All Things Books And Reading Thread - 2018

[Margret]

Mamanyt1953 , you mean you're placing your book order higher on the list than Hekitty's extra order of electric cat beds?! How dastardly can you get?!

Norachan , it isn't a competition. We're reading because we want to read, not because we should. And some books demand to be read slowly. Also, life has a nasty habit of getting in the way.

I'm currently reading Friend Request by Laura Marshall. I'm enjoying the thriller/mystery genre a bit more so this is quite a gripping book.

I've heard that "thriller" is the new term for "horror." Is this true?

I've always said that a good book is a good book, regardless of your age (although young children may have trouble with some good books). Here are a couple of children's books that I consider to be modern classics, and you should probably make them full screen since the illustrations are absolutely wonderful!:


Margret

 

[catspaw66]

Classics. Now all you need is "Where's My Cow?"

 

[Margret]

Hmm. I wonder whether that's on YouTube. We'll avoid posting any quotes from Nanny Ogg's Cookbook. Too many single entendres for TCS...

Margret

 

[Norachan]

Margret I'm managing a couple of pages a day, so I'm happy with that. Heart of Darkness is one of those books that should probably be read aloud, in a pirate voice around a campfire.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Mamanyt1953 , you mean you're placing your book order higher on the list than Hekitty's extra order of electric cat beds?! How dastardly can you get?!

Oh, she's ok with that...more books means more sitting in my chair with my feet up and the "Big Lap" available for a really good sprawl.

Now reading "How to Paint a Cat." Still enjoying this series, although bits of this one are a tiny touch tedious. HOWEVER, many of my "favoritest" books have bits that are a tiny touch tedious. One persists.

 

[catspaw66]

Hmm. I wonder whether that's on YouTube. We'll avoid posting any quotes from Nanny Ogg's Cookbook. Too many single entendres for TCS...

Margret

Too true! I bought "Dragons at Crumbling Castle" a few days ago. More early Pratchett -with illustrations.

 

[Margret]

If The Lord of the Rings had been written by Dr. Seuss: fan.TheOneRing.net™ | Writings | Creative Writing | Green Eggs And Lembas

The children at my church once performed this as part of a fund-raiser, except they made a change or two. For starters, they had Sam sneaking into Bag End in back of Gandalf, hiding under his huge cloak. It was totally hilarious.

Margret

 

[aliceneko]

I've heard that "thriller" is the new term for "horror." Is this true?



Margret

I'm not sure, I've never heard that before - I've always thought of thrillers as being "chilling" novels, if that makes sense.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Now, to me, "thrillers" are more in the line of Preston/Child or Dan Brown, or James Patterson, while "horror" is more Steven King or Dean Koontz (although Koontz has heavy overtones of "thriller" as his horror is based in science, even if very loosely).

Still reading "How to Paint a Cat."

 

[catspaw66]

If The Lord of the Rings had been written by Dr. Seuss: fan.TheOneRing.net™ | Writings | Creative Writing | Green Eggs And Lembas

The children at my church once performed this as part of a fund-raiser, except they made a change or two. For starters, they had Sam sneaking into Bag End in back of Gandalf, hiding under his huge cloak. It was totally hilarious.

Margret

That version is as good as "Bored of the Rings" by National Lampoon.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I've run across a new series that I'm itching to read, by Meg Gardiner, The Unsub Series. There are only two so far, "Unsub" and "Into the Black Nowhere." About a young woman who is part of the FBI's BAU. Since "Criminal Minds" is one of the few network television shows I really like, and since I'm fond of all things BAU, this is a no-brainer for me!

 

[Margret]

That version is as good as "Bored of the Rings" by National Lampoon.

Not to mention shorter!

I've never actually been that fond of Bored of the Rings. It seems to me that it got too scatological. No, that's not quite what I mean. That there were too many places where it used references to bodily functions and secretions as a substitute for genuine humor. That's it.

* * * * * *​

There's one thing that's always bothered me about LOTR - it left the story of the Ents and their long search for the Entwives unfinished. There are hints that the Entwives may live near the Shire, but that's never actually confirmed, and the little bit that the appendices tell us about what happened after Frodo's departure from the Grey Havens seems to imply that the hobbits are never again troubled by inexplicable sightings of things like gigantic walking trees on their borders.

I read The Silmarillion and found it impossible to follow; it was full of undying elves who kept re-using the old names in successive generations to the point where I couldn't tell who was being talked about. I haven't read any other of Tolkien's books that were published posthumously since. Does anyone know whether there's anything more about the Ents in any of his other works? Even more of their backstory would help.

* * * * * *​

My late friend Bruce once told me that after reading The Silmarillion he thought he knew which god Tom Bombadil was, and that it was rather horrifying, but he didn't offer any more information than that and it's not like I can still ask him. What do the people here think about that? Was Tom Bombadil a god, or was he a wizard, or something else? And if he was one of the gods, which one?

Margret

 

[Margret]

Too true! I bought "Dragons at Crumbling Castle" a few days ago. More early Pratchett -with illustrations.

I've read that one. It's good - it is, after all, Sir Terry - but his more mature works are better, which is to be expected. Even a genius requires some practice to hone his skill.

I'm not sure, I've never heard that before - I've always thought of thrillers as being "chilling" novels, if that makes sense.

Thank you. That's what I've always thought as well, but after losing a decade to that d@mmed brain tumor I'm not always up on the latest trends.

Now, to me, "thrillers" are more in the line of Preston/Child or Dan Brown, or James Patterson, while "horror" is more Steven King or Dean Koontz (although Koontz has heavy overtones of "thriller" as his horror is based in science, even if very loosely).

Okay, so it's not just me who thinks that horror is a book/movie where you want to shout "No! Don't go into the cellar alone! No one who goes to the cellar alone ever comes back!!!" knowing full well that the idiot character will go into the cellar alone.

Margret

 

[jcat]

I just finished Fire and Fury - Inside the Trump White House. The title should have been Fire and Fury - Inside the Byzantine Snake Pit. There aren't any startling new revelations, but when all the fiascos and intrigues are covered in 310 pages, the Snake-Oil-Salesman-in-Chief seems more out of control than ever.

 

[catspaw66]

Maybe being a lot shorter is a good thing.

It took me months to read The Silmarillion, but when I was done, I understood some of the more obscure references (Balrog of Morthog) and beginnings of Middle Earth.

I, personally, know of no other references to Ends or Entwives.

I always thought of Tom Bombadil as "Father Nature".

 

[Margret]

I just finished Fire and Fury - Inside the Trump White House. The title should have been Fire and Fury - Inside the Byzantine Snake Pit. There aren't any startling new revelations, but when all the fiascos and intrigues are covered in 310 pages, the Snake-Oil-Salesman-in-Chief seems more out of control than ever.

Is that the one that made Trump so mad at Steve Bannon? I've been trying to remember the name of the book so I could bookmark it on BookBub.

Margret

 

[Margret]

Maybe being a lot shorter is a good thing.

Huh? I'm 5'2". What does being short have to do with it?

It took me months to read The Silmarillion, but when I was done, I understood some of the more obscure references (Balrog of Morthog) and beginnings of Middle Earth.

I, personally, know of no other references to Ends or Entwives.

I always thought of Tom Bombadil as "Father Nature".

Well, what do we know about Tom Bombadil?

• He tends to speak in nonsense rhymes, which turn out not to be nonsense after all.
• He appears to have a quirky sense of humor.
• He likes to refer to himself in third person.
• He limits his domain to one small area on the border of the Shire.
• The wiser border hobbits are friends with him, but for the most part he seems to be rather reclusive.
• He's married to Goldberry, "daughter of the River," who is what? A naiad?
• He holds the one ring in utter contempt, and is totally immune to its powers.
• When people sleep in his house they may be prone to strange dreams, even prophetic dreams.
• He does not consider the Shire to be part of his domain. When the Shire is overrun by outsiders who do horrible things to the local ecology Tom Bombadil is nowhere to be found.
  
• And strangely enough, his primary "job" (besides bringing water lilies to Goldberry) seems to be to fulfill the function of an Ent in the Old Forest. He's a tree shepherd.

As a general rule, only bearers of other great rings can see Frodo when he's wearing the One Ring, but Bombadil does not bear a great ring. In the first place, those are all accounted for elsewhere, in the second place he has no need for one, and in the third place no one would be so daft as to entrust him with a great ring because he'd just treat it as a cheap trinket and lose it somewhere.

From "The Council of Elrond" (chapter 2 of the second book of Fellowship of the Ring), during the council Elrond says "But I had forgotten Bombadil, if indeed this is still the same that walked the woods and hills long ago, and even then was older than the old. That was not then his name. Iarwain Ben-adar we called him, oldest and fatherless. But many another name he has since been given by other folk: Forn by the Dwarves, Orald by Northern Men, and other names beside. He is a strange creature, but maybe I should have summoned him to our Council."

To which Gandalf responds: "He would not have come."

Erestor says, "Could we not still send messages to him and obtain his help? It seems that he has a power even over the Ring."

And Gandalf again throws water on any plan to involve Bombadil. "No, I should not put it so. Say rather that the Ring has no power over him. He is his own master. But he cannot alter the Ring itself, nor break its power over others. And now he is withdrawn into a little land, within bounds that he has set, though none can see them, waiting perhaps for a change of days, and he will not step beyond them."

Erestor sticks to his point: "But within those bounds nothing seems to dismay him. Would he not take the Ring and keep it there, for ever harmless?"

Gandalf: "No, not willingly. He might do so, if all the free folk of the world begged him, but he would not understand the need. And if he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it, or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind. He would be a most unsafe guardian; and that alone is answer enough."

Later in the same discussion Glorfindel says "Could that power [Lord of the Rings, Sauron] be defied by Bombadil alone? I think not. I think that in the end, if all else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last as he was First; and then Night will come." {All emphasis mine.}

And that seems to be the extent of it from LOTR. I couldn't find any mention of him in the appendices (except for the timeline of who was where when), and it doesn't appear that he left Middle Earth for the West after Sauron's defeat. There is, of course, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil; I wonder if I have that one. I bought a small compilation recently because it includes "Farmer Giles of Ham," "Leaf by Niggle," and "Smith of Wooton Major," but it may also contain The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. I'll have to check. Edit: I just checked. The book is Tales from the Perilous Realm, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is, indeed, in it. I'll let you know it it contains anything other than exquisite nonsense verses.

Time for some coffee.

Margret

 

[catspaw66]

Very well thought out and written. Were you in Ravenclaw?

The being short referred to Bored of the Rings, not me (5'3"), you or Frodo. I definitely would not use "B'zugda hiara" either.

 

[Margret]

Were you in Ravenclaw?

My first love is books, followed by math, and I like to be a know-it-all , but I'm horrible with actual physical labor, like doing dishes. Scholar, maybe, but I don't think I rise to Ravenclaw standards. Or Gryffindor, though I certainly feel akin to Hermione.

I had forgotten about "B'zugda hiara." Thanks for the reminder.

Margret

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Okay, so it's not just me who thinks that horror is a book/movie where you want to shout "No! Don't go into the cellar alone! No one who goes to the cellar alone ever comes back!!!" knowing full well that the idiot character will go into the cellar alone.

Margret

Here are the rules, and they are all broken EVERY SINGLE TIME! Well...most of them.
1. DON'T go investigate that wierd noise, especially alone. Come on, that's basic stuff!
2. DON'T go into the basement, not even as a group! Nothing good ever comes of going into the basement.
3. DON'T have sex. In a haunted house, cabin, forest, whatever, there IS NO SAFE SEX!
4. DON'T hide in obvious (and obviously unsafe) spots. That shower curtain will not stop the chainsaw.
5. DON'T run away without LOOKING WHERE YOU PUT YOUR DANGED FEET! You always trip over the most obvious thing.
6. DON'T run out of the haunted cabin into the equally haunted woods alone. 'Nuff said.
7. DON'T say "I'll be right back." Trust me, you never will be.
8. DON'T get in the car without a safety check! Not even if you are NOT in a horror movie/book.
9. DON'T be black. I don't know why it is, but if there is ONE poor black guy in the cast, he's gone in scene one.
10. DON'T bother going into the creepy cabin, house, mansion in the first place. I don't care how hard it is raining, you're better off in your car. Always.

Still reading "How to Paint a Cat." It's slow going, mainly because Ion is running marathons on NCIS LA. I didn't start watching it until Season three, and I'm catching up.