The Waves are Calling

Steampunk book giveaway.

1. The Android's Dream by John Scalzi

Ridiculous set up. Hilarious. Lovable characters. Read in one day on January 1, 2012. Highly recommended.

2. Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Well done final book in the Leviathan series. Picks up after Behemoth and is quite an interesting alt history. I didn't realize until afterward how true some of the details were, even while yes of course many were changed. And it was a great ending, not disappointing in the least. Read January 4, 2012.

3. Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
4. Star Wars: Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn
5. Star Wars: The Last Command by Timothy Zahn

Star Wars trilogy with Grand Admiral Thrawn in it and introducing Mara Jade. I believe I've read this once years and years ago (maybe ten?), so some elements were familiar, and I was able to remember a few things, but it was still mostly like reading it for the first time. And while they are Star Wars books, Timothy Zahn is a great author, and it is quite an interesting story with twists and turns. It's 1300 pages (altogether approximately) and very addicting. Bad for sleep. Read January 5 - 6, 2012.

6. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

It's the only Discworld novel I've read (apparently it is one?), but even not having read those, this book is incredibly hilarious and not simply because I enjoy vampires. The characters are a delight and really grew on me. The "modern" vampires were fun, and I liked how the little parts all came together. That it isn't really separated into chapters but only has line breaks and sometimes three asterisks to separate sections made it very hard to put down...ever. Read January 7 - 9, 2012.

7. I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan

Narrator: Lucifer. Premise: temporarily in human body, considering an offer from God as to how to get back in heaven and telling his side of the story. Warnings: quite vulgar, in many ways possibly triggering, and mildly depressing. I had to watch something to cheer myself up a bit afterward. It also doesn't have true...chapters. There are breaks, but it's very Lucifer stream of consciousness in some ways, in that there are tangents and tangents from those tangents. It is really good. But it's not just lighthearted or anything. Read January 10 - 12, 2012.

8. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Oh. My. God. Such an incredible book. So so so so so so amazing. It's written in basically all first person pov with questions occasionally asked by the "writer" of the book. It goes through what happens all over the world, with incredible nature of many nations acting in character, while individuals were still incredibly unique and well characterized. It's moving and at times easy to forget it's fiction despite the zombie premise. I want to read this again soon. Read January 16 - 20, 2012.

9. Doctor Who: Touched by an Angel by Jonathan Morris

I started reading this Saturday evening and read about half of it until I went to bed. Then last night I couldn't stop reading until suddenly there was no more book. It has a relatively small cast, who you really get to know. There is some time wimey wibbly wobbliness (including the return of the egg boiling device Ten had in Blink). It moved so quickly and wonderfully. Read January 21 - 22, 2012.

10. Doctor Who: Paradox Lost by George Mann

Again, a Doctor Who book read in two days. These two are both page turners. I read much faster than usual while reading it and found them difficult to put down. This book has a few "episodal" characters, and I love them. Love love love them. It's not as timey wimey in regards to trying to figure out what's going ON with the timelines. However, as the title suggests, there are time paradoxes. A good portion of it is from Rory's point of view, which is interesting. It's not entirely how I think Rory might think all of the time; however, a good portion of it felt entirely spot on to me. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory did feel entirely in character, and it truly felt like an episode of Who. Read January 23 - 24, 2012.

11. Opening Atlantis by Harry Turtledove

AU History novels! It's a remarkable set of books. The narrators are incredibly genuine to me in their choice of diction, world views, etc. There are times that they have remarkably forward thinking ideas/one off thoughts (ie wouldn't it be nice if... but that'll never happen, but it has). The world is built slowly with many similar elements, especially at the beginning, to our history. However, the farther the novel develops, the more organic differences based upon the way things are in this world develop. Oh it still similarly develops. But idk, I love it. The first book goes through three sections, each over a period of many generations. Read January 25 - 31, 2012.

12. The United States of Atlantis by Harry Turtledove

The second in the trilogy. This one goes into the AU version of the American Revolutionary War. In some ways this book impresses me more, as we stay with one narrator the entire time. It also starts debates about slavery, even more into racism, and an exploration of how those views evolve for the narrator. There has by this point been a relative lack of major female characters compared to male ones (narrators have all been male, and with the war focus here even less female presence). But the way it deals with race impresses me. I really liked it. Read February 1 - 6, 2012.

13. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
14. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
15. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I originally read this series last year, and there were parts of Catching Fire and Mockingjay that really angered me. So after I finished The Hunger Games (before seeing the film), I was hesitant at first to reread the other two. I got to the end of Catching Fire and loved it, without the problems I had before. It made sense, overall. And I found I had the same reaction with Mockingjay, liking it even more this time than last time. I also really love Joanna and Finnick as characters. ♥

16. Doctor Who: Hunter's Moon by Paul Finch

Beautiful, heartbreaking. Some stuff is predictable, sure, but I really liked the use of Rory, Amy, and the Doctor on their own and together. Good story.

17. Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson

Okay, such a long book. It's pages are so thin I didn't realize it, but wow. There's a lot of religion/whatnot in the book (the future is somewhat dominated by the church in this book), but while it's critical of what can happen in something that has too much power, it isn't insulting to faith or those that are religious personally. There's a great deal more in it about power than not, with religion being one way power can be wielded. Overall, it's well written, interesting, and I always wanted to keep reading it.

18. Biology as Ideology: The Doctrine of DNA by Richard C. Lewontin

It's on the older side now, originally published in 1991, so some of the science is on the older side, but it's a really well-thought out, well argued with detailed examples book. It's also a bit on the depressing side when you realize how true a great deal of the stuff he's saying in. It's looking at how politics/society shape biology and how biology is used to justify the social situation, etc. It looks at how the ideas used to shape research/thought processes show certain assumptions, etc.

Bash Wars, hosted at gore_sports, is a single elimination one-on-one contest until only one contestant lives. It's based off weapons contestants bring with them, and it is possible for both to die.

As women are often underrepresented and underestimated in television, movies, and books, I personally made sure to enter a female character (Kara "Starbuck" Thrace) for my contestant, though I am glad to see many other women as well. The official post for Round I is here, and below the first cut I will give my thoughts on some of the battles. Under the second cut I'll post the poll!

Note: you do have to join gore_sports to vote :/ But it doesn't have to be on your flist!

Characters I'm rooting for under this discussion come from fandoms such as Battlestar Galactica, Xena, Star Wars, Leverage, Buffy, ASOIAF, and Supernatural.

( Silyara's take on some of these battles )

I hope you'll consider supporting some of the kick-ass women (and men) in Bash Wars VI.

( Poll here )

Favorite Criminal Minds Quotations (starting to gather them)

( Woooo )

Okay, so hd_holidays has just started posting gifts. And part of me wish I had participated, but I didn't really have the time. Next year. Anyway, it's only been a few hours so far, and I already just need to recommend both pieces.

In the Interest of Piece and Goodwill (Harry/Draco) {art} - A breathtaking comic drawn and shaded by hand (!). The little story in it is beautiful with implications of so much more of a world. Both Draco and Harry are great. The art is amazing. Check it out.

In Vino Veritas (Harry/Draco [Charlie/Oliver, Ron/Pansy, and implied Hermione/Percy]) {fic} - Only 17k. And I mean only. I could hardly believe it was over by the time it ended. It develops and flows so naturally I could not stop at any point. The cast is large, well-characterized, and set a rich world for a classic plot that is executed wondrously. I will definitely be re-reading this one. Even if you are not a huge H/D fan, I'd suggest checking it out.

So, Mark Twain's autobiography has started to get published (volume I of III), and I read the introduction to it (rather long) for free on Amazon. Mark Twain mentioned Casanova's autobiography, which I had already thought about before from having watched the BBC series Casanova (with David Tennant as a young Casanova and Peter O'Toole as an old Casanova).

As it turns out, Barnes & Noble is pretty good about letting you read at least some books online. So I've read the first three chapters of vol. I of the abridged English translation by William Trask, which is still 1500 pages. Note, that cuts out HALF of what Casanova wrote, and he only made it until 1774, not 1797, as he originally intended (death got in the way). Man, it makes me wonder how long it WOULD have been had he not died before finishing it.

Also amusing to me is that the version Mark Twain read was the official French version for over 130 years. Note, Casanova wrote it in French (as it was more widely known than Italian), but there was still an official version made that made it more...French French and less Italian French, as well as the editor adding in new smut scenes apparently (lol). Also, it removed most of his religious references, as well as some of his political statements. Poor Mark Twain didn't get to read a truer version. And it's sort of ironic given that multiple versions of Mark Twain's autobiography have come out slaughtering his orders for how he wanted it arranged. And that's essentially how he got Casanova's.

I'm not sure when heliocentrism was accepted, but Casanova claims to have *realized* it's possibility from traveling by boat. He woke up on the boat, which was moving so smoothly he didn't realize he was traveling. He could see out a window, and in it he saw the trees "moving" - aka running past. He commented on this, and his mother explained that the boat was moving, not the trees. And he claims to have then realized the same could be true about the earth/sun (this is at like...age eight-ish).

It's definitely an interesting read. I'm like....65 pages in, and I might just get it.

Also, there is an audiobook version that is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch.

I am sorry, but a quick thing. If there's anything you want me to discuss in any fandom of mine, just ask away. Anything, really! I'll try tagging in everything, but I may well have forgotten, so if you know I watch or read or anything it or think I might, ask!

Please?!

I de-friended people I have not interacted with in a long time. However, given all the scrolling and names not entirely near the ticky box, if I defriended you by accident, let me know.

I don't think anyone I meant to defriend will care, and my flist goes by too quickly for me to be able to keep up with it. I was losing track of everyone.

Are you looking for a sorting community that's about more than just sorting? Looking for new friends and fun activities?

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Head on over to platform_934 to join in the fun! Fill out the application completely to be sorted. And, tell them an Order member sent you!

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