Books!

I want to do a quick wrap up of those books I read that I could pull off my Fill in the Gaps list. I'm also going to touch on a book that wasn't on the list, but which I enjoyed immensely.

1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
I liked this book. I'm not mad about it, but I think I read it at the right time in my life. If I had read it any earlier I wouldn't have appreciated the implications of the technology or the situations the characters find themselves in. Also, I really need to re-watch Blade Runner.

2. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
This book made me feel a little defective. I'm so used to just falling in love with anything Neil does that it took me off guard to only be mildly interested in a story. I don't know if it was the way the main character was presented or if it's just that I wasn't familiar with that particular set of mythology, but I couldn't get engaged in it until right near the end. It might also be simply that this is a side story to my previous least favorite of his books, American Gods. But regardless of how I felt about this book, I still think he's capable of magic. This is evidenced by the fact that I met him over the winter and could only spit out 'thank you for being amazing', before having my book signed and scurrying off. That's me. Cool and composed.

3. Tales of Beedle the Bard - JK Rowling
I will admit freely that I am a sucker for her world. She's not the greatest writer technically, but she can build the heck out of a universe, and just keep filling it until it's hard to forget that it isn't parallel to ours. Therefor, little tie-ins like this make me very happy. They're just fairy tales, but I recommend them to people who enjoy fairy tales, because you don't need to know anything about the wizarding world to enjoy them. On the flip side, they say a lot about that world, as good fairy tales are often commentary. Also, the existence of these fairy tales brings me things like this song, so I'm really not complaining.



4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
The reason I picked this book up was the art. It's gorgeous. And even if you're not interested in reading the book, I urge you to at least flip through it. The story is simple, but some of the situations the main character finds himself in aren't simple at all. One of the things that really interests me about YA is that it has the ability to present things that even adults find to be difficult in such a matter of fact way. As if there was no other course of action than the one the character took. Enjoying this book is actually what made me decide to read Scott Westerfeld's book Leviathan. That is also a book well worth reading if you're interested in YA, steampunk, or the way art integrates with large fields of text. (Remind me later to natter on about Light Novels.)

Bonus. A Single Man - Christopher Isherwood
I did not know this book existed until I started hearing buzz about the movie, and after seeing the movie proper I felt I had to read it. So much of the dialogue in the movie is pointed, as if it's reaching back to its literary beginnings and just assuming you can fill in the gaps. I had to know what else was there. There's a large plot device in the movie that isn't in the book, but it doesn't come off as sensational, and I really think that you needed that extra tension in order to feel the catharsis you get at the end of the book. So much of the book is internal monologue. It was a lot like reading a philosophy text, actually, which might be why I fell for it so hard. The text is lush and descriptive and dramatic without trying to be. It's just the story of one man, making it the only way he knows how. I will probably recommend it to everyone forever.

This is a clip of the scene that really made me want to read the book, as it's kind of the crux of the whole thing.



So that's me caught up. More or less. Have you read any of these? What did you think about them? Are there other books you really think I need to read?

*blows away the dust*

Well, hello. Do you ever start something with the best intentions and then get distracted by things that are shinier and wander off? No? That's only me? Fair enough.

A lot has happened since I started this thing with my good intentions and then wandered off. I've gotten a sort of promotion at work. I've decided to go forward with going back to school for my Masters degree and am taking those steps. I'm learning to play the guitar, which is slow going, but ultimately satisfying. And I've read about twelve books, four of which I can cross off my Filling in the Gaps list! My plan for this year is to read 25 books, which I'm right on track for. I'll post about those as I finish them.

I've also spent part of the last year trying to decide what to do with this space. I've finally settled on making it a space for reading and writing and learning. I've never had a devoted space for those things before, and I think it will help me to get more accomplished if I can keep things organized. So here's to organization.

I'm hoping to make at least a post a week. Wish me luck. And feel free to poke me if I don't.