(no subject)
Is there anyone cooler than David Ortiz? Not only did he just steal a base, but he is quite a wiz at geography. Papi, Papi, if you come to Maine, I'll let you into the beach for freeeee. (I feel bad for forgetting that some of the Sox "served their time" in Portland. Maybe I should pay more attention to the local minor league team? Sorry, Sea Dogs. And Beckett is a bit of a snot.)
I'm pretty sure I said I'd come up with something intelligent to say about Persuasion and Emma, both of which I read last month. But I haven't yet, so I'll just say
that I liked them both - Persuasion more than Emma, I think. Because Emma was good, but... nothing happened. And I get that half of Austen's talent is her ability to take the regular, silly, everday things and write classic literature (two inches of ivory, indeed). She wrote Emma as a book where nothing much happened. I appreciate that. Doesn't mean I plan on rereading it anytime soon. (And I disliked Harriet Smith... I just found her to be completely blah. I was hoping she would be there for a few chapters and then something about her family would come out and she'd marry Robert and then we could continue on with the story. Which happened, except that she was there the entire time, and nothing about her family really came out, and there wasn't really any story to continue on with, now was there?) Persuasion wasn't very happy, but I was so pleased with the happy ending that everything else looked much better as a result. I'm mad that The Lake House co-opted it, because Persuasion deserves much better than that. (I'm dying to see Il Mare, however. It seems like such a promising story, and then they cast Keanu Reeves. Oi.)
I also read I Capture the Castle, which was the opposite of most books - the beginning was wonderful and the ending made me cranky.
Usually books take a little while to get going, because the author has to tell you who people are, where they are, and why you should care. Dodie Smith just jumps right in - "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink." Kind of hard to top that, don't you think? And I knew - I knew! - as soon as Cassandra said that she likes books that keep you thinking about the characters after the final page that this was going to be one of those books. But talk about blatant! I'm assuming that Simon turns up, and they live happily ever after... but I like to think that Cassandra finally gets smacked upside the head and falls madly (if belatedly) in love with Stephen. I love Stephen. And I know it's because I have a Gilbert Blythe complex (I love the loyal boys who love from afar for as long as it takes - this carried over into love for Will Turner and Max Evans, to name just a couple), but I thought he was sweet and charming and devoted. And I found the Cottons less than impressive, and the whole love quadrangle annoying. (But very realistic. Of course they don't know who they're in love with - they're people. Maybe that's my issue? No clear, sweeping love story?)
I'm halfway through Devil in the White City, and I'm liking it. I think I'd love it if I was able to ever sit down and read more than two pages at the same time... There are just a couple too many people to keep track of without sustained periods of reading. I also started Feeding the Monster, which I'm loving, because I already know everyone involved. Seth Mnookin discusses the business and managing decisions that got Boston to the World Series in 2004, and (I'm guessing, here, because I haven't gotten that far) how everything fell apart in 2005. I think I'm going to have to buy it, hardcover and everything, but only because he's doing a signing next week at Bookland, and this is the first author I had any real interest in meeting. (That said, Finding Amy's authors Captain Joseth K. Loughlin and Katie Clark Flora were extremely interesting to listen to, even if the book was true crime and thus held no interest for me; Katie Clark was a little abrasive, but her book Grandma Drove the Garbage Truck is cute, and she was nice enough that I didn't mind spending my 4th of July filling up helium balloons for her; and James L. Nelson is fascinating and funny in person, though I admit I haven't read any of his books... even though I was in charge of his book signing. But Benedict Arnold's Navy is supposed to be quite good, according to one of the history junkies at work. Plus, he has a series about pirates that I've heard good things about.) Apparently, Meg Cabot and Julia Quinn are part of a group of authors having a signing in Atlanta, and I in no way desperately want to go .
A few other things that I'm just going to throw out here: I worked 69 hours last week. I am officially renting/housesitting this gorgeous house on the Kennebec River starting in about a month. I have a mad crush on the local sheriff who keeps tabs on Reid, and keeps stopping in and hanging out with us. I am seriously considering getting Netflix, and I want people who have a subscription to tell me if it's worth it. I think I'm going to give up on reading Gone With the Wind, and just watch the movie, which is unprecedented, but Scarlett is driving me crazy, and I think I'll fare better if I get to look at her clothes while I have to listen to her. I am a very busy and preoccupied girl, see?
Oh, and is there any good Pirates of the Carribean fic out there? There must be. And I know you guys read it. So tell me about some... especially some with, say, good Elizabeth/Will interaction, and maybe some Will angsting after that certain final moment in Dead Man's Chest?
I'm pretty sure I said I'd come up with something intelligent to say about Persuasion and Emma, both of which I read last month. But I haven't yet, so I'll just say
that I liked them both - Persuasion more than Emma, I think. Because Emma was good, but... nothing happened. And I get that half of Austen's talent is her ability to take the regular, silly, everday things and write classic literature (two inches of ivory, indeed). She wrote Emma as a book where nothing much happened. I appreciate that. Doesn't mean I plan on rereading it anytime soon. (And I disliked Harriet Smith... I just found her to be completely blah. I was hoping she would be there for a few chapters and then something about her family would come out and she'd marry Robert and then we could continue on with the story. Which happened, except that she was there the entire time, and nothing about her family really came out, and there wasn't really any story to continue on with, now was there?) Persuasion wasn't very happy, but I was so pleased with the happy ending that everything else looked much better as a result. I'm mad that The Lake House co-opted it, because Persuasion deserves much better than that. (I'm dying to see Il Mare, however. It seems like such a promising story, and then they cast Keanu Reeves. Oi.)
I also read I Capture the Castle, which was the opposite of most books - the beginning was wonderful and the ending made me cranky.
Usually books take a little while to get going, because the author has to tell you who people are, where they are, and why you should care. Dodie Smith just jumps right in - "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink." Kind of hard to top that, don't you think? And I knew - I knew! - as soon as Cassandra said that she likes books that keep you thinking about the characters after the final page that this was going to be one of those books. But talk about blatant! I'm assuming that Simon turns up, and they live happily ever after... but I like to think that Cassandra finally gets smacked upside the head and falls madly (if belatedly) in love with Stephen. I love Stephen. And I know it's because I have a Gilbert Blythe complex (I love the loyal boys who love from afar for as long as it takes - this carried over into love for Will Turner and Max Evans, to name just a couple), but I thought he was sweet and charming and devoted. And I found the Cottons less than impressive, and the whole love quadrangle annoying. (But very realistic. Of course they don't know who they're in love with - they're people. Maybe that's my issue? No clear, sweeping love story?)
I'm halfway through Devil in the White City, and I'm liking it. I think I'd love it if I was able to ever sit down and read more than two pages at the same time... There are just a couple too many people to keep track of without sustained periods of reading. I also started Feeding the Monster, which I'm loving, because I already know everyone involved. Seth Mnookin discusses the business and managing decisions that got Boston to the World Series in 2004, and (I'm guessing, here, because I haven't gotten that far) how everything fell apart in 2005. I think I'm going to have to buy it, hardcover and everything, but only because he's doing a signing next week at Bookland, and this is the first author I had any real interest in meeting. (That said, Finding Amy's authors Captain Joseth K. Loughlin and Katie Clark Flora were extremely interesting to listen to, even if the book was true crime and thus held no interest for me; Katie Clark was a little abrasive, but her book Grandma Drove the Garbage Truck is cute, and she was nice enough that I didn't mind spending my 4th of July filling up helium balloons for her; and James L. Nelson is fascinating and funny in person, though I admit I haven't read any of his books... even though I was in charge of his book signing. But Benedict Arnold's Navy is supposed to be quite good, according to one of the history junkies at work. Plus, he has a series about pirates that I've heard good things about.) Apparently, Meg Cabot and Julia Quinn are part of a group of authors having a signing in Atlanta, and I in no way desperately want to go .
A few other things that I'm just going to throw out here: I worked 69 hours last week. I am officially renting/housesitting this gorgeous house on the Kennebec River starting in about a month. I have a mad crush on the local sheriff who keeps tabs on Reid, and keeps stopping in and hanging out with us. I am seriously considering getting Netflix, and I want people who have a subscription to tell me if it's worth it. I think I'm going to give up on reading Gone With the Wind, and just watch the movie, which is unprecedented, but Scarlett is driving me crazy, and I think I'll fare better if I get to look at her clothes while I have to listen to her. I am a very busy and preoccupied girl, see?
Oh, and is there any good Pirates of the Carribean fic out there? There must be. And I know you guys read it. So tell me about some... especially some with, say, good Elizabeth/Will interaction, and maybe some Will angsting after that certain final moment in Dead Man's Chest?