complete set of those covers?" I think that set has my favourite Icebound Lands... OH! And I suppose it would be interesting to find out if there were any changes to Burning Bridge between the first and second AU paperback releases.))

I haven't done a whole lot of reading this Nov. yet. G. A. Henty's Orange and Green and a couple volumes of Tintin.

I'm reading The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett; and Beauty: A Retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast, by Robin McKinley. They are both pretty good so far. Also reading Poppy and Rye, by Avi.

I haven't done a whole lot of reading this Nov. yet. G. A. Henty's Orange and Green and a couple volumes of Tintin.

Not a bad selection by itself.

What was your opinion of the Ranger's Apprentice books? Obviously you enjoyed them since you are still reading them, but I'm curious for a measured evaluation. The quick Google search I did for them turned up everything from "Excellent" to "Rip-off of Eragon" in the reviews.

Edit: Re: Burning Bridge cover
Is that . . . a modern suspension bridge? *facepalm*

The Australian covers do look nicer, though.

I just read "Burning For Revenge" by John Marsden (Liberty Hoffman got me into that series ) and I love it!

^^ yay! I am so glad you like those books!

I just finished reading the "Ingo" series by Helen Dunmore! I love those books so much!

Riv, I'm a tiny bit biased in favour of the Ranger's Apprentice series since I share a name with one of the characters and she's pretty cool.

However, I shall try to be objective. You don't need to worry about it being an Eragon rip-off. However, the first few do feel a little like Tamora Pierce wrote a story set in Middle Earth. I can't tell you how well the bridge scenes were written because I don't know how bridges work. However, I believe the art is more or less accurate to the textual description. So. I guess it is a medieval anachronism but it's Flanagan's world so he can do what he likes. The writing is serviceable, the characters likeable, the cliches are occasionally turned on their heads, and we've found the series to be a good family read-aloud.

The first is a stand alone read, books two through four are a set, five and six are a set, seven is stand alone, eight and nine are a set, and it sounds like ten might pick up where nine leaves off.

I hope that helps. If you want more on a specific point, I shall be happy to try and elucidate.

What was your opinion of the Ranger's Apprentice books? Obviously you enjoyed them since you are still reading them, but I'm curious for a measured evaluation. The quick Google search I did for them turned up everything from "Excellent" to "Rip-off of Eragon" in the reviews.

I've read all the Ranger's Apprentice books and though not as good as Narnia or even Lord of the Rings, they were pretty good. I don't think they are a rip-off of Eragon. If anything Eragon is a rip-of of Lord of the Rings. I can't even really think of RA next to Eragon, there a no elves, no dwarfs. I wouldn't give them five stars but maybe four and a half.

Has anyone here read The Princess Bride (the novel that the movie is based on)? If so, what did you think of it, who was your favorite character, etc.?

~Riella

I have not read it. But I really want to. I'll be sure to post about it when I do.

I have not read it. But I really want to. I'll be sure to post about it when I do.

Great! It's a really good book. But really different from the movie...

My favorite character is Inigo.
The version I have also has a chapter of the "sequel" (which is still unreleased). That first chapter seemed very... unusual...

~Riella