Stuff we're reading / watching / listening to

[Digit]

Good blog post about inequality by Bill Gates on his blog.

[mic0]

I think urban fantasy is my new favorite genre. (Or at least, I've really been enjoying it lately.) I read the Enchanted, Inc. series earlier this year and just finished Midnight Riot this week. Definitely recommend both.

[Whistler]

I finished Way of Kings! People complain about the Kaladin chapters, which are kind of a slog, but they're nothing compared to some other stuff I've put myself through (Leviticus comes to mind...)

[Zedability]

The Kaladin chapters were my favourite.

[Whistler]

really? he seems so whiny all the time.

[Zedability]

I guess his is more of the classic hero story you find in fantasy novels -- the average guy who gets wronged somehow, has to fight against a corrupt system, develops above-average powers, etc. And so I just naturally saw it as more of the "main" story of the book. I didn't like Szeth's chapters at all and Shallan's were good, but seemed kind of slow plot-wise. I also really liked Dalinar's chapters. Basically, I liked how they all interplayed and I think the novel would be tiresome if it were JUST Kaladin, but for some reason I identified him as the "main character" and thus was very interested in his chapters.

On an unrelated note, I just noticed that the sequel came out since I left on my mission, and now I'm SO EXCITED YOU GUYS!!!

I'm going to go buy it after work. I'm halfway through "The Name of the Wind." Now what do I do? I still have to brush up on o-chem before taking the second half next semester. But the sequel! Guys. This is so exciting. I'm practically exploding.

[Digit]

Cyborg Neil Harbisson has a camera permanently attached to his skull that can convert colors into sounds (he was born unable to see colors) and even receive phone calls directly into his head.

[Imogen]

Just read "Elantris."

Holy canoli. It was so good.

[Portia]

I plowed through Ferrante's Neapolitan novels. Wowza. Have been in a bit of a reading slump, but did finish As You Like It and moving on to Hamlet.

[Katya]

Just read "Elantris."

Holy canoli. It was so good.

That was the first Brandon Sanderson book I ever read. I should reread it some time.

[mic0]

Now that I've read Mistborn and loved it, guess I'll have to try out Elantris. Is it similar at all? (I don't know in what ways, its overall je ne se quoi...)

[Katya]

I'd say it's similar in some ways. It's got a well-designed magic system (as usual), although part of the premise is that the magic is "broken," so you don't get to see people actually using the magic, for most of the book. It's also got a very interesting structure in that each chapter rotates viewpoint between the three main characters. I really liked the structure, but Brandon has said that it backfired for him with some readers, so he hasn't done that sort of thing in later books. If you loved Mistborn I think you'd at least like Elantris (and maybe love it as well).

[mic0]

Thanks, those are similarities I like. The structure sounds interesting, at least. "It backfired with some readers." Well, even Sanderson can't make everyone happy.

[Imogen]

I really liked the change viewpoints, and the broken magic. I'm still thinking about the book.

[mic0]

Broken magic sounds really interesting... my to-read list is getting unweildy, time to buckle down and read some of those before getting new ones (my usual method).

[Whistler]

I have started reading Moonwalking with Einstein (a terrible title). It's about memory techniques. Some people on memorizing forums have cited it as the best modern explanation of the memory palace. I guess the idea is that we have excellent visual/spatial memory, so in order to memorize things in a certain order, a good way is to imagine your mnemonics on a certain path through a well-known place.

[Zedability]

I have started reading Moonwalking with Einstein (a terrible title). It's about memory techniques. Some people on memorizing forums have cited it as the best modern explanation of the memory palace. I guess the idea is that we have excellent visual/spatial memory, so in order to memorize things in a certain order, a good way is to imagine your mnemonics on a certain path through a well-known place.

I read that. I thought it was okay...not quite what I was expecting somehow though.

[Digit]

I wonder I there are any great blind mnemonists. Then again, without ever having experienced vision, many can quickly memorize the layout of a room, including how many steps it is from one spot to another. One wonders what their system "looks" like to them. Just pure information?

[Katya]

Thanks, those are similarities I like. The structure sounds interesting, at least. "It backfired with some readers." Well, even Sanderson can't make everyone happy.

Apparently what happened is that a lot of readers got annoyed with one of his character (although not always the same one) and decided to start skipping that person's chapters, since in the early part of the book, you basically get the same events from each character's perspective, over and over again. But in the later part of the book they each start seeing things that the others don't see, so you're going to miss parts of the plot if you keep skipping one person's chapters.

Also, I really liked that book's female lead. She's not as broken as Vin, but she's quirky and she doesn't fit well into her society, which makes her a lot of fun to read about.

[Portia]

I was thinking about why literary fiction is relatively unpopular at BYU. I realized that maybe the students don't appreciate "adult" themes. I like the classics (LORNA DOONE, GUYS) and the occasional Sci Fi, but I had a hard time finding friends who would geek out with me over anything written after about WWI sans magic until I left Provo.

I have a hard time not seeing most fantasy as a waste of ink, which is a dilemma, because my roommate, my boyfriend, and my BYU friends are obsessed. GoT (the HBO series) was good but still pretty damn sexist.