Posted on June 7, 2013 in Books, TV
I admit that I do not love this series but I do like it. There is a strong likelihood I will finish it.
Posted on May 22, 2013 in Books
Another humorous book of essays by Mr Sedaris. I first read Sedaris’s books in 2008 with his When You are Engulfed with Flames. He appears in the Best American Travel Writing series a lot, but reading one of his books is different altogether as you get immersed with his worldview and humor. This was my fourth or fifth of his books that I read, and I bought Me Talk Pretty One Day, but had to leave it in England with all the rest of the books I bought there (save my Completed Works of Shakespeare). I wish I had kept it because I think the aforementioned are two of my favourites of his.
There are always at least a couple of gems in his collected essays. I am wondering if Sedaris is getting more and more grumpy as he ages. He was in town two years ago, but I didn’t manage to go at the time and I was turned off by the idea that he was going to be crowded. It was from photos I saw of the event, but I regret not going because as written in this book and in interviews, Sedaris is very engaging to his fans.
This was the first of his books that I heard in audiobook form, and I’m surprised again why I hadn’t done this sooner. He has been Grammy nominated for a reason. I’ve already put in a library request for another of his books on CD.
Continue reading →
Posted on May 21, 2013 in Books
My second YA espionage novel in a little over a week! I thought this would be a good follow-up and foil to Ally Carter’s series. I really enjoy Carriger’s urban fantasy steampunk series The Parasol Protectorate. This is her new series called Finishing School. It is set in the same universe and set a few decades before the events. A couple of the tertiary characters in the PP series are in this one as well.
The focus in this book was less on supernatural relations than the first series, and more Harry Potter style school for female spies or intelligencers. Carriger’s books are really fun. This spy book works more for me because of the sci-fi and steampunk variations. This series is more tween and young adult targeted than the late teen margeted Parasol Protectorate though. This was one of the things that I like about PP, but this new series may get more mature as the protagonist grows from age 14.
Carriger tends to write charming and adorable characters. The cast is usually quite diverse and even though there isn’t a gay character (that we know of) in this series yet, there is a person of colour as a supporting character for the first time. Another thing about Carriger I like is her characters often speak in that weird Victorian steampunk, but it means she uses what now seem to be archaic words. I like the idea that real teenagers actually read a book like this that has sometimes more advanced words than some adult drugstore novels.
All in all, a fun start to this new series.
Read May 19th 2013.
Posted on May 20, 2013 in Books, Movies
I was apprehensive of this children’s book mostly because I get very sad with animal stories. I remember watching Black Beauty (1994) as a kid, and being crying. I rarely cried during movies when I was younger, and even now, it’s not that common for me. But animals are a soft spot for me, especially when they are exploited.
I remember reading All Quiet on the Western Front and being appalled by the idea that horses were sent into battle in the First World War. It’s abhorrent to have animals fighting and dying for our wars and that war was costly in itself.
This novel is an antiwar novel and it also demonstrates the human kindness between man and animal. A lot of the characters interact with Joey the horse and through war, they receive what is now known as animal therapy. There is much love and respect between the men and horses in this film and rightly so.
The book is not very long and only took me 1.5 hours to read it (with breaks). The prose is simple but beautiful. The messages are clear and I really enjoyed it. Maybe all the positivity did go slightly to the cheesy side for some, but it worked for me. There is death, but this is a story of hope of course. Is it realistic? Not necessarily, but there is a lot of love in it which works for me.
I really think it’s a lovely book for children. I don’t believe children should be coddled and it’s a book that teaches history as much as animal rights. Recommended.
Read May 17th 2013
War Horse (2011)
Posted on May 15, 2013 in Books
This was my third Muriel Spark book, and I continue to like her style and prose. There is something distinct and a bit strange about her writing. The characters seem both real and unreal at the same time.
This does not have a memorable plot as The Driver’s Seat, but I found its character even more formed than in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
The book takes place in London after the VE Day of the Second World War, but before VJ day. The slender means refer to poor young, single women living in a boarding house in that austere time and how they managed. It seems to be an accurate portrayal of young women during that time as they borrowed clothes, swapped coupons, and engaged in relationships with men. The climax of the book also highlights the effect of war into their lives,
This microcosm feeling of this world created by a small group of women reminded me of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford actually except a little more moody and darker of course. I like that about Spark. It lends realism and frankness especially since I read this after a fluffy YA novel devoid of this kind of reality.
This was my second Spark book of the year, and I am starting to think it won’t be my last either. Nick Hornby wrote about how satisfying her short novels are and I concur heartedly. They are not hard to read, but they still are provocative in their own way.
Read May 11th 2013.
Posted on May 14, 2013 in Books
I only read this because I thought this was the last book in the series and. It isn’t and I’m done with this series. It’s not actually that bad, but I grew out of young adult contemporary fiction a long time ago. I really should have learned my lesson after The Princess Diaries series.
This series is basically a Harry Potter for girls and instead of wizards, it’s a school for spies. They even have equivalents for Snape and McGonagall. Unlike the Harry Potter books, these books are pure fluff in that there seems to be very few consequences for the characters. It leaves me feeling as if the suspense is for nothing since the stakes seem so low. It reminds me how special Harry Potter and to an extent The Hunger Games are in YA fiction.
It’s not that bad because Carter is decent at pacing. It’s rated very highly on GoodReads, but I am really not the demographic for these books. I missed a wider range of vocab, and the little things bugged me such as Bex, the British teenage spy, calling her mother “Mom”.
I think if I read these books when I was 10 or 12, I would have liked them more since it would have aligned with my limited view of the world, national security, and boys. I recommend it for the preteen or tween girls in your life who are interested in spies, but still not as good as some other aforementioned YA series out there.
Read May 11, 2013.
Posted on May 7, 2013 in Books
Usually, I read this the year they are published, but I had a busy 2008 and must have missed it then. I usually wouldn’t go back so many years, but Anthony Bourdain edited this edition. Bourdain is one of my favourite travel writers so I was interested to see what articles he had selected.
Since this being Bourdain, I was hoping for a food bent, and there were indeed a couple of food targeted articles, but less than you would expect from the former chef. There was a theme in the articles and the Middle East and Central Asia were prominent. I think this was partly because of the time too, but these are locations that Bourdain has not explored a lot on his shows that much.
In any case, I love this series as it always has some illuminating and interesting articles. I found the last article about Easter Island and travel really evocative and poignant too. One of the better selected edited books from this series.
Read May 4-5th 2013.
Posted on April 30, 2013 in Books
This is the seventh Thursday Next book. It’s been a over a year since I read the last one. So much has happened in this series since I started it years ago. It remains one of the most unique and fun series I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Sometimes it is all over the place, but I feel that Fforde has streamlined a lot the subplots. I really should reread them all one day when he completes the series.
As usual with a Thursday Next book, earlier characters and villains are prominent and conflicts arise very quickly. I find these books satisfying because a lot of the new plot lines and the ones from previous ones are resolved by the end of the book. Thursday has a lot of enemies so there’s an ongoing supply of antagonists, but it does feel satisfying when she wins at the end of the book.
There was more religious satire in this one and I love this series for being one largely about books and literature. The series now has spanned about twenty years in Thursday’s life and I’ve liked the progression of her and the other characters. I like Thursday as a mother and as a detective/heroine entering her 50s. The spirit of the books is always fun and infectious.
A lot of technology has advanced in Thursday’s universe, but I still like the idiosyncratic nature. I like the idea of that those inhabitants love toast enough to permit restaurant a Toast restaurant chain. I do miss the Book World plots, but there are hints that will return soon. I mostly do not want this series to end though
Jasper Fforde always seems like a cool author. He and Nick Hornby always come off so well in their books as in writers I’d like to have a pint with them. All in all, another very fun Thursday Next book.
Read April 24-25 2013.
Posted on April 29, 2013 in Books
This was fun and escapist. It feels like a few weeks since I escaped and became engrossed in a book that felt faraway with characters unlike that in my life. I consumed this book quickly forgetting about my life.
The novel is told mostly through letters, emails, faxes, and transcripts. This technique is employed well. The pacing of the book is quick when compared to other epistolary novels which often drag a bit. It is set in Seattle with privileged and highly educated characters. The book is being sold mostly by its humor, and I do think it is wry and has some very good satire. It’s not always funny and has a couple of touching moments. I did laugh out loud in one instance.
I could not really relate to any of the characters, but they were entertaining. I did like reading about the characters and cared about them even when I could not relate to any of them. I think it’s a mark of good character writing if an author is able to do that. As a result, I felt for most of them even Bernadette who has an anti-Canadian stance. I do think the character has a point that Canadians don’t really celebrate great individuals. I’ve seen this in Canadian culture myself (e.g. Lester B Pearson and more), but I digress.
The author quickly made it clear that none of the characters were perfect and all of them were flawed. The ending was rather neat (maybe too neat and happy) and everyone got a good ending except maybe for Soo-Lin.
I thought the book was well paced, amusing at times though not as funny as the marketing makes it to be, and neatly wrapped up. It was not extremely literary either, but a contemporary novel that has a clear start to finish. It has just enough depth about the characters and the plot.
Read April 21-22 2013 (but mostly it was the 22nd).
Posted on April 24, 2013 in Books
This Canadian novel is notable for its erotic scenes between a woman and bear.
I sheepishly admit that do not actually read that much Canadian literature. I picked this up as an attempt to rectify that. Once in awhile, I try to be a good Canadian reader. Why not since this book has an interesting premise and it is short. I did not expect a lot, but I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.
The prose was very nice. The sentences in this book are short almost clipped, simple, but elegant and full of good diction. The book is dated with its use of the word “Indians”, but in general there was something quite timeless about it. Having been in Northwestern Ontario, I could see the scenery and setting. She was able to elicit visuals and imagery with very few words. It was just very well-written in its simplicity and brevity.
The controversial moments of the book were a bit strange and discomforting, but I understood her exploration of Lou the protagonist. The book has Feminist undertones as well in the midst of the Canadian wilderness. I understood the themes and the metaphor all wrapped up in tasteful prose.
I’m slightly surprised because I think this may one of the best written Canadian novels I’ve read in a long time. I think this woman can rival Magaret Atwood.
I had written this review after reading the book, but I lost it.
Read April 20th 2013.
Posted on April 23, 2013 in Books
This was a unique book. It was interesting and postmodernist. It was also strange and got a bit creepy in some parts especially towards the end.
It features a lot of theme on reading, books, writers, fiction, narration and more. It is hard to describe, but it is a novel about a reader told in second person narrative who reads other novels that begin every other chapter. It does feel like you are reading a short story collection at times. Each of the book the author reads is from a different time, setting, and sometimes mood. Still, the style remains. The plots varied and some were quite esoteric and a bit out there which is standard for this kind of postmodernist style.
David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas was influenced by this novel, and I can see the literary merit of Calvino’s work. I would not reread it because it I actually felt not connection to any of the characters in the books within the book or the real Reader/Protagonist. I did like the a musings about reading though. I also think the book has a couple of clever techniques.
As a translated work, I was impressed again by William Weaver. He has also translated much of Umberto Eco’s work including The Name of the Rose which I have also read. Weaver is wonderful writer and this work was named as one of the best literary English translations in the last fifty years.
Read on book and Kindle from April 14th-20th 2013.
Posted on April 21, 2013 in Books, Movies
Some years ago, I requested this book from the library thinking it was the movie. When it finally came, I realized my mistake and got the DVD as well. I thought I may as well read the screenplay. It has been awhile since I read a play rather. Actually, I don’t remember the last time I even read a screenplay.
This is a story about two people who fall in love at the wrong time. It is a story full of observation, simplicity, introspection, and Englishness. It has characters who are repressed, restrained yet they are still capable of deep love and feelings. It captures the yearning and initial rush of new love. It is excellent directed and has a great soundtrack featuring Rachmaninoff.
There is a saying that to make a relationship work you must have chemistry and timing. Alec and Laura had chemistry; there is an almost unexplainable attraction to one another. It is not as if Alec or Laura seem to be terribly unhappily in their marriages or at least in Laura’s case. We know less about Alec. The one thing I am critical about is that Alec is not as developed as Laura; the audience never quite get to know him. Maybe that is the point from Laura’s perspective too. She fell deeply for a man she barely knew, but they had a great yet short time together and she knew that and her own desire for him.
Maybe it is the romantic in me that believes that two married people could fall in love so suddenly because their lives had become so dull and pedantic. It is believable that neither of them seems to have actually ever been in love with their partner. I actually think this story is rather realistic or has emotional reality.
The film portrays these feelings and interactions perfectly.