Because unbelievably this doesn't exist yet.

I would like to take this opportunity to recommend the Collection of Complete World Knowledge, a trilogy of almanacs of fake knowledge by John Hodgman. The first book is called colloquially The Areas of My Expertise, but the full title is An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order by myself, John Hodgman, a Professional Writer, in The Areas of My Expertise, which Include: Matters Historical, Matters Literary, Matters Cryptozoological, Hobo Matters, Food, Drink & Cheese (a Kind of Food), Squirrels & Lobsters & Eels, Haircuts, Utopia, What Will Happen in the Future, and Most Other Subjects. It is hilarious and, on a personal note, I take much of my humor sensibilities from Hodgman's work.

Go read it. If for no other reason, it has a list of 700 hobo names.

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Stevenson's Vocabulary Word of the Week:

Foment: (verb) To excite or arouse, i.e. 2014's Week of Randomness hopes to foment some activity on the forums.


Stevenson's Latin Phrase of the Week:

Brutum Fulmen: (senseless thunderbolt) This phrase, coined by Pliny the elder, is used to refer to an empty threat.

I don't even know where to begin here... Well, The Wheel of Time series recently wrapped up with a pretty epic and fitting conclusion. The premise is what has become epic fantasy cliche. Guy and friends grew up in a small village and suddenly find themselves on the run from monsters and involved in a struggle for the fate of the world with an ancient evil force threatening to break free from its prison. But it quickly pulls away from the cliche with a massive cast of interesting characters and layers upon layers of complexity and plot twists. If you like epic fantasy, or just want to give it a try, Wheel of Time is really one of the best series out there. Don't let the length deter you, it's worth the time it takes to read.

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My signature site. Because ripping off Silver's ideas is fun.

If I recall though, the original author died before finishing the series?

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Stevenson's Vocabulary Word of the Week:

Foment: (verb) To excite or arouse, i.e. 2014's Week of Randomness hopes to foment some activity on the forums.


Stevenson's Latin Phrase of the Week:

Brutum Fulmen: (senseless thunderbolt) This phrase, coined by Pliny the elder, is used to refer to an empty threat.

Yes. Sadly, Robert Jordan died before completing the series. But he left extensive notes about the rest of the story and his wife (also his editor) picked Brandon Sanderson (another favorite author of mine) to write the remaining books and he did a really good job.

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My signature site. Because ripping off Silver's ideas is fun.

I see. How many books is it?

((I know I'm a dummy and could just google it but I don't feel like it when I'm having this lovely conversation here.))

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Stevenson's Vocabulary Word of the Week:

Foment: (verb) To excite or arouse, i.e. 2014's Week of Randomness hopes to foment some activity on the forums.


Stevenson's Latin Phrase of the Week:

Brutum Fulmen: (senseless thunderbolt) This phrase, coined by Pliny the elder, is used to refer to an empty threat.

I'm personally very fond of the Halo book series. The ones written by Eric Nylund are exceptionally good, and the newer ones are pretty great too. It's an excellent exposition on the universe outside of the games (The Halo expanded universe is pretty large).

I also recommend the "Precy Jackson and the Olypians" series. It's starts off as what seems like a Harry Potter clone but makes a name for itself rather quickly.

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Weepitang - Gender: Male; Type: Grass, Steel; Abilities: Clear Body, Chlorophyll; Attacks: Take Down, Vine Whip, Psychic, Wrap. Level 17

............ - Gender: Male; Type: Fighting, Flying; Abilities: Guts, Inner Focus; Attacks: Leech Life, Leer, Low Kick, Revenge. Level 15

Sudonette - Gender: Male; Type: Rock, Ghost; Abilities: Insomnia, Rock Head; Attacks: Knock Off, Copycat,Rock throw, Curse. level 5

Metarion(SDC) - Gender: Male; Type: Grass, Metal; Abilities: Shield Dust, Sturdy; Attacks: Metal Claw, Tackle, Mud-Slap, Headbutt. Level 8

Shieldyu(SDC) - Gender: Male; Type: Water, Ground; Abilities: Sturdy, Natural Cure; Attacks: Tackle, Protect, Rapid Spin, take down. Level 5

Lola - Gender: Female; Type: Psychic, Flying; Abilities: Inner Focus, Synchronize; Attacks: Teleport, Leech Life, Leer

Yeah, the Percy Jackson books are pretty good. What are your thoughts on...I don't even know what it's called. Rick Riordan's other series. The one starting with Red Pyramid.

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Stevenson's Vocabulary Word of the Week:

Foment: (verb) To excite or arouse, i.e. 2014's Week of Randomness hopes to foment some activity on the forums.


Stevenson's Latin Phrase of the Week:

Brutum Fulmen: (senseless thunderbolt) This phrase, coined by Pliny the elder, is used to refer to an empty threat.

I really liked the first one (there were several references to the other series, and they definitely take place in the same universe.) It seems to follow the same pattern of "sorry if you thought that was the final boss", but the main characters are pretty different. I've only been able to read the first one.

I would love it if he decided to make a Norse god series, then combine all three and make aliens attack. That would be so dope.

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Weepitang - Gender: Male; Type: Grass, Steel; Abilities: Clear Body, Chlorophyll; Attacks: Take Down, Vine Whip, Psychic, Wrap. Level 17

............ - Gender: Male; Type: Fighting, Flying; Abilities: Guts, Inner Focus; Attacks: Leech Life, Leer, Low Kick, Revenge. Level 15

Sudonette - Gender: Male; Type: Rock, Ghost; Abilities: Insomnia, Rock Head; Attacks: Knock Off, Copycat,Rock throw, Curse. level 5

Metarion(SDC) - Gender: Male; Type: Grass, Metal; Abilities: Shield Dust, Sturdy; Attacks: Metal Claw, Tackle, Mud-Slap, Headbutt. Level 8

Shieldyu(SDC) - Gender: Male; Type: Water, Ground; Abilities: Sturdy, Natural Cure; Attacks: Tackle, Protect, Rapid Spin, take down. Level 5

Lola - Gender: Female; Type: Psychic, Flying; Abilities: Inner Focus, Synchronize; Attacks: Teleport, Leech Life, Leer

The Wheel of Time series is 14 volumes.

Riordan's Can Chronicles series isn't bad. Not quite as good as Percy Jackson, in my opinion. But if you like PJ it's worth a read. It's more or less the same thing but with Egyptian mythology.

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My signature site. Because ripping off Silver's ideas is fun.

Sorry for derailing your book thread with movies, but since you're talking about Percy Jackson I figured I'd bring it up.

You guys remember that abomination of a movie that was supposedly based on Percy Jackson? You guys remember that, right? Apparently, they're making a sequel. It'll be out this summer. And what I want to know is WHYYYY the first one SUCKED and exactly NO ONE LIKED IT. Also HOW you completely BUTCHERED the story and the sequel will be FULL OF PLOT HOLES.

Just thought I'd share.

Yeah, I liked the Percy Jackson books. Haven't read any of Riordan's other series though. I've been meaning too, but I don't even have time to read the stuff I'm supposed to read for school.

I've been slowly working my way through Good Omens though. Well, I was before school started, anyway... was hoping to have it done by December 21st, but no such luck, unfortunately. I'm only about halfway through, but I've been enjoying that one so far.

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"Irregardless" and "Over exaggerated" are NEVER CORRECT EVER because they are redundant
Regardless means "without regard", and adding "ir" on the front actually makes it a double negative; exaggerate means "to overstate" so you're literally saying "over overstate."
Example: I can not exaggerate the importance of this fact enough, regardless of how often people ignore it.

I read Good Omens way back, it's not bad.

As for the reason they're making another Percy Jackson movie... It's because it made money, of course. I blame everyone who went to see it (I didn't). But yeah, there are very few movie adaptations of books that I actually like. A Series of Unfortunate Events, Dune (the Sci-Fi Channel version), Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, some assorted Disney movies...I think that's about it.

Oh, speaking of which, if anyone hasn't read Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, you really should. It's about a trio of orphans who go to live with a guardian after their family's house burns down. Unfortunate things happen. Very unfortuante. It's actually really depressing if you stock to think about it, but that gets pushed aside by the humor, which is a mix of dark jokes, wry humor, and unusual uses of vocabulary.

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My signature site. Because ripping off Silver's ideas is fun.

I totally forgot I gave you that book, Silver. Glad you're kind of enjoying it.

I dunno, I remember reading the Series of Unfortunate Events and not really being able to get in to it. Was that wrong, did I not give it a fair shot, should I try again? I know my girlfriend owns them all, so I could access them at any time.

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Stevenson's Vocabulary Word of the Week:

Foment: (verb) To excite or arouse, i.e. 2014's Week of Randomness hopes to foment some activity on the forums.


Stevenson's Latin Phrase of the Week:

Brutum Fulmen: (senseless thunderbolt) This phrase, coined by Pliny the elder, is used to refer to an empty threat.

Not sure how far you read. I will say that they're not for everyone. That said, it's an excellent series and if you can't remember much I'd recommend giving it another try.

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My signature site. Because ripping off Silver's ideas is fun.

Okay, another recommendation:

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. It's a victorian travelogue that tells the story of, well, three men and a dog on a trip up the Thames, with many many asides and tangents. It's still quite humorous today, and you can draw several parallels to today's society even. Worth a read, for certain.

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Stevenson's Vocabulary Word of the Week:

Foment: (verb) To excite or arouse, i.e. 2014's Week of Randomness hopes to foment some activity on the forums.


Stevenson's Latin Phrase of the Week:

Brutum Fulmen: (senseless thunderbolt) This phrase, coined by Pliny the elder, is used to refer to an empty threat.