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[Crash Station]

"read or die" - dmx

I like this better.

 

[Branduil]

I guess I just have trouble visualizing other people's made up worlds, yet when it comes to my own, they're really vivid and I just feel the need to put them down on paper even if it's pointless.

Damn, that must sound arrogant as hell. I don't know, there's probably more to it than that. I did originally want to write for visual mediums, but I just kind of hovered over to novels since that's something I can do on my own.

Maybe you just aren't reading the right books.

 

[fertygo]

I'm pretty much the same. I mean, I forced myself through a few recently, but they weren't fun. In fact, the only book I've ever liked is Ender's Game.

And this is why I'm very likely a shitty writer.

Why shying away.

I'm 100% you're shitty writer, cheer up pal

Jebus, the time I trying to write something was embarrassing. never again.

 

[zeroshiki]

There are a ton of "moe learning" books though. That Drucker thing wasn't a one time thing.

 

[Crash Station]

Maybe you just aren't reading the right books.

Yeah, probably. Still trying to find one I enjoy. I'm sure I'll find one eventually.

 

[madp]

Not reading books shouldn't be some kind of badge of honor, guys. It should be met with sheepishness and some kind of vague promise to work on reading more.

I didn't intend for my admission to be proud. Literature is necessary for intellectual development and I consumed the classics endlessly in my youth, I'm just facing a combination of burnout from college and (this is going to sound stupid) I've been stuck in a phase where reading something really good depresses me because I wanted to be a writer but didn't have the talent. I have a longstanding problem with severe jealousy that manifests negatively in a lot of my behaviors and habits.

Maybe I subconsciously enjoy anime because its overall mediocrity as a medium doesn't threaten me ._.

 

[Crash Station]

When did I say I was proud of my inability to enjoy books? Missing out on the biggest story-telling medium is not something I want to do.

 

[Jintor]

/edit Seriously an article in my local town trash paper for once and I'm beaten to it?

 

[Branduil]

Yeah, probably. Still trying to find one I enjoy. I'm sure I'll find one eventually.

What have you read so far?

 

[BriseFlots]

Yeah, probably. Still trying to find one I enjoy. I'm sure I'll find one eventually.

What kind of stories do you like?

 

[madp]

When did I say I was proud of my inability to enjoy books? Missing out on the biggest story-telling medium is not something I want to do.

Sorry, I'd been drafting my post since your first post on the subject and I see you've clarified in the time since then. I just didn't want to speak for you either way. I'll edit it out.

 

[zeroshiki]

Perhaps unlike cosmic, I didn't intend for my admission to be proud. Literature is necessary for intellectual development and I consumed the classics endlessly in my youth, I'm just facing a combination of burnout from college and (this is going to sound stupid) I've been stuck in a phase where reading something really good depresses me because I wanted to be a writer but didn't have the talent. I have a longstanding problem with severe jealousy that manifests negatively in a lot of my behaviors and habits.

Maybe I subconsciously enjoy anime because its overall mediocrity as a medium doesn't threaten me ._.

I got over not being smart enough to write something good a long time ago

And I hope it didn't come off like I was targeting you or cosmic with that statement. It was more a general statement on my end and not meant as some kind of direct criticism.

 

[Branduil]

I didn't intend for my admission to be proud. Literature is necessary for intellectual development and I consumed the classics endlessly in my youth, I'm just facing a combination of burnout from college and (this is going to sound stupid) I've been stuck in a phase where reading something really good depresses me because I wanted to be a writer but didn't have the talent. I have a longstanding problem with severe jealousy that manifests negatively in a lot of my behaviors and habits.

Maybe I subconsciously enjoy anime because its overall mediocrity as a medium doesn't threaten me ._.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Tamako 9

Best episode so far, the beginning and ending of the episode were really touching.

 

[madp]

http://i.minus.com/ibFm7JTBwQGs5.jpg

LOL pretty much. There really is a Girlock Holmes image for every occasion, isn't there?

I got over not being smart enough to write something good a long time ago

And I hope it didn't come off like I was targeting you or cosmic with that statement. It was more a general statement on my end and not meant as some kind of direct criticism.

My adolescent aspirations just refuse to die no matter how much I need them to so I can get on with my life, hahah.

And no explanation necessary; I was just worried for a moment that I came off as boastful. I'm genuinely deeply ashamed!

 

[Crash Station]

What have you read so far?

Song of Fire and Ice, Mistborn trilogy, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Snow Crash, Dune, The Grimnoir Chronicles, Discworld, Wheel of Time, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Dresden Files, and a bunch of stuff in my college's sci-fi and fantasy classes that I can't remember.

Next on the list is Keys to the Kingdom.

What kind of stories do you like?

Actiony stuff I guess. One of the reasons I liked Ender's Game had to do with it almost feeling like a shounen series.

 

[Branduil]

Song of Fire and Ice, Mistborn trilogy, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Snow Crash, Dune, The Grimnoir Chronicles, Discworld, Wheel of Time, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Dresden Files, and a bunch of stuff in my college's sci-fi and fantasy classes that I can't remember.

Next on the list is Keys to the Kingdom.

Which ones did you like?

 

[Crash Station]

Which ones did you like?

None of them. There were parts of Mistborn and Snow Crash that I kind of enjoyed, but 95% of the time, I was bored.

Also, forgot to put down The Road.

 

[Branduil]

None of them. There were parts of Mistborn and Snow Crash that I kind of enjoyed, but 95% of the time, I was bored.

Also, forgot to put down The Road.

Maybe you should try short story collections if longer books bore you.

Also, certain Choose-your-own Adventure books can be pretty fun, even if they're intended for a younger audience.

 

[Jintor]

You didn't like Discworld? Dead to me.

 

[BriseFlots]

Song of Fire and Ice, Mistborn trilogy, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Snow Crash, Dune, The Grimnoir Chronicles, Discworld, Wheel of Time, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Dresden Files, and a bunch of stuff in my college's sci-fi and fantasy classes that I can't remember.

Next on the list is Keys to the Kingdom.



Actiony stuff I guess. One of the reasons I liked Ender's Game had to do with it almost feeling like a shounen series.

You may like this author: Gemell. I　advice Legend or Waylander first. If you liked Snow Crash, you might like Anathem from the same author, though it is a little more difficult to read. In your Fantasy line, you might want to look at this series: The Malazan book of the Fallen.

As for actionny stuff, though it is old, I would recommend the Three Musketeers. it is the book that made me love literrature. Alexandre Dumas in general is a good author.
Staying in classics, you might like Romance of the Three Kigdoms if you have a remote interest in Asia (China) medieval era.

None of them. There were parts of Mistborn and Snow Crash that I kind of enjoyed, but 95% of the time, I was bored.

Also, forgot to put down The Road.

Then disregard what I just wrote. I let it there for other that might be interested though.

 

[wonzo]

Encouragement of Climb 10

If there's one show that never fails to disappoint this season, it's definitely this one. Everything's just so upbeat and nice to look at.

Puchimas! 48

I didn't intend for my admission to be proud. Literature is necessary for intellectual development and I consumed the classics endlessly in my youth, I'm just facing a combination of burnout from college and (this is going to sound stupid) I've been stuck in a phase where reading something really good depresses me because I wanted to be a writer but didn't have the talent. I have a longstanding problem with severe jealousy that manifests negatively in a lot of my behaviors and habits.

Maybe I subconsciously enjoy anime because its overall mediocrity as a medium doesn't threaten me ._.

If that's the case then I can't think of a better way to get back into reading than with this book.

 

[Milamber]

None of them. There were parts of Mistborn and Snow Crash that I kind of enjoyed, but 95% of the time, I was bored.

Also, forgot to put down The Road.

Why!?

 

[BriseFlots]

You didn't like Discworld? Dead to me.

Well he doesn't like a lot of stuff.

I agree with Branduil suggestion though, it could totally work.

 

[Crash Station]

Maybe you should try short story collections if longer books bore you.

Also, certain Choose-your-own Adventure books can be pretty fun, even if they're intended for a younger audience.

I actually have liked a few short stories by Poe. I should look into more of those. Lovecraft do any short stories?

Why!?

Way too much politics and planning.

Also, Vin is a bitch.

 

[Branduil]

I actually have liked a few short stories by Poe. I should look into more of those. Lovecraft do any short stories?

LOL, Lovecraft did tons and tons of short stories. If you liked Poe you should definitely check it out, especially since his collected works are public domain and freely available on Amazon or anywhere else.

 

[Risette]

buy a Kindle

 

[BriseFlots]

I actually have liked a few short stories by Poe. I should look into more of those. Lovecraft do any short stories?

Yes and they are great. Read the Cthullu stuff.

 

[Jintor]

He was also a humongous racist, but his writing is still pretty cool

 

[Crash Station]

Huh, for some weird reason I thought the Cthullu stuff were actual novels. Well I'm dumb. Gotta remember to check that out.

And yeah, I'm aware of the guy's racism. There was like a dog with the N word for a name in one of his stories, right?

 

[Branduil]

Yes and they are great. Read the Cthullu stuff.

Lots of his pre-Cthulhu stuff is good too. At the very least, the ones that aren't are still short. Of course his formula becomes obvious after reading just a few, but formulaic isn't bad if the execution is good.

Huh, for some weird reason I thought the Cthullu stuff were actual novels. Well I'm dumb. Gotta remember to check that out.

And yeah, I'm aware of the guy's racism. There was like a dog with the N word for a name in one of his stories, right?

It's like a lot of older genre writing where you'll just be reading a regular story and out of nowhere, whoa, casual racism.

 

[duckroll]

Hay guyz wat da feelz bout Heartcatch Director takin' ov'r ya omegaz?

NEWS HAS ARRIVED!

- Umakoshi only returns for the final episode (ep51), storyboarded and directed by the series director.

- Yoshida is writing both ep50 and 51.

- Ep52 is the start of the new series with new staff....

Ep52 (Series 2 Ep1) staff:

Director/Storyboard - Tatsuya Nagamine (Heartcatch Precure, One Piece Film Z, Beet the Vandal Hunter)
Script - Yoshimi Narita (Beet the Vandal Hunter)
Animation Director - Yoshitaka Yashima


Infoz: http://i.imgur.com/vg06DYP.jpg

 

[wonzo]

Hay guyz wat da feelz bout Heartcatch Director takin' ov'r ya omegaz?

I doubt even they could save this trainwreck of a series.

 

[Dresden]

I actually have liked a few short stories by Poe. I should look into more of those. Lovecraft do any short stories?

Lovecraft, bleh. They have their appeal but I have no idea how you'd handle their ponderous, leaden prose if you're so bored by books in general.

Try these three short stories:

I Have Placed My Sickness Upon You, Karin Tidbeck

Symbols and Signs, Vladimir Nabakov

The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate, Ted Chiang

 

[BriseFlots]

Lots of his pre-Cthulhu stuff is good too. At the very least, the ones that aren't are still short. Of course his formula becomes obvious after reading just a few, but formulaic isn't bad if the execution is good.

I'll take a look at it then. I only read the Cthulhu out of curiosity and really enjoyed it so I'll probably like it too. Thanks for advice.

 

[Crash Station]

Lovecraft, bleh. They have their appeal but I have no idea how you'd handle their ponderous, leaden prose if you're so bored by books in general.

Try these three short stories:

I Have Placed My Sickness Upon You, Karin Tidbeck

Symbols and Signs, Vladimir Nabakov

The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate, Ted Chiang

Cool, I'll check them out over the weekend.

 

[duckroll]

Some airing information:
Majestic Prince - 4/4 22:30 Tokyo MX - New slot
Photo Kano - 4/4 25:55 TBS - Taking over Haganai NEXT
Attack on Titan - 4/6 Late Night MBS - No exact time yet, Anime Shower slot (26:00 to 28:00)
Gargantia - 4/7 22:00 Tokyo MX - Taking over Lovelive!

Bonus:
Railgun S - 4/12 24:30 Tokyo MX - Taking over Jojo, which means Jojo 26 can air on 4/5

 

[Articalys]

It looks like the Danganronpa anime is confirmed for a Summer season show.

 

[dimb]

Somehow the mystery of the full episode title is better than anything they could have come up with.

 

[duckroll]

I doubt even they could save this trainwreck of a series.

I hear the new villain is a loli.

 

[Dresden]

I hear the new villain is a loli.

Will watch.

 

[BriseFlots]

I hear the new villain is a loli.

We should make a thread in gaming about it. They'll love that.

 

[Steroyd]

Are you kidding me? The song was set up in the very first episode. The first episode! What more do you want?

Read his post again, it says boys rule, girls drool.

Tamako Market - 09

Turns into blob!

This episode was just plain adorable all round, especially Tamako's dad.

 

[sonicmj1]

Both movies were awful.

Koizora is super famous though.

I have a copy of excerpted Koizora translated by higher-level Japanese students in a college class I took, and it sucks, regardless of whatever translation issues there are. The story is just this ridiculous litany of suffering and terrible soap-opera drama. And all this misfortune and pain is weirdly fetishized as being what it means to live and to love. I can't believe this was a bestseller.

Here's an exerpt. To set it up, the narrator and protagonist, Mika, is being harrassed via text message by Saki, the jealous ex-girfriend of the protagonist's current boyfriend, Hiro. Saki had already set some guys up to rape Mika. Hiro later found them and... kicked them in the head after making them apologize. I guess cops don't exist in this world.

Anyway...

But I, who had lost all of my confidence and was mentally suffering, ended up in a hospital.
My stomach throbbed with pain, and I was throwing up over and over again.
It was probably because of stress that my stomach became this way, wasn’t it?
I only told Manami, my best friend from middle school, that I had entered into a hospital.
I lied to Hiro and my school friends and told them that I had caught a cold and would be out for a little while.
While I was in the hospital, the messages from Saki didn’t stop at all.
Although I had turned it off, I always thought I could hear my phone’s ringtone ringing.
I kept thinking about the memories of Saki and Hiro and I thought I would be driven wild with jealousy.
In such a condition my stomach couldn’t possibly be healed, so my stay in the hospital extended longer than I thought.
It was tough, so tough…and I had no idea what to do.
I want this to be easy and not have to think of anything.
What do I have to do to make this easy.
Making sure that my parents weren’t near, I grabbed a fruit knife that was close to where I was.
I want this to be easier. I want this to be easier.
I want this to be easier right now.
I put the edge of the knife to my wrist softly and slowly began to cut…
“What are you doing!?!”
All of a sudden, Manami, who had likely come to visit me, was standing near the bed, and threw the knife I had been holding forcefully onto the table.
“Don’t you know that if you died it would hurt a lot of people? I don’t think I could live on with the pain I’d feel if you died.”
Manami hugged my body tightly and cried along with me.
The dark red blood dripping slowly from my wrist brought back memories of that hard day when I was raped.
I remembered the words Hiro said: “I’ll protect you with my life.”
It was hard and it was painful, but people who would cry with me like Manami were with me, and as long as someone like Hiro was protecting me, I felt that I could do my best and live on.
If I thought about it really…I might not have really wanted to die. I might have just wanted someone to understand the struggle that I was going through.
Manami went to the convenience store to buy some antiseptic and bandages and then took care of me. The wound was less serious than I thought.
“You can hide it with this, but you better not do it again” she said and gave me a white wristband.
I’m really glad that Manami was there.
Thank you for saving me.

It was Tatsuya who gently encouraged me after I left the hospital. However, Hiro was jealous of our relationship and blamed the innocent Tatsuya for the crime. As a result, Tatsuya was forced to drop out of school. I was really angry at first, but then forgave Hiro after he apologized to Tatsuya.

There are a lot of students doing club activities on the grounds.
The library is illuminated by the bright light of the setting sun shining in from the window.
I stand on my tiptoes to kiss Hiro, but I can’t reach because there’s too much difference between our heights.
Smiling softly, Hiro lifts me up onto the desk and presses our lips together while cupping my cheek with the palm of his hand
It’s a long, warm, tender kiss.
Hiro’s hand rolls up the skirt of my uniform and caresses my thigh.
“No… someone outside will see us!” I weakly push away Hiro’s hand and make a small protest.
“So let’s show them,” Hiro murmurs in a low, gravelly voice.
“No, we can’t…”
Hiro’s tongue enters my mouth and cuts off my words. Before I know it I stop resisting, and reciprocate.
I hear loud laughter from the corridor beyond the door and wake up from my dream-like consciousness, opening my eyes. Come to think of it, it’s already dark outside and no one is out on the field. It’s just about time for students out doing club activities to come back to the classrooms and change.
“Hiro, this isn’t good, someone’s gonna come!” I button up my uniform shirt and sit up.
“If you speak too loud they might hear us… so don’t say anything.” Hiro pushes me down again and brushes his lips against my neck.
“Hiro, you’re mean.”
He shuts my mouth with a kiss.
If we say anything, someone might find us… it’s thrilling.
Somehow the smell of old books in the library makes me act honest to my feelings.
“I was jealous. I was scared that you’d be taken from me. I only think of myself… I didn’t think he’d quit school, and I didn’t know what to do… I’m really sorry.”
“Yeah, I know… I’m sorry too.”
We had taken away any future for Tatsuya. That is an incredibly serious reality. No matter how hard we try to make up for it, it’s a crime that can never be forgiven. We will carry that burden with us for the rest of our lives, and together vowed strongly that we would never forget it.
Jealously is proof of love. However, sometimes those feelings are so great you aren’t able to see what’s around you. It’s because we feel so much regret that we won’t repeat the same thing again.
We continue to love one another in the library. When we become one in the library that time after school, I begin to cry again.
“Why are you crying?” Hiro asks worriedly.
“I’m so happy…” Even at a time like this, I can only feel an overwhelming sense of happiness. Keeping the selfish emotions inside me under control, I tightly grab onto Hiro’s arm.
“Stupid! Mika, you’re such a crybaby.”
We look at each other awkwardly.
Hiro was innocent, and so warm…
I wanted to be like this, together forever.
I thought that from the bottom of my heart.
It was the first time I cried from happiness.

This whole section is unabridged.

Two million people bought this book.

 

[BGBW]

Are you kidding me? The song was set up in the very first episode. The first episode! What more do you want?

It's DTL. It's quite obvious what he wants more of.

 

[OceanBlue]

I have a copy of excerpted Koizora translated by higher-level Japanese students in a college class I took, and it sucks, regardless of whatever translation issues there are. The story is just this ridiculous litany of suffering and terrible soap-opera drama. And all this misfortune and pain is weirdly fetishized as being what it means to live and to love. I can't believe this was a bestseller.

Here's an exerpt. To set it up, the narrator and protagonist, Mika, is being harrassed via text message by Saki, the jealous ex-girfriend of the protagonist's current boyfriend, Hiro. Saki had already set some guys up to rape Mika. Hiro later found them and... kicked them in the head after making them apologize. I guess cops don't exist in this world.

Anyway...



This whole section is unabridged.

Two million people bought this book.

My eyes started glazing over when I was halfway through the first paragraph, and by the end of the first paragraph I figured I had enough. I don't even know what to say. Suicide and "I don’t think I could live on with the pain I’d feel if you died." aside, are all cellphone novels so fast-paced?

 

[Kagami]

Picked up some music and a book.


The K-ON!! soundtrack, and the first two Strike Witches Movie character song CDs.
There's supposed to be three more of these SW CDs coming, but still no date announced for them.
Most of the K-ON!/!! music is available on download sale so I didn't have to mess with shipping CDs from Japan, but for some reason, in the particular case of the second season soundtrack, they decided to put a few bonus songs only on the physical CDs, soooo here they are.



RO-KYU-BU! "pure elements" album CD, and the guidebook Ro-Kyu-Bu! no Subete!! ("Everything Ro-Kyu-Bu!").
"We'll show you everything there is to see of elementary-schoolers...!!" says the outer sash.

This book turned out to be really packed for only 1700 yen.
It's got a collection of virtually every official illustration published up to this point, photos and interviews with the VA/singer group "RO-KYU-BU!" (not to be confused with the name of the franchise, "Ro-Kyu-Bu!", lol), novel summaries and illustrations, character bios, a rundown on the TV anime episodes, anime character designs and background/scenery artwork, a complete strategy guide to the first PSP game, info on the upcoming PSP sequel and also the mobile phone social game (which is probably crap like all of those things are), an interview with the novel author, a bonus episode of the "Visual Ro-Kyu-Bu!" illustrated short stories that run in Dengeki Moeoh, a bonus chapter of the manga adaptation, and a bonus chapter of the 4-panel manga.
Anyone who likes RKB and can read Japanese won't regret getting this.

 

[Branduil]

I have a copy of excerpted Koizora translated by higher-level Japanese students in a college class I took, and it sucks, regardless of whatever translation issues there are. The story is just this ridiculous litany of suffering and terrible soap-opera drama. And all this misfortune and pain is weirdly fetishized as being what it means to live and to love. I can't believe this was a bestseller.

Here's an exerpt. To set it up, the narrator and protagonist, Mika, is being harrassed via text message by Saki, the jealous ex-girfriend of the protagonist's current boyfriend, Hiro. Saki had already set some guys up to rape Mika. Hiro later found them and... kicked them in the head after making them apologize. I guess cops don't exist in this world.

Anyway...



This whole section is unabridged.

Two million people bought this book.

 

[sonicmj1]

My eyes started glazing over when I was halfway through the first paragraph, and by the end of the first paragraph I figured I had enough. I don't even know what to say. Suicide and "I don’t think I could live on with the pain I’d feel if you died." aside, are all cellphone novels so fast-paced?

Since this is the only one I know, I can't say for sure. However, considering they're written in serial format on older cellphones (Koizora was written in 2005), I suspect they're all paced rather briskly.

 

[Dresden]

I have a copy of excerpted Koizora translated by higher-level Japanese students in a college class I took, and it sucks, regardless of whatever translation issues there are. The story is just this ridiculous litany of suffering and terrible soap-opera drama. And all this misfortune and pain is weirdly fetishized as being what it means to live and to love. I can't believe this was a bestseller.

Here's an exerpt. To set it up, the narrator and protagonist, Mika, is being harrassed via text message by Saki, the jealous ex-girfriend of the protagonist's current boyfriend, Hiro. Saki had already set some guys up to rape Mika. Hiro later found them and... kicked them in the head after making them apologize. I guess cops don't exist in this world.

Anyway...



This whole section is unabridged.

Two million people bought this book.