(no subject)

[jack]

1. Do you live in the present, dwell on the past or look to the future? Ooh, I don't know. Probably the present, but a bit schizophrenically. What I am now is not outweighed by what I want to be in the future, nor what I was in the past, but what I used to and still want to be is still a factor.

2. How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man? 42. I think I qualify.

3. How many beans make five? I am a maths pedant.

4. Which is your favourite Winnie the Pooh character, and which are you most like? Probably Pooh. Piglet is too whiny, Eeyore is way too whiny, Rabbit nice but aggravating, Owl ditto. CR is obviously good, but more of a deus ex machina than a character :) But Pooh is actually nice, and wise if not clever. In poohsoc I was first River (whose only two lines are "gurgle" and "hurry"); and Singing Pooh (not because I can sing, but because James refuses); and CR (more of a power-play than a character). I'm probably actually like Eeyore (depressed and arrogant) and Rabbit (intellegent, flighty, and makes lists of things) and Pooh (nice, and cuddly).

5. Which is better, extract of malt or clotted cream? Now how about in sandwiches? I don't do cream.

1) Why did you choose to do Maths at university? Was it a passion? I always liked maths, it seemed obvious and inevitable. I didn't really think about what I would enjoy most, or what would be most useful. But I think it was right, I enjoyed it more than I would anything else, and it left my options for a job open, successfully.
2) What writer that I haven't read should I read, and why? Eek. Which of http://semichrome.net/~jack/social/books.txt haven't you read? And I'll recommend one of them.
3) What is your favourite story that you've written, and why? Ooh. Probably Maurice Saldini. It's most me.
4) What place that you haven't been to would you most like to go to, and why? The future! We're getting there fast.
5) Is it better to die young and famous or old and rich? Agh. Middle-aged and famous?

Comments

[rochvelleth.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the following:

Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon
Roger Zelazny - Lord of Light / early Amber Chronicles
Three Men in a Boat
Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Douglas Adams - Dirk Gently and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Frank Herbert - Dune
Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game
Dianna Wynn Jones
JK Rowling - Harry Potter
Ursula Le Guin - Earthsea
Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones
Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park
Asimov - Foundation, some short stories
Larry Niven - Mote in God's eye, Moat Around Murchusun's Eye, Ringworld, Warlock universe
Mervyn Peake - Titus Groan
Tim Powers - Anubis Gates
Vernor Vinge - Fire upon the Deep, Deepness in the Sky

P.S. I've never read a *bad* Stephen King. Boring maybe, but not bad. I know he's a bit full of himself, what with his how-to-write manuals and such, but technically I think he's preety good. The only thing I'd criticise strongly is when he writes big long monologues about random people or towns that aren't story-centric.

[rochvelleth.livejournal.com]

P.P.S. If you're offering questions, I'll have some, but if you're not I won't :)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I should be, but I can never think of any. I'll come back to that at some point :)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I should probably have asked which ones you had read you'd liked; that helps me work out which you might like. But you should read:

Bridget Jones. Seriously, it's really really really funny. Both Mum and I sympathise with Bridget a lot (being successful but hopeless people). What can I say, other than "It's not crap like you probably think it is" :)

Pratchett. I don't know if you'll like him, but he's easy to read and very popular, so you should try. I don't know which to start with -- try googling for "which pratchett should I read first"

Ender's Game. It resonated with me (and apparently many people of all ages, particularly those who were over-intelligent at school). I think it's an interesting classic worth reading anyway, and very easy to read. The scifi is a lot a background to watching Ender's life as young boy thrown into military training for space battles.

Cryptonomicon. You probably won't but you should try, as it's the most me. Imagine a mathematiican wrote a thriller, it's like that. Incredibly disjointed, but the characters are so cool, and spend 90% of their time going off on digressions about things :)

Diana Wynne Jones. Children's books, but incredibly good.

Earthsea. Easy, deep, great fantasy.

Do any sound promising?

wow, the spellchecker went bananas on this

[mair_in_grenderich]

READ AND LIKED: Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon
NEVER READ: Roger Zelazny - Lord of Light / early Amber Chronicles
TRIED AND FAILED TO READ: Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
NEVER READ: Three Men in a Boat
NEVER READ BUT I HAVE READ AND LIKED OTHERS: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
NEVER READ: CS Forester - Hornblower
READ AND LIKED THE FIRST, READ AND WAS BORED BY THE SECOND: Douglas Adams - Dirk Gently and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
NEVER READ: To Kill a Mockingbird
READ AND DISLIKED: Orwell - Animal Farm / 1984
NEVER READ BUT I HAVE A PDF ON MY TO-READ QUEUE: Frank Herbert - Dune
NEVER READ: Richard Adams - Watership Down
NEVER READ: Three Musketeers
NEVER READ: Umberto Eco - Name of the Rose/Foucault's Pendulum
READ AND DISLIKED: Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game
NEVER READ: Dianna Wynn Jones
READ AND LIKED: JK Rowling - Harry Potter
NEVER READ: Ursula Le Guin - Earthsea
NEVER READ: Stephen King - Eg. Firestarter, Carrie, [but some are bad]
SAW AND DISLIKED THE MOVIE: Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones
READ AND LIKED: Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park
NOT SURE! Asimov - Foundation, some short stories
NEVER READ: Larry Niven - Mote in God's eye, Moat Around Murchusun's Eye, Ringworld, Warlock universe
NEVER READ: Mervyn Peake - Titus Groan
NEVER READ: Tim Powers - Anubis Gates
NEVER READ: Vernor Vinge - Fire upon the Deep, Deepness in the Sky

Re: wow, the spellchecker went bananas on this

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. If you didn't like any of the ones you read, (but thanks for listing! It makes it a lot easier to suggest) I'm not sure. I'll have a think.

Re: wow, the spellchecker went bananas on this

[mair_in_grenderich]

I liked some of them!

[innocencest.livejournal.com]

The future! We're getting there fast.

Pff. We're getting there at a rate of one second per second. That's hardly fast.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Well, *someone* needs to find themselves a gravity well :)