I AM THE WORST EVER AT CONCISION. (I guess potential friends might as well note this upfront. x_x)
Name? Kat How do you spend your days? Uh, staring in horror at my GCal, because I have two exams upcoming, and instead of studying nonstop I do...this??? Not that that's right now or anything. ¬.¬ What TV shows are you most into right now? ...Um, I wanted to explain stuff as I went, but then this section alone exceeded 4300 characters. So, instead -
Current shows I've seen all or most of: Psych, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Lie to Me, Hannah Montana. Current show I've seen some of, and adore, and have a sekrit name for (silly story), but am moving through at a SNAIL'S PACE, because it's with a friend: Cougar Town. Current show the IDEA of which I like, and the spoilers of which flist has sucked me into caring about, but I quit watching in irritation and haven't managed to restart: Glee. Current shows I am seriously considering: Greek, The Good Wife, Episodes, Mr. Sunshine, Chuck? Other shows I mentioned, but now you don't get to know why: Friends, Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60, Alias, Scrubs, Coupling (UK), Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice, The Office (US), Jack and Bobby, Boy Meets World, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, Digimon (Adventure), Pokemon, Will and Grace, the list goes on... Do things like Band of Brothers and Dr. Horrible count?
Music? Varies. Includes bad pop from ten years ago, and musicals. Books/authors? I wish I had time to read as much now as as a kid, but I don't. Currently I'm still stuck halfway through B2 of A Song of Ice and Fire. I got distracted by school and discouraged because I was accidentally spoiled for EVERYONE DYING. D= (If you're unspoiled: No, not literally; sorry; I exaggerate.) Besides that, my impulse is to list classic childhood favorites, a few fantasy series, several persuasions of chick lit, and the occasional "real book," as recommended. Movies? Romcoms, Disney/Pixar, major adaptations, things that get hype - these are what I'll see in theatres, or watch online/DVD/Demand soon after. I LOVE several movies that aren't any of the above, but I don't get around to seeing them and finding out until I'm forced to or maybe I'm on vacation. Any other interests? Theatre, very much, though I may or may not discuss it. Boston, city of my heart, inconsistent sports teams and all. Food, crafts, fuzzy colorful socks. Describe the contents of your most recent LJ post: Snow. Driving. No Strings Attached. School/food/kittens/Psych? (It's public; you can go read it if you want.)
What kind of friends are you looking for? Er...well, when I feel in need of friends of a certain bent, I find them. But I did have someone friend me out of the blue because they liked me on friendsfriends, and that was surprising and fun and new! so why not post and see who's actually intrigued? instead of pouncing on strangers... Hello! I am friendly and chipper and genuinely interested in others! My hobbies include snarking, flailing, and being frivolous! :D It would probably be best if you were good at parsing rambling, and didn't mind hearing (or scrolling past) non-fandom talk. Oh, and if you were sane. (By which I mean, for instance, I'm quite shippy, but usually at least able to hear other sides, if not downright happy to try and play. If you are super-intense in a negative, closed-minded sort of way (meaning squee and socially critical rage don't count!), I might be afraid of you.)
How much are you around? I check my flist like a reflex, after email and facebook, which means pretty often. It's kind of ironic, though, because a month ago I had no flist to speak of (I took basically a super-long fandom-except-Yuletide hiatus). Currently I read almost everything and comment if I have any thoughts. And I post...er, more often than expected! but still only once or twice a week, and never as fannishly as I feel like I should. x_x But I try! I feel guilty that people are reading maybe expecting, like, incisive TV commentary (HAHAHA, as if), and instead I'm talking about, like, how I got lost on the way to the movies.
Hahahahaha, you should see the flaily freaking post I just made.
DR. HORRIBLE <3 fleeehehlkdjsaflksag. I am such a sucker for when people break into song, it's a big problem. If only Glee were not...the way it is.
I have to watch the new HIMYM; Katie here posted about it and I can't read her post until I do. Grump.
Fantasy series - Grown-up fantasy series? Here's what I can see from my current perch: A Clash of Kings (ASOIAF), wfdjkslyguerjkf;lds,f across from me on the dresser. On my bookshelf: the Kushiel's Legacy series, which I totally got hooked on when there were...I guess only four books or so? and then I was concerned I didn't remember what had happened and HAD to reread before finishing, which of course I didn't have time to do, so I am perpetually in the middle of Kushiel's Justice. Which drives me crazy, since I own matching books through Mercy. The Chronicles of the Cheysuli, which I've read and own all of but never talked to anyone about. These books that Google tells me are The Ghatti's Tale, which I have three or four of? but again, I picked them up when there were only two, so I know the first two super-well and am not sure I ever read the other one/two I own. They're from a while ago; I don't remember which birthday they were given to me for. The Black Jewels Trilogy/The Invisible Ring/Dreams Made Flesh. And someone lent me Wizard's First Rule like a zillion years ago, but I never read it. (Although I hear Legend of the Seeker is good.) Kid fantasy series: Most of the Tamora Pierce books, Enchanted Forest, HP. I actually never read all of His Dark Materials, but my friend's copies are here from when I started them a while back...I wish I'd read them when I was younger, though circa when I read Narnia. Which I should have, but which isn't on my shelf right now... AHHHH. THE CHRONICLES OF CHRESTOMANCI. <3 Um, I don't own those, but I should. And I should have others that don't come to mind... I should mention I'm not the world's best high-fantasy reader generally. I think the main reason is that they're so long and consuming? I tend to be a little afraid of picking up new Giant Series in particular because if I get started on something and really like it I, like, stop doing other things, which is REALLY BAD, because, you know, I'm in school. And then, if it's unfinished, if I do finish it, I'll just be so annoyed that, say, Blank escaped and I have to wait like 7 years to find out what happened. >< And who knows, the author could DIE before then!!!! The other reason is that, depending on the worldbuilding/what the book focuses on/characters, I sometimes get annoyed with them. Like, this summer a friend and I decided, We don't read enough! We don't read NEW stuff enough! Let's check the Hugo Awards and stuff and pick a new book series! And we started the Runelords books? which have SUCH a fascinating concept, omg, what an interestingly constructed world. But then we struggled with non-book things like matching our reading pace, and book things like, okay, not going to lie, sometimes I pick up fantasy books and I'm like, "WTF is this. Is this a name?? Are you a person?? GO AWAY," and then sometimes you have tropes that really two-dimensional and frustrating, and then sometimes it's just, I'm not the kind of person who likes to read 259723894327859372 pages of The War Against The Giant Bugs. I've realized I tend to be more into character-driven stuff, political intrigue, yadda yadda. Not that there aren't wars in other books, of course, and not that the series I have finished and like don't have their own problematic dynamics and cliches (please see: List Of Movies I Really Love But That Have One Drippy Line That Makes Me Want To Vomit)... which is all a long, snarky, potentially offensive way of saying, probably not as many as you're hoping, but I like to read on recommendation, and I'm a great deal more open-minded and willing to handwave than this little tangent may have sounded. XD
I am such a sucker for when people break into song, it's a big problem. If only Glee were not...the way it is. My thoughts exactly. I love musicals so much and was so excited when Glee came around and then... well, yeah. You know what happened then XD
*looks in awe and astonishment at your fantasy series ramblings* Erm... What can I say? I've read Harry Potter! And I've heard of Narnia... Oh, and I have read all of His Dark Materials, though it doesn't hold up as well on re-reads. I'm definitely adding the books you mentioned to my to-read list (which is almost as long as my to-watch list, so yeah...)
so I am perpetually in the middle of Kushiel's Justice That would drive me crazy. But then again, I read quite a lot and I love, love, love long series.
My favourite fantasy series is actually The Hollows, by Kim Harrison. I encountered it on accident when my girl bought them for my birthday based on the idea "it's got a great cover, she'll love this" and I really, really loved it. This is urban fantasy, though, and I'm not sure if it counts towards what you call 'high-fantasy'.
ETA: I agree on the war-stuff, by the way. It's actually one of the biggest reasons I never could get into Lord of the Rings. I love fantasy for the world-building and the characters.
Oh, I thought you were asking because you were, like, one of those people who's read like a gazillion fantasy series, all of which have like 15 books of 800 pages. But I see now you're actually not a native English speaker? (Yes? No? Not anything you're saying; I just vaguely remembered someone talking about Dutch or something on this meme and then I went and saw on your profile you're from Belguim.) So it's really not surprising you haven't read these...the Ghatti books in particular I've never come across someone else who's read them, I don't think? Although, I'm sure I must know someone as I start to meet people who read a lot. Cheysuli's been up for Yuletide in the past, I think, which means SOMEONE'S read them, but I haven't talked to them. Pretty obscure; either that or I don't talk to the right kinds of readers.
Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - are one of the most famous series ever written, in the English children's literature/fantasy canon. His Dark Materials is actually commonly known to be an...atheist response to them? because they're very, very Christian. Which I never realized as a kid, but is very apparent as an adult, so...I'm not sure if you'll enjoy Narnia that much reading it for the first time now. But I would recommend it almost just as...research. Plus, the movies that are currently coming out (3/7 so far) are really gorgeous. They're not 100% faithful in plotline, but the world is beautiful, presumably because the author's stepson, who read the books as a child, is involved in their production, and he imagined the world as a kid probably similar to how most of us did.
Oh, God, LotR. I couldn't get through them either, though the movies are beautiful. I've read The Hobbit, though; somehow that one was easier - maybe it's shorter? Also I think I might've had to read it for school.
On the other grown-up series I mentioned (I just pulled up the comment so I could check which ones they were): Jacqueline Carey and the Kushiel's Legacy books are an awesome place to start; a lot of people really enjoy them. Although you should be warned there's, uh, kind of a lot of sex, and sometimes it's...let's just say, unconventional. But they're gorgeous; the world is amazing. The friend who gave it to me doesn't actually like them that much; there's a slow bit that lost her, I think, in the middle of Kushiel's Dart, the first book - but she told me she loved the world, which I do, too.
ASOIAF = A Song of Ice and Fire, which is really well-known and highly recommended, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it yet myself, because like I said I'm stalled in the middle of the second book. And I'm scared, because it's one of those series where no one is exempt from possibly dying.
Sidebar: If you like romance, there's another series, that has some really wonderful concepts but not as much...ahem, cough, substance; they're kind of like romance novels really, but - Sharon Shinn's Samaria? The first book is Archangel, I think. I've only read the first two, but they're more like separate stories in one world than an ongoing story - ASOIAF is definitely an ongoing story, as are the early Kushiel books. The appeal for me and my bestie was always, there are angels and they sing! It's actually kind of, like, postapocalyptic? But you don't realize it at first.
What else did I mention...Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy...I first read in, like middle school? Uh, it has its ups and downs in terms of character and it might depend what you're into, but it is also fairly popular...
YA fantasy that is AWESOME: Basically all Tamora Pierce - Song of the Lioness, Immortals, Protector of the Small - all quartets, and the Trickster duet - all take place in the same wonderful world and are great. I first read them when I was around eleven? I'm not sure what it's like to read them as an adult, but I definitely still enjoy rereading them. First book is Alanna: The First Adventure. She also has another world, in which are the Circle of Magic books, and then the Circle Opens, and Will of the Empress and Melting Stones, but those are for even younger kids, so while I also still enjoy them, idk? I was definitely not as into them for a while, probably because they don't have as much romance, and I read Tortall (the first world) first and it comes alive more for me? But it's all awesome, and very well-known for those of us who read English-language YA fantasy growing up. Especially girls, as all her main protagonists are female! <3
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are by Patricia Wrede, they're also for kids but they were awesome and unconventional and FUNNY and I'm considering rereading them because someone requested fic for them? and I was like "Oh gosh! Forgot those books existed." First book - Dealing with Dragons.
Diana Wynne Jones: Um, I hear basically everything by her is awesome (she's very well known), but I haven't read all of it. Her well-known series The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, you probably saw from my allcaps, is one of my very favoritest things everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. First book: Charmed Life. Non-Chrestomanci, if you've heard of Howl's Moving Castle (there was a movie recently), that's also by her.
Now I am going to go back and bold the first book of every series I recommend you READ IMMEDIATELY hahahaha, and you should feel free to ask me more about things, because I LOVE talking about books. (Also, once you've read more stuff or poked around, I might have a better sense of what you would and wouldn't like, or I can tell you more about stuff that intrigues you (without spoilers)! Some of these have shapeshifting; many have animal companions; at least one has both!)
Even though, um, it's kind of ironic, because as you noticed I don't actually feel I'm someone who reads that much, anymore. But katayla just started the first ASOIAF book, A Game of Thrones, and her responses are reminding me I should pick up where I left off!!!!
P.S. I just realized I really only gave names and not summaries, but I don't feel like editing this comment right now. Maybe I'll attempt later, if you're interested. Also, you can always google stuff (but beware of spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
Re: The Hollows - I haven't read a lot of urban fantasy, that I can think of right now, and I've never heard of them. Hmmm. (Urban fantasy, uh, it depends, but usually it's not high fantasy because high fantasy is usually associated with secondary worlds (basically not our world) and...swords and epic battles and things? And a lot of urban fantasy tends to take place in the primary world (ours), at least that's my impression? But urban fantasy could cross over, depending on...like, what world the city was in, I guess? but people usually picture a world that can mix, like, magic and guns, I think, when they hear "urban fantasy." I myself find it a little closer to the realm of science fiction, but I think that's more my perception than the truth. Anyway, don't worry too much about categories; some books are both or neither, and you just focus on reading awesome stuff.)
No, I'm not a native English speaker. My native language is actually Dutch, though I am fluent in English and read almost exclusively English books. Worst part is, though, that our library really sucks, and doesn't have a lot of great fantasy books.
Re: Narnia. I know of it, and I know it's really Christian. I'm raised Christian, and when the Harry Potter books came out Narnia was recommeded as the 'approved, right, proper...' reading and it made me so bloody angry that I've had trouble ever since to start the series. I really wanna read it. (Though not for the movies; I have lots and lots of trouble with book adaptations. I much prefer books. I'm not a movie person at all, anyway)
Sidebar: If you like romance, there's another series I do like romance, especially paranormal romance, if it's written well. I love it to get lost in the happy world of those books for a while.
Anyway, don't worry too much about categories; some books are both or neither, and you just focus on reading awesome stuff. Sounds like a plan XD
Why, are there no Dutch fantasy novels? =) Or just no fandom to talk about them?
Hahahahahaha. Narnia is really, really wonderful; I love it a lot. It's, um, fairly transparently a giant allegory, but I'm fairly nonreligious and I nonetheless don't mind it at all; in fact I adore the Jesus figure. (I think, as far as religious books go, it's quite tame.) I would definitely recommend you try it! Start with LWW, though, not Magician's Nephew, even though it's chronologically the first book. I think the order of publication is the better order to read them in. <3 And bear with it; the style might be a little unfamiliar if you haven't read a lot of older books. But I have faith; my seven-year-old Little Sister (not my real sister; it's a mentoring program) really enjoyed it when we started it. Oh, and it's actually similar to HP in terms of "kids go through a wall to another world" kind of thing. Also, hey, are the Christians happier now? Because I gotta tell you, the HP books, at the end, have some pretty Jesusy stuff going on, too...
Hahahahaha, I tend to get by with adaptations by accepting they're sometimes like a different story, and appreciating them if they are good enough in their own way and faithful to the spirit of the book. It's really, really hard to faithfully adapt long books. Some movies are good! But no, I understand, it's annoying. Especially with the books I know super-well, or the less good movies, I'm like, "................WRONG."
Not a lot, no. Besides, I'm so used to English fantasy that everything fantasy-related sounds strange in Dutch. I can't really explain it if you don't have experience with it yourself. But mostly it's just because there isn't a lot of Dutch fantasy. It's a really, really small genre here.
I prefer seeing the world as I created it in my head, you know? No matter how true the adaptation tries to be to the storyline, the characters are always all wrong and the world just looks... too different from the world I had imagined.
Yeah, it really frustrates me too when I'm like, "WHAT? You're not blonde!!!!!" ugh, especially when it SAYS SO in the text...
well, never mind.
Hey, telling my friend on videochat about this convo, right now, and we're talking about how some of our favorite children's books (Narnia, Little Women) are very pro-Christianity, and we never realized when we were younger, and she said this, which I like, as a recommendation, "It's a story first and about religion second," which is sooo not true about some other religious books. <333333333333 And, in general, like I said, I'm agnostic at best, but I really, really, really love those books, and I don't even particularly mind seeing the Christianity when I go back and read them, because, in general, I approve of most of the basic ideas of "being a good Christian" (and those books are fairly positive in that regard); just not of how a lot of those principles wind up applied, or of taking the Bible as the literal word of God when it was written, you know, however long ago when people thought all sorts of things that I consider normal and healthy would get you smited (smote?).
Also, it's pretty funny sometimes to read even from a modern perspective and giggle at their idea of like ZOMGGGG experimental schools!!!! and things.
It's not so much the Christianity thing that bugs me, as it is the fact that they tried to force me to put it above Harry Potter? I can't really explain it better. (I have the same with really, really popular franchises. I tend to shy away from them)
No, I totally understand your initial revulsion. I am contrary, too.
Although, um, it cracks me up that you say this in the same sentence as about Harry Potter, for two reasons: 1. I love it, but it is the most oversaturated franchise ever. XD And currently WAY better known than Narnia, depressingly enough. x_x Not because Narnia are better - HP is more enjoyable in a number of ways/they're different - just because they're classics in the UK/US canon, and once I was in some class where Narnia was mentioned and a girl, a British girl no less, was like, "...Oh, I've never seen them." MY HEART = A MILLION PIECES ON THE FLOOR. 2. When HP first was big, I was like so too cool for it for a while. XD /contrarychild
Oh, believe me, I'm totally aware of how ridiculous it is to not want to read a book, just because it's popular (just as ridiculous as it is to want to read a book, just because it's popular). I just have trouble letting go of my initial anti-reaction xD
I've only read the second part of Twilight, and I liked it okay, actually.
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Name? Kat
How do you spend your days? Uh, staring in horror at my GCal, because I have two exams upcoming, and instead of studying nonstop I do...this??? Not that that's right now or anything. ¬.¬
What TV shows are you most into right now? ...Um, I wanted to explain stuff as I went, but then this section alone exceeded 4300 characters. So, instead -
Current shows I've seen all or most of: Psych, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Lie to Me, Hannah Montana.
Current show I've seen some of, and adore, and have a sekrit name for (silly story), but am moving through at a SNAIL'S PACE, because it's with a friend: Cougar Town.
Current show the IDEA of which I like, and the spoilers of which flist has sucked me into caring about, but I quit watching in irritation and haven't managed to restart: Glee.
Current shows I am seriously considering: Greek, The Good Wife, Episodes, Mr. Sunshine, Chuck?
Other shows I mentioned, but now you don't get to know why: Friends, Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60, Alias, Scrubs, Coupling (UK), Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice, The Office (US), Jack and Bobby, Boy Meets World, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, Digimon (Adventure), Pokemon, Will and Grace, the list goes on... Do things like Band of Brothers and Dr. Horrible count?
Music? Varies. Includes bad pop from ten years ago, and musicals.
Books/authors? I wish I had time to read as much now as as a kid, but I don't. Currently I'm still stuck halfway through B2 of A Song of Ice and Fire. I got distracted by school and discouraged because I was accidentally spoiled for EVERYONE DYING. D= (If you're unspoiled: No, not literally; sorry; I exaggerate.) Besides that, my impulse is to list classic childhood favorites, a few fantasy series, several persuasions of chick lit, and the occasional "real book," as recommended.
Movies? Romcoms, Disney/Pixar, major adaptations, things that get hype - these are what I'll see in theatres, or watch online/DVD/Demand soon after. I LOVE several movies that aren't any of the above, but I don't get around to seeing them and finding out until I'm forced to or maybe I'm on vacation.
Any other interests? Theatre, very much, though I may or may not discuss it. Boston, city of my heart, inconsistent sports teams and all. Food, crafts, fuzzy colorful socks.
Describe the contents of your most recent LJ post: Snow. Driving. No Strings Attached. School/food/kittens/Psych? (It's public; you can go read it if you want.)
What kind of friends are you looking for? Er...well, when I feel in need of friends of a certain bent, I find them. But I did have someone friend me out of the blue because they liked me on friendsfriends, and that was surprising and fun and new! so why not post and see who's actually intrigued? instead of pouncing on strangers...
Hello! I am friendly and chipper and genuinely interested in others! My hobbies include snarking, flailing, and being frivolous! :D
It would probably be best if you were good at parsing rambling, and didn't mind hearing (or scrolling past) non-fandom talk.
Oh, and if you were sane. (By which I mean, for instance, I'm quite shippy, but usually at least able to hear other sides, if not downright happy to try and play. If you are super-intense in a negative, closed-minded sort of way (meaning squee and socially critical rage don't count!), I might be afraid of you.)
How much are you around? I check my flist like a reflex, after email and facebook, which means pretty often. It's kind of ironic, though, because a month ago I had no flist to speak of (I took basically a super-long fandom-except-Yuletide hiatus). Currently I read almost everything and comment if I have any thoughts. And I post...er, more often than expected! but still only once or twice a week, and never as fannishly as I feel like I should. x_x But I try! I feel guilty that people are reading maybe expecting, like, incisive TV commentary (HAHAHA, as if), and instead I'm talking about, like, how I got lost on the way to the movies.
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School does tend to get in the way of everything, huh?
a few fantasy series
Like?
I might be sane in the I-don't-care-who-you-ship sense, but to say that I'm sane... might be an exaggeration xD
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DR. HORRIBLE <3 fleeehehlkdjsaflksag. I am such a sucker for when people break into song, it's a big problem. If only Glee were not...the way it is.
I have to watch the new HIMYM; Katie here posted about it and I can't read her post until I do. Grump.
Fantasy series - Grown-up fantasy series? Here's what I can see from my current perch: A Clash of Kings (ASOIAF), wfdjkslyguerjkf;lds,f across from me on the dresser. On my bookshelf: the Kushiel's Legacy series, which I totally got hooked on when there were...I guess only four books or so? and then I was concerned I didn't remember what had happened and HAD to reread before finishing, which of course I didn't have time to do, so I am perpetually in the middle of Kushiel's Justice. Which drives me crazy, since I own matching books through Mercy. The Chronicles of the Cheysuli, which I've read and own all of but never talked to anyone about. These books that Google tells me are The Ghatti's Tale, which I have three or four of? but again, I picked them up when there were only two, so I know the first two super-well and am not sure I ever read the other one/two I own. They're from a while ago; I don't remember which birthday they were given to me for. The Black Jewels Trilogy/The Invisible Ring/Dreams Made Flesh. And someone lent me Wizard's First Rule like a zillion years ago, but I never read it. (Although I hear Legend of the Seeker is good.) Kid fantasy series: Most of the Tamora Pierce books, Enchanted Forest, HP. I actually never read all of His Dark Materials, but my friend's copies are here from when I started them a while back...I wish I'd read them when I was younger, though circa when I read Narnia. Which I should have, but which isn't on my shelf right now... AHHHH. THE CHRONICLES OF CHRESTOMANCI. <3 Um, I don't own those, but I should. And I should have others that don't come to mind... I should mention I'm not the world's best high-fantasy reader generally. I think the main reason is that they're so long and consuming? I tend to be a little afraid of picking up new Giant Series in particular because if I get started on something and really like it I, like, stop doing other things, which is REALLY BAD, because, you know, I'm in school. And then, if it's unfinished, if I do finish it, I'll just be so annoyed that, say, Blank escaped and I have to wait like 7 years to find out what happened. >< And who knows, the author could DIE before then!!!! The other reason is that, depending on the worldbuilding/what the book focuses on/characters, I sometimes get annoyed with them. Like, this summer a friend and I decided, We don't read enough! We don't read NEW stuff enough! Let's check the Hugo Awards and stuff and pick a new book series! And we started the Runelords books? which have SUCH a fascinating concept, omg, what an interestingly constructed world. But then we struggled with non-book things like matching our reading pace, and book things like, okay, not going to lie, sometimes I pick up fantasy books and I'm like, "WTF is this. Is this a name?? Are you a person?? GO AWAY," and then sometimes you have tropes that really two-dimensional and frustrating, and then sometimes it's just, I'm not the kind of person who likes to read 259723894327859372 pages of The War Against The Giant Bugs. I've realized I tend to be more into character-driven stuff, political intrigue, yadda yadda. Not that there aren't wars in other books, of course, and not that the series I have finished and like don't have their own problematic dynamics and cliches (please see: List Of Movies I Really Love But That Have One Drippy Line That Makes Me Want To Vomit)... which is all a long, snarky, potentially offensive way of saying, probably not as many as you're hoping, but I like to read on recommendation, and I'm a great deal more open-minded and willing to handwave than this little tangent may have sounded. XD
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I am such a sucker for when people break into song, it's a big problem. If only Glee were not...the way it is.
My thoughts exactly. I love musicals so much and was so excited when Glee came around and then... well, yeah. You know what happened then XD
*looks in awe and astonishment at your fantasy series ramblings*
Erm... What can I say? I've read Harry Potter! And I've heard of Narnia... Oh, and I have read all of His Dark Materials, though it doesn't hold up as well on re-reads.
I'm definitely adding the books you mentioned to my to-read list (which is almost as long as my to-watch list, so yeah...)
so I am perpetually in the middle of Kushiel's Justice
That would drive me crazy. But then again, I read quite a lot and I love, love, love long series.
My favourite fantasy series is actually The Hollows, by Kim Harrison. I encountered it on accident when my girl bought them for my birthday based on the idea "it's got a great cover, she'll love this" and I really, really loved it. This is urban fantasy, though, and I'm not sure if it counts towards what you call 'high-fantasy'.
ETA: I agree on the war-stuff, by the way. It's actually one of the biggest reasons I never could get into Lord of the Rings. I love fantasy for the world-building and the characters.
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Oh, I thought you were asking because you were, like, one of those people who's read like a gazillion fantasy series, all of which have like 15 books of 800 pages. But I see now you're actually not a native English speaker? (Yes? No? Not anything you're saying; I just vaguely remembered someone talking about Dutch or something on this meme and then I went and saw on your profile you're from Belguim.) So it's really not surprising you haven't read these...the Ghatti books in particular I've never come across someone else who's read them, I don't think? Although, I'm sure I must know someone as I start to meet people who read a lot. Cheysuli's been up for Yuletide in the past, I think, which means SOMEONE'S read them, but I haven't talked to them. Pretty obscure; either that or I don't talk to the right kinds of readers.
Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - are one of the most famous series ever written, in the English children's literature/fantasy canon. His Dark Materials is actually commonly known to be an...atheist response to them? because they're very, very Christian. Which I never realized as a kid, but is very apparent as an adult, so...I'm not sure if you'll enjoy Narnia that much reading it for the first time now. But I would recommend it almost just as...research. Plus, the movies that are currently coming out (3/7 so far) are really gorgeous. They're not 100% faithful in plotline, but the world is beautiful, presumably because the author's stepson, who read the books as a child, is involved in their production, and he imagined the world as a kid probably similar to how most of us did.
Oh, God, LotR. I couldn't get through them either, though the movies are beautiful. I've read The Hobbit, though; somehow that one was easier - maybe it's shorter? Also I think I might've had to read it for school.
On the other grown-up series I mentioned (I just pulled up the comment so I could check which ones they were): Jacqueline Carey and the Kushiel's Legacy books are an awesome place to start; a lot of people really enjoy them. Although you should be warned there's, uh, kind of a lot of sex, and sometimes it's...let's just say, unconventional. But they're gorgeous; the world is amazing. The friend who gave it to me doesn't actually like them that much; there's a slow bit that lost her, I think, in the middle of Kushiel's Dart, the first book - but she told me she loved the world, which I do, too.
ASOIAF = A Song of Ice and Fire, which is really well-known and highly recommended, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it yet myself, because like I said I'm stalled in the middle of the second book. And I'm scared, because it's one of those series where no one is exempt from possibly dying.
Sidebar: If you like romance, there's another series, that has some really wonderful concepts but not as much...ahem, cough, substance; they're kind of like romance novels really, but - Sharon Shinn's Samaria? The first book is Archangel, I think. I've only read the first two, but they're more like separate stories in one world than an ongoing story - ASOIAF is definitely an ongoing story, as are the early Kushiel books. The appeal for me and my bestie was always, there are angels and they sing! It's actually kind of, like, postapocalyptic? But you don't realize it at first.
What else did I mention...Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy...I first read in, like middle school? Uh, it has its ups and downs in terms of character and it might depend what you're into, but it is also fairly popular...
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The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are by Patricia Wrede, they're also for kids but they were awesome and unconventional and FUNNY and I'm considering rereading them because someone requested fic for them? and I was like "Oh gosh! Forgot those books existed." First book - Dealing with Dragons.
Diana Wynne Jones: Um, I hear basically everything by her is awesome (she's very well known), but I haven't read all of it. Her well-known series The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, you probably saw from my allcaps, is one of my very favoritest things everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. First book: Charmed Life. Non-Chrestomanci, if you've heard of Howl's Moving Castle (there was a movie recently), that's also by her.
Now I am going to go back and bold the first book of every series I recommend you READ IMMEDIATELY hahahaha, and you should feel free to ask me more about things, because I LOVE talking about books. (Also, once you've read more stuff or poked around, I might have a better sense of what you would and wouldn't like, or I can tell you more about stuff that intrigues you (without spoilers)! Some of these have shapeshifting; many have animal companions; at least one has both!)
Even though, um, it's kind of ironic, because as you noticed I don't actually feel I'm someone who reads that much, anymore. But
P.S. I just realized I really only gave names and not summaries, but I don't feel like editing this comment right now. Maybe I'll attempt later, if you're interested. Also, you can always google stuff (but beware of spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
Re: The Hollows - I haven't read a lot of urban fantasy, that I can think of right now, and I've never heard of them. Hmmm. (Urban fantasy, uh, it depends, but usually it's not high fantasy because high fantasy is usually associated with secondary worlds (basically not our world) and...swords and epic battles and things? And a lot of urban fantasy tends to take place in the primary world (ours), at least that's my impression? But urban fantasy could cross over, depending on...like, what world the city was in, I guess? but people usually picture a world that can mix, like, magic and guns, I think, when they hear "urban fantasy." I myself find it a little closer to the realm of science fiction, but I think that's more my perception than the truth. Anyway, don't worry too much about categories; some books are both or neither, and you just focus on reading awesome stuff.)
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Re: Narnia. I know of it, and I know it's really Christian. I'm raised Christian, and when the Harry Potter books came out Narnia was recommeded as the 'approved, right, proper...' reading and it made me so bloody angry that I've had trouble ever since to start the series. I really wanna read it. (Though not for the movies; I have lots and lots of trouble with book adaptations. I much prefer books. I'm not a movie person at all, anyway)
Sidebar: If you like romance, there's another series
I do like romance, especially paranormal romance, if it's written well. I love it to get lost in the happy world of those books for a while.
Anyway, don't worry too much about categories; some books are both or neither, and you just focus on reading awesome stuff.
Sounds like a plan XD
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Hahahahahaha. Narnia is really, really wonderful; I love it a lot. It's, um, fairly transparently a giant allegory, but I'm fairly nonreligious and I nonetheless don't mind it at all; in fact I adore the Jesus figure. (I think, as far as religious books go, it's quite tame.) I would definitely recommend you try it! Start with LWW, though, not Magician's Nephew, even though it's chronologically the first book. I think the order of publication is the better order to read them in. <3 And bear with it; the style might be a little unfamiliar if you haven't read a lot of older books. But I have faith; my seven-year-old Little Sister (not my real sister; it's a mentoring program) really enjoyed it when we started it. Oh, and it's actually similar to HP in terms of "kids go through a wall to another world" kind of thing. Also, hey, are the Christians happier now? Because I gotta tell you, the HP books, at the end, have some pretty Jesusy stuff going on, too...
Hahahahaha, I tend to get by with adaptations by accepting they're sometimes like a different story, and appreciating them if they are good enough in their own way and faithful to the spirit of the book. It's really, really hard to faithfully adapt long books. Some movies are good! But no, I understand, it's annoying. Especially with the books I know super-well, or the less good movies, I'm like, "................WRONG."
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I prefer seeing the world as I created it in my head, you know? No matter how true the adaptation tries to be to the storyline, the characters are always all wrong and the world just looks... too different from the world I had imagined.
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well, never mind.
Hey, telling my friend on videochat about this convo, right now, and we're talking about how some of our favorite children's books (Narnia, Little Women) are very pro-Christianity, and we never realized when we were younger, and she said this, which I like, as a recommendation, "It's a story first and about religion second," which is sooo not true about some other religious books. <333333333333 And, in general, like I said, I'm agnostic at best, but I really, really, really love those books, and I don't even particularly mind seeing the Christianity when I go back and read them, because, in general, I approve of most of the basic ideas of "being a good Christian" (and those books are fairly positive in that regard); just not of how a lot of those principles wind up applied, or of taking the Bible as the literal word of God when it was written, you know, however long ago when people thought all sorts of things that I consider normal and healthy would get you smited (smote?).
Also, it's pretty funny sometimes to read even from a modern perspective and giggle at their idea of like ZOMGGGG experimental schools!!!! and things.
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Although, um, it cracks me up that you say this in the same sentence as about Harry Potter, for two reasons: 1. I love it, but it is the most oversaturated franchise ever. XD And currently WAY better known than Narnia, depressingly enough. x_x Not because Narnia are better - HP is more enjoyable in a number of ways/they're different - just because they're classics in the UK/US canon, and once I was in some class where Narnia was mentioned and a girl, a British girl no less, was like, "...Oh, I've never seen them." MY HEART = A MILLION PIECES ON THE FLOOR. 2. When HP first was big, I was like so too cool for it for a while. XD /contrarychild
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Narnia's not really hyped, it's just sort of a classic stepping stone. Like LotR, but much shorter and less dense.
**Except Twilight, brb, vomiting forever.
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I've only read the second part of Twilight, and I liked it okay, actually.
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