Josiah Ogden Hoffman Puns

I have to talk about this book I recently finished. “Senlin Ascends” is steampunk/ industrial era fantasy book about a timid school teachers ascent up a wondrous but very dangerous tower in an attempt to find his newly wed and newly lost wife. I have read a fair amount of fantasy so I am always looking for new books and this one blew me away with its intricate plots, complex characters, and absolutely absurd situations that will leave you thinking about the nature of the tower for hours after you put the book down. This is book one of a series of four and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy and mystery. This book series has the feel of a beloved classic and I hope it brings you as much joy as it brought me!

This brings to an excellent close what is, for me, one of the finest fantasy series of modern times. I give it my highest recommendation.

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From my review: One small testimonial to Bancroft's writing skills are the scores of boxed snippets above each chapter number. A line or three snipped from some imagined book, guide, diary, or memoir. The wit and observation in these alone constitutes a lake of talent. I would struggle to come up with half a dozen of these given days to think about little else. Bancroft apparently plucks them from the air.

The book opens with a lengthy chunk of storytelling about Adam, who was separated from the rest of the characters at the end of ... book 2, I think, and was absent for book 3. But it's a really good bit of story that brings him to life, illuminates some mysteries, and introduces us to the top of the tower, where the story has always been wending its way.

The main takeaway is that The Fall of Babel does its job admirably. We get the worldclass prose, the wit, the observation that we've come to expect. We get large doses of our favourite characters. Mysteries are unraveled. Endings are given. There's a little bitter in the sweet, but you need that or the sweetness would be cloying.

It's a great read, and together the four books are just a brilliant addition to the fantasy genre that everyone should read, and that will be enjoyed for years to come.

Was it wise to give him up in that deal that brought us Scherzer and Turner? On the surface, at the time, yes absolutely. But now looking back, especially if he has a breakout year in Washington, was that the piece that really drove that deal or could Friedman and Co. tried to keep him especially with the Dodgers needing rotation depth? I’m not sure we beat StL/SF without Max, and I know we get another year or Trea, but it’s safe to say that aside from that they were kind of non-factors in the ATL series (Trea was a non-factor in the post as a whole). On top of that, Max is gone and has a bone to pick with LA, and Trea has been vocal about wanting to play on the east coast so an extension seems unlikely, at least for now. We also gave up Ruiz which is fine because Smith isn’t losing his job and Cartaya is promising but years away. Long story short, I’ll be watching Josiah very closely this year and I hope he does well TBH. Anyways just some off-season rambling for ya. Happy Holidays!

Granted, she does have the baby Meech voice ‘Twookey’ anyone? Extra 🤢 for Josh discussing the mobe to DC and his ‘car lot’ items.

My wife and I are having a debate. I say Joe-sigh-uh and said it would be a cute name with the nickname Si. She said she pronounces it Jo-Zye-uh.

I’m a US Army brat and she’s Southern. She grew up in church, so I’m more inclined to trust her judgement than mine since I never read the Bible. Is it a regional thing or is there more than one way to say it? Or is there just one correct way?

My husband and I are thinking of adding onto our family soon and I thought it'd be fun to tap everyone's minds on names with a similar feel or that just sound good together. I'm most interested in names for girls because we've really struggled to agree on any. As an added challenge, no other J names! We're not looking to be compared to the Duggars here.

Other names we've liked include Benjamin and Evelyn.

https://twitter.com/fiufootball/status/1481016818974138369?s=21

These are some seriously enjoyable books. They’re fantasy, but of the type that draws you deeper into a thought provoking, colorful fever dream with every damn page. They are meaningful, and unique, and funny, and rich.

The characters all start out as one dimensional people, by design. But they truly grow and evolve, and that evolution is amazingly well executed. They are raw, and diverse, and you are in their heads. I can’t say enough how impressed I am by this author’s ability to make a character jump off the page, with all their mistakes and triumphs and shame and growth.

And the story is equally amazing. It looks like steam punk, but it’s really not. It’s a fantastical story that gets richer and more engaging at every turn. I just finished the fourth book and I’ll be waiting for the next one eagerly.

Bancroft pulls off a type of writing that could come off as contrived in other contexts, but fits the styling of these books so perfectly that it draws a picture in your mind. Like this for describing light hitting a stained glass window:

“Crossing streams of color began to flow horizontally across the glass loom, adding weft to the warp of light until the circle blazed with a brash and evolving tartan.”

When you’re in it, that fits the environment so perfectly that you end up feeling what the character sees.

I’ve read a lot, and I don’t give praise lightly. These books are simply amazing.

I know he hasn’t gotten many looks in the passing game but to me he’s been a decent blocker, and he had that clutch td against the Vikings last week and the clutch 3rd down conversion this week.