So, the week
Jul. 18th, 2008 05:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tallulahgsThis has been the week of sleepiness, due to one of my housemates waking me up at 5 a.m. on two consecutive mornings, and then me electing to go and see a later-than-intended showing of Mamma Mia and not getting to bed til 11.30. It was thus not surprising I had a migraine yesterday, but I took one of the pills the doctor gave and it seemed to work surprisingly well. (Insert Tetsuo quote here.) This is a good thing.
I enjoyed Mamma Mia, though I think it works better as a musical than a movie. It was fun and silly and most of the cast were pretty good and Colin Firth has suddenly become hot again (after me swearing for years that he wasn't because he reminded me of my dad *sweatdrop*) I didn't like Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfreid much though - one was an annoying jerk and the other was just too fluffy and cute for my liking.
Work are sending me to a sales conference in Prague, apparently, which should be... interesting ^^ I'm going with one of the girls I eat lunch with (unfortunately, it's the one who sort of annoys me sometimes, but I figure this will either improve our friendship or destroy it, so it's pretty much win-win). It sounds like I'll be spending most of my time agreeing to send people books or saying 'I don't know the answer to that, but if you give me your contact details I'll find out and get back to you! *smilesmile*' Which I can do. I did it for my entire gap year :D
This week I read Silverfin by Charlie Higson, which was the first book in that Young James Bond series (that is, published fanfic ^^) and really enjoyed it. Okay, it was 'only' an action-adventure story pitched at ten-year-old boys, but it was really readable and I got totally caught up in it. Really put me off eels, though *shudders* (not that I was ever really 'on' eels, but still.)
I also read What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn, which was great, and Farenheit 451, which was... all right. There were some really exciting bits and it kind of moved me but... a lot of the time the characters felt like they were only saying the things they did because they were in a book. Also, I sort of had issues with the female characters (mainly because as it was a dystopia, I automatically started thinking about the A-Level coursework on the analysis of women in 1984 and Brave New World which I did, and started picking at everything in this. But it wasn't a bad book, just not as awesome as I thought it might be.
I am not counting manga as books here, because in my head they are different. Plus I usually like manga because I have a fandom crush on them, so it would change the focus of the meme. *nods*
Favorite book(s):
In no particular order:
1984 - George Orwell
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld
Alanna: The First Adventure - Tamora Pierce
Idoru - William Gibson
Carrie - Stephen King
Why?
1984 - because it does what it set out to do so well, because it's got such a grim and depressing sense of detail, and because I heart Winston. Also, as I studied it for A-Level I feel like I know and understand it well and it always gets me thinking.
The Handmaid's Tale - I reread it recently and was really impressed by the description and by the overpowering sense of claustrophobia and... the way it felt all real. *waves hands vaguely* Again, it gets me thinking. (And I studied it at A-Level, but I didn't get half so into it.)
The God of Small Things - I love the description. So much. It's possibly the most vivid book I've ever read. Also, the story is sad and cruel and powerful.
The Virgin Suicides - again, the description is amazing, and the sense of place is really strong. Also, I like the character portrayal and the final message about suicide.
Prep - because so many of the ideas and feelings the main characters has I can relate to, or remember feeling; it's quite spooky sometimes. Also, the author's really good at picking out little details. (Yes, I am a whore for good description ^^)
Alanna: The First Adventure - because it was the first book I read as a teenager where I had a fannish crush on it, and whenever I read it I have a massive nostalgia fest and remember how I felt when I finished it.
Idoru - because the world is really well-imagined and the story's gripping but it's also all kind of eerie and odd. Plus there's a wide cast of characters so there's a range of different notes in the story. It was the book which got me into William Gibson novels.
Carrie - because I love the description (heh) and I find it really powerful and horrifying. I also really like the way it develops and how everything feeds into the story.
Favorite author:
Um... William Gibson. *tries to think of an author who hasn't LET HER DOWN OMG or who has written more than one book* JK Rowling maybe? Um... I don't know who else. A few years ago I would've had more, but a couple of authors have had a drop in quality since then.
Why?
I like William Gibson because of the slight surreality, the description, and the way he can (usually) make characters compelling and interesting even though he's doing that whole writing-about-weird-abstract-concepts thing. And the Harry Potter series was just fun and readable and sprawling ^^
Favorite genres:
... *waves hands helplessly* Um... things which are set in a world which is quite similar to the one I live in, but where it's slightly different or odd or funny, or when it's just about the way people feel. I don't really like romance, historical fiction, horror or fucked-up nasty books where everyone is scum *is thinking of Fight Club here*. Come on, I know there's a word here I'm missing.
Why?
I like the comparison between oddness and reality, and I love it when a book feels real, like you can relate it back to your own life. I find it easier to relate to books when they're set in the here and now. I generally don't like romance because I'm usually not that interested in the relationship (though there are exceptions) and I'm kind of a wuss so I don't like books that squick me out. This is why I didn't put 'dystopia' as a favourite genre ^^
Book you loved that you didn't expect to:
Idoru (I kept avoiding it in the library until I finally gave in and picked it up because it was always there). 1984 (thought it would be boring). Harry Potter 1 (didn't pick up on the school setting, so thought it would be random kids' fantasy about some quest). Carrie (Stephen King. Hello. Writes horror XD). There've probably been lots of others, though.
Book you hated though you thought you'd like it:
William Gibson's Spook Country. Fight Club. This book Divided Kingdom whose author I can't remember. Again, there've probably been lots more! (I wish I had my old book review notebook with me.)
Why?
Spook Country just didn't grip me - the characters were too thinly drawn, and the plot confused me. Fight Club squicked me out, made me want to slap everyone in it, and I had been spoilt for the main twist which made the entire escapade seem pointless. Divided Kingdom just wasn't as weird and clever as I wanted it to be.
First book you ever remember reading:
I don't think I have one... I have memories of a lot of books at the same time. I learnt to read more or less on my own before I started school, so that might be it.
Favorite book as a teen:
Probably Alanna: The First Adventure.
Why you love books:
Because I like being in other places and other people's heads and good description gives me a buzz ^^ Also, I hate eating or travelling with nothing to read. And I like seeing what writers have done and what works because it's fun analysing it.
I enjoyed Mamma Mia, though I think it works better as a musical than a movie. It was fun and silly and most of the cast were pretty good and Colin Firth has suddenly become hot again (after me swearing for years that he wasn't because he reminded me of my dad *sweatdrop*) I didn't like Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfreid much though - one was an annoying jerk and the other was just too fluffy and cute for my liking.
Work are sending me to a sales conference in Prague, apparently, which should be... interesting ^^ I'm going with one of the girls I eat lunch with (unfortunately, it's the one who sort of annoys me sometimes, but I figure this will either improve our friendship or destroy it, so it's pretty much win-win). It sounds like I'll be spending most of my time agreeing to send people books or saying 'I don't know the answer to that, but if you give me your contact details I'll find out and get back to you! *smilesmile*' Which I can do. I did it for my entire gap year :D
This week I read Silverfin by Charlie Higson, which was the first book in that Young James Bond series (that is, published fanfic ^^) and really enjoyed it. Okay, it was 'only' an action-adventure story pitched at ten-year-old boys, but it was really readable and I got totally caught up in it. Really put me off eels, though *shudders* (not that I was ever really 'on' eels, but still.)
I also read What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn, which was great, and Farenheit 451, which was... all right. There were some really exciting bits and it kind of moved me but... a lot of the time the characters felt like they were only saying the things they did because they were in a book. Also, I sort of had issues with the female characters (mainly because as it was a dystopia, I automatically started thinking about the A-Level coursework on the analysis of women in 1984 and Brave New World which I did, and started picking at everything in this. But it wasn't a bad book, just not as awesome as I thought it might be.
I am not counting manga as books here, because in my head they are different. Plus I usually like manga because I have a fandom crush on them, so it would change the focus of the meme. *nods*
Favorite book(s):
In no particular order:
1984 - George Orwell
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld
Alanna: The First Adventure - Tamora Pierce
Idoru - William Gibson
Carrie - Stephen King
Why?
1984 - because it does what it set out to do so well, because it's got such a grim and depressing sense of detail, and because I heart Winston. Also, as I studied it for A-Level I feel like I know and understand it well and it always gets me thinking.
The Handmaid's Tale - I reread it recently and was really impressed by the description and by the overpowering sense of claustrophobia and... the way it felt all real. *waves hands vaguely* Again, it gets me thinking. (And I studied it at A-Level, but I didn't get half so into it.)
The God of Small Things - I love the description. So much. It's possibly the most vivid book I've ever read. Also, the story is sad and cruel and powerful.
The Virgin Suicides - again, the description is amazing, and the sense of place is really strong. Also, I like the character portrayal and the final message about suicide.
Prep - because so many of the ideas and feelings the main characters has I can relate to, or remember feeling; it's quite spooky sometimes. Also, the author's really good at picking out little details. (Yes, I am a whore for good description ^^)
Alanna: The First Adventure - because it was the first book I read as a teenager where I had a fannish crush on it, and whenever I read it I have a massive nostalgia fest and remember how I felt when I finished it.
Idoru - because the world is really well-imagined and the story's gripping but it's also all kind of eerie and odd. Plus there's a wide cast of characters so there's a range of different notes in the story. It was the book which got me into William Gibson novels.
Carrie - because I love the description (heh) and I find it really powerful and horrifying. I also really like the way it develops and how everything feeds into the story.
Favorite author:
Um... William Gibson. *tries to think of an author who hasn't LET HER DOWN OMG or who has written more than one book* JK Rowling maybe? Um... I don't know who else. A few years ago I would've had more, but a couple of authors have had a drop in quality since then.
Why?
I like William Gibson because of the slight surreality, the description, and the way he can (usually) make characters compelling and interesting even though he's doing that whole writing-about-weird-abstract-concepts thing. And the Harry Potter series was just fun and readable and sprawling ^^
Favorite genres:
... *waves hands helplessly* Um... things which are set in a world which is quite similar to the one I live in, but where it's slightly different or odd or funny, or when it's just about the way people feel. I don't really like romance, historical fiction, horror or fucked-up nasty books where everyone is scum *is thinking of Fight Club here*. Come on, I know there's a word here I'm missing.
Why?
I like the comparison between oddness and reality, and I love it when a book feels real, like you can relate it back to your own life. I find it easier to relate to books when they're set in the here and now. I generally don't like romance because I'm usually not that interested in the relationship (though there are exceptions) and I'm kind of a wuss so I don't like books that squick me out. This is why I didn't put 'dystopia' as a favourite genre ^^
Book you loved that you didn't expect to:
Idoru (I kept avoiding it in the library until I finally gave in and picked it up because it was always there). 1984 (thought it would be boring). Harry Potter 1 (didn't pick up on the school setting, so thought it would be random kids' fantasy about some quest). Carrie (Stephen King. Hello. Writes horror XD). There've probably been lots of others, though.
Book you hated though you thought you'd like it:
William Gibson's Spook Country. Fight Club. This book Divided Kingdom whose author I can't remember. Again, there've probably been lots more! (I wish I had my old book review notebook with me.)
Why?
Spook Country just didn't grip me - the characters were too thinly drawn, and the plot confused me. Fight Club squicked me out, made me want to slap everyone in it, and I had been spoilt for the main twist which made the entire escapade seem pointless. Divided Kingdom just wasn't as weird and clever as I wanted it to be.
First book you ever remember reading:
I don't think I have one... I have memories of a lot of books at the same time. I learnt to read more or less on my own before I started school, so that might be it.
Favorite book as a teen:
Probably Alanna: The First Adventure.
Why you love books:
Because I like being in other places and other people's heads and good description gives me a buzz ^^ Also, I hate eating or travelling with nothing to read. And I like seeing what writers have done and what works because it's fun analysing it.
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 05:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 06:23 pm (UTC)Oh gods I love 1984 <3 Was finally able to finish it, Part 3 was so awesome and intriguing. Usually fiction that's set in the future comes off as ridiculous and unrealistic, that book was just like. Whoa. I heart you George Orwell <3
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:49 am (UTC)Yeah... the fact that the future was so grim really worked - it's hardly dated at all.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:48 am (UTC)And yay for both of them!
no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 10:12 pm (UTC)Admittedly, I'm really looking forward to Mamma Mia. ^^; I remember seeing the musical a few years ago and rather enjoying it, and I have a soft spot for most of the movie cast, so it's looking to be a good day out.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:47 am (UTC)I hope you like it! I had a very soft spot for the musical too, and it was fun to see how they adapted it. I'd be interested to hear what you thought!
no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:47 am (UTC)- I'd been spoiled for the twist as to Tyler's identity, so that took a lot of the drama out of it
- I couldn't sympathise or identify at all with the narrator or with... Marla, was it? The girl whom he met at the cancer support group? I kept thinking 'you're whining so much about how dull and meaningless your lives are and yet you have nice places to live, a career, and an active sex life. Just shut up and stop complaining!' I guess I couldn't believe in their angst. Also I thought the petty, spiteful things the narrator did (like putting porn footage in the movies, or sabotaging the food in the hotel) were just really horrible - I hate characters like that and I felt like I was being expected to sympathise and understand and I just didn't.
- I found the idea of the fight club itself pretty interesting, and wanted more focus on that, but from what I remember, the first half of the book didn't touch on it as much as I'd expected, but went off on random tangents. I have a vague memory that the author said the book grew from a series of short stories, but I may be mixing it up with 'Trainspotting', which is similar to it in some ways. (Personally I enjoyed 'Trainspotting' in a 'yarrrgh' way, but I think that was because a) I accepted it as a series of vignettes b) the characters had a lot more to legitimately complain about c) quite a few of them had some nice qualities and were sympathetic.) Anyway, yeah, the plotting felt kind of hazy and I didn't get much of a sense of anything building up. This may have been because I'd been spoiled, of course.
- I found the book depressing and it made me feel sick, so I was biased against it. I accept this doesn't make it a bad book, but it made me a lot more keen to find flaws in it so I could argue that PEOPLE ARE NOT THAT BAD, DAMMIT.
*cough* Yeah. Why didn't you like it? Did you just find it dull? And is the movie better?
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 12:05 am (UTC)I'm glad you enjoyed Mamma Mia. (I just typed Mamma Misa!)
Arragh, your favourite books are filled with terribly intelligent sounding works. I shall go and sit in a corner with my less ... intellectual offerings. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:33 am (UTC)(You know Misa totally dances round her bedroom singing to ABBA. You know it.)
*holds up Tamora Pierce and Carrie protectively* Come on! (Also, like I said, my favourite books tend to be intelligent-sounding because I don't tend to get fannish crushes on them so much. I love Akira, Death Note and BR too, but it's different kind of love ^^)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 01:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 11:01 am (UTC)