"The Animated Life Forums"

[JessKat]

Just finished "The God Delusion" a few days ago. Very good book, I highly recommend it to everyone. It deals with so many important themes and questions about religion in a sober, well-articulated and eye-opening way.

Now I've just started reading "Alice in Wonderland" (or more precisely, "The Annotated Alice" which was given to me by a friend who loves the Alice books). I must admit I've never read the book before, I guess this will finally be a chance to patch a gaping hole in my cultural knowledge.
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My deviantART

Altair: "Safety and peace, brother."
Malik: "Your presence here deprives me of both. What do you want?"

-Assassin's Creed

[gullfia]

En perle fra Østen
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My dA: www.budgiegirl.deviantart.com
~~
Call me either Gullfia or by my real name. Your choice ^^

[Auburn Red]

Continuing London, Dawn of Democracy, but I am also reading for review:

The Gatekeepers by Michelle Gagnon- A thriller about FBI agents who stop a terrorist who tries to unite various hate groups in the U.S.

For pleasure:
Female Tricksters, Madcaps, Con Women, and Screwballs- A very interesting book about portrayals of female trickster characters in movies, television, and books from the 19th century to the late 1990's. Very interesting portrayal of one of my favorite archetypes, but I would have mentioned female tricksters in folklore as well.

Wise Women- An anthology of poems, essays, chapters from women on various religious and spiritual issues. They focus on various religions, ancient, Juedo-Christian, Muslin, Buddhist, and everything else. Very interesting and thoughtful words.

Anthology of English Literature- I also am reading various poems and essays, right now I am reading some of my favorite poets, the Romantics. I will be soon be completing William Wordsworth and will soon be starting Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
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"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry"~ Emily Dickenson
Animated Lust (Rated PG) 1999-2009
Visit Auburn Red's Fantastical Fanfictional Library http://freewebs.com/auburnred/
Also my university website For the Love of the Book http://mypage.iu.edu/~jusaport/home.html

[Auburn Red]

I finished London and am continuing my Rutherford obsession by reading Princes of Ireland!- Just as good and it seperates Irish history into two books so I hope it covers more ground, because of the length.

More What Life Was Like by reading one of my favorite times and one of my favorite historic females, Queen Elizabeth I. -I'm a total Elizabethan England junkie.

My latest book for review, Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers.

Celtic Gods and Goddesses by R.J. Stewart- A good account of the Celtic pantheon and their connections and comparisons to other pantheons, particularly the Greeks and Romans.
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"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry"~ Emily Dickenson
Animated Lust (Rated PG) 1999-2009
Visit Auburn Red's Fantastical Fanfictional Library http://freewebs.com/auburnred/
Also my university website For the Love of the Book http://mypage.iu.edu/~jusaport/home.html

[gullfia]

Wake up to your dreams (by Sandra Collier)
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My dA: www.budgiegirl.deviantart.com
~~
Call me either Gullfia or by my real name. Your choice ^^

[Kat]

Just finished "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold (fascinating, but depressing through much of it), and re-read "The White Dragon" by Anne McCaffrey (a book I didn't like much when I first read it, which was when it first came out, but liked this time). I have just started "Camber of Culdi" by Katherine Kurtz.
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"Defying gravity" ~ Wicked

Buy my books!

Check out my other sites, fanfics, and quizzes at my collective, Dragonfare.

[Luisa/Trellia]

It took me from about March to November, but I FINALLY finished 'Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination' by Neal Gabler. A wonderful, but very long biography of Walt Disney. I feel I know him so much better now, though it frustrates me that I'll never truly get to know him, ya know?

Anyway, back to fiction now! I'm continuing in my quest to read every book by Clive Barker. I am now reading one of his earliest, 'The Great and Secret Show'. So far, so good!
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“We live in a shockingly beautiful world. We are walking through the living kingdom of heaven every day; the colors, the sound, the love of others, the potential to create, the plants, wildlife, nature, music, all sensations and life... but if we refuse to see the color and beauty we may as well be in Hell.” -Noodle (Gorillaz)

[Auburn Red]

The website that I review for is closing down so for the first time in awhile I don't have any books to read for review:

However, I am almost finished with the Edward Rutherford books with Rebels of Ireland (for now, I want to read Russka and New York but later). Each one is just as good as the other.

I also am reading a great book called Defining Moments in Books- It describes different books, character, events, and passages that were monumental in literary history. It gives me new books to add to my must-read list, right now, I borrowed Lolly Willowes because of this book, so it will be looking forward to some new discoveries.

The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits- An anthology of different historical mysteries such as Brother Cadfael, my new current favorite female detective, Sister Fidelma, and recent stories about Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes among others.

Images of Women of the 20th Century by Catherine Gourley- An excellent series about how women are perceives in popular culture like fashion, news articles, movies, music of the day. I just finished Gibson Girls and Suffragists.

FaerieCraft by Alicen and Neil Geddes-Ward A Wiccan book on communicating with fairies. I just tried the assignment to get in touch with a sylph air spirit and it was fun. Looking forward to the rest.
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"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry"~ Emily Dickenson
Animated Lust (Rated PG) 1999-2009
Visit Auburn Red's Fantastical Fanfictional Library http://freewebs.com/auburnred/
Also my university website For the Love of the Book http://mypage.iu.edu/~jusaport/home.html

[mars lioness]

I remember The Bell Jar. Am I glad I didn't live then or what?

I just finished And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 6.

[Auburn Red]

Since school began again I have been buying an inordinate amount of books and movies so I am reading a lot!

The Scarlet Letter- I have read this book only once before, but I love this story about a woman in a repressed hypocritical time.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea- I am reading the members of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Even though this is not one of my favorites, the book has an awesome sense of setting and possibilities raised in the ideas.

Librarianship in Gilded Age America- Various accounts of librarians in that time and how they organized many things that we use today like the American Library Association, Interlibrary Loan, and how these collections were created and expanded.

Alternate Presidents- I have mentioned this before. A great anthology book. I am reading it for the third time!

Masterpiece Theatre- This books ends about where I began watching the series in '97-'98 it's fun to watch the shows that have gone on before me.

Women Who Have Changed the World-Brief but wonderful accounts of 50 women in history and current events ranging from Boudicca, Susan B. Anthony, to Oprah Winfrey, to Madonna.
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"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry"~ Emily Dickenson
Animated Lust (Rated PG) 1999-2009
Visit Auburn Red's Fantastical Fanfictional Library http://freewebs.com/auburnred/
Also my university website For the Love of the Book http://mypage.iu.edu/~jusaport/home.html

[JessKat]

I'm currently reading what is considered something of an animation bible among animation enthusiasts: "The Illusion of Life" by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of the legendary Nine Old Men. It's got lots of wonderful illustrations and the stories and discoveries depicted are simply fascinating. It's great to hear anecdotes about Walt Disney from people who worked with him closely for many years, I think it shows a nice balance of his hard-nosed businessman side and the side that was lively, inspiring and above all entertaining.
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My deviantART

Altair: "Safety and peace, brother."
Malik: "Your presence here deprives me of both. What do you want?"

-Assassin's Creed

[SimpsonsFreak]

I recently finished Dan Brown's latest book The Lost Symbol. The next in the series of Robert Langdon adventures. Not as impressive as the first one, The Da Vinci Code. To me the story just got sillier and sillier.

Currently reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It is seriously hilarious. The twist of a classic lit mixed with zombies is just plain funny. I highly recommend it.

I bought The Lovely Bones and plan on reading it later after I get through my current book. I did hear about how depressing it was, but still want to read it. I have not watched the movie, as I wanted to read the book first.
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You either die being a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
~Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

[Auburn Red]

I am reading
The Selected Works of Washington Irving- Of course I am familiar with Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle but going through his other works, I am impressed with his sense of place and almost conscious Americanisms (he is considered one of the first American novelists and it shows he has a down-home style to his writing)
Many of the stories are funny and satirical (Sagramundi) spooky (The Adventure of the German Student) or funny and spooky (The Devil and Tom Walker)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde- I am finishing a three-pack that includes Jekyll, Dracula, and Frankenstein. Reading all three I definately prefer Jekyll and Dracula over Frankenstein.

A People's History of the United States- Howard Zinn gave a very interesting perspective to American history, telling it from the points of view of Native Americans, blacks, women, labor activists and so on and so forth. I didn't always agree with some of the points that he made, but I did agree with a lot of them. Either way, it presents a look I'm sure a lot of people don't think about with American history.

Alternate Warriors- After reading Alternate Presidents for the third time, I was finally compelled to read the other books in the series and am now reading stories about peacemakers who in these versions chose a more violent path. It's interesting to read how the authors take noted figures like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Pope John Paul I(Aka the 30 day Pope) and keep them true to how they were historically while still taking these divergent paths and how quickly one choice could have gone the other way.
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"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry"~ Emily Dickenson
Animated Lust (Rated PG) 1999-2009
Visit Auburn Red's Fantastical Fanfictional Library http://freewebs.com/auburnred/
Also my university website For the Love of the Book http://mypage.iu.edu/~jusaport/home.html

[Luisa/Trellia]

I am reading 'Pollyanna' by Eleanor H. Porter. It was written in 1913 and takes place at that present time. I always loved the 1960 Disney film and was curious about the source material. The movie diverts in many ways from the book, but I'm loving it, and not loving the movie adaptation any less.
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“We live in a shockingly beautiful world. We are walking through the living kingdom of heaven every day; the colors, the sound, the love of others, the potential to create, the plants, wildlife, nature, music, all sensations and life... but if we refuse to see the color and beauty we may as well be in Hell.” -Noodle (Gorillaz)

[Shawn]

[Laurie]

I recently finished 'Tigger on the Couch' a book that explores various psychological disorders by having many famous literary characters diagnosed. (Other than Tigger, there are other Pooh characters, some classic fairy tale characters and classic children's book figures such as Peter Rabbit.)

Interesting read.

Now I'm working on 'Heat Wave.' It's the book from the show 'Castle.' I thought it's a neat idea - on the show, the lead character, Rick Castle, is a writer who writes a book called 'Heat Wave.' So, someone decided to write the book as Castle.
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"I just have to come clean and I'm nervous because I lie a lot on Twitter so that I seem cooler." - Mary Lynn Rajskub

[Dark Star]

Working my way through the latest P.C. Hodgell, Bound in Blood -- not sure what I'll read after that....
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"Pegasus isn't really bad, he just has issues.... Kaiba has issues, too...." collective wisdom from the Rapid City Stitch & ----- Group

"There is no particular mystery in animation… it's really very simple and like anything that is simple, it is about the hardest thing in the world to do." Bill Tytla, the Walt Disney Studio. June 28, 1937.

My fanfic for Shawn: http://www.fanfiction.net/~starwefter or (eventually) http://starwefter.deviantart.com/

[Auburn Red]

I am back to reading books for review, Whoopee! I missed it!

I am reading Roseanna's Reply- a WWII spy novel about a female pilot who is really cool!
Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger- A gossipy book about the early stars and starlets. Many of the stories were later discounted but it is interesting to read about the lives they lived while maintaining a glamorous facade.

The History of Women by Marilyn French- A Four Part series about the history of women throughout the world and I am reading the final book! It's very interesting particularly when it talks about the suffrage movement and the socio-political movements of the early 20th century.

Middlemarch by George Eliot- For the firs time, a wonderful classic novel about two people stuck in unhappy marriages. I particularly like Dorothea Brooke-Causbon, a sharp-tongued, witty intelligent woman who errs when selecting her husband and regrets it. She is a wonderful flawed character.

Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley- An intriguing look at Camelot told from the female perspective. I particularly love Morgaine (always my favorite female character in the Arthurian legends) and her love for the Goddess and lust for some of the men.

The Spiral Dance by Starhawk- A wonderful history of Wiccan told from a wonderful author!
_________________
"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry"~ Emily Dickenson
Animated Lust (Rated PG) 1999-2009
Visit Auburn Red's Fantastical Fanfictional Library http://freewebs.com/auburnred/
Also my university website For the Love of the Book http://mypage.iu.edu/~jusaport/home.html

[SimpsonsFreak]

I finally finished The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It was interesting and certainly not how I thought it was going to be. It more talked about life and closure regarding relationships rather than the horribleness of murder with tragedy. It was interesting story but certainly not the intrigue or thriller that the the movie trailers made it to be.

I have not seen the movie, so I cannot say whether it actually followed the book, but I don't really plan on seeing it.
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You either die being a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
~Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

[Auburn Red]

I finished Middlemarch (It's wierd going from Jane Austen to George Eliot. Austen's stuff is light, frothy, and kind of overtly silly and romantic. Eliot's is realistic, hard, dark, and very analytical and I prefer her to Austen.)
Mists of Avalon (How I feel after finishing every Arhturian book-wonderful and sad, I always hope it would differently just once. I have also learned that Mists of Avalon is my favorite written version, but the 1996 Merlin miniseries with Sam Neil is my favorite filmed version)
History of Women (terrific series of different aspects in women's history around the world).

Right now I am reading for review:
Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods- a touching and at times humorous memoir about Woods' time in Congo studying the bonobos, cousins to the chimpanzee. She uncannily gives the human and animal characters individuality.

Joe's Black T-Shirt: Short Stories About St. Louis by Joseph Schwartz- A dark anthology about dark people doing dark things. It's very bleak, but it has some realyl neat references to St. Louis.

For pleasure:
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot- Another good one by Eliot so far. I like the lead protagonist, Maggie Tolliver, a bright, well-read and obstinate young woman.

Elizabeth and Mary by Jane Dunn- A biography of the troubled relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, two of my favorite historical female figures.

Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maquire- While I like Wicked, I prefer Maguire's take on fairy tales (like Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister), so I like this historical perspective of the Snow White story that substitutes Lucretia Borgia for the Wicked Queen.

Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives/Whodunnits- One of my all-time favorite anthologies because it combines my two all-time favorite genres: mysteries and historical fiction.

Sacred Contracts by Carolyn Myss- An interesting New Age book on communicating with higher spirits such as angels, fairies, and the "Ascended Masters," gods, religious teachers etc.
_________________
"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry"~ Emily Dickenson
Animated Lust (Rated PG) 1999-2009
Visit Auburn Red's Fantastical Fanfictional Library http://freewebs.com/auburnred/
Also my university website For the Love of the Book http://mypage.iu.edu/~jusaport/home.html

[SimpsonsFreak]

Finished the latest memoir from Jen Lancaster called My Fair Lazy. Very funny and she is quickly turning into one of my fave authors.
Anyone who wants a good laugh needs to read her books!
_________________
You either die being a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
~Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight