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Oops, I've got so used to people on here being USAnian....Major Isoor posted:Also, do you know if the other books in the series (link) are 'clustered' into a single/multiple novels, like how the Prelude ones, are? Or are they all seperate? Either way, thank you for that - that had been constantly on the edge of my mind for weeks, and I finally cracked and decided to find a thread like this
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Aug 3, 2011 12:55
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Engelbrecht posted:Oops, I've got so used to people on here being USAnian.... Heh, no worries; I'm pretty used to people just assuming that everyone else - including myself, of course - is an American  (I've actually noticed a larger population of Australians on SA than on other forums I've been on, incidentally)Ah, alright then, so they're still pretty seperate timeline-wise, are they? (well, the Prelude novels from the 'main series', I suppose) So like, is it still the same/similar technology between the two series', (sub-series'?) or is there actually improvements in the later books; such as recharge times between shots, for example? Anyway, thanks for answering all my questions! Annoyingly, the two main book store chains around where I live have gone bankrupt, so it'll be fairly difficult to find them. Nevertheless, at least now I know what to keep an eye out for!
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Aug 3, 2011 13:39
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Major Isoor posted:Annoyingly, the two main book store chains around where I live have gone bankrupt, so it'll be fairly difficult to find them. Nevertheless, at least now I know what to keep an eye out for! Booko.com.au is your friend. You can thank me later 
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Aug 3, 2011 13:51
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Here's something from my wife: "It was in a collection of short ghost stories (fiction)... creepy illustrations (for my young self).. the last story was about an older guy that adopts two kids with plans to burn their hearts and drink the ashes in wine to keep him alive... i think the kids end up killing him." Any ideas?
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Aug 3, 2011 13:57
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Ornamented Death posted:Here's something from my wife: There's a list of books containing it at ISFDB. Runcible Cat fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Aug 3, 2011 |
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Aug 3, 2011 15:05
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Major Isoor posted:Ah, alright then, so they're still pretty seperate timeline-wise, are they? (well, the Prelude novels from the 'main series', I suppose) So like, is it still the same/similar technology between the two series', (sub-series'?) or is there actually improvements in the later books; such as recharge times between shots, for example? As for the later 3 books it's been a few years since I read them, but I'm pretty sure there were some tech improvements after the jump, but no major shifts. They're probably long out of print, so you're best off hitting up online secondhand dealers - I think there're quite a few Australian ones on Abebooks.com, for starters.
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Aug 3, 2011 15:19
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Engelbrecht posted:That last story is MR James, Lost Hearts. Does she remember if it was an anthology or a collection? I have no idea. All I can get from her is that it was a very tall book and that it was illustrated - she describes the illustration for this story as a dark altar with the old man standing near/in front of it, and possibly the children are nearby. Thanks for identifying the story, though! I'll just have her go through the titles until she recognizes one .Edit: From my wife: "Ok, yeah.. that’s the story, but the one I read was a ripped-off version and added to an illustrated “kids” book." Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 16:32 on Aug 3, 2011 |
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Aug 3, 2011 16:14
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I have posted about this accursed, accursed book book a few times over the years but never to any effect: A brother and sister are sent to live with their evil aunt and uncle (presumably after their parents perish). The aunt and uncle put them to work as basically full-time slaves. The girl works in the house doing, well, housework, while the boy does all of the labor-intensive work outside. On the boy's birthday, he receives nothing but a pair of workgloves (which he is actually thankful for as his hands are blistered messes). In the boy's bedroom, there is a creepy old wash basin, either the bowl or stand of which is decorated with horrific scenes from war, with horses dying and stuff (Napoleonic?). One day, he gets so freaked out by the washbasin that he turns it over, revealing a secret passageway beneath it. This is where my memories of the book get fuzzy. I swear, I swear, I SWEAR he travels deep under the mansion and discovers a nice old lady imprisoned in a log cabin there, who helps the siblings. Also he has to risk a snake pit at some point. I read this in Fall 96 or Spring 97 in my 5th grade classroom; my teacher had random awesome books, mostly from the 80s and early-ish 90s there to sort of date the book. (Like, she also had Lone Wolf books, Wizard's Hall, that sort of stuff... so pretty mainstream kids/YA fantasy from that era) I am desperate after about a decade of searching. Teketeketeketeke fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Aug 3, 2011 |
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Aug 3, 2011 17:09
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Ornamented Death posted:I have no idea. All I can get from her is that it was a very tall book and that it was illustrated - she describes the illustration for this story as a dark altar with the old man standing near/in front of it, and possibly the children are nearby. Ed: no joy, sorry. Runcible Cat fucked around with this message at 10:03 on Aug 4, 2011 |
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Aug 3, 2011 17:51
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I'm thinking of a couple books that I loved as a kid, but I can't remember their names. I want to pick up copies for my son for when he's old enough to read. Both of these books had to have been written by or before 1996, as I remember reading them in elementary school. 1. This was a children's picture book, and it was about some kids in the early 1900's making a fake town out in the desert, and there's an epilogue or author's note that says that the book is based off a true story, and it had something to do with the author's mom. 2. This one was a small chapter book from what I remember, and it was one of the books in the library of a 6th grade classroom. This girl moves into a new house with her parents and the house is haunted by the ghost of a young girl, and she starts getting like... sort of violent with the main character. The young girl's dress caught on fire at her birthday party, which is how she died.
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Aug 4, 2011 08:31
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SimianNinja posted:I have posted about this accursed, accursed book book a few times over the years but never to any effect:
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Aug 4, 2011 09:23
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The other poster may have been me  I know I posted it at Loganberry Books a while ago; they have a thingy called "Stump the Bookseller". Also, I have posted on BN's Book Clubs "Lost Books" and whatsthatbook.com...But I would be grateful for any/all help! (I'm pretty sure I didn't hit up abebooks, iirc) Teketeketeketeke fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Aug 4, 2011 |
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Aug 4, 2011 22:19
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MacDougall posted:I think this is a children's poem because I remember it from primary school but I can't find it anywhere or remember the name of it. Neither of the answers here were the correct ones, anyone else have any idea? Remove the idea of the tv blacking out if that helps because that might not be a part of it, but they definitely don't remember each other from sitting in front of the tv that much.
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Aug 5, 2011 10:32
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SimianNinja posted:The other poster may have been me It's possible that I saw your post at Loganberry, I suppose. I checked abebooks and found the one I was thinking of, but I'm pretty sure it's not right.  It was A Really Weird Summer by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. It doesn't seem to have the wash basin, which is really the one thing that seems so nigglingly familiar to me.
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Aug 5, 2011 10:45
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wheatpuppy posted:It's possible that I saw your post at Loganberry, I suppose. I checked abebooks and found the one I was thinking of, but I'm pretty sure it's not right. That's really interesting... That one doesn't seem too familiar, but I could be conflating a few books.
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Aug 5, 2011 18:12
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wheatpuppy posted:It's possible that I saw your post at Loganberry, I suppose. I checked abebooks and found the one I was thinking of, but I'm pretty sure it's not right. I loved that book as a kid, so delightfully weird. I should track down a copy here.
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Aug 5, 2011 19:58
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Read a story when I was little. Think it was about a kid who was mute, and he was trapped by some mean person in the attic of a hotel or something and couldn't escape. Also, I distinctly remember learning the word highwayman from the book. Anyone?
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Aug 6, 2011 18:45
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MacDougall posted:I think this is a children's poem because I remember it from primary school but I can't find it anywhere or remember the name of it. Maybe it is "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut? The husband and wife watch TV all day and have to wear government-implemented distraction devices. They are so unable to focus that they don't recognize their own son showing up on TV. ... edited for grammar Law Dog fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Aug 6, 2011 |
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Aug 6, 2011 20:25
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Law Dog posted:Maybe it is "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut? No this was definitely something we read in elementary school. I doubt they would issue a Vonnegut story in second grade.
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Aug 7, 2011 08:09
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Lolitas Alright! posted:1. This was a children's picture book, and it was about some kids in the early 1900's making a fake town out in the desert, and there's an epilogue or author's note that says that the book is based off a true story, and it had something to do with the author's mom. Maybe this is Roxaboxen?
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Aug 7, 2011 08:39
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marshmallard posted:I have two that I've posted quite a few times before, but no-one's ever been able to help with I still haven't been able to find either of these I just tried to find the first one again and all that came up is this post! So I thought I might as well re-post and hope for the best. Come on, book dudes, I can't be the only person that read these!
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Aug 7, 2011 21:35
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marshmallard posted:2. Book for small children, read in around 1991 Not sure if this was suggested, but could it be The Black Pearl, by Scott O'Dell? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Pearl_(Scott_O'Dell)
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Aug 8, 2011 04:08
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Lolitas Alright! posted:2. This one was a small chapter book from what I remember, and it was one of the books in the library of a 6th grade classroom. This girl moves into a new house with her parents and the house is haunted by the ghost of a young girl, and she starts getting like... sort of violent with the main character. The young girl's dress caught on fire at her birthday party, which is how she died. Pretty sure this one is Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad. Was the main character's name Zoe?
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Aug 8, 2011 05:26
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Captain Equinox posted:Not sure if this was suggested, but could it be The Black Pearl, by Scott O'Dell? I guess it could have been a very simplified version of this - it was definitely a kids' book with big pictures rather than a novel, but the story does sound similar thank you.
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Aug 8, 2011 09:23
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Here's a possibly obscure book that I've been looking for for quite some time. It's a Danish book (at least I don't know if it's in any other language, the school library only had it in Danish) in which a boy who doesn't get along well with other children at his school. Somehow he finds a computer game (I think) and somehow manages to get into it. Another few tidbits that I remember is that the guns are sort of small barrals that may be black (inside or outside) and sort of big round guns (think steampunk-laser gun), and that they may have been required to move on ladders to get from one level to the next. I'm not holding my breath that anyone will be able to identify it, however - I've asked librarians of all kinds, with the exception of the librarian at the school library where I borrowed the book (I can't easily get in touch with them, unfortunately - and the librarian who worked there when I was in school has long since retired (he might've actually passed away - that man was responsible for some of the best fiction a childhood could ever contain. I'm not religious, but I do hope he had a long and happy life, and that he regretted nothing.  )EDIT: Clarifications. BlankSystemDaemon fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Aug 13, 2011 |
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Aug 13, 2011 00:13
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I'm looking for the name of a children's book (or, young adult's book I guess - it's a novel and not a picture book, but it's written for much younger readers). In the book, a kid wakes up one day and finds that he's invisible. After some hijinks he ends up meeting a blind girl, who can't tell that he's invisible (because she's blind) and they become friends. The boy falls in love with the girl, but I don't remember what happens after that. I do remember that the book was really depressing, rather than funny, despite the basic plot. I believe at one point the girl gets freaked out when she reaches out to feel the boy and realizes he's naked (because his clothes aren't invisible, only his body).
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Aug 13, 2011 00:35
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Funkmaster General posted:I'm looking for the name of a children's book (or, young adult's book I guess - it's a novel and not a picture book, but it's written for much younger readers). In the book, a kid wakes up one day and finds that he's invisible. After some hijinks he ends up meeting a blind girl, who can't tell that he's invisible (because she's blind) and they become friends. The boy falls in love with the girl, but I don't remember what happens after that. I do remember that the book was really depressing, rather than funny, despite the basic plot. Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements, I believe.
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Aug 13, 2011 03:56
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D. Ebdrup posted:Here's a possibly obscure book that I've been looking for for quite some time. It's a Danish book (at least I don't know if it's in any other language, the school library only had it in Danish) in which a boy who doesn't get along well with other children at his school. Somehow he finds a computer game (I think) and somehow manages to get into it. Another few tidbits that I remember is that the guns are sort of small barrals that may be black (inside or outside) and sort of big round guns (think steampunk-laser gun), and that they may have been required to move on ladders to get from one level to the next. Space Demons by Gillian Rubenstein? It was originally written in English but hey, it could be it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Demons
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Aug 13, 2011 14:00
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Hedrigall posted:Space Demons by Gillian Rubenstein? It was originally written in English but hey, it could be it: You have no idea how much this means to me.. I don't know any words to express my gratitude.. Wow.. Just.. Wow. I don't believe it. I don't loving believe it. How on EARTH did you identify that book?! Holy poo poo.
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Aug 13, 2011 14:30
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D. Ebdrup posted:You have no idea how much this means to me.. I don't know any words to express my gratitude.. Wow.. Just.. Wow. I read it in 6th grade
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Aug 13, 2011 15:04
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I think I found this short story originally from this thread. It was an older story maybe published in a Baen anthology about a planet being invaded and the people on the planet had such high tech / psychic ability that they just put all the invaders in stasis, and the person 'defending' the planet was an adolescent / college student doing it as his Senior Thesis where he's downgraded for waste in the number of invaders killed before being put in stasis.
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Aug 13, 2011 15:47
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Polka_Rapper posted:Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements, I believe. This looks about right, thanks!
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Aug 13, 2011 18:54
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My lost book is a kid’s book. I read it at least 20 years ago and am not sure how old it was then. The details I remember: The villain had a name starting with R id like to say Rasputin but I suspect im making that up. He was famous for having 7 knives. The two heroes were boys, one named Stephen. The boys live with grandma who always made them a pie on Saturday (maybe..) at the end of the book to celebrate the boys return she makes a pie on an off day but states “In every other house its XXday but in here its Saturday”. One of the boys is held prisoner by a wizard who is aligned in some way with the 7 knifed man. Grandma has a cooking instrument that is stolen/destroyed and is replaced in the end with a better version, I believe it made music or sang or something. I can’t remember if the instrument was for the pies or something else.
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Aug 14, 2011 00:15
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Chupe Raho Aurat posted:Grandma has a cooking instrument that is stolen/destroyed and is replaced in the end with a better version, I believe it made music or sang or something. I can’t remember if the instrument was for the pies or something else. It's a coffee grinder, and the book is The Robber Hotzenplotz.
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Aug 14, 2011 04:57
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Centripetal Horse posted:It's a coffee grinder, and the book is The Robber Hotzenplotz. You sir, are my hero! Oh man! Now i look it up and see who the author is.. The answer to this question has been under my nose for years, if only id wiki'ed "The satanic mill" which is my favorate "play in the background" movie. Chupe Raho Aurat fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Aug 14, 2011 |
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Aug 14, 2011 05:21
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I remember reading a fantasy novel for kids about 15 years ago. I think it'd probably be classed as YA fiction, now, though. Author: A British author, I think. Not entirely sure. Protagonist: Boy, probably about 12. Setting: The place the boy lives is like a pocket of our world that time forgot in the 70s. He lives in a house with a TV that doesn't switch on and he remembers seeing giant metal birds in the sky (planes). He lives with his mother, I think. I don't remember there being too many other characters. Now that I'm writing it out, the setting makes me think of something Jack Vance or Gene Wolfe might dig. Definitely isn't either of those guys, though. Plot: The boy goes to the hills to look for a moonstone to add to his collection (which I think he places on top of the TV?). The moonstone has some kind of rarity or significance, but I'm not sure if it was actually magical. He meets a girl at some point who might be from our, modern world with electricity and stuff. Not totally sure about that point. They both encounter a mystical snake demon thing that lives in a cave. It might be a dragon. I can't remember how it ends. I hope this rings a bell for someone because I've been trying to remember who wrote it and what it was called for over a decade! Chas McGill fucked around with this message at 12:11 on Aug 15, 2011 |
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Aug 15, 2011 11:59
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Chas McGill posted:I hope this rings a bell for someone because I've been trying to remember who wrote it and what it was called for over a decade!
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Aug 15, 2011 13:13
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Engelbrecht posted:Should've asked before! Bet you it's Jet Smoke and Dragon Fire (or one of the sequels) by Charles Ashton. Yep! That's the one. I'm surprised I forgot the title. Now I need to decide whether or not to read it again. How did you home in on what it was so quickly? I guess the setting is quite unique. Chas McGill fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Aug 15, 2011 |
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Aug 15, 2011 14:13
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Chas McGill posted:Yep! That's the one. I'm surpised I forgot the title. Now I need to decide whether or not to read it again.
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Aug 15, 2011 14:34
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I completely forgot Puckel for some reason, yet now you've mentioned the memorable name, I'm remembering more and more of the story. I guess I have to read it again now. Here's another one: Publish date: I'd guess 80s or early 90s. Author: No idea where he was from, only that it was a male name. Setting: Near future America. I guess it could be termed Cyberpunk, though it had more in common with Gibson's Bridge trilogy than the Sprawl in terms of plausibility etc. There's a lot of civil unrest, race riots, and unbridled capitalism. Basically an extrapolation of all the bad stuff the author was seeing in his own time, I suspect. Characters: The book focuses on a group of people who are travelling somewhere, or on the run. I can't remember how they know each other, but they include: a kickboxing woman, a black author, and a guy with schizophrenia. I think there were other characters, unfortunately I don't recall them as well. Plot: I'm even fuzzier on the plot. Beyond the characters running to/from something, there isn't much I can say. The book is written in either first person or third person limited and includes flashbacks to flesh some of the characters out a bit. Details: One of the scenes from it has a couple of the characters playing around in a virtual reality system. One of them wants to make artistic stuff and the other wants to create pornography. They have a big argument about it. Chas McGill fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Aug 15, 2011 |
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Aug 15, 2011 14:44
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