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Post by Dmitri Pendragon on Sept 3, 2017 20:33:11 GMT
WHAT WHERE EDIT: I'm…conflicted. I read the Amazon sample and I can tell that he's gone through the thing painstakingly. Some of the edits I appreciate, others…I'm not so sure. But WHY did he change the series name to "The Myridian Constellation"? (Eh. It's always going to be "The Dark Sea Annals" for me.) Mostly I'm looking forward to Book 3.
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Post by jliessa44 on Sept 4, 2017 1:21:36 GMT
Probs not. I have limited funds and I never read the others.
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Post by Dmitri Pendragon on Sept 4, 2017 1:53:26 GMT
I've decided that I dislike all the edits except those that improve grammar and the consistency issues. The version I liked was the version I read.
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Sept 4, 2017 14:48:22 GMT
The new cover art is obviously incredible. The new map inside is pretty cool too, although it's not the visual representation of Myriad that I expected. I kind of like a few of the edits. But I'm not entirely sure which parts are new and which are old, because I've forgotten most of the book. My biggest concern would be that, since it's much longer now, perhaps all he did was add to it, and not subtract. But if this is the book Batson wanted to give us, then it's good we can at least have the opportunity to read it.
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Post by Aviar Goldeneagle on Sept 14, 2017 12:41:53 GMT
I need to read that. I haven't read the early versions so it should be all good for me.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Oct 7, 2017 1:52:02 GMT
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Post by jliessa44 on Dec 28, 2017 18:49:05 GMT
I got books for Christmas, so yay! ^.^ Of course all but one I've already read, but I'm still crazy excited because they're the ones I wanted. Lol
What about you guys?
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Dec 29, 2017 13:04:10 GMT
I also got books for Christmas: the first two Invisible Library novels, Weave a Circle Round by Kari Maaren, and Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World (signed! with a "thank you for helping with the book tour" note!). So, all of them I've already read, but they were some of my favorites from the year.
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Post by jliessa44 on Dec 29, 2017 21:19:27 GMT
Ooh. Those sound good. I think I like getting books I've already read and love better than new ones. ^.^ then I know for sure I like them.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Dec 29, 2017 23:03:11 GMT
Yep. Which books did you get? I don't know which I like better. On one hand, getting one you know you love means you get to read it again and again, whenever you want, but getting a new book is almost like getting a present and a surprise present, because you get to find out what you think of it (and might get something you really wanted to read but couldn't afford).
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Post by jliessa44 on Dec 30, 2017 5:28:17 GMT
The Seven Realms boxed set, The Gift by Shelly shepherd and the Lunar Chronicles boxed set. So actually, I lied bc I forgot it has Fairest, which I haven't read. So I got two books I haven't read. Lol.
Yeahhh. I know. They both have good things about them. >.< I like getting new books from a series or an author that I know I already love, but if I'm unsure on whether I'll like it or not I get so stressed out about it because it was a gift and then I feel pressure to like it.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Dec 30, 2017 13:14:59 GMT
Oooooh, nice. Boxed sets are fun.
True. But if I'm asking for a book as a gift, I'm pretty sure I'll like it. So, yeah.
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Post by jliessa44 on Dec 30, 2017 16:01:15 GMT
Same. But sometimes I'm wrong, or the book was a surprise. The Gift was a surprise actually, but I wanted it already so it was a good one. Lol
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Dec 30, 2017 21:18:23 GMT
True. And that's good! What's it about? I've never heard of it.
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Post by jliessa44 on Dec 31, 2017 3:51:51 GMT
It's the third in a series of Amish suspense novels. But it's also a standalone sort of deal. There's this girl and there's been a few "accidents" happening to her family who just moved into this new farm. And the love interest's family used to own the farm. So clearly the dad thinks his family is behind it and the liver interest thinks it's just accidents. I haven't read the first of the series, but I really liked the second one. I have an unfortunate tendency to jump into series starting with the second books. I did it with this one, the Knight and Rogue series, and I believe Ranger's Apprentice.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Dec 31, 2017 13:43:50 GMT
Ah, interesting. Not really my kind of thing, but still interesting. I can't say I have that problem of starting with the second book, though . . . for me, it's got to be the first book or nothing.
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Post by jliessa44 on Dec 31, 2017 17:57:40 GMT
Lol. I actually wasn't sure I'd like the second one or not, but I ended up liking. Of course, I like Amish fiction, but also get bored wth it easy so there's that.
As for second books, Idk. I used to be like "first book only" but then I've run into the problem where I can't find the first one anywhere and I don't like buying the first in a series without reading them since I'll have spent 12-15 dollars on it and if I don't like it I'm stuck with it. So I read the second. Lol
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Dec 31, 2017 20:48:32 GMT
Ok, out of curiosity, what appeals to you about Amish fiction? I'm confused about it's draw.
I can understand that, I suppose.
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Post by jliessa44 on Dec 31, 2017 22:45:43 GMT
It's cute and fluffy, mostly. And there's enough Amish where I live that it's not unusual to see a buggy in town. So a combo of those? Just something fast and sweet that I'm 99% sure will be clean without needing to read up on them. They're also basically historical fiction set now.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Jan 1, 2018 15:16:41 GMT
Hmm. Fair enough. I just have a low fluff tolerance, I guess.
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Post by jliessa44 on Jan 1, 2018 15:48:07 GMT
That would make them hard to read, I suppose. Lol
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Jan 1, 2018 18:40:26 GMT
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. THERE IS NOTHING REDEEMABLE ABOUT AMISH FICTION.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Jan 2, 2018 1:14:24 GMT
@liessa: Yep. That's also why I gave up on Melanie Dickerson's novels. They used to have actual plots, but the last few I read were fluffy fluff with a few swords and castles thrown in. Warrior of Aror: My lit prof last fall would agree wholeheartedly with you. As for me- I will give them what Liessa said, they're usually clean and they're sort of historical fiction. However, I don't care for them.
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Post by jliessa44 on Jan 2, 2018 2:46:22 GMT
I really liked The Healer's Apprentice and The Merchant's daughter, but I'm struggling with The Fairest Beauty and had to shelve it for a while. Warrior of Aror. 'Fraid I have to disagree. They're wholesome, clean reads. Furthermore, many people find them enjoyable, myself included. And people judging the genre is kinda a pet peeve of mine. I get kinda sick of being told they're not 'real books'. What about the genre makes it unredeemable?
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Jan 2, 2018 13:21:26 GMT
jliessa44: Yep. That's about where I started to lose it. I made it through to The Princess Spy, mostly because I liked the couple in The Captive Maiden, but now . . . yeah. No. I'm done.
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Post by jliessa44 on Jan 2, 2018 23:48:23 GMT
Makes sense. I'm not sure I'll read anymore of hers or not yet. But they're definitely low on my list
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Jan 3, 2018 1:39:11 GMT
Yeah . . . But I've found other good fairy tale retellers to read instead, so it's fine.
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Post by jliessa44 on Jan 3, 2018 2:32:05 GMT
That's good. ^.^
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Jan 31, 2018 15:44:09 GMT
EDIT: also, first, I have to say that what I wrote should be taken as comedic hyperbole. I don't actually think there is nothing redeemable thing about the genre. jliessa44 & Leilani Sunblade I suppose I should preface this by saying that I've never read Amish fiction. I have, unfortunately, seen at least one or two movies based off of such books. I wasn't trying to say that you shouldn't read them, and I was not trying to judge your choice of books. However, from a detached perspective I would argue that these books (or at least generally this type of media) is a romanticization of life that is not at all like that in the real world, though it might have you believe it is. Most (not all, I expect) of books in this genre are trite and inbred. Nor is this sort of fiction very beneficial to the reader (or viewer). It's sort of the feminine alternative to Rambo. Fantasized, shallow entertainment. Or, as Daniel Schwabauer would say, junk food for the brain. I'm sure there are exceptions. What I know of the genre could have been scraped off the bottom of the barrel, whereas the books you've chosen to read are actually awesome. Either way, I won't judge you for reading this genre. But I would plead with you to repent! (joke, joke. ) I do not mean to suggest that all romanticization (in the traditional sense, not in the eros sense) is bad. Rather, that this type of fiction (or any inbred genre, like vampire romance, certain types of very popular thrillers, etc.) are bad because they lack any literary weight and have fabricated a false portrait of reality (and therein lies the danger: escapism for the sake of escapism leads one away from understanding the world as it is, but good escapism is good for the very reason that it gives perspective and points towards truth).
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Post by jliessa44 on Feb 1, 2018 6:42:07 GMT
Lol. I wasn't offended. Maybe a little miffed simply because you were the third person in a short time span to 'judge' the genre. ((They actually were being snobs because I said I like to read and when they asked what I was reading atm, so I told them and they were like "oh. You're one of those readers" so yeah.))
As far as romanticization, that's going to happen no matter the genre. I'm well aware that's not how real Amish life works, same as when I read a historical. I know that's not how life worked exactly, but I like reading about it regardless. Lol. I actually know a decent bit about actual problems within the Amish community (abuse, marriage between cousins, genetic disorders, etc) but I'd rather read about the cute farmer and the girl next door falling in love. Whether or not it's "beneficial to the reader" is beside the point really, even reading poor fiction is more beneficial than watching tv or video games. It's for relaxing, not necessarily for improving yourself.
And that's the root of our disagreement I believe. Escapism for escapism' sake isn't a bad thing so long as it's not constant. You don't always have to be striving to improve. and what actually has literary weight is pretty subjective, though we like to pretend it isn't. Shakespeare is regarded as a classic today, but his works contain plot holes and are just packed full of dirty humor. I think if we decide that books are 'worthy' only if they have literary weight and portray the world in a way we see as the truth, we suck all the joy out of reading. Reading becomes really elitist and we become snobs, turning up our noses at we see as being unintelligence. Reading just about anything improves intelligence, and if the ideas/plots contained therein fuel you creatively (whether you're an artsy writer type or not) then it's worthy.
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