England

What’s On the Bookshelf? Vol. 13

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Few stories have captured my imagination as The War of the Worlds. When I was in middle school, I was enamoured with the radio play. I listened to the original production; I wrote my own based on it (the big twist being that the Earthlings were invading Mars). When visiting family in Woking, I saw the monument of the Martian attack. I even purchased my copy of the book in Woking.

CC//gordontour

CC//gordontour

I failed to read it. My love affair with the tale continued. I attended live performances of the radio play. I skipped the Tom Cruise movie, preferring to let my mind be captivated with my own images of metallic Martian tripods shooting Heat-Rays.

Like Dracula, The War of the Worlds held a special place in my hear; the land of stories well loved but never read. Well, the Martians landed.

From the instant I began reading, I wished that I had my sketchbook in hand. The mental images were as vivid to me as though I were watching an animated movie or reading a graphic novel. I loved this book. Half way through I realized it. And while we all know the ending, what of the beginning and middle? These parts were as new to me as if I had never had any idea about the story.

What’s On the Bookshelf? Vol. 9

What's On the Bookshelf?

Despite having finished roughly ten books since my last Bookshelf update, the books have all been ones I’ve read before, so I didn’t feel like I needed to review ’em.

CC//TCM Hitchhiker

CC//TCM Hitchhiker

Today, I just finished The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells.

I’ve decided that I’m going to read a lot of old school sci fi this summer. Wells is the number one author on the list.

I enjoyed The Invisible Man. One aspect that I felt was very intriguing was Wells’ decision to have Griffin be an albino. Here’s a man who goes from being incredibly noticeable to invisible.

Wells could be accused of “info dumping” when Griffin explains how he became invisible. As a writer (however amateur) I thought of how I would’ve have written it. I’m still mulling over the details.

It’s also one of those stories where you assume you know, but don’t until you read the story.

Up next: I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll finally finish Dracula or War of the Worlds.

On visiting places in movies

General Geekiness

There are fewer things in life that make me smile more than knowing that I’ve been somewhere that a movie’s been filmed. It’s a simple pleasure, but one that I particularly like (especially when watching a movie and recognizing a place).

When I was younger, my family went on a trip to the UK. One of our stops was Oxford, where we visited Christ Church College. Otherwise known as the place where the staircase from Harry Potter is. Also, part of The History Boys was filmed there. I had to smile.

A big surprise came when I was watching Quadrophenia last summer. The whole mods and rockers thing intrigues me, but enough on that. I knew that the movie partially took place in Brighton (where I visited in high school), but I didn’t realize that the big fight took place outside a restaurant I ate at (or just paid a visit to the loo…I can’t remember). Either way, I walked down quite a few of the streets (and of course, the beach) used in that cult film.