25 posts tagged “books”

Stolen from Steve Betz!  (Who stole it from someone else, who stole it from someone else still, and so on...)

Brave New World (Aldous Huxley).

Through the glory that is StumbleUpon (again I say that if you love wasting passing time on the Internet and you haven't tried it, you must), I discovered a very cool place full of Mark Twain quotes organized by subject.  As a loser and future Scary Cat Lady, I of course wanted to see what a genius like Twain would have to say regarding felines.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that Mark Twain was so ahead of his time that he actually knew of the existence of lolcats some 120 years before they would sweep the Internet.  Don't believe me?  I believe I have proof:

"You may say a cat uses good grammar. Well, a cat does -- but you let a cat get excited once; you let a cat get to pulling fur with another cat on a shed, nights, and you'll hear grammar that will give you the lockjaw. Ignorant people think it's the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it's the sickening grammar they use." -A Tramp Abroad

So not only was he aware of lolcats well over a century ago, but perhaps he offers some insight into how the language of today's lolcats evolved--can it be that the lolcats of today are descendents of the angrier, less grammatically conscious cats of the 19th century?  Would that not suggest that today's lolcats are in fact argumentative and violent themselves?  It's a tempting hypothesis, but evidence to the contrary abounds:

So, just finished Breaking Dawn.  (Two weeks after it came out!!!  I know, I know, what's wrong with me?!  I've been busy, damn it!!)  I shall probably write extensively about it soon, but for now... I have two weeks of neighborhood to catch up on.  

I've got me some Breaking Dawn!!!  (Side note:  at 12:07 I walked into Books-a-Million, was the last person to receive a book, and they seemed to be shutting things down after me.  What the hell!  They are too efficient for their own good.)  I'll not be visiting my friend The Internet until I finish it, which, thanks to my practicing schedule, will probably not be till Sunday evening.  (I fear teh spoilerz.)

I'm an excited lady!

Two more to throw atcha:

Still reading quite a bit, although my pace has understandably slowed after my week-long love affair with Twilight.  Here are some thoughts on the other things I've been reading:

A recently published collection of previously unpublished short works by the author, this was my first big foray into the world of Kurt Vonnegut, and I at least liked it enough to want to check more out.  Many of the stories--especially the first half, but really all of the book--draw on Vonnegut's experience as a prisoner of war in WWII and his horror at the destruction of Dresden.  I especially enjoyed the second half of the book; I think I remember especially digging "The Commandant's Desk."
I snatched this as soon as I saw it at the library--I had wanted to read it right after I finished Atonement, but it was checked out and I completely forgot about it.  It was much shorter than I expected (especially after Atonement), but still an interesting read about the rather awkward union between two young people in the 60s.  My big complaint with this was I guess pacing?  I'm not sure if that's a good word to describe it, but the bulk of the book moves slowly, full of lengthy flashbacks, before suddenly and I think without good reason hurtling forward at an alarming rate.  That was a little disorienting, but I still thought it was worth reading and would recommend it.
Ah, if only this were the edition I chose to buy... After seeing the trailer for the upcoming movie, I was so looking forward to it that I decided to order a copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tales of the Jazz Age, which contained the short story of the same name.  Might I warn you:  if, on Amazon, you see a copy of this book where the cover picture is a flugelhorn on top of a piano, DO NOT BUY IT.  Six pages into the story, I realized that there was no editor, no publisher I'd ever heard of, and it appeared that a 10-year-old had been commissioned to type the work but not proofread it--typos and strange errors galore.  I returned it to Amazon because it annoyed me too much to read it and found the story in an anthology at the library... and loved it!  The story actually took me through a strange series of emotions; it's comical and downright silly to begin with, but soon I found myself really attached to poor Benjamin and sad for his fate.  I most definitely recommend you read this.  I cannot wait for the movie, and I'll be interested to see how they handle it set in a different time period and with a change to the inevitable love story.
Another book I snatched up upon seeing it at the library, as the summary reminded me intensely of The Giver, one of my all-time favorite books by the same author.  I was almost as engrossed in this story as I was in The Giver (and was surprised to see a familiar face in the book...).  Frankly, I think a lot of adults could do with learning some of the messages contained in this book; I wish I'd brought it home so I could quote one passage in particular that struck me, but oh well.  Unfortunately, the book became unexpectedly rushed at the end and definitely left me with a feeling of, "Whoa, really?  ...It's over?"  Apparently this was probably the point, but what can I say, I like my structure.  I discovered that I probably should've read another book, Gathering Blue, before this one, so if you're interested I definitely suggest going "in order," though they're not exactly a trilogy:  The Giver, Gathering Blue, then Messenger.

I got surprisingly little accomplished in the world of reading, but I blame Stephenie Meyer.  ...In a good way.

...for this "holy crap I'm addicted" book post.

Let's talk about three things:  Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. 

People, I got the first book a week ago (they're easy reads, but short they are not--500 to 600 pages each) and within an hour of finishing it raced out to buy the next two.  I just finished the last a minute ago, and rather than do the wise thing and go to bed, I feel that geeky yet undeniable urge to bloggity blog blog.  If you're planning on reading the books and you don't want anything spoiled, you might wanna ignore this post.

Twilight had me pretty much from the first chapter.  It was glorious.  I'm still not sure exactly what it is about this book (and the others) that captivates me (and everyone else, apparently) so much--because I can see how I might have read books like these at another time and been utterly annoyed with them.  But, like every other person with a uterus (and some without), I instantly fell in love with lusted passionately for enjoyed the character of Edward.  The crash scene mostly did me in.  I never once felt uninterested while reading this book.  ...Not sure what else to say, honestly.  Fantastic.

Loved:  Edward, Edward and Bella, the mystery and intrigue!
Not So Much:  I would love to know how many times the words "eyes" was used--good gravy.  I recognize the necessity and the lack of another word, but man--it was like, three times a page.

As I said, I rushed out to buy this and Eclipse immediately after finishing Twilight.  I had a busy weekend though, and was a bit slow starting it, but was loving it during the chances I did have to read.

And then:  Edward left.  And Jacob entered the picture.  And I patiently waited for that whole situation to correct itself--100 pages, 200 pages, 300 pages without Edward?  (I'm not sure I'm overestimating that, either.)  Aside from my favorite character's absence, I impatiently waited for everybody to figure out the werewolf business; pardon my harsh criticism, but I thought it was poor writing to clue the reader in so early and then draw out the characters' confusions.  (Then again, maybe it just felt like it was so long as I was irritated with no vampire lovin'.)  Making the situation worse, I couldn't get on board with Jacob.  I didn't dislike him, I just had no interest in him, and thought Bella's intense interest was a bit forced maybe.  I dunno.  I did not enjoy the book from the moment Edward left to the moment he returned--just like Bella!  Hey-o.

Loved:  The intensity of the scenes in Italy--holy crap, those chapters were superbly done.  I couldn't read fast enough to satisfy my brain!!  Also, Alice, who became even more adorable in this book than before.
Not So Much:  Bella's codependency, lack of Edward, Jacob, seemingly unnecessary drama creation and drawing things out much longer than need be

Ah, Eclipse.  I went into this book fearful, not knowing what to think.  Twilight had sparked in me a love for a new series, something I've enjoyed only once in recent years (Harry Potter, natch), but then New Moon planted some serious seeds of doubt as I wondered if the next two books would follow in its path of... annoying me.  I was pleasantly surprised to find it didn't.  As with New Moon, though, I felt I was in a constant state of suspense (a good thing!)--this book was not so predictable, at least not for me.  I was very pleased with it as a whole, and almost feel like it's the best book in the series so far, though I'm not sure it tops Twilight in terms of how much of the warm fuzzies it gives me.  I do have some issues, not specifically with the book but with things it brought to light in terms of the series as a whole, but I'm getting quite tired here and I think my thoughts are incoherent enough without me going on a thoughtful rant.

Loved:  Alice more than ever, Edward more than ever
Not So Much:  Bella's low self-esteem--after three books, I get it.  Stop talking about how inferior you are to everything.  Cheer up, emo kid!  (I still like Bella, but I can only handle that kind of self-deprecation so long before it overpoweringly annoys me.)  Also, I can't help but feel that Bella's reluctance towards marriage is... strange for her, at least, for her relationship with Edward.
Loathing So Intense It Warrants Its Own Point in Bold:  Jacob.  A thousand times, Jacob.  Holy crap.  I'm pretty sure I've never been so aggravated with a protagonist in the history of any book ever.  What an obnoxious, immature brat!  I'm not sure what the Twilight fan base is like, but from what I understand there are some die-hard Jacob fans out there, and I just can't see it.  If you threaten to kill yourself/let yourself die so that the person you supposedly love will feel miserably guilty and risk things with the person that she wants and needs to be with in the vain hope that maybe she'll pay you attention, you fail at life.  Here's my harsh moment:  when they made it seem as if he'd been killed, I felt nothing.  Sorry if I'm offending the Jacob-ers, but seriously... the kid needs to grow the eff up.

Now all that's left is to wait until August 2nd...

Hey!

I've been reading!

It's that delightful time at the library when ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENS and one is able to spend the better part of a shift reading.  ...I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

So, as if you cared, and as if I was actually maintaining what started out to be a music-and-literature-themed blog, here's what I've been reading.

Since I've heard only good things about this book and I knew they were making/had made a movie, I decided to check this book out to myself upon checking it in from someone else.  Excellent choice, me!  I loved the storytelling in this dark and heartbreaking book.  Some of it--a lot of it--can be very upsetting to read, but I would recommend this to anyone.
I saw this book dominating Amazon's #1 seller spot for a long time and thought it odd that I had no idea what it was, but after reading The Kite Runner I knew I had to check it out (uh, literally).  As it turns out, I enjoyed this one even more--I literally just finished it ten minutes ago.  As with The Kite Runner, this can be tough (as in, disturbing) to read, but just demonstrates what I consider to be some fantastic storytelling.  Even more so with this book, though, I connected with the characters, deeply cared about them, hurt for them.  Another book I'd strongly recommend.
I saw this ages ago at Barnes and Noble, was intrigued by it--and then forgot all about it until my mom surprised me with it a few days ago (way to go, Mom!).  Absurdly silly cover featuring a picture of the author aside, I'm really enjoying it so far.  The book consists of different sections, each of which discuss similar case studies of people who have had unique psychological (and physiological) experiences with music.  I've only made it through the first section so far (which deals with people haunted by music--blargh, some scary stuff in there, especially for a musician... imagine hearing the same loud, high note, over and over and over all day long), but this book makes my inner psych-major-wannabe happy.
Since my only experience with Kurt Vonnegut so far has been through a short story ("Harrison Bergeron")--and uh, since this book was conveniently at the circulation desk when I got to work--I thought, what better way to become more familiar with the author than through a collection of short stories and whatnots?  I haven't started this yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

(In other news, I've learned that reading multiple books from multiple genres rather than focusing on one book at a time silences that nasty habit my brain has of narrating my life in the voice/style of whatever writer I'm reading.  ...Someone wanna do a case study on that crap?)

I have three books lined up to read next, assuming the library doesn't yield some other distracting treasure--which, of course, it will.  Coming soon!

Because I bought the book at a garage sale and it's been sitting in my car for two months...

My astonishing lack of concern for school this semester (at least, relative to previous semesters) has given me much more time to read.  A quick post about what I have read or am reading:

And now it's time for an excellent band:  Travis.

I'm much too lazy to bother posting a thoughtful, well-worded description of the band and their style.  I'm even too lazy to post a sample song.  But I'm not too lazy to tell you I dig this band very much (I'm still trying to get my hands on their album Invisible Band; I could just order it, but again, y'know.  I'm lazy), and I'm not too lazy to say that at the moment I'm all about the song "Turn."  In place of actual audio uploading, please enjoy this lyrical sampling from the song:

I want to sing, to sing my song
I want to live in a world where I belong
I want to live, I will survive
And I believe that it won't be very long
If we turn, turn, turn, turn turn
We might learn.

Okay, those lyrics do the song no justice.  Frankly, I think the band writes some gorgeous melodies.  The music is pretty mellow (aside from what I think is their first album, Good Feeling), the band is (according to all-knowing Wikipedia) "Scottish indie-rock," and you should listen to something.  The big singles that I know of were "Why Does It Always Rain on Me" and "Sing."  I think this "Turn" song was featured on a recent episode of Scrubs.  I COULD BE WRONG, AND I'VE WRITTEN TOO MUCH.

The reason I'm listening to music, a strange phenomenon I haven't been doing enough of lately, is that I'm packing for--what else?--a trip to California.  Normally, I'm nerdtastically enthusiastic about packing; frankly, it's fun to plan outfits, make lists of things to not forget, and strategically place objects in suitcases so that they fit perfectly (a feat that's never as easy to do when you're repacking your stuff to come home).  But tonight... meh.  In fact, "meh" seems to mostly describe the past week or so.  I'm in some sort of summer funk; I like nothing better than to sleep for 12 hours a day, take care of the requisite 3-5 hours of work four days a week, then spend the remainder of my day on the couch.  No bueno, I declare.  I usually have to work to keep myself from packing days in advance; tonight, it's been a struggle to bust out the suitcases, 12 hours before my flight leaves.

Hopefully, the trip out to California (and some much needed interaction with other people, including of course the boyfriend) will make this mood lift.  I'm looking forward to it, even if I'm too tired/lethargic to realize it. 

As for cats.  It's been rather freaky, actually, but I'll try and make this story short (I'm pretty sure it interests no one but me).  The Saturday before last, I had a Most Adorable Kitten show up at my door.  Anyone who knows me knows that what I want more than anything is a kitty, so I found this pretty weird; here's this cute and very affectionate cat.  I know I can't have a cat, though, so eventually I went inside and left him outside (where he cried).  The next morning, he was still hanging around; I left to sing, and he was still there two hours later when I returned.  Eventually he left for good, and I spent the week regretting my lack of balls--why didn't I just take him in?

Exactly one week later, as I walk out to my car, a black cat sees me and runs up to me.  A second black cat runs up to me from the other side of the parking lot.  A third runs up to me from behind me, a small gray kitten in tow.  ...Double-you tee eff, I ask.  They hang out for awhile; I go inside.  I peek back outside a while later, and they have literally left this kitten on my doormat.  I remind myself that I CANNOT HAVE A CAT, and go back inside.  The next morning, I'm woken up by a kitten crying; it's the same gray kitten, this time outside my apartment's back window.

I was terribly amused when I stumbled across the following children's book at work, which repeated the lines, "Hundreds of cats; Thousands of cats; Millions and billions and trillions of cats."  It felt very like my own story.  (Except the cats around me didn't end up eating each other, as in the slightly disturbing book.)

Hypothesis:  The Universe wants me to have a kitten, and apparently will deliver me one once a week.  Since I'm going out of town for three weeks, I put my mail on hold; I can only imagine that when I return, three kittens will promptly be delivered to my door.