the archives
dusted off in read-only
dusted off in read-only
This is too funny! I guess I'm the first female to answer this poll... The point about the lack of strong female characters in the novel is an interesting one though I think ultimately if the writing is strong, people (of either gender) will flock to the work.
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I'm doing an Honours B.A in Political Science and English right now...I may go on to grad school for political science or try get into the publishing field (I'd love to be the one who gets to read all of the books that are submitted 
) and write on the side.
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1. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
2. Scott Bakker's series
3. Patricia McKillip's Riddlemaster Trilogy (she writes beautifully!)
4. Robin Hobb
5. J.K Rowling
I see so many people mention Erikson & George R.R. Martin here but as I have read neither as of yet...I'll have to put them on my reading list. I'm not very well or widely read in the fantasy genre as of yet but I will catch up!
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I thought this thread would be a nice accompaniment to the fantasy one. Just curious to know what people's favourite sf books are. 1. Dune (I liked a few of the other early sequels to this but the later ones not so much) 2. Ender's Game & subsequent books in the series 3. Asimov's Foundation Trilogy 4. Douglas Adam's Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy 5. Anne McCaffrey's Pern series (a guilty pleasure - I read her Harper Hall trilogy when I was a kid & fell in love with it) view post
I LOVE the Harry Potter series! I can't help it....and I play the trivia games too.... And watch the movies....although the only movie I liked was "The Prisoner of Azkaban".
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Definitely [b:3qrrsgwg]The Hobbit [/b:3qrrsgwg]which was followed by a marathon reading session of LOTR which brooked no delays for sleeping or chores or schoolwork. [/b] view post
I'm nearly finished [b:7gb69sy4]Children of the Mind [/b:7gb69sy4]by Orson Scott Card (It's a brilliant, thought provoking page turner). Next on my reading list is [b:7gb69sy4]A Short History of Nearly Everything[/b:7gb69sy4] by Bill Bryson. view post
Loved the first one, was disappointed with the second one, and of course adored the third one. I didn't know they were going to add the scouring of the Shire to the extended edition. I thought they hadn't filmed it, but if that's the case that's great!!!! I know that they're also going to add the Houses of Healing scene (Eowyn & Faramir) & quite a few others. It's going to be a marathon of an extended edition!
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Profs. have it pretty good I think. They usually don't mark the papers if there are hundreds of students in the class (e.g. my PSY100 class had around 1200 students & my International Relations class had around 500), they just get the Teaching Assistants to do it. But if the classes are small, then the prof. will usually do the marking. view post
It is tragic. It reminds me of Rwanda when the U.N failed to act and it reminds me of the Armenian Holocaust that is hardly every acknowledged. People are always willing to offer their condolences and their "I wish something had been done" after the fact. But in the midst of a crisis....
But on a positive note, the U.S is acting now & I know Canada intends on sending aid & peacekeepers. But the E.U is still calling it a "serious situation" 
I wish they would move on it faster though.
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mango view post
That's a very interesting point. The phrase "ethnic conflict" is often pawned off on many a conflict though its roots are elsewhere. The label may attach itself to conflicts that may at base be just about getting more power (political, land, resources etc.). I wonder with conflicts in Africa, if the mistaken labels (Nigeria - called tribal conflict instead of religious) are a consequence of lazy reporting and deeply ingrained attitudes about Africa? And this also reminds me of what I think Noam Chomsky (?) talks about: the selective reporting of news around the world. And perhaps it's a rather cynical thought but I wonder exactly how much the election in the U.S led them to declare that what was going on there was genocide? view post
I hope no one minds me jumping into this discussion but I was curious so I couldn't resist. I'm aware that nothing can ever be really proven only disproven (correct me if I'm wrong) but one of my professors said something interesting which I think applies here as well. There are paradigms or theories that have false assumptions but are still useful (Newtonian physics assumes mass concentrates at a point ? and microeconomic laws of supply and demand postulate that firms seek to maximize profit). Nevertheless, these theories still work well enough in practice (they have explanatory power). I see science as providing that practical explanatory power; it may be wrong about many things but it still makes useful predictions or has useful applications for us. Religion perhaps has that claim to make as well? It does provide a moral foundation, a meaning to life, psychological well-being. This may not be explanatory in nature but it is still beneficial and useful. It is certainly useful to society in keeping order and negatively to the ruling classes as well as it helps to maintain the status quo (the untouchables in India for ex.). Having been on a spiritual quest since I was 9 and still hanging in limbo, I'm curious as to how non-spiritual people (right term?) deal with that lack of meaning. If life and the universe is meaningless than what is the point of living and following all of the routines that are set for you? And is that concept of a meaningless universe the same as a belief in a chaotic universe? Or are they different? view post
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Just wondering if the upcoming election prompted faster action by the government because they're being watched more closely right now. Or that may just be a very cynical thought. It could also be that they learned from Rwanda when the U.N did practically nothing and decided not to repeat the mistake. Either way, I'm glad they are paying attention to what's going on there. view post
I go to the University of Toronto and now I think I've given you the wrong impression about it. Yes, it is the largest university in Canada but at the same time, the classes are almost never that large. Those were just 2 of the classes I've had in the past 2 years there. Moroever, there were introductory courses and to counter those classes we do have seminar lectures that are limited to like 20 people as well as tutorials with 10-20 people. I also should say that those two classes may have been my largest classes but they were also my two favourite classes in my two years at university. The professors really made an effort to get to know the students because of the large class sizes. The psychology professor was so popular and well-known that his lectures were often called "The Marty Wall Show". My international relations prof. made an effort before, after & during class to talk to students personally. And in addition to his office hours we had a class listserv where he would email us with any info. that would be useful to us (quite regularly) & we could email him any questions that we had and he would reply within 24 hours (I personally never had to wait more than 2 hours for a reply). This was all on top of an organized course web page, amazing powerpoint assisted lectures, and really well led tutorials by teaching assistants. He even organized a class trip on his own time to see "The Fog of War" and answered questions afterwards & circulated the pub (about 60 of us went) to talk to all of us after. Large classes can be alienating but it really depends on how you react and handle it. Most of my classes are around 30-40 students, I even have one with only 15 students this year. Sorry about the long post but I can get a little passionate and protective about my school . I've had an amazing experience so far there and learned so much more than I could have ever imagined. It's a scholarly utopia of sorts.
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Joshua Bell (classical) Bond (techno-classical) Sonicflood (Christian) Switchfoot (Christian) Daniel Bedingfield (Popular) Mandy Moore (Popular) Cherry Poppin' Daddies (Swing) Brian Setzer Orchestra (Swing) Glenn Miller (Jazz) view post
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21....
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Fantasy and sci-fi but I'm picky about which ones I'll read. I don't like stories that are too stereotypical. Has to be well-written, intelligent or humorous, epic fantasy is great if it's well-done and I love intelligent sci-fi...like Dune (which is really a mixture of sci-fi, fantasy & some other stuff) & Ender's Game and subsequent books in the series. Fantasy like Scott Bakker's work, Tolkien, Philip Pullman etc....I don't even mind formulaic fantasy if it is really well-written & pulls off the formula well or if it's humorous. I love Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams too...I could go on forever.... view post
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I'll have to put those on my reading list! I haven't read nearly as much sci-fi as I would like to. It's a shame that sci-fi and fantasy as a genre don't receive much crtical attention (of the positive sort I mean). view post
from swan lake to Ricki??? 
Rocky
(take that!)
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river view post
Noah view post
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I've just started to read [b:2wa6gm6p]A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man [/b:2wa6gm6p]by James Joyce. [/b] view post
Sarah Mclachlan's (sp.?) song "Black" ,Maroon 5 and Mozart's Requiem. "Black" is such an intriguing song, really weird but still entrancing. view post
I can't believe there are profs that unreliable! Don't you do prof. evaluations at the end of the year? Isn't there someone you could appeal the mark to? It sounds like that prof. had a personal grudge against you... That's horrible...I know there are profs. like that around but I hope I don't come across any of them.... 
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Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordon (possibly the worst book I have ever read). Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood. Candide by Voltaire. I'm tempted to put in Wuthering Heights as well but it's a book worth reading for sure (I just hated Heathcliffe with a passion). view post
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Krusty view post
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Will you be doing any readings in the Toronto area anytime soon? I recently read that you did a reading at Hart House at the University of Toronto a while back....but I didn't know about the reading and I hadn't read your book at that point so I didn't go....Needless to say I'm kicking myself over it but I'm hoping there'll be another reading in this area sometime? Yes....No?
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The reading was in 2003 at Hart House so it wasn't the last Toronto reading (probably why you don't remember it being at U of T 
). And apparently Robert Sawyer was there too.... And I didn't pick up any of Robert Sawyer's books or Scott Bakker's books until AFTER 1st year so I would have probably remained unelightened. There's so much going on though that it's hard to keep up with anything unless you methodically go digging for the information and even then it can be hard to find. I was hoping that they would have some or even one or two science fiction/ fantasy writers at the Harbourfront Reading Series or the International Festival of Authors but I didn't recognize anyone...they had William Gibson and Margaret Atwood reading on the same night last year though.
But here's to hoping that there'll be a Toronto reading sometime in the next year .
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Just started reading [u:3ky8mieb]Prime of Life[/u:3ky8mieb] by Simone de Beauvoir and [u:3ky8mieb]reading Lolita in Tehran[/u:3ky8mieb] by Nafisi. Both are fascinating reads so far. [/u] view post
[quote="Grantaire":hrnibfct]What do you have against Candide, eowyn?[/quote:hrnibfct] Well, to be fair, I did read it in grade 7 and had no idea what I was getting myself into. From what I remember of it and it's not much, I found it gruesome and violent and those are the only impressions that have stayed with me. I should read it again now though since I am in a better position to be able to appreciate it. (Sorry for the late reply.) view post
I'm wondering if anyone here is working in publishing or knows anything about it. I was considering grad school but have become rather disillusioned about the whole thing and so I'm seriously considering going into publishing instead, and I was wondering if anyone could tell me what it's like. Thanks!
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upsilamba
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