Knife Of Dreams - WOT Re-read

Well here it is. It took me 8 months but my self imposed torture is over!! I have re-read all 11 books leading up to the book that came out last year. Phew!! I can't believe it took this long. Oh wait, yes I can. All the books are 1 gazillion pages long.

What was so weird in reading Knife of Dreams again was that I truly didn't remember most of it so it was like reading a new book. I think part of the reason was that it had been so very long in between the last few books that I forgot some of the recent storylines even when I read it the first time. When what you're reading doesn't make complete sense, it doesn't really stick with you.

It's been a great ride for me reading all these again, but I have to say I will probably never do it again. The good part of it is I can't say there's a book I don't like anymore. Everything makes sense when you read it back to back (for the most part) like this. 

I think the one major issue still is relevant though: there are way too many storylines trying to compete for major time. I enjoy most of them but it muddies the series. I know everyone else has already read The Gathering Storm, but having put it off, I really hope Sanderson finds a way to bring all these competing storylines together in a comprehensible manner. Apparently the paperback will be coming out at the end of September and Towers of Midnight will be released Nov 2. I figure I will wait for the paperback. Give my brain a break by reading some books that are COMPLETELY different. I've listened to a lot of short stories on audio and a couple audio books but I haven't read much outside of this series since January. I NEED something different. And I have it! But you'll have to wait for the next post to find out what it is!

By the time I finish the paperback (all 1120 pages, seriously?) I should be ready for the new one! I'm so excited that this series is finally coming to end. I will do a little jig when I read the last page of the last book. Truly, I'll even get it on video so everyone can see!

I want to share one more thing. This beautiful cover for the ebook version of Knife of Dreams. I still think the one for Shadow Rising is the best, but this is very well done.

**** Me, Ray Bradbury

For lovers of Sci-Fi, I have no words for this. You simply have to watch and see for yourself!

Friday 56: We The Living

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

We The Living by Ayn Rand is the closest to me today because I was trying to get my mother interested in it last week when she was here and I never put anything away.

He looked down at her; she sat on the steps at his feet looking up at his face. He saw no fear and no appeal in her eyes, only an insolent calm.

Friday 56: Picking the guitar

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I bought this book to improve my guitar playing last week. I've made it through the first exercise. I'm not a very motivated practicer.

Most of the G chords you'll be playing will be fretted in the F position, moved up tot he third fret.

Yeah, sorry it's so boring this week!

School Blessings And Important Separations

I know many of the people who will read this are very strong in their Christian beliefs. That's perfectly fine and I hope no one will take offense to what I am about say here, but I am PISSED OFF.

There is a reason we have separation of church and state in this country. No one should feel force to worship in a way that is wrong to them. If officials were allowed to enforce one belief over another, it could easily lead to people being fired from jobs because they go to temple instead of church or even because they might go to a Baptist church instead of a Pentecostal one. It's not like it's unheard of for even two people who both believe that Jesus is the son of God to also believe the other person is going to Hell for not praying the same way. My family is Church of Christ, I've heard this preached IN THE CHURCH. That kind of hate speech (don't even attempt to argue that one, saying someone is going to hell is hateful and judgemental - no matter what you believe) just turns my stomach. It should not be allowed in places that have influence over people in other ways.

I know many people today have this belief that the founding fathers wanted America to be a Christian country, but if that were true then we wouldn't have the separation of church and state written into the constitution. These men came from a country that was killing people for wanting to worship without the idolatry of the Catholic church (the Protestant belief not mine - so please don't read into that statement). They wanted to make sure that kind of thing wouldn't happen here. It was also the Age of Enlightenment and most of them were Deists anyway. They would be turning in their graves if they could see the kind of fundamentalism that has taken root in our political system right now.

I find it ironic that the English now consider it poor taste to bring their religion into political discussions. How did they get it right and we get it wrong? I also find it disturbing that in a race between a Christian politician and a non-Christian, it is a given that the Christian will win, no matter what he has done in his past or what his plans are for his constituents. I personally want someone who has the best interest of the people in mind and don't give one whit about whether or not s/he goes to church. I will vote for a Christian and I will vote for a non-Christian because I don't even pay attention to their BELIEFS. I want to know FACTS.

So with all this in mind I want to know how in world it is possible for a superintendent of schools to hold Christian blessing ceremonies for all the schools in her district and "strongly suggest" that all teachers and principals show up. I wouldn't have as much issue with this if she was planning on doing this with other faiths, but she's not. She's purposely brought Christianity into public schools although IT IS NOT LEGAL. But I might still have a problem with this if she did include Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Baha'i, Hindu, Jainism and whatever else I could think of. Why? Because it is still a public school system. Religion should not be a part of it.Of course this isn't mandatory but to be told it is strongly suggested implies adverse consequences if someone does not show up.  There is a place for religion, a place of learning is not it.

Now this is happening in Ft Worth Texas and I know that there are far more Christians here than non-Christians, but that doesn't make it right.

Friday 56: Knife of Dreams

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Knife of Dreams by Rpbert Jordan has been patiently waiting it's turn in the WOT re-read for awhile now. (hahaha as if a book could do any different) It's turn came and I chose another book. Poor little book got sidelined again. I'm about to finish The Darkness that Comes Before so I guess I'll get to this soon enough. Anyway, it's been sitting on my nightstand just waiting and since I've used everything else sitting there recently, I chose this for the F56 (I have 4 books closest to me at the moment. They're literally stacked on top of each other).

ok, I just opened this and it sounds familiar so I guess I've done this recently too! I really need to put books away! hahaha

Two of the sisters she passed ignored her simply because they did not see her.

Lots of early birds today. Make sure to go check out last week's post to read theirs!

Friday 56: Hero

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I have a feeling I might have used this book before but I don't remember for sure and don't feel like looking it up! hahaha! It is the closest right now though. So, from The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell:

But these only served to advance the inevitable; for while still relatively young, the youth exhausted for himself the fields of fleshly joy and became ripe for the other experience.

Short Story Challenge - July Recap

 

If you missed signing up for the Short Story Challenge, it's not too late.  Each month I will post a recap to discuss what everyone has read for the challenge. Everyone who still wants to sign up, go back to original post (to which I will leave a link in every current post). Then leave comments in the current post.

Well, I've done a little more reading this month! That's what happens when you put aside the WOT saga for a little while. :) I've moved on to another series that looks like it's going to be extremely time consuming but I don't plan on reading them all back to back. I have learned my lesson with this WOT re-read!! 

Anyway, with short stories this month it was all audio. I'm just loving having an ipod!! I know, I was living in the Dark Ages before. Getting audiobooks on cd. Jeez, who does that anymore? hehehe. But the problem I've noticed with the ipod is that I can't swap these for other books. With the books on cds, I could list them on Paperback Swap and get another one for only the price of postage. Now I buy a new book and it just sits there taking up space on my computer. Not sure what to do about that. I'd like to share some of them with my friends or mom but how do you do that? I'm not going to delete them until I figure that out (anything short of burning 500 cds for one book). 

I listened to Pump Six and Other Stories  by Paolo Bacigalupi. I've never read anything by this author before so I know nothing about his writing style but I just couldn't finish this. You can read my review here. 

I also listened to Stories edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio. Actually I should say I am listening. I'm not quite finished with all the stories yet (really long book! More than 18 hours). I'll post a review as soon as I'm finished. This is a most entertaining book. The stories are a wide range of genres and styles. Take a moment to look at all the names listed around the edge of the cover (that's why I made the pic so big). Wonderful!! The book was broken into 3 parts for the audio and the first part had simply disturbing stories. Wonderful, horrible, I-hope-this-never-happens-to-me-but-I-can't-wait-to-hear-more stories. The second part has some truly funny stories. Like the frat boy who drops acid right before he's called to be a contestant on the Price Is Right. Oh Yeah, I was laughing so hard I probably shouldn't have been driving. I just finished this second part and am now signing off to go listen to the third part. Let you know...