Thyroid

Argh, goes to show why I should read more carefully and not read minutes after I wake-up.

I'm surprised neither Herman Melville nor Mark Twain got a mention. I've read very, very few of these writers, and there's a handful I hadn't heard of. There's always another book, isn't there? Or another two dozen books, as the case may be.

The Cthulhu one must have been Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. People buy that shit like it's cookies.

Someone pick a Paul Thomas Anderson movie for me to watch. I kind of want to see Punch-Drunk Love because I may be in the mood to do any of the above, but I'm open to suggestions. PS: I just got 12 Angry Men. It looks good.

I've been playing Rayman Origins in ten minutes bout every few days. It's pure fun, and its carefree happiness never fails to cheer me up. I'm only on the second area (so around level 11 or 12), but I think the game ties with Bastion as my favourite game of last year (minus two potential contenders I haven't tried yet, Dark Souls and The Witcher 2).

Upcoming PC RPG Zelda/Diablo "homage": Trailer: mX48y24t9iU Looks nifty. I love the colors, but - right now, without any knowledge of gameplay - I kinda wish the background was a little less "far" and blended better with the foreground.

Yeah, my girlfriend's copies of books one and two display promotional posters from the first two seasons.

Eddard and Tyrion drawn closely as I see them. I actually have a better, more accurate one of Tyrion, but it has spoilers. I'll show it to you when you're a bit further along, Ben.

Yeah, do that. I advise to, at least, read up to and including the fourth before tackling the TV series, because season two, in particular, is maybe 70% different to the source material. They've moved around events from different books, so reading book two and then seeing season two immediately will spoil things from book three. It's a big undertaking, but I think it's worth it.

David Benioff'sWhen the Nines Roll Over is a commendable short story collection. Some stories are good, others are very good, and some are great. One or two made me shiver.

Enjoy! They're damn fine books, I must say.

I did say "technically". There's a lot more to it than I've implied.

But (all books spoiler) . That's funny.

Orvidos needs to re-read ASOIAF. It's intentionally left vague in the TV series, a storytelling decision in preparation for a future event. You'll understand what I mean when the next season rolls around. What happens in the books is a lot more intricate and detailed than that. Book 3 spoilers: . Major spoilers for book 2 (TV-only people stay away too) - read the second paragraph, Orvidos.

I read through Patrick Suskind's The Pigeon yesterday, a short, good and depressing novella about a man whose obsessive, meticulous lifestyle - one of a hermit - is set off-balance when a pigeon decides to land on his front doorstep. Considering the author, it felt almost autobiographical. I've found that, very often, the best, most-rounded and believable characters are the ones that are, essentially, a pile of contradictions. MaybeTaiko is an attempt at that? Or is it that the character switches beliefs at the drop of a hat? The Information sounds like a very interesting book.

Playing a video game boasting the kind of writing you'd find in an eighth grader's notebook? Post it here. Here's something from Resonance of Fate, which I swear to David Cage is an actual video game that someone was paid in real money to supply this dialogue for: tVibNKrp8sQ Post some of your favourites.

"Oh no, something's coming! Oh no, he's going to explode!"

I did! OK, yeah, for a second there I thought you were talking about . I'm almost sure the episode will end with . I'd be surprised if that's where they ended it.

It was just a rendition for that particular episode, a dose of background story about . I think the (MAJOR book 3 spoiler) Not exactly. Season 2 borrowed elements from book 3 to get certain wheels moving and, I suspect, to give some actors something to do (so ). This season ends with the prologue chapter from A Storm of Swords, with . I think we're talking about different things? What scene are you referring to? We're still very much in A Clash of Kings, the thing aside! From the recent casting list - and some hoping - I feel like season 3 will end with , with the opening bits of season 4 dealing in . David Benioff and DB Weiss are good writers in their own respective rights. I'm reading through Benioff's When the Nines Roll Over, and I like it a lot.

I watched clips of the new Game of Thrones episode on YouTube. George RR Martin wrote it, and it shows. The man knows how to make a memorable character. Orvidos knows what I'm talking about. And none of the major players die needlessly. It's all needed for the story, and for the complete shift in dynamics every death means.

I haven't. His essay "Why Bother?" seemed almost to dismiss it - or at least describe it in a way I found unappealing - and I avoided it, though I read the first chapter on his website ages back and I liked it. I may read it eventually. Strong Motion was always the one that really interested me. It'll be a while, though. There are more immediate books to turn my attention to.

I read an entire Agatha Christie novel in one sitting yesterday and it was fun. It's nice to be able to just relax like that after a month of constant exams. Hah. I think you'd like The Corrections; there's some interesting insight into human nature, coupled with generally strong writing. Franzen's How to Be Alone has some interesting essays as well, including one that tries to explain why people bother reading in the first place. I got flashbacks of that one while reading the "Adults should read adult literature" thread, so I thought I'd recommend.

Hey Remo, did you ever read The Corrections?

Edit: Deleted that account.

I read The Grifters by Jim Thompson over a four hour sitting yesterday. I was impressed with how alive the characters turned to be. It's a pretty funny, thoughtful book, and I recommend it. I don't think the full impact of it has hit me yet, and suspect it's going to end-up being one of my favourite novels. I can not overstate how much admiration I have for these books. I respect the TV series (it's mostly a good adaptation, the added, awful sex scenes aside), but it's simply texture to a very rich fruit. I think I read A Feast for Crows in two sittings. Yes, the prose can sometimes be clunky; yes, he takes his time fleshing-out certain characters, making them appear two-dimensional until the story allows him to show you more of them; and my goodness, yes, is it a daring, masterful work. The fact he never explains certain connections or themes to you until you re-read or read essays online is something I want to high-five him for.