No, you're thinking of author-insertion. Mary Sues (or the male alternative, Gary Sues) are "perfect" characters. They're beautiful and talented and powerful and smart and everyone loves them and they get all the guys/girls, etc.

Why is it that the guy behind MegaUpload gets 50 years in prison for media piracy, but this guy only gets 30 for all this shit? I call shenanigans on the criminal justice system in this country.

Me too. I'm really only about halfway through A Storm of Swords, but I'm skipping ahead to read Arya's chapters in A Feast for Crows and Dany's chapters in A Dance with Dragons. I already knew about what happens at the Red Wedding, so really, reading those chapters ahead of the other stuff shouldn't really spoil me…

Well if you believe the R+L=J theory, then he very well could be one of the three heads of the Dragon.

For real. That was a seriously badass moment when she sprung her trap.

"Fishy" doesn't mean "too girly". It just means really feminine looking. Most drag queens take that as a compliment.

No, she doesn't start fucking shit up until A Storm of Swords which would be Season 3. Season 2 is really just the set-up for her oncoming storm of fucking all the shit up across the sea.

It's like ugh, I'm all for cultural sensitivity and whatnot, but it seems like everything I hear about what it's like for women in Afghanistan is awful. I can't find it in myself to respect a culture that wouldn't respect me.

Really, this is some Henry the Eighth shit here.

I prefer chicks before dicks.

Ok, that makes more sense. Like I said, there needs to be some sort of legislation, but it should be carefully worded. Banning facial covering s in private spaces should be perfectly acceptable.

No, you're fine, I understand where you're coming from. While no one has smuggled weapons into my school under a burqa, they have smuggled weapons and drugs under those super long, baggy t-shirt that boys who want to look "gangsta" wear, hence the rule that's been instated in the last year or two, requiring all shirts…

I totally agree. Like I said, the Koran says nothing about burqas- it just says for all people to dress modestly. The burqa is totally a social construct under the guise of religion. If you read my reply to Mirri Maz Duur, my friend who lived in Saudi Arabia made the observation that the burqa was less about women's…

I don't really know. I just have the personal anecdotes of my friends who have had to live overseas for their parents jobs. My friend who lived in Saudi Arabia made the observation that the burqa, based on what she had seen living there for a few years, is less about women's "modesty" and more about being a method of…

I can understand the reasoning behind this. We live in a dangerous world and anyone could hide under face coverings and stuff like that, as well as it's hard to tell if someone may have a gun or something on them under such shapeless garments. Also, if someone suffers from physical abuse or something like that, it can…

Aw, you're welcome! I was a voracious reader myself as a kid (and still am, for that matter) and an education major as well, so I tend to be chocked-full of books recs. Is your other kid a boy? The Artemis Fowl books is a great series that both boys and girls like. It's modern day stuff, but is kind of like James Bond…

I'm sorry I took your nerd virginity. Unless it was totally consensual- in that case, you're welcome.

It's a dangerous time to be a hymen.

No problem! Ooh, if she loves the Middle Ages, then the Royal Diaries books about Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth 1, Isabel of Castilla, Mary- Queen of Scots, and Kristina of Sweden oughta be right up her alley.

Elizabeth I is one of the very first ones and is probably my favorite. It really is a great tale about a girl in a disadvantageous, potentially dangerous, situation who has some major family issues, and yet overcomes it all to eventually become probably the most celebrated ruler in British history. As someone who also…