Happy Birthday!!!!! (And a bit about Lymond chronicles)

[alexandral]

Happy birthday dear queenofthorns and jenlev!!! ** squishes and throws confetti ** I wish you happiest of birthdays! Two of most awesome ladies being born on the same day - this must be a very special day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I could teleport this to you!! Hungarian marzipan extravaganza:




London sitrep
It was a glorious trip and the Oracle User Group was very informative. I have many things to share, but I must save them for the time when I am less tired and brain-exhausted. Just a couple of things (that will not wait until tomorrow).

1) There was an earthquake in Yorkshire AND I WASN'T THERE! I have never have been in an earthquake and whilst I am not saying that I wish to experience a BIG earthquake (and neither I wish it upon anyone else) it could be interesting to experience a little tiny one?

2) I have properly started "The Game of Kings" by Dorothy Dunnett.

- ** sigh ** Well, I have been living in the UK a while and I have become better with my English over the years and people I meet for the first time don't ask me to repeat my phrases anymore. And I even read with a considerably good speed. But then a book comes along and whilst I LIKE IT and find it's style worthy of an immediate notice I don't seem to be familiar with a good half of the worlds on EVERY SINGLE PAGE of it. And this is intensified by the fact that I don't know English history well enough to recognize any of the historical names in the book. ** weeps ** OK, I like a challenge and I am sure if this doesn't kill me it will make my English better, but is it worthy of getting myself into 6 books 500 pages each? (I apologise for blurting this all out)

- Will Lymond get a nice OTP?

- I spoiled myself for the end of the book - Richard/Lymond and Richard/Mariotta, I just love it.

Comments

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! ::::smoochy twirly hugs:::

And marzipan is one of my favorite things. I wish we could all teleport you know. ;)

Ixnay on earthquakes, be safe out there. Meep.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! ::::smoochy twirly hugs:::

** more hugs ** You really make LJ better!

I wish we could all teleport you know. ;)

I know!! My colleague and I were discussing this extensively in London (whilst waiting for our train, tired and exhausted).

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

Aw.... :::blushes:::

As for teleportation. Now would be good for all of us I think. ;)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

It MUST be invented. ASAP!

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

Yes! :)

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I tried to read the first Lymond book and got about 120 pages into it and also didn't understand half the words! In fact, some of the more obscure words that I understood were being used in a very odd way. I'm afraid I gave up when the Latin made no sense in context unless Lymond was thinking even odder things than I think he was. You are a brave, brave woman.

[bakednudel.livejournal.com]

I TOTALLY agree. I have several friends who are Lymond Chronicles fanatics, but I found I couldn't care about any of the characters--plus, I'm sorry, I know the author was a genius, but I don't like having it thrown in my face every page.

I don't think I got any farther in the first book than you did--I might have quit even sooner.

However, I'm sure there are others on your flist who are Lymond Chronicles fans and will make a case for the books!

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I think fatal to my reading was that I realized that I really found Lymond irritating, so I wasn't willing to push through the language. I know many people in RL and on LJ who love the books though, so I was a bit sad not to share in the enjoyment.

[bakednudel.livejournal.com]

I think fatal to my reading was that I realized that I really found Lymond irritating

For me, there is a very fine line between "irritating" and "angsty" and alas, Lymond remained on the "irritating" side for me. I am sorry not to enjoy the books as much as my friends do--maybe I'll give 'em another try when I'm retired.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

He is definitely comes across as irritating at first. But I spoiled myself by reading the concluding chapters in the book and his bravado seems to be just acting.. I think I'll persevere with this as I am promised an epic love story!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I am v. v. thankful to you guys - it is not JUST ME! Though I must say that I have been lured by some very lovely scenes from Lymond chronicles posted in dangermousie's LJ. I must find them , even if I die reading!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Lymond Chronicles are my favorite books ever, and probably my favorite fictional thing in any medium.

So much angst, h/c and self-loathing suicidalness is very good. The language does get more lucid in later books :)

Lymond does get an OTP and they are my favorite OTP ever. There is so much self-sacrificing and gorgeousness and angst and his thinking he is totally unworthy of her and trying to push her away but not being able to bear to be without her.

I did some musings/meta on Lymond which are spoilery which might further convince you:

http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/tag/lymond

And here is my favorite scene ever, typed up. It's very shippy and quite spoilery:

http://dangermousie.livejournal.com/429787.html#cutid1

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I started reading it ( I had to order it from the library) because I remember your and queenofthorns's posts about it.

The language does get more lucid in later books :)

Nice to know. You see, may be because of my profession as a programmer I feel I must find out the meaning of every single word in any book I am reading. I think it is something to do with : "Information = must be processed fully" thing. :D "The Game of Kings" is fully old-English and Scottish-English and Latin and whatnot . Makes my mind go craaaaazy!

Lymond does get an OTP and they are my favorite OTP ever. There is so much self-sacrificing and gorgeousness and angst and his thinking he is totally unworthy of her and trying to push her away but not being able to bear to be without her.


You know me - pushing her away for her own good is so my thing (and their age difference too!)

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

1) OMG, I LOVE marzipan and that's gorgeous! I too wish you could teleport it to me. Thanks so much for the birthday wishes :)

2) I love Dunnett and I'm a native English-speaker, and I still find the beginning of Game of Kings VERY difficult - I think she was sort of finding her voice at the beginning of that book and the rest of the novels are a lot less with the verbal pyrotechnics. (As for the history, there are some wonderful companion books so if you have specific questions, I will look up stuff for you :)

Yes, Lymond has an amazing OTP. It just takes a long time.

Oh, and one of the books is set in the court of Tsar Ivan Grozny!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

2) I love Dunnett and I'm a native English-speaker, and I still find the beginning of Game of Kings VERY difficult - I think she was sort of finding her voice at the beginning of that book and the rest of the novels are a lot less with the verbal pyrotechnics. (As for the history, there are some wonderful companion books so if you have specific questions, I will look up stuff for you :)

Oh, thank you so much for the reassurance! As I said to dangermousie I have this crazy approach to reading where I feel I MUST understand every word (I think this somehow connected with my extensive reading of programming manuals :D). Dunnett's Scottish English is driving me crazy! (But I will persevere as I have read so many wonderful spoilers in dangermousie's LJ.

Yes, Lymond has an amazing OTP. It just takes a long time.

Yay! I am looking forward to this!

Oh, and one of the books is set in the court of Tsar Ivan Grozny!

Hee! This is actually slightly frightening through it's potential to be a historically incorrect description of the era I know better.. :D

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

The cakes look fantastic! And about the earthquake. A similar thing happened to me once. I lived in Yogyakarta with my family until I moved to Jakarta for work. Last year a huge earthquake happened in Yogyakarta. My family, like any other, was pretty shocked. I wasn't there, and I didn't really mind not experiencing the earthquake, but I think I know how you feel. I've experienced a couple of earthquakes though over the years, and trust me, it's not something that one would long for :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, dear - I also think it is rather wrong to wish for these things. I think I was in London's tube at the time of the earthquake and because of it I didn't feel anything.. It was worse in Yorkshire, though!

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

What is a tube? Like a subway?

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Hee! Yes! The London subway is called "tube". :D

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

During the first month that I lived here in Japan, Yokohama had a pretty big earthquake. However, it occurred during the middle of the night, and I didn't even realize that we'd had one until I went to work the next day and my director asked me if I had noticed it.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

In the place I lived before, Omsk Russia, earthquakes NEVER happened. In the Uk they happen very rarely (once in 20 years I think) and it was a very unusual event.. I think I was in London's tube at the moment of the earthquake and this is why I didn't fee anything.

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

I was born and raised in the Midwest of America, and we don't have earthquakes there either. I've been in Japan for six months, and I know earthquakes have occurred since I've been here, but I haven't noticed one yet.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

For some reason I thought that they will be easy to notice, but they aren't really. :D

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Depends on how high it is on the richter scale. The higher you are up in a building, the easier to notice, though. The last earthquake I experienced made me so dizzy (I was in my office, 11th floor) :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hope you are fine!! I think the last earthquake in the UK was not high on richter scale.

[vierran45.livejournal.com]

It took me two tries to get into The Game of Kings since I found the language very hard at first, but I ended up loving the books. Though I wouldn't call them "easy reading", they do get a bit easier later on. And the OTP is very angsty and lovely!

There are two companion books that might help: The Dorothy Dunnett Companion, parts I and II written by Elspeth Morrison (there is also another book called The Lymond Poetry edited by Dunnett).

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the recs! I read some of the spoilery scenes in the dangermousie's LJ and I pretty sold.. Age difference! Beauty and the beast! (Everything I like in OTP)!

[himmapaan.livejournal.com]

I'm intrigued by The Game of Kings now...

The earthquake was of course relatively weak by the time it 'reached' London, but it was enough to make my tall bookcases sway. I had to go and steady them!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I didn't notice it at all in London. I must have been traveling by tube.