Year: 2009

Burn baby, burn.

General Geekiness

Why this time?

Well, as you may recall, I’ve never finished reading Pride and Prejudice. Until zombies came into the mix. Then I read it in two days.

Ah, the zed-word. I haven’t enjoyed a zombie romp this much since Shaun of the Dead.

If you aren’t familiar with the idea, a few months ago a guy named Seth Grahame-Smith decided to expand Jane Austen’s classic to include scenes of zombie mayhem. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, as the book is aptly titled, “transforms a masterpiece of real world literature into something you’d actually want to read” (so claims the back of the book).

The book is good, silly fun. Somewhere around the introduction of ninjas it goes from silly to purely ridiculous. Even I, a lover of the silly and taking a joke one step too far, thought this was over the top. Seriously, Grahame-Smith. Choose ninjas OR zombies. Not both. And if you’re going to have people running around chopping off heads with Katana swords, at least have someone mutter “There can be only one.” That would’ve made me laugh even harder.

I also felt that having the zombie plague be around for over fifty years removes some of the urgency that is the zombie apocalypse. I think that the springing up of the undead would have paralleled even more humorously with the budding, blooming relationships between the various characters.

P&P&Z was still quite funny; my favorite part is the reader discussion questions at the end of the book.

While I enjoyed it, I’m a bit dismayed at the other Supernatural Works of Jane Austen. There’s Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, as well as Mr Darcy, Vampyre. I’m sure more will follow. Note that I have not read these, only that I’ve heard of them (and in the case of Mr Darcy, Vampyre picked it up and couldn’t find a blurb about it, so I promptly set it down). While I enjoyed P&P&Z, it should stand alone. When others try to capture the original magic, most often it just falls flat.

Enjoy one last bit of zombie/classic mash-up awesomeness.

So long to Summer

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

So Summer is gone, drifting away like a seed downstream. I’ve moved back to my beloved city, ready to grapple with this semester’s courses, continuing my own research, and hopefully writing a good portion of The Novel, along with countless other projects.

Last night, rather than get to sleep at a reasonable hour, I did a quick search of what RAF books my school has; I lucked into a memoir by Peter Townsend (with an “R” and without an “H”), a British ace of the era. Though I haven’t started reading it yet, I’m certain the first person account will help me get a sense of everything; and who knows, maybe my characters will fly Hurricanes instead.

I’m eagerly anticipating the challenges before me.

Attachments

General Geekiness

It’s interesting how one can form attachments based on a book read or topic researched.

I read a newspaper article today about the wife of a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne. While I don’t believe he was in Easy Company (the company Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose focuses on), I still felt a rush reading the article, as though I were reading about someone I knew peripherally.

I guess that just says how good a writer Ambrose is.

The Revenge of Heroes Named Jack: Attacking the Writer!

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Sigh. Just a little while ago I posted my epic list of Heroes Named Jack. It seems that I’ve slipped into that realm; worse, my Jack is sizing up the MC and is attempting to pounce.

He’s convinced that he’s the MC; I’ve had this problem before, and I usually give in. Not this time. Of course, everyone is the main character in their own life stories, so he’s right in one aspect. Its just not his story.

So, Jack’s name obviously has to go. I expect to change character names at least once for most characters (but my female MC’s name fits her quite well). I like Harry for him, but there’s that boy wizard. Edward is also a possibility, but there’s that Book That Shall Not Be Named. Naming characters is tough, especially when trying to use commonplace names! Some other character pops into my mind. There’s also Alasdair as an option, which could work as I plan on referring to him by his last name. But its too la-di-da for him.

Maybe I’ll be lucky and like Geoffrey, he’ll name himself.

Oh the humanity!

General Geekiness, The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

District 9, the new movie directed by Neill Blomkamp, is a remarkable film. A friend and I saw it this afternoon; I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew the very basic premise; these aliens (nicknamed “Prawns”) get stuck in Johannesburg and are trying to get home.

I enjoyed it; the first hour or so features fingernail violence and vomiting (two things that made me watch my palms for a few minutes), but the story is good and the main characters are sympathetic.

What got me the most was the parallels between the two main characters, the human Wikus van de Merwe and prawn Christopher Johnson. While I won’t go into the specifics of the story, both characters share a similar motive: they both want only to return home and back to the lives they knew.

Wikus is an intriguing character, in the fact that you begin by being annoyed with him, but by the end, you root for him. He’s not entirely good; he’s selfish, cowardly, self-serving government flunkie. But that’s okay. By the end of the movie, I was quite fond of him.

The film isn’t without its flaws. There are plot holes, obvious social commentary (not that it isn’t well done, it’s just readily apparent), and some faulty logic (how Wikus gets with the prawn is a bit contrived).  If the viewer suspends logic for a while, goes along with the ride, and just looks to be entertained, District 9 is the movie for you.

The ending is left open for a sequel, but I don’t think one is necessary. Sometimes open endings are the best ones; they let you draw your own conclusions.

Of course, high tolerance of fingernail violence is key.

Your Library is Your Portrait

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I found this quote on Sputnitsa’s blog; its by Holbrook Johnson.

Coincidentally, a friend of mine posted a meme about fifteen books that have really stuck with you. I decided to participate, so here are my books.

1. Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian:  I read this book and was hooked on the time period; I think I’ve read it five or six times.
2. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien: I had one of my senior portraits taken with the giant, red bound edition of this book.
3. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones: One of my favorites; it makes me happy every time I read it.
4. The War of the Worlds by HG Wells: Finally read it this summer, but I’ve been enthralled with the story for years.
5. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux: Read it before I saw the movie. I adore this book; it is so brilliantly written. I need to get my copy back.
6. Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander: Mystery+Royal Navy=right up my alley.
7. Moon by Tony Fletcher: The best biography I’ve read, hands down. I laughed, I cried, I’ve read the book twice.
8. Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose: Just read it this summer, but…ah! It really sticks with you; it has the perfect ending.
9. The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Hawthorne+Italy. Two of my favorite nouns together! Not his best work, but my favorite.
10. Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors: Best love story I have ever read.
11. 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith: The characters are all so wonderfully realized; it feels like I know them personally.
12. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson: Not my favorite RLS story (The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde ranks higher) but I’ve always wanted to make a really good movie based on this; I often joke that this is where my first Oscar will come from.
13. Macbeth by William Shakespeare: My favorite Shakespeare play; Julius Caesar oddly comes close.
14. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: I’ve become even more observant, if that’s hard to believe.
15. The Irregulars by Jennet Conant: I’ve become obsessed with Roald Dahl’s early work, and it piqued my interest in Leslie Howard and David Ogilvy.

Strangely, a third of the list are books that I read this summer.