Random Lee and Meloni ramblings
Last night the Meloni audiobook (again on cassette) True Justice by Robert Tanenbaum arrived (bought it on eBay for $4!), but before I could listen I had to finish Lee's Touching Spirit Bear.
Shall I just admit right now that parts of TSB made me cry? Long story short: Cole Matthews is this juvenile delinquent who cons his way into something called "Circle Justice." A Tlingit Native American tradition, Circle Justice allows people from the community to decide what to do with Cole rather than send him to prison. Cole was abused by his father as a child, his mother is a drunk, and he lashes out -- by smashing a schoolmate's head against a sidewalk. So Circle Justice banishes him to an Eastern Alaskan island for a year, both to heal himself, his spirit, and to help him deal with what he did.
At the beginning of the book Cole is such a little shit that you can barely stand him. I won't go into specifics, but things happen while he's on the island, and eventually he comes to an understanding about himself and what's he's done by the end of the novel. It's written for a young adult readership, and I'd recommend 12 and up as there are some serious issues Cole is dealing with, including abuse and violence, and later a suicide attempt by the boy he injured.
There were a few parts that got to me, partly because some of the subject matter hit close to home and partly because of Lee's performance in reading the audiobook. Honestly, though, I blubbered and sniffled my way through the last chapter. I was really surprised at how much the novel touched me, and I especially loved the heavy Native American influences and teachings throughout. I think I'll buy the book itself now.
After that emotionally draining book, I was looking forward to a little Meloni. Yeah, well, his book starts out with the discovery of three dead babies in one week in New York City! Gah. I'll have tissues handy for this one.
His performance is from 2000, and what immediately struck me was how young he sounds. He's reading it in a very quiet, reserved tone, and his enunciation is quite pronounced. It's interesting to hear him this way. He's also turning on the accents, which is fantastic, but the best part of what I heard last night (I only listened for about a half hour) was a chat between two women who had just reconnected at an alumna event for their old school. He's doing two female voices, and it's amazing to me how I can listen to dialogue bouncing back and forth and know who's talking just by his performance. I was laughing at his re-creation of a sort of female "Oh my Gawd I haven't seen you in yeeers" type of conversation.
Of course I'm gonna capture that on MP3 for you. It's too wonderful not to.
In writing news, I finally came up with the idea for my oz_magi story, thank goodness. It was killing me. But I can hear certain conversations in my head already, which is a good sign. It will also mark the first time I've written a full, canon, B/K story. My fingers are itchin', so you must excuse me.
Shall I just admit right now that parts of TSB made me cry? Long story short: Cole Matthews is this juvenile delinquent who cons his way into something called "Circle Justice." A Tlingit Native American tradition, Circle Justice allows people from the community to decide what to do with Cole rather than send him to prison. Cole was abused by his father as a child, his mother is a drunk, and he lashes out -- by smashing a schoolmate's head against a sidewalk. So Circle Justice banishes him to an Eastern Alaskan island for a year, both to heal himself, his spirit, and to help him deal with what he did.
At the beginning of the book Cole is such a little shit that you can barely stand him. I won't go into specifics, but things happen while he's on the island, and eventually he comes to an understanding about himself and what's he's done by the end of the novel. It's written for a young adult readership, and I'd recommend 12 and up as there are some serious issues Cole is dealing with, including abuse and violence, and later a suicide attempt by the boy he injured.
There were a few parts that got to me, partly because some of the subject matter hit close to home and partly because of Lee's performance in reading the audiobook. Honestly, though, I blubbered and sniffled my way through the last chapter. I was really surprised at how much the novel touched me, and I especially loved the heavy Native American influences and teachings throughout. I think I'll buy the book itself now.
After that emotionally draining book, I was looking forward to a little Meloni. Yeah, well, his book starts out with the discovery of three dead babies in one week in New York City! Gah. I'll have tissues handy for this one.
His performance is from 2000, and what immediately struck me was how young he sounds. He's reading it in a very quiet, reserved tone, and his enunciation is quite pronounced. It's interesting to hear him this way. He's also turning on the accents, which is fantastic, but the best part of what I heard last night (I only listened for about a half hour) was a chat between two women who had just reconnected at an alumna event for their old school. He's doing two female voices, and it's amazing to me how I can listen to dialogue bouncing back and forth and know who's talking just by his performance. I was laughing at his re-creation of a sort of female "Oh my Gawd I haven't seen you in yeeers" type of conversation.
Of course I'm gonna capture that on MP3 for you. It's too wonderful not to.
In writing news, I finally came up with the idea for my oz_magi story, thank goodness. It was killing me. But I can hear certain conversations in my head already, which is a good sign. It will also mark the first time I've written a full, canon, B/K story. My fingers are itchin', so you must excuse me.