Dear Livejournal and My Reading
1) Dear People Who Manage/own Communities,
Tags are you friends. Please use them. It is no fun for anyone who is looking for a specific thing from the archives to have to shift through 100+ entries to find the one they want.
Sincerely,
Me
2) Suffering from iPod withdrawal I have read three books within the last three days. Although, most (and I) would classify this as a good thing. Except NO iPOD. So I'm still a bit morose. My book reviewing skills are also depressing me; they're crap, but I try.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
I thought this was a really wonderful book, although I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. A lot happens, but it seemed to sneak up on me. You have to enjoy an inter-generational storyline that has no plot connection to the original premise, but instead works to round off character. I'm a sucker for books that compare the mindsets of different generations (and if you are too [and haven't read it already] go read Middlesex ASAP). It also helps to know a bit of Spanish slang for this and there's no translation (not stuff you'd find in your classroom dictionary) so I'd recommend checking out Down These Mean Streets or at least finding a copy and reading the glossary in the back for some familiarity. A lot can be derived from context as well, but it always helps to know the actual meaning of things. Also, you have to be a bit of a nerd to understand a couple of the metaphors (mainly Lord of the Rings, but there are some Doctor Who, Isaac Asimov, etc.) In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I can understand how some of its audience might not be able to appreciate it as much.
A Zombie's History of the United States
Alternate history with zombies and zombie hybrids as another class in American. Some bits seem cut and paste from black oppression or communist scare (which is half the joke, I guess), but discussion of historical figures and their relation to zombies is much more interesting. For example, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin fighting off an escaped zombie in the French Embassy. JA fought it off using only a poker and then it tackled him and BF smashed it on the head. Badass, I know.
Overall: slightly amusing, moreso for history geeks, not worth reading the whole thing, but my friend wanted me too.
We interupt the scheduled program to bring you a mini-ramble on American egoism.
I always thought I was rather worldly and openly critical of America if need be. I have discovered this not to always be true. I still subconsciously have expected foreign children to know/forgot that they don't know, basic American history/parables. I am greatly saddened by this fact and must go to work on molding good old Frobisher (my brain has been anthropmorphized into twins, the other being Jeeves) to stop watching the John Adams HBO Miniseries over and over again (but that doesn't me I won't stop doing it! It's fantastic.)
Example of what I was talking about. I watched a whole Simpsons episode with a nine-year old Spanish boy and he turns and I ask him if he knows what's going on. Answer: why does Lisa trust that white haired guy with ponytails. Um, because that's GEORGE FREAKIN' CHERRY TREE WASHINGTON, said my brain. At least my mouth was a little more calm in explaining it, but I do think I gaped like a fish for a while.
And then watching the Season opener of Doctor Who, when the message from the "girl" said Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams, I was all I KNOW THE ANSWER, and then got a bit annoyed when the doctor explained who they were and drawn out map searching. Then, I realized that might have been suspenseful for UK viewers who had no ideas what those names meant and that they belong to at least streets in many American cities/towns. I'm a bit embarrassed about all this to, be honest.
We know return you to Tepi's not so useful book reviews.
A Separate Peace
I was jonesing for something new to read so stole this from the English classroom. Finished it before school ended (speed reading skills, I have them). This book comes from the naturalism genre (as Wikipedia says) so it's not compacted for the services of creating a racing plot. Basically, it's about two friends, one falls out of a tree and breaks his leg and whether the other friend pushed him. Otherwise, it's about a co-dependent relationship, it's trials and tribulations and the chaning mentality of young men with the onset of WWII. And it is one of the most homoerotic subtext filled things I have ever read. Seriously, and I mean past all you Holmes/Watson, Bertie/Jeeves, the whole frickin' thing is subtext. I kept expecting them to kiss and then to assure I wasn't crazy went online, saw at least 820 people agreed with me and that this fact that they were in total gay love was confirmed by the author. So there. I called Finny/Gene within first chapter (there real names are Phineas and Eugene, how cool is that. I'd never seen that name used outside of Around the World in Eighty Days.) Actually, if the subtext is so blatant, it doesn't make my accomplishment that great now does it. Pooh.
Oh wait, wasn't I reviewing this book? :D It was nice, leisurely. Like life there were some parts I forgot easily and skipped through and certain moments that are branded in my memory. I'm not sad I didn't read it, apparently it's a classic? You have to be really into character over action, much moreso than I meant with Oscar. I mean, boy falls out of tree being the main plot set up doesn't sound like a Dan Brown novel does it.
Tags are you friends. Please use them. It is no fun for anyone who is looking for a specific thing from the archives to have to shift through 100+ entries to find the one they want.
Sincerely,
Me
2) Suffering from iPod withdrawal I have read three books within the last three days. Although, most (and I) would classify this as a good thing. Except NO iPOD. So I'm still a bit morose. My book reviewing skills are also depressing me; they're crap, but I try.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
I thought this was a really wonderful book, although I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. A lot happens, but it seemed to sneak up on me. You have to enjoy an inter-generational storyline that has no plot connection to the original premise, but instead works to round off character. I'm a sucker for books that compare the mindsets of different generations (and if you are too [and haven't read it already] go read Middlesex ASAP). It also helps to know a bit of Spanish slang for this and there's no translation (not stuff you'd find in your classroom dictionary) so I'd recommend checking out Down These Mean Streets or at least finding a copy and reading the glossary in the back for some familiarity. A lot can be derived from context as well, but it always helps to know the actual meaning of things. Also, you have to be a bit of a nerd to understand a couple of the metaphors (mainly Lord of the Rings, but there are some Doctor Who, Isaac Asimov, etc.) In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I can understand how some of its audience might not be able to appreciate it as much.
A Zombie's History of the United States
Alternate history with zombies and zombie hybrids as another class in American. Some bits seem cut and paste from black oppression or communist scare (which is half the joke, I guess), but discussion of historical figures and their relation to zombies is much more interesting. For example, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin fighting off an escaped zombie in the French Embassy. JA fought it off using only a poker and then it tackled him and BF smashed it on the head. Badass, I know.
Overall: slightly amusing, moreso for history geeks, not worth reading the whole thing, but my friend wanted me too.
We interupt the scheduled program to bring you a mini-ramble on American egoism.
I always thought I was rather worldly and openly critical of America if need be. I have discovered this not to always be true. I still subconsciously have expected foreign children to know/forgot that they don't know, basic American history/parables. I am greatly saddened by this fact and must go to work on molding good old Frobisher (my brain has been anthropmorphized into twins, the other being Jeeves) to stop watching the John Adams HBO Miniseries over and over again (but that doesn't me I won't stop doing it! It's fantastic.)
Example of what I was talking about. I watched a whole Simpsons episode with a nine-year old Spanish boy and he turns and I ask him if he knows what's going on. Answer: why does Lisa trust that white haired guy with ponytails. Um, because that's GEORGE FREAKIN' CHERRY TREE WASHINGTON, said my brain. At least my mouth was a little more calm in explaining it, but I do think I gaped like a fish for a while.
And then watching the Season opener of Doctor Who, when the message from the "girl" said Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams, I was all I KNOW THE ANSWER, and then got a bit annoyed when the doctor explained who they were and drawn out map searching. Then, I realized that might have been suspenseful for UK viewers who had no ideas what those names meant and that they belong to at least streets in many American cities/towns. I'm a bit embarrassed about all this to, be honest.
We know return you to Tepi's not so useful book reviews.
A Separate Peace
I was jonesing for something new to read so stole this from the English classroom. Finished it before school ended (speed reading skills, I have them). This book comes from the naturalism genre (as Wikipedia says) so it's not compacted for the services of creating a racing plot. Basically, it's about two friends, one falls out of a tree and breaks his leg and whether the other friend pushed him. Otherwise, it's about a co-dependent relationship, it's trials and tribulations and the chaning mentality of young men with the onset of WWII. And it is one of the most homoerotic subtext filled things I have ever read. Seriously, and I mean past all you Holmes/Watson, Bertie/Jeeves, the whole frickin' thing is subtext. I kept expecting them to kiss and then to assure I wasn't crazy went online, saw at least 820 people agreed with me and that this fact that they were in total gay love was confirmed by the author. So there. I called Finny/Gene within first chapter (there real names are Phineas and Eugene, how cool is that. I'd never seen that name used outside of Around the World in Eighty Days.) Actually, if the subtext is so blatant, it doesn't make my accomplishment that great now does it. Pooh.
Oh wait, wasn't I reviewing this book? :D It was nice, leisurely. Like life there were some parts I forgot easily and skipped through and certain moments that are branded in my memory. I'm not sad I didn't read it, apparently it's a classic? You have to be really into character over action, much moreso than I meant with Oscar. I mean, boy falls out of tree being the main plot set up doesn't sound like a Dan Brown novel does it.