The Society for the Prevention of Slanderous Grammatical Errors

[Doc Rocco]

Introducing...

The Society for the Prevention of Slanderous Grammatical Errors
Motto coming soon!

The Society for the Prevention of Slanderous Grammatical Errors will be a place TFF members can come to enjoy discussions about various books, texts, English and other languages.

Entry requirements
Prospective members must PM Doc Rocco, Gobble Vamp and Tiger Lily. The PM must contain a 100-150 word piece on one of the following topics;

1. Your favourite Final Fantasy game
2. How English impacts your life
3. How a text has impacted your life
4. Favourite book?

This is just to get to know about your style of writing, and see how good your English skills are. They'll be looked over by myself, Lily and Froggie and we'll PM you.

Club Activities

The Society for the Prevention of Slanderous Grammatical Errors will
-Talk about various books, plays and texts.
-Discuss languages, whether it's good old English or other languages.
-Perhaps in the future, help other members seeking to improve in various areas of writing.

Rules
RULES
-All posts must obey TFF rules
-In this thread, member's posts should be the best they can be. However, we're not going to kick you out for one little mistake.
-Haitch is the devil. WE MUST EXORCISE. Anyone who shows signs of being possessed/being a witch will be trialled and hanged. Salem? Ohhh, yes.

Members
Doc Rocco
Anachlirium
Tiger Lily
Fishie
Zeromune
Mistress Sheena
Final Fantasy Fan Cid
Martin
Nick
Refieth
Halie
Govinda
Lunasa

[Alice]

Ah, I guess I shall do the first post then.


Entire post was edited due to how bad it was.

Some of you guys do know when people use chat speak throughout an entire conversation but then call you a nerd for using grammar? I honestly think that's...kinda annoying. I mean, how does using grammar and correct spelling make you a nerd? IMO, typing like this is easier, but as said, that's just me. The instant labelling of being a 'nerd' for using such just seems ridiculous to me. What do you guys think?

[Victoria]

-Colloquialisms are discouraged.
-You may NOT make negative statements about a text WITHOUT evidence to back it up. For example "Movie Y is a substandard movie because the dialogue, film techniques and acting are all terrible" is preferable to "Movie Y sucks."
-ALL posts outside the club (where applicable) are to be of a high standard.

Point #1 - People have to be formal, arrogant, and stuffy with every post in this thread? I don't think so. Informal =/= chatspeak and/or idiot talk. Granted, I admit I had to look up what Colloquial meant. All I'm saying is that I do not agree with this rule. I can see it becoming a fault. Though at the same time, discouraged =/= not allowed.

Point #2 - While the latter sounds more intelligent, it means the overall message of the prior, because both do not say why Movie Y sucks ass. I know I'm just being a smartass with this one, though. I just like to point out technicalities.

Point #3 - I'm sorry that I'm going to have to annul this rule. Your rules do not extend outside of this sole thread and into the whole entire forum. You are not TFF staff members nor are you administrators of any kind. Outside of this thread, people can talk and type however they wish. Let me reiterate that you cannot extend your rules outside of this particular thread.


Thank you. Resume about your business.


PS: You may want to change your club name. No offense, but it sounds rather pompous and arrogant, and not very friendly. That's just my opinion, though, and I've already talked to Lily about this.

PPS: Oh, by the way. Why do you have two member lists? I think the latter is just redundant.

[Doc Rocco]

Point #1: I get where you're coming from. When talking about colloquialisms, we are talking about words that aren't actual words, but are used in mainstream society. Words like "Hellos", or "gay" referring to something bad.
And no, no one has to be pompous. Zeromune's post is perfectly okay and what we want to encourage.

Point #2: Rectified.

Point #3: Sorry, we didn't realise we were contravening Forum rules. Is it okay to say we would like our members to set an example outside of here?

We don't plan to change the name of the club. We feel it is perfectly fine, and is really just tongue in cheek anyway. The name also gives a fairly accurate description of the club as well!

Onto business then! I'd like to announce our first contest: Come up with a slogan or motto for the club! Lily will be judge for the contest, and the winner shall be promoted to Aristocrat of Adjective Adherence. Each member can submit up to three of their own slogans.

Also, I'll be absent for a week, so Lily and Froggie shall be your masters until then. Bye for now! And may grammar be with you!

[Victoria]

Yes, it is fine to set examples on the outside forums. And thanks for clearing up which colloquialisms you meant. That explained a lot.

Edit: Whoa.. I was talking to Lily and I found out I got denied invitation because my grammar is horrible? Wow. Isn't the whole purpose of the club to help people with grammar problems? Ah well. Whatever. ... Hey, are smilies banned, too?

[Alice]

Smilies? As in the 'lol' smilies? No, they are not banned. I asked Rocco about that earlier on. They're pretty much well allowed in here, thankfully. Personally, if they weren't, I'd think that's a step too far. I don't really see why they should be banned either. Oh well, at least we can use them.


EDIT: I've got my entries for the contest ready here now:

"Bringing grammar into a new light."

"Stopping incorrect grammar since 2008."

"Because it just had to happen."

Mmhm...

[FF Ace Cid]

As the newest member of The Society for the Prevention of Slanderous Grammatical Errors, I feel that it is expected of me to introduce myself in the most presentable way possible, nice to be here with you all.

Now that the address is out of the way, I would like to perhaps come up with a slogan. Here are some of my ideas.

"Putting the grammar back in grammatically correct speech."

"Constructively criticizing and correcting common errors, while using alliteration."

I just came up with them, so I might have some more at a later time.

[Govinda]

I have one, it's stolen: 'Eats, shoots and leaves.'

I always liked that. Just removing the comma makes it 'Eats shoots and leaves.' All came from an entry about a panda in a wildlife book which a writer was particularly offended by; so much so that she decided to write a book about incorrect grammar in modern society.

[Doc Rocco]

Welcome Final Fantasy Fan Cid and Pablo Honey! Great to see you here! These entries are all looking good so far.

I'll throw my two cents worth in.
-"Chat speak's worst nightmare"
-"Home of the overly long club name"
-"Valde dictis" which translates Great in words. Latin mottos are always nice.

What book is that? I must read it. It's funny how a single comma can turn a harmless sentence into one talking about a homicidal restaurant goer.

[Victoria]

The book's name actually is Eats, Shoots and Leaves. Pretty interesting, though I haven't read it myself. I'll probably check it out at my work sooner or later.

[Martin]

As a new member I thought it sensible to produce this, my first post in what will hopefully be one of the most productive and expressive clubs. I also look forward to working with you, my colleagues and friends to establish a better standard of linguistics throughout this and the whole of the forum.

Now to business at hand. The competition.

How about:

Dotting the I's and crossing the T's one sentence at a time.
Restoring the forgotten art of correct spelling.
Only through deep-seated thought... and the right lexical choices may we move forward.

Not brilliant but I had to think of something I guess.

Also I'm currently reading the book Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence, often referred in popular culture as Lawrence of Arabia. Although it's a particularly difficult read I shall peruse it further as I have only really breached the first few chapters. The scenery set is pretty fascinating though. I should come back with a full review of the book soon.

[Doc Rocco]

Lovely and wordy, FF Guru. Oh, and welcome to the club! Hopefully the club will be all you have said.

As of late, I haven't been reading as much non-school based literature as I would like to. Exams tend to do that. The last book I read was The Strawberry Picker by Monika Feth. It tells the story of a serial killer and three girls. One of the the three ends up murdered by said killer, and prompts the other two to go about finding her murderer. In the process of finding the killer, however, one of the girls actually ends up going out with him. This leads to all sorts of drama and what not. It was a very good read. In fact, typing this has made me want to read it again. Strange how writing about a text can make you want to read or see it again...

[Dimi]

Originally posted by Doc Rocco
The Strawberry Picker by Monika Feth. It tells the story of a serial killer and three girls. One of the the three ends up murdered by said killer, and prompts the other two to go about finding her murderer. In the process of finding the killer, however, one of the girls actually ends up going out with him. This leads to all sorts of drama and what not. It was a very good read. In fact, typing this has made me want to read it again. Strange how writing about a text can make you want to read or see it again...

This book sounds really interesting, Rocco. You think they would have it out here in the states? I tend to like books that have this suspenseful feel to it. I also like how some books can be extremely climatic in one part of it.

And welcome to the club, FFGuru.

And as for the quotes, I'll edit in mine a bit later. I can't think of any at the moment, but I'll fill them in.

[Martin]

Thanks for the warm welcome. It's very much appreciated!

I find that a lot of the books I want are either very rare or have to be pre-ordered specifically for me, so I usually refrain from doing so. As a result I use eBay shops and Amazon, although I err towards eBay. It's because I have a collection of the Expanded Universe books regarding the Star Wars Universe and they are particularly hard to obtain cheaply over Amazon, whereas I have a rappor with several shop owners who not only discount me but dispatch relatively quickly. That is not to say you won't find it in your local shop Fish, but it's always a fairly reliable back-up if necessary

I would like to ask, have any of our members ever read any published works of James Luceno? He is an American author who is perhaps most prominent in the Expanded Universe collection. If so, I just wondered how you found his writing style? I must admit that although he writes about subject material I'm particularly interested in within the SW Universe, I find his work a little overbearing, in that he cannot seem to write particularly free-flowing pieces. I refer to the recent book Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader in that not only does he seem to get bogged down in a more.. not so much irrelevant, but perhaps unnecessary storyline (the pursuit of the rogue Jedi after Order 66 and less on Vader), he also seems to take liberties in the SW canon itself in that he seems to indicate the plot to destroy the Jedi was Vader's idea - a stark contrast to what I've read from other Expanded Universe authors.

Please feel free to contribute if you've read the book or any of his work.

[Doc Rocco]

I've never read it. Hehe. I have started my re-read of The Strawberry Picker. It really is a fantastic book, especially after being translated. It must have been even more gripping in its original German. The characters are very real, and Feth gives them such distinct personalities that you can predict what they are going to do next. Yet, she manages to keep you hooked, wanting to keep reading. Also, the way she changes perspective from character to character also helps you get a real feel for the character, and see the story from a different perspective. She really captures the context of each and every character. When I first bought the book, I read the entire thing in a single afternoon.

Now for some official business. Lily, Froggie and I decided on a total ban of "haitch." No one is to mention it unless they slander it! It is up for discussion. In fact, we welcome the debate! This is all about English, and "haitch" could prove a very interesting topic of discussion. Each side has very avid supporters, and both sides can come up with evidence. Anyway, there you go. Also: If you get the chance, promote the club! We would love as many people as possible to know good grammar and coherent posting is GOOD!

[Victoria]

Okay. Here's a discussion on "haitch." ....What is it? I've never heard of it before.

Edit: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=haitch Says it's an incorrect spelling/pronunciation of "H." ....Wtf? I've never pronounced it like that before.

Edit 2: Lily confirmed it. I texted her. >_>; We pronounce it "eytch", "ey" sounding like "hey" but without the "h". I guess it's pronounced either way, but over here "aitch" sounds like it is from a southern accent.

[Refieth]

Okay, introduction time... I'm Refieth, eleven-year-old slayer of the millions of eBayers who can't spell. "this s a anticue clock perfict for puting on ur mantlepece im sellin it cos it dosent fit on min"... What the heck?!

Anyway, I'd better have a go at that motto competition...

Because l33t and c00l aren't.

Slaying bad grammar since 2008.

Where attenuated asseverations are encouraged even where uncomplicated vocabulary will suffice.

Mine're pretty bad, but I try my best.


As for "haitch"...

"Haitch" is most definitely incorrect. Admittedly, some of the people in my school pronounce it "haitch", but the people in my school... to put it nicely, you wouldn't think English was their first language. Most people pronounce it "eytch" or "aitch", which is undoubtedly the correct pronunciation. Unlike "haitch", which is only used by those with the cranial capacity of an average mouse.

On the subject of books... like FFGuru, most of the books I want are almost impossible to find anywhere. At my school, they used to award you a book (usually a rare or expensive one) if you won the English prize (which I usually did by default, see what I previously said about the others at school), but nowadays the prize for everything is a £15 book token. None of the books I want can be bought with a £15 book token. I don't even try to win anymore. I just let the human embodiments of illiteracy win, because there's no point in me winning anymore.

[Halie]

Introduction? Okay... Hi, I'm Halie.

I don't really know what else to put up there aside from that. Oh, and also, n00bs annoy me. ^^;;

Anyway. All these slogans are great...I can't think of any, myself. I might have a go at it later. But I liked this one:

Because l33t and c00l aren't.

As for pronounciation of the letter H, in my country, we pronounce it 'Haytch'. Either that, or 'Aytch'. Everyone does...whether that's wrong or not, I don't particularly have a clue. But you never know, different countries and origins, different pronounciations. Like Yoghurt for example. In the UK, we pronunce it as 'Y-ogg-hurt', and in America, most people refer to it as 'Y-oh-gurt'.

[Martin]

The books I read come from charity shops or are gifts. If I really want to buy one, I buy it in a proper bookshop. I know it's more expensive, but I don't want bookshops to disappear from the high street. Borders and Waterstones in Glasgow are my little dry libraries on rainy city days, just as the Old Aberdeen Bookshop and the Oxfam Bookshop are when I'm back in the north.

I understand where you're coming from on that front but to be honest I think your usual Waterstones is making enough business; I know mine is. I don't know, to me they seem to be the corporate side of bookselling and I much prefer the smaller backstreet bookshop or market stall. I've bought many a book at two for £1 for example. That's not to say I haven't shopped at them though because let's face it they have a wide range and they are keeping the industry going after all. And they are fairly nice places to relax, get yourself a coffee and while away the hours.

I've just started reading The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton and it will be quite a herculean read by all accounts. I do like my Sci-Fi books and although the rest of his work is rather dire if I may so, the 'Night's Dawn' trilogy has stood out so far. It's not that they're particularly difficult reads, but they are very lengthy and hard to get into. But this seems to be rather simplistic so far, and I hope I'll finish it by the end of next week so I can return to Seven Pillars. I've had to stop that because I can't give it the time it deserves at the moment.

Regarding the 'haitch' debate, I'm atypically English and will pronounce it as such.

And welcome Dystopia and Refieth

[Dragoon_Nick]

Hello everyone, I'm a grammar adept since 19 years already, and i look forward into partaking this fight against faulty grammar.

I'm Nick, and I'm honored to be a disciple of Froggie...one of the biggest net word-o's out there.

As far as the slogan goes, i thought about a few;

"Word! To your sentence..."

"I got two words for you. Grammar rules!"

As for the "Haitch" sound, i also pronounce it as "Haitch" although i was raised as a french mothertongue boy. Quite frankly, it should be accepted at oxford...

[Doc Rocco]

Welcome Nick, Dystopia and Refieth! Good to have you guys here!

On the topic of "haitch", I obviously disapprove of its use. In Australia, one of the common excuses for saying it is the fact the letter makes a "huh" (I'm not sure how to write it. Hehe.) sound, so it needs that sound at the beginning. That is incorrect. The letters s, l, m and n, just to name a few, are all examples of letters which do not begin with their sound. I'm sure you can all appreciate how silly that sounds, as those of you who say haitch seem to say it because you were raised to?

[Govinda]

I understand where you're coming from on that front but to be honest I think your usual Waterstones is making enough business; I know mine is. I don't know, to me they seem to be the corporate side of bookselling and I much prefer the smaller backstreet bookshop or market stall. I've bought many a book at two for £1 for example. That's not to say I haven't shopped at them though because let's face it they have a wide range and they are keeping the industry going after all. And they are fairly nice places to relax, get yourself a coffee and while away the hours.

I hardly ever buy from bigger shops; like I said, I'd say at least 85% of all the literature I own was bought in a charity shop. I have no bones at all about buying a bashed up book for 50p a go; in fact, I'd say I prefer it, just because of some of the things I've found in them. In the back of my copy of Life of Pi I found a series of letters from a man in India to, I assume, the previous owner of the book. They were lovely letters, and one even had an ace recipe for Indian cider in it which I am determined to road test when I have the time. The things people use as bookmarks, really...in The Blind Assassin I found a letter in an envelope about halfway through the book. I still remember it. 'Come and talk to me soon. You know what I'm going to say so there's no point in writing it down just now. J x. How ace?!

But sometimes you just can't find that right book in the charity shops, at which point I go to Waterstones or Borders waving my student card about and praying for discounts. But I will not buy from the internet unless it's an specific book for Uni that I'm after, which are always overpriced in shops and cannot be found in smaller ones as they are turgent tomes that, half the time, represent nothing more than a waste of trees. Then, Amazon becomes my good pal.

I finished Murakami's Norwegian Wood this morning, and I haven't worked out quite what it is about him yet that makes him such a master. I think I'm content to leave it at that, though. Always knew what was going to happen to Naoko. I felt sad, though, and happy at the same time; Toru finally free to stop stringing himself, Midori, Naoko and Reiko along. I became attached to the people Murakami has made. As such, I'm now on active lookout for the name Murakami on my upcoming booksearches. If you want your world to feel a little magic for a while, a little philosophical and bathed in the gentlest rain, read Norwegian Wood. It's a hard book to read well, but the clues are there if you stop yourself from thinking that all the writer does is moan on behalf of his character; but the fact that he can do that at all hints at the life he gives these imaginary real people.

I started Stephen Fry's The Liar this afternoon because I haven't got a job yet, and thus have nothing better to do than read stories and then write stories to distraction. I love Fry. So CLEVER. And so unbearably funny. I am going to savour this one.

[Doc Rocco]

I hardly ever buy from bigger shops; like I said, I'd say at least 85% of all the literature I own was bought in a charity shop. I have no bones at all about buying a bashed up book for 50p a go; in fact, I'd say I prefer it, just because of some of the things I've found in them. In the back of my copy of Life of Pi I found a series of letters from a man in India to, I assume, the previous owner of the book. They were lovely letters, and one even had an ace recipe for Indian cider in it which I am determined to road test when I have the time. The things people use as bookmarks, really...in The Blind Assassin I found a letter in an envelope about halfway through the book. I still remember it. 'Come and talk to me soon. You know what I'm going to say so there's no point in writing it down just now. J x. How ace?!

I try to avoid the big stores as well. Our little town of five thousand used to have a bookstore, but closed down because it just didn't have the buying power of the larger bookstores. Instead of going to the store and asking them to order in the book they wanted, people would order online from A&R or Dymocks instead. So I wont go to bigger stores on principle. Unless I absolutely have to, or I am in Perth for a holiday. That little bookstore was great. It also sold second hand books, and I bought the entire Chronicles of Narnia for $5, and a whole host of Enid Blyton books for $20. The Narnia books came with a little Christmas card for a young boy telling him to enjoy the wonders of Narnia, and the Blyton books had child scribble on blank pages.

I love Blyton. I grew up on her books. I still love reading her as a teenager. The Magic Faraway Tree would have to be my favourite series, with Jo, Bessie and Fanny. I refuse to call them by their politically correct names. Dame Slap is NOT Dame Snap!!! And thinking of changing George's character in the Famous Five! What is the world coming to? These books were written in a different era, so of course the language is going to be different! If we change the stories we will never be able to appreciate the styles of times gone by. Do they change Shakespeare because Tybalt and his aunt are having an affair? No! Yet a tomboy is way too offensive! Stupid PC Brigade...

[Govinda]

All this talk of books...should we do a survey m'dears, to garner the reading tastes of our find little group? We could even get some kind of thing on the go at some point where we read the same thing and then compare notes. I don't even want to think about the logistics of that. It's 3am. On with the show!

Please name your top three authors and your reasons for choosing them, if you would oblige (because asking for only one would just be unfair).

Your top three books?

Any books that you really loved when you were a bit younger?

The best thing you've read in 2008 is...?

What does reading do for you? What do you like about it, why do you indulge in it?

I'll have a go at answering but considering the time it took for me to articulate the questions properly I do not anticipate this going all too well. Fag break and will then get back to it.

Okay. Allez-y.

My top three authors, consistently, are Margaret Atwood, Douglas Coupland and Louis de Bernieres. I love Atwood for her astoundingly beautiful turn of phrase and for the way she can make the ordinary extraordinary with just sentences with stories like Cat's Eye and The Blind Assassin. Her metaphors ring like the most wonderful bells you've ever heard in The Handmaids Tale and Oryx and Crake, and in all her books she lets her imagination out in such inspiring ways. A chauvanist dystopia ringing with the Bible in The Handmaid, a warning about how we toy with love and nature in Oryx and Crake...books like The Blind Assassin can seem so simple if you don't pay attention to her clues. A true master.

I love Douglas Coupland for his ability to take the world as we see it, and tells us just what that means. He can turn three people living in the desert into an engaging essay about where humanity is going; use the story of four teenagers and their dead friend to warn us against complacency; explain beauty to us with a story of anonymity; always with a rapier wit and such an accessible voice. He's never stuffy, never uptight, always speaks to you like you know him. Yes, JPod sucked balls. But he can be forgiven for books like Generation X, All Families Are Psychotic, Eleanor Rigby, Girlfriend in a Coma...every time I read one of his books it instantly becomes my favourite of his novels.

And Louis de Bernieres I love for his imagination. Stories with a vague political allegory told in the voice of Saki with more imagination and lustre than that man had time to create. History made human. The same cutting cynicism coupled with boundlessly happy images. A city full of huge, magical black panthers and a priest who says the Bible, by logic, is one of Satan's lies and therefore should be discarded, while the rebels press in from the jungle? Yes please. Always with the same humour and the achingly intelligent, witty turn of phrase that makes me think of Saki. The sheer emotion he projects, without ever having to resort to horrible, flowery and needlessly flamboyent prose. So GOOD.

My three favourite books are 1984 by George Orwell, Generation X by Douglas Coupland, and The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood. Honourable mentions to The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman and Captain Corelli's Mandolin by de Bernieres; also, the entire Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, anything by Terry Pratchett, Crime and Punishment and Mr Sherlock Holmes. I love them all for various reasons; but individual imagination, humour, voice and metaphor are things I always love to read.

As a kid, I loved Blyton. I think I read every Famous Five novel. As I got a bit older, I really loved Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy; I read them when I was about 13-14, I think. They were my transition between younger books and older literature, and for that I love them. I have always detested Harry Potter.

Best read of 08 has been Crime and Punishment, which I finished in January. Joyce's Ulysses comes a close second.

I love readinf because it makes my brain wake up. Without it, I start to kind of wilt mentally. I consume books when I have time to do so, and even when I don't. I don't know how many I've read or have picked up in the charity shops. Without reading my conversation and ability to hold a train of thought take a sharp turn downwards.



Well. I felt like talking about books. Sorry if it makes little to no sense. Bedtime now. Night night loves.

[Doc Rocco]

Please name your top three authors and your reasons for choosing them, if you would oblige (because asking for only one would just be unfair).
Well, I love the writers of Norse mythology. I LOVE Norse mythology. The epic sagas, the strange and wonderful characters, the abstract concepts they have in there… I love the idea of the world being divided into nine different areas in a giant ash tree.

As for the other two, I can’t decide. This question is cruel. I can’t think who I like the most out of my top authors. I have a hard time listing them as it is! It’s like asking me which parent I like better. It depends what mood I am in.

Your top three books?
My Encyclopaedia Mythology because I love all things mythological. It has the stories of Greek, Roman and Norse mythology, and articles detailing all aspects of those mythologies. Although not really a book, I loved a Streetcar Named Desire. It was a great story, even if it was a little dark. As it’s a play, the stage directions help you create a sharper image in your mind, and really get a feel for what’s going on.

Can I defer my third book? I really love all the books I own, each for their own reason. I’m a book nerd as well. Hehe. I should answer the next question properly...

Any books that you really loved when you were a bit younger?
Anything by Enid Blyton. I could read her forever as a child, and still can. The Magic Faraway Tree series were the first series of books I can remember being read to me, along with Noddy and other series. Once I was able to read by myself, I progressed onto more complex books such as Famous Five and Secret Seven.
The best thing you've read in 2008 is...?
The Strawberry Picker. I talk about that book way too much. That just goes to show how much I love it.

What does reading do for you? What do you like about it, why do you indulge in it?
Reading is how I like to relax. My idea of a perfect day is waking up around eleven, have some brunch (I love that word), shower, find a comfortable spot and read with a really big pot of tea to drink throughout my reading session. That is my idea of bliss. Being able to read like that, comfortable and at peace really soothes and calms me. I can just zone out and escape, so when I return to reality I am in a slightly out-of-it state which makes me pleasant and slightly more tolerable.

I also love to escape into a place where everything is grammatically correct, a place where I find someone with a passion for English, who has made sure their work is a piece of art.

[Martin]

Please name your top three authors and your reasons for choosing them, if you would oblige (because asking for only one would just be unfair).

It's hard to narrow it down to three but if I had to choose I'd say T. E. Lawrence, Hugh Brogan and perhaps Douglas Adams. Lawrence in particular, perhaps it would be fair to say that he didn't have a great amount published but that only serves to make what he had written all the more interesting and makes me more appreciative of it. Seven Pillars of Wisdom was one of the best books I've ever read even if it was very hard to understand in parts, but I had a vested interest in the story to begin with. And The Mint is a very early case of mental projection: it's a fascinating outlook into the mind of a clearly affected individual.

Brogan has a knack of writing in such a way he sounds semi-sarcastic and yet also completely to the point. He's an academic writer so his books are targeted at History students and as such non-fiction, but even though what he speaks is largely truth and interpretation, he manages to put it across in a way that speaks to me. It's almost a story, but yet told from a critical perspective. I recommend anyone read his book on JFK.

And I don't think I need to say much about Doug. The world took him far too young. The Hitchhiker's series obviously gets a mention here, because it gives a free lesson in writing truly laugh-out-loud science-fiction humour, but I go beyond that. I love the Dirk Gently series more perhaps, sure Hitchhiker's will claim the fame and rightly so, but it really deserves a better mention in the literary circles.

Your top three books?

Couldn't possibly say because it does tend to fluctuate fairly regularly. I would say I'm loving a lot of Arthur Miller works though, in particular, The Crucible and A View From The Bridge and maybe I'd put Death of a Salesman in too.

Any books that you really loved when you were a bit younger?

Ha I'd be taking Doc Rocco's route here. I used to love the Enid Blytons, but in particular the Wishing Chair series. I had a mass collection of those stories, however I don't think they'd be classed as too politically-correct these days. For those who are not aware, the owners' of the chair, Mollie and Peter share it with a Pixie... named c h i n k y. I kid you not.
That and I used to love all the Roald Dahl stories too such as The BFG, Danny, Champion of the World and The Twits.

The best thing you've read in 2008 is...?

Hard to say. But I'd definitely put Seven Pillars up there.

What does reading do for you? What do you like about it, why do you indulge in it?

For me, it's pure escapism. I like to read to escape to a world not my own, free from the responsibilities and hardships we all face on a daily basis. I also like to read to put myself in a different mindset: for example if I read a book like Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, I would be transported to pre Civil-War America. I need to get away from it all sometimes.

[Refieth]

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for my recent inactivity here. Basically, it was due partly to illness, partly to school, and also due to me forgetting to bring a laptop on holiday. At the moment, I'm using a public computer, but I will definitely be back for good on the 20th. I am so sorry...
Secondly, I'm going to try and answer a few of these topics. Sorry if my answers are a bit rushed, I'm already running up a huge bill here...

Any books that you really loved when you were a bit younger?

Without a doubt, Harry Potter. As a nine-year old intrigued by magic, mystery and fantastic beasts, that series was the best I had ever read. Yes, I know... what would that boy at my school say about this? Of course, I would never use such colloquialisms myself... "nooby". I was certainly a bit "nooby" when I was younger.

I would answer the others if I had more time, but rest assured, at least two more of those topics will be answered when I return on the 20th. Let's hope you can all hang on without me...

[Victoria]

So, this club dies/moves to Archive today unless some one else posts here within 24 hours, or PMs me after the time, if they want this to stay.

[Victoria]

Welp. It's 4 days later and nothing. So.. it's being moved to Archive. Bye bye~

Edit: All right, since Lily planned a post for this, go ahead~
It's back in action!

Although, may I make a slight suggestion? Perhaps you should edit the intro post to not come off so...pompous'ish. If we're going to help people with their grammar, we need to be more humble and polite. Just saying.

[Tiger Lily]

Ahahaha. Um. Yeah. Welcome to my first post in my own stinking club.

Har har, I've got a rant. This is a rant that I've wanted to rant for a looong time. Hem hem.

Firstly: The use of apostrophes. Does anyone else want to tear their eyes out when they see something like "CD's" or "DVD's"? Or "Those cat's are cute"? How about "The dragon pulled it's tail closer to it's body."? Even if "it's" IS technically possessive, for reasons that I cannot remember, it is incorrect! D=

These (and many more!) aggravate me to no end.

Apostrophes are for contractions and possessive. Nothing else. v_v

Secondly: The phrase "Could care less". This really irks me. The phrase is really "Couldn't care less".

Scenario Where "I Could Care Less" is Correct

Person 1: The world is ending. The sun is going to expand and swallow the earth, burning it up.
Person 2: I could care less.

This means that you do care. This is correct. Because the sun swallowing you alive with its fiery tendrils kind of warrants caring. ^^;

Scenario where it is INCORRECT

Person 1: I dropped my pencil.
Person 2: YOU MEAN YOUR AWESOME SHINY GOLD ONE?
Person 1: No. My really, really, REALLY sharpened ten-cent one.
Person 2: I could care less.

It SHOULD be "I couldn't care less", which akin to "I don't care". Which is what you mean to say. "I could care less" means that you DO care. WHICH YOU DO NOT.

..Gah. ^^;

Ahem.

Also, a topic of discussion for us to, well, discuss:

What do we all think of movies that are based on books? Can they compare? SHOULD the be compared? Opinion time. I'll post mine at a later date. I don't want to be the only one postin' in here. =O