If I were to arrange a date at a bookstore, which book would you choose? If I took you to a bookstore and instead of splitting the bill we bought a book for each other or for ourselves, which genre or specific book would you choose?
Thanks for the A2A Daniel!When we are gifting someone something, we usually fall into the inexplicable temptation of giving them a part of our heart. And so more than often we end up giving them what we like against what they cherish more. And hence, it is very important that we know before hand who we are dating and what kind of books they like.*If it is my first date and I have no clue of what kind of books the other person reads, I would rather go with easy but impactful reads.The little prince- I think nobody, in their right mind, would hate the little prince. And someone who is unable to aww at him, doesn’t have a damn heart. He is sweet, adorable and boyishly mysterious. (What else do you want in a date!)2) Short stories by Ruskin Bond- The kind of nostalgia Bond can conjure, nobody else can come even close to it. I think the most loved memories are that of the childhood. The moment a writer touches those rusty & forgotten corners of your heart, you long for a kind of love love that only childhood innocence can invoke.3) The Lady with the Pet Dog- A short story by Anton Chekhov. If you love novels, you are bound to love the secret air of adulterous affairs between married housewives and young men. Although gifting this impeccable book could excite your date into doing something unchivalrous, yet the risk of loosing him makes the game all the more fun and competitive. I think this story is only going to make your date laugh and at the same time wonder what their date is up to.4) Grief is the thing with feathers- So that my date learns to let go off people. So that when someone he is close to dies, he can open up this book and read and reread and re-reread it. So that on the day he becomes incapable of leaving his own bed, he knows their is a crow looking after him and his sons like his own mother. So that he knows, a soft feathery bed is waiting to embrace him on the other side of the death; all he got to do is to swim through the pain.And if I am already Head over heels, then,
Have you ever played a video game that changed your life or at least your perspective of it?
When I was in middle school I used to carry all my books in my backpack which was super heavy until I’d done it for about 6 months. I used to imagine I was a mech from Mechwarrior to help me get through the physical exertion.Later I used to imagine that I was chasing the cursor in UO when I had was running late and had to get run to get to school or events on time.I learned statistics and probability from pen and paper RPG’s which gave me an intuitive grasp of mathematics which I have used for years.I learned to evaluate alternatives and make good resource allocation choices from playing a variety of building/management sims, probably the first one I really got into was railroad tycoon 2. Also learned about stock price manipulation from that, and funnily enough 15 years later I saw someone privatizing their company in real life the same way that I used to do it in that game all those years ago.Towns helped me get a job, because I figured out a general formula for expansion in a volumetric space to help me determine how big I wanted to make my buildings and how many blocks of materials I would need, used them in an interview about six months later when I was discussing a storage volume problem with a retailing company.There’s more subtle influences from games as well; for example, Cecil from Final Fantasy IV stands up to tyranny and rejects his dark impulses to become a hero capable of protecting his friends, his kingdom, his enemies and eventually the world. I can’t help but think that I took some good lessons away from that game and others like it.Finally we can talk about visual novels, Fate Stay/Night, Steins; Gate and Muv Luv are all excellent works that you will take something away from if you pay attention. None of them are likely to send you out on a totally new path in life, but Fate for instance, colors the way I think about hero’s in fiction as well how I think about and apply my own values to real life. Thanks Nasu!
Have you come across some really interesting stuff on the deep web?
There was one story on the web ,which I can never forgot. This story was about a drug.A scientist found a new drug and used it. He fell asleep.The next day when he woke up,he narrated the events he remember.He told his colleagues that when he took that drug,he slept and then woke up lying on a bench and was surrounded by Weird looking creatures,which he described as aliens.These aliens were trying to figure something out with the scientist’s body without touching it.The scientist was scared but couldn't move. Just like everyone else the colleagues believed that it was a dream that the scientist had as resultant of that drug.But the scientist completely deny it to be a dream. The scientist believe that it was too realistic to be a dream and he was literally physically present there at that time.He remembers every detail about that time and also the gestures those aliens made in front of him. He remembers what he was thinking at that time.The scientist somewhat belived that there is a parallel world and that drug was a gateway.Although, I don't believe in stories like this but what if this was true.*goosebumps*After a few days ,I went back to google trying to find that story just to figure out the name of the scientist and the drug,I failed.I hated myself as I had to use 'clear history' very often back then.
What Mercedes Lackey book or story would be appropriate for high school?
Hello! Misty (Mercedes Lackey) was just here with me, as we played with our parrots and had an excellent fish & chips dinner. I asked her what she thought might help you.Misty's work is constantly on the American Librarians' Association Recommended Reading list. Misty is up to around a hundred titles now, and shouldn't stop any time soon. It is a very demanding life, and her love for the fans and the supporters of her work is undying, even as age 65 kicks at her.To catch the Suzanne Collins flavor, Misty recommends you go with Hunter, from Disney-Hyperion. It has a smart and serious female adventurer lead, is the first book of this new series, and takes place in a magical post-apocalypse setting as humankind tries to hold out against monsters and more.The Elemental Masters series, and Serpent's Shadow in particular, take place between 1882 to 1917, when women's emancipation was growing. She painstakingly researches that series, so everything down to the style of window trim and gloves are period-correct. It's a fun way to join in fantasy and history buffs.For a whatever-you-want-it-to-be adventure book, go with The Black Gryphon. It is in its 33rd printing and counting. If you want a spy story, a war story, a romance, coming of age, desperate measures, meaning of friendship, magic, mercy, and a survival story, they're all part of it. Zhaneel in particular is a character that lends herself well to empowering shy people, as she discovers she isn't an awful fluke, she is actually of an undocumented subspecies of gryphon---and you get to watch her as she then sets about being, quite frankly, amazing.I'll add in, please consider the work of some of our dearest friends and colleagues now departed: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne McCaffrey, and Andre Norton. We miss them very much and they did important work. Much of what cynics see as tired tropes now were brought in, and even perfected, by them, as they worked through adverse conditions. We work hard to carry on their traditions, and build upon their examples.I hope that helps, and please contact me privately if you ever need anything like signed books or autographed prints for any fundraisers. We'll put together some loot for you. Thank you very much for being an educator! Few things in our world are as rewarding as what you do.