Flights of Fantasy discussion

Just thought that since we didn't have 'What are you reading in...' threads for September/October, a retrospective topic about what you did read in this period might help us all catch up on our reading progress to date. Hope the mods are OK with this. :)

As for me, I read Bison, a graphic novel extracted from old 2000 AD issues. This is a near-future sci-fi/crime story that partly interested me for a character that bears my mother's maiden name.

I followed this with Interlude with Tattoos, a gay-themed, Victorian-era, fantasy short story in the author's A charm of Magpies series.

I then read Lies, the third book in Michael Grant's Gone series.

Of the three, I probably enjoyed Lies the most, ripping through the last 250 pages in less than two days! I also read a few issues of 2000 AD comic, which recently celebrated its 2000th issue.

Currently, I'm reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

I had mixed feelings about Madness of Angels. I thought the story was awesome but the writing was overdone.

Let me know how the sequel is.

I've been jumping around between several books without really finishing any of them in September and October. Currently, though, I'm concentrating on The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4), and after that I intend to jump back into A Crown of Swords (Wheel of Time, #7).

I just finishedThe Whispering Skull - hoping the next in the series is a bit better.

All of my reading over the last 9 weeks have been school related so I can't really link to any books.

In World History we've covered how do handle various historical sources, exploration by Portugal and Spain, colonization of the Americas, The Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution.

In Intro to Ethics we've covered the tenets of an Ethical System, Divine Command Theory, Utilitarianism, and Kantianism.

Frustratingly, we're reading maybe once excerpt a section from our required History textbook (which I had to purchase new as it is specifically designed for the class and the semester, and is not returnable), and we have not read a single thing from our Ethics textbook (which i purchased used, so will probably get little if anything back).

Nicki wrote: "That's totally fine, Greg; thanks for catching us up. :)

I haven't gotten a lot of reading done in the last few weeks due to various bits of real life drama and its general effect on my energy lev..."

Cool. You're welcome! :)

colleen the fabulous fabulaphile wrote: "I had mixed feelings about Madness of Angels. I thought the story was awesome but the writing was overdone.

Let me know how the sequel is."

I've added Madness of Angels because it looks interesting but I note what you both say in terms of its pacing and overdone writing.

colleen the fabulous fabulaphile wrote: "I just finishedThe Whispering Skull - hoping the next in the series is a bit better."

If The Whispering Skull wasn't quite up to scratch, was The Screaming Staircase good as that's another book I'd like to read?

Nyssa wrote: "Frustratingly, we're reading maybe once excerpt a section from our required History textbook (which I had to purchase new as it is specifically designed for the class and the semester, and is not returnable), and we have not read a single thing from our Ethics textbook (which i purchased used, so will probably get little if anything back)."

The early modern period had so much going on! If you hold on to those textbooks you can, of course, always dip into them long after you need them for class. I kind of regret selling off my first year geography textbooks but I needed some cash at the time (I was 19 then). I still have most of my other undergrad textbooks though.

Greg wrote: "The early modern period had so much going on! If you hold on to those textbooks you can, of course, always dip into them long after you need them for class. I kind of regret selling off my first year geography textbooks but I needed some cash at the time (I was 19 then). I still have most of my other undergrad textbooks though. "

My major is Math Education so I plan to keep all of those textbooks, especially since my twins will be starting high school next year. My eldest is already ahead of me - he's taking pre-calc this year, and calc next year.

I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to go back to school, now that I know what I want to be when I grow up. But it's odd knowing that some of my classmates are young enough to be my children. It was even odder when one of my former students (I've been a substitute teacher for over 5 years, and have been taking long-term assignments for 3 of those years), was also one of my classmates.

Nyssa wrote: "Greg wrote: "The early modern period had so much going on! If you hold on to those textbooks you can, of course, always dip into them long after you need them for class. I kind of regret selling of..."

I teach at a college and one of the things that's nice to see is the growing number of mature students attending classes. It can make for more interesting discussions in class. Also, their presence tends to have a good, calming, effect on some of the more boisterous younger students.

But sharing a class with a former student must have been interesting! Was it a bit awkward for you both?

Greg wrote: "But sharing a class with a former student must have been interesting! Was it a bit awkward for you both? "

Not as much as one would think. I've taken all of my classes online, and he happened to see one of my discussion posts. He then emailed me directly to say hello, which I thought was nice. We ran into each other when we went to take a test at the college. I was leaving and he was going in.

With the number of the kids taking advantage of dual enrollment, I probably won't be as surprised if it happens again.

Nyssa wrote: "Greg wrote: "But sharing a class with a former student must have been interesting! Was it a bit awkward for you both? "

Not as much as one would think. I've taken all of my classes online, and he ..."

That was nice of your former student to connect like that!

I haven't either taken or given an online course as yet. I'm intrigued about it, though, and would be interested in taking a few high school and/or college modules to learn, more formally, about Canadian history and geography. I was born in Canada and have gazillions of Canadian relatives but I grew up mainly on the other side of the Atlantic. However, I've found that online courses can cost a bit so I'm holding off on that right now.

Greg wrote: "I haven't either taken or given an online course as yet. I'm intrigued about it, though, and would be interested in taking a few high school and/or college modules to learn, more formally, about Canadian history and geography. I was born in Canada and have gazillions of Canadian relatives but I grew up mainly on the other side of the Atlantic. However, I've found that online courses can cost a bit so I'm holding off on that right now. "

I hope you get the opportunity to give it a try. It costs a few dollars more (about $20, I think) to take classes online instead of the classroom, at the college I'm attending. They also offer hybrid courses where a student attends class less often than the standard course and does a lot of the work online.

Taking all of my classes online allows me to work while I attend school , and continuing to sub allows me more flexibility when I have to take days off for tests on campus. It means I don't get paid for that day, though.
We have to take at least one, on campus, proctored test in each class. My history teacher lets us take all of our quizzes at home but our exams are taken at school. My Ethics teacher is only requiring that we take our final exam on campus.

colleen the fabulous fabulaphile wrote: "I just finishedThe Whispering Skull - hoping the next in the series is a bit better."

I say this without having finished book 4, but I thought The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co., #3) was pretty great and the best in the series; it really sold me on Lockwood & Co. I had enjoyed the previous two books, but it took me a while to finish the Whispering Skull, whereas I devoured The Hollow Boy. :)

Nyssa wrote: "Greg wrote: "I haven't either taken or given an online course as yet. I'm intrigued about it, though, and would be interested in taking a few high school and/or college modules to learn, more forma..."

As you point out in your case, Nyssa, online courses do give people more options when considering going (back) to college. I was looking at online high school courses that cost over $400 each. For a single course, that's not bad, but if I wanted to take say three courses in one academic year then that racks up the cost quite a bit - and I don't think that includes textbooks. I guess it comes down to how much I want to do it as well as how much time and and money I can afford. Maybe one course per term would be more feasible for me. At the end of the day, I guess I should just start with one course and see how it goes.

It's a pity that you have to take an on-campus test instead of being assessed entirely on your course work, but maybe this is done to reduce the risk of student fraud (e.g. where an enrolled student gets somebody else to do the course work for a fee or favour).

Michelle E. wrote: "colleen the fabulous fabulaphile wrote: "I just finishedThe Whispering Skull - hoping the next in the series is a bit better."

I say this without having finished book 4, but I thou..."

Sounds like The Whispering Skull is a bit of a dud compared to the others in the series!

Michelle E. wrote: "I say this without having finished book 4, but I thought The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co., #3) was pretty great and the best in the series; it really sold me on Lockwood & Co. I had enjoyed the previous two books, but it took me a while to finish the Whispering Skull, whereas I devoured The Hollow Boy. :) "

That's good to hear. Especially since I already have Hollow Boy from the library, anyway.

Just read - between last night and this morning - some manga: One Piece, Volume 01: Romance Dawn. This was a three-star read for me.

Greg wrote: "I haven't either taken or given an online course as yet. I'm intrigued about it, though, and would be interested in taking a few high school and/or college modules to learn, more formally, about Canadian history and geography. I was born in Canada and have gazillions of Canadian relatives but I grew up mainly on the other side of the Atlantic. However, I've found that online courses can cost a bit so I'm holding off on that right now."


Have you checked to see if Coursea or iTunes U have them? I mean, if you don't need an actual grade, that is. Coursea is more if you want to do real course work while iTunes U would be more of an audit but they are both free.

MrsJoseph wrote: "Greg wrote: "I haven't either taken or given an online course as yet. I'm intrigued about it, though, and would be interested in taking a few high school and/or college modules to learn, more forma..."

I haven't looked into those yet. Thanks for the heads up! I'd probably prefer to get some kind of accreditation but maybe it would be good to start with a free, non-accredited, course to see what the online learning experience is like.