Yep, I did it. I finally gave in and read the latest fangirl craze that's spawning all the vampire-themed novels, movies and TV shows. Despite the tepid to horrified reviews I'd heard, despite the fact that I've always considered vampire stuff to be rather silly, and despite the creep-out factor I get every time Robert Pattinson shows up on posters and magazine covers, I gave it a try.
Somewhat to my surprise, therefore, Twilight wasn't quite as painful as I expected. Granted, that was partially because it was often so bad that it broke through to hilarious. But not completely.
The story itself isn't bad at all, good enough to have me looking forward to the next book. It's cliched, of course, but stories become cliche for a reason. The secondary characters are well done, and I might even like the two main characters if they weren't so cursed annoying.
Unfortunately, the core of an engaging world and a decent story is destroyed by terrible, horrible, no-good prose and narrative voice. I blame a very large part of this on the first-person point of view. First of all, the main effect of a brooding Byronic hero is destroyed when you only see him from his lover's point of view--Bella only see the good in Edward, which is as it should be. The reader is supposed to see the torment, angst and eventual triumph of good over evil or whatever, but because we only see through Bella's eyes, there's no real development of the duality. Second, you can tell us that Edward is a very good looking guy the first time we meet him, and then maybe once more as the relationship really gets going, but after that we'll remember, I promise. You don't have to remind us in every single paragraph for the remainder of the book. And finally, if you're going to build up to a dramatic rescue and crazy vampire fight as the climax of the book, don't make your only POV character unconscious for the vast majority of it. That was a big disappointment >_<
I could go on, but as I mentioned earlier I liked the book enough to continue the series, so there's really no point in picking it apart bit by bit. One more thing I'd like to share though--one of those so-bad-it's-funny moments:
Ever since these books have hit it big, I've been seeing derrogatory references to "sparkly" vampires--often comparing the Twilight variety to the real bad-boys of modern vampire lore. I just assumed that it was just a way of saying that the Twilight brand were wussy little vampires, too pretty and sweet to deserve the name. Nope, silly me :-p Meyer's vampires quite literally sparkle in the sunlight, as if they had crystalline skin o_O
Really? Sparkles?
So, the full title is Cesar's Way: The Natural, Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Correcting All Common Dog Problems by Cesar Millan, Melissa Jo Peltier and John H. Mayer, but that wouldn't all fit in the title line.
We recently adopted a new puppy to be a playmate for our first dog, and I figured that with so many furry bodies around, it wouldn't be a bad idea to read up on them.
Gratuitous puppy pictures! For those of you who haven't seen Cesar's show Dog Whisperer on TV (and I've only seen a few episodes myself), Cesar is very, very good at working with dogs, fixing their "issues" and retraining the humans that gave them those issues in the first place. His life story, which takes up the first few chapters, is a good enough read in the first place--grew up on his grandfather's farm, watching and learning from the working dogs there. And we're not talking well trained, expensive purebred sheep dogs here, we're talking mongrel mutts that learned how to coexist and be useful in order to earn their spot on the farm.
Cesar's way is not easy, but it's well-reasoned and sensible. The main claim is that a happy dog knows his position in the pack, and that the only proper position is that of follower--the human must be a pack leader at all times and in all situations. His prescription for a balanced dog is excercise, discipline and affection, in that order. So that's lots and lots of excersise, a good heap of discipline, and affection only at the proper times. He recommends, at a minimum, 1.5 hours of walking every day, 1 hour in the morning and at least half an hour in the evening. You're only allowed to show affection at certain times, and must refrain from showing it at the wrong times. This amounts to a tall order! Fortunately, I'm lucky enough to have two wonderful dogs that are fairly laid back and submissive to start with, so hopefully half an hour most days is enough. (sorry puppies!)
However, the importance of regularly walking your dog and the ability to claim the pack leader position are two lessons I walked away with, and I'm fairly confident that all dog owners would benefit from reading Cesar's insights, even if they can't go all the way.
I read this book almost a year ago, back when I was actually posting, but I've got it queued, so here goes:
I tend to associate Jack London with icy cold settings and dogs (whether White Fang or The Sea Wolf, there's still plenty of cold + dog connotation), but it turns out he traveled and wrote about the sunny south as well. (No dogs in these either, for what it's worth) Not that the stories are any less brutal than his northern tales, but the change of scene and the cultural backdrop is refreshing.
I remember the stories being somewhat hit and miss, some were very good and interesting, while others were just . . . strange. Expect difficult subjects that might get you banned from the local high school such as slavery, other forms of exploitation and violence. However, London is known for moving past the "Noble Savage" stereotype to show all people as individuals, and these stories are prime examples.
Hi!
Okay, reeeeally long break there, I actually gave up on posting for awhile. :-p In between moving back to Texas, buying and moving into a new house, and adopting a pair of adorable dogs, I haven't had much time to angst over postings.
And that was the problem really :-p I'm thinking that I might just keep this blog as a record of what I'm reading, instead of trying to do in-depth reviews of everything, and taking forever to actually post.
So, here's my two latest reads:
The Wall and the Wing by Laura Ruby, read by Renée Raudman
A kid's book that I picked up because I found the audiobook for ridiculously cheap, along with a handful of the Narnia audiobooks. It takes place in an un-named city (*cough* New York *cough*) where people can . . . fly? Except for the main character, an orphan girl, who then discovers that she can turn herself invisible. Adventure ensues.
It's good fun, once you get past a big dose of weirdness and the narrator's over-the-top voices, but better for kids than for adults that just have fun with kid-lit, imho.
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
I mostly tackled this one to earn another feather in my literary cap, and it turned out to be enjoyable, although a little slow from time to time. The edition (can't find the narrator, but it was Blackstone Audio) was quite good, it even cut out the two prose tales that were supposedly the most mind-numbingly boring of the whole lot.
I remember reviewing Canterbury Tales in junior high; we just learned about Chaucer, the basic premise of the work, and it's historical significance. I walked away with the impression that we didn't actually read any of the stories because they were a) too hard and b) too long. Turns out that it was actually because several of the tales were nowhere near suitable for a junior high class ^o^ Scandalous stuff!
That's all I've got for now, lets see if I can keep this up!
Gasp, I actually managed a post! I guess in the whole hubbub of the holidays I lost the rythm, and since we'll be moving back to Texas in about a month, I'll probably lose it again soon. So, no promises as to regular posting, but I'll try!
I first read this book about ten years ago, before I was an Orson Scott Card fan. At the time I was slightly uneasy with the book's apparent religion = bad, magic = good conflict and not quite sure where it was going in that vein, so I didn't go out of my way to pursue the series any further. Now that I'm a big fan of Card and more familiar with his personal philosophy, I'm not at all worried that it'll turn into something like His Dark Materials.
Overview
Seventh Son is the first book in the Alvin Maker series, which takes place in an alternate-universe colonial America. In this world a large number of colonists possess 'knacks' or minor magical skills that earned them heavy prosecution in a puritan England. These include everything from the inborn ability to dowse or start fires to a skillful use of hexes and charms. The time is roughly equivalent to 5-10 years after the Revolutionary War, and anyone with a basic knowledge of American history will run into plenty of vaugely familar names, places and events.
Into the mostly-untamed wilderness of the Susquehanna valley comes Alvin Miller, his pregnant wife and their thirteen, very-soon-to-be fourteen children. We learn that if the coming child is a boy he will not only be the family's fourteenth child, but the seventh son of a seventh son and destined to be a Maker (whatever that is).
I hope it's no spoiler to point out that he is indeed born, and throughout the rest of the book we learn more about this strange alternate world and watch young Alvin as he begins to discover his power, potential, and the great dangers that threaten him.
Recommended for: Fantasy fans of all ages.
Parental worries: One violent death and one very serious injury, along with the aforementioned religious tension (which is less based on theology and more on the personalities involved).
Audiobook comments: Read by a cast, with a different narrator for each character's point of view. The reading is beautiful, and it really helps set the tone for each character. My only complaint is that one character who hails from Scotland only picks up his accent when the point is actually brought up in the story.
Ramblings:
In the book's afterward, Card explains that his original motivation to write the story of Alvin Maker was jealousy of the rich tapestry of myth and legend that England and Europe have inherited over the centuries. In this series he attempts to build a similar backdrop for America, and with the obvious admission that no one man or one work could come close to rivaling centuries worth of legend and mythos, it's off to a pretty impressive start. He paints a vivid, exciting picture of early pioneer life and builds his alternate-history America in tantalizing bits and pieces. (or maybe it just seems that way without the maps that I'm assuming accompany the actual book)
There's something about the phrase "The sword that cut off George Washington's head" that sends a chill down the spine, and Card uses it to great effect. The twisted history has a haunting, bittersweet feeling--there are several changes that we could wish had been part of our real history, and several that we're glad never took place.
Card also has an amazing ability to bring characters to life, and since my early American history is slightly fuzzy, it felt like every other character I met could turn into someone straight out of a history book (either one of our history books or one belonging to the alternate world). Which I guess is another way of saying it manages to pull off the feel of an epic very well :-p
Overview
Our story takes place in an alternate universe Europe where the clothing is vaguely Victorian and the technology is Frankenstein meets Jules Verne. Political power rests in the hands of Sparks, people of extraordinary genius who invent, build and control all of the world's technology (some of which involves biological constructs and completely new races).
In a time briefly before the story begins, Europe was more or less united under the Heterodyne Boys, a pair of adventurous brothers who attained fortune and saved the world at least a couple of times before apparently disappearing, leaving behind fame and a set of legends to rival King Arthur.
The prominence of these enigmatic figures leaves no doubt that they and their legacy will be very important in the story, so it's no surprise to find that our bumbling young heroine Agatha is connected to the Heterodynes. This discovery launches her on a crazy course of adventure, excitement, romance and intrigue.
Recommended for: Adventure, fantasy and comic book fans ^_^ I recommend reading only the completed volumes, because reading the story one page at a time is a little excruciating and tends to highlight weaknesses in the art style. (I don't follow this advice myself, however; every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning finds me obsessively checking the newest page before leaving for work ^_~ )
Parental Warnings: I think the comic is deliberately written at about the PG-13 level. There's plenty of innuendo, a bit of running around in underwear and the occasional 'suggestive' scene along with a hearty (but not excessive) helping of violence.
Ramblings: (Spoiler Threat: Very Low)
I was skeptical of this comic at first--the art style takes a little time to grow on you and the first volume isn't colored, which makes things a bit cluttered. But it didn't take long for me to become completely hooked. The world of Girl Genius is complex, well-fashioned and just familiar enough to tantalize the imagination. The characters are lovable and hilarious, the dialogue is witty and the plot is engaging and rich.
If it sounds like I'm trying to sell something :-p maybe I am. This is the kind of story I'd love to see as a movie or tv series at some point--the comic's pacing and flow makes it seem a natural fit.
But since this is a review, I've got to fit some critiques in here somewhere. Possibly the biggest drawback is the art. It's very effective at illustrating the story and getting its point across, but every now and then the characters are drawn strangely--not very . . . pretty? appealing? I'm not good with art, so that's about the best I can do, sorry :-p
Another drawback is that many of the characters are just barely on the sane side of genius and occasionally make brief forays onto the other side. The mad scientist element is intentional and part of the fun, but sometimes instead of 'mad scientist' the impression is forced and comes off as merely bipolar or hyperdramatic.
But even with these drawbacks, it's still an excelent comic. I highly recommend reading it, and since it's free and available online you have no excuse not to :-p
I've been trying to read up on Norse mythology without being quite sure where to start. My first two attempts from a university library yielded a kind of reference book, with gods and heroes listed in alphabetical order, and the first volume of Jacob Grimm's Teutonic Mythology. The former had plenty of good information, but I was looking for something to read straight through, not a reference book. The later is apparently a very important and influential work on Norse Mythology, but it's a scholarly work, very heavy reading, and not exactly a book for beginners.
I was looking for something lighter than Teutonic Mythology, but more in-depth than D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths, which I read back in the 3rd grade. Using a public library this time, I found Sagas of the Norsemen.
Overview
Sagas opens with a bit of archaeological background, pictures of relics, and an account of funeral customs. Then it delves into a description of the pantheon, with a few brief stories of the gods' various adventures and hijinks. The next section describes the provenances summarizes some of the more famous sagas. I didn't know any of them well enough to judge the accuracy of the summaries, but the story-telling left a bit to be desired. The last section of the book describes the cosmology of the Norse world, the creation of the world, and Ragnarok, the end of the world.
Recommended for: Meh, there's got to be better Norse mythology books out there. Sagas is part of a series called Myth and Mankind that covers the mythologies and legends of cultures around the world. They look pretty cool, but if Sagas is a good representation of the series, I probably won't bother with the rest.
Parental worries: The Norse gods and heroes got up to some pretty weird stuff, but this book has a fairly clinical approach. If you'd like to err on the side of caution, check out D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths for the young ones (or even the old ones :-p it's been awhile since I read it, but it's probably a better book)
Ramblings:
I always feel bad after giving a book a bad review :-p it may be better than I'm giving it credit for, or maybe I just had the wrong expectations going into it. Sagas approaches mythology from the wrong angle, I think. It doesn't tell a story, doesn't create a world, merely presents the beliefs of a long-dead civilization. For example, who in their right minds puts the creation myth at the end of a book of mythology? It makes no sense! I realize that Norse mythology is nowhere near as well organized as Greek and that it doesn't follow much of a chronology, but that's not much of an excuse. It throws off the whole narrative, to wade into a bevvy of gods, goddesses, and giants with no notion of where they came from, how they're related, etc.
To it's credit, the book does have tons of good pictures and photographs, and the archaeological background is pretty nifty. It also takes the time to discuss the most important sources of information for the myths and sagas it relates, an angle that helps to show the somewhat disjointed nature of Norse mythology.
So, my third attempt turned out to be only slightly better than the first two. Does anyone have other suggestions? I should probably just stop mucking around and just pick up the translated sagas :-p
