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Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

Has anyone read the Guardians of GaHoole/Wolves of the Beyond?
I've read the first four books of Guardians of Ga'Hoole, but stopped a while ago. I liked the setting, but didn't like the constant toilet humour, and I read some negative reviews of the series on another website.
 
If were talking about books let me give you my least favorite book: Twilight. For the love of god this thing is terrible. And not just because vampires don't sparkle.
 
I liked the setting, but didn't like the constant toilet humour, and I read some negative reviews of the series on another website.
I forgot about the toilet humor for a moment. Where were these reviews? As much as I love the series, there are flaws. There are several things needlessly confusing and I can clearly remember three deaths that were poorly handled. Still though, nothing's perfect and I still enjoyed the series and Wolves of the Beyond.
If were talking about books let me give you my least favorite book: Twilight. For the love of god this thing is terrible. And not just because vampires don't sparkle.
I've only heard of this series and seen some of the jokes. Is it really that bad?
 
I forgot about the toilet humor for a moment. Where were these reviews? As much as I love the series, there are flaws. There are several things needlessly confusing and I can clearly remember three deaths that were poorly handled. Still though, nothing's perfect and I still enjoyed the series and Wolves of the Beyond.

I've only heard of this series and seen some of the jokes. Is it really that bad?
Well I mean its great if you like gender stereotypes, weird vegetarian vampires, the protagonist being an idiot, the protagonist putting herself into a life threatening situation just to get the love interest back after being dumped, love triangles between the supernatural, sickening romance, an actual sex scene, and may-December romance taken to the extreme.
 
And yes: vampires do sparkle in these books which is not how vampires work! Vampires burn in sunlight! And they are not vegetarian! Seriously, who ever heard of vegetarian vampires.

One more thing: guess who's getting Lego marvel super heroes 2 tomorrow? This guy!
 
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Vampires also can be defeated through the use of a handful of poppy seed or by being buried upside down, if you look at some of the Central European folklore. The idea of the badass Byronic bastard is newer even than Hammer horror. Whether you like the books or not, Twilight is just continuing a long tradition of updating and rewriting folklore to suit the author's own purposes
 
Vampire trivia: there once was a guy named vlad the impaler. He may or may not have been a vampire but the stories were certainly based off of him. The Dracula stories at least. I want a vampire Pokemon now.
 
Vampires also can be defeated through the use of a handful of poppy seed
That's cool about the poppy seeds.
Twilight is just continuing a long tradition of updating and rewriting folklore to suit the author's own purposes
I guess what happened with Twilight is kind of like what's happened with Wicked and Maleficent. Old stories are rewritten with a twist on old characters.
there once was a guy named vlad the impaler. He may or may not have been a vampire but the stories were certainly based off of him.
I remember reading that somewhere. There's a musical version of Dracula that alludes to this in the first official song.
I want a vampire Pokemon now.
Isn't Golbat kind of a vampire? If not, I'd like one too.
 
That's cool about the poppy seeds.

The idea was that vampires were sufficiently obsessive that they wouldn't be able to resist the urge to count each and every seed. Another charming variation on that idea was the concept of putting a mix of poppy and sesame seed into the coffin, so the vampire would have something to do instead of biting people
 
>an actual sex scene
how is this surprising for a romance novel? from what i've heard people say, what was surprising was that there wasn't more sexytimes happening. however, the writer was a mormon, so the abstinence element makes sense to be there.

but yeah, twilight has horrible characters and the protagonist is an absolutely terrible role model for girls, or anyone for that matter. those are its main flaws, i'd say. not so much the vampire lore - lots of works come up with their own rules and quirks. are you gonna call jojo a bad series because the vampires are hypermuscular, are named after 80s bands/singers, scream a lot and have special powers like bone blades, ice touch, wrists that spin around reeaaallly fast and create a sandstorm? nah, you accept it as the franchise's own lore, even if it is ridiculous.
 
On the subject of favorite and least favorite books, one of my favorites is Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten. It's really good! And you thought the movie was sad and dark? The book is even more so, but in all the best ways possible!

At one point, I tried reading The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time, since my mom owns a copy and most of the world think it's the go-to fiction book with an autistic main character...and I put it down after ten pages. I couldn't stand it! The prose was so excessive and drawn out, all of the characters were jerks, including the main character but the worst offenders are his parents who treat him like garbage all because he's autistic and they whine about how he's ruined their lives solely by existing, the excessive cursing was too much, and the whole thing felt so melodramatic and pretentious. I have no plans to return to it anytime soon. Guys, if you want to read a book that has a good portrayal of autism and autistic people, read stuff like A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold, Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin, or Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. They're not perfect, but I can guarantee that they're a THOUSAND times better than Curious Incident by a long shot, and I'm autistic myself!

On a more positive note, I have been reading some decently good fantasy books lately, such as Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin and The Unicorn In The Barn by Jacqueline K. Ogburn. Both are super good! The former is about a Chinese girl who leaves her village to try and find the mysterious Man of the Moon, whose power could help her family free themselves from poverty, and befriends a variety of colorful characters such as a flightless crybaby dragon and a local king who wishes to become more involved with his people. The latter is about a boy who befriends a magical unicorn being taken care of by a vet who specializes in treating magical creatures while dealing with his grandmother's illness and eventual passing. I like Unicorn a little more, because I thought the characters were a bit more realistic and grounded, and I really liked the magical slice-of-life angle the book tackled, as I tend to really like magical slice-of-life stories. Seriously, if you like cute kids' stories that are actually meaningful and take their audience seriously, go read them!
 
Where were these reviews?
I don't know if disclosing the website will break the "don't complain about other websites" rule.
The Unicorn In The Barn
I should check this out.

I haven't felt like reading fiction books for ages, but I usually like ones for older children with lots of worldbuilding. The last adult book I read was A Dog's Purpose, which I got bored of, and thanks to my imagination exaggerating how much people hate the movie, I'm too scared to revisit it.
 
I don't know if disclosing the website will break the "don't complain about other websites" rule.

I don't think a place that asks for reviews on books/movies/whatever would count, since no matter what, negative reviews are probably going to happen. ^^

I've personally been reading Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, which I was warned that the first book would feel kind of like a slog compared to the other two, and now, almost done with the second book, I can see it. The sequel just feels much more focused, the writing much more polished, etc etc. I don't usually go through these giant fantasy books this fast, but! The worldbuilding is to die for.
 
The site was Goodreads.

I really want to write a story which ends on a note like, "the world was almost destroyed thanks to the long-term carelessness of our ancestors, but we can learn from their mistakes and proceed towards a better future." I think I'll get used to the characters in my EverBright story by writing a parody of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon's repetitive dialogue.
 
I think I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: I will read anything Sanderson writes. I don’t think anyone does it better. Now if only I could figure out which of his books to read next...

If you’re looking for adult books to check out, one I’ve gotten into is Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight Chronicle. The second book just came out in September. It’s kind of like Harry Potter, only with assassins instead of wizards. Be warned: lots of blood and guts (though that could make it more attractive for some).
 
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