Louise Fowler

  • @Perfect-Fifths Have you read any of those Douglas Bong books yet?

    • *snort* BOND, not Bong. And @PerfectFifths.

      • XD I wondered if you were correcting me or something. Not yet, I don’t have them. Well, I do have War in the Wasteland, but I let my Dad read that first, because he likes war stories, and I don’t know if I do. 😉 But Dad is actually going to bring back the Crown and Covenant ones from the States for me, because he knew Douglas Bond as a kid and…[Read more]

        • XD Sorry, it would look like that being the first notification of it you got. XD
          I haven’t read War in the Wasteland, but I can say that not all war stories are created equal. 😛 Hope it’s good.
          Autographed! Wow. Cool.

          • I have to say, the wars interest me, especially the ANZACs and WWII. I plan on giving War in the Wasteland a try at some point. Dad told me that he figured out it’s actually about C. S. Lewis, but he was called Jack, because that was his nickname when he was young.

            • Oh totally, lots of the wars interest me too, muchly. I just said not ALL war stories are created equal. XD The real life ones—ones based on true stories, esp. CLOSELY based on them—are the best.
              And about C.S. LEWIS! Now I’m really interested. About his involvement in WWI, I guess?

              Have you seen the recent-ish movie Hacksaw Ridge?

            • Yeah, I’m guessing. We tried watching a series about the ANZACs in WWI, but it was just too real, I couldn’t handle it, and I think my dad ended up finishing it alone. I know the wars were terrible and horrific, and that we should understand that, but I’m blessed to not to have to live through it, and I really don’t want to know just how horrific,…[Read more]

            • Ack yes, I feel that. I’m bad with the gore/real aspect of war movies (gore in any movies, but obviously with war movies it’s worse) and usually just have to look away. It’s so awful, and yes we’re extremely blessed to not have to live through that stuff.

              Hacksaw Ridge is a WWII story, about a young guy who didn’t want to shoot a gun (religious…[Read more]

            • Sounds good! I like the stories where the character wants to do his part, but doesn’t actually want to kill anyone, or not exactly cut out for being a soldier, so they become a medic.

              Is it just a movie, or is there a book?

            • Me too. Healing instead of hurting.

              I don’t know, actually; I seem to remember having heard somewhere that there was a book too, but I couldn’t say for sure.
              Aside from the gore (and language, which is also pretty much inevitable in war movies), and a couple things my mom and dad skipped when we watched it, I SERIOUSLY recommend it. Talk about…[Read more]

            • Zigackly!

              Well, I’ll ask my parents if they’ve seen it as well. It sounds like a good movie.

            • Great. 😀

      • So, what book are you reading at the moment?

        • Heheh…you asked at an interesting moment. I happen to be reading a book about the gut. Not my first choice of reading material, but hey, educational. It is interesting, when I can stomach the subject material. XD
          A fiction book I finished a few days ago though was Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson. Aside from a few things that really bugged me (not…[Read more]

        • Totally not a problem 😀 , I just didn’t know if maybe you hadn’t gotten the notification or something and hadn’t seen it. I know that happens to me sometimes and I realize way later that the person actually replied even though I saw no notification.

          I haven’t read a ton of modern fantasy books either…not the Ilyon Chronicles either. I’ll…[Read more]

          • @emma-flournoy
            Yes, read them! Great Christian fantasy, and my absolute favourite (so far) is Samara’s Peril.

            Consider me cryptically warned! I really hate stopping books in the middle of reading. I’ve only done that with 3 – We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea, because it was painfully boring! The first book in the Zion Chronicles, because it had…[Read more]

            • Yup. ;P And that does sound pretty cool, about comparing his two different stages of style.

              Ahh…I dunno. Quite possibly. 😛

            • Yes. I’m nearly finished reading the first book. My dad was asking about it this morning, like what the ship’s thrusters were, and I’m like “Well, we know as much as the MC, and he was kidnapped, so they’re not telling him. ” Dad said that was how Lewis got away with not explaining it. 😉

              Possibly. 😛

            • @emma-flournoy So, I have finished the first book and read the first chapter of the second. So far so good, but nothing much has happened yet, except an extensive description of the PoV’s journey and his fear he was suddenly going mad, and his brief encounter with an eldil. 🙂

    • @Perfectfiths Ha! I have little doubt that’s how he got away with not explaining it. 😛 Such convenience.

      Good, good… As I recall (it was a few years ago after all), the worst thing, as in, just really really uncomfortable, about Perelandra was the complete lack of clothes for Ransom and the other human character he meets. *black scowl* It’s…[Read more]

      • @emma-flournoy I just finished a chapter where Weston started having some sort of fit, and now Ransom’s not sure if he’s dead, or what (it was pretty freaky). I know what you mean about Ransom and the Lady’s nakedness, but I’m not finding it much of a problem right now, because the story isn’t going on about their nakedness (what I’ve read at…[Read more]

      • @emma-flournoy *having just read chapter 9* Wow, I’m starting to see what you mean. O_O The frogs, and-and Weston – he’s so creepy right now! I honestly think he’s meant to be the devil himself.

        I’m actually wondering if I need to stop reading this (and I hate doing that). It is getting quite disturbing in some ways.

        • Yeah, at least the no-clothes-ness isn’t expounded on, but the very fact is annoying.

          That’s it. Pfifltriggi is a hard word to remember. 😛

          I cringe for you. :/ At least that probably means my memory wasn’t exaggerating… hardly a comforting thought.
          Poor Weston. I don’t remember everything that happened in that book, but I think I saw him…[Read more]

          • @emma-flournoy
            For a bit, I honestly thought it was, but then chapter 9. I mean, it was a wee bit creepy before, but then it went from whoa to WHOA! in no time at all. 😛

            Well, he’s tempting the Lady to live in the Fixed Land, saying that this commandment, Maleldil secretly wants to have broken in order for the Lady to be separate from him (in a…[Read more]

            • Ohhh…no, I remember that now. Igh.

              That’s a sound plan. *claps you on the shoulder* Dads are good for help. 😉 Especially book-ish dads, which yours sounds to be.
              And hey, it’s been a nice conversation with you here, despite any strange subject material. 😛

            • Haha, yeah. I wouldn’t say my dad is especially book-ish, he likes certain books (James Herriot, Master and Commander, Hornblower, Jane Austin, P. G. Wodehouse). And he likes audio books a lot, but I think he just listens to what I listed. 😛

              Yes, it has been a good conversation. I’m actually glad you told me about your thoughts on Perelandra…[Read more]

            • That’s funny, with all those books/authors you mentioned, I’ve watched more screen adaptations of any of ’em than read the books. 😀 All very good. Your dad has good taste.

              Heh. Well, that’s good to know. 😛

            • Ditto. We love All Creatures, and we enjoyed the Jeeves and Wooster series, and I quite liked Master and Commander, and what I’ve seen of Hornblower, I believe I’d like that too. But none of them quite seem like something I’d enjoy reading so much as watching (I’ve read one James Herriot book).

              So, it’s official, last night I gave Perelandra to…[Read more]

            • Oho, I bet you’ll like Hornblower. *gleeful grin* If you like M&C already…
              I’ve only read the first Hornblower book and wasn’t impressed, but the mini-series is one of our favoritest things.

              Very good. *firm nod* Hope you’ll/they’ll not have a hard time coming to a satisfactory descision, whatever it be. 😉

            • @emma-flournoy *thinking I’d already replied to this* Yeah, I’d seen a little bit of the mini-series and liked the look of it.

              You know what really got me in Perelandra? When he started calling Weston the Un-man. *shudders*

            • AGH YES, I’d forgotten about that. *shudders with you* Yeah.

            • I don’t what it was about it, but that was the real deal-breaker for me.

            • C.r.e.e.p.y.

            • So, what are you reading now? I’m still in Boxen, but I’m nearly finished, and after that I’m going to read Animal Farm (I know nothing about it – do you know if it’s any good?)

    • @PerfectFifths I’m on the third book of Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy now. They’re pretty good books (talk about insane plot twists—huge page-turners). The prose has a ton of telling instead of showing and uses the same body language tags WAY too much, and generally drives me nuts; and I also don’t like the books as well as I might because there…[Read more]

      • @emma-flournoy I think Mistborn is in my to-read shelf on Goodreads…

        Yes, I kinda had an idea that it’s not a warm-and-fuzzy animal book, and, to be honest, I’m only reading it because it is short, and I’m trying to finish my Goodreads reading challenge I set for myself – not that I don’t have enough breathing room as it is. XD But I’m only two…[Read more]

        • Well two books away ain’t bad at all. Especially if one of them is Animal Farm, of course. 😀

          • Yep. And I’m finding it interesting, if not enjoying it. Definitely worth the read though.

            • Great.

            • I just finished Animal Farm last night. It was depressing, and disgusting, but still worth the read. I could tell exactly what was going on the whole time, but the animals were painfully unaware. And in the end, they were no better off than when they started, if not worse!

            • I KNOW. It’s so painful. *ascends soapbox and yells at the world* COMMUNISM IS HORRID FOR EVERYONE!
              What’s ironic is, George Orwell was something of a socialist himself, though not Communist level. Maybe he didn’t realize the hypocrisy in writing something like that, or just didn’t see it the same way. But it’s quite sad.

            • Maybe he believed in the ideals, but only saw the corruption, so was sending a message to fellow socialists? I don’t know much about all the isms. 😛

            • Suffice it to say, all the isms are mucho flawed.

            • I figured that much. 😛

          • Are you participating in NaNo, or are you the one that doesn’t write? (I keep forgetting 😛 ).

            • Yup, that’s me. So no, instead I get to sit around and congratulate myself that I’m just a bibliophile and not a writer, and so need not go through the pain of NaNo. XD
              *shudder* Seriously, it sounds like a ton o’ work. Are you doing it? Have you done it before?

            • All right, is Kate participating in NaNo? 😛
              Yes I am, yes I have, and yes it is a lot of work, but this year I’m using it as the way to start writing consistently again.One of my good friends is helping me by doing word sprints with me every day and keeping me on track. 😛

            • No…I don’t know if she’s ever considered it seriously, but I don’t think it’d fit very well with our schedule anyway. We have a cabin rental business which we handle as a family, so I don’t know if the busyness of NaNo would work out quite right. 😛 I dunno though, maybe she’ll try it out sometime.

              Ah yes, sprints and accountability are very good. 😀

            • Ah, fair enough. It is busy. But at the rate I’m going at the moment, I have a week’s wiggle-room up my sleeve, which is nice. 😀

            • Sweeeeet. I love wiggle-room. And I hate pressure. Naturally.
              What genre is your story?

            • Um, I don’t know what’d you call it. Speculative fiction, but that’s a very wide genre. It’s about some kid superheros (about 11-14 in ages at the beginning) who were implanted with technology in their brains to give them superhuman abilities (super-speed, flying, breathing underwater, things like that) and their fight against villains, great and…[Read more]

            • Definitely within the genre of speculative fiction. 😀 I don’t know what it would be called specifically either, but it sounds cool.

            • Yeah, it’s fun to write. It’s actually a rewrite of a previous series I did about 4-5 years ago called the Crimson Angel. It has the same characters, but I’ve added a few more as well.

            • Ah, rewrites. I know a little about those. From semi-personal experience, ya know. Amazing revamped second drafts and that sorta thing, at least, by the author my sister. 😛 They’re kinda fun. (Aside from all the old stuff that ends up getting cut that I loved. :'( At least it’s semi-made up for with awesome new material.)
              And I bet the addition…[Read more]

            • Very fun. I’m taking several elements from the originals, and just making them better in the rewrites. It was mostly the plots that needed help. 😛

            • Those stodgy old plots. XD
              I just finished the third book of the Mistborn trilogy, and if I wasn’t convinced enough before, it’s now undoubtedly proven: that guy’s strength is SO the plot. Good GRIEF. It’s very, very insane. I don’t know how anyone can think up such twists and un-cliche things. Amazing.

            • Sounds amazing. And inspiring, at least to a writer. There are only so many plots you can write when you’re rearranging the same 26 letters, and finding a way to twist the cliché is hard.

            • Yupper dupper.

            • XD

              Have you ever tried writing, or is it definitely 100% not your thing? 😀

    • @PerfectFifths Weeeellll, I wrote when I was younger of course. The typical ripoffs and that sorta thing. Several books, historical fiction and fantasy. Not long, and NOT quality. XD Those don’t exactly count.
      Since I’ve been older and know the correct ways of writing—not very much. I have, in fact, tried my hand at just a few short little…[Read more]

      • Wow, lovely short answer indeed! 😀 I get what you’re saying, and I agree, sometimes I don’t feel like I have to write either, and that just makes it more fun when I do, and less stressful when I don’t (like this month so far, I’ve written at least something everyday, and I hadn’t written for weeks). It’s a passion, but I think it’s now a smaller…[Read more]

        • Yup, that makes sense. 😀
          Oooooh, I LOVE the sound of viola, and would probably play it if we had one. That WONDERFUL middle-deep warm range it has. *shivers* Beautiful. And when you already know violin I’m sure it won’t be so difficult.
          And that’s hilarious you got your mom a cello! It’s our mom’s dream to have a cello someday, and we’ve thought…[Read more]

          • Actually, it’s harder than you’d think to learn viola, even after learning violin, because the strings are different (C, G, D, A) and the clef is different, so the notes are in different places. *confusion* But yes, it is lovely. And my mum loves her cello. 😀

            • That’s true. (Alto clef…where Middle C is on the 3rd line. Or somewhere thereabouts. Not right. *raises eyebrows*) Also do you have to put your fingers further apart for each note? I tried out a friend’s viola once and it sounded slightly off at first because I’m used to the smaller amount of space between violin notes.

            • Yeah, that’s right, I think it’s middle C. The third line is a C, either way. 😛 And yeah, a little bit farther apart, because the strings are longer. The viola I’m using is my conductor’s old one, and it has tape where the fingerings go, so I just have to put my fingers where the tape is. 😛

            • Oh yeah, there was tape for the fingerings on the 3/4 violin I first learned on, and it made that part of learning a lot faster.

            • Yeah, before I got my first full-sized violin, I had to borrow one from the store I purchased it through, because it was taking forever to come. And that one had tape on the fingerboard, so by the time I had my own (many weeks later 😉 ) I didn’t need to put tape on because I had pretty much learned the fingerings.

              How long have you been playing…[Read more]

            • About…3 and a half years. I started in March 2014, along with my oldest sister Elizabeth.
              I’m not sorry I did, either. Even if it does get depressing sometimes. 😛

            • Yeah, it can be hard. I haven’t been learning for quite that long (mid-2015, I think), but I started a whole lot later than most people would, so I was able to learn some of it pretty quickly. I don’t practice as often as I should, though. 😛 Twice a week at least with orchestra and lessons, but still, I should do it more.

            • Twice a week…that makes me feel a little better about myself. XD I probably don’t even do that much currently though, not with consistency. I don’t have orchestra or lessons either. Being largely self-taught (and YOU-TUBE), I don’t have a whole bunch of accountability. :/
              But I used to play it like 6 days a week! I have so plummeted. 😛

            • XD Yeah, I used to be really consistent too. It’s quite terrible, actually. I need to get back into doing it more, especially now since I’m also learning a second instrument.

            • Yeah, I need to too.

            • Maybe we could keep each other accountable? Set a goal to try and practise 30 minutes everyday (or something to that affect)? I’m finding keeping my word-count accountable to someone every day very helpful.

    • @perfectfifths Ah…this probably sounds really wimpy, but I think that wouldn’t work for me, not at this point. I think our/my schedule’s too erratic; and I do more stuff now than I did when I used to play that often. HOWEVER, I do think it’d probably be real good if we could just poke each other every so often—every few weeks, months,…[Read more]

      • @perfectfifths And I don’t know how much that would help YOU, but…I hope some at least.

      • Fair enough, and yes, I think an every-now-and-then poke would still be helpful. 🙂 But I get you about business. My mum is doing our church’s Christmas service, and it’s going to be pretty amazing, I reckon. And I’m helping her with arranging the music, as well as singing in the choir and playing, so I’m busier than usual as well at the moment.…[Read more]

        • Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. Music is overall such an amazing gift, isn’t it. 😀 Hope it goes well.
          Yeah, habits. It used to be a habit with me, but apparently it wasn’t strong enough. :/ But even a non-constant accountability check will help some.

          • It is…
            Speaking of, have you practised lately? 😉 Don’t feel bad if you haven’t, because I think I’ve only practised once this week besides a lesson yesterday, and we didn’t have orchestra this week. 😛

            • I HAVE, actually. 😀 Not a whole lot by myself, but at least three or four times this week, counting when I practice trios and/or duets with my sisters. We’ve been doing that more than usual this week, and it’s not quite the same as single practice, but I like to think it counts a little. Thanks for checking up. 😉 😀

            • Oh, good for you! 😀 Yeah, I’ve had a friend come over a couple of times to play duets, and it’s really fun, and very different from doing it with my teacher or on my own. I think it’s not so much proper practice as just playing as well. An instrument should not just sit in its case. 🙂

            • Exactly. 😉

              And happy Thanksgiving, if Aussies celebrate it. 😀

            • 😀 I did some practise this week too (yesterday in fact. It was good). And I’ll be playing tonight at the musician’s rehearsal for our Church Christmas thing (which we’re calling This is Love, after the Paul Baloche song).

              It’s not an Australian holiday, but my dad is American, so we celebrate it sometimes. 😉 We’re having a turkey tomorrow night…[Read more]

            • Good good. 😉

            • How did your Thanksgiving go? 🙂

    • @PerfectFifths Quite well, thank you. 😀 It was very nice. Yours?

      • It was good. 😀

        Oh, and I beat NaNo last night. 😀

        • CONGRATULATIONS!!! With a few days to spare. That must be QUITE a good feeling. 😉

          • Yes! It is! 😀 I’m not jumping around the room like I thought I would, but inwardly celebrating that I made it. 🙂

            • *high-five* Inward celebration doesn’t mean you’re any less enthusiastic. 😉

              So, have you practiced lately? I imagine you’ve been practicing for your Christmas program. I practiced the other day, but for the most part I haven’t been doing much. :/ We’re really really busy right now. (Classic excuse, I know. But we really are. 😛 )

            • Uhm… I practise when the musos have our rehearsal, and I’m going to start bringing my violin for the choir rehearsals to play with the songs I’m not singing, so that’ll be about 4 times a week if I understand the schedule correctly. But not much otherwise. 😛

    • @PerfectFifths Eh, it comes and goes as usual. 😛 That sounds like a good idea though!

      • Yep. 😛 I have stuff I need to do, but it has to wait until after Christmas at the very least because of all the other stuff we have to do. 😉 We haven’t even decorated yet. D:

        • Christmas can be hectic. 😛 But it’s so worth it because it’s SO COZY AND WARM AND JOYFUL. And means so much, obviously.

          • Well, we’d love the joyful, but cosy and warm, not so much thank you. 😉 How about cool and breezy? 🙂

            • *facepalm* I FORGOT. XD Yes indeed… It’s quite hard for me to imagine what it’s like having Christmas in Summer. Or Spring. Whichever it is over there. 😛

            • Summer. I love our summer Christmasses, they truly feel Christmassy to me. I have experienced one white Christmas in my life, and I would like to have another, but so long as it’s not too hot or humid, our Christmasses are fine. 🙂

            • Well, I guess that works. You’d probably find 20 degree Christmases odd. 😀

              Guess what? My oldest sister, Elizabeth—the other violin player in our family as of right now—and I have a chance for lessons! It came up sort of unexpectedly… We went to audition to play in the Christmas program of Ohio Christian University (which is only about…[Read more]

            • Whooo! That’s so exciting! Have you ever taken lessons before, or are you two self-taught? (If so, that is extra impressive, because I would have no idea how one would do that! XD)

    • @PerfectFifths Yup, we’re self-taught. But we in all likelihood could NOT have done it without the help of YouTube. *shudder* Yes. So we had no actual lessons, but we learned a ton of stuff from violin people/teachers on YouTube. And were helped along a bit by some friends, who lent us a violin to begin with.
      But we have zero experience with…[Read more]

      • So it’s not precisely just SELF self-taught, but you get the idea. ;P YouTube is something to be thankful for.

      • Very nice! I hope you enjoy it! 😀

        Yeah, YouTube is great.

        • Thanks. 😀

          • So, I’m guessing you can read music and all that sort of thing? 😀 It’s handy to know, unless you plan on being an Irish fiddler? 😉

            • Yup. I learned basic music theory when I learned piano, and while I’m not an expert, I know quite a bit, and can sight-read easily. It is quite handy.
              I do wish I could fiddle in addition to classical, though, seriously. 😛 I wish I knew how.

            • Yeah, reading music is a really good skill. But I know what you mean about fiddling. The luthier who restored my violin can’t read a bit of music, but he’s an amazing Irish fiddler. 😀 And one our friends, he can’t read music, but he’s really good on the piano.

            • Sounds amazing, of course. ;P I have a good musical ear/sense of tune, too, which I’m thankful for as well, but I still can’t make gorgeous harmonies and improvise amazingly like nobody’s business and that sort of thing. Much to my sorrow. I can harmonize and improvise if I work at it, but it’s not second nature or anything.

            • Yeah, I agree, I would love to be able to do that.
              That being said, I did manage to create something of a nice (if repetitive) tune when my brother and I were trying out a violin pick-up my conductor lent to me. 😛

    • @PerfectFifths Sweet. 😀 Is that brother Leumeister? Does he play the violin too?
      Yeah, I’ve ‘composed’ a couple things, that turned out decently, but I have to work at it, and not being repetitive is definitely a challenge. That, and not just piggy-backing off of all the other tunes you know. 😛

      • Yeah, it is. And no, he doesn’t. 😛 To be honest, I don’t even trust him to hold the violin, because he doesn’t listen to me when he does and hold it properly, so he’s lost his violin-holding privileges. 😉 It’s annoying, because he asked to hold it, but still didn’t listen. 😛
        Oh, yeah, piggy-backing can be hard, because there is so much great…[Read more]

        • Ha! Eh well…it’s gotta be kind of hard for non-violinists to be able to hold it just correctly, even if they DO try. ;P But it IS good to listen. 😉
          We were once so clueless.

          I KNOW!!! By making it sound the same. And you CAN’T. *fumes*

          Are you liking The Count of MC?

          • I have to say, pretty much everyone I’ve tried to teach how to hold the violin and bow have been frustrating (including my mum and my best friend) except one, one of my mum’s good friends. I think she’s a natural and sometimes when she comes over, we have “lessons.” I think she wants to play more often, but she doesn’t have a violin yet.

            No,…[Read more]

            • Poor people. 😛 But naturals are always encouraging.

              Eheh, yep, I feel ya. It was a very good book, but I know what you’re talking about. *cough* The revenge is sorta the point… 😛 Once you FINISH the book, you’ll see how it plays out to be a good book nonetheless. Thought it’s still not perfect, and it’s NOT as good as Les Miserables, EVER.…[Read more]

            • 😀

              Oh, I have no doubt it’s a good book. But I may not always agree with the protagonist’s choices. 😉 Les Mis, though, I actually have lined up to read after Monte Cristo. 😀 It looks like it’s going to be equally as long. XD

            • Indeed, you most certainly won’t agree. XD
              Oh, YAHOO!!! I’m incredibly happy. It’s even a little longer, but SO worth it. Good choice. 😉

            • It feels like the story is jumping around between characters. I’ve just been reading about Franz and his interesting night on Monte Cristo with Signor Sinbad. Except I think Sinbad is Dantes. Except I’m not certain. XD

              Are you on Goodreads?

            • *snickers* Dantes and his disguises.
              Yeah, there’s a fair bit of jumping around, but it’s kinda nice sometimes because you wouldn’t want to ALWAYS be stuck with Dantes’ point of view. XD And there are some other really great characters in there.

              No… I hardly even know what Goodreads is. 😛 I mean, I know what it is, but I’m not sure what it’s…[Read more]

            • XD I guess not, but I want to know his story. Right now I’m hearing more about Luigi Vampa and Teresa.

              Goodreas is really cool. It’s a site that you can list all the books you’ve read/want to read. You can rate them, review them, compare your shelves with your friends. You can use it to keep track of how many books you’ve read in a year, and set…[Read more]

    • @PerfectFifths

      YAY. Luigi Vampa…has problems.

      That does sound cool! I actually keep a manual account, a notebook, of all the books I read, and the dates on which I start and finish them. But still, Goodreads sounds neat. More than just keeping track.

      • Lol, I don’t know him very well yet. Now it’s Franz and Albert again and the Carnival, which just ended when I finished the chapter. 😉

        That’s cool! 😀 Yeah, Goodreads suggests books, based on what you’ve read and rated, you can make multiple shelves (like Fantasy, Historical, Sci-fi, whatever you want, really). You can add friends, and recommend…[Read more]

        • For the record, I love Albert to pieces. None of the characters in there are perfect by a long shot, but he’s one of my favorites. 😉

          Sweeeet. Sounds like an organizer’s dream, too. 😛 I love categorizing things in their own place.

          • Yeah, I think I like Albert, and Franz. They have very different personalities, but they seem like they’re best friends. 😉

            Yeah, I love thinking of new categories and going through all my list books and putting them in them. A single book can be listed on multiple shelves.

            • Yup. Franz isn’t bad, though he doesn’t get much more main. But Albert has many more large parts to play, and some of ’em are REALLY great. 😉 Do you like (if you’ve met him yet…I can’t remember if he’s come in at this point) Maximilian? He’s pretty sweet too, though has some slightly lovestruck issues. XD

              Cool.

            • Aw, really? I liked him a little better out of the two. But it’s kind of clever how the author uses Franz’ pov to get to know Albert for when we switch to his pov.
              No, I haven’t met him yet. I’ll keep an lookout for him. 😉

            • Well, I think I liked Franz better first too. At the very least he’s more mature than Albert at this point, I think… ;P I don’t remember him too well though, ’cause he wasn’t much of a main character later on. Maybe I liked him better than I thought. 😀
              Right though, that’s a good tactic on the author’s part.

              Merry Christmas. 😀

            • I’ve met Maxamillion Morrel now. The author says we have met him before, and I may vaguely remember him, but I remember of M. Morrel’s daughter more than his son.

              Merry Christmas! 😀

      • Ahhhhh! Mercedes is Albert’s mother! 😀 😀 I knew we’d see her again, I just wasn’t expecting so soon! And I think she knows – or suspects – who M. le Comte is.

        • AHHHHH YES!!! Isn’t it great?! *sly grin* It does kinda creep up on you. And then it’s like AHHHH!

          Yeah, Maximillian was there before briefly, but it wasn’t for long. You’ll definitely get to know him more.

          • I think it’s all really cute and sweet, for some reason. XD I mean, it’s sad that she lost her first lover, but she did move on and eventually have a family of her own after all.

            I just read M. le Comte’s footman’s account of the assassination of Villefort. It’s a shame about the child, becoming such a brat. 😛

            • Ah wow, you have an optimistic approach. XD That’s true…*sniff* But it’s so…sad. It gets sadder. Do you know who Albert’s father is yet?
              And I love how much Albert loves his mother.

              Oh yeah, quite. Just wait. All your threads will eventually converge and you will be thoroughly disgusted. And/or horrified. I imagine. 😛

            • lol, yeah, I love how Albert loves her too. And I haven’t made any connections, but I know his father is a count or something. 😛 But is it someone we knew of beforehand?

              Well, the fact that Caderousse and his wife just murdered a jeweller so that they could have their cake and eat it too already disgusts me. And I thought he was a nice fellow,…[Read more]

            • *wiggles eyebrows* Why on earth would I tell you that.

              You’ve probably come to it by now…

              UGH! Help. Yeah. It’s bad.

        • “It was Edmond Dantes!”

          I actually smiled when I read this when Morrel figured it out. And M. le Comte was right there when they told of it, and he was like Joseph, in disguise among his loved ones, hearing their story and trying not to cry and break his cover. And I’m like, “Just reveal yourself already, Dantes! It’ll make you and them feel…[Read more]

          • I KNOW!!! It’s so awesome and at the same time so horribly frustrating ’cause you want it to be out SO BAD. I love scenarios like that. In that frustrated way, you know. 😉 Poor everybody.

            Ooh, cool. You still get to be in suspense then.

            • I just find it frustrating. I mean, I know the rest of the story probably won’t happen if they did, but in some cases, that would probably be all for the better for the characters. XD

              Yeah. 😛

          • Oh yes, the characters unwittingly bring themselves so much pain and other…STUFF that could be avoided. They really don’t know what’s good for them, I guess. XD

          • So, I’m 65% of the way through, and still very much in the dark (I feel). Let’s see, Villefort’s father-in-law has just died, and his widow, (Villefort’s mother-in-law) thinks she saw his ghost come to her so that she’s going to die soon. In consequence, the marriage between Valentine and Franz will be rushed so that she can be there, which makes…[Read more]

            • I had to make a character list to keep up with all the characters and their relations to each other.

              Edmond Dantes: The Count of Monte Cristo himself. Has many alias, including Sinbad the Sailor, Abbe Busoni and Lord Wilmore.
              Villefort: The procurer de roi that had Dantes imprisoned; husband of Madame de Villefort; father of Valentine and…[Read more]

            • Bravo, that’s quite a list! Very comprehensive. I love it. So, you’re not totally in the dark…not about everything. 😛 Isn’t it all just a convoluted mess?! Poor EVERYONE! (Except for…well, some people, who…I find it hard to pity and perhaps don’t deserve it, yet who still are (or will be) in wretched circumstances.)
              And yesss the orchard…[Read more]

            • Haha, I guess not. 😛

              Yes, poor everyone. I feel especially bad for Albert for some reason, because M. le Comte didn’t allow Haydee to say she remembered the name of Albert’s father in her backstory.

              Well, when I learn it, I’ll let you know.

              My least favourite character is probably… Either Villefort of Danglers, since they were meanies to Edmo…[Read more]

            • Hey, sorry to spam. XD But I’m just really excited about this book. 😀 I just learned that M. le Comte de Morcerf is Fernand (except I knew that already, accidentally finding that out in my research to make my character list – I just didn’t acknowledge it until I found out in the book 😉 ).

              Albert wants to duel with Beauchamp because of his…[Read more]

            • YAAAHHHH YOU’RE COMING TO THE DUEL!!! *uncontrollable flailing* I don’t have time to reply to all the comments tonight, but I shall get to it. But I just wanted to say—THE DUEL! I was going to be asking you if you’d gotten there yet, and I was trying to think of a way to ask it without giving spoilers, in case you weren’t there yet. ;P But…[Read more]

            • AHHH!!! Now you just made me more excited!!! *big cheesy grin* I kind of hope they duel with swords, but from what Beauchamp said, they’ll probably be using pistols (not as fun, in my opinion 😛 ).

              Well hurry up and sleep so you can fangirl with me! XD

              I only said sorry as a courtesy, I didn’t really mean it. XD XD

              Well, we’ll have to start a…[Read more]

            • Haha, I was just re-reading some of our conversation about this, and you were asking me if I knew who Albert’s father is yet. And now I do – Fernand! XD It kind of annoys me that Mercedes went to be with him after all, especially since she said she considered him a brother more than anything, but with her lover supposedly dead, and probably no one…[Read more]

    • Oh and also, my sister and I had our first violin lessons yesterday. They were good; pretty simple so far…hopefully it doesn’t stay too simple for a long time or I might feel like we’re not learning much we don’t already know. But I shall try to be patient. And this’ll basically force accountability on me now, so I’VE PLAYED THE VIOLIN THREE…[Read more]

      • Nice!! Maybe your teacher is starting easy to see where you’re at. I found it can get harder pretty quickly (especially if you’re an older student starting with the basics – you don’t stay at the basics for very long). I’ve been on the Grade 3 book for most of the year last year. Yay for consistency! Doesn’t it feel great? 😀 (I haven’t been very…[Read more]

        • That makes sense. It’s an encouraging thought. 😀 And yes it feels great! I just hope I can consistently be consistent. ;P

          • Yeah. Another possibility is that your teacher might want to make sure you learn “properly.” With our singing lessons, our teacher is teaching us a lot about technique. Like, my brother and I can sing, but we didn’t sing properly (which is important), and she’s teaching us how – after our first lesson, my throat didn’t feel strained at all,…[Read more]

            • That makes a lot of sense too. I think it less likely that’s the case here, because she actually commended my technique and stuff (which made me rather happy. 😛 ), but I suppose it never hurts to make sure even so. And I have problems with staccato. 😛

            • Yeah. Just ideas, since I have no idea how your technique is. 😉

            • Yup, and I thank you. 😀

            • Are you having weekly lessons, or more or less often?

            • Hopefully twice a month. Every-other-weekly or something along those lines.

            • Nice. I have mine weekly, but we also don’t pay (it could get too much otherwise). My dad mows my teacher’s lawn for my lessons. XD

            • Aah! That’s great! Lucky duck. ;P Yeah, the main reason we’ve never done lessons before is because of the cost. SO expensive, not to mention the cost of driving and stuff. BUT, since these are students teaching us (albeit very advanced ones), and not professional violin teachers, we’ve got it for $10 per lesson/person. So, all together, $40 per…[Read more]

            • $10 a lesson isn’t bad. Usually it would be $30 a lesson if we paid, but Dad does work in kind, so I’m really blessed to be able to have lessons like that. And my teacher’s become a family friend (we have a habit of doing that XD). Sometimes we look after her cats when she goes away. And when my mum was unable to take me to lessons for a time, she…[Read more]

            • But yeah, my teacher is professional, so it would be more expensive. 😛

            • I keep being pleasantly surprised to see you’ve replied again, because I keep thinking it must be almost night by now in Australia. 😛 It’s mid-morning over here.

              Aw, that’s great. 😀 I love it when your associates become good friends as well.

            • Let’s see, it’s almost 10 past 8 in the morning now. That post was about 9 hours ago according to KP, so I posted that around 11 last night. Sounds about right. 😛 I usually try and be in bed by then, but sometimes it doesn’t work. XD

              Yeah. 😀

            • XD

    • @PerfectFifths Starting again down here because the other chain’s getting so long…

      Reply #1—and look, I got to one of them at least tonight after all! It’s long. You don’t have to reply to every single aspect. XD

      Yeah, I feel bad for Albert in a lot of ways. 😛 But I’m glad he’s your favorite. He’s probably mine too, though honestly it’s…[Read more]

      • Reply #2:

        ‘I only said sorry as a courtesy, I didn’t really mean it. XD’

        Of course. I know precisely what you mean. XD

        As for Albert’s father…YEAH. (Ahh, I hate it when you accidentally get a spoiler through research of some sort. I’ve done that several times. Oh well. At least you know legitimately now.) Yup, I’m with you on the M…[Read more]

        • OH, and one more thing—do you realize, this makes it so Albert could have—sort of—been our own M. le Comte’s son? But then—everything happened? And it just makes me SAD. *wails*
          And on a side note, I think Albert’s very like his mother. Just a little more impulsive though. XD I like Mercedes. Which is another thing that just makes…[Read more]

          • YES! I have thought of that. I think Edmond has thought of it too, and I think he has a soft spot for Albert because of it (I could be way off). Anyway, Albert seems like one of his closest friends (if he has friends in that regard).

            Yeah, I liked Mercedes a lot. She seemed sweet, and Albert seems really sweet too.

        • XD

          Yeas. Sort of my fault, but no really, y’know? XD What? Worse? How is that even possible? XD

          Shshshshsh! XD

          I’m wondering how Les Mis could possibly be better than this, Emma. You said it was, but I’m loving this book so much, I don’t think I could stand it if something was better! XD

          I think it’s my favourite. *grins*

      • Oh, I’m going to reply to every single aspect – if there’s something to say. XD

        I think Albert represents what Edmond was, before everything went wrong. I loved Edmond in the beginning – possibly more than I love Albert now, though it’s close – and he could very well have been my favourite character (in fact he was for a time) until all this…[Read more]

    • @PerfectFifths

      Yeah, that’s a good thought…Albert being like Edmond might’ve been. I loved Edmond too, tons, and it’s so SAD.

      Eh, yeah…Madame Danglars and Villefort and the big reveal. *grimace* Yeah, I do feel sorry for them, but still, they were still completely wrong in the first place. Obviously. Not that that makes what Dantes is…[Read more]

      • Very sad.

        They were wrong, and Dantes is wrong, and two wrongs don’t make a right.

        Yeah.

        XD I tagged him when I said I was reading it, but he never responded. 😛 Think he’d appreciate hearing my opinion when I finish?
        Hm, I love the action and intrigue of this plot. Other classic favourites of mine that have action are Robin Hood and Treasure…[Read more]

        • Indeed. Two wrongs shall never make a right. And mostly everyone in the book is wrong in some way shape or form.

          I dunno…maybe! I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear you loved it, at the very least. 😉
          Well, cool. Lot of the time it’s better to read a book with no pre-existing expectations.
          I know, I’m not helping Les Mis in this regard.

          Yeah, I…[Read more]

          • Oh dear. Well, they’re only human. XD I just happen to really love some of them.

            😀
            XD Maybe not. The fact that it’s slower (even though you said you liked that) makes me think I won’t enjoy it as much. But I am definitely willing to give it a try. And I know I said I was going to read it right after, but just making it to the end of a big book,…[Read more]

            • I know. Me too.

              Well, we shall see, we shall see. Rest assured, I won’t yell at you if you don’t like it as much. XD And yes, by all means, totally. Reading two 12-1400 page sagas right after each other might be a little exhausting. ;P I feel like I should know this, but what does HP stand for?

              Exactly. XD

              *creepy Gollum voice* Yoouu’ll see.…[Read more]

            • HP stands for Harry Potter. Tbh, I was hesitant to say it, because I know where some Christians stand about that, but I personally enjoy it (I’ve read two books).

              Yeah, and I like brain work! XD

            • Oh, I understand whatcha mean. 😛 I’m on the other side of where Christians stand on that, but it’s all right, we don’t have to debate it. XD I’m not judging you.

              Me too!

              Our faces are gonna be sore from all our XDing. XD

            • Well, so was I, because our parents never allowed us to read/watch it. But two years ago (around Christmastime) I wanted to try , so I could make my own judgement for myself (this, I believe, is one of the things that’s got no clear right or wrong, only one’s convictions). So I borrowed it from my cousin (who’s like ten years younger than me – I…[Read more]

      • Oki, new line. XD

        Caderousse and Bendetto were prisoners together on the galleys. Number 59 and 59. Lord Wilmore helped them both escape. That’s how they know each other.

        Bendetto just murdered Caderousse, after Cadrousse tried to rob Monte Cristo (who confronted him as the Abbe Busoni). As he lay dying, he and the Abbe talked, and Monte Cristo…[Read more]

        • Ookay, I think I vaguely remember that.

          AHHH! YES. The complete SHUDDER-WORTHYNESS of that scene. *shudders* It’s so. awful. And one of the other things I find really awful is that Monte Cristo uses the guise of a priest for one of his many disguises in which he brings about horrible things. A PRIEST! *scowl*

          Yes yes yes…things are starting to…[Read more]

          • Yeah, it’s only briefly mentioned.

            Yeah, that is pretty awful. Caderousse thought so too, accusing him of making him feel bad instead of encouraging him in his death.

            I wonder when the last time Edmond used his real name was…

            *grins in excitement and fears for her favourite characters at the same time*

            Yeah, I think they set the date to…[Read more]

      • The duel between Albert and Beauchamp is off, because Baeuchamp went to see if the facts about Albert’s father, Fernand, were true. They were, but because Baeuchamp agreed to keep it between them, Albert no longer wished to duel.

        So Albert went with Monte Cristo to Normandy, but his stay was cut short as another newspaper printed the same story…[Read more]

        • Probably a long time ago…

          True that. 😀 It’s all right, I’m a pretty slow reader and don’t plan on pressuring anyone else to read faster than they do. ;P

          *rubs hands gleefully* This is gettin’ gooood. POOR ALBERT, I KNOW.
          Isn’t Beauchamp kinda nice? I liked him.

          • ALBERT’S GOING TO DUEL WITH MONTE CRISTO!!!! And Monte Cristo determines he will kill him!!! *insert giant NOOOOOOOO!!!! from Star Wars*

            I don’t want Albert to die… :'(

            Yes, Beauchamp is like the best friend ever.

            • *howls* NOW YOU KNOW!!! BUT…you don’t know everything yet. *howls louder* It’s awful and wonderful at the same time. I mean, it IS wonderful, the way your emotions are being tossed and ripped like a ship in a gale, right? XD It’s masterfully done. Masterfully done. But it’s awful because…yeah. We know.

              SO. MUCH. CONFLICT! Wasn’t that scene,…[Read more]

            • Oh man, it’s crazy! I don’t feel a lot of emotions while reading except enjoyment, but when I think about it throughout the day, I get a short thrill. It’s definitely one of the best works of fiction I’ve ever read.

              Yes, it was! Albert, so enraged, facing the count, so calm and collected. I liked this line,

              “But Monte Cristo, without rising, and…[Read more]

            • YES!!! It’s great. *muffled groaning*

              Yeah, Albert’s a bit more impulsive than Monte Cristo. Edmond’s undoubtedly impulsive, but he goes about it calmly and coolly (now, at least). Albert has little impulse control. Poor, dear young man. It’s his fault he has little impulse control (and quite probably also his parents’… That’s what happens when…[Read more]

            • XD

              Yeah. 🙁 I wouldn’t consider Albert spoilt like a brat, but being the only child of wealthy parents will probably spoil him a bit. Monte Cristo did show some anger to Morrel when he was questioning him about what was going on.
              “Ah, count,” said he, “his father loves him so much!”
              “Do not speak to me of that,” said Monte Cristo, with the first…[Read more]

            • You wouldn’t happen to know if any of the 40-something movie adaptations of The Count of Monte Cristo are any good, would you? I’d love to see a movie version of it when I’m finished, but I think it would really irk me to no end if it’s totally convoluted and gives everyone else who hasn’t read it the wrong idea.

              My friend said her family just…[Read more]

            • Albert and Monte Cristo didn’t end up duelling, because Mercedes came and begged Edmond (Yes, she call him Edmond :D) to spare Albert’s life. Then Albert apologised to Monte Cristo, so neither of them had to die. Albert understood why Monte Crsito had to avenge himself like that, but M. le Comte de Morcerf still shamed himself with what he did.…[Read more]

            • So much sad. :'(
              M. de Morcerf, as Monte Cristo said, “just blew his brains out.” after a confrontation where he learned who Monte Cristo really was “Edmond Dantes!” I don’t know if Albert and Mercedes know yet, because he did it right as they left.

              Valentine was poisoned, but she’s all right for now. Take that M. D’Avrginy. I told you she didn’t…[Read more]

            • Eh yes, very much gloominess. :”( Dark is surely the word. Poor Fernand! I don’t sympathize with him really at all or say he ‘s in any right, but I still…pity him!

              Monte Cristo…you’re just…you’re wreaking so much havoc! You’re not helping yourself feel any better, you know. Even if you think you are. You’re not, deep down.

              Also, I just…[Read more]

            • Aha! I’d wondered where you’d gone. XD

              It’s sad he had to kill himself, but they all seem to believe that it’s better for Albert and Mercedes for him to be dead than to live in disgrace. As Monte Cristo said, “Blood washes out shame.” :'(

              I know!! D:

            • I hadn’t deserted you. XD

              Yeah. :”(

    • @PerfectFifths Yeah, I don’t see anything wrong with trying something out to make your own judgement. As long as you know it’s not EVIL or irreparably damaging or something, which Harry Potter most likely is not. XD None of my family has read or watched any of them, but we know a fair bit about them. The main reason we don’t want to do it is…[Read more]

      • I agree with you there. Yes, it is more grey about who uses what magic (I haven’t seen a lot yet, but I’ve only read two books). And yes, the kids often go behind the adults’ backs (there wouldn’t be much of a story if they didn’t) and turn out to be right. A lot of trouble would be saved, however, if they just told them what they knew. The…[Read more]

        • ‘A lot of trouble would be saved, however, if they just told them what they knew.’
          Oh, the story of every character group ever. XD It’s so frustrating sometimes when you know things would be so much better if the characters just opened up to each other. But then, that would lose a lot of the story conflict, which wouldn’t be good at all. And yes,…[Read more]

          • Yes, a lot of conflict comes from not trusting each other. But still, wouldn’t these kids (Harry, Ron and Hermione, I mean), haven’t learnt by now? XD

            Yes, Gandalf too. Even if he doesn’t know what’s going on, he’s a great character to support the other, less confident characters (like hobbits <3).

            🙂

    • Starting once again at the bottom because the other string is running out of reply buttons… 😛

      Gah. Yes. *is tearful* That’s what I was waiting for. Hopefully it wasn’t too anticlimactic. 😛 But I found the scene (and several of the ones in the same sequence) one of the MOST AWESOME in the entire book and just felt like yelling and squeezing…[Read more]

      • Yes, yes, yes! Ever since Albert challenged Beauchamp (who is also an amazing person to Albert) to a duel, things just start getting better and better (story-wise – really things are getting worse and worse). And yes, Albert was extremely brave to apologise to the count and admit he was wrong, even though his family is still in disgrace. And Monte…[Read more]

      • Danglars and Eugenie just had a heart-to-heart (if you can call it that for those two – how about a head-to-head?) talk about why Eugenie didn’t want to marry Andrea (I don’t blame you, girl, but that was before they knew the truth anyway XD), and why Danglars says she should (didn’t quite understand it all, but it sounds like Danglars is in…[Read more]

        • YES, it’s so great that Monte Cristo acknowledges, really and truly, how brave Albert was. And I quite agree, Beauchamp is just an amazing person.

          Oh right, I remember now. Whew, Mercedes is good at holding things in.
          Yes! Exactly. Those kind of plot-twists are the best.

          Yeah, I think he does.

          Right! SO. SAD.

          But I LIKE The Hobbit. XD Oh, I…[Read more]

          • Well, Monte Cristo doesn’t seem the type of person to blame the son for what the father did, even if the son may get mixed up in it all in order to meet his end.

            Yes.

            And yes.

            Eeek! Well, two down…

            “I think after the initial disgust at how much they changed, I was somehow able to accept it as a movie and not fume too much over its…[Read more]

          • Noooooo! I’m nearly 90% of the way through! :'( (My friend can’t believe I want more of this, but she’s never read it, so…)

            Anyways, Andrea Cavalcanti, aka Bendetto, has been caught. I’m not entirely sure if Danglars and his wife know about Eugenie’s disappearance, because we haevn’t seen the consequences of that yet.

            Monte Cristo has come to V…[Read more]

            • No, he doesn’t.

              I don’t mind Tauriel herself too much; she’s not annoying by herself, as a character, to me… But yeah. I know. ;P And I was kinda glad to hear Legolas would be in it, before I watched it, because oooh, that’d be cool! But he turned out less than spectacular. Much better in LotR.
              Aghh. Azog’s just…cheesy. Aside from the fact…[Read more]

            • I Tauriel was an attempt to get an “obligatory female character” into the movie, but bth, I don’t care if most of the cast of LOTR and The Hobbit are male (there are only three major females, and not many more who have been given names that I can think of).
              Yeah, I guess Azog was flat. That’s what comes of putting in a character that wasn’t meant…[Read more]

            • ***first sentence*** “I think Tauriel…”

            • Oh yeah, I totally agree about Tauriel’s role. That’s exactly what I’ve thought too, and I’m with ya on not caring a bit if almost the whole cast is male. I really don’t care (frankly, a lot of the time I find male characters way more compelling), and females should not be obligatory. 😛

              Poooor Danglars.

              Well, yay for your friend! I think…[Read more]

            • In that sort of society, meeting mostly men is a little more realistic. Women seem to be more of the stay-at-home type in Middle-earth cultures. Of course there will be women out doing things, like Eowyn, but she wasn’t even supposed to go.

              Poooor Danglars, even though I don’t like him very much.

              Yeah, I agree. But I also understand her sid…[Read more]

            • Yup. ‘Tis truth.

              That does make sense. And NO! The Screwtape Letters by Andy Serkis?! Of all the insane ironies. 😂 That’s great. I have read it though.

              Oops… 😛

              Exactly.

              Right, I know. As if suicide is honorable.

              *scrubs eyes* Such awfulness.

            • Not BY Andry Serkis, WITH Andy Serkis. He voices Screwtape. It’s an audio drama which was amazing! I haven’t read the book yet, but it’s part of an English course we want to finish this year, so I will.

            • Wow. I can imagine he’d make an awesome Screwtape. *shudder* I was probably confused because I didn’t think The Screwtape Letters would be made into a drama, since it’s just letters, not actual things happening. Guess they find ways to do everything. ;P

            • Yeah, they’re amazing! I had never wanted a character to die so much as I did Wormwood’s patient. Because then he would be free of the temptations. And it was sad when he did, but also good (if you know what I mean).

            • Oh wow, so from the sound of it it sounds like they actually…dramatized the different patients too. Cool. Yes, I know what you mean for sure.

            • Yeah. There were voices for Screwtape, Wormwood, their patients, and a few other random tempters. A lot of the stuff is Screwtape having a conversation with Woodworm and telling him how to do stuff, with Wormwood asking questions every now and then. I’m guessing they took the letters and turned them into these conversations. Some of them are in…[Read more]

            • Cool! I’ll definitely have to remember that.

      • @emma-flournoy New line…

        Maximilian was going to kill himself! :'( But Monte Cristo talked him out of it, saying, if he were not consoled within a month, to the day, to the hour, he would personally give him pistols and poison so he can end his life. Dear, Maximilian, all is not lost – I hope!

        Albert and Mercedes are in an unhappy spot. I’m…[Read more]

      • Oki, so unhappy because the story is going to end soon… :'(
        Happy because my aforementioned friend said she downloaded the audio book! 😀

        • Ahh yes. That scene was good. Sort of. Max should not have considered suicide. XD But yes. I like his and Monte Cristo’s relationship.

          *sniffs* *whimpers* *weeps* Poor Mercedes and Albert. (Yes, I’m just glad we got to see them again too. SO glad. Albert is not a character to be shoved off to the side. At least. Not totally. *scowl* Nor…[Read more]

      • New line, so that it’s not confusing when I got on multiple rants.

        Did not finish last night, but almost definitely will tonight (4 chapters, 16 pages – I counted). There is no excuse, and I will not prolong it more than needed (as much as it pains me). Anyway, on to the rant…

        These three chapters I read were just full of gloomy, depressing…[Read more]

        • Ahhhh! I finished it! *covers hands over eyes* Nooo! It’s too soon! :'(

          Okay, okay… *deep breath* Monte Cristo effectively saved Danglars – from death is nothing else. He’d been captured by Luigi Vampa’s gang and almost starved to death, but Danglars repented to Edmond, so he forgave him.

          I was almost – almost! – crying during the chapter The…[Read more]

          • AAAACK I FEEL YOU. :’o

            Yeah, the last several chapters were pretty boggy and not cheer-inducing. And Edward. I know. It’s so sad.

            Yes, the Danglars conclusion was pretty good, for Edmond’s part at least; showing how much he’d learned, albeit too late for most everyone else.

            Yeah…yeah. Yeah ;P But then, you got to be very happy for him by the…[Read more]

            • D:

              Poooor Edward!

              Yeah. I liked Maximilian, he’d definitely be a second to Albert and young Edmond, but Albert for some reason had a special place in my heart.

              I see what you mean, but I think he was also starting to realise he wasn’t God’s agent for exacting His vengeance, and that really, he should be doing anything at all. And perhaps, he…[Read more]

            • Yeah…I dunno for sure. But at least he did realize.

              “(saying this as if they were real and as we speak Edmond is watching over Albert XD).”
              But of course! XD Seriously though, that’s how I always talk/think about characters and books I get really attached to. They’re so REAL, and I just talk about them that way. And I’m almost always imagining…[Read more]

            • Yeah.

              XD
              Yeah, I know what you mean. I almost didn’t want to start my next book the next night because I was sad there was no more Monte Cristo (but I did, because I loved reading 😛 ). I would love to know what happens in the characters’ lives afterwards. Franz seemed to disappear near the end, and Danglars, I wonder what he is doing now.
              There…[Read more]

          • Heh, good plan. I don’t like the idea of sequels by people other than the original author. It’s just not RIGHT. 😛

            Ooh… I’ve only read/skimmed an abridged/illustrated version of that, not the real thing, but I’ve heard it’s nothing to go nuts over at all. Hate to burst the bubble, but that’s what I’ve heard. XD From Daeus, no less, among…[Read more]

            • There is one exception that I know of, and that is the newest (as far as I’m aware) Asterix comic. One of the original authors is dead (sad 🙁 ), and the other supervised two new people in the writing and illustrating of it. I’ve read it, and I think it keeps the tone and feel of Asterix, if a little different, because different people means…[Read more]

    • @PerfectFifths Huh. I haven’t read (or heard of till now) that, but hey, at least it’s keeping relatively similar. That’s always quite heartening. ;P

      And I’ll wait to hear. 😀 I know a lot of the story line, just haven’t read the actual book.

      Heh, take your time. I don’t mind if you decide to read other books first. XD They’ll definitely be done…[Read more]

      • You haven’t read Asterix? :O They’re one of the best comics series ever. 😉 That and Tintin. 😛

        I don’t even know the story line much at all, so I’m looking forward to a new story. 😀

        😀 I’ll start a new post when I begin.

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