Language is great
Not only does it let you communicate ideas but at the same time it often mystifies and prevents communication.
Well the prevention isn't quite so good sometimes, especially when you are trying to get information across, instructions, ideas, questions, that sort of thing. But sometimes it gives you great things to think about.
For example, I'm reading more Pratchett and he uses a phrase that I like,
"... a whole womanful of anger ..."
While describing one of the characters. I think, of course, of Yvonne, a red-headed friend who does, indeed, embrace her anger (that being a given with redheads often). The new catchphrase on her blog is "A cactus, attractive at a distance but hard to get close to" (describing strong women).
I'm going to have to read more Pratchett when I'm done with this one.
I got two more books I'd ordered week before last. Somewhere I got book 2 in a series, likely because I didn't respond to my SciFi book club notice until too late. It was called "The Deadhouse Gates" by Steven Erikson. I looked on Amazon.com to see if the 1st was available and it was but I couldn't decide if I was going to like the series. Some of the reviews enjoyed it and some said it was tripe. Not that I can trust what random internet people think (when they do think, which is more often than many drivers). So I ordered the 1st and 3rd used. Shipping was as much as the books. They came today. And I was disconcerted to see a recommendation from Stephen R. Donaldson on the cover of the 1st.
This is a man I despise. I read his ... I can't even think of the name of the hero in the series, Thomas Covenant? Yes, that's him. I read his Thomas Covenant series. Six books. The first one was okay but they rapidly declined from there and mostly it was the same story rehashed again and again and again (which is great for authors I like, not having to write another actual book and yet getting paid for one, marvelous!). And the hero is a puke, a mean nasty "person" I didn't empathize with at all. I have no idea why I stuck with the whole thing and read all six, other than to say I finished them. I didn't realize I shouldn't have until I was talking with Jack awhile back about the new set of Dune books, written by Herbert's son and Kevin Anderson (another "author" whom I despise, "hack" seems to good a word, he's not even that good a writer). They were poorly written (Brian Herbert is NOT his father by any means) and Jack asked me why I was reading them then. He pointed out that we only have so much time available to us and we shouldn't spend it reading drek.
So I don't know if I'll like this Erikson's books but I'll "give it a go".
Well the prevention isn't quite so good sometimes, especially when you are trying to get information across, instructions, ideas, questions, that sort of thing. But sometimes it gives you great things to think about.
For example, I'm reading more Pratchett and he uses a phrase that I like,
"... a whole womanful of anger ..."
While describing one of the characters. I think, of course, of Yvonne, a red-headed friend who does, indeed, embrace her anger (that being a given with redheads often). The new catchphrase on her blog is "A cactus, attractive at a distance but hard to get close to" (describing strong women).
I'm going to have to read more Pratchett when I'm done with this one.
I got two more books I'd ordered week before last. Somewhere I got book 2 in a series, likely because I didn't respond to my SciFi book club notice until too late. It was called "The Deadhouse Gates" by Steven Erikson. I looked on Amazon.com to see if the 1st was available and it was but I couldn't decide if I was going to like the series. Some of the reviews enjoyed it and some said it was tripe. Not that I can trust what random internet people think (when they do think, which is more often than many drivers). So I ordered the 1st and 3rd used. Shipping was as much as the books. They came today. And I was disconcerted to see a recommendation from Stephen R. Donaldson on the cover of the 1st.
This is a man I despise. I read his ... I can't even think of the name of the hero in the series, Thomas Covenant? Yes, that's him. I read his Thomas Covenant series. Six books. The first one was okay but they rapidly declined from there and mostly it was the same story rehashed again and again and again (which is great for authors I like, not having to write another actual book and yet getting paid for one, marvelous!). And the hero is a puke, a mean nasty "person" I didn't empathize with at all. I have no idea why I stuck with the whole thing and read all six, other than to say I finished them. I didn't realize I shouldn't have until I was talking with Jack awhile back about the new set of Dune books, written by Herbert's son and Kevin Anderson (another "author" whom I despise, "hack" seems to good a word, he's not even that good a writer). They were poorly written (Brian Herbert is NOT his father by any means) and Jack asked me why I was reading them then. He pointed out that we only have so much time available to us and we shouldn't spend it reading drek.
So I don't know if I'll like this Erikson's books but I'll "give it a go".
posted by banzai at 15:27
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