What are you reading?

[sdotsom]

Starting Art of War by Sun Tzu

[Invincible]

Starting Art of War by Sun Tzu

I got that as well. Aren't we just some evil mofos?

[BusbyBabes]

do people still do latin?

Yes and I have done.:cool:

[sdotsom]

I got that as well. Aren't we just some evil mofos?

Hahah. I screwed up a bit though - I meant to read this book and try to get some overall principles - i.e. how to deal with things in life such as arguments, negotiations, and etc. But I purchased a translation which is one of the most direct, meaning that it is much more focused on the actual facets of war. It still is very interesting, but once I finish this version I'll get a different translation.

[barthez4]

Read the Harry Potter book for about 10-11 hours yesterday, start to finish with a small break for pasta. Lots of action. Still need to see the new movie though.

[Sapphire]

Just finished the new Harry Potter. I'm very pleased; she did a great job pulling everything together.

Spoiler: Have to agree with Stud about the epilogue; that part was terribly lame. I really liked the last hundred or so pages before that though.

[sdotsom]

Totally agree about the ending.

[Vermont Red]

Bought and read the book yesterday. I was as frustrated as some of the characters through a certain part of the middle, but things came together in a logical way in the end. I do have one question.

How did Neville get the sword at the end? I thought that Griphook had it. Did I miss the explanation?

[Sapphire]

To answer VR: After Voldemort puts the sorting hat on Neville and burns him, Neville takes it off and pulls the sword out of it. Earlier in this book, Harry remembers Dumbledore saying something to the effect that only someone worthy of using the sword would be able to pull it from the hat. (Apparently, Harry had pulled it from the hat in an earlier book, possibly in book 2, when he was fighting the basilisk -- though I can't remember clearly, and this book only referred to that past event in a general sort of way. Ya, remembering now: Dumbledore's bird brings Harry the hat and Harry pulls the sword from the hat to kill the basilisk.) I think we're supposed to believe that the sword can be pulled from the hat by a worthy Gryffindor. I don't know what that means for the troll who owned it, or why, actually, Ron and Hermione didn't try to get the sword from the hat in order to destroy the last horcruxes earlier, instead of getting the basilisk fangs from the chamber of secrets. Hmmm.

[barthez4]

Regarding the ending...

I thought that it could've been better but it wasn't bad. One of the most memorable lines from the entire series was in the 6th book when he had to break up with Ginny, when he said "These last few weeks have been like something out of someone else's life." When you look at his life, he'd have been just another ordinary wizarding kid if not for Voldemort. The disposal of the Dark Lord, to Harry, was like the beginning of a new life at the age of 17. I believe Rowling made it this way to go against the idea that life gets hard and serious once you come of age - in the wizarding world, at the age of 17. For Harry, who lived a haunted life throughout his childhood, it was just about the opposite. He earned his peace and quiet, and having dealt with what was put in front of him in his youth, he was more than capable of dealing with the problems that a "normal" wizard faces. Anything would seem cheery and simple to him after the death of Voldemort.

The ending was a bit cluttered, mainly due to the hasty introduction of so many characters, but I read it a second time and everything seems to fall into place. I think that Victoire is the daughter of Bill and Fleur, and that explains why Teddy would have been at the station, mainly to see her off. I would have liked to see something in regards to George, either in the aftermath of the last battle or at the train station. Fred's death was the toughest to swallow, even though he was nowhere near as important as someone like Snape.

I figure the movie comes out in 2010. Should be crazy, and fairly long, as there are a lot of parts that can be seen as necessary.

[Toon³]

do people still do latin?

Nimirum populus etiam utor latin

[Bluto11]

do people still do latin?
semper ubi sub ubi


;)

[Toon³]

semper ubi sub ubi


;)

umpa lumpa doompa dee do

;)

[Stud83]

Nimirum populus etiam utor latin

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nullam eros pede, euismod sed, consequat sit amet, porttitor aliquet, mauris. Nam at dui.

[Numquam Moribimur]

~~~ Numquam Moribimur ~~~

[The Guv'nor]

THe Harry Potter book could have been much better.

It just seemed rushed, far too many things were left out, there could have been more interaction with (spoiler)Snape before he died, and the epilogue told you one thing.

Instead there was detail wasted on things that weren't that interesting, like the wedding.

[Bluto11]

umpa lumpa doompa dee do

;)
don't think i learned that one :p

4 and a half years of Latin, and I don't remember much

[BusbyBabes]

neque Galli neque Germani Romanos superant..:D

I am learning latin bene.

BTW the new Harry Potter was okay but not the best book I have read as I thought the final confrontation between the two characters was too fast and boring despite the six books building up to the moment.

[BusbyBabes]

don't think i learned that one :p

4 and a half years of Latin, and I don't remember much

so you obviously learn Latin tardus but i would not worry as it is difficult.:eek:

[BusbyBabes]

Now reading the 'Black Death' by Phillip Ziegler.

A very fascinating book especially if you are interested in this aspect in history like me.


Thought I would describe the three types of bubonic plague

The first was the disease with the buboes that developed in the groin, neck and armpit which could grow to the size of an orange. There was dusky stains or blotches caused by haemorrhages under the skin. The victim died after about four or five days. The patient could survive if the bubo suppurates within a week.

The next was primary pneumonic or pulmonary plague in which recovery was virtually unknown and the victim took about 1.8 days to die. It was the most infectous because it attacked the lungs so there is a lot of coughing of blood and plague bacilli are sprayed into the air everytime the patient exhales.

The third was septicaemic plague which caused the victim to die in hours. The victims bloodstream would be full, in one or two hours, would be swarming in plague bacilli. The victim is dead long before the buboes are formed.