Kate Flournoy

Hello, Hope! Good luck on the trilogy— I started a trilogy once, but it turns out instead of having three books in it it has eleven, so… that didn’t really work out quite like I was expecting it to. I’m still trying to figure out how that happened… 😉
So glad you joined us!

Yes, excellent thoughts. Having your explorer carry on a protracted and entirely ridiculous conversation with a giant frog, hm? Peterkin, anyone?
A good example of an author who exaggerates well is Dickens. I know I sound like a broken record— Dickens this, Dickens that, but it’s true. Who would have remembered the preacher from Bleak House if…[Read more]

Three very good points, Daeus.
What are some ways to give a character their own unique individuality, so that the reader will love (or abhor) 🙂 them for their own sake whether or not they like the book? A few of my favorites are as follows. 1: give them their own distinctive voice. No two people talk the same— some are very terse and to the…[Read more]

Wow, thanks, I’ll look into it.
Thank you for clarifying about the assonance thing. I probably could have looked it up in a dictionary, but a human is always preferable to a dictionary. For one thing, a dictionary can’t talk.

I just remembered another all time favorite of mine that I cannot believe I forgot to mention. I’ve read so many books and loved so many of them that I can’t keep them all straight!
Anyway, anyone here a fan of ‘A Christmas Carol’? That has got to be pretty near my favorite of the Dickens I have read (Aside from ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, of course).…[Read more]

Yes, that’s Sydney. The first ‘what’s his name’ you mentioned would be Charles Darnay (Evremonde), who was married to the doctor’s daughter, Lucie Manette… if I spelled that correctly.
Thanks for the word of advice on the Three Musketeers. I’ll remember that, you may be sure.
Yes, I tend to set lofty goals for myself, whether from a surplus of…[Read more]

Yes, please! Don’t stand on the sidelines and keep quiet just because you didn’t start this topic. We need everybody in here— the more opinions and voices and different suggestions, the better!
I’ve actually never read ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, but I definitely want to. It should last me longer than most books, which in itself is a plus,…[Read more]

*Sniff Sniff* Kleenex, please.

Really? You know, I never would have guessed…
By the way, to whom exactly were you referring when you said ‘tacos’? I have been called many things in my few years, but never (repeat, never) a taco.
🙂

Snarky things, eh? That sounds like fun.

Ummm… actually, North and South is more of a Dickens type than an Austen type. It is similar to Austen in that the main plot is a love story, but that is pretty much where the similarities end. I don’t know if you’ve read much Austen, but she tends to just dump off all the information of what happened on you and leave you to your own devices as…[Read more]

Yes, I think that pretty much covers it. Of course, you could create a world where there was a supreme ruling ‘deistic force’ that was neither one entity or even really anything other than a lot of nonsensical hodgepodge, but as a Christian, I would not feel comfortable presenting such a worldview, nor would I be confident in my ability to portray…[Read more]

Thank you for carrying it on with me!

I know, it’s practically impossible to read books and discuss them with others without asking the ‘favorite’ questions. I perfectly understand that.
I like Merry and Pippen a great deal as well— and you’re right. They do go so much together that they are almost incomplete when they’re separate. I think the reason I chose Samwise above them is…[Read more]

Yes, we agree here. And unfortunately that means this topic is at an end— humph. I’ve really enjoyed this little discussion. Discussion is a new found passion with me.
Oh boy… I know what it’s like to have something all prepared and nice and logically set out in your head, and then forget it because you forgot to write it down! (Only in my…[Read more]

Yep, that’s me!
Well, you convinced me… or partly convinced me. In regards to the ‘magic of energy’, your argument had strength right where mine lacked it— the connection between a human and the energy they are manipulating. Good point— I have to say I agree. Congratulations.
And in regards to the ‘miraculous magic’, I think you and I are…[Read more]

Ouch… you had to pick the ‘which book was your favorite’ question. Well, I knew it would come. *sigh*
Ummmm… probably the Fellowship of the Ring. I probably couldn’t tell you why if you asked— but overall, I liked being introduced to the different characters in so many different ways, and of course the heartwrenching scene when Gandalf falls…[Read more]

Oh, absolutely use them sparingly! My max (which I have not yet reached) is two such little symbols to an entire novel. Otherwise they lose their significance— their deeper meaning, their mystery, their chilling beauty. There is no ‘oooooh!’ moment, when you realize something is more than meets the eye. It becomes bland— ‘oh yeah, another one…[Read more]