Books

Revisiting Old Favorites

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been hit with a desire to reread books (actually, that’s a bit of a lie, as I’ve wanted to reread Howl’s Moving Castle since late March). While I love delving into new books, new stories and new plots, there’s something comforting about revisiting old friends. Through all change, if there is some consistency, even if it is merely a beloved story, things are a little easier (at least, that’s been my limited experience).

When I travel, I usually bring two books with me, one that I’ve read before (on my semester in Florence, I brought Roald Dahl’s Over to You and a couple of Patrick O’Brian’s works) and one that may be new to me. I figure, if the environment is too overwhelmingly unfamiliar, the least I can do to help the transition is find the comfort in the known.

Which brings me to the last two books I completed, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and The Prestige by Christopher Priest. The first book has been one of my favorites for years, since I first read it in fifth grade or early middle school. There’s something about the story that I’ve  always loved, be it the characters, the setting, the wonderful inclusion of Wales…okay, I just really like this book. I can’t pinpoint a reason why, but I continue to love it even more as time goes on.

As for The Prestige, I read it first nearly four years ago to the day. I hadn’t reread it since, as every time I would sit down to it, another book would come my way, be it for school or a trip to the library. Knowing that I would have some spare time over the last two weeks, I brought it with me for my brief stay in Boston. I finished, and enjoyed it the second time through. Knowing the ending made picking up on the little details easier, but part of it still came as a surprise. Priest does a good job giving each character a distinct voice, even in the Borden section (those familiar with the book will know what I mean).

I didn’t love The Prestige the second time through. I still enjoyed it immensely and will probably reread it at another time. I still want to read more of Priest’s work, as I could learn a lot through him.

And, of course, the book still remains better than the movie starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and David Bowie.

La’s Foul Note

What's On the Bookshelf?

When I came home from Italy, I found one of the latest Alexander McCall Smith books, La’s Orchestra Saves the World, waiting for me. Needless to say, I was incredibly excited. I adore AMS’s books, and this one seemed especially up my alley–it centers around a woman, La, who starts an amateur orchestra near an RAF base in Suffolk. Long time readers have probably picked up on my interest in the RAF, and my enjoyment of AMS.

AMS’s works are usually intimate, if lighthearted, looks at every day people in often extraordinary (or extraordinarily funny) circumstances. There’s Precious Ramotswe in his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, a strong-willed woman who’s dealt with some tough stuff in her past, but ultimately moves forward. His 44 Scotland Street series features characters like Bertie, a precocious 6-year-old forced to speak Italian and play the saxophone when all he wants is to play with a train set (and have his room a color other than pink).

La’s Orchestra has a strange disconnect. We, the readers, pity and sympathize with La, but we never gain that intimate bond with her. The orchestra barely features into the story. It’s mostly about her and her relationships with men. The book felt very shallow, almost flimsy, at times it was like peering through a veil of smoke. Nothing ever gelled properly.

One part of AMS’s writing is his imitation of the culture through his writing. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency takes place in Botswana (where AMS lived for a time), and the writing style is different from 44 Scotland Street (which takes place in Edinburgh) and is different from Portuguese Irregular Verbs (which I didn’t particularly enjoy, but it certainly captures the occasionally BS nature of academia). It could be that, as a 21st century American, I don’t understand the disconnect of a city woman living in the countryside during WWII. He captures the vibe so well in his other books, maybe I’m just missing it here.

I suppose I was expecting a different book, one more lighthearted and in line with 44 Scotland Street. I hoped for an interconnecting web of characters who shared the orchestra as common ground–La, the conductor, people from the nearby village, the pilots from the RAF base. Instead, I got the disenchanted La, and only her. There wasn’t enough development of the other characters to form an attachment, and even to her. I pitied La for her unfortunate circumstances, but I never connected with her.

I suppose every once in a while, favorite authors are allowed to hit a bum note.

Footnotes!

General Geekiness

I adore footnotes. Honestly. While doing research (or just reading history books for fun), few things delight me more than those little gobbets hidden in the lower margin. Even when reading about a topic that interests me greatly, a digression proves too inviting to resist.

Let’s look at the book I’m currently reading, a history of the Battle of Britain called With Wings Like Eagles by Michael Korda. Now, apart from being a well written, engaging book with an ample bibliography, Korda makes use of footnotes. Enjoy this snippet (digression taken while discussing the difference between Luftwaffe and RAF bases):

“Our quarters at a former Luftwaffe base near Hamburg…not only had indoor baths and showers but featured a mysterious-looking porcelain basin set in the wall which was too small, too high up, and too elaborately decorated to be a urinal, and which turned out to be a flushing vomitorium for those who had drunk too much beer” (64).

Will that ever feature into my works? Probably not. Will that ever be something I’ll need to know? Again, probably not, but I’ll bet it will make for interesting conversation fodder.

For the Love of Harry

Nerds Have More Fun

I remember the day my mom bought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I was in fourth grade and Harry Potter-mania had yet to hit. “I found this in the clearance section of Marshall’s,” my mom said. “It sounds pretty interesting.”

We devoured the first book and scaled the bookshelves at a now-defunct bookstore to get Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets the day it was released.

Fast forward ten years.

Harry Potter is now, of course, incredibly popular and profitable, with movies, books (and controversy surrounding the books), and a new exhibition of artifacts from the movie, which I saw at the Museum of Science Boston.

It was awesome.

I’m a movie junkie (as well as a Harry Potter fan), so I considered it my duty to go to the exhibit. I’ve enjoyed previous movie exhibits at the MoS (there was an awesome Lord of the Rings one, and an okay Star Wars one). Though I still think that the LotR one was the best, I thoroughly enjoyed the HP one. There were costumes and props from the movies with fun activities throughout (like harvesting Mandrakes and throwing Quaffles into hoops).

As a GD junkie, one of my favorite parts of the exhibit was looking at the textbooks. It was really quite cool, seeing the different covers up close. I wanted to flip through the books, but that would never happen, given that they were encased in glass and arrest is not on my to-do-list.

I also really liked looking at the wands. We never really get a good look at them on screen, just flashes of them here and there. Being able to study Voldemort’s, Dumbledore’s and McGonagall’s wands was quite cool. Each has character hidden until you get a really close look at them.

The various portions of the exhibit were set up like different parts of Hogwarts. There was the Gryffindor Common Room (and dormitories), Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts classrooms, the Great Hall, the Quidditch pitch, Hagrid’s Hut and the Forbidden Forest. The details were extraordinary.

All said, I had a great time, and decided to reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, only to realize halfway through that the parts I really wanted to read were in The Half-Blood Prince. Oops.

The exhibit is one that I recommend when it comes to a city near you (I imagine that a stop in NYC will occur).

I also was sorted into, of all houses, Ravenclaw. Or Slytherin. The Sorting Hat was a little confused. 😀

More Goals for 2010

General Geekiness

First off, remember that it’s “2010” not “20010.” I’m pretty sure that the latter will be recorded at some point in my journal.

On a more serious note, I have a few plans for this humble blog, too.

1. Post more often

Over the summer, I got into a groove. Two+ posts a week of decent to quite good quality. Once school started up again, the post frequency diminished. I hope to bring some sort of posting schedule. Looking at my schedule for next semester, I’ll probably post at least once a week on Wednesdays. This will start the end of January, and I’ll continue on my sporadic posting schedule until then.

2. Increase post quality

I’m a bit of a fly-by-the-seat of my pants person when it comes to blog posts. Some entries are well thought out, well planned and the product of a couple of days work. Other posts…well, they’re written at 2 am and I’m lucky if I proofread. Proofing will be the first step towards this goal! I’m also thinking of putting together a series, of what, I’m not sure, but a common thread should help unify my posts.

3. Include more pictures!

My posts are usually boring. No pictures. Lots of text. But starting next year, I hope to include images with my posts. Most will (hopefully) be taken by yours truly. I’m going to be traveling and should take some spectacular shots.

4. Include a list of books I finish in the What’s On the Bookshelf? page

I tried this and kept forgetting to update. Starting January 1, you’ll see a list of what I’ve read for the year, broken down by month. This probably will include texts I’m reading for school, but I do find these mentally stimulating. My bio text this last semester was particularly interesting (The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett).

Looking Ahead: Some Goals for 2010

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

As 2009 winds down, I turn my thoughts from Christmas dinner (roast beef and English roast potatoes…yum!) and the year ahead. 2009 was a good year and the blank expanse of 2010 is promising (if daunting). I have a few writing goals set for myself.

1. Write one(+) short story a month

Given that my short story production this year was…three…this will be a definite improvement. I hope to write a variety of genres. Fantasy, sci fi, historical, mystery…who knows?

2. Submit work/enter contests

I’ve received some encouragement to submit various short stories to magazines. I’ve wanted to submit my work since high school, but never felt that I was good enough for publication outside of the school literary magazine (and have refrained from my college’s lit mag because my work is so atypical of what they publish). Part of my hesitation is rejection, but I know I’ll have to deal with it. Aim high, fall fast; I have years to improve.

3. Read more

Yes, I need to read more. I always do (I’ve joked about changing the name of the blog to She Reads Too Much). Fortunately, my courses for next semester look like they’ll be chock full of interesting (and informative) reads: I’m taking a course on Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio along with one on Florentine architecture.

4. Write another novel

I’m going to write the first draft, with hope. Either my pilots or my alt reality WWIIesque Resistance piece. Although this may be pushed aside due to writing my thesis/distinction piece/grad school applications. Though, I do have roughly a month before the semester begins, and two months summer vacation…hmmm…I’ll just have to not let research distract me too much. 😀

Photo (C) Beth