![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Book/Movie Recs, as of 3/31/09
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 07:33 amIn Books:
Small Favor, by Jim Butcher: I suppose that because I hadn't read this one of this series in a while, absence truly did make the heart grow fonder. However, this was a truly entertaining read by an urban fantasy author at the top of his game. Chicago is lovingly destroyed in this book by various turns of supernatural and demonic warfare; our hero is both more powerful and more vulnerable than ever before; and the side characters are memorable and have a ton to do. ( Further fannish babblery, with copious spoilers. )
The Pillow Book of Sei Shohnagon: I wonder what Shohnagon would make of the fact that I was reading her work in 2009, and in the first place. I also wonder how much of this is her writing honestly and how much of it was a performance. But regardless of its performative qualities (O HALO THAR, GRAD SKOOL LINGO!!1!), there is so much that is funny and engrossing in this work that it's well worth reading. The writing is a combination of Shohnagon's opinions in the form of lists ("Annoying Things", "Adorable Things", "Things Which Leave a Bad Impression") and short vignettes about court life. The writings about court life at first seem difficult to relate to (obviously, I lack the royal genes) with their elaborate social rituals, but after a while, I have found myself won over. Shohnagon's honest affection and respect for the Empress has a lot to do with this; Shohnagon also has a keen eye for detail and enjoys recording little stolen moments of snark and triumph. More immediately funny are the lists, which contain notations that I find highly amusing and revealing (Shohnagon lists "the whine of a mosquito after one just gone to bed" as one of her "Annoying Things" and speaking from too much experience, I heartily agree.) In any case, I'm highly glad I'm reading this and cannot wait to get through the mountain of end notes which comprise the last third of the book.
In movies:
Sunshine Cleaning: It was a pleasure to see a movie that is so thoroughly about women, and not the Hollywood version of women ("why can't I get a man to like me?!", "A zit?! My life is over!!" etc.), but women who were immensely real and sympathetic. Even as I watched one of the characters screwing up in a most spectacular fashion, I thought, yup, I know that woman. This film touched on a number of tough issues, but never once exploited them for shock value or rang false. Both Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are very good and inhabit their characters' skins with a practiced ease, which, in a couple of cases, is not a little bit scary. I heartily enjoyed this and am pleased to recommend it to all and sundry.
Now, if there could just be a movie like this that featured people of color, or differently abled people, or non-Judeo-Christians... I would feel like the entertainment-industrial complex was glacially slouching in the right direction.
Small Favor, by Jim Butcher: I suppose that because I hadn't read this one of this series in a while, absence truly did make the heart grow fonder. However, this was a truly entertaining read by an urban fantasy author at the top of his game. Chicago is lovingly destroyed in this book by various turns of supernatural and demonic warfare; our hero is both more powerful and more vulnerable than ever before; and the side characters are memorable and have a ton to do. ( Further fannish babblery, with copious spoilers. )
The Pillow Book of Sei Shohnagon: I wonder what Shohnagon would make of the fact that I was reading her work in 2009, and in the first place. I also wonder how much of this is her writing honestly and how much of it was a performance. But regardless of its performative qualities (O HALO THAR, GRAD SKOOL LINGO!!1!), there is so much that is funny and engrossing in this work that it's well worth reading. The writing is a combination of Shohnagon's opinions in the form of lists ("Annoying Things", "Adorable Things", "Things Which Leave a Bad Impression") and short vignettes about court life. The writings about court life at first seem difficult to relate to (obviously, I lack the royal genes) with their elaborate social rituals, but after a while, I have found myself won over. Shohnagon's honest affection and respect for the Empress has a lot to do with this; Shohnagon also has a keen eye for detail and enjoys recording little stolen moments of snark and triumph. More immediately funny are the lists, which contain notations that I find highly amusing and revealing (Shohnagon lists "the whine of a mosquito after one just gone to bed" as one of her "Annoying Things" and speaking from too much experience, I heartily agree.) In any case, I'm highly glad I'm reading this and cannot wait to get through the mountain of end notes which comprise the last third of the book.
In movies:
Sunshine Cleaning: It was a pleasure to see a movie that is so thoroughly about women, and not the Hollywood version of women ("why can't I get a man to like me?!", "A zit?! My life is over!!" etc.), but women who were immensely real and sympathetic. Even as I watched one of the characters screwing up in a most spectacular fashion, I thought, yup, I know that woman. This film touched on a number of tough issues, but never once exploited them for shock value or rang false. Both Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are very good and inhabit their characters' skins with a practiced ease, which, in a couple of cases, is not a little bit scary. I heartily enjoyed this and am pleased to recommend it to all and sundry.
Now, if there could just be a movie like this that featured people of color, or differently abled people, or non-Judeo-Christians... I would feel like the entertainment-industrial complex was glacially slouching in the right direction.
