Holidays, books, movies

[sagacious_c]

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

Comments

[kit_the_brave]

Ooh, I'm glad you liked His Majesty's Dragon! And I hope you feel better soon (but, of course, continue to read books and watch movies)!

[sagacious_c]

Thanks! I hope I feel better, too. I'm totally going to read the other two Temeraire books now, too.

[sagacious_c]

Yeah, colds on vacation suck. But I do have to admit it's nice to not worry about homework as I lay around the house like a slug. :)

[coquillagement]

Don't be sick! But do enjoy more books and movies. :)

Yes, that's a bit of a dramtatic introduction on the cousin's part, but... *shrugs* Happy is good.

[sagacious_c]

I will happily go on enjoying books and movies. :) So what if I just have to hit "pause" every once in a while to blow my nose? ;)

[natalexx]

Wow, I think you described the appeal of His Majesty's Dragon perfectly. I liked it for all the same reasons.

I constantly hear Lethem recommended in connection to Michael Chabon, but I have yet to get into him. Have you read anything else by Chabon, btw? Because I liked Kavalier & Clay, but I loved Summerland and especially Wonder Boys.

Hee, Superman Returns was so wound up in the (mostly film) mythology of Superman, I think a big part of the reason it didn't do so well was because people couldn't sort out just *how* dependent it was on other material and whether that was okay. For long-time Superman fans, it shouldn't have been a problem, but then it got slammed by the apparently inevitable (and weirdly rabid) reverence for Christopher Reeve's memory. *shrug*

Feel better!

[sagacious_c]

Did you know Naomi Novik has a live journal? She doesn't post very often anymore, but it's kind of cool to see as an example of someone who started out writing fan fiction and was eventually published... *nudge, nudge*

I didn't know Lethem was being stylistically linked with Chabon, but the guy who gave me Men and Cartoons also loved Kavalier & Clay, and also lent me Wonder Boys right before finals. I'm going to get started on Wonders Boys next. I think the only other works of his I've read are short stories.

Superman Returns didn't do well? Are any sequels in jeopardy?

[natalexx]

I did know about Naomi Novik's LJ--I think only because I saw her entry about Peter Jackson buying the Temeraire movie rights linked on some movie site at some point (and by the by, how awesome would that movie be!)--but I don't actually check it often.

You know, speaking of the Horatio Hornblower comparisons--I suspect most people who have ever seen the HH movies automatically cast Horatio and Archie as Laurence and Granby in their heads. I've talked to several people who did, and I think I might have done so without even realizing. It's a pretty picture, I must admit.

Hey, a man who gives good book gifts is definitely a keeper. *g*

[sagacious_c]

Hmmm, I didn't make those Hornblower casting decisions... I have a hard time picturing Laurence. In my head he's "old" because he's already a captain when we meet him, but we met Horatio when he was still a midshipman and even though he's a captain by the last film I still see him as the seasick young chap. And I didn't make the Granby connection to Archie because Granby and Laurence didn't get along with each other at the beginning, but I remember Horatio and Archie being buds right off the bat. Maybe my impressions will change as I read the other two Temeraire books. (I ordered them on Amazon a few days ago... they should arrive right about the time I need to start reading for school again. Argh.) Anyway, I'm glad I don't picture Granby as Archie because I think it would throw me off to see Lee Adama riding around on a dragon. LOL

[ex_jo_blogs]

Boo! for being sick ((hugs))

Yay! for books as gifts. I was given lots of books / book tokens - in addition to the Harry Potter 2007 calendar ;) - and it was most pleasing.

Huw and I enjoyed Thank You For Smoking. A well-drawn character and a good performance by affable blond bloke (whatever his name is). I sympathised with him too, the whole time he was turning his lovable, naïve kid into a little spin-monster!

[sagacious_c]

Yeah, I think the kid is what made him a more appealing character -- he was trying to be a good father in his way. I also like how he admits that he needs "moral ambiguity" to do his job.