Peace and hello!

[aprikores]

Peace to all of you,
My name is Elle, humble scholar and writer. I speak Hebrew, studied some Aramaic but didn’t take well, have some knowledge of Yiddish and hope to learn some Ladino. In other words, I’m Jewish.

Actually, if you want to be specific, I’m a Levite. My mother is from the tribe of Judah, hence she’s a Jew, but my father is of the priestly tribe of Levi. It’s only during the break up of the monarchy that those who remained under the jurisdiction of the house of David became known as Jews, just as those living under the house of Saud became known as Saudis. Yes, I am a research nut and proud of it!
Points to anyone who can figure out what Aprikores means.

I came here due to an acquaintance’s urging and was asked to stay. I have not yet read Stephan Lawhead’s work but I am hoping to remedy that soon. Any books you suggest I start with?

All right, to quote the Naruto dub, what are my likes, dislikes and hopes for the future?

I like to read mysteries, biographies, historical fiction, fantasy, you name it, I’ll try it. I also love to research and learn. I’m a complete geek and my favorite job is to discover a new and interesting piece of information. Whether that comes from reading it in a book or hearing it from an intelligent person, I don’t mind.

I love to study history and I have been blessed to have traveled a lot and seen a lot of amazing places. I especially love studying dictators, trying to understand how they took power. I love talking to people, debating (probably more than I should) and understanding the world around me. I love to write. My hero is Napoleon and the word Waterloo makes me wince.

I love hanging out with my friends and talking about anything on their minds.

I love babysitting my charges. How often can you have a captive audience to practice drama monologues?

I love working. I have had many weird jobs because I hated summer camp. My mother said either I camp or I work. I currently intern in New York at a news station and it’s kicking. I’m hoping to work at a newspaper and I have an interview next week!

I like dance and swimming, I love walking on the beach. I have a weakness for music, especially anything with good lyrics and a good beat.

I like volunteering, I currently work with a blind Holocaust survivor, and I really enjoy learning to see the world in a new way.

My dream is to have my novels published, to work in law and to work on the political causes I believe in.

Wow, I’ve said a lot! Hope I didn’t scare you all away! I hope to have a lot of fun learning from all of you.

[Child of Immanuel]

Welcome! I am just beginning to learn Hebrew myself after studying several western languages-- Spanish, Latin, and Koine Greek. It's very different, which is what makes it so challenging and interesting. (I also recently picked up a book on Arabic script, and it's obvious that while the script is different many elements are similar).

Can I cheat and ask you the language of origin of Aprikores?

[Child of Immanuel]

I almost forgot that you asked for a recommendation on which Lawhead work to read first. I suggest either the Song of Albion (a trilogy comprising The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot) or the Pendragon Cycle (five or six books, depending on whether you consider the last one to be part of it. Taliesin and Merlin, the first two, are exquisite, but the rest are on a slightly [only slightly] lower plane. They are Arthur, Pendragon, Grail, and Avalon).

Please forgive the excessive use of parentheses. I don't normally use them so much.

[Dred]

Welcome to the forum. You seem to have a very diverse background with a lot of history behind you. That's really wonderful and your desire to learn more is great.

I would agree with CoI's recommendation but would add the historical books concerning the crusades as well. They are really great.

I look forward to seeing you around the forum.

Have fun.

[DanTheMan]

Welcome! Please explore and post. We look forward to your point of view!

I am intriqued by "Aprikores". I couldn't discover much. My guess is that it has something to to with video/visual/picture. My second guess is singing or song.

Am I close?

[Bard Child]

*sneek*

I see my influnce has corrupted you. Welcome to the Lawhead forms. It's nice to have you debating among us...
Hopefully when my Auntie is done holding my book ransom. I can send you Patrick.
<< and I don't think I can guess your name..but I'm reconzing it the kind of Jew your are...and I'm I right?


(Oh YAY! I changed rank!)

[aprikores]

Wow, such a warm welcome. Excuse my brevity, I appreciate all your kindness.

Child of Immanuel, you are so talented to speak so many languages. Yes, Hebrew and Arabic are related, though I am not very good at linguistics so I can't tell you more. I'll definitely pick up the books you suggests and thank you!

Dred, thanks. I like learning and I try to vary what I learn to be more well-rounded. Cake helps me become more well-rounded too, must avoid that, hehe. I look forward to speaking to you more. Crusades are one of my sticky issues so I am a bit nervous starting with that (I associate Crusaders with not very happy times in my family) but I should keep an open mind.

Dantheman, I'll be happy to reveal the root of my name in just a moment. A pleasure to meet you!

Hey Bard. Yeah, you managed to convince me to enter the Lion's den, but I haven't lost a speck of my normal cynical nature.

Okay, the root of my name is actually taken from something someone called me on this forum "Non-believer". After being royally steamed (and torturing Bard a lot) I took the name Aprikores which is Aramaic for a heretic, one who has embraced worldly pleasures over spiritual thought, based on the Greek Philosopher Epicurus. It's more of a pun because it reflected the ideas of the Haskala (Jewish enlightenment) movement in the 19th century, the idea of looking into worldly things like music and literature for God. To show I have no hard feelings (the person who called me that is actually nice), I took it as my name to indicate that I was no longer insulted.

Cheers!

[Dred]

Wow. You put a lot of thought into selecting your name. That's impressive. I just did something silly which only a few people have figured out.

I had a feeling for some reason that recommending the Crusades might be on edge a little. I hope you'll read them at some point and share your thoughts and feelings. Your perspective will have a different slant and that will be very interesting.

Have fun reading whatever book you choose.

[luv1another]

Gday aprikores, great to have you as part of the forum
as for books I would recomend the song of albion trilogy I am just now reading the second one "the silver hand" but also the new book coming out soon "hood" mentions things from that series

[twyrch]

Greetings Aprikores!! We welcome people of all races, religions and creeds. It's good to have diversity and I'm glad to have you among us.

You mentioned being called a "non-believer" by someone on this forum earlier... since you're new, am I right in assuming you once used to log on under a different name?

[Child of Immanuel]

Bard Child relayed her words to us for a short time... check out the 'Archangel Crux' thread in Aspiring Authors.