Holidays, books, movies
Merry belated holiday season, all!
I had an OK Christmas. My brother was home, which was nice. Saw some of my extended family. Turns out another one of my cousins is gay, bringing the total up to 2 (and they're brothers). We found out because he brought his boyfriend to the Christmas party, necessitating the smooth "Did you say boyfriend? Oh, how nice to meet you" reaction to the introduction, to cover up the internal dialogue that's actually thinking: "Umm, ummm, OK...., had no idea, OK, OK, no biggie!" When we found out the first cousin was gay, it wasn't really a surprise, but this one was admittedly unexpected. Beyond feeling a little ambushed with this news during the introductions at a family Christmas party, I don't have any other reaction. Well, actually just probably the same reaction I'd have if this cousin had introduced us to a girlfriend: namely, concern that he's too young to be living with a significant other, but also happy that he's found someone he's serious enough about that he wants that kind of commitment.
I woke up on Christmas morning with a sore throat and the other disgusting beginning stages of the flu. I'm achy and tired and pretty much only have energy for laying around. So, I'm finally getting caught up on books and DVDs. ;) Thanks again for all the great book recommendations, dearies.
Books
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik - Heartily recommend! I sped through this. It's basically historic fiction set during the Napoleonic wars, but with the added fantasy element that dragons exist and are used in battles. It's an intriguing idea. The books reminded me primarily of the Horatio Hornblower series (which I admit I'm only familiar with via TV/DVD, not the books), complete with the British Naval traditions of honor, duty, and propriety. The author also was influenced by Jane Austen, and the social interactions between characters are important in ways that you'd expect from Austen-ish stories. But the story is also essentially about the bond between the main character and his dragon, which is different yet also shares similarities as the relationship between a parent and his child, spouses, coworkers, or a captain and his or her ship (because the dragon essentially is like a ship and has a crew). The bits about the dragons push the books into the "fantasy" genre, but the descriptions are in the same vein as magic in the Harry Potter universe: there is a science and an order to things that might otherwise seem "fantastic." Anyway, very fun book.
Men and Cartoons by Jonathan Lethem - I'm not sure how to characterize this set of short stories, but I know I liked them and felt inspired to write after finishing the collection. This book was a gift from the guy I'm dating and he described them as humorous with an element of the absurd. I don't have a lot of tolerance for things that are *too* absurd, but these stories had the right amount. They were thought-provoking but also quick reads. Several did have comic/cartoon themes, which I appreciated because you can do so much with symbolism in that realm. (Also because literature about comic books reminds me of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, one of my favorite books from the last few years.)
Side note: How perfect is it that he gave me books? I swoon for books as gifts! He knows me well. :)
DVDs
Superman Returns - it was fun and well-done. I wasn't sure I had the right movie at first, since the credits looked like the same ones from the 1978 Superman movie. Then I was confused because this one seemed to be a sequel, but there was no "first" one as far as I could tell. But I appreciated that, since at this point I think we all know how Superman came to be Superman -- I think dwelling on that excessively could have been boring. I liked the focus on Superman's decision to BE a hero, which includes the sacrifices he has to make in his personal life. One thing I think they could have played with a little more was the strain Clark Kent has to go through with having a double identity... but on the other hand I've also seen that done to death and if it was going to be boring or extraneous then I'm glad they cut it. I kind of liked Lex Luthor's Evil Plan of creating a new land mass out of crystals... It had the right degree of disruptiveness to be a true threat to people's way of life and actual lives -- something to justifiably be scared of.
Thank You for Smoking - really enjoyed this. The main character is a spin doctor/lobbyist for the tobacco industry and it was fun to watch him come up with new arguments to defend Big Tobacco. Lawyers have to be similarly creative and argumentative, so on that level I guess I could identify with him. And I realized how effective anything can be with the right treatment, because I was actually rooting for the main character during the movie.
I still feel sick and gross, so I will likely be consuming more books and DVDs. Oh my favorite formats, how I missed thee!
I had an OK Christmas. My brother was home, which was nice. Saw some of my extended family. Turns out another one of my cousins is gay, bringing the total up to 2 (and they're brothers). We found out because he brought his boyfriend to the Christmas party, necessitating the smooth "Did you say boyfriend? Oh, how nice to meet you" reaction to the introduction, to cover up the internal dialogue that's actually thinking: "Umm, ummm, OK...., had no idea, OK, OK, no biggie!" When we found out the first cousin was gay, it wasn't really a surprise, but this one was admittedly unexpected. Beyond feeling a little ambushed with this news during the introductions at a family Christmas party, I don't have any other reaction. Well, actually just probably the same reaction I'd have if this cousin had introduced us to a girlfriend: namely, concern that he's too young to be living with a significant other, but also happy that he's found someone he's serious enough about that he wants that kind of commitment.
I woke up on Christmas morning with a sore throat and the other disgusting beginning stages of the flu. I'm achy and tired and pretty much only have energy for laying around. So, I'm finally getting caught up on books and DVDs. ;) Thanks again for all the great book recommendations, dearies.
Books
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik - Heartily recommend! I sped through this. It's basically historic fiction set during the Napoleonic wars, but with the added fantasy element that dragons exist and are used in battles. It's an intriguing idea. The books reminded me primarily of the Horatio Hornblower series (which I admit I'm only familiar with via TV/DVD, not the books), complete with the British Naval traditions of honor, duty, and propriety. The author also was influenced by Jane Austen, and the social interactions between characters are important in ways that you'd expect from Austen-ish stories. But the story is also essentially about the bond between the main character and his dragon, which is different yet also shares similarities as the relationship between a parent and his child, spouses, coworkers, or a captain and his or her ship (because the dragon essentially is like a ship and has a crew). The bits about the dragons push the books into the "fantasy" genre, but the descriptions are in the same vein as magic in the Harry Potter universe: there is a science and an order to things that might otherwise seem "fantastic." Anyway, very fun book.
Men and Cartoons by Jonathan Lethem - I'm not sure how to characterize this set of short stories, but I know I liked them and felt inspired to write after finishing the collection. This book was a gift from the guy I'm dating and he described them as humorous with an element of the absurd. I don't have a lot of tolerance for things that are *too* absurd, but these stories had the right amount. They were thought-provoking but also quick reads. Several did have comic/cartoon themes, which I appreciated because you can do so much with symbolism in that realm. (Also because literature about comic books reminds me of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, one of my favorite books from the last few years.)
Side note: How perfect is it that he gave me books? I swoon for books as gifts! He knows me well. :)
DVDs
Superman Returns - it was fun and well-done. I wasn't sure I had the right movie at first, since the credits looked like the same ones from the 1978 Superman movie. Then I was confused because this one seemed to be a sequel, but there was no "first" one as far as I could tell. But I appreciated that, since at this point I think we all know how Superman came to be Superman -- I think dwelling on that excessively could have been boring. I liked the focus on Superman's decision to BE a hero, which includes the sacrifices he has to make in his personal life. One thing I think they could have played with a little more was the strain Clark Kent has to go through with having a double identity... but on the other hand I've also seen that done to death and if it was going to be boring or extraneous then I'm glad they cut it. I kind of liked Lex Luthor's Evil Plan of creating a new land mass out of crystals... It had the right degree of disruptiveness to be a true threat to people's way of life and actual lives -- something to justifiably be scared of.
Thank You for Smoking - really enjoyed this. The main character is a spin doctor/lobbyist for the tobacco industry and it was fun to watch him come up with new arguments to defend Big Tobacco. Lawyers have to be similarly creative and argumentative, so on that level I guess I could identify with him. And I realized how effective anything can be with the right treatment, because I was actually rooting for the main character during the movie.
I still feel sick and gross, so I will likely be consuming more books and DVDs. Oh my favorite formats, how I missed thee!