There is just so much to love about this ^ ! It's been awhile since I read this, but I remember being fascinated by Dantés's character. He is even more interesting compared to Jean Valjean of Hugo's Les Misérables; both suffer unjust imprisonment, but respond in such different ways. Good stuff.

Haha - thanks! It's always my advice for people to read it again and again . . His character through all of the book is fascinating, scary, and quite amazing. He is the whole book.
I haven't read Les Miserable, but I know the story line, so I understand what you mean.
*is also trying to read some more Herriot*

And with all the interesting discussion going on, The Count of Monte Cristo is next on my list! I saw the movie, but never read the book .... so I'm excited.

Yay! I'm glad you're reading it! Tell us what you think of it!
I haven't watched the movie, and I never ever will. I've heard tell of it . . lol . .
(btw - completely off subject, but I love your sigg! I really want to see Beastly!!)

Aslanisthebest, I've never heard of the PixarPedia before but it sounds very interesting and looks good. The layout is more aimed at children than older audiences but that's okay given that Pixar movies are very much aimed at children (not only them but they're a big part of the audience).

And that describes it well. Indeed, the text for the part that explains all the movies (the majority bulk of the book) is written in a way for someone who hasn't seen the movies or in a child-like way. However, the pictures in this section are amazing. It helps us see the outstanding animation details which most miss while watching the movies.
The real meat of the book for the older audience is definitely the last several pages-- explanations of behind the scenes, where recurring elements are (such as where characters/items from one film are in the other film, like I learnt that in WALL-E, the character WALL-E has a Rex, Ham, and another toy in his collection and a character's motorcycle from Ratatouille is among the ruins. Interesting stuff!)
I hope you can check it out, it's a stellar book.
(BTW, I know I should ask this in the Ask a Brit/anyone, etc. thread, but what did the Australian thinks of Finding Nemo, as far as the Australian themes in it? =] )

I actually found the PixarPedia book in my local library catalogue yesterday, so I've reserved it. Thanks for the recommendation.
Many Aussies love Pixar movies and Finding Nemo seems to the favourite. As for it's depiction of Australia, Pixar played it safe. It's pretty difficult to stuff-up the look and feel of Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef. That said, I'm very disappointed that Pixar didn't do their research into what types of pelicans we have here. We don't have brown pelicans, as the movie would have you believe. Our native pelicans are white with pink bills and black-feathered tips. No-one I've ever talked to about this noticed the species discrepancy though!

I finally was able to get "The 39 Clues: The Book Of Black Secrets" from my library! it's a companion to the series. it's epic!

Neil Gaiman is an amazing writer, very original with a simple but not simplistic writing-style. I'm disappointed and disturbed though that he feels he needs to cater to people who want graphic adult content (it lowers the quality of his writing) - whether it's needless anatomical references or graphic sex scenes or both.

Not to knock down one of your favorite writers, and of course we can't know his motivations for sure, but do you think Gaiman's choice to include graphic sexual elements in his books is because he feels pressured into it, or because he really just wants to, himself? He doesn't seem like the type of author who is out to please a particular group; he does his own thing and is extremely successful at it, so he would have no need to "cater," as you put it. I'm more in the camp that thinks he uses that stuff because that is how his imagination works and that is what he finds powerful and interesting.

Speaking of Gaiman, I recently read the much-touted 2009 Newbery Medal Winner The Graveyard Book and was, as is usual with Gaiman's work, underwhelmed. Here are my thoughts. It wasn't awful, but I don't think I will ever understand the fuss about Gaiman.

And with all the interesting discussion going on, The Count of Monte Cristo is next on my list! I saw the movie, but never read the book .... so I'm excited.

Woohoo! The book is great, and very, very different from the movie (which, despite my default puristy tendencies, I also really like). Do you think you will tackle the unabridged version?

I finally was able to get "The 39 Clues: The Book Of Black Secrets" from my library! it's a companion to the series. it's epic!

Who wrote it? And why is it epic? What do you like about it?

Orious, as promised, here is my review of N. D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards

I'm reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and am currently on the second book, The Great Hunt. I'm reading the series with a group, one book a month, and we'll finish this massive undertaking just in time for the fourteenth and final book to be released in March 2012. It will be a new experience for me to stay in an author's world so long!

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

I just read this one myself! I believe I received several comments on how much I was enjoying the book I was reading while I was reading. As an introduction to Heyer, I'd recommend it. (And now I certainly need to find Cotillion, yes, indeed...)

Tarkheena, I was not as impressed with Polgara the Sorceress as you are, but I put that down to reading it at the same time I read Gerald Morris' The Lioness and Her Knight. The contrasting plots of Polgara being manipulating and right vs. the manipulating heroine who ends up worse off because of her meddling didn't mesh well in my head.

Spoiler

That, and Vo Wacune did not live up to my expectations.

I made a happy little discovery in the used bookstore and picked up Mary Stanton's Piper at the Gate for a buck. It's praised on the back as being Watership Down for horses, but this is Mary Stanton we're talking about folks. (Ask me about the Unicorns of Balinor... ) Even though Piper seems to be the best of her works, still lacks a sense of depth; and it doesn't quite pull off pure fluff either. But it has nice illustrations.

I love the Unicorns of Balinor! Did they ever finish that series? I was so sad that the story never quite ended.

Just finished Catching Fire. Very well-written and engaging, but Katniss's romance stuff is just across the board. She can't seem to differentiate between love and lust, and she uses whichever boy is around

You do?! My dad read the first one, looked at me, and asked, "Did you write this?" No, but I wish I had.

I don't think the series ever reached a conclusion. However, The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West and Piper at the Gate have a remarkably similar plotline.

Spoiler

Minus the whole "Link was a dog but he was really a toad but he liked being a dog better so wow now the book is done" thing.

I just read this one myself!

What? I didn't know you were on the Heyer bandwagon too! Here, let me scoot over and make room for you! See the things I miss from not being in this thread consistently... When did you convert?

Were you giggling aloud at certain parts of the book? I was doing that the other day and my husband was laughing at me, which in turn made me laugh more. Ah, Heyer. I think you will really like Cotillion

I reread James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small recently and reviewed it. Such a wonderful book!

Edit: Oh, and I also read and reviewed The Lotus and the Cross: Jesus Talks with Buddha by Ravi Zacharias. It was excellent.

@wisewoman: Oh I Love Ravi Zacharias, I listen to his podcast on my Ipod!
Glad to know the book was good! I actually bought his book Beyond Opinion a few months ago and I really like it so far.

Still reading Going Postal, and liking it more than I thought I would. Rereading The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents and The Wee Free Men, as well as The Great Divorce and A Wizard of Earthsea. Plans to reread A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith, as well as The Last Unicorn. (That last mentioned is a beautifully written book. I just loved it. Has anyone else here read it?)

Wisewoman, you're probably right about Gaiman. He does seem to be pretty eccentric and original but the results aren't always appropriate reading. I definitely admire how well read he is and how his themes incorporate old myth and how they exist or don't exist comfortably in a modern world setting. You probably knew this already, but Gaiman's favourite author is G.K. Chesterton. Interesting, since Chesterton was a great Christian writer and Gaiman is probably the total opposite end of the scale. Gaiman's not one of my favourite authors but I admire a lot about his work (just not all of the content).

I've had Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov recommended to me, so I'll check them out some time. Also, The Idiot looked quite good.

When did you convert?

Last week. I've been looking for Heyer books for about a year (or whenever you and whoever (lys?) first started talking about them) and finally randomly ran across The Grand Sophy on the library shelf. It must be a new acquisition.

Yay! I'm glad you're reading it! Tell us what you think of it!
I haven't watched the movie, and I never ever will. I've heard tell of it . . lol . .
(btw - completely off subject, but I love your sigg! I really want to see Beastly!!)

I'll be sure do that!

I thought the movie was great, but that might just be because I haven't read the book. What did you hear about it that made you not want to see it?

(And it's okay to run down a rabbit trail once in a while . . . Doesn't Beastly look aweseome? I'm so excited!)

Woohoo! The book is great, and very, very different from the movie (which, despite my default puristy tendencies, I also really like). Do you think you will tackle the unabridged version?

Probably. On the rare occasion that I pick up an abridged book, I can't really enjoy it, because I feel like I'm being cheated out of part of the story. A bit irrational, I know, but there it is. I'm going to get it soon, because I recently discovered a hole-in-the-wall used book store that has practically everything for three or four dollars.

I'm reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and am currently on the second book, The Great Hunt. I'm reading the series with a group, one book a month, and we'll finish this massive undertaking just in time for the fourteenth and final book to be released in March 2012. It will be a new experience for me to stay in an author's world so long!

Speaking of that lovely bookstore, I saw this series there the other day and almost got it (but there were other books that day I wanted more). What do you think? Is it worth my going back?

Tarkheena, I was not as impressed with Polgara the Sorceress as you are, but I put that down to reading it at the same time I read Gerald Morris' The Lioness and Her Knight. The contrasting plots of Polgara being manipulating and right vs. the manipulating heroine who ends up worse off because of her meddling didn't mesh well in my head.

Spoiler

That, and Vo Wacune did not live up to my expectations.

I'm just impressed that you can read more than one book at the same time! (not exactly at the same time, of course ) I always have to finish whatever I'm reading before I move on, or I start comparing the worlds and mixing up the characters . . . it just doesn't work.

Anywho,

Yeah, mixing books can be a dangerous business. It usually turns out better if the two are very different in setting and plot, but those two weren't different enough.