Lendar

As far as modern scifi I am a huge David Weber fan (Honor Harrington).

Ah, good old David Weber. I actually just finished rereading some of his books last week - the man needs an editor like nobody's business, but the overarching story still draws me in even if I can just skim over all the info dumping. I'll miss the Honor books when they're done (if they ever end. :D)

I never actually finished the Covenant books because Thomas irritated me so much, so I guess I'd call that a Donaldson miss. In general, I tend to read more fantasy than sci-fi - and yes, I prefer the darker, more political variants of both, but I see Adams as something like a sci-fi version of Pratchett - a sort of "meta" version of the genre, and outside the normal framework. Maybe I'm just addicted to satire and can't deprive myself of it.

Now, don't everyone freak out on me, but I've never been a fan of Douglas Adams, and yes, I've actually read some of his stuff.

 

I prefer my sci-fi depressing and dystopic.

Heretic! Burn her! :P

Jokes aside, have you ever read the Gap Cycle by Stephen Donaldson? A more depressing set of sci-fi I have not yet found. (And Donaldson does love his difficult-to-sympathise-with characters - see Thomas Covenant)

and my Foreign Policy magazine (I just re-started my magazine subscription so I am super happy again).

Ooh, I definitely need to do that, thanks for the reminder. I had a subscription while I was finishing my BA, and it's always been an immensely useful and interesting magazine.

I usually try and book at least a day or two in advance, so the schedule of a favourite or intriguing SP (and how well it syncs with mine) is a lot more important in making that decision than the ebb and flow of mood - that, and it's a rare day when I wouldn't feel like playing with a lovely woman anyway, given the chance. ;)

We all get tempted to take a chance once in a while. Even our experienced cerbites (we could quote some) have reported finding gems after taking chances. So, happens to all of us. happily no major problems occurred. Tx for reporting.

I agree - I doubt I'd have found this place if I hadn't given CL a second chance and found a gem. (Ironically, I'm pretty sure the subject of this thread was the first chance, though I thankfully didn't meet her friends.)

Long story short - I'd certainly rather do my looking here now, but if you're careful, lucky, or have a helpful community like this one to go to for advice, the occasional chance can pay off!

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As someone with a degree in archaeology, we can never "know" how ancient peoples behaved, we can only make educated speculations :)

A good point, of course!

I think I meant more that a lot of fantasy likes to throw around really large spans of time like a guy boasting about his endowment, and doesn't really think about what that many years actually means, can actually leave behind. Erikson does, and it shows in his setting.

Currently sitting on my bedside table - some stuff that a lot of you have probably already read, judging by the lists upthread, which contain some stuff I definitely need to look at - thanks very much for this thread, Erin!:

Umberto Eco - Foucault's Pendulum: A book that's about books about conspiracy theories, and the people that believe in them, and the people that don't, and how one group can become the other - and the meta only takes off from there. A bit of a mindfuck (okay, a lot of a mindfuck), but the history geek in me thrills at this sort of thing. Is certainly a lot less accessible than Da Vinci Code (to which it's frequently compared, and deals with a lot of the same themes), but I definitely found it worth a try and am enjoying it so far.

Steven Erikson - Toll the Hounds (Malazan series, book 8): I remain a sucker for long fantasy series (and in a pinch, they could be piled against a bedroom door to keep people from walking in on me when I was a teenager. ;)).

This series, written by a Canadian anthropologist/archaeologist , is probably one of the better ones out there, especially if you're into getting the sense of a world that's existed long before the events of the series (possibly to do with the author's training - he knows what ancient history leaves in a world, he knows what ancient peoples behaved like).

As a bonus for anyone familiar with the genre (especially bitter Robert Jordan fans), it actually appears to be on schedule to wrap up on time - out of a scheduled ten books, nine have already been written (the ninth is currently only out in Britain.).

Douglas Coupland - jPod: Another Canadian author, but this one is meant more of a bizarre sendup of modern tech culture, and it certainly succeeds in that. Probably not for everyone (which might be why the CBC's TV adaptation failed miserably?), but I've definitely found it funny and enjoyable so far.

Neil Gaiman - Fragile Things, Smoke and Mirrors - Gaiman is one of my favourite authors - yes, Erin, even American Gods :P- , so I picked up these two short-story collections on a whim (though I haven't gotten to them yet, sadly, and so can't say too much!)

If you're reading this thread, you probably understand and agree with the intrigue I felt from her first post. :D So, through a quickfire exchange of emails (and that kind of response time was the first good sign), I arranged to see her this afternoon, and, well...yes, I can only echo buggernot's "wow".

I don't have the spinner fetish a lot of posters here seem to - for me the major attractant at first sight was her hair and style, but it was quickly overshadowed by her intelligence, personality and enthusiasm - she was smiling from the moment the door opened, witty and engaged in conversation, energetic and sensual once the conversations stopped (though I suppose they never really did!), and generally left no doubt that she was enjoying herself and the time we spent together.

I'm definitely planning to repeat, but judging from the posts above I may have to get in line! Treat her well, be polite from your very first contact, and she'll definitely make it worth your while.

I was looking for a way to cap off my summer, and her ad made her sound right up my alley, just from giving me a sense of what she enjoyed: sensation, conversation, foreplay...kissing, ESPECIALLY kissing. :) After getting to spend time with her, I have to say that sense was right on the mark, and so was choosing her.

I've really only gotten my feet wet in the hobby, but she made me feel comfortable and relaxed from the moment I first called, to being greeted with a kiss and some getting-comfortable chat, to the moment I left with us smiling and satisfied.

She's a friendly and attractive woman, who enjoys what she does whether it's chatting with you, or playing and exploring in bed, or cuddling and lazy kissing afterwards. Treat her well, and she'll make the time well worth your while - I'm already looking forward to seeing her when she surfaces again.