Hmmkay, I'll definitely look into those books
As far as Tamora Pierce, I sort of grew out of her around when the Trickster and The Circle Opens works were published, so my experience is more with her earlier works. I'm planning on going off to read her more recent books over the summer, though--I think I need a little foray into childhood delights to make me feel better about recent events.
I read a lot of Red Wall when I was in Jr. High. I got interested when I saw the well done animation on PBS. I stopped reading him when his novel seem to get repetitive. Redwall though is great fantasy novel.
Ah, I always loved the dialects, places, and foods he described. I didn't read them for the plot (I don't think I really knew what was going on, half the time). I read them for the detail, kind of like I used to obsessively reread the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.
... I don't know why I love reading about food so much, since I'm not that into eating it... but for some reason, I'm a real sucker for food descriptions and pictures. I just like looking and drooling, but I don't like smelling.
Yeah, I'm a little bit weird.
I never understood the appeal of Animorphs myself. I did real a lot of RL Stine when I was in the 3rd grade the second time. They were light enough to books to help me learn how to read. I know there of different genre, but I find them in the similar vain of kid serial franchise book thing.
Ah, I read loads of R. L. Stine, too. Given that I was pretty much doing nothing but reading at that point--I refused to take my face out of a book to cross the street, for example--I think it was partially a matter of there being a
lot of it. The other thing was that the stories were so profoundly detached from my reality that I found myself transfixed. As a young girl with no friends, no comprehension of other human beings, and a seeming complete inability to figure out the most basic rules of social interaction, they were fascinating. It was interesting to hear about other people's adventures with their friends, and how they reacted to the environment around them. Reading all those shitty serialized novels gave me a chance to catch up a little bit with my peers in terms of social development, so that although I was still grievously behind on all counts, I had some idea of what the hell was going on.
Heck, I read the Thoroughbred series, too--almost the entire goddamned thing, and given that it was one long stream of "Look listen hey horses look!" I figure something else was going on. Either that, or I had no taste (which I can certainly believe).
Anybody read any of Diane Duane Wizard series?
Check! Not my thing, but I do remember looking through them at least a little when I was younger.
In the same vein: Any Jane Yolen or Madeleine L'Engle fans out there? Ooh, and how about people who have read The Plant that Ate Dirty Socks, or the books by Astrid Lindgren, or by Peggy Parish? I loved all of those as a kid.
3. Favourite movie?
1. Least Favourite Book?
2. Least favourite vidya game?
3. Least favourite Movie?
3. Favorite movie... hrm. I don't watch many movies, but I do like My Cousin Vinny, Watchmen (yeah, yeah, travesty, whatever. It was reasonable), The Dark Knight, V for Vendetta, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1998 French musical performance for stage, starring Garou and Helene Segara).
Oh. Also liked Big Fish, though I've only seen it once. Go figure.
1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Maya Angelou. Required reading for freshmen in my high school.
SO MUCH HATRED YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. It was the first book we had to read, and if I had a copy I'd almost burn it out of sheer spite (okay, I wouldn't, but I also wouldn't try to make sure it went to a good home. If you buy it unawares, it's your fault).
Pfaugh. Hate.
2. Probably any and all of those piece of shit games that are made from random American cartoon/toy crap like Sponge Bob Squarepants or Rugrats, whatever. They aren't games. They're vehicles for advertisements.
I'm also not much for sports games. Grew up playing them with my cousin, and don't want to play them anymore. I can't say they're like the other things on this list, though. I don't hold an utter disdain for anyone who occasionally enjoys a little Madden, Blitz, whatever. They're just something I dislike, in general.
3. The Scarlet Letter. That movie is rage-inducing. I am one of the few people who enjoyed the novel (yes, I also adore Moby Dick. Go figure), but ... HURNGH. It ran so very far away from anything that was possibly enjoyable about the original work and turned it all into monstrous face-beating horrible chick-flick demonic mishmash. As someone I knew in high school said, "It's not scraping the bottom of the barrel. No, the bottom of the barrel is what it wants to be when it grows up."
I also dislike chick flicks in general. Female: check. Been through heartbreak: check. Dealt with idiot men: check. Empathize with your heroine:
*crickets*
I mean seriously. Yeah, sure, romantic comedies can be occasionally amusing. Sleepless in Seattle was reasonable, I guess. But the straight-up standard chick flick... no. I don't want to see it. I don't even want to know it exists.