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Book/Comic/Movie Recs, 6/2/09
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 07:41 pmHow badass of a bookworm am I? I actually managed to get reading done while I was moving! A Herculean feat!
Anyway, in books:
Little (Grrl) Lost, by Charles De Lint: I don't quite understand what it is, but every other book I read by De Lint, I love. Unfortunately, this was not the other book and I was left with an overall sense of "meh" ranging towards active antipathy towards one of the main characters. This was disappointing, because I could almost see the amazing ideas shining cheerfully in the book's background, and I wanted to hear a lot more about these ideas, and less of the teenaged angst which ruled the plot. This was a book group book, and the discussion about the book revolved the frustrations people had with the main character and all the side characters we wanted to hear more about. Many people thought (and I'm still wondering about) the book was a collection of side short stories De Lint had written over the years and couldn't bear to part with, and so wove them together, a little haphazardly. The book feels haphazard, despite its many good points.
I don't usually say this, but another reason I was disappointed? This book had a beautiful cover--the kind of cover that I would have loved as a teen reader because it put the best parts of the plot front and center in a beautiful illustration. Damn!
The Writing Class, by Jincy Willett: I have not read a mystery novel in a long time where I was so invested in finding out who the murderer was. I mean, this was the kind of reading that consumed me--when I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the book and running through the list of suspects in my head. My bet turned out to be utterly wrong, and I was supremely glad. I was also supremely amused at the fact that the setting for the book is an unidentified San Diego area community college; I'm betting either Palomar or Miramar, from the description of the students and their commutes. (The author is a local; and a friend of a friend of my Mom's.) Willett nails the dynamics of a community college classroom, from the way the cliques form to the sometimes strained interactions between the professor, returning students, and younger students. The other thing Willett does very well is write in a variety of different voices--ever satirical, but never forced or fake. Finally, in her main character, Amy Gallup the literature professor who published only a few novels and then faded to literary obscurity, Willett has created a genuinely compelling and layered character. When her life's story finally unwound, I found myself going back over her actions and words and thinking, now it all makes sense. What a satisfying reading experience! I almost want to see it made into a movie, but fear that there are a lot of things that wouldn't translate well. (Except that *one* scene, the class on Halloween...)
Up next and on-going: Of Human Bondage, W. Somerset Maugham (I love Maugham's pointed and deceptively simple style; as much as I think the main character is hopelessly naive and sheltered, I want very badly for him to succeed.) and The Atrocity Archives, for book group.
In Comics:
The Unwritten, Issue #1, by Mike Carey & Peter Gross: Quick, run out and buy this--the first issue is just $1 and it's flat-out fascinating from the get-go! (Jasper Fforde, J.K. Rowling, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and Connie Willis fans should especially get their hands on this.) I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that the bonds of fiction are wearing thin in some places; this work will be a meditation on just how thin they are. Carey's hinting at all sorts of greater things but paces this first installment well; Gross's artwork is nicely laid out and never too fussy or crammed on the page. Really, I cannot recommend this one enough.
Nightschool: The Weirn Books, Volume 1, by Svetlana Chmakova: Behind Chmakova's adorable-cute artwork lies a story made of monsters and darkness. This book gives her a chance to stretch her artistic muscles and how she stretches! All to great, dramatic effect--a large roster of interesting characters just waiting to be invested in, beautiful layout on the pages (combat is both beautiful and frightening, and it's to her credit that her characters fight in distinct styles), and a plot that's purring itself awake. My only quibble with this book comes with the manga-esque style itself she's working with; almost all the characters' chins are pointy enough to be weapons in their own right. Add to this that it's hard to differentiate the age differences between the characters, and I get a bit grumbley--this could be so great, if it weren't for that. But then I think of the fact that there a lot of kick-ass female characters (two of whom are black, several of whom are Asian), a narrative with all sorts of possibilities lurking around the edges, and an interesting new mythology, and then, POW, I'm back on the bandwagon.
In movies:
Star Trek: I have not had so much fun at the movies in such a long time. I didn't expect to enjoy myself so thoroughly or to find that the movie was crammed chock-a-block with so many little throwaway visual jokes and references to the original series. I was surprised at how good Zachary Quinto was, and greatly amused at how much subtext of "fuck you!" he was able to work into a Vulcan persona. Hell, I was just surprised at how good the whole thing was. I wish that Uhura's part had been written a little differently, but half of me plugs its ears and yells "La la la I can't hear you la la la I don't care about political stuff because it was so entertaining la la la still not listening!" Anyway, highly enjoyed, and I'm very glad I got to go see it on the big screen.
Angels and Demons: Back when I worked at the bookstore and (due to the consensus of my co-workers) Dan Brown was a mortal enemy, this book was looked upon as a slight step up from the lowest circle of craptacular hell that was The Duh-Vinci Code. I never got around to reading either of them, but I can understand why this book would have been better and more exciting than its immensely popular sequel. I will also freely admit that I completely feel for the villain's ruse. However, upon further reflection, I thought that the scheme was ridiculously complicated and relied far too heavily on a number of illogical and unlikely plot devices all swinging perfectly into place. So, uhm, it was a good movie, and exciting in an academic way (the greatest thrill was not saving any religious figure's life, but getting into the Vatican archive.) There was some "destruction" of artwork that bothered me, more than any of the violence in the whole thing. Reasonably diverting.
Anyway, in books:
Little (Grrl) Lost, by Charles De Lint: I don't quite understand what it is, but every other book I read by De Lint, I love. Unfortunately, this was not the other book and I was left with an overall sense of "meh" ranging towards active antipathy towards one of the main characters. This was disappointing, because I could almost see the amazing ideas shining cheerfully in the book's background, and I wanted to hear a lot more about these ideas, and less of the teenaged angst which ruled the plot. This was a book group book, and the discussion about the book revolved the frustrations people had with the main character and all the side characters we wanted to hear more about. Many people thought (and I'm still wondering about) the book was a collection of side short stories De Lint had written over the years and couldn't bear to part with, and so wove them together, a little haphazardly. The book feels haphazard, despite its many good points.
I don't usually say this, but another reason I was disappointed? This book had a beautiful cover--the kind of cover that I would have loved as a teen reader because it put the best parts of the plot front and center in a beautiful illustration. Damn!
The Writing Class, by Jincy Willett: I have not read a mystery novel in a long time where I was so invested in finding out who the murderer was. I mean, this was the kind of reading that consumed me--when I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the book and running through the list of suspects in my head. My bet turned out to be utterly wrong, and I was supremely glad. I was also supremely amused at the fact that the setting for the book is an unidentified San Diego area community college; I'm betting either Palomar or Miramar, from the description of the students and their commutes. (The author is a local; and a friend of a friend of my Mom's.) Willett nails the dynamics of a community college classroom, from the way the cliques form to the sometimes strained interactions between the professor, returning students, and younger students. The other thing Willett does very well is write in a variety of different voices--ever satirical, but never forced or fake. Finally, in her main character, Amy Gallup the literature professor who published only a few novels and then faded to literary obscurity, Willett has created a genuinely compelling and layered character. When her life's story finally unwound, I found myself going back over her actions and words and thinking, now it all makes sense. What a satisfying reading experience! I almost want to see it made into a movie, but fear that there are a lot of things that wouldn't translate well. (Except that *one* scene, the class on Halloween...)
Up next and on-going: Of Human Bondage, W. Somerset Maugham (I love Maugham's pointed and deceptively simple style; as much as I think the main character is hopelessly naive and sheltered, I want very badly for him to succeed.) and The Atrocity Archives, for book group.
In Comics:
The Unwritten, Issue #1, by Mike Carey & Peter Gross: Quick, run out and buy this--the first issue is just $1 and it's flat-out fascinating from the get-go! (Jasper Fforde, J.K. Rowling, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and Connie Willis fans should especially get their hands on this.) I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that the bonds of fiction are wearing thin in some places; this work will be a meditation on just how thin they are. Carey's hinting at all sorts of greater things but paces this first installment well; Gross's artwork is nicely laid out and never too fussy or crammed on the page. Really, I cannot recommend this one enough.
Nightschool: The Weirn Books, Volume 1, by Svetlana Chmakova: Behind Chmakova's adorable-cute artwork lies a story made of monsters and darkness. This book gives her a chance to stretch her artistic muscles and how she stretches! All to great, dramatic effect--a large roster of interesting characters just waiting to be invested in, beautiful layout on the pages (combat is both beautiful and frightening, and it's to her credit that her characters fight in distinct styles), and a plot that's purring itself awake. My only quibble with this book comes with the manga-esque style itself she's working with; almost all the characters' chins are pointy enough to be weapons in their own right. Add to this that it's hard to differentiate the age differences between the characters, and I get a bit grumbley--this could be so great, if it weren't for that. But then I think of the fact that there a lot of kick-ass female characters (two of whom are black, several of whom are Asian), a narrative with all sorts of possibilities lurking around the edges, and an interesting new mythology, and then, POW, I'm back on the bandwagon.
In movies:
Star Trek: I have not had so much fun at the movies in such a long time. I didn't expect to enjoy myself so thoroughly or to find that the movie was crammed chock-a-block with so many little throwaway visual jokes and references to the original series. I was surprised at how good Zachary Quinto was, and greatly amused at how much subtext of "fuck you!" he was able to work into a Vulcan persona. Hell, I was just surprised at how good the whole thing was. I wish that Uhura's part had been written a little differently, but half of me plugs its ears and yells "La la la I can't hear you la la la I don't care about political stuff because it was so entertaining la la la still not listening!" Anyway, highly enjoyed, and I'm very glad I got to go see it on the big screen.
Angels and Demons: Back when I worked at the bookstore and (due to the consensus of my co-workers) Dan Brown was a mortal enemy, this book was looked upon as a slight step up from the lowest circle of craptacular hell that was The Duh-Vinci Code. I never got around to reading either of them, but I can understand why this book would have been better and more exciting than its immensely popular sequel. I will also freely admit that I completely feel for the villain's ruse. However, upon further reflection, I thought that the scheme was ridiculously complicated and relied far too heavily on a number of illogical and unlikely plot devices all swinging perfectly into place. So, uhm, it was a good movie, and exciting in an academic way (the greatest thrill was not saving any religious figure's life, but getting into the Vatican archive.) There was some "destruction" of artwork that bothered me, more than any of the violence in the whole thing. Reasonably diverting.
