What are you reading? — Page 7

The better half has just excitedly finished reading Anno Dracula by Kim Newman after my recommendation of it for as long as he has known me.

He is keen to move onto the next book The Bloody Red Baron but seeing as I've read each book four times I've opted to read Moriarty - The Hound Of The D'Urbervilles by the same author.

Like most of Mr Newman's work it's brilliantly researched and punchy reading.

It's segmented into separate adventures for the Professor chronicled by his caddish left hand man Colonel Sebastian Moran and mirroring in loving detail the tedious exploits of that boringly upright detective Holmes and his dull satellite Watson.

There is a nice framing device set in the 21st Century which suitably mirrors the framing device for The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes (1970).

With all the Sherlockmania going around at the moment it would be a giggle to see this go to television but I fear it would lose some of the delicious detail in translation.

Started reading the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Not far in at all but interesting so far.

Also reading a few Stephen King short stories on the side - just finished mile 81.

Last novel I read was 11/22/63. Also by Stephen King. awesome book, probably the best thing he's written.

If the title isn't obvious it relates the the Kennedy assassination.

also got some Heinlein to get into when I can find the time..

Also been keeping tabs on some comics on the side - not really a big comic fan but checking out a Planet of the Apes series by Daryl Gregory - it's set in a time period not covered in any of the films where man and ape live side by side and things are really starting to go pear shaped..

Bingowings said:

The better half has just excitedly finished reading Anno Dracula by Kim Newman after my recommendation of it for as long as he has known me.

This has perpetually been on my wishlist, but I never seem to pull the trigger and pick up a copy. One of these days.

Currently reading Voltaire's Candide. Just finished Embers by Sándor Márai.

asterisk8 with all the books (including the last one) coming out in new editions by the end of the year, around now would be a good time because they are so very moreish.

Just finished "!Drakula" a modern retelling of Dracula with text messages.

Clever. Short enough that the gimmick never gets old. Fun. Surprisingly accurate to the original.

Bingo! I highly reccomend it to you especially.

TheBoost said:

Just finished "!Drakula" a modern retelling of Dracula with text messages.

Clever. Short enough that the gimmick never gets old. Fun. Surprisingly accurate to the original.

Bingo! I highly reccomend it to you especially.

Who, where, how?

Captiansolo's blog. Wow, good stuff.

I've always enjoyed his posts, and have admired his passion for film. He is the sort of film geek I have always aspired to be but fail miserably at. A few days ago I found myself thinking, I really wish this guy had a blog filled with movie reviews and glancing down at his sig I discovered that he does.

So I took a little hiatus from reading any novels for a while, partway through the LOTR.  But I recently picked it up again and made it through The Two Towers and I'm nearly done with Return of the King.  I have to say, for those who thought the movie's resolution dragged on for too long, but had not read the books, let me assure you that the lengthy ending of the film is nothing compared to the sluggish ending of the novel.  Overall, I really enjoed these books, but man, I really am ready to be done.

What sort of brief review can I offer?  Let's see...I for one like different takes on the same story.  For that reason, I have striven to collect all the official releases of the OT, the radio dramas, the novels, the comics, etc.  I just find it fun to look at a slightly different interpretation of events.  How does this relate to LOTR?  Well, certain characters I felt were much stronger and certain events more interesting in the novels while others were better in the films.  For instance, Faramir, a character I found noble but lacking in the films, is far more perceptive and intimidating in the novel.  He's a bigger guy than in the movie, on par with Boromir, but his greater capacity thus magnifies his humility and nobility, since he could have easily succumbed to human nature.  Sam, likewise a great character in the films, becomes the ringbearer bearer, so to speak, as Frodo's weakness is far worse and Sam keeps him going and goes to greater lengths to help him reach his destination.  I really liked Sam in the books.

But the relationship and humor between Gimli and Legolas, for instance, is far more interesting in the films.  The Ringwraiths are more intimidating in my mind, and the films dispense with some of the unneeded side story (I'll never get over the curious and ultimately pointless Tom Bombadil).  I like many of the actors' portrayal of their respective characters, and upon making it through the books, it's hard to picture those same actors playing their characters the way they are in the books.  And I think one of the best changes to enhance Aragorn's character for the films was the delay in the repair of the sword Narsil and the simultaneous insecurity of Aragorn, unsure if he was truly capable of being a good and strong enough human to lead his race given his ancestors' weaknesses.

A great series to be sure...but to make it through this ending....ugh.  This is all compounded by an intense desire to begin the Hunger Games series.

So I didn't start reading Hunger Games as soon as I'd hoped because it took even longer than I expected to finish LOTR's extensive resolution, though I found it interesting how Saruman got a little more time later in the books than in the films.

While I was comparing pros and cons of the films and books, I forgot to mention one thing: the unbelievable convenient timing in the movies.  For instance, in the film of ROTK, the situation seems dire, when all of the sudden the good guys remember, "Oh yeah, there's some dead guys who owe the heir of Isildor a favor."  The book makes circumstances more believable rather than just having the good things pop out of no where.  But as I said before, there are points I prefer over the films and points I prefer from the books, and it's nice to have read both and have two different perspectives on the story.

I finally did start with The Hunger Games on Wednesday, and I'm almost done with it.  Doubleofive pointed out that the dog-like "muttations" were worse in the book than the movie, and I now that I'm at that point, I can't help but agree, though I'm not sure if they are truly what they are immediately perceived to be, or if they are rather serving as a psychological weapon as well as a physical based on this strange description.  For my own personal tastes, I'll infer that it is psychological only, as any other explanation is just too weird and distracts from an otherwise rather gripping story.

Finished  Moriarty - The Hound Of The D'Urbervilles. Brilliant Stuff !!!

Picked up the The Hunger Games but put it down by page 8.

Seriously, they describe the girl as "olive skinned" and with "black hair."

Did they even SEE the movie!?!?!? I hate these racist books.

Bingowings said:

TheBoost said:

Just finished "!Drakula" a modern retelling of Dracula with text messages.

Clever. Short enough that the gimmick never gets old. Fun. Surprisingly accurate to the original.

Bingo! I highly reccomend it to you especially.

Who, where, how?

 Sorry. been out of touch.

!Drakula by Bekka Black. Almost impossible to google! The "!" should be upside down.  Saw it at my library. I guess it can also be bought as a cell phone "app" for you young people.

What is a 'cell phone' or an 'app'?  ;-)

Finally finished A Dance with Dragons.

Need some time to collect my thoughts on the series as a whole (thus far), then I'll post a more proper review-thingie.

So I completed the Hunger Games trilogy.  As most folks agree, the first book is the best.  The second and third suffered from some interesting problems in my view.  While many criticized them as being slower than the first, (which they are), that never bothered me.  The first is in many ways a simplistic story where the good and bad guys are pretty clear.  The fact that Catching Fire and Mockingjay might be seen as worse could stem from the more complex moral dilemmas.  The second book's characters are not terribly original or interesting, and the plot I found a bit too predictable.  The third books plot is definitely far less predictable, but the characters are still underdeveloped and the story ends with far too much sadness.  Not that a tragedy is a bad thing (heck, I love tragic stories, one of my favorite films being Vertigo), but I don't think this story left me in the mood for a tragedy.  Parts felt like the movie Aliens, part felt like an anti-war story, bouts of depression lasted far too long, characters died seemingly meaningless deaths...I don't know...there were good ideas there, but they simply weren't executed to my liking.

So going back to the first book, the action is interesting, but what really grips me is the human interaction.  Suzanne Collins chose to write in the first-person present-tense, and it was done quite effectively, getting us into the head of the protagonist, Katniss.  As she interacts with the other major character, Peeta, I really came to love the human interaction.  I cared about the characters and their struggle, I bonded with them, I was remarkably compelled by them.  The first book, as short and simplistic as it was, left me hungering (haha) for more, including an opened love triangle a la Twilight, only I cared much more for these two blokes and the girl having to choose between them.

Even though the second and third books had their action portions as well, the humanity of the protagonists was somewhat lost, and I was unable to relate to the characters as well.  I didn't care when folks died, and by the time the love story was resolved, I simply no longer felt that emotionally involved.  I hope the films handle the material a bit better, as I again admit that there were interesting ideas.  I hope so, because I found the first film so very emotionally engaging as well.

Got a few books on the go but dropped everything to start on the new Dark Tower. It's basically an interquel between Wizard and Glass [part 4] and Wolves of the Calla [part 5].

The Wind through the keyhole - it's a story within a story within a story.

Rereading the Ender series.  If you can't tell, it's one of my favorites.  Nearly done with Ender's Game, and I still love it.  I found this picture today, and thought it was fun.

Maybe he'll have more success this time around ;)

I'm currently reading Stargate SG-1: The Barque of Heaven by Suzanne Wood.

It's okay, I guess, but since I'm not really a fan of SG-1 anymore, I'm not really into it; I'm only reading the book to see how good the retcon the author created to explain away one of the many discrepancies between the show and the original movie is.