I thought about doing the Good Reads thing but I have ~600 books on my kindle right now. That's a hell of a lot of data entry. Now that Amazon owns Good Reads there should be an import feature or something.
I love reading. I love Fantasy. I like sci-fi.
I don't like:
Game of Thrones
Malazan
Mistborn
Way of Kings
First Law
Anything that can be classified as 'grimdark' or that has an asshole as a protagonist (Jorg I'm looking at you.)
If the book has a plucky orphan suffering from amnesia who was switched at birth to hide him from his Destiny then it's going to be more my speed. I expect my protagonist to make it to the end of quest and then throw a party for all his friends that also made it to the end (yes, I do love David Eddings. Yes, this description could probably be put on the the back of all of his books). I do read, and enjoy, books that don't follow that but on the whole it's just how I roll. I recently tried to start The Magicians but put it down because the protagonist is a twat and I've been informed by people that actually like to books that he stays a twat. I liked Name of the Wind but disliked Wise Man's Fear because Kvothe is such a twat.
Authors I like (not an all inclusive list):
A. Lee Martinez
Ben Aaronovitch (fucker gets his books released in England months ahead of when they come here)
Benedict Jacka
China Mieville
Christopher Moore
John Scalzi
Simon R Green (I prefer Nightside to Dresden, in fact I rather dislike Dresden)
Tad Williams
A lot of really indie books
The lack of Terry Pratchett on that list is mildly disturbing.
I thought about doing the Good Reads thing but I have ~600 books on my kindle right now. That's a hell of a lot of data entry. Now that Amazon owns Good Reads there should be an import feature or something.
I love reading. I love Fantasy. I like sci-fi.
I don't like:
Game of Thrones
Malazan
Mistborn
Way of Kings
First Law
Anything that can be classified as 'grimdark' or that has an asshole as a protagonist (Jorg I'm looking at you.)
If the book has a plucky orphan suffering from amnesia who was switched at birth to hide him from his Destiny then it's going to be more my speed. I expect my protagonist to make it to the end of quest and then throw a party for all his friends that also made it to the end (yes, I do love David Eddings. Yes, this description could probably be put on the the back of all of his books). I do read, and enjoy, books that don't follow that but on the whole it's just how I roll. I recently tried to start The Magicians but put it down because the protagonist is a twat and I've been informed by people that actually like to books that he stays a twat. I liked Name of the Wind but disliked Wise Man's Fear because Kvothe is such a twat.
Authors I like (not an all inclusive list):
A. Lee Martinez
Ben Aaronovitch (fucker gets his books released in England months ahead of when they come here)
Benedict Jacka
China Mieville
Christopher Moore
John Scalzi
Simon R Green (I prefer Nightside to Dresden, in fact I rather dislike Dresden)
Tad Williams
A lot of really indie books
The lack of Terry Pratchett on that list is mildly disturbing.
Especially since I'm pretty sure it was @Elin who turned me on to Pratchett's The Long Earth and The Long War last year. They were both excellent, by the way.
I thought about doing the Good Reads thing but I have ~600 books on my kindle right now. That's a hell of a lot of data entry. Now that Amazon owns Good Reads there should be an import feature or something.
I love reading. I love Fantasy. I like sci-fi.
I don't like:
Game of Thrones
Malazan
Mistborn
Way of Kings
First Law
Anything that can be classified as 'grimdark' or that has an asshole as a protagonist (Jorg I'm looking at you.)
If the book has a plucky orphan suffering from amnesia who was switched at birth to hide him from his Destiny then it's going to be more my speed. I expect my protagonist to make it to the end of quest and then throw a party for all his friends that also made it to the end (yes, I do love David Eddings. Yes, this description could probably be put on the the back of all of his books). I do read, and enjoy, books that don't follow that but on the whole it's just how I roll. I recently tried to start The Magicians but put it down because the protagonist is a twat and I've been informed by people that actually like to books that he stays a twat. I liked Name of the Wind but disliked Wise Man's Fear because Kvothe is such a twat.
Authors I like (not an all inclusive list):
A. Lee Martinez
Ben Aaronovitch (fucker gets his books released in England months ahead of when they come here)
Benedict Jacka
China Mieville
Christopher Moore
John Scalzi
Simon R Green (I prefer Nightside to Dresden, in fact I rather dislike Dresden)
Tad Williams
A lot of really indie books
The lack of Terry Pratchett on that list is mildly disturbing.
I'll be honest, I'm ambivalent about Pratchett. I like some Discworld books but not others. I bought the Long Earth books but haven't finished the first. I hate that I don't happen enjoy some classically popular things, it lowers the bonding moments possible. I once spent an hour to someone trying to explain that, while I feel that Christopher Nolan succeeded in sharing the vision he had for Batman in an excellent manner, I did not actually like those movies. You'd think I was kicking her puppy. And forget the fact I don't like the LotR movies.
Switch SW-5832-5050-0149
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
I thought about doing the Good Reads thing but I have ~600 books on my kindle right now. That's a hell of a lot of data entry. Now that Amazon owns Good Reads there should be an import feature or something.
I love reading. I love Fantasy. I like sci-fi.
I don't like:
Game of Thrones
Malazan
Mistborn
Way of Kings
First Law
Anything that can be classified as 'grimdark' or that has an asshole as a protagonist (Jorg I'm looking at you.)
If the book has a plucky orphan suffering from amnesia who was switched at birth to hide him from his Destiny then it's going to be more my speed. I expect my protagonist to make it to the end of quest and then throw a party for all his friends that also made it to the end (yes, I do love David Eddings. Yes, this description could probably be put on the the back of all of his books). I do read, and enjoy, books that don't follow that but on the whole it's just how I roll. I recently tried to start The Magicians but put it down because the protagonist is a twat and I've been informed by people that actually like to books that he stays a twat. I liked Name of the Wind but disliked Wise Man's Fear because Kvothe is such a twat.
Authors I like (not an all inclusive list):
A. Lee Martinez
Ben Aaronovitch (fucker gets his books released in England months ahead of when they come here)
Benedict Jacka
China Mieville
Christopher Moore
John Scalzi
Simon R Green (I prefer Nightside to Dresden, in fact I rather dislike Dresden)
Tad Williams
A lot of really indie books
The lack of Terry Pratchett on that list is mildly disturbing.
Especially since I'm pretty sure it was @Elin who turned me on to Pratchett's The Long Earth and The Long War last year. They were both excellent, by the way.
I'm good at recommending books that I'm not 100% on. Just because they aren't my cuppa that doesn't mean they aren't without merit. If someone wants to read a well written complex fantasy with political intrigue I'll recommend GoT, I'll just also add in The War of the Flowers (which I love).
Switch SW-5832-5050-0149
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Unrelated question for the masses:
People seem to ship alcohol occasionally around here, and regardless of how often it ACTUALLY happens, it seems like lots of people will have noted they like it. But as a Canadian, this is problematic because it's 100% illegal for us to send alcohol to the US (many countries, I'm sure, but this was the one I had to check [sorry friends across the ocean, I am not your Santa this year]). Is this unique, or do some of you just ship to other countries regardless of legalities and pray that customs doesn't intervene? Like, I would not do this myself, but I'm curious if other people have?
Oh, I thought that alcohol wouldn't be sent but if it is then I have to state no alcohol or coffee because I don't like the former and the latter doesn't work on me so it's pointless to drink it.
I'd imagine it's legal, in your case, to purchase from a shop in the US and have your order shipped directly to your target. I've not done this myself, but if I were shopping for alcohol that's where I'd start.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
I'd imagine it's legal, in your case, to purchase from a shop in the US and have your order shipped directly to your target. I've not done this myself, but if I were shopping for alcohol that's where I'd start.
Oh absolutely. Ordering from an authorized seller is different anyway. I was more looking at sending something local since that's another status-quo Secret Santa thing. Again, just curious.
Yeah as a general rule, shipping alcohol person to person is illegal.
So is pirating movies, it you get my drift.
Shipping it across national borders is a lot more likely to end up with it confiscated, though. Or possible actual trouble.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Unrelated question for the masses:
People seem to ship alcohol occasionally around here, and regardless of how often it ACTUALLY happens, it seems like lots of people will have noted they like it. But as a Canadian, this is problematic because it's 100% illegal for us to send alcohol to the US (many countries, I'm sure, but this was the one I had to check [sorry friends across the ocean, I am not your Santa this year]). Is this unique, or do some of you just ship to other countries regardless of legalities and pray that customs doesn't intervene? Like, I would not do this myself, but I'm curious if other people have?
I've had DELICIOUS liquor shipped to me, but it was interstate rather than international. I've not tried shipping alcohol myself even though I'm in Colorado and we have the best beer here. Only redeeming factor about this state.
Switch SW-5832-5050-0149
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
Unrelated question for the masses:
People seem to ship alcohol occasionally around here, and regardless of how often it ACTUALLY happens, it seems like lots of people will have noted they like it. But as a Canadian, this is problematic because it's 100% illegal for us to send alcohol to the US (many countries, I'm sure, but this was the one I had to check [sorry friends across the ocean, I am not your Santa this year]). Is this unique, or do some of you just ship to other countries regardless of legalities and pray that customs doesn't intervene? Like, I would not do this myself, but I'm curious if other people have?
The US in general, and some states in specific (Virginia, where I live for instance) are very restrictive in the posting of alcohol across borders. In VA you can not send or receive spirits (hard liquor) through mail or courier, but beer and wine is OK. It's also "OK" to brew your own beer, and make your own wine here. Private stills for creating more potent spirits are illegal in the state of VA (all of the US?) yet the Appalachian region is still thick with moonshine, and will likely be that way forever.
Shipping alcohol is kind of a gray (or grey) area.
When I asked the guy at my local UPS store about it, his statement was "if we don't know about it, and your package doesn't give us cause to search its contents, you're probably good to go"
US Postal is a definite NOPE, though.
International is probably also a nope just based on the fact that everything I've had shipped to me internationally looked like it had been rolling around in a truck bed full of loose bowling balls for a week.
Yeah as a general rule, shipping alcohol person to person is illegal.
So is pirating movies, it you get my drift.
Shipping it across national borders is a lot more likely to end up with it confiscated, though. Or possible actual trouble.
"Confiscated" and replaced with a bottle of bleach.
I think one of the previous times we saw alcohol sent was from a local brewery that did the actual shipping to keep it legal. State laws vary as well, as in NJ I can't get any alcohol shipped from outside the state unless they have a local presence.
I was thinking of doing a post about myself for my santa, but I think I'll wait and see if they need it. I'm a fairly open book online, so I wouldn't be surprised if you find yourself with a wealth of information. Worst case, there's always Proxy the Elf.
yeah interstate is "probably" not legal, depending on the state, but they're never gonna check. I'd be more worried about wrapping it in enough foam and bubble wrap to secure it. I sent a craft root beer one year and individually wrapped each bottle, plus the 4 pack container because that is scary shipping.
...of course now the NSA is onto me. Thanks internet.
yeah interstate is "probably" not legal, depending on the state, but they're never gonna check. I'd be more worried about wrapping it in enough foam and bubble wrap to secure it. I sent a craft root beer one year and individually wrapped each bottle, plus the 4 pack container because that is scary shipping.
...of course now the NSA is onto me. Thanks internet.
aerynkellynothing to see here, move alongRegistered Userregular
Dear Santa: Searching for me online isn't going to yield much for you I'm afraid. I enjoy books but don't use e-books. I do like audio books however. Proxy as much as you need, and definitely hit up the list of folks for hints - they know me pretty well.
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Custom SpecialI know I am, I'm sure I am,I'm Sounders 'til I die!Registered Userregular
Hey, I also got an international santee! Lucky for them something is happening to their mailbox, and then I will do a thing and hopefully ship it without exploding my wallet.
My santee has a pretty generic name so stalking is gonna be tricksy.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Santa, I just went to BevMo on my lunch break and picked up four bottles of the good stuff. That should tell you all you need to know about my stance on craft beers.
As a good rule of thumb though, if you don't feel comfortable buying or shipping alcoholic beverages to someone you don't really know, don't do it.
ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Oh - I'm going to pitch this again in case anyone happens to see it:
If you are a delightful citizen of the United States, and happen to be Santa to a delightful Canadian citizen, and also plan to send something yourself and not through some intermediary such as Amazon, please consider sending to us via USPS. I know UPS is more convenient for many of you, but depots aren't usually easily accessible for us, and on top of this customs brokerage is a thing. For those unfamiliar, it's basically where any courier (UPS, FedEX, DHL, etc) takes a shittier route declaring items so they can pass on the often minimal customs fee with a handling fee attached (usually coming to a minimum of $20), which kinda sucks for trying to claim your gift.
I know this isn't an option for everyone, but USPS doesn't incur these kinds of charges. If you can take it as an option, and it isn't much more expensive, it's probably a much better way to send to us.
FYI for those with an international Santee, USPS has released their recommended shipping deadline for international shipping.
To ensure holiday mail and packages are delivered in time for Christmas, the Postal Service has posted its recommended shipping deadlines. For first-class mail international and priority mail international, December 2 is the deadline.
I used USPS to send to Canada last year in one of the flat-rate deals they have and it worked very well. I'm fairly sure I recall it was the cheapest option as well.
I used usps to ship to Canada one year and they screwed it up so badly it came back to me and I had to ship it again and it didn't get there until well after Christmas. So any international santee I may or may not have was getting something shipped to them directly online.
I could probably add more to my about me, but that might take all of the fun out of stalking, if my santa wants more information get Proxy the Elf to poke me and I'll write up some more.
Judge-ZTeacher, for Great JusticeUpstate NYRegistered Userregular
I know I'm out of this this year, but seeing all of the book gifts out there, I feel the need to interject - there better be some John Scalzi gifted out there! His newest, Lock In, is quite a fun read!
I'll re-post some of my Canadian e-shopping suggestions for those who have a Canadian Santee don't want to deal with Customs/Brokerage:
Amazon.ca is good and has a wide variety of things these days. I recommend only ordering video games if they're in stock. Pre-orders aren't always reliable with them.
Video Games Plus is good for niche games, and is one of the very few retailers still selling at the US cover price instead of hiking everything up $5-$10 Canadabucks. No free shipping, though, so do the math.
Boardgames.ca is one of the more reasonably-priced sources of board games in Canada. You can also support our friendly local Toronto board game cafe, Snakes & Lattes, which now does nationwide mail-order.
I'm not a big comics person, so I can only note that it's possible to order comics and other nerdy merchandise online from Silver Snail. I have no idea if their online store is any good.
Note that most digital currency cards (PSN, Xbox Live, Nintendo, etc.) from the US do not work for Canadian console accounts. If you want to gift one of those or a PS+ subscription or something, you'll need to order it from a Canadian store. Order them from Amazon.ca at your own risk. Last time I tried to take advantage of a PS+ sub sale and order a card from them, they fucked it up.
SwashbucklerXX on
Want to find me on a gaming service? I'm SwashbucklerXX everywhere.
Posts
It doesn't work if I go to last year's thread and try from there either.
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
The lack of Terry Pratchett on that list is mildly disturbing.
Geth agreeing with you scares me for some reason.
And Santee, I'm following you. I don't want to give any hints that might give me away, but just, well, don't turn around.
Especially since I'm pretty sure it was @Elin who turned me on to Pratchett's The Long Earth and The Long War last year. They were both excellent, by the way.
I'll be honest, I'm ambivalent about Pratchett. I like some Discworld books but not others. I bought the Long Earth books but haven't finished the first. I hate that I don't happen enjoy some classically popular things, it lowers the bonding moments possible. I once spent an hour to someone trying to explain that, while I feel that Christopher Nolan succeeded in sharing the vision he had for Batman in an excellent manner, I did not actually like those movies. You'd think I was kicking her puppy. And forget the fact I don't like the LotR movies.
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
I'm good at recommending books that I'm not 100% on. Just because they aren't my cuppa that doesn't mean they aren't without merit. If someone wants to read a well written complex fantasy with political intrigue I'll recommend GoT, I'll just also add in The War of the Flowers (which I love).
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
It links to the current year's list. There should be a "2013 gift wall" link as one of the first things on the page, though.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
People seem to ship alcohol occasionally around here, and regardless of how often it ACTUALLY happens, it seems like lots of people will have noted they like it. But as a Canadian, this is problematic because it's 100% illegal for us to send alcohol to the US (many countries, I'm sure, but this was the one I had to check [sorry friends across the ocean, I am not your Santa this year]). Is this unique, or do some of you just ship to other countries regardless of legalities and pray that customs doesn't intervene? Like, I would not do this myself, but I'm curious if other people have?
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Oh absolutely. Ordering from an authorized seller is different anyway. I was more looking at sending something local since that's another status-quo Secret Santa thing. Again, just curious.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Holy shit, I need to ease up on the cold medicine. @Hypatia in my defense I'm on large amounts of nyquil.
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
So is pirating movies, it you get my drift.
Shipping it across national borders is a lot more likely to end up with it confiscated, though. Or possible actual trouble.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I've had DELICIOUS liquor shipped to me, but it was interstate rather than international. I've not tried shipping alcohol myself even though I'm in Colorado and we have the best beer here. Only redeeming factor about this state.
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
The US in general, and some states in specific (Virginia, where I live for instance) are very restrictive in the posting of alcohol across borders. In VA you can not send or receive spirits (hard liquor) through mail or courier, but beer and wine is OK. It's also "OK" to brew your own beer, and make your own wine here. Private stills for creating more potent spirits are illegal in the state of VA (all of the US?) yet the Appalachian region is still thick with moonshine, and will likely be that way forever.
When I asked the guy at my local UPS store about it, his statement was "if we don't know about it, and your package doesn't give us cause to search its contents, you're probably good to go"
US Postal is a definite NOPE, though.
International is probably also a nope just based on the fact that everything I've had shipped to me internationally looked like it had been rolling around in a truck bed full of loose bowling balls for a week.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
PSN Hypacia
Xbox HypaciaMinnow
Discord Hypacia#0391
"Confiscated" and replaced with a bottle of bleach.
I think one of the previous times we saw alcohol sent was from a local brewery that did the actual shipping to keep it legal. State laws vary as well, as in NJ I can't get any alcohol shipped from outside the state unless they have a local presence.
I was thinking of doing a post about myself for my santa, but I think I'll wait and see if they need it. I'm a fairly open book online, so I wouldn't be surprised if you find yourself with a wealth of information. Worst case, there's always Proxy the Elf.
...of course now the NSA is onto me. Thanks internet.
Merry Christmas!
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
As a brit practically everyone is international to me, I just have to factor it in to my costs now. And available time.
My Santee has interests which I know little to nothing about. I need to do further research.
Also not being able to ship booze is a bit of a bummer.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
As a good rule of thumb though, if you don't feel comfortable buying or shipping alcoholic beverages to someone you don't really know, don't do it.
If you are a delightful citizen of the United States, and happen to be Santa to a delightful Canadian citizen, and also plan to send something yourself and not through some intermediary such as Amazon, please consider sending to us via USPS. I know UPS is more convenient for many of you, but depots aren't usually easily accessible for us, and on top of this customs brokerage is a thing. For those unfamiliar, it's basically where any courier (UPS, FedEX, DHL, etc) takes a shittier route declaring items so they can pass on the often minimal customs fee with a handling fee attached (usually coming to a minimum of $20), which kinda sucks for trying to claim your gift.
I know this isn't an option for everyone, but USPS doesn't incur these kinds of charges. If you can take it as an option, and it isn't much more expensive, it's probably a much better way to send to us.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
3DS Friend Code: 2449-5711-0640
Wii: 4521 1146 5179 1333 Pearl: 3394 4642 8367 HG: 1849 3913 3132
It's not religious or anything, pig is just the worst
Thank you for the choices, Santa! I will get to reading them post haste, and let you know which I like once I discover your identity.
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
But pig is where bacon comes from.
That's gotta get it out of the "Worst animal" column.
Oh yes
Amazon.ca is good and has a wide variety of things these days. I recommend only ordering video games if they're in stock. Pre-orders aren't always reliable with them.
Video Games Plus is good for niche games, and is one of the very few retailers still selling at the US cover price instead of hiking everything up $5-$10 Canadabucks. No free shipping, though, so do the math.
Boardgames.ca is one of the more reasonably-priced sources of board games in Canada. You can also support our friendly local Toronto board game cafe, Snakes & Lattes, which now does nationwide mail-order.
I'm not a big comics person, so I can only note that it's possible to order comics and other nerdy merchandise online from Silver Snail. I have no idea if their online store is any good.
Note that most digital currency cards (PSN, Xbox Live, Nintendo, etc.) from the US do not work for Canadian console accounts. If you want to gift one of those or a PS+ subscription or something, you'll need to order it from a Canadian store. Order them from Amazon.ca at your own risk. Last time I tried to take advantage of a PS+ sub sale and order a card from them, they fucked it up.
Strange, wonderful things that I will use to go full Santa on you.
thanks @Bobkins Flymo
gamertag:Maguano71
Switch:SW-8428-8279-1687
My husband thepain73 was your Santa last year - glad you liked the candies we picked out!
As a side note I was looking at the gift get post you made last year and your cat looks very similar to our cat Tetra.