So you want to talk about books?

*coughs at awkward silence*

*doesn't have anything to say to break the silence*

*slowly backs away*

I love the Time Quartet! I started The Arm of the Starfish several times, though, and I could never get into it.

So basically, this is talking about books you don't want to make a specific thread for, and also saying generic things about book trends and suchlike? Great! I'm going to try and revive the thread now, so I'm going to write a long post about various topics so that there's bound to be something whoever reads this will want to reply to--hopefully, at any rate.

I wish the YA sections of all my local bookstores (especially B&N) weren't so infestted with vampire romance (what they REALLY need to do is make a separate section for vampire romance, so that those who want to read it still can, but those who are annoyed by the fact that they can't find anything else can be happy, too. I can't believe no-one has done this yet. At least the children's section hasn't been taken over yet, or adult nonfiction (I don't read any adult fiction except Discworld, but I love the nonfiction), or poetry (Ugh, vampire poetry... *shudders*), and neither has any section in my amazing library system (completely, anyway).

Has anyone else noticed that the word 'trilogy' has now become completely meaningless? I can't believe how many have more than 3 books at this point. Bartimaeus, Uglies, Inheritance, HG2G (on purpose, of course, so that doesn't really count, but still)... I'm not even going to name them all; it would take a decade.

And does anyone else know why so many (usually just children's, but there are exceptions, like JRRT; still, I think it's mainly a children's thing; PB Kerr actually goes by Philip Kerr in his adult books and not his children's ones, which I think is just ridiculous.) authors are going by their first initial, middle initial, and last name nowadays? It's not as if we particularly like it more than the alternative--or at least I don't.

What genres do you like--besides fantasy, which is probably almost everyone's favorite here, including mine? I also like hi-fi and sci-fi and the occasional bit of poetry (I love The Highwayman!) or science (usually biology or physics, but I'm not picky) or history or real-fi. I also like things that don't fit any specific genre or multiple genres, like Click and Sea of ztrolls and TA Baron's trilogy about Kate (I don't remember what it's called.), and fantasy that isn't in story format, like How to Live With a Unicorn: The Fantastic Guide to Magical Pets.

Speaking of HtLWaU, has anyone else read it? If so, which of the potential pets would you most want? Being somewhat practical, I mean: I'd want most of the pets mentioned (with a few notable exceptions like centaurs and basilisks), but many, like rocs, would be horribly impractical. Even among the semipractical ones, I wouldn't be allowed to have many of them as pets. I'm ignoring that for my list, though: Unicorn (assuming I could save up for 'a substantial bit of private woodland'), HIPPOGRIFF, pegasus (I could never afford one, though),  hydra (only if I couldn't have any of the other pets except the sphinx, of course; I'd never force them to be near a hydra's breath; that would be animal cruelty; I myself would just wear a mask), ogress, sphinx, gorgon with sunglasses, selkie, fairy,  sirens,  and phoenix,. Also, I love the illustrations!

A long time ago, I came up with a theory that while Animagus forms represent a wizard's personality, Patronuses represent their best qualities only. Well, I found actual evidence for it now! You know how the importance of love is such a major theme in the books? Well, people (Tonks, Snape--especially Snape, as his love was definitely one of his best qualities) keep turning into people they're in love with! I was listening to a MuggleCast puzzling over it, and I got really excited because it supported my theory.  I like the idea, and I think JKR would, too. Also, Umbridge's Patronus is a cat, but don't you think her Animagus form would be a toad?

That's all for now, but I'll post more later!

I think authors use initials instead of first names so the reader can't tell whether the books are written by a man or a woman.

Admin

@ R~D-- I love the Books of Bayern! Enna Burning is by far my favorite. I totally agree with you, though, that Forest Born stinks. I didn't like the main character because she was so insecure and never said a word, and I didn't like the return of Celia. I think the whole reasoning for writing it was so Finn and Enna could finally get married. If Shannon Hale had just left it at River Secrets it would have been brilliant. I own all of them, thankfully, so I don't have to check 'em out of the library.

Re: YA & Vamps: I understand your feeling, but it really is just what's popular now; it'll pass soon. Anyway, there is good YA out there, if you look. It's just that the more popular vamp books are put out where you can see them. Mind, nowadays I usually just head straight for the adult F/SF because that's where the Discworld is. 

Re: Trilogy: If they keep the quality up, I'm not complaining. You mentioned Bartimaeus as an example - Ring of Solomon was just as good as, if not better than, the rest of the series, and I enjoyed it immensely. And Extras, the fourth Uglies book, was arguably the best in the whole series. Of course, when the quality declines or it becomes apparent that the author is just writing more for increased money and doesn't really care, well...

Re: Initialed Authors: Maybe that's actually what their parents actually called them, like A.E. Pessimal! /Discworld geekishness *cough* It's not just a kids book thing, and it's not just nowadays, either - a lot of authors like that are long dead. I agree with Admin, though, that it's probably to conceal gender.

Re: P.B. Kerr: I've never heard of this guy before, but it makes sense to me to use a different name for kids and adult books. He could want to avoid kids trying to read his adult books based on his name, if there's a chance that his adult books could be inappropriate for kids. He could want to avoid being branded as only either a kids or an adult author, making it hard for him to do both. I've read that sometimes authors established in one genre will use a pseudonym when writing in another - this could be the same kind of thing. 

Re: Genres: I read almost exclusively F/SF. Very occasionally I'll pick up a hi-fi or real-fi if it looks interesting, but not often. Only a tiny bit of nonfic, and that mainly biographies. 

Re: Mythical Pets: Um, am I the only one that sees the problem with keeping some of the creatures you listed as pets? That is, that they're kind of intelligent beings?

Re: Animagi vs. Patronuses: Wait, didn't we have this discussion on another thread a while back, and come to the conclusion you stated here? *confuzzled* In any case, I agree with you, mainly because things like Snape turning into a doe, a deer, a female deer or Tonks becoming a werewolf just don't make sense, and because Patronuses change and Animagi forms don't, and because of the whole love connection with the Patronuses (I also wondered if that maybe has something to do with the fact that your best memories would involve your loved ones, and probably also that those memories would also have you at your best?) Wow, that was incoherent.

Re: Bayern: Wow, I completely disagree with you guys about Forest Born. I thought it was well-written, original, and a perfect conclusion to the books. I don't think the series would have been complete without a plant-speaker. Not to mention that I thought Rin was a very human character who I liked and sympathised with. (Remember, you don't have to like the MC to like the book, and no MC is complete without flaws.) But each to his own.

Re: Hunger Games: Hurrah! I'm so glad you like them, RD. Serious question: Do you prefer Peeta or Gale?