ThursdayNext : www.jasperfforde.com
A discussion of all things Thursday !
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: ScarletBea (---.be.jnj.com)
Date: November 06, 2002 01:08PM
<HTML>Oktavia said «Ditto Plot
(Chamber of Secrets and Philosopher's Stone)»
Come on! They're very different!!!!!!!
(yes, I love Harry Potter, kill me :D)</HTML>
(Chamber of Secrets and Philosopher's Stone)»
Come on! They're very different!!!!!!!
(yes, I love Harry Potter, kill me :D)</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: Carla (198.179.227.---)
Date: November 06, 2002 01:26PM
<HTML>If you're going to critcize kids books about plots that are all the same then we should think of the Redwall books...
HP is first of all a series directed to kids. Therefore there will always be certain similarities and plot lines that will remain familiar.
And here is a new one:
Book that makes you want to look away from the page but you have to keep reading:
Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr.</HTML>
HP is first of all a series directed to kids. Therefore there will always be certain similarities and plot lines that will remain familiar.
And here is a new one:
Book that makes you want to look away from the page but you have to keep reading:
Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr.</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: Ooktavia (---.nv.iinet.net.au)
Date: November 07, 2002 10:13AM
<HTML>I like HP, don't misunderstand me! I just feel the plots of the first two are too similar- mind you I did read them both on the same day, one after the other wehich might explain it........
I've only ever reads the first 4 readwall books.
Or- we could call them the Fickies?
How about "Most annoying child character?" Edmund, anyone? (CS Lewis)</HTML>
I've only ever reads the first 4 readwall books.
Or- we could call them the Fickies?
How about "Most annoying child character?" Edmund, anyone? (CS Lewis)</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: Rob Johnson (---.leeds.ac.uk)
Date: November 08, 2002 10:20AM
<HTML>Best opening paragraph
Henry Farr did not, precisely, decide to murder his wife. It was simply that he could think of no other way of prolonging her absence from him indefinitely.
The Wimbledon Poisoner, Nigel Williams</HTML>
Henry Farr did not, precisely, decide to murder his wife. It was simply that he could think of no other way of prolonging her absence from him indefinitely.
The Wimbledon Poisoner, Nigel Williams</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: wzy (---.singnet.com.sg)
Date: November 09, 2002 12:37PM
<HTML>umm try the lightsabre from star wars(not that i am a great fan of sci fi) for the most impossible invention... :P</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: wzy (---.singnet.com.sg)
Date: November 09, 2002 12:40PM
<HTML>Ever tried the 'worst poem'? Should be quite... scary i think...</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: Rob J (---.cache.pol.co.uk)
Date: November 09, 2002 03:18PM
<HTML>Had a few more thoughts...
Wittiest dialogue is definitely the Questions game from Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are Dead. Too long to include here, so my entry for
best dialogue is
"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet, "what's the first
thing you say to yourself ?"
"What's for breakfast," said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet ?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today," said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the same thing," he said.
Character I most like to tell to get a life (possibly controversially): Romeo.
I know the love of his life is laying there apparently dead, but waiting five
minutes in case she's taken a sleeping draught wouldn't harm !
Has he not seen enough medical dramas to know to check for a pulse ?</HTML>
Wittiest dialogue is definitely the Questions game from Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are Dead. Too long to include here, so my entry for
best dialogue is
"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet, "what's the first
thing you say to yourself ?"
"What's for breakfast," said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet ?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today," said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the same thing," he said.
Character I most like to tell to get a life (possibly controversially): Romeo.
I know the love of his life is laying there apparently dead, but waiting five
minutes in case she's taken a sleeping draught wouldn't harm !
Has he not seen enough medical dramas to know to check for a pulse ?</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: CJ (---.dialup.mindspring.com)
Date: November 09, 2002 04:24PM
<HTML>Best Dead or Undead Character:
Nominees:
From Bram Stoker's Dracula, the Dark Lord himself, Dracula
From Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, Jacob Marley
From William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Banquo
The winner:
For his selfless return from the grave to warn his dearest friend of the terrors which await him if he does not change his ways, this award goes to Jacob Marley.</HTML>
Nominees:
From Bram Stoker's Dracula, the Dark Lord himself, Dracula
From Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, Jacob Marley
From William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Banquo
The winner:
For his selfless return from the grave to warn his dearest friend of the terrors which await him if he does not change his ways, this award goes to Jacob Marley.</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: Yan (---.in-addr.btopenworld.com)
Date: November 10, 2002 11:10AM
<HTML>Hello the forum, mind if a newbie bounces right in? Yan looks round, sees empty room so launches forth…….
Can’t we just have a character we’d most like to shake, don’t care whether they have a life or not, category, and while we’re at it can we have a character we’d like to be chopped into pieces and thrown in a tank of hungry sharks?
For the darn good shake with a severe fish slapping thrown in, I nominate Cathy (yes, you know Cathy, her with the gypsy fixation in Mithering Tripes). Numerous runners up, I second the Bridget Jones nomination, also Stephanie Plum, she’s on to book 8 and she still hasn’t learnt the first thing about bounty hunting. Gelis van Borselen for being the most stupid, supposedly intelligent woman I have ever read (and also for being blonde and beautiful, if that doesn’t deserve a shake and a fish slapping I don’t know what does).
Characters I would like to see in the shark tank? Mrs Norris, Mrs Bennet, Cathy and Geilis, after they’ve been shaken and given a good slapping, I will spare Steph ‘cos she makes me laugh.
World’s worst poet: Bert Fry.
What about the most disappointing fictional character? That would be Shelob, she should have sucked those bleedin’ hobbits dry while she had the chance.
How about a category for the smuggest fictional detective? I nominate Alex Delaware for never, ever being wrong about anything, ever, with honourable mentions for Gervase Fenn and Hercule Poirot but at least their authors made them amusing.
Best Romantic Lead (Male) Zerd the Dragon General (PHWOAR).
Best Romantic Lead (Female) Elizabeth Bennet
Most troubled romantic lead (male) (Please don't let Heathcliffe win it for the 142nd year running.) Francis Crawford of Lymond of course, no contest.
Most troubled romantic lead (female) Anita Blake (having, as her romantic interests, a vampire who continually calls her, “Ma petite”, and a werewolf who morphs when he gets excited and covers her in gloop, puts her in a class of troubled all by herself).
Most incomprehensible plot Swallows and Amazons, have never managed to finish it so still don’t know what it’s about.
Most Boring Book Anything by Arthur Ransome.
Best opening paragraph “It is a truth universally acknowledged etc.”
Best closing paragraph ?
Best Line of Dialogue – ever ?
Worst Book Ever Written Depends on your definition of worst. Most depressing = Tess or anything Russian.
Dopiest Shakesperean Character Hero, she should’ve told Claudio to sling his disloyal, sanctimonious hook.
Most impossible scientific invention in an SF novel Ring world
Most implausible premise in any genre “And they lived happily ever after.”</HTML>
Can’t we just have a character we’d most like to shake, don’t care whether they have a life or not, category, and while we’re at it can we have a character we’d like to be chopped into pieces and thrown in a tank of hungry sharks?
For the darn good shake with a severe fish slapping thrown in, I nominate Cathy (yes, you know Cathy, her with the gypsy fixation in Mithering Tripes). Numerous runners up, I second the Bridget Jones nomination, also Stephanie Plum, she’s on to book 8 and she still hasn’t learnt the first thing about bounty hunting. Gelis van Borselen for being the most stupid, supposedly intelligent woman I have ever read (and also for being blonde and beautiful, if that doesn’t deserve a shake and a fish slapping I don’t know what does).
Characters I would like to see in the shark tank? Mrs Norris, Mrs Bennet, Cathy and Geilis, after they’ve been shaken and given a good slapping, I will spare Steph ‘cos she makes me laugh.
World’s worst poet: Bert Fry.
What about the most disappointing fictional character? That would be Shelob, she should have sucked those bleedin’ hobbits dry while she had the chance.
How about a category for the smuggest fictional detective? I nominate Alex Delaware for never, ever being wrong about anything, ever, with honourable mentions for Gervase Fenn and Hercule Poirot but at least their authors made them amusing.
Best Romantic Lead (Male) Zerd the Dragon General (PHWOAR).
Best Romantic Lead (Female) Elizabeth Bennet
Most troubled romantic lead (male) (Please don't let Heathcliffe win it for the 142nd year running.) Francis Crawford of Lymond of course, no contest.
Most troubled romantic lead (female) Anita Blake (having, as her romantic interests, a vampire who continually calls her, “Ma petite”, and a werewolf who morphs when he gets excited and covers her in gloop, puts her in a class of troubled all by herself).
Most incomprehensible plot Swallows and Amazons, have never managed to finish it so still don’t know what it’s about.
Most Boring Book Anything by Arthur Ransome.
Best opening paragraph “It is a truth universally acknowledged etc.”
Best closing paragraph ?
Best Line of Dialogue – ever ?
Worst Book Ever Written Depends on your definition of worst. Most depressing = Tess or anything Russian.
Dopiest Shakesperean Character Hero, she should’ve told Claudio to sling his disloyal, sanctimonious hook.
Most impossible scientific invention in an SF novel Ring world
Most implausible premise in any genre “And they lived happily ever after.”</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: sue gedge (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: November 10, 2002 04:10PM
<HTML>This is exactly the kind of challenge I like---and I could spend hours on it, mulling over posible nominations, based on my reading from the past 40 or so years. However, time is pressing, I'm just going to do it off the top of my head (and I haven't looked at anyone else's nominations yet.)
Romantic lead (F.)----Elizabeth Bennett,
Romantic lead ( M.)--Mr Darcy
(very obvious, but also very archetypal.)
Most troubled romantic lead----male. Well, yes, I'd have gone for Heathcliff first time (and by the way,he doesn't have an 'e' at the end of his name, except perhaps in a parallel universe!), so, failing that, I'd have either Hamlet or Raskolnikov--although perhaps, regarding the latter, murdering people with axes disqualifies him for 'romance'. So I need to ponder this further. I think John Milton's Lucifer might be a powerful contender.Or how about Dorian Gray? Or Dracula?
Most troubled romantic lead---well, I adore Becky Sharp, but I don't think she's either troubled or romantic. So I'll have to go for either Lucy Snowe (Villette) or Bathsheba Everdene (Far from the Madding Crowd).
Most boring book---Thomas Hobbes 'Leviathan'. Utterly unreadable.
Worst poet---Alfred Austin (a laureate in Queen Victoria's time.)
Worst book----anything by Jeffrey Archer.
Dopiest Shakespearean character? OTHELLO---who else? What a pillock!
Best opening----Bleak House. (The fog.)
Best ending-----anything where the reader is left guessing!</HTML>
Romantic lead (F.)----Elizabeth Bennett,
Romantic lead ( M.)--Mr Darcy
(very obvious, but also very archetypal.)
Most troubled romantic lead----male. Well, yes, I'd have gone for Heathcliff first time (and by the way,he doesn't have an 'e' at the end of his name, except perhaps in a parallel universe!), so, failing that, I'd have either Hamlet or Raskolnikov--although perhaps, regarding the latter, murdering people with axes disqualifies him for 'romance'. So I need to ponder this further. I think John Milton's Lucifer might be a powerful contender.Or how about Dorian Gray? Or Dracula?
Most troubled romantic lead---well, I adore Becky Sharp, but I don't think she's either troubled or romantic. So I'll have to go for either Lucy Snowe (Villette) or Bathsheba Everdene (Far from the Madding Crowd).
Most boring book---Thomas Hobbes 'Leviathan'. Utterly unreadable.
Worst poet---Alfred Austin (a laureate in Queen Victoria's time.)
Worst book----anything by Jeffrey Archer.
Dopiest Shakespearean character? OTHELLO---who else? What a pillock!
Best opening----Bleak House. (The fog.)
Best ending-----anything where the reader is left guessing!</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: Magda (---.dialip.mich.net)
Date: November 11, 2002 04:20AM
<HTML>I would have to add that Nero Wolfe would also be a good candidate for smuggest fictional detective.</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: Anne (---.dc1-cache2.syd.dav.net.au)
Date: November 11, 2002 07:50AM
<HTML>Yan, firstly, hi, secondly I like Stephanie Plum! (shocked massive intake of breath by everybody on the Fforum!) If she suddenly became extremely competent
the books wouldn't be funny any more. (bottom lip almost quivering in a slightly petulant manner)
Vote for best grandmother: Grandma Mazur!
Please guys, don't excommunicate me for this confession! I'm really, really sorry!
It's a compulsion, I'm just a poor weak woman. I like some chic lit (not the mushie stuff)
While I'm in the mood for confessions, I'm ffat, ffrumpy, forty-ffour and I'm a Nextaholic!
Oh, and vote for most entertaining police officer: Andy Dalziel</HTML>
the books wouldn't be funny any more. (bottom lip almost quivering in a slightly petulant manner)
Vote for best grandmother: Grandma Mazur!
Please guys, don't excommunicate me for this confession! I'm really, really sorry!
It's a compulsion, I'm just a poor weak woman. I like some chic lit (not the mushie stuff)
While I'm in the mood for confessions, I'm ffat, ffrumpy, forty-ffour and I'm a Nextaholic!
Oh, and vote for most entertaining police officer: Andy Dalziel</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: dave (212.158.104.---)
Date: November 11, 2002 09:44AM
<HTML>Who's Stephanie Plum??
Oh, another nomination for Worst Poet: Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz from HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy.
'Oh freddled gruntbuggly thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.
Groop! I implore thee my foonting turlingdromes
And hooptiously drangle me with crinkly bindlewurdles,
Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon,
See if I don't!' - Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz
there was another that Douglas Adams mentioned, a small girl, but I've forgotten her name. The shame... *hangs head and lurks off to dig out his copy of HHGTTG*</HTML>
Oh, another nomination for Worst Poet: Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz from HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy.
'Oh freddled gruntbuggly thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.
Groop! I implore thee my foonting turlingdromes
And hooptiously drangle me with crinkly bindlewurdles,
Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon,
See if I don't!' - Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz
there was another that Douglas Adams mentioned, a small girl, but I've forgotten her name. The shame... *hangs head and lurks off to dig out his copy of HHGTTG*</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: jon (---.abel.net.uk)
Date: November 11, 2002 10:10AM
<HTML>Paula Millstone Jennings....how could you forget that?</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: Carla (198.179.227.---)
Date: November 11, 2002 10:11AM
<HTML>Stephanie Plum is the main character in the Janet Evanovitch books (they are listed as crime... so it's not really chic lit...)
Never read one myself, but they sold well when i was in a shop.</HTML>
Never read one myself, but they sold well when i was in a shop.</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: dave (212.158.104.---)
Date: November 11, 2002 10:14AM
<HTML>Ah, Ms Jennings. *hangs head further in shame*. I knew you'd know, jon...</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: jon (---.abel.net.uk)
Date: November 11, 2002 10:42AM
<HTML>Yeah, but what I don't know is, who the name Jennings actually referred to. I *believe* the original for PMJ was someone whose poetry had greatly annoyed Mr. Adams..anybody know who that was (if true)?</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: dave (212.158.104.---)
Date: November 11, 2002 10:50AM
<HTML>here's some of Paula's poetry:
The dead swans lay in the stagnent pool.
They lay. They rotted. They turned
Around occassionally.
Bits of flesh dropped off them from
Time to time.
And sank into the pool's mire.
They also smelt a great deal.
Almost McGonagallesque.....
apparently in the original radio series it referred to Paul Neil Milne Johnstone, but Adams was forced to retract the name for later recordings and for the book.
Johnstone is a real person, a sample of his poetry can be found at [www.pictographics.com]
(isn't Google a wonderful thing?)</HTML>
The dead swans lay in the stagnent pool.
They lay. They rotted. They turned
Around occassionally.
Bits of flesh dropped off them from
Time to time.
And sank into the pool's mire.
They also smelt a great deal.
Almost McGonagallesque.....
apparently in the original radio series it referred to Paul Neil Milne Johnstone, but Adams was forced to retract the name for later recordings and for the book.
Johnstone is a real person, a sample of his poetry can be found at [www.pictographics.com]
(isn't Google a wonderful thing?)</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: jon (---.abel.net.uk)
Date: November 11, 2002 11:00AM
<HTML>yes, I can see how that would have annoyed Douglas Adams. Obviously, for legal reasons, JurisFiction can't give the Worst Poem award to this Johnstone, so how about P.M. Jennings? We'll know who they mean.</HTML>
Re: Request from the author...
Posted by: dave (212.158.104.---)
Date: November 11, 2002 11:05AM
<HTML>sounds good to me. I second that nomination.</HTML>
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