Books

Book Challenge: Crying, Residing, and Young Adult

What's On the Bookshelf?

Day Two of the 30 Day Book Challenge! Which will probably only take 10 days, if I keep answering three questions a go.

Four: Book that Made You Cry

As I said yesterday, I rarely cry when reading books. But Band of Brothers nearly brought me to tears when I read it two years ago. If I hadn’t had to run out immediately after finishing, I would have cried. The ending was perfect, hit me right in the gut.

And you know, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Five: Book You Wish You Could Live In

I would live in the 44 Scotland Street series. The books are funny, warm and make me happy. I’d visit Big Lou’s cafe for my cappuccinos everyday and talk with Angus about painting, and Big Lou about whatever it is she happens to be reading at the time. And sneeze a lot because I’m allergic to dogs (sorry Cyril).

But what’s this? Not Harry Potter? Not the world of Patrick O’Brian’s masterful historical fiction novels?

Well, Harry Potter would be fun, but to be frank, I think I’d be a rubbish witch. That, and there are enough threats in the Muggle world, I really don’t want to have to worry about Lord Voldemort as well!

And for O’Brian’s? I like indoor plumbing. I like being able to attend University. I like being a modern girl. While I’d love to go to recitals with Jack and Stephen, I wouldn’t like to live there.

Six: Favorite Young Adult Book

Easily Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I love the characters, the humor, the setting. As I’ve grown up, I’ve gotten more out of the story, including more enjoyment. When I have children (a long time from now), I look forward to sharing this book with them.

Howl’s Moving Castle is one of those books that I consider a ‘comfort book.’ Reading the book, revisiting the characters, laughing, smiling–I love it. If I’m in a bad mood, or feeling stressed, I just pick up this book, read it, and I feel better immediately. You can’t beat that.

Book Challenge: Love, Loathe and Laughter

What's On the Bookshelf?

Day one of the 30 Book Challenge. I’m not particularly tied to doing 30 individual posts, so I thought I’d do three at a time, or however many I feel like.

One: Favorite Book

Confession time. I don’t have a favorite book. There isn’t One Book to Rule Them All. It really depends on the genre, the day, and what I’ve been reading lately.

So, favorite book I’ve read this summer? Probably Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda.

Other favorite books: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Over to You by Roald Dahl, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien and the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith.

Two: Least Favorite Book

Surprisingly, this is an easy one for me to answer. It’s easily The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenger. You can read my reasons. To summarize: The romance struck me as creepy, the blind acceptance of determinism, and lack of morality and logistics.

Three: Book that Makes You Laugh Out Loud

It takes a really special book to make me laugh out loud. It takes an even more special book to make me cry. That rarely happens when reading.

But back to the laughter. There are a couple of books that have reduced me to stitches. Closing Time by Joseph Heller (the sequel to Catch-22) had me giggling at the Kafka jokes most of all.

The most out-loud guffaws I’ve had while reading has been in my rereading of the 44 Scotland Street books. This reading has been closer. My favorite has been a comment on the length of modern sentences versus Proustian ones.

30 Posts on Books.

What's On the Bookshelf?

So, this is supposed to be a 30 day challenge. As those who read my 30 Days of Writing posts last year know, I don’t post anything on time. Instead of doing this as 30 consecutive posts, I’ll come back to the list. I may even combine some of the topics. And I don’t think I’ll answer them in order! And I’ll probably skip a whole mess of them! Woohoo!

I found the challenge on the Storytelling Nomad blog.

Day 1: Favourite book
Day 2: Least favourite book
Day 3: Book that makes you laugh out loud
Day 4: Book that makes you cry
Day 5: Book you wish you could live in
Day 6: Favorite young adult book
Day 7: Book that you can quote/recite
Day 8: Book that scares you
Day 9: Book that makes you sick
Day 10: Book that changed your life
Day 11: Book from your favorite author
Day 12: Book that is most like your life
Day 13: Book whose main character is most like you
Day 14: Book whose main character you want to marry
Day 15: First “chapter book” you can remember reading as a child
Day 16: Longest book you’ve read
Day 17: Shortest book you’ve read
Day 18: Book you’re most embarrassed to say you like
Day 19: Book that turned you on
Day 20: Book you’ve read the most number of times
Day 21: Favorite picture book from childhood
Day 22: Book you plan to read next
Day 23: Book you tell people you’ve read, but haven’t (or haven’t actually finished)
Day 24: Book that contains your favorite scene
Day 25: Favorite book you read in school
Day 26: Favorite nonfiction book
Day 27: Favorite fiction book
Day 28: Last book you read
Day 29: Book you’re currently reading
Day 30: Favorite coffee table book

Weekend’s Reading

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Well, I have a bit on my plate this weekend, reading wise. My current goal is to finish reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom before August 16. Why August 16? It would make sense if that were the book’s due date back at the library (it isn’t, I think its actually due on the 15th, but I have one more renewal). It’s Lawrence’s birthday. And given how close the day is, and how much I have left of the book, I’ll probably finish it either just before or on the day. I’m thoroughly enjoying the book, though I do find parts a bit dry and somehow managed to miss the entirety of the capturing of Akaba. I know I read the words, I think it just failed to process. Rather like how I managed to miss Helm’s Deep every time I read The Two Towers.

That, or I just was preoccupied by how a traditional Beduin feast is prepared. A sheep pyramid on a bed of rice drenched in hot gravy. Fascinating stuff.
Also up for reading:
The Complaints by Ian Rankin. Never read any of his books, figured I probably should, as I’ve wanted to for a couple of years now. And if I should randomly run into him on the street, I might have something intelligent to say.
And a biography of Gertrude Bell, because I’m not ready to leave the Arabia state of mind. And what little I’ve read about Bell is absolutely fascinating, so I want to read more about her.
Also on the entertainment list: the original Planet of the Apes and Bridge on the River Kwai must be watched. Interestingly, both based on books by Pierre Boulle…
And writing, naturally.

Harry Potter and the Disappointing End

General Geekiness

Here there be spoilers.

I wanted so badly to love Deathly Hallows, Part II. I really did. My friends all proclaimed their love for the movie, have seen it multiple times, and assured me that I, too, would love the movie.

I didn’t.

Yes, there were portions of the film that I really enjoyed–the Pensieve sequence being one, Helena Bonham Carter as Hermione Polyjuiced to be Bellatrix, and the visual effects (the dragon in Bellatrix’s Gringott’s vault, Voldemort turning to ash) but I felt the film was lacking.

Firstly, there was no true beginning. It just sort of started. I recognize that it was the second part of a book. But the structure was missing. As such, I felt it was very anti-climatic.

Within its structural issues, I felt that there was little sense of character. The Golden Trio, Neville, Snape, yes, but everyone else felt like cameos and nothing more than that. I was waiting for Trewlaney’s moment of awesome, when she chucks crystal balls at Death Eaters. Nonexistant. Fred’s death failed to have any emotional impact on me. Hagrid was…weak. Boring. He didn’t seem phased with Harry’s “death.”

Secondly, its too damn long. I love battle scenes as much as the next girl, but seriously. These are too long. I don’t want to watch a two hour battle scene. Its part of the reason why I don’t like The Two Towers all that much. Honestly, though, not enough happens to make it a compelling battle scene. There is no story to it, only fighting. The quest for the final horcruxes feels almost secondary, it detracts from the fighting, which has taken precedence.

Finally, it was unnecessary. I can hear people screaming, “what? why? we need to know how it ends!” Well, as a film, it was unnecessary. Deathly Hallows Part I could have been forty-five minutes longer, cut down on the ‘and we’re walking’ portions of the movie, and the final battle could easily have been included. Edited, of course. I gladly would have sat through a three hour Deathly Hallows, so long as it was well paced and engaging. The thing that hurts the most is that it could have been a fabulous single movie, the pieces are all there, but two mediocre halves do not a good movie make.

Original Art: T. E. Lawrence Edition

Sheer Art Attack
T. E. Lawrence

T. E. Lawrence, by BCW

So, I broke out my paintbrushes this weekend, and decided to paint T. E. Lawrence. Why? Well, he’s my current historical research interest. I just finished Michael Korda’s biography of him, Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia. That man was pretty fascinating. Even the stuff he did after Arabia. Enlisted in the RAF (and Army, and RAF again), developed marine craft for rescuing downed pilots, and kept up correspondence with some of the era’s greatest minds.

So yes. Will soon be reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom, just taking a mini-Lawrence break for the time being.

I’ve decided that I’m just going to combine Sheer Art Attack with this blog, it’ll be easier to me to maintain.

Back to the painting: It has a few issues. Lawrence’s shoulders are too narrow (well, the guy was 5’5″ and at one point during the Arabia campaign weighed 80 pounds, so…) and his jaw is too square. In the painting, his eyes are actually blue.