The Sunday Salon: Fun with Search Terms

I’ve never mentioned it, but I absolutely love poking at my site stats. How people get to my blog (I’m apparently linked on my college’s website! This is completely new information to me!), which posts people read the most (my review of the film adaptation of Atonement and my review of A Clash of Kings), and, of course, the search terms that lead people to my blog. There are many paths to my establishment, it seems, and several of them are paths trod by very confused people. Today, then, I will help these poor souls by answering their search terms, as culled from search terms that led actual people to my blog this September.

eowyn dress patterns

Ah! This is probably from me not shutting up about Dragon*Con. I made my Éowyn dress from Simplicity 4940, a very nice costume pattern that also includes Arwen’s mourning dress as well as Éowyn’s shield maiden dress and that green velvet number she wears. The pattern itself is out-of-print, but it’s on sale for six bucks on the Simplicity website and you can always find a copy on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy—that’s where I got mine. Don’t let the sizing scare you off; check your measurements against the back of the package. I’m a twelve/fourteen in the pattern I cut for my measurements. If you have any more questions or just don’t like the pattern, check out LOTR Costume, the biggest The Lord of the Rings costuming website online. (Among other things, it’ll show you how to turn one of the Simplicity 4940 dresses into Arwen’s riding ensemble!)

lily marshall fanfiction

I’m not sure how you got here, but you will be undoubtedly satisfied by “Marshall Eriksen and the Secret Book“, a fantastic piece about Lily, Marshall, and Harry Potter.

can i read clash of kings after watching game of thrones

Yes. I recommend reading A Game of Thrones, naturally, but what I’ve heard about the television adaptation leads me to believe there is little danger leaping into the book after the first season of the series.

which musketeer slept with the queen

NONE OF THEM. You are thinking of The Man in the Iron Mask, the remarkably watchable 1997 film adaptation featuring Jeremy Irons, wherein it is stated that d’Artagnan slept with Queen Anne, producing Louis and Philippe.

eowyn and aragorn kiss gif

This also never happened. Have I ever mentioned that I’m a little peeved when people support Éowyn/Aragorn over Arwen/Aragorn? I mean, I love Arwen to pieces, but supporters of the former tend to ignore Éowyn’s hero worship of Aragorn and the fact that they are so similar as to be unsuited to each other, which is the very reason Éowyn ends up with Faramir; Aragorn didn’t pick the wrong girl, Éowyn picked the right man. Mori is an Éowyn/Aragorn shipper in Among Others, but she’s young. She’ll learn.

why isn’t literary criticism taught in high school?

I have no idea, beyond “it’s really hard to create a standardized test for it”. I think a small amount of it would be very useful and teach kids that books are texts to interact with, rather than holy relics or something to be ignored.

is austen herself the narrator of northanger abbey?

No; the narrator is a narrator used to Gothic novels rather than Austen herself, which is why Northanger Abbey is so much fun. I love watching her complain about the completely normal people she has to put up with.

were you surprised by jane’s attraction to rochester?

Not really. I mean, I’ve known they were going to get together since I was in middle school, which was long before I actually read Jane Eyre.

why do you think erik larson chose to tell burnham and holmes’ stories together? how did the juxtaposition affect the narrative? do you think they worked well together or would you have preferred to read about just holmes or just burnham?

I really hope you just started writing this response paper, because these questions are about your reaction to the book rather than my reaction to the book.

This week has been busy! The small school show I’m directing goes up (and then down) on Friday, which will hopefully go well. I’ve been studying, working, taking particularly vicious tests (that I hopefully bested), and writing my first film paper. I finished Blood Rights—that review’s going up tomorrow—and I’m enjoying A Fire Upon the Deep so much. Older science fiction and I usually have a harder time connecting, but this is just fantastic. I can’t wait to get to The Children of the Sky; I’ve got The Influencing Machine on deck as my palette cleanser. I also managed to win a copy of The Faerie Ring, which should be coming in the mail soon.

Tor/Forge is giving away one bundle including With Fate Conspire, All Men of Genius, and The Affinity Bridge until tomorrow. Fantasy Book Critic is giving away a copy of Spellbound and a signed copy of Spellwright until October 7. Tor/Forge is giving away a Repairman Jack bundle until October 17; you must register for their newsletter to enter. The Baen Free Library is full of free downloads, including The Shadow of the Lion and On Basilisk Station. Night Shade Books is offering Butcher Bird and Grey as free downloads at the moment. Vertigo Comics is offering free downloads of the first issue of several series, including Fables, The Unwritten, and Y: The Last Man. (And you will go download The Unwritten.) If I’ve missed your giveaway or freebie, drop me a line!

Well, I can’t ask you about search terms… but if you have any burning questions that my expertise might soothe, I’ll take my best crack at it. Or at least tell me one of your weirdest search terms.