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JoeNotCharles posted:I'm sure it's not what you're thinking of, but Finnegan's Wake? No, not a Joyce book. The book I'm looking for was less surrealist, IIRC, and much shorter. Thanks for trying?
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# ? Jun 10, 2008 06:57 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 11:44 |
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areyoucontagious posted:This is a long shot, but I remember a book that was shown to me that you could read in a circle, as in you could start reading from any point in the book and it would flow nicely till the page prior to the one you started on. I have no idea what it looks like, or what it was about, or even when the book was created. I'm not expecting an answer, but google has failed me and this seemed like it might work. Thanks and good luck, I guess. Thousand Years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez is like that.
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# ? Jun 10, 2008 10:46 |
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penguin mania posted:This is from the first page, but I'm pretty sure no one's answered it. It's The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh. I read it in elementary school as well, and enjoyed it so much that I bought a copy when I came across it several years later. You're right about the youngest character being a girl. Search reveals she names the planet "Shine." Because she has a green book. Jesus, I feel retarded. Still, you have my heartfelt thanks. That one's been bugging me for a while. Edit: You too, Cheese Hostess. ItalicSquirrels fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Jun 10, 2008 |
# ? Jun 10, 2008 16:32 |
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I'm trying to remember a short novel I read in middle school about a boy and his blind dog. Watership Down and other anthropomorphic books have always been among my favorites so I'd really love to reread this. Edit: Finally found an answer on Google: The Trouble With Tuck. I'm guessing this won't be as interesting to me 17 years later. thethuthinnang fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Jun 10, 2008 |
# ? Jun 10, 2008 17:34 |
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Ok this is a tough one but it's a short story I read in high school. It's kind of a halloween story and it takes place in the late 1800's I think. Basically, the entire town goes to a festival and the boy stays home in bed. Then the story implies that a zombie walks up the stairs to the boys room. Any ideas?
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# ? Jun 12, 2008 00:25 |
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areyoucontagious posted:This is a long shot, but I remember a book that was shown to me that you could read in a circle, as in you could start reading from any point in the book and it would flow nicely till the page prior to the one you started on. I have no idea what it looks like, or what it was about, or even when the book was created. I'm not expecting an answer, but google has failed me and this seemed like it might work. Thanks and good luck, I guess. Dhalgren by Samuel Delany is often cited as an example of a circular text, but unfortunately (in reference to your other post on this page) it is neither straightforward nor short so it's probably not what you're thinking of.
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# ? Jun 12, 2008 02:56 |
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areyoucontagious posted:This is a long shot, but I remember a book that was shown to me that you could read in a circle, as in you could start reading from any point in the book and it would flow nicely till the page prior to the one you started on. I have no idea what it looks like, or what it was about, or even when the book was created. I'm not expecting an answer, but google has failed me and this seemed like it might work. Thanks and good luck, I guess. Possibly, Kafka's 'The Trial'? It was published posthumously from the stuff that Kafka wrote, and doesn't have any real definitive timeline. I'm pretty sure that in any published version, you could read chapter 1, skip to chapter 15, then read chapter 2, and not skip a beat. It's not really circular, but it might be the kind of story you're thinking of.
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# ? Jun 12, 2008 08:07 |
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andrew smash posted:Dhalgren by Samuel Delany is often cited as an example of a circular text, but unfortunately (in reference to your other post on this page) it is neither straightforward nor short so it's probably not what you're thinking of. Holy poo poo! No, this is it. I remember the first and last lines exactly now. First line: "to wound the autumnal city." Last line: "I have come to", possibly seen as a lead in to the very first sentence. Awesome, thank you.
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# ? Jun 12, 2008 23:35 |
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areyoucontagious posted:This is a long shot, but I remember a book that was shown to me that you could read in a circle, as in you could start reading from any point in the book and it would flow nicely till the page prior to the one you started on. I have no idea what it looks like, or what it was about, or even when the book was created. I'm not expecting an answer, but google has failed me and this seemed like it might work. Thanks and good luck, I guess. Maybe Hopscotch by Cortázar?
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# ? Jun 12, 2008 23:54 |
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I'm looking for a short story, and it's about angels. In the story angels appear, but they cause massive amounts of damage and death. I think it's a pretty recent story, within the last 6 or 5 years. Another book that I want to re-read is one from elementary school. It was about baseball, and a clubhouse. I want to say that the title was Baseball Clubhouse but googling that comes up with a lot of non-fiction books, and the book I read was definately fiction.
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# ? Jun 14, 2008 00:05 |
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Hubcap Hal posted:I'm looking for a short story, and it's about angels. In the story angels appear, but they cause massive amounts of damage and death. I think it's a pretty recent story, within the last 6 or 5 years.
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# ? Jun 14, 2008 00:21 |
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I read this story in my seventh grade reading book, so 1995-6. The main character is a young/nearly teenage girl, and it was set in the past (not sure when exactly, but it had horse drawn carts and such). While wandering in the forest, she encounters a young man who warns her not to drink from the spring he was just drinking from. She later meets his family: an older brother, mother and father. They don't age and won't die because they drank the water long ago, not knowing its effect. The older brother was once married but was chased out of the town as evil because he never aged. The younger brother eventually gives the girl a bottle of the water and tells her to drink it when she turns 17 (his age) and then they can be together always. She instead ends up pouring it on a frog that's about to be killed by a dog. The family visits the town many years later and finds the girl's grave inscribed with something like loving wife and mother on it. They also nearly run over the immortal frog while in the town. Hopefully someone will recognize this, as it is far from vague.
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# ? Jun 15, 2008 07:20 |
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Cawie McFuckyou posted:I read this story in my seventh grade reading book, so 1995-6. Sounds like Tuck Everlasting, although I've only got plot summaries of the movie to go on.
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# ? Jun 15, 2008 08:03 |
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JoeNotCharles posted:Sounds like Tuck Everlasting, although I've only got plot summaries of the movie to go on. That would be it, Thanks! I'm surprised I never knew about the movie, and amused that I kinda blocked out the whole murder/hanging part.
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# ? Jun 15, 2008 08:29 |
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This book was mentioned on this forum a while ago, and I meant to get it but forgot about it. It's about some society where there's a statue or something with the alphabet on it, and as letters fall off of the statue, those letters are banned from society, at which point they no longer appear in the book (I think the book is comprised of letters from people in the society, maybe?). It might have been a slightly dystopian novel, although I'm not sure on that.
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# ? Jun 15, 2008 16:41 |
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wlokos posted:This book was mentioned on this forum a while ago, and I meant to get it but forgot about it. It's about some society where there's a statue or something with the alphabet on it, and as letters fall off of the statue, those letters are banned from society, at which point they no longer appear in the book (I think the book is comprised of letters from people in the society, maybe?). It might have been a slightly dystopian novel, although I'm not sure on that. vvv Glad to help! vvv Runcible Cat fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Jun 15, 2008 |
# ? Jun 15, 2008 20:08 |
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LittleSunshine posted:Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. That's it, thanks a lot.
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# ? Jun 15, 2008 20:10 |
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teamdest posted:alright maybe someone can help me, this has been driving me mad for close to six years now, and i'm at my wit's end! I remember this story as well. The planet was named Shine because it was all shiny. The people cut their feet because they were wearing soft shipboard shoes when they landed. I think there was a scene where they find some sort of jellyfish like lifeform in a lake/river/sea and decide they can use it as lamp fuel. I came across this as a radio play. I'd estimate about 1984 to 1988. EDIT: Think this is it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374428026/ref=cm_rdp_product EDIT AGAIN: gently caress beaten by Penguin Mania by a good page or more. Serves me right for not finishing the thread before posting. Mr Darcy fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Jun 16, 2008 |
# ? Jun 15, 2008 23:08 |
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Here's one. Aliens develop a low tech space faring culture. Due to the expanse of the galactic empire technology stagnates. They then discover Earth, land in their wooden ships and promptly get bitchslapped by the modern Earth military. I think it was a short story and I think it's fairly old. Any help appreciated.
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# ? Jun 18, 2008 15:06 |
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Panorama posted:Here's one. I remembered it was called "The Path Not Taken" or something and after asking around on IRC, it turns out it's The Road Not Taken.
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# ? Jun 18, 2008 15:45 |
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Piell posted:I remembered it was called "The Path Not Taken" or something and after asking around on IRC, it turns out it's The Road Not Taken. That's, well done.
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# ? Jun 18, 2008 15:58 |
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This is a book that I read as a kid. Some giant creatures or machines called tripods(?) rule the land, and when a child hits puberty they do something weird to its brain. So all of the adults are pretty much slaves to these tripod things. A bunch of kids try to escape to some base in the mountains where rebels resist the tripods, so that they can't catch them and mess with their brains. Along the way, one of the boys meets a girl and develops a crush on her, but sadly she gets her brain messed with. Also, one of the kids gets a tracking device implanted in his arm, and one of the other kids has to ut it out with a knife. I always liked that book. Don't remember what the hell it is though. There was another book that I liked as a kid that I hardly remember anything about. This kid is on a strange planet, and I'm pretty sure he's not supposed to be there, and he keeps talking about buttery pie. Or something like that. It was a pretty cool book but all I remember is the drat pie.
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# ? Jun 18, 2008 17:59 |
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tastysoup posted:This is a book that I read as a kid. It was a trilogy by John Christopher collectively called The Tripods The White Mountains The City of Gold and Lead The Pool of Fire all written in the late 60's, in '88 he wrote a prequel called When the Tripods Came. Very enjoyable series, almost a War of the Worlds Jr.
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# ? Jun 18, 2008 18:47 |
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Be warned, When the Tripods Came is gently caress-awful. A real pity, because the original trilogy is great.tastysoup posted:There was another book that I liked as a kid that I hardly remember anything about. This kid is on a strange planet, and I'm pretty sure he's not supposed to be there, and he keeps talking about buttery pie. Or something like that. It was a pretty cool book but all I remember is the drat pie.
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# ? Jun 18, 2008 21:47 |
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A young adult fantasy novel with two teenage boys who don't like each other very much that get sucked into fantasy land. They each have, for some reason, a magical stone, each one like half of a yin-yang. They also have magic bottles and bowls that become filled with whatever food/drink they want. They have to learn to work together so they can fight some wolf thing. Fenris, I just remembered, that was the name of the wolf-thing. Edit: I read it in the '80's, based on the barely remembered cover art I'd say it's from the '70's. Ballsworthy fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Jun 21, 2008 |
# ? Jun 18, 2008 22:06 |
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Here goes: Man dies and is sent to hell. There as his punishment he has to listen to the same horrible pop song for millions and millions of times over. In the end he manages to escape from his cell and after floating around endlessly he basicly fights Satan in the end of the novel.
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# ? Jun 22, 2008 13:00 |
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Ballsworthy posted:A young adult fantasy novel with two teenage boys who don't like each other very much that get sucked into fantasy land. They each have, for some reason, a magical stone, each one like half of a yin-yang. They also have magic bottles and bowls that become filled with whatever food/drink they want. They have to learn to work together so they can fight some wolf thing. Fenris, I just remembered, that was the name of the wolf-thing.
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# ? Jun 22, 2008 13:52 |
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LittleSunshine posted:Aha! Hero From Otherwhere by Jay Williams. Knew it rang a bell, but took this long for enough to click in my memory so I could find it. Awesome. The name didn't quite click, but then I looked up the cover art. Yup, that's the one, thanks. Now to decide whether the nostalgia value is high enough to pay a ridiculous amount of money for an out of print mass market paperback.
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# ? Jun 22, 2008 18:37 |
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I think a book set in WWII about kids who may or may not have discovered an enemy submarine hiding in the harbor. The kids frequently meet on a beach, and the genre is kind of mystery. I think the kids find a box washed up on the beach containing items from the submarine, or some items believed to be left for a spy. I can't remember much more..
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# ? Jun 23, 2008 22:34 |
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Lascivious Sloth posted:I think a book set in WWII about kids who may or may not have discovered an enemy submarine hiding in the harbor. The kids frequently meet on a beach, and the genre is kind of mystery. I think the kids find a box washed up on the beach containing items from the submarine, or some items believed to be left for a spy. I can't remember much more.. This sounds like it might be "Fathom Five" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fathom-Five-Piper-Robert-Westall/dp/0330322303/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214281955&sr=8-5 by Robert Westall, it's a sequal to "The Machine Gunners" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Machine-Gunners-Robert-Westall/dp/0330397850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214281955&sr=8-1 which is great.
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# ? Jun 24, 2008 05:34 |
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Thanks, thats it.
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# ? Jun 24, 2008 09:31 |
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Some old(or maybe not so old, I'd say I read it 8-10 years ago, but stylistically it seemed to be 60s-70s) sci-fi novel or novella. The basic premise as I recall is a human space ship exploring the remains of an extinct alien civilization on some planet. The only remains of the alien race or their civilization are the buildings they apparently used to stage a species-wide suicide. At some point in the book a hostile alien species shows up in a ship and attacks the humans. There's one scene I vaguely remember, in which the hostile aliens transport one of the human crew to their vessel and rip off either a lip or his tongue and eat it. That's all that's stuck with me. Book #2, around the same time period, young adult fantasy. Protagonist is a girl in a family of "grey" necromancers who lay the undead to rest, the novel's world also has "black" necromancers". edit: That's it. I've never actually read it, I just recall reading a synopsis of it and it sounding interesting, guess I got the time frame a bit off. Spathi fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Jun 24, 2008 |
# ? Jun 24, 2008 13:03 |
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Spathi posted:Book #2, read around the same time period, young adult fantasy. Protagonist is a girl in a family of "grey" necromancers who lay the undead to rest, the novel's world also has "black" necromancers". The necromancers - Abhorsens - in this use a set of bells with specific names and powers if that helps you remember.
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# ? Jun 24, 2008 14:59 |
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Two more. First book was a young adult book. Kid for some reason feels like an loner, either 'cause he just moved or just doesn't socialize much. Gets sent to summer camp makes friends with a boy and girl. There might've been something about treasure but I don't know for sure. Only specifics I remember is when they sang camp songs it actually had all the words to them, two songs I remember are "Oh My Darling Clementine" and one about keeping your elbows off the table. Second book was a young adult survival adventure. Kid goes on a mountain climbing/hiking trip and a storm comes up and he gets separated from everyone else and ends up going down the wrong side of the mountain. He finds a river and follows it down 'til he gets rescued or finds a town. Scenes I remember are one where he makes a fish hook out of a paperclip, goes swimming and stands up under an overhang too fast and concusses himself. Also if I remember correctly the search parties are looking in the wrong area because the guy in charge of the kids lied about seeing him with the rest of the group to cover his own rear end because the whole thing was his fault. Possibly had a part in the beginning where the main character gets a job doing yard work for this old guy to raise the money.
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# ? Jun 24, 2008 22:36 |
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I had stupidly posted a separate thread looking for a fantasy novel and was directed here. Here's the details: I've asked friends, in person and via the internet, but no one has any idea. I like to think of it is my first nerdy experience, and I'd like to reread it now that I'm in my mid-twenties. Here's what I remember about it, but bear in mind that I was really young so I might not have the details right. -I believe it was hardcover, was about 1.5" thick, and was either young adult or adult fantasy (didn't seem kid-ish, if that makes sense.) -The sidekick character was a big porcupine or hedgehog thing. -There was some sort of female imp or faerie that followed the main male character around. I think she was only visible to him, but I may be wrong. I also believe she at one point tickled his groin to mess with him. -I believe this character was referred to as a "daemon", but I may be wrong. I seem to remember asking my parents if a "daemon" was the same thing as a "demon". She seemed more like an odd familiar than anything. Is this ringing any bells? Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I know this is a bit of a longshot but I do appreciate your help. Oh, and I did get one recommendation of Piers Anthony's "Vale of the Vole". That might be it, but I honestly am not sure. I'll definitely keep that one in mind, but am wondering if it there's anything else that jumps out at you.
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# ? Jun 25, 2008 14:47 |
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Some crappy fantasy book from when I was a kid.. I don't remember much of it. Something about a thief, hits town, has a rendevouz with one of the local whores and ends up agreeing to retrieve something for some wizard. He steals a ring from the wizard, heads to retrieve the item, and is beset by all manners of crazy poo poo. A maze, I believe, some floating eyeball and tons of stuff. Then, at the very end, he finds out it's because he's wearing that ring. I know, obscure. Any ideas?
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# ? Jun 25, 2008 20:27 |
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Solaron posted:Some crappy fantasy book from when I was a kid.. I don't remember much of it. Something about a thief, hits town, has a rendevouz with one of the local whores and ends up agreeing to retrieve something for some wizard. He steals a ring from the wizard, heads to retrieve the item, and is beset by all manners of crazy poo poo. A maze, I believe, some floating eyeball and tons of stuff. Then, at the very end, he finds out it's because he's wearing that ring.
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# ? Jun 25, 2008 23:14 |
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LittleSunshine posted:Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance? It's not an exact match, but the stuff you describe does sound kinda Vancian.... Hm, that's not it, but that has a ton of similarities. I've never read any Jack Vance, but that actually sounds pretty good.
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# ? Jun 26, 2008 03:01 |
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Doedipus posted:-There was some sort of female imp or faerie that followed the main male character around. I think she was only visible to him, but I may be wrong. I also believe she at one point tickled his groin to mess with him. "Young adult" fantasy that involves "groin ticking" which is completely non-sexual, no, it's "just to mess with him"... that's definitely Piers Anthony.
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# ? Jun 26, 2008 04:07 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 11:44 |
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JoeNotCharles posted:"Young adult" fantasy that involves "groin ticking" which is completely non-sexual, no, it's "just to mess with him"... that's definitely Piers Anthony. Yeah, but how do you read a Xanth book and not know it's a Xanth book?
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# ? Jun 26, 2008 17:10 |