Procrastination station
There are important things I need to be doing. Me? Procrastinate? But my entry for August is also important!
I finished The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. It took me months and months. I mentioned I was reading it to my coworker before I really started, and she said, "I couldn't get into the prose." TRUTH. So many of the lines are aborted sentences, and it was difficult to get through. I think as a character study, it works well, and she writes a few good lines about the past/future of some characters that leave you wanting more but also knowing more would ruin the mystery of the characters, and the overall theme of finding a different kind and kinds of love is nice, but it is awfully bogged down by the strange and awkward/art-y prose. :/
I watched the movie adaptation on Netflix, and I liked it. Nothing ground-breaking there, but it was a lot easier to stomach than the book. :D
Oh, I read A Perfect Night to Go to China by David Gilmour a few months ago but apparently never wrote about it! Hmm, I think it was interesting, but sort of unsettling. The basic plot (in the blurb, so not really spoilers?) is the aftermath of what the main character does/feels after his young son goes missing under his watch. It's more of a character study/stream of consciousness book than action what-happens-next. Some of the things described were pretty unique, although I think parts of it, especially the ending, were too abstract for me to enjoy.
I am now reading three books at once, which I usually don't do. Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso, Father Goose by Bill Lishman, and Winter's Bone by David Woodrell. I wonder which I'll finish first? :)
EDIT: So I finished Winter's Bone in less than 24 hours? (It helped that I borrowed it online.) I liked it! I've seen the movie, and it is very faithful to the book, down to a lot of the dialogue. I'm not sure if I would've liked it if I hadn't seen the movie -- it's pretty dark and gritty, but also Ree is a fantastic character without being too unbelievable.
Downtown Abbey, S4: I liked it, but it seemed duller than the previous seasons, and more contrived. Mary has a bunch of suitors, Edith runs into trouble, Rose takes too many risks, Tom is taken advantage of...I don't know, the upper class stories seemed a bit boring and episodic. The servants' stories I liked better, but it still wasn't that engaging. Thomas, despite being a really interesting character in S3, reverts to his old ways, Mrs. Hughes is awesome, Carson is gruffly loveable, Bates and Anna, well. D: I think I will end up watching S5 (and S6) sometime, but I'm not in a rush since it took me this long to watch S4 anyway.
Snowpiercer: I liked it, although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but that made it more refreshing. I kept on thinking of Chris Evans' character, 'This is probably what Cap would do if he were in the same situation', but that's kind of a disservice. (Oh well, fanfic on the brain :D)
I finished The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. It took me months and months. I mentioned I was reading it to my coworker before I really started, and she said, "I couldn't get into the prose." TRUTH. So many of the lines are aborted sentences, and it was difficult to get through. I think as a character study, it works well, and she writes a few good lines about the past/future of some characters that leave you wanting more but also knowing more would ruin the mystery of the characters, and the overall theme of finding a different kind and kinds of love is nice, but it is awfully bogged down by the strange and awkward/art-y prose. :/
I watched the movie adaptation on Netflix, and I liked it. Nothing ground-breaking there, but it was a lot easier to stomach than the book. :D
Oh, I read A Perfect Night to Go to China by David Gilmour a few months ago but apparently never wrote about it! Hmm, I think it was interesting, but sort of unsettling. The basic plot (in the blurb, so not really spoilers?) is the aftermath of what the main character does/feels after his young son goes missing under his watch. It's more of a character study/stream of consciousness book than action what-happens-next. Some of the things described were pretty unique, although I think parts of it, especially the ending, were too abstract for me to enjoy.
I am now reading three books at once, which I usually don't do. Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso, Father Goose by Bill Lishman, and Winter's Bone by David Woodrell. I wonder which I'll finish first? :)
EDIT: So I finished Winter's Bone in less than 24 hours? (It helped that I borrowed it online.) I liked it! I've seen the movie, and it is very faithful to the book, down to a lot of the dialogue. I'm not sure if I would've liked it if I hadn't seen the movie -- it's pretty dark and gritty, but also Ree is a fantastic character without being too unbelievable.
Downtown Abbey, S4: I liked it, but it seemed duller than the previous seasons, and more contrived. Mary has a bunch of suitors, Edith runs into trouble, Rose takes too many risks, Tom is taken advantage of...I don't know, the upper class stories seemed a bit boring and episodic. The servants' stories I liked better, but it still wasn't that engaging. Thomas, despite being a really interesting character in S3, reverts to his old ways, Mrs. Hughes is awesome, Carson is gruffly loveable, Bates and Anna, well. D: I think I will end up watching S5 (and S6) sometime, but I'm not in a rush since it took me this long to watch S4 anyway.
Snowpiercer: I liked it, although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but that made it more refreshing. I kept on thinking of Chris Evans' character, 'This is probably what Cap would do if he were in the same situation', but that's kind of a disservice. (Oh well, fanfic on the brain :D)