Recommendations
I've decided to finally post book, fic and film recommendations. I've been meaning to for a long time :)
1) Guy Gavriel Kay
Tigana was the first novel by G.G. Kay I've read and at the time, I was just amazed with it. I cried in all the appropriate places, I adored the characters and I stayed up until 2 AM to finish it. A couple of weeks ago I decided to re-read it and my opinion on the book did become slightly less high - there are a few moments when the pathos was boring, in my opinion - but that might be due to the admittedly bad translation. This is a 'patriotic' fantasy novel - the characters are fighting against tyrants who enslaved their mother country. This is a rare theme for a fantasy book and this alone makes me feel like recommending it. I like Kay's way of showing sex in many of its faces - in his prose it's rarely simply love or desire that motivates characters to have sex. It has to do with freedom, longing, hatred, power... Finally, his characters are immensly likeable. There is a wizard called Erlein whom I particularly like. And the tyrants themselves are human - especially one of them. I do not want to spoil the story - I will just say I heartily recommend to anyone who likes fantasy. And, it's complete in one volume :)
2. arsenicjade's
I read that story after Hayseed recommended it on WIKTT some ages ago. At first I was very hesitant - I wasn't into slash at all at the time, and the idea of pairing Draco and Ron together (there is SS/HG as a secondary pairing) was weird to me. But... it converted me to the pairing forever. The story is h/c, there is no doubt - and I know some believe h/c waste of their time. I like to be treated cruelly by the author, to have my emotions picked at and then to see a happy end. It's cathartic to me. But on with the recommendation - it also features some themes I generally shy away from - prostitution, for example. There is also some background non-con. But the story overall is more than outstanding. It's one of those reads that make my belly ache in sympathy and then give me a kick of positive energy. Also, Arsenic writes great dialogue (it's very dialogue-heavy, but I like it) and it's first person. I have grown fond of first person. just don't tell Run Wild! Also, it has sequels - SS/HG one and HP/OC one.
The link:
http://www.mediageek.ca/arsenicjade/writing/origins.html
3. This is mostly for my Polish f-list - because the film will be shown tomorrow on TV4
I believe the names of Holly Hunter and Glenn Close should be enough to tempt anyone, but I also know not everyone would agree with me on that. This is actually a couple of film novellas bound together. The protagonists are females who lead different lives - there is a lesbian tarot-reader who takes care of her dying lover. There is a gynecologist who takes care of her mother and is unhappy with her own life. There is a blind girl going on dates while her sister tries to find out how a girl she had known died. A single mother debating whether it is worth the effort to start a relaionship with a new neighbour. Finally, there is a wealthy businesswoman who finds herself pregnant with her married boyfriend. The stories themselves are pretty interesting but what I liked most was how they were presented - the film is very peaceful and the pictures are beautiful. I am not very much interested in the hows of film production but I suppose people who put scenes together did a really good job here. I sincerely recommend, tomorrow at 7:55 PM.
In other news, I got a 4 in my Latin test, which is more than a success. Yay!
And - my package from le_mru arrived. ♥ Now I am off to watch Lost, probably soon to become my new series obsession.
1) Guy Gavriel Kay
Tigana was the first novel by G.G. Kay I've read and at the time, I was just amazed with it. I cried in all the appropriate places, I adored the characters and I stayed up until 2 AM to finish it. A couple of weeks ago I decided to re-read it and my opinion on the book did become slightly less high - there are a few moments when the pathos was boring, in my opinion - but that might be due to the admittedly bad translation. This is a 'patriotic' fantasy novel - the characters are fighting against tyrants who enslaved their mother country. This is a rare theme for a fantasy book and this alone makes me feel like recommending it. I like Kay's way of showing sex in many of its faces - in his prose it's rarely simply love or desire that motivates characters to have sex. It has to do with freedom, longing, hatred, power... Finally, his characters are immensly likeable. There is a wizard called Erlein whom I particularly like. And the tyrants themselves are human - especially one of them. I do not want to spoil the story - I will just say I heartily recommend to anyone who likes fantasy. And, it's complete in one volume :)
2. arsenicjade's
I read that story after Hayseed recommended it on WIKTT some ages ago. At first I was very hesitant - I wasn't into slash at all at the time, and the idea of pairing Draco and Ron together (there is SS/HG as a secondary pairing) was weird to me. But... it converted me to the pairing forever. The story is h/c, there is no doubt - and I know some believe h/c waste of their time. I like to be treated cruelly by the author, to have my emotions picked at and then to see a happy end. It's cathartic to me. But on with the recommendation - it also features some themes I generally shy away from - prostitution, for example. There is also some background non-con. But the story overall is more than outstanding. It's one of those reads that make my belly ache in sympathy and then give me a kick of positive energy. Also, Arsenic writes great dialogue (it's very dialogue-heavy, but I like it) and it's first person. I have grown fond of first person. just don't tell Run Wild! Also, it has sequels - SS/HG one and HP/OC one.
The link:
http://www.mediageek.ca/arsenicjade/writing/origins.html
3. This is mostly for my Polish f-list - because the film will be shown tomorrow on TV4
I believe the names of Holly Hunter and Glenn Close should be enough to tempt anyone, but I also know not everyone would agree with me on that. This is actually a couple of film novellas bound together. The protagonists are females who lead different lives - there is a lesbian tarot-reader who takes care of her dying lover. There is a gynecologist who takes care of her mother and is unhappy with her own life. There is a blind girl going on dates while her sister tries to find out how a girl she had known died. A single mother debating whether it is worth the effort to start a relaionship with a new neighbour. Finally, there is a wealthy businesswoman who finds herself pregnant with her married boyfriend. The stories themselves are pretty interesting but what I liked most was how they were presented - the film is very peaceful and the pictures are beautiful. I am not very much interested in the hows of film production but I suppose people who put scenes together did a really good job here. I sincerely recommend, tomorrow at 7:55 PM.
In other news, I got a 4 in my Latin test, which is more than a success. Yay!
And - my package from le_mru arrived. ♥ Now I am off to watch Lost, probably soon to become my new series obsession.