tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post9181544378501382561..comments2024-02-05T10:41:31.777-05:00Comments on I Saw Lightning Fall: Man, Reaper Is FunnyLoren Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-866470757158364422010-04-05T14:14:17.624-04:002010-04-05T14:14:17.624-04:00Junior high is brutal. Wasn't it Flannery O...Junior high is brutal. Wasn't it Flannery O'Connor who said that anyone who survived childhood had enough raw writing material for a decade? If only she could see grades five through eight nowadays. Humor's a good way to get through, far better than, say, controlled substances. I only bring that up half joking; I've known people who've self-medicated there way through, and that's very, very bad.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-59438429444644225622010-04-05T11:11:03.454-04:002010-04-05T11:11:03.454-04:00I've always used humor as a coping mechanism. ...I've always used humor as a coping mechanism. I was pretty depressed as a teenager, and looking on the goofy side was a big part of what kept me going. (Bunnicula was an early favorite, too, for instance, but I recall in sixth grade when I sort of got... stuck on "Howliday Inn." I felt completely miserable at all times... except when I was reading that book. I'd get to the end, flip back to the beginning, and start over again. In seventh grade, it was Robert Aspirin's "Myth" series. In both cases, I can *still* recite the opening lines verbatim from memory. Looking back, it's pretty clear to me that I was really badly off, emotionally speaking.<br /><br />I was always a goofy kid, though. Still am; most of my participation in any online social medium is drive-by joke comments. ;-)Scattercathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302815654553659644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-44022534882630683662010-04-05T08:33:18.551-04:002010-04-05T08:33:18.551-04:00B.,
Puns, you say? It might drive me mad, but my ...B.,<br /><br />Puns, you say? It might drive me mad, but my wife would probably love it. You should see her family during holidays. Those puns are deadly.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-27169430064046363932010-04-05T08:32:29.359-04:002010-04-05T08:32:29.359-04:00SC,
How interesting. That seems to me to invert t...SC,<br /><br />How interesting. That seems to me to invert the ordinary order of things. Most people who enjoy genre generally start out pretty dour and only gradually loosen up. Not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything ...Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-19888171053880994192010-04-04T00:19:57.065-04:002010-04-04T00:19:57.065-04:00Xanth was fun for between six to twelve books. Th...Xanth was fun for between six to twelve books. Then it sort of stopped having anything OTHER than goofy puns.<br /><br />Also, I got irritated when I became old enough to realize just how sexist Chameleon was. Sort of ruined the whole early part of it for me.Scattercathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302815654553659644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-10166570133619704692010-04-03T20:56:57.891-04:002010-04-03T20:56:57.891-04:00I remember being spellbound by Xanth series, fanta...I remember being spellbound by <a href="http://www.piers-anthony.com/xanth.html" rel="nofollow">Xanth</a> series, fantasy run amok. <b>But(!)</b> if your appreciation and love of puns does not tower high, high above the clouds, it may not be for you. <br /><br />But maybe for someone you know and love . . .B. Nagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07620736939701035617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-65766531840158981282010-04-03T15:14:50.853-04:002010-04-03T15:14:50.853-04:00As a random further comment, I actually STARTED wi...As a random further comment, I actually STARTED with the humor side. I didn't know I liked scifi and fantasy because I hadn't really read any as a kid. I DID like Dr. Demento's show and Weird Al, so what started me on fantasy novels was actually Craig Shaw Gardener, who led in turn to authors who didn't, um, suck quite as much.<br /><br />I found Terry Pratchett in my uncle Matt's old room at Grandpa's house. "Witches Abroad" and "Reaper Man" were the first two books of the Discworld I read...Scattercathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302815654553659644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-24693474025166659742010-04-03T07:53:36.010-04:002010-04-03T07:53:36.010-04:00SC,
Pretty. Darn. Funny. I think the carnivorous ...SC,<br /><br />Pretty. Darn. Funny. I think the carnivorous compost was one of my favorite bits, not least of which because my wife has been patiently feeding our compost pile with table scraps for months. Imagining it try to eat me is both horrifying and hilarious.<br /><br />Well, between Discworld and the Parker series, I don't think my reading list will ever be empty.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-28248211860796680412010-04-03T07:50:46.921-04:002010-04-03T07:50:46.921-04:00Michelle,
No worries. I had one of those weeks, t...Michelle,<br /><br />No worries. I had one of those weeks, too.<br /><br />Personification is fun, isn't it? George Herbert did some great stuff with it.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-24807172287021180162010-04-02T19:46:43.669-04:002010-04-02T19:46:43.669-04:00I *told* you Pratchett was awesome. ;-) One of m...I *told* you Pratchett was awesome. ;-) One of my favorite things is to read the series straight through from earliest to most recent and watch the evolution from zany madcap parody of fantasy tropes to slightly-less-zany a-bit-madcap biting satire (with a warmly positive humanistic tone that usually avoids preachiness.)<br /><br /><3 Reaper Man 4 EVA<br /><br />My second favorite Discworld books are "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents" and "Fifth Elephant." ("Elephant" has a LOT of backstory, so you'd have to read the Guards series first. I assure you they're worth it.)Scattercathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302815654553659644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-14408218592272135112010-04-02T17:45:28.914-04:002010-04-02T17:45:28.914-04:00And I meant SORROW, not Sorry. Sigh. I'm done ...And I meant SORROW, not Sorry. Sigh. I'm done for the week.Michelle D. Argylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09696465137285587646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-65478530100283643952010-04-02T17:45:08.703-04:002010-04-02T17:45:08.703-04:00Nice. Thanks for this review. I've written abo...Nice. Thanks for this review. I've written about death before, but Death was a companion to Sorry who decided to run away. It was a poem. Lots of fun, but not funny. :)Michelle D. Argylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09696465137285587646noreply@blogger.com