Famous First and Last Lines

I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story. This is the opening line in Ethan Frome, a book by Edith Wharton, and was published in 1911. Edith Wharton was born on January 24, 1862, and died August 11, 1937. The book Ethan Frome takes place in a fictional New England town, and is written in the form of an extended flashback, with all but the prologue and epilogue being set 24 years in the past. The main character, Ethan Frome, is a man who basically never has things go his way. His wife was sickly and constantly irritated, he loved his wife's cousin, and he was forced to stay at a fairly rundown farm. When his wife decides to send her cousin away, they go on a suicide sled run, which left Ethan with a limp and her paralyzed. In a bizarre twist, at the end of the story it is her who is constantly irritated and sick and Ethan's wife who is now taking care of her.


I closed my eyes, head drooping, like a person drunk for so long she no longer knows she's drunk, and then, drunk, awoke to the world which lay before me. This is the ending line in Don Quixote, a novel by Migeul de Cervantes, and was published in 1605(part 1), and 1615(part 2). Migeul de Cervantes was born on September 29, 1547(assumed), and died April 22, 1616. For a summery of the story, click here: Don Quixote.

Memorable Passage

Excerpt from Fairy Tail Vol. 1, Chapter 2: The Master Appears

Makarov: "So you dolts have done it again!! Just look at all these letters from the Council!!"
Lucy(thoughts): The Council? Isn't that the body that manages all the wizard guilds?
Makarov: "First...Gray! It's good that you rounded up that ring of smugglers...but afterward you stumbled around town on the nude...and in the end you wound up stealing somebody's underwear right off the line and running away with it."
Gray: "But...I could't keep running around naked!"
Elfman: Maybe if you hadn't gotten naked in the first place?"
Makarov: "sigh. Elfman!! While performing bodyguard service for a VIP, you attacked that selfsame VIP!"
Elfman: "He made a crack about how 'a man is only worth as much as his education,' and before I knew it..."
Makarov: "Cana Alberona, you drank fifteen full kegs of liquor at a certain tavern, falsely claimed it as 'expenses,' and worse, sent the bill directly to the Council!"
Cana: "So they found out?"
Makarov: "Loke...you seduced the granddaughter of the senior Council member, Rage. Also, we've been sent an invoice for damages at a certain talent agency. And Natsu..." He slumps dejectedly. "In bringing down the Devon Bandit Clan, you destroyed seven private homes!! You brought down the Tuly Village's historic clock tower!! The town of Freesia's church is completely destroyed!! You damaged a section of the Lupinus Castle!! The observation station at the Nazuna Ravine is closed due to wanton destruction. And you leveled half the harbor at Hargeon!!"
Lucy(thoughts): So most of the stuff I read about in the magazine was Natsu's doing?!!
Makarov: "Alzack...Levy...Krov...Reedus...Warren...Bisca...etc...All of you...have done nothing but make the Council mad at me!! But...The Council can eat crap for all I care!! Listen! Ours is a power that goes beyond the bounds of reason. But is is born out of reason itself. Magic isn't some miracle. What we do is match the energy that flows between us...with the wavelength of the world's natural energy. And take what is embodied in that union...using our force of will and concentration. More than that, we pour our entire soul into it to make what we call magic. If you spend time worrying about what those in authority think of you, your magic will never advance! So don't let those idiots on the Council intimidate you!! Follow the path you truly believe in!!!! That is what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard!!!!"

I like this speech by Makarov, guild master of the Fairy Tail guild, for a couple reasons. First, its kinda funny how he goes from being angry at his guild members for doing things that got the Council mad at him, to encouraging them to do it. Second, it really just shows what Fairy Tail is about, a bunch of people who despite their faults, arguments, and past can care for each other like a big family. And third, it nicely sums up my thoughts on magic from the Harry Potter universe and makes me think it would be something Dumbledore might say. Although he would probably put things in much politer terms.

A Couple of Quotes I like

Albus Dumbledore


Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, & Prongs

Writers as Readers

1) Honestly I can read just about anywhere, I read so much that I can tune out distractions fairly easily. But to be really comfortable I prefer to sit in my bed under the covers. I have my door shut and like everything to be quite. Well, not completely quite, I like to have my music going in the background, and I'll often sing along to my songs.

2) My preferred genres are Fantasy, Sci-fi, and (although I'm not sure these are genres) Manga and Fanfiction. I really like magic, and tales of wizards, elves, and other creatures of magic in Fantasy. I am drawn to Sci-fi because of Star Wars and the Mass Effect games. I love Manga (in specific Naruto and Fairy Tail) due to the amazing plots and humor. And I love Fanfiction because it allows me to find stories about anything I want from other stuff I like, such as Pokemon.

7) The first book I can remember reading was Eragon by Christopher Polini. It was during first grade, when my mom was teaching me to read. I didn't really read it, it was more mom reading it to me, but since then it has become one of my favorite books.

8) Oh now this is difficult. Hm...well my favorite fantasy series is the Inheritance Cycle, out of which I like Eragon the most. My favorite Sci-fi book...is probably...Battlefield Earth. My favorite Manga series is Naruto, which is about ninjas who throw around attacks such as "Fire Style: Flame Dragon Bullet". My favorite Fanfiction...hm...probably Fate's Gamble by Lupine Horror.

12) Well I know that I'm a better writer due to how much I read. Most of what I write is Fanfiction, which means I need to really know the original stories. For that I need to be a good reader. In addition, reading other peoples Fanfiction allows me to get new ideas and vocabulary for my own Fanfiction.