I finally got to watch "Captain America: The First Avenger" a few days ago! It was one of my most anticipated films of the year and I am pleased to report that I loved it. Anglophile that I am, I finished the film proud to be American, haha. I generally only am proud of my American-ness when reading about our nation's history up to the Great Depression, so this is something of a feat. Chris Evans is just as good in the title role as I had hoped he would be, and remains sympathetic and lovable during the entire film without being weak. The humor was great. The WWII trappings and trimmings were fantastic. The love story was sweet and tragic so . . . as anyone who knows me can attest, that means it was exactly to my liking. And I have that brilliantly horrendous "Star Spangled Man" song stuck in my head all these days later!
If you're on the fence about seeing it, I recommend you take the plunge. It's a great movie. Oh, and it has a trailer for "The Avengers" hidden after its credits, which was wonderful as well! ^_^
My remaining 'high-anticipation' films of the year: "War Horse" and "The Artist".
Less than a month until I am back in Hawaii, now. It doesn't seem real yet. But the homesick ache I get whenever I try to think about it is definitely real.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Yep, it's Summer
Happy Summertime, everyone! Well, except for my NZ friends, that is, who are now enjoying their winter. I still can't quite wrap my head around that, partially because summer is in such full swing here. Every day for a couple weeks now the sky has been cloudless and blazing, and the air so thick with heat it burns against your skin. Normally I'd be hating it. As it is, however, I'm enjoying it as much as I can because once I return to Hawaii the heat will be humid instead of dry (dry heat being much easier to bear, in my opinion) and at least here at home I have a working air conditioner which I don't have in Hawaii. So I'm trying to be philosophical about things. Same with the insect-life; sure the June bugs have started buzzing around, but if I was in Hawaii it'd be cockroaches, so I should be grateful for what I have--or, rather, do not have--right now.
Anyway, the heat also provides a fantastic excuse for both cold drinks and cold desserts and going to the local theme park to get drenched on their water rides, so I'm feeling rather kindly to it on the whole.
It will be overwhelmingly strange and sad to leave home again to return to college, but I know once I am back in Hawaii I will settle quickly and easily into my routine there again as though I had never left. In a way, this saddens me more than it reassures me. I'm scrambling in an attempt to get my driver's license before I have to go back to Hawaii, but I'm not sure if it's happening or not, we'll see. I am a much more confident driver now and can handle myself well on the busy main roads, but I have not yet ventured onto the freeway (nor do I want to) and my parallel parking is . . . not as parallel as I would like.
Movies! I'm looking forward to seeing "Captain America" so much, and am interested in "Cowboys and Aliens" but am not yet sure whether I'll pay to see it in theater or just wait until it comes out on DVD. More films I'm eagerly looking forward to: "The Artist", "War Horse", and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", the first because it just looks absolutely amazing in every way, the second because of the gorgeous music and the fact that it's a WWI story (and I also want to see the play but since I can't anytime soon this'll have to do), and the third because of the cast. Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, and BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH all in one film together?? Really??
Speaking of film, I recently watched "This Gun for Hire" for the first time, and it's really good, I'd recommend it. The very end was a little too staged for my liking, but other than that it was a very enjoyable film, and Alan Ladd is awesome.
Okay, that's all from me for now, but I'll be trying to write more regularly. Cheers!
Anyway, the heat also provides a fantastic excuse for both cold drinks and cold desserts and going to the local theme park to get drenched on their water rides, so I'm feeling rather kindly to it on the whole.
It will be overwhelmingly strange and sad to leave home again to return to college, but I know once I am back in Hawaii I will settle quickly and easily into my routine there again as though I had never left. In a way, this saddens me more than it reassures me. I'm scrambling in an attempt to get my driver's license before I have to go back to Hawaii, but I'm not sure if it's happening or not, we'll see. I am a much more confident driver now and can handle myself well on the busy main roads, but I have not yet ventured onto the freeway (nor do I want to) and my parallel parking is . . . not as parallel as I would like.
Movies! I'm looking forward to seeing "Captain America" so much, and am interested in "Cowboys and Aliens" but am not yet sure whether I'll pay to see it in theater or just wait until it comes out on DVD. More films I'm eagerly looking forward to: "The Artist", "War Horse", and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", the first because it just looks absolutely amazing in every way, the second because of the gorgeous music and the fact that it's a WWI story (and I also want to see the play but since I can't anytime soon this'll have to do), and the third because of the cast. Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, and BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH all in one film together?? Really??
Speaking of film, I recently watched "This Gun for Hire" for the first time, and it's really good, I'd recommend it. The very end was a little too staged for my liking, but other than that it was a very enjoyable film, and Alan Ladd is awesome.
Okay, that's all from me for now, but I'll be trying to write more regularly. Cheers!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Book Reviews for April, May, June
I'm back, with a shiny and newly repaired laptop, and piles and piles of book reviews! So here I'm putting reviews for April, May, AND June. I went to the library last week for the first time in a long time so I managed to get a lot of reading done right at the end of June. Overall it's been mostly mediocre stuff, but there's been a few definite gems. So without further ado:
Can you believe I didn't finish a single book in the month of May? I read a few books mostly to the end, but didn't quite manage to finish them, so I had to count them in the June list. I also read a lot of "Wives and Daughters", a novel I still haven't finished.
APRIL
North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell
This book I thought for sure was going to be my Book of the Month. It's an absolutely fantastic romance--comparisons to the works of Jane Austen are unavoidable--but what really made me love it is how very real all the characters are. The inner monologues of the heroine, Margaret, were extremely endearing to me and startlingly true to thoughts that I've had myself, making her easily identifiable. John Thornton, the male protagonist, is also an extremely likable character, far more so than the infamous Mr. Darcy, and the whole cast of characters are fantastic. I also liked how Gaskell uses the love story to explore her society and indeed social reform, in a way that was interesting without being preachy. The ending of this book is one of the most charmingly adorable and satisfying endings I have ever read. Definitely give this book a go. Oh, and after you read it go track down the BBC production starring Richard Armitage, because it's wonderful.
The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud
I consider Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy to be the most well-written, emotionally satisfying, and consistently excellent trilogy ever written aside from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It was with mixed feelings therefore that I picked up Solomon, Stroud's new 'prequal' to the series. How can one expand upon perfection? I both wanted to read more about Bartimaeus, and was loath to attempt it, being afraid that the experience could only be disappointing. Was it? Well . . . yes and no. It's a great stand-alone book, but also is a fun read for people who have read the trilogy (Bartimaeus' pre-Ptolemy attitude is very interesting, for instance, and Faquarl gets lots of page-time) and features some great characters and a truly scary villain, along with numerous trademark 'Bartimaeus moments'--Snarky footnotes and crazy escapades galore. But it is not as emotionally satisfying as the Trilogy, perhaps because there is no real sense of danger. We know that Bartimaeus survived to meet Nathaniel in London, so narrative tension is automatically compromised. Still, I'd recommend it both to Stroud newbies and fans of the Trilogy alike.
The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss
I'm a big fan of Rothfuss' first book, The Name of the Wind. It wasn't perfect, but it has a lyrical quality and beauty and power to its language that not many fantasy novels manage, as well as a clever narrative structure and a very compelling protagonist. So I was looking forward to this sequel considerably. Was it worth the wait? Ultimately it was a let-down. There are many moments that I absolutely loved, but the book was so over-stuffed and over-long it distracted from those moments, so that by the end of the book I could only remember vaguely that I had liked parts, not really clearly recall what I liked about them. Their impact was smothered. There's also a lengthly section of the book which focuses mostly on Kvothe's sexual escapades, which was utterly unnecessary and irritating. Call me a prude if you like, but I hate it when authors put sex in their fantasy novels. So I'm still looking forward to reading the third book in the series, but this second installment didn't live up to my expectations.
The Mists of Everness, by John C Wright
Another sequel which did not quite live up to its predecessor. The opening half or so of this book is simply brilliant--the perfectly-pitched fairytale opening in particular is genius, especially after the madcap ending of the previous book, and conceptually and visually the book excels as usual. The ending however feels rushed, and not up to standard with the rest of the book, and all in all the first book is much better (although the return of Galen was extremely welcome and well done). Raven is a great character. If you like urban fantasy/sci fi, then check it out.
Book of the Month:
The Queen of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner
I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Turner's first novel, The Thief, but nowhere near as surprised as I was when I read this sequel. It is simply, brilliantly nothing like you would expect a sequel to be. Most of it consists of just characters talking to each other and sometimes to themselves, action is kept to a minimum, and the main character, well, I want to keep it spoiler-free, but he gets put into situations that you absolutely would not expect. None of this is a bad thing; it could have been, easily, but instead Turner works her authorial magic and weaves out of these elements a story that is breathtaking and captivating, filled with emotion and tension and honest drama, wonderful characters, and of course a protagonist who has quickly become one of my favorite fictional characters ever, Eugenides the thief. It is worth noting that Turner does not let his character stagnate; instead she is constantly challenging him, evolving him, changing him, and yet never letting him stray from his core identity, keeping him completely--and sometimes even painfully--real. The new character of the Queen (well, she was briefly introduced in the last book but only really becomes a main character here) is just as well-defined and interesting, terrifying and cruel and pitiable and sympathetic all at once, no mean feat. There is also a surprising romance which is decidedly unlikely but which Turner again manages to make both real and perfectly fitting as well as properly beautiful. I simply can't praise this book enough. Do yourself a favor and read this series ASAP. After I finished it (in one day) I could not wait to get my hands on its sequel, The King of Attolia, which I am happy to report is equally good. More on that later, though, as it's a June read ;D
This book I thought for sure was going to be my Book of the Month. It's an absolutely fantastic romance--comparisons to the works of Jane Austen are unavoidable--but what really made me love it is how very real all the characters are. The inner monologues of the heroine, Margaret, were extremely endearing to me and startlingly true to thoughts that I've had myself, making her easily identifiable. John Thornton, the male protagonist, is also an extremely likable character, far more so than the infamous Mr. Darcy, and the whole cast of characters are fantastic. I also liked how Gaskell uses the love story to explore her society and indeed social reform, in a way that was interesting without being preachy. The ending of this book is one of the most charmingly adorable and satisfying endings I have ever read. Definitely give this book a go. Oh, and after you read it go track down the BBC production starring Richard Armitage, because it's wonderful.
The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud
I consider Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy to be the most well-written, emotionally satisfying, and consistently excellent trilogy ever written aside from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. It was with mixed feelings therefore that I picked up Solomon, Stroud's new 'prequal' to the series. How can one expand upon perfection? I both wanted to read more about Bartimaeus, and was loath to attempt it, being afraid that the experience could only be disappointing. Was it? Well . . . yes and no. It's a great stand-alone book, but also is a fun read for people who have read the trilogy (Bartimaeus' pre-Ptolemy attitude is very interesting, for instance, and Faquarl gets lots of page-time) and features some great characters and a truly scary villain, along with numerous trademark 'Bartimaeus moments'--Snarky footnotes and crazy escapades galore. But it is not as emotionally satisfying as the Trilogy, perhaps because there is no real sense of danger. We know that Bartimaeus survived to meet Nathaniel in London, so narrative tension is automatically compromised. Still, I'd recommend it both to Stroud newbies and fans of the Trilogy alike.
The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss
I'm a big fan of Rothfuss' first book, The Name of the Wind. It wasn't perfect, but it has a lyrical quality and beauty and power to its language that not many fantasy novels manage, as well as a clever narrative structure and a very compelling protagonist. So I was looking forward to this sequel considerably. Was it worth the wait? Ultimately it was a let-down. There are many moments that I absolutely loved, but the book was so over-stuffed and over-long it distracted from those moments, so that by the end of the book I could only remember vaguely that I had liked parts, not really clearly recall what I liked about them. Their impact was smothered. There's also a lengthly section of the book which focuses mostly on Kvothe's sexual escapades, which was utterly unnecessary and irritating. Call me a prude if you like, but I hate it when authors put sex in their fantasy novels. So I'm still looking forward to reading the third book in the series, but this second installment didn't live up to my expectations.
The Mists of Everness, by John C Wright
Another sequel which did not quite live up to its predecessor. The opening half or so of this book is simply brilliant--the perfectly-pitched fairytale opening in particular is genius, especially after the madcap ending of the previous book, and conceptually and visually the book excels as usual. The ending however feels rushed, and not up to standard with the rest of the book, and all in all the first book is much better (although the return of Galen was extremely welcome and well done). Raven is a great character. If you like urban fantasy/sci fi, then check it out.
Book of the Month:
The Queen of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner
I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Turner's first novel, The Thief, but nowhere near as surprised as I was when I read this sequel. It is simply, brilliantly nothing like you would expect a sequel to be. Most of it consists of just characters talking to each other and sometimes to themselves, action is kept to a minimum, and the main character, well, I want to keep it spoiler-free, but he gets put into situations that you absolutely would not expect. None of this is a bad thing; it could have been, easily, but instead Turner works her authorial magic and weaves out of these elements a story that is breathtaking and captivating, filled with emotion and tension and honest drama, wonderful characters, and of course a protagonist who has quickly become one of my favorite fictional characters ever, Eugenides the thief. It is worth noting that Turner does not let his character stagnate; instead she is constantly challenging him, evolving him, changing him, and yet never letting him stray from his core identity, keeping him completely--and sometimes even painfully--real. The new character of the Queen (well, she was briefly introduced in the last book but only really becomes a main character here) is just as well-defined and interesting, terrifying and cruel and pitiable and sympathetic all at once, no mean feat. There is also a surprising romance which is decidedly unlikely but which Turner again manages to make both real and perfectly fitting as well as properly beautiful. I simply can't praise this book enough. Do yourself a favor and read this series ASAP. After I finished it (in one day) I could not wait to get my hands on its sequel, The King of Attolia, which I am happy to report is equally good. More on that later, though, as it's a June read ;D
MAY
Can you believe I didn't finish a single book in the month of May? I read a few books mostly to the end, but didn't quite manage to finish them, so I had to count them in the June list. I also read a lot of "Wives and Daughters", a novel I still haven't finished.
JUNE
The Wild Knight and Other Poems, by GK Chesterton
If you like Chesterton's poetic style, then you'll like this book. As I love his writing-style, I found much to like here--some really beautiful imagery as well as thought-provoking philosophizing and the welcome scatterings of that unique Chestertonian wit. I recommend "Cyclopean", "The Mariner", "Gold Leaves", "Behind", and "The Woodcutter" as the best of the poems gathered here, but of course your tastes might be different than mine. Any poem that talks about "the green wine of the sea" is great, in my opinion.
At the Mountains of Madness, by HP Lovecraft
What a disappointment this turned out to be! My brother has been badgering me to read it for months, I finally got around to it, and then was heartily disappointed when it was nowhere as gruesome or terrifying as I had hoped it to be. For such a famous story it was surprisingly dull; the characters were beyond irritating, behaving so irrationally I could not really believe in their peril or sympathize with them, and the building up to the reveal of a monster was so blatant there was no shock when it finally arrived, and so everything just felt really anti-climatic. I did get a kick out of visualizing a bunch of flying squid-y monsters fighting abominable snowmen from outer-space, though, I must admit. And Lovecraft seems to have had a phobia of penguins, or something. Basically I kept hoping for something terrifying, horrific, or shocking to happen, and . . . it never did.
The Hidden Kingdom, by Clare B Dunkle
Oh wow, where to begin? This book is so unintentionally hilarious. It should have been called "Magical Stockholm Syndrome: A Novel". The plot is extremely thin, the characters extremely bland, the main romance . . . beyond creepy. I had a good time reading it just because it's so ludicrous. There is a smattering of great dialogue, including a line about forks being insulting to food because it's like you're killing it twice, but other than that . . . it's just a really strange mess.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
This isn't a bad book by any means. I became interested in it because it seemed to be a fairytale-ish book and won the Newbery Honor. After reading it, I recommended it to my seven-year-old sister and she loved it. But that's its problem--unlike really great children's literature (and Medal winners) like The High King and Johnny Tremain this book is not equally satisfying for an older reader. I enjoyed the narrative structure, with so many fables and stories weaving together and then having an impact on the present of the tale, but ultimately Lin kept things too simplistic, and so stunted the impact and ingenuity of that structure. It's a great kids' book, but not complex or well-written enough to be a great book.
Book of the Month:
The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner
Aaaaand Turner wins again! I actually listened to this book in audiobook form, as my library did not have it as an actual book (silly, I know), but the reading was quite good. Costis, the main new character introduced, is excellent. Again Turner delights with the intricate plotting and wonderful character development/interactions which I have come to expect from her, and although I was doubtful she could write a sequel which could live up to the excellence of Queen, she somehow managed it. Best of all, it seems effortless. The language is as lively as ever, by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, and even legitimately chilling. Great stuff here; I'm planning on just buying this and the rest of the series already, because the quality is just that good.
If you like Chesterton's poetic style, then you'll like this book. As I love his writing-style, I found much to like here--some really beautiful imagery as well as thought-provoking philosophizing and the welcome scatterings of that unique Chestertonian wit. I recommend "Cyclopean", "The Mariner", "Gold Leaves", "Behind", and "The Woodcutter" as the best of the poems gathered here, but of course your tastes might be different than mine. Any poem that talks about "the green wine of the sea" is great, in my opinion.
At the Mountains of Madness, by HP Lovecraft
What a disappointment this turned out to be! My brother has been badgering me to read it for months, I finally got around to it, and then was heartily disappointed when it was nowhere as gruesome or terrifying as I had hoped it to be. For such a famous story it was surprisingly dull; the characters were beyond irritating, behaving so irrationally I could not really believe in their peril or sympathize with them, and the building up to the reveal of a monster was so blatant there was no shock when it finally arrived, and so everything just felt really anti-climatic. I did get a kick out of visualizing a bunch of flying squid-y monsters fighting abominable snowmen from outer-space, though, I must admit. And Lovecraft seems to have had a phobia of penguins, or something. Basically I kept hoping for something terrifying, horrific, or shocking to happen, and . . . it never did.
The Hidden Kingdom, by Clare B Dunkle
Oh wow, where to begin? This book is so unintentionally hilarious. It should have been called "Magical Stockholm Syndrome: A Novel". The plot is extremely thin, the characters extremely bland, the main romance . . . beyond creepy. I had a good time reading it just because it's so ludicrous. There is a smattering of great dialogue, including a line about forks being insulting to food because it's like you're killing it twice, but other than that . . . it's just a really strange mess.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
This isn't a bad book by any means. I became interested in it because it seemed to be a fairytale-ish book and won the Newbery Honor. After reading it, I recommended it to my seven-year-old sister and she loved it. But that's its problem--unlike really great children's literature (and Medal winners) like The High King and Johnny Tremain this book is not equally satisfying for an older reader. I enjoyed the narrative structure, with so many fables and stories weaving together and then having an impact on the present of the tale, but ultimately Lin kept things too simplistic, and so stunted the impact and ingenuity of that structure. It's a great kids' book, but not complex or well-written enough to be a great book.
Book of the Month:
The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner
Aaaaand Turner wins again! I actually listened to this book in audiobook form, as my library did not have it as an actual book (silly, I know), but the reading was quite good. Costis, the main new character introduced, is excellent. Again Turner delights with the intricate plotting and wonderful character development/interactions which I have come to expect from her, and although I was doubtful she could write a sequel which could live up to the excellence of Queen, she somehow managed it. Best of all, it seems effortless. The language is as lively as ever, by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, and even legitimately chilling. Great stuff here; I'm planning on just buying this and the rest of the series already, because the quality is just that good.
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